A small farmhouse in the middle of the countryside. One would scarcely give it a second glance as they drove by, not knowing the secrets that it kept. Burrowed beneath the ground, missiles and tanks were at the ready. In the fields a distance away, fighter jets were at the ready. Inside the house were heavily armed soldiers, eyes peeled, observing the movement of any individuals daring to show themselves. This wasn't an ordinary farmhouse, obviously, but the meeting grounds for a sinister and desperate band of terrorists.
Huddled in the basement was an elite group, the creme de la creme of Cobra hierarchy. The chair at the head of the table, however, was vacant. None would dare lay claim to the role of 'leader' at this critical juncture, especially with the silent ninja in the corner polishing his sword and glaring at any that approached the chair. The ninja, then, was Storm Shadow. His muscular features veiled in the loose white garb that he wore, the mask showing little of his features.
At the table was Major Bludd, temporarily the commander of Cobra's military. He had placed himself about as far from the head of the table as possible. Though he was a man of power, he did not want that seat of power for himself. He couldn't do it, and knew it well. He rubbed his hands nervously, waiting.
Doctor Mindbender stood at the back wall nearest to both the ninja and the head chair. He admired himself in the mirror, curling his moustache. He was, effectively, the head of the science division within Cobra. Although he lusted for power, he preferred to do his controlling from behind a puppet leader. Cobra Commander wasn't an easy one to manipulate, the usual gifts of money and women were of little interest to him. He didn't really want to lead Cobra, though most would rather he lead than Bludd.
Sitting on the right hand side closest to the vacant chair of Cobra Commander, his feet reposing on the table, was the mercenary Zartan. He hadn't, strictly speaking been invited, but no one had the courage to ask him to leave. Beyond which, they realized, his services might well be needed before the day ended.
Also present were Copperhead, in charge of the sea division of the army. Firefly, demolitions expert. Scrap Iron, a jack of all trades. Lastly there was the lowly secretary and two heavily armed Cobra guards. The latter moved outside the door when the last two guests arrived. They represented the financial arm of Cobra, Extensive Enterprises, the Crimson Twins: Tomax and Xamot. The pair were identical in every respect, but for a scar that marred the face of Xamot, the younger by a few minutes.
Once everyone had taken their seats Major Bludd stood and gave a brief recap of the recent events. "As most of you know by now, Cobra Commander, Destro and the Baroness have been taken captive by G. I. Joe. We're not entirely sure what they plan to do with them, although a trial and eventual execution is expected. The question is, what do we do about it?"
"We must rescue them. It is the honourable thing to do."
"Pfah! What good has Cobra Commander done us? Each time he leads, he leads us to failure."
"And who would you have lead us? You?"
"Certainly not."
"No one would follow a bore like him."
Zartan leaned back in his chair. Everyone's response had been predictable. Storm Shadow the honourable. Doctor Mindbender, obsessed with taking over and the twins hating him in turn. Finally he shifted his legs to the floor. "It's obvious that you're going to have to rescue him. Without him you are reduced to a bunch of school girls, debating over which should rule. At least under Cobra Commander you are united in your hatred," he said, steepling his fingers. "For a small fee I could even..."
"With you there is no such thing as a 'small fee,' Zartan," Major Bludd interrupted. "But in your own way, you're right. A rescue attempt must be made on the Joes. We'll send every plane, tank and soldier at them. They can't stand before our might."
"And have them destroy every last man?" Tomax asked.
"Wasting all our money so that Cobra Commander may return," continued his brother Xamot.
"To a decimated army?" they both concluded.
"And I suppose you blokes have a better idea?"
"Indeed we do," the twins said, "but we choose stealth over military."
"That's just what the Joes'll expect. They know our forte is our trickery. They'll never expect a frontal assault."
The argument raged on for hours with neither side giving an inch. Major Bludd was convinced that his plan would work the best, with his supporters, while the Twins and theirs felt that they could sneak in. Furious all parties stalked from the basement to return to their respective bases.
