This idea came to me after I watched the Gargoyles episode "Mark Of The Panther". I like the spider Anansi because of his deep voice and he's voiced by the guy who was the host for the old kid's show "Reading Rainbow", LeVar Burton. :)
Gargoyles belongs to Disney. I only own Estrella. This story takes place after the episodes "The Gathering Part 1 & 2" and has some spoilers for "Mark Of The Panther".
The Spider's Daughter
Anansi sighed as he was allowed to return to the old city in the human world. "Ah, peace," he said to himself. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."
As he arrived at the old hut, he spotted something laying on the ground and a closer look revealed it to be a human girl who looked to be young, possibly no more than twelve years old. She had black hair and her skin was deeply tanned, but what caught his eye were the bruises that were on her arms and face, bruises that were made by someone hitting her. Chuckling, Anansi realized he had just found someone new to hunt for him.
The girl stirred, opening her green eyes and gasping as she saw him, a weak scream escaping her as she scooted backwards, her tattered green shirt catching on the metal poles while her jeans were torn in several places. The large spider watched with amusement as the girl tried to get away, but he quickly wrapped her in webbing, trapping her. "Quite a brave human to dare venture into my territory," he said, one of his legs brushing over the girl's head, making her whimper in fear. "Though you better have a good reason for being here."
The girl opened her mouth and to Anansi's shock, her voice came out in a very hoarse whisper. "Please, don't hurt me," she pleaded, her voice sounding like she had a terrible cold.
Anansi tilted her chin up a little more as he studied her face. "Let me see your throat," he said.
Not in a position to argue, she opened her mouth wide and pushed her tongue down. The spider looked inside and was shocked to see the girl's throat was an angry red color and it looked like she had a sore throat. That, coupled with the bruises, made him suspect why the girl was there. "You escaped, didn't you?" He asked.
She nodded and he sighed before picking her up with his front legs and setting her on his back. "Hold on," he said as he shot out more webbing, creating a giant spiderweb and getting himself situated on it before taking the bound girl and placing her on one part of the web. "Rest for tonight," he said to her. "We have business to discuss in the morning."
The girl was a bit frightened, but she noted the webbing was soft and she was very tired, so she closed her eyes and was soon asleep. Seeing this, the large spider nodded, his own eyes closing in sleep.
The next morning, the girl woke up and saw Anansi was awake. He cut the webbing around her so that she was free and she sat up. "I've been thinking about what to do with you," he said. "You shall hunt for me and in return, I'll give you shelter here."
She looked at him. "Why?" She asked.
"Better than being on your own and trying to escape if your kidnappers return," he pointed out.
Seeing he had a point, she nodded. "What is your name?" He asked her.
"Estrella," she said.
"A beautiful name," he said. "Now, if you're to hunt, you're going to need a new form."
She blinked at him and Anansi chuckled. "A panther form will do nicely," he said.
Estrella scooted back a bit in fear, but webbing wrapped around her, stopping her from escaping. "Don't worry, you'll be able to transform from panther to human," he said. "Now, hold still. This won't hurt."
She closed her eyes in fear, feeling something on her shoulder before she was freed. She looked up at Anansi, who chuckled. "The hunt awaits, my dear," he said. "Go."
The command was said gently and Estrella bit her lip before looking curious. "How do I transform into a panther?" She asked.
"You must will it," he said.
"Will it? You mean...I must want to be a panther to transform?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes again and the mark on her shoulder glowed before she transformed into a panther with black fur and green eyes. Seeing she was transformed, she began running, her heightened sense of smell picking up the scent of prey nearby. Anansi chuckled. "Ah, yes, she'll do nicely for my servant," he said to himself.
A few months later...
In Manhattan, Eliza was talking to Goliath. "My mom went back to Africa after hearing stories of a panther with green eyes coming from the jungle," she said. "The people say the panther has the same mark that Tea and Fara Maku have."
"But why would they mark another if they swore to only use their gifts to protect the forest?" He asked.
"I don't know, but I've got a feeling that if there was another human marked, then Anansi might be back."
"But how?" Angela asked. "We defeated him."
"But remember in the story Diane told, magical creatures cannot die," Goliath said. "It's possible we defeated him, but did not destroy him."
"He's right," Eliza said. "We better get to Africa."
"But we'll need to find Avalon again," Angela said.
"That will not be a problem," came a voice as Titania appeared before them. "Oberon has heard rumor of Anansi adopting a human child and he is quite upset about it."
"He doesn't like humans, that's for sure," Eliza said.
"He is mostly unsure of them," Titania said gently. "And Anansi is one of his children. For one of Oberon's children to adopt a human without Oberon's consent makes him very angry."
"Has Oberon seen the child that the spider adopted?" Angela asked.
"No and for some reason, Kara Digi is inaccessible at the moment to Oberon, but we don't know why," the Queen of Avalon said. "You've helped Oberon see the error of his ways before. Would you be willing to do so again?"
Goliath looked at Eliza and Angela, who both looked ready to take on the challenge. Bronx barked happily while Hudson, Broadway, Brooklyn, and Lexington stood by. "Will you guys be gone long?" Brooklyn asked worriedly.
"Hopefully not," Goliath said.
"Goliath, it might be wise to bring your clan with you," Titania said. "I have enough power to transport you all to Africa."
"As if we'd let them have all the fun," Hudson said with a smile.
Goliath nodded. "Alright," he said.
Thanks to Titania's magic, they were soon outside the gates of Kara Digi and slowly entered. "I wonder why Oberon couldn't enter here," Angela said.
"Could some magic have been blocking him?" Lexington asked.
"Aye, that might be it," Hudson said.
Bronx suddenly growled and they found themselves at the broken-down hut where they had first met Anansi. A panther with black fur and green eyes was there and looked startled before transforming into a young human with black hair, green eyes, and deeply tanned skin. Her clothing was a red and yellow shirt with blue jeans and black sandals on her feet. "Who are you?" She asked, looking wary.
Eliza gasped in shock. "You're the missing girl!" She said in surprise.
The twelve-year-old girl stepped back, her eyes full of fear. "Papa!" She called out.
The gargoyles and Eliza gasped at seeing Anansi lower himself from the top of the hut, looking at them all. "Ah, so the gargoyles have returned," he said as Estrella went to stand with him, feeling safer now. "What brings you back to my city?"
"Anansi, you marked that girl!" Angela said angrily.
"She agreed to it," the spider said.
Eliza looked at him. "What price did you make her pay?" She asked.
"Estrella hunts for me and I provide her shelter." The spider turned to the young girl. "In the few months she had been hunting for me, she has become my daughter, who I will fight for."
Goliath sensed something. "He seems to be telling the truth," he said.
Eliza looked at him. "Goliath, he probably forced that girl to hunt for him," she said.
"No, he didn't," Estrella said, coming forward. Hudson noticed something on her arm and moved closer. She let him and he gently grabbed her arm, looking at it before nodding.
"She's telling the truth," he said. "These marks aren't from the spider."
Brooklyn approached and he blinked. "Those look like whip marks," he said.
Estrella nodded. "I escaped and Papa has been keeping me safe. He even put up a magic barrier to keep those that would mean us harm out of Kara Digi," she said.
"A magic barrier?" Eliza said. "That might explain why Oberon can't come here."
"It does, detective," Anansi said. "Oberon would take my daughter away from me, but I won't let him."
She looked thoughtful. "Anansi, let me speak to Estrella," she said.
He nodded and looked at his daughter, who looked pensive. "Go with her, my daughter," he said gently. "The detective will keep you safe."
Estrella went up to him and hugged him, feeling a few of his legs come around and hug her. She pulled back after a moment and looked up at Goliath, who was looking at her. "Don't let anything hurt him," she said to him before she began following Eliza so that they could talk in private.
Broadway noticed something. "She looks well fed," he said.
"But of course," Anansi said. "Whatever Estrella hunts, we share. I may be a spider, but I'm not heartless, especially when it comes to my daughter."
"How did she become your daughter?" Hudson asked.
"Yeah, how?" Lexington asked.
Anansi chuckled. "Estrella grew on me," he said. "I grew to care for her as she hunted for me and she began seeing me as a protector. Her abusers haven't come back thankfully, but if they do, they'll face a protective spider."
"You certainly seemed to have a change of heart, Anansi," Goliath said.
"Yes," the spider said. "Children have a way of making one see things in a different light."
In another part of the city...
"Papa's been a better father to me than the foster families I was with," Estrella said. "One day, after a good hunt, he called me his daughter, so I began calling him 'papa' and he was really happy."
"He's never hurt you once?" Eliza asked.
"No," the girl said as they walked along some of the crumbling buildings. "And he's afraid of Oberon coming here. He taught me how to set up iron defenses."
"Because Oberon is vulnerable to iron," the detective said.
"Right," Estrella said before looking curious. "How do you know that? And how did you get here?"
"Queen Titania teleported us here and we've faced Oberon before," Eliza said.
The girl froze. "The queen?" She asked in horror. "Then that means Oberon is trying to get into the city!"
With that, she began running back the way they came. "Hurry! We've got to tell Papa!"
Eliza followed, the girl's outburst worrying her.
Anansi looked up as they came running back and he noted his daughter looked worried. "What is it, my sweet one?" He asked her as she ran up to him.
"Papa, Queen Titania sent them," she said urgently.
"I thought I sensed her magic," he said. "But she didn't send them to attack."
"No, she sent us to see if the rumors of you adopting a human were true," Lexington said.
Just then, Titania appeared before Anansi. "Oberon wishes to speak to you, Anansi," she said.
"Wait, how did you get past Anansi's magic barrier?" Angela asked.
"Those that mean no harm to Anansi or his child can enter," the queen said.
Estrella looked at the spider. "Papa, what will he do?" She asked.
"No doubt try to get me to denounce you or have you destroyed," he said, a few legs coming around her protectively. "But I won't let that happen."
He looked up at Titania. "My queen, I have no right to ask this, but I have a message for Oberon," he said.
"What is your message?" She asked.
"Oberon is not to harm my daughter as she is not only marked, but also has some of my magic in her too," he said. "When I marked her, some of my DNA and magic went into her bloodstream."
The queen nodded. "Therefore, she is one of us," she said. "You know Oberon will not be pleased with that."
Estrella stood up. "Well, he'll have to live with it, or I'll give him something to think about," she said fiercely.
Angela chuckled, as did Goliath. Eliza smiled. "Well, I think she's in good hands," she said. "I'll let my captain know that you are in a good home, Estrella. And we'll make sure those foster parents are taken care of."
"Thank you," the girl said.
Titania nodded. "I'll deliver the message to Oberon," she said. "By the way, Anansi, congratulations on being a father."
With that, she left and Estrella looked at the gargoyles and Eliza. "Well, I guess that's that, huh?" She asked.
Eliza nodded and Hudson cleared his throat. "Well, that's good, but how do ye propose we get back home?" He asked.
"Allow me," came Titania's voice as her magic surrounded them and teleported them away.
Estrella looked at her father. "Papa, will Oberon try to come here?" She asked.
"Let's hope not," Anansi said as the magical barrier shimmered above them.
Oberon was indeed not pleased with the news. "He better tread carefully," he said.
"Husband, you should be pleased Anansi is a father," Titania said. "After all, with the magic in her, it will live on when she has children."
She saw his head lift up and she smiled before heading away, planning to keep an eye on Anansi and Estrella from then on.
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GoldGuardian2418