CHAPTER 2: LAY OF THE LAND
At night, Black Widow, Orbweaver, Gertie, and Python were riding around in a car with Widow's older brother driving them. They had pulled up across from the mansion of the Scorpion. They had turned off the lights when they pulled up not to be seen. Gertie had directed them to the spot where she and her father had been taken by the Scorpion's men, Brody and Butch. She made sure she stayed out of sight so they wouldn't take her again.
"Dis is th' joint," she said to the others. "Dis is where m' fatha got bumped off."
"Let's get a closer look," said Widow to the others.
"I's stayin' in heh," said Gertie. "Those creeps may try ta take me again."
"I better stay in, myself," added Python. "I'm still on their radar, as well."
"Okay," said Widow. "Jackson, watch over the girls while Weaver and I take a look."
"Okay, sis," said Jackson. And Widow and Weaver ran across the street to get a good look at the mansion. The place was huge and many guards were walking around. Some of them had huge Rottweilers with them as guard dogs. All of them carried military rifles and pistols. The girls then went back to their car before they were spotted. Once away from the mansion, Jackson turned on the lights of the car again.
"You were right, Gert," said Widow. "That place was like a fortress! I'm amazed that you managed to escape there."
"I wuz determined to get aways from dat place, Wideh," Gertie replied. "Plus, t' get y' help in dis."
"Well, we will bring the Scorpion down," said Weaver. "Python, your mission against the Scorpion aside, what made you decide to come back to Sparkyville?"
"It had to do with my mother," Python said, sadly. "After she joined me in Witness Protection, things were pretty quiet for a while. We used aliases for years until last summer, the Scorpion's men somehow found us. They tried to kill me, but got my mother, instead!"
"Oh dear lord!" gasped Widow.
"I barely escaped with my life," Python continued, tears flowing from remembering the horrific event. "I hid out in an abandoned building for three days. After a while I got in contact with the agents who were hiding me. One agent, named Hanks, sounded like he was almost disappointed that I was still alive. The other two, Boyd and Hendrix, who led the case, were more sympathetic. When I asked the agents about how the Scorpion's men found us, they swore they didn't know, but figured someone had tipped them off. That's when I knew someone was working on the inside of the bureau. They were going to relocate me again, but I left before they knew what had happened. I ran back to the house to get some money my mother stashed away and bought a one-way ticket back to Sparkyville to unravel this mess."
"What happened t' ya muddah?" asked Gertie.
"She's buried in that town we stayed in, under her alias," said Python. "I decided when I avenged my mother's death and took down the Scorpion, I would bring her back to Sparkyville and have her re-buried here. Plus, I plan to stay with my grandparents, who still live here. But only after we take down the Scorpion, once and for all.
"Well, Python, we got our work cut out for us," said Widow. "I'm so sorry about your mother and what happened to her."
"At least she died defending me, Widow," sighed Python. "I just want to bring the Scorpion to justice." And the gang went back to the Spiders' hideout to plan their next moves on how to defeat the Scorpion.
NEXT CHAPTER: WHILE NO LONGER NEW LOVE, IT'S CONTINUED LOVE, CHARLIE BROWN