The explosion and resulting fire was eventually contained and put out, but not before the damage had been done. The lab was a total loss, and several of the prison cells close to it had been badly damaged. A few inmates had even needed to be treated for smoke inhalation. But nopony seemed to know or care about the fate of the lab owner, they simply assumed that he had perished. Either due to injuries sustained during the explosion, or due to the toxic fumes he surely would've breathed in during the fire.
While work was done to fix up the prison cells the explosion and fire had damaged, the inmates inside said cells had to be relocated. One such arrangement was about to bring two of Spider Mare's defeated enemies together, and set into motion a chance meeting that would spell trouble for our web slinging heroine.
The Scorpion grumbled, while she stared absent mindedly at the drab ceiling of her prison cell. Since the fire, the guards had been outright unwilling to let the inmates leave their cells for any reason at all. The cause of the explosion and fire were still under investigation, but many of the guards suspected one of the inmates was responsible.
"Hey, Scorpion Scumbag!" one of the prison guards shouted in a gruff voice, attracting the Scorpion's attention. "You're gonna have to take on a roommate for a while, while we fix up her cell."
"I ain't sharing my cell with anypony!" The Scorpion snapped angrily, not bothering to turn her attention towards the guard. "Find some other sap to take that unfortunate so and so in. I've got much better things to do than share my cell with some insignificant low life."
"Sorry lady, rules are rules," the guard said in reply. "Unless you'd like to sleep in solitary confinement, you'll do as you're told!"
The Scorpion sighed, but still refused to look at the guard. "Fine, go ahead and stuff whatever trash you want in here. It's their funeral."
"You try anything and we'll know about it," the guard warned, as he shoved the inmate into the cell. "Now you two play nice." And he proceeded to shut the cell door, and trot leisurely away.
Reluctantly, the Scorpion turned ever so slowly towards her guest. Her eyes nearly popped out in surprise at who it was!
"Well, this is a fine 'How do you do?' isn't it?" The Mane-iac greeted.
"Just great," The Scorpion muttered under her breath, "They had to stick me with you of all ponies. Still, I suppose a formerly successful business pony is better than some two bit thief. I just hope you never sold one of your so called 'Enchanted Comics' to my daughter."
"Oh, I never sold comics to kids," The Mane-iac insisted. "My 'Enchanted Comics' were solely for adults. But thanks to that one dragon, my entire business went down the drain, and now I'm stuck like this!"
"You got lucky, freak!" The Scorpion muttered. "My so called 'husband' stuffed me into this suit to keep me alive, even though he knew it wasn't ready. Then he replaced me with that Spoiled pony who's name should start with a B, not an R. And when I finally come back to get my revenge, that stinking Spider Mare shows up and stops me, even though the stallion she's protecting was slandering her every chance he got."
"Spider Mare took away my chance for revenge as well," The Mane-iac complained. "I had an entire city paralyzed, completely at my mercy. And then Spider Mare came along and ruined everything, and then she didn't even the decency to leave me to die. What I wouldn't give to bust out of these prison walls and really stick it to her."
"My my, it sounds as if you both have some bad blood with Spider Mare. Well, if it's revenge you're looking for, I think I can help." An unfamiliar voice spoke up, sounding as if it were surrounded by electricity. In fact, it was in a blinding display of electricity that the owner of the voice made itself known. It was an earth pony stallion, or at least what looked like an earth pony stallion. It was hard to say if the creature was even a pony, because its entire body consisted solely of electricity that cracked and sizzled.
"And just who are you?" The Scorpion asked the mysterious creature.
"Well, I used to just be a stallion who did oddjobs," the creature replied. "But now, I call myself, Electro!"
"Electro, huh? What kind of lame name is that?" The Mane-iac teased.
"Hey, do you want mares want my help or not?!" Electro snapped, shooting off a bolt of electricity that struck the cell wall next to the bed. "I hope that little demonstration has motivated you both to reconsider mocking me," Electro warned. "For now, I wield power the likes of which you two could only dream of! All things electrical are mine to control and destroy!"
"So how is that supposed to help us?" The Scorpion asked.
"Why I am not surprised you two dunderheads fail to realize the possibilites of my powers?" Electro said in a condescending tone. "In my past life, I worked here long enough to know the security systems of this place inside and out. And that knowledge, coupled with my new powers, is going to be the key to getting us out of here. That is, if you agree to my terms."
"Terms? What terms?" The Scorpion asked.
"Oh, nothing much. The two of you simply must agree to let me call all the shots," Electro insisted with a fiendish smile. "In terms of sheer power alone I outrank you both, but I also easily trump you when it comes to brain power. I can come up with a plan that is guranteed to bring Spider Mare to us, and guranteed to ensure her defeat. But I can't pull it off if you two are left to your own ambitions."
"A control freak, huh?" The Mane-iac grumbled. "Well, you can forget it! Scorpion and I want to defeat Spider Mare on our own terms!"
"Yeah! We take no orders from the likes of you!" The Scorpion added.
"Well, isn't that a pity?" Electro scoffed. "Here I thought the two of you would give anything to be free of this prison. I suppose I was mistaken. Very well then, feel free to stay here and rot for the rest of your days. I will escape on my own, and have the glory of being the one who crushed Spider Mare completely!" And with that, Electro turned and proceeded towards the prison cell bars, which he knew he would be able to pass right through.
"Wait!" The Mane-iac cried.
"Why should I wait?! I have better things to do than bother with the likes of you!" Electro said angrily, refusing to turn his head.
"Please, don't leave us!" The Scorpion pleaded. "We were wrong to mock you! You can call all the shots if you want, just please don't leave us stuck in this prison! We'll do anything!"
Electro smirked rather fiendishly as those words reached his ears. "I must admit the two of you make for pretty good beggers," he said, in a tone that sounded almost sadistic. "Very well, if you're really so desperate to swear allegiance to me, you may join! But know this! Should you disobey me at any point, I will not hesitate to fry you both right on the spot! Do I make myself clear?!"
The Scorpion and The Mane-iac gulped. "Y-yes sir." they said at once.
"Excellent," Eectro smiled. "Now then, if you're ready, let's blow this dump!"
"And just how do you plan to do that?" The Mane-iac asked. "In case you haven't noticed, there are security cameras every which way. They'll notice us for sure if we try to flee."
"Those cameras won't be a problem for long," Electro smirked. "Just watch." He marched over to the wall the security camera was mounted on, and slowly morphed into a massive wave of electricity. Said wave shot itself into the camera, traveling along the circuits and disappearing from the sight of both The Scorpion and The Mane-iac.
When Electro returned, the camera had shorted out completely, the cell door had slid open, and the alarm had gone off. "Come on, now's our chance! I've fried the security cameras control system, they're offline for good!" he shouted to The Scorpion and The Mane-iac.
"But the guards will be here any minute, we'll never make it!" The Mane-iac said nervously.
"Oh, I did more than just short circuit the security cameras," Electro cackled. "I figured the guards would need a little distraction to keep them occupied. I've opened every cell in this entire complex, it's a full scale prison break! The guards will be far too preoccupied with the rest of the inmates to be able to catch us!"
"So we're just going to make a run for it and hope for the best?" The Scorpion asked.
"Don't be silly, we're not going for the direct approach!" Electro explained, as he shot off bolts of electricity at the devices fixed to The Scorpion's tail and The Mane-iac's mane. "The both of you have your powers back, and you're going to need them! Scorpion, use your acid to open a hole in the rear wall, that's going to be our doorway out of here!"
"Oh, I am so gonna enjoy this!" The Scorpion snickered, as she fired off a bast of acid from her tail. The acid quickly dissolved the brick wall at the back of the prison cell, creating a hole to the outside.
"Okay, Mane-iac, use your mane to swing us around to the front gate!" Electro instructed. "I've already taken care of our transportation problem."
"Please keep all hooves and tails inside the ride at all times!" The Mane-iac laughed, as she grabbed The Scorpion and Electro, and then used her mane to latch onto the outer walls of the prison. In a matter of seconds, all three were at the front gate, were an abandoned police carriage awaited them.
As the carriage drove away from the prison, and sped off into the city of Manehattan itself, The Scorpion and The Mane-iac celebrated their escape. "Electro, we're pleased to have you as our ally." The Scorpion smiled.
"And as our way of saying thanks, we're going to get you a little present," The Mane-iac added. "If you're going to be a super villan, you need a costume that strikes fear into the hearts of your opponents."
"A costume sounds lovely." Electro smirked. In his mind he was thinking. "You'd better prepare yourself, Spider Mare! Because you're about to be in for the shock of your life!"