* * *
As Storm Shadow climbed into his Rattler he considered his options. There were ultimately three possibilities here. He could join up with Major Bludd, the Twins or strike out on his own. If he were another man he might be curious to see where the key players within Cobra fell, where their loyalties were. He might even have used that information to help him make up his own mind on who to help. But he wasn't that kind of guy. He was a man of honour. Cobra Commander needed him, and he highly doubted that any of his other lackeys would be successful. Which really only left the one option open.
* * *
The war room of the Terrordrome. It was a truly intimidating place for one who was there for the first time. The walls were decorated with grinning skulls, named after the various members of G. I. Joe. A testament to the glory that could be Cobra. No one had ever asked Cobra Commander where he had found them all, though. Some things were best left unasked.
On this day, Major Bludd was formulating a battle plan on G. I. Joe headquarters. The trial for Cobra Commander, Destro and the Baroness had been set, and the route the Joes would have to take was an obvious one. Luckily there was a portion of the route that would lead next to the river banks. This was where Cobra planned to make their attack. A scale model of the grounds was laid out, hundreds of figurines representing their forces were neatly placed on building tops, in the river and blocking both ends of the road.
The plan was a simple one. With Firefly leading the air forces, Copperhead in charge of the sea forces and Major Bludd taking control of the ground units, they would hit their enemies with everything they had until the Joes buckled, were wiped out and their comrades freed. Who knew, maybe G. I. Joe would suffer so great a loss that they would be vanquished forever.
"Excellent plan, Major, but where do I fit in?" Scrap Iron asked.
"You? You'll be in charge of the Terrordrome, just in case G. I. Joe decides to attack us when we're vulnerable."
"As you command, Major," Scrap Iron said, obviously displeased. He turned to one of his lackeys. "Hauler. Pass our orders around to the men. We strike at noon!"
"Figures. I get stuck with carrying all this paper. And here I thought I was going to be doing something important," Hauler mumbled, leaving.
* * *
Extensive Enterprises. A major landmark in the downtown core. Everyone knew of the building, but few realized that it served as a means of getting money to Cobra, and those who did had wisely decided to keep their mouths shut. It was really no surprise then to learn that the place was bustling with activity.
Doctor Mindbender, criminal genius with poor fashion sense, was busily putting the last touches on an insect sized device. It was his latest invention, one he'd been working on for quite some time really. It was a surveillance device that could be controlled remotely by a second device sitting across the table. It could also fly around with minimal effort and at a high speed. "With this, you will stand a greater chance of surprising your enemies. You will know how many there are or spy around corners without being seen. It's pure genius," he rattled on.
"We don't really need the sales pitch," Tomax stated.
"Just the product, dear Mindbender," Xamot concluded.
"Of course. How foolish of me. Here it is," he said, handing it over. The Twins nodded and departed at once for G. I. Joe headquarters.
* * *
Flint didn't like it, not one bit. As the man in charge of the Joe compound, temporarily while Duke was away on assignment, he was thereby responsible for ensuring that Cobra Commander didn't slip out of their grasp. That was why he was standing guard over the Commander and his cell mates, the Baroness and Destro. With him were five of G. I. Joe's best, and that was just gathered around the cell. Countless others were roaming the halls making sure that nothing, absolutely nothing, got that far. Even still, he'd be happiest when the three snakes were finally sitting in the electric chair.
* * *
Tomax peered over his brother's shoulder at the little video screen that the remote control box provided and couldn't help but grin. Eight patrols of two Joes each plus the six at the cell itself. It shouldn't pose a problem. Everyone was jittery, and seemed to be making frequent reports. That, in itself, would make life difficult, but not impossible.
From their vantage point atop a hill near G. I. Joe headquarters, the twins were able to discuss plans without fear of making too much noise or wasting valuable time.
* * *
Mutt guarded the exterior gate, his faithful hound Junkyard sniffing the air. No Cobra creep was going to get by either of them. The dog's ears pricked up. It had detected a scent nearby. He lunged forward, pulling his master forcefully in that direction. "Alright, Cobra. Come out with your hands up or Junkyard here's going to have you for supper," he shouted at the shadows. "Wait! Aw shoot! Look out Junk!" but it was too late, the terrified skunk that he had found had sprayed its noxious gas on the two. "Mutt to Cross Country. I'm going inside, send someone to replace me. Junkyard and I just had a run-in with a skunk."
"No problem Mutt. I'm on my way."
As the dog handler and his canine companion walked away, grumbling, a pair of shadows sprinted quietly as mice through the gate and into the base proper behind Mutt.
* * *
Observing everything, although neither G. I. Joe nor the Crimson Twins knew it, was Storm Shadow from his vantage point inside a troop transport vehicle. It was this same one that had been outfitted earlier in the day for transporting its three prisoners. He shut the flap and pondered whether or not he should go to his hiding place in the cargo hold of the vehicle or aid the Twins. He opted to maintain a vigilance. It might turn out that they'd be adding two more sets of shackles to this truck.
* * *
Tomax and Xamot were very good at their jobs. They could run faster than most of the Joes, were easily more agile than them too. What they lacked in muscle they made up for with cunning and intelligence. So it was remarkably easy for them to get all the way to the detention centre without anyone being the wiser. It was at those big double doors that they saw their first problem. Standing at attention, his gun resting lightly in one hand, was the brutish Joe, Gung-Ho.
Not that this wasn't expected, the bug had told them as much, but once he was taken out of the picture they would have a finite amount of time to disarm the remaining Joes and get to the cell block. They waited until just after he'd put his radio away, both running and performing a flying kick that connected with his jaw. He fell like a ton of bricks to the floor. "Ten minutes, dear brother," Tomax said evenly. The countdown was on.
* * *
Lady Jaye walked over to her boyfriend, Flint, and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "It's okay. Cobra's probably so badly disorganized that if they try anything, it won't be enough. We've got them where we want them," she said.
"I'm just getting a little nervous. Every sound makes me think Cobra's about to jump on us," he replied.
* * *
A few metres away Tomax and Xamot were beating the stuffing out of Cover Girl and her partner, Roadblock. They left the bodies where they fell and sprinted on. "A minute to spare," Xamot said.
* * *
Six Joes were there, people would later remember. The best of the best. Flint, Lady Jaye, Spirit, Dusty, Breaker and Snow Job. Ninja stars soared down the hall as the twins made the long rush to prevent an alarm from being sounded. Breaker cried out sharply as one of the stars caught him in the shoulder and the other grazed his neck. Thinking quickly, Destro reached through the bars and grabbed a startled Snow Job, cracking his skull on the heavy metal bars. Spirit lunged forward and met the first of the twins, Xamot. Tomax rushed past, pulling sharply on the Native American's hair. Xamot used this opportunity to flatten him in one punch.
Flint grabbed Dusty's shoulder and nodded to Lady Jaye. There was a reason the two found themselves working together frequently, and it was for an instance such as this, where their rapport was so strong that no actual words needed to be said. She threw one of her spears hard and managed to cast a net around Tomax. Xamot flipped out of the way and dashed in, grappling with the woman before she could get off another spear.
Xamot suddenly went limp and fell to the ground, unconscious. Lady Jaye and Dusty, who had been trying to pull him off, turned and looked over at Flint. He was holding a broken rifle over Tomax' equally unconscious body.
* * *
"Those fools have ruined everything!" Major Bludd fumed, his knuckles clutching the steering wheel. The Joes had made it publicly known that the Crimson Twins too would be tried for crimes against America later that day. It was only three hours until that time and most of the forces Cobra would use were already getting into position. The only thing left was the air force. Beside him was the quickly promoted Nightowl. She seemed like the most promising candidate to some day take a seat at the head table. In desperate times, such a promotion could only inspire confidence and courage, he hoped.
"Maybe it won't be that bad," Nightowl replied, "we still outnumber the Joes, and they'll never expect a second attempt so soon."
