Reconnaissance again… "Why 'm I always stuck on this stupid shit of a job? Tri-Klops has his Doomseekers; they should be doin' this, not me…" Trap-Jaw grumbled as he flew over the last out-skirting volcano vents of Mount Barathram. "I should be doin' somethin' else, like plunderin' a village…" He shot out whole heartedly, then narrowing his eyes he gave a low grumble turning to the Sky-Sleds controls. "Uh, oh... shit..." The beacon on the console was now flashing bright red; on. Communication link established, but with who..? "Crap..."
"Bored are you, Trap-Jaw?" The boss's voice came from the small speakers; Trap-Jaw winced at the pleasantry of Skeletors sing song tone. All too friendly, all too fake. "Well then, off you go. Off to plunder and pillage." There was a pause for a moment when Trap-Jaw thought there was going to be nothing else, that perhaps maybe… but of course not… "Oh, but Trap-Jaw, don't forget, do finish your reconnaissance first." Skeletor laughed manically and there was a flash from the control panel, the Sky-Sled lost power and went into a steep horizontal dive towards the ground. "But, on foot." The harsh yet emotionless tone echoed over the winds. Those were the last words before the speaker burst into sparks and flames. Trap-Jaw squeezed his eyes shut and pulled up on the handles, trying to steer the powerless sled. How could this be happening?
"Me an' my big trap!" He shouted, readying for impact. The sled crashed, bounced a few times and then skid towards the beginning of the Mystic Wall ruins, throwing Trap-Jaw from his seat and even closer to the broken stone. He too bounced a few times and then stopped just a few feet from a large boulder accompanied by a handful half its size, his mechanical arm now torn to pieces. "Stupid, fuckin' Skeletor!" He shouted when he sat up, watching the Sky-Sled burn, the flames dancing on his eyes, mirroring his furry. He had landed with his mechanical arm underneath his back, twisted in a way it wasn't meant to. His arm sparked and began to smoke, a sure sign that it was broken. Tri-Klops wasn't going to be happy about this. "Great, now what 'm I supposed ta do?" He looked around and shakily stood up, mechanical legs whining.
All of a sudden there was a shuffling noise behind the boulder and a half hearted chuckle. "Make enough noise Trap-Jaw?" Teela, the female warrior and the daughter of Duncan: Man-At-Arms, walked around, snake staff being twirled in hand. "That was a pretty nasty spill." She joked as she tapped her staff into the palm of her other hand, a smug smile etched on her oval shaped face, but her smile faded as Trap-Jaw flinched and grunted in pain, a jolt of visible electricity running from his broken mechanical arm through his torso, making him struggle to stay up. "That looks painful." She lowered her stance as Trap-Jaw knelt on the ground.
"Yea, well, you're th' one whose gunna be hurtin' real bad in a moment." He jumped up and lunged at Teela, attempting to swing his arm to smack the warrior, trying to change it out of habit into his claw. His arm detached from the sudden movement and sent another wave of electricity through him, paralyzing his body. His eyes widened and he gasped as he crashed into Teela who wasn't ready for his stumble. It threw her off guard and cost her as they both went falling to the ground, Trap-Jaw on top pinning Teela down, both now immobile. Her leg was twisted out slightly in a most painful way and it immediately began to go numb and prickle due to cut off blood circulation.
"Hey, get off of me you sick bas-" Teela started to scream before she realized the pain Trap-Jaw was in. Sparks were still visibly coming from the shoulder connection, but no giant electrical waves were pulsating. Then she saw it, there was a piece of his robotic arm stuck into the side of his back, a pipe a good two inches in diameter, wedged in deep by the looks of it. "Whoa, hey, you're really hurt," She tried to move, her leg tingling every time she did. "I can't believe this is happening." She mumbled pushing at Trap-Jaw. "Can you get up?" Trap-Jaw shook his head with difficulty, eyes flaring with rage, no more mirrored fire, but now one of his own.
He groaned and tried to move clenching his jaw, shifting his weight as much as possible, glaring at Teela whenever she 'tried' to 'help', receiving a glare from her in turn. As it was, she was weak in his opinion and of no use. And he was still pissed off at Skeletor so therefore saw her helping hand as an attempt to continue fighting; but that's what he wanted honestly, to hit someone. All the same he was able to piece together what it was he did need from her, something she could help with, and it was what the defenders were easily led into. Their oath; to always help others in need. It had worked really well against Stratos, so why not the young defender too? And as a woman, stereotypically, she should have the biggest heart of them all, so it should be easy to get into her head.
Teela on the other hand didn't see herself as helping him. She just wanted him off so she could call for back-up and take him into custody. There was hardly anything there that symbolized concern for the safety of a guy who just tried to kill her. He could bleed out, one less villain to worry about. Just someone get him off!
"I need," Trap-Jaw started, and then flinched as he realized what Teela had meant by really hurt. Teela paused in her own fidgeting for a moment to hear his weakening raspy words. Trap-Jaw hadn't felt the pain in his back before because of the adrenalin, and now a worry was starting to settle into the pit of his stomach. "I need Tri-Klops…" He breathed, forgetting his previous plan for a moment and trying to roll over to the right, the opposite direction of the wound and the now extreme pain. Teela pushed as hard as she could again, Trap-Jaw scrunched his eyes shut and vowed he'd hurt her real good for her damn fidgeting. Why does pain always seem more intense when you finally realize it's there anyways?
"And Sy-Klone said that upper body strength isn't necessary…" Teela huffed as she pushed one last time when Trap-Jaw tried to move. The movements were more than very uncomfortable and by this point she just really wanted him off. His position on top of her was not something that was meant for two enemies, let alone a deranged (Elders knows how old) villain and a young teen Defender to be in, and his damn belt was cutting into her stomach.
With one last push he finally rolled over and winced, clenching his iron jaw shut to stifle his cry of pain from the movement and then again when the pipe brushed the ground, letting it come out in a choked whimper instead. "Ok, you need help, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to get you help." Teela said standing up uneasily and reaching for her communicator. Staring at the blood now seeping from Trap-Jaws side she put a hand to her head and felt a sticky patch. She must have hit it when they went down. Her leg, although still tingling with immense measures, like millions of pins were continuously being stabbed into it, was OK enough to stand on. Even though he was a villain, she knew in her heart it was wrong to leave him to die. And that if she had the others come to arrest him, he would not make it back to the prison cells or even the med bay of the Palace. She needed a medic here and now. What was she to do?
"No," Trap-Jaw grunted, arching his back to keep the pipe from the ground, but hurting himself nonetheless as the pipe inside just tore at his internals. "I need Tri-Klops…" He curled his legs up in pain as he rolled over onto his undamaged side, the side with the missing arm. "He'll know," He reached back to the pipe sticking from his body. "…what ta do." He went to pull it out. Instinct; get the foreign object out.
"Wait!" Teela yelled dropping by his side. "You do that and you'll bleed out, you idiot!" She hissed. "As it is you're lucky the pipe isn't pouring out anything." She then frowned and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm helping one of Skeletors goons." She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from its quarry and held it to the ground for a brief moment before letting go. Trap-Jaws eyes glared at her for a moment for treating him like a child, but then shot to her hands and remained focused on them as she reached for her communicator that she had dropped while restraining him. Her hands were warm, he noticed, even though they were outside where it was cool. "What frequency is he on then?" She asked playing with the buttons; visually not impressed with her prisoner ordering her around. Her father was more than qualified to fix anything broken on Trap-Jaws Cyborg like body. But there was just so much blood, she didn't want to argue. Trap-Jaw remained staring at her hands, mesmerized and in deep thought. "Hey, wake up! You're dying here!" She snapped.
"Oh, uh… wait, he's not at Snake Mountain today… uh…" He flinched and reached for the intruding pipe again. Teela grabbed his hand and held his arm down, twisting it, meaning business. "He won't have a communicator on 'im today…" Trap-Jaw finished, eyes focusing on Teela's hands again, the new pain a little more pleasant than the one in his back. "You need ta go get 'im… he's…" Trap-Jaw shuddered and his body convulsed. Teela looked to the ground and noticed that there was now a river of blood surrounding the lower rocks and quickly let go of his arm, letting him have his space to shift into a more comfortable position again, but held on again when he stopped. If she needed to treat him like Adam, she would.
"Where is he? I'll go get him if you're sure he's the only one who can help. But I'm positive my father can help you just as much as Tri-Klops-" She didn't finish her sentence. Trap-Jaw ripped his arm free from her grasp and pushed away, rolling awkwardly to his other side, causing a great amount of pain once more.
"Yea right," he breathed deep, the breath ragged. He was now kneeling on his hand and knees uneasily, ready to collapse. "Like… I'm goin' ta go to yer dad… an' the other Masters for help… just ta get locked up afterwards…" He wheezed and collapsed when he tried to push himself into a sitting position up on his knees. He cussed loudly causing Teela to flinch slightly. It was a sorry sight and it truly did pain her, watching another struggle like that. She does have a heart after all. "Tri-Klops… knows me… inside… an' out… He's th' only… one I… trust…" He tried to sit up again, this time Teela helped, watching the wound closely, knowing well what would happen if it was to rip through his sides. There had been a few incidents like it back at the palace with the guards between malfunctions and other attacks on the Palace by either Skeletor and his men or other unwanted evil-doers.
"You guys have trust among each other?" She joked with a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood