Continued from here part 1
Outside Dodge City Kansas, 2195
The old man was over seeing the group as they had a sparing session. Tarantula and Orbweaver faced off in a circle that had been carved in the dirt. David easily swatted away her attempt at a kick, "Too slow web slinger."
She gritted her teeth as some psionic energy began to form in her hands, "I told you, I can do more than make webs."
She then swung a psionic blade at David that he barely dodged. She then looked down, "Should have paid better attention."
David looked down to see he'd stepped out of the circle, "Awe, damn it."
The old man eyed Orbweaver with concern and beckoned her over, "The rest of you, go find something to do."
Fiddler Back chuckled at David, "Hard to take the Tarantula seriously when he gets beat by my sister."
Black Widow poked him in the chest, "Are you saying getting beat by a girl is worse than getting beat by a guy?"
Fiddler Back nodded, "Kinda, yea."
She then punched him in the gut and dropped him to the ground. David then looked down on him as he stepped over, "Least she left me standing."
Redback and Funnelweb watched this with amusement.
As they left the old man turned to Orbweaver, "I know that look in your eyes, there was a time when I had it often. The killer instinct is strong in you. It can be quite useful but don't let it consume you. Trust me when I say its a path that leads to nothing but misery."
She glared at him, "I wasn't trying to kill him."
"Are you sure about that?"
She lowered her head and went silent as the old man rose. He patted her on the back, "I know you Spiders love that Mantra about power and responsibility so I won't give a speech you've heard a thousand times. Go on now, I've dealt with enough teenage problems today."
Redback and Funnelweb walked into the town that had been turned into a make shift Spider camp. They stepped into the old Saloon where Madam Web had set up shop. She was playing cards with several of the elders of the camp. Redback gave a nod to Molly Creed who sat beside Web. She had brought him to the Spiders after rescuing him as a child from the Iron soldiers who massacred his family along with the rest of the mutant camp they lived in.
She returned the nod and waved them over, "How's the old man treating you?"
Redback got a grin, "Like a dirty rug."
Madam Web chuckled, "Good, builds character."
Funnelweb wanted to chime in but was nervous around her. She looked up, "You shouldn't be frightened of an old woman, boy."
Molly grinned, "Well, you do have a bit of the Wicked Witch look going on."
She swatted her on the shoulder, "Some of us don't have a healing factor to keep us young. You're every bit the old hag as me, just a bit smoother in the face."
The old men around the table laughed as a man named Ed Parker spoke up, "We're all agreed, you're both old crones."
Redback noted the healthy stack of empty beers on the tray next to the table, "We'll let you get back to your important work."
They gave a drunken cackle at that as the boys left. Widow sat eating off to the side of the old alley where David and Dennis had joined in a street soccer game. Orbweaver sat next to her, "I take it they're on different teams?"
Widow looked over to her, "Of course, they'll prove one's better than the other if it kills both of them."
Orbweaver chuckled, "How the hell did they survive this long?"
Widow shrugged before changing the subject, "You're getting better with the psionic constructs."
"Have to if anyone's ever gonna trust me to do anything but set traps."
Widow gave a wary look, "Its about more than power you know."
"That's what everyone without any says."
Widow now glared at her, "You make it hard to be friends some times."
They then turned their attention to the game where David kicked the ball out from under Dennis' foot and sent him crashing to the ground. The ball then struck one of David's team mates in the head as it veered way off its mark. Dennis chuckled, "Doesn't matter if you have the ball if you can't hit a goal."
David sighed.
The girls laughed as the kid David hit started arguing with him.
***
The Old man wandered into the saloon and took a seat across from Madam Web as one of the Spider elders left. She noted his hand, "I see you found another ring."
He nodded, "The children were helpful in that."
She nodded, "You are training them well. Perhaps its a better path than questing for your own death."
He gave her a wary look, "Is there anyone who deserves death more than me?"
She shrugged, "Not many, but I could think of a few."
The two chuckled as the waitress sat a beer in front of the old man, "Well, deal me in old woman. I could use a bit of extra cash."
(To be continued)
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