"You're right, Nightowl. Of course we'll do it. This is a mission being led by Major Bludd, what could go wrong? Copperhead, Firefly, report."
"Copperhead here. The ships are ready, just waiting for your word."
"Firefly reporting. Everything's set to go. They won't even know what hit them."
"Excellent work, my boys. Cobra Commander will reward you well when we succeed."
* * *
It wouldn't work, Zartan was sure of that much. Major Bludd was a fool if he thought it would. Even in the short time that Zartan had been fighting G. I. Joe he knew that they would have hundreds guarding that caravan, and more in hiding nearby all along the route. They were probably expecting a desperate, frightened attack. Like a wounded badger, Cobra would fight with everything they had, and G. I. Joe knew it. That was part of the reason why Zartan was doing what he was doing. His brother and sister had cased out the court, learned a few names and had already kidnapped two members of the jury. Zartan himself would be ready to play his part, if he was needed. The judge sat terrified nearby, too scared really to make a move. "Remember, Judge Thatcher, your wife and three year old son will be most saddened to hear a guilty verdict. In fact, that will be the last thing they ever feel," Zartan said, his eyes blazing slightly. He turned back to the window to see the battle beginning.
* * *
Storm Shadow was uncertain as to exactly what was transpiring outside, but he could make a fairly safe wager that it was Major Bludd making his opening assault. Using a hole he'd cut into the floor of the vehicle and a miniature periscope, Storm Shadow took stock of the situation. There were two people in the front cabin, Quickick driving and another Joe, and four Joes guarding the prisoners. Of these four he only recognized Barbeque. The time was right, he had to act.
* * *
Quickick was the first to notice the strange odours coming from the back of the truck and recognized them immediately for what they were. He veered to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes, before slumping over the wheel unconscious.
Storm Shadow climbed into the truck, taking a look at his handiwork. The knockout gas had been effective and caused everyone except Cobra Commander and Destro to fall unconscious. The two leaders of Cobra could be accounted for by the masks they wore over their faces.
* * *
Duke spotted the command jeep that Major Bludd was using. He knew from experience that if one took out the leader that the troops would become demoralized and more easily beaten. "Units three and four, cover me. I've got the Major in my sights," he snapped just as his engines were taken out from behind. "Ah, never mind. Bailing out." He grabbed the eject lever and pulled hard. As he tugged on the parachute cord he groaned. He, along with his wing mates, had been shot down by a G. I. Joe tank.
* * *
"What's happening?" Nightowl asked, looking through her binoculars.
Major Bludd turned to face her, a broad grin on his face. "The Commander's brilliant plan. We had to advance things a few days but it's worked out perfectly. Our double agents have pulled the ultimate coup," he cackled, as he reached for the radio, "Chopper one, it looks like we've got the Commander's vehicle. Go pick it up."
* * *
Zartan spat on the floor. "It would appear, Judge Thatcher, that your services won't be needed after all. You'll find your family in the basement downstairs. And now, I must be leaving," he snarled and left.
* * *
The battle was a rout for Cobra. With sabotage and comrades turning on them, G. I. Joe was simply unable to turn their powerful firepower on their enemy. At length Duke, having commandeered a motorcycle for himself, was forced to concede the fight and call a retreat. He hated losing the twenty men that Cobra had managed to take hostage, some of them he knew well, but there was nothing he could do. He had lost.
* * *
It was sometime later, back at the Terrordrome. The chief members of Cobra were once again gathered, but this time the atmosphere was different. The fear and desperation had been replaced by joy and celebration. A major blow had been dealt to G. I. Joe. Cobra Commander rested on his throne, looking every bit like the man in charge. "Major Bludd. I don't believe you've properly introduced our new members," he said, "why don't you remedy this?"
"Certainly, Cobra Commander. A few weeks ago you asked me to find members of G. I. Joe that would be willing to join our side. With a little patience and the right motivation I found two: Kurt Schnurr, aka Airtight - Chemical and biological warfare expert. Courtney A. Kreiger, aka Cover Girl - Mechanics and armour expert," he said, as each stepped forward.