I lay in the forest clearing, looking up at the stars, tired from my heroines of the day. People call me Snake Woman, maybe from my green scales and green black-tipped hair. Or maybe from my golden eyes and slit pupil. Whatever the reason, that’s what they call me. There is some truth to that name, however. I am a snake, whose home was rightfully on the goddess Medusa's head. But, she was slain for being how she was, and for foolishly falling in love with a human, who tricked her in the end. Out of all of her kin, she plucked me from her head and turned me human-ish, to live on. 

I cried in anguish that day, staring at my mother's dead body, cursing the humans of that land. I wandered the earth for a while, watching as time went by. Humans were learning more and making new machines. But with newer things, came rivalry, and with rivalry, came the war. I didn’t fight in some of them, instead of staying in the shadows. That is until the government found me. They took me in since I had no home, and raised me to be a weapon, some would call it. But it's not like all those stories you see on TV where it’s a horrible thing to be one. They gave me choices, did I want to fight or not? Sometimes I would say no, and they would figure it out on their own, but if I saw that things got bad, I would step in. I am not a human being, that’s for sure, I am a snake. A lethal weapon, but still has a mind and a voice. 

 I laugh softly, my ears catching the sound of footsteps. I turn my head to see the president's daughter, a regular visitor of mine. 

“Why hello there, Rose.”

She giggles and sits next to me, “Hi Hazel!”

“Why are you outside? It’s cold out and your father would scold you for being out this late. Speaking of being late out, why aren’t you in bed?”

“It’s not that late out! Plus, I'm 7 years old! I can be outside if I want to…” She looks over to me, “and you’ll protect me if any scary people come to get me.”

I chuckle at her reasoning, “While that is true, you need to be in bed. It's cold and you’ll catch a cold.”

I stand up and pick her up, swinging her on my hip. She giggles as I do so, and we walk inside the building near the forest edge. The president was having a vacation in his log cabin and invited me to come. Of course, I came so I could watch Rose while Mr. and Mrs. had date nights. The guards could’ve done it just fine, but they are a drag when it came to kids.  Wait…

I looked down at her as we walked to her room, “Now how did you sneak past the guards?”

A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes, “I did it how you taught me! I used the window and watched out for sticks, then went to you.”

I laugh and walk up to her door, the guards dead-panning at the girl in my arms. I playfully glared at both of them and they rubbed the back of their necks guilty, and let us in. I walked to her bed and tucked her in, as I walked away, she grabbed my hand. I look down at her, and she points to a book and the rocking chair. I smile and shake my head, but sit down and open the book.

As I finish, I look over to her and see her asleep. The door creaks open and the first lady's head pops in. She smiles and steps in.

“Hello, Hazel. I hope Rose didn’t cause too much trouble.”

“Nah, she was fine. She was very good today.

“That’s good. Thank you for watching her, and also for everything you do.”

“It’s my pleasure, thank you for taking me in all those years ago. If you hadn’t I would still be on the streets.”

We had stepped into the hallway, and we were walking to the living room, “It’s a pleasure having you, I need more women to talk to, all these men are all about business and big talk. It gives me a headache.”

We giggled and the president looked our way from the couch, “What’s got you ladies giggling?”

“Oh, nothing Richard. Just lady things.” Angle replies.

He hums and goes back to his newspaper, and she mouths men. I playfully roll my eyes.

“Goodnight y'all, I’m gonna head to bed.” I yawn.

They bid me goodnight and I head to my room. My room was simple, a bed, dresser, bathroom, closet, and vanity, insisted by Angle for makeup and things. I tried to argue that I didn’t need it and that makeup doesn’t look good on me, but she insisted even more and I obliged. I lay on my bed and close my eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Beep Beep Beep

I groan and roll over to my side, glaring at the alarm clock. I hit snooze and rolled back over, only to be woken up again by a certain little girl jumping on my bed. She flops next to me and pokes at my face. I open my eyes and she grins. She then proceeds to rip the covers off of me and pull at my legs, which results in me on the floor. I sit up and glare at her, my tongue slithering out, she shrieks and runs out of the room giggling. I close my door and get ready for the day. I slip on some black leggings and a white t-shirt and go to the kitchen. The chef was making breakfast and noticed me walk in. He said good morning and tossed me a water bottle. 

I nod my head and walk out the back door. Preparing for my run, I noticed Angle coming up to me in her workout clothes.

“Care if I join?”

“Not at all! I could use the company.”

We jogged and talked as we went. Going all around the lake. When we completed the lap, we went back inside the house to take showers. I went to my room, took a quick shower, and changed into comfy clothes. I walked out of my room and went to the living room with Rose. We sat on the couch and watched TV. A little bit later, The President ran in and told me to follow him to the board room. I made sure someone was watching Rose and followed him. Half of the President's cabinet was sitting at the round table. I took my seat next to the President and he sat at the head of the table. 

“What’s going on, Mr. President??” I ask worriedly.

He turns to me, “There has been a recent escape from the local institution for mental patients. His name is Disc, and he was in there for recent kidnapping and tormenting children. However, due to lack of faculty, he managed to escape and has now kidnapped 30 children, all under the age of 13. He left this message this morning.”

He turns to the screen and a video starts to play. A man with white hair with one arm pops up, standing in front of a huge bomb. 

“Hello, Mr. President! I am Disc, a new villain in town. It has come to my attention that you have a little pet in your clutches, and it seems that I would like one as well. I have taken some...workers to do my bidding. It only seems fair if you have one as well. As you can see, I am making a beautiful explosive device to purify this land. Get rid of all you selfish rich snobs. You have 24 hours until I set this thing loose, send your little pet and I’ll let the children go free. Goodbye.”

The video stops. Everyone in the room sits there in shock. My expression, hard as stone, turns to the president. He looks over to me, eyes widening a bit at my face.

“Have you found the location of the hide-out?”

“Y-Yes, it is an abandoned orphanage in the next town over. Someone reported hearing children crying in there.”

I nod my head, “Good, “I turn to the rest of the board, all flinching when my gaze passes over them, “I will be taking this mission and will head out tonight. I need an earpiece and backup for when I capture this psycho. Any questions?” Silence, “Okay then.”

I stand up and walk out of the room.

8 Hours Later

I spy on the orphanage, looking for a way in without being noticed. It was a miracle I managed to make it this far, cameras dotted every corner manageable. I sigh as my eyelids grow tired from the journey here. But I keep my eyes open and find a way in. I crawl in through a broken window and gaze over the railing to find something horrific. Children all under the age of 13 are in chains, working and some crying as they make a huge weapon. They all had wounds on them, some still fresh and open. A sinister laugh catches my attention, and I whip my head up to the other side of the ledge, a giant throne-looking chair looms over the children. I instantly ducked when his line of vision crossed my hiding spot. I peek out from it again to see him looking back at the children. 

“Y'know it's not that hard making a hologram.”

I whirl around and came face to face with Disc...The man was ugly. He smirked while I stared at him.

“Admiring my looks? I'm very attractive as you can see.”

I dead-panned at him, “Yes, you look very handsome,” I rolled my eyes, “maybe I’d go on a date with you if you weren’t a psycho.”

He hummed, “Yes but this world is full of heroes and wannabes, so I decided to play the villain.”

“But why would you want to be something evil? What is there to gain from kidnapping children to build a weapon to hurt others?!”

He smirked that awful evil smirk, “That’s just because I want to," he paused, “and also because henchmen were in short supply. But enough about that!”

He grabs me by the hem of my shirt and holds me up. I claw at his hands as the shirt chokes me, kicking aimlessly at his chest. 

He laughs diabolically, “Why would you, of all people! Or should I say, of all snakes, want to be a hero?! Your mother was killed by humans, the race you swore to protect!” his crazed eyes narrowed into slits, “Be the villain you were born to be.”

“No!”

I kicked him in the face and he let go of me. I dropped to the ground and tried to get up but he kicked me in the stomach. He continued to do this and I curled up in a fetal position. 

“Back up! I need back up!” I yelled into my earpiece.

Soon red and blue lights filled the building, sirens filling the silence. A gun went off. I cough, putting a hand on my side, pulling it to my face. Blood.

“You...You shot me!” I groaned when he kicked me again.

“Of course I did, my name will go down as the Villain who finally killed the Snake Woman.”

Police officers tackled him to the ground, dragging him away. But he managed to escape. Shooting both policemen with their firearms. He jumped off the ledge and landed on the ground, soon surrounded by the children. They all had bats and pipes. One of the older ones swung at Disc’s head, knocking him out cold. The children cheered, dropping their weapons and rushing up the stairs to the ledge, gathering around me.

As I lay there, wounded and surrounded by all the children, I smile at all their happy faces. The police had come and were taking the bomb and the psycho into custody. I cough and groan in pain as I sit up, the older ones helping me. 

“You all fought very bravely for your freedom. I am very proud of you.” I whisper.

They all smiled, and a little kid, young enough to be 8, came up to me, “But what about you? You're hurt! What's gonna happen to the snake woman?”

I smile softly, my eyes growing heavy, “She will live on, in all of your hearts, doing the right thing every day, and fight against the evil that pollutes this world…”

My eyes finally close, and I draw my last breath, the cries of children being the last thing I hear. 

A bright light shines in my face, and I squint into it. I make out a figure with their arms opened wide.

“Welcome Home, My daughter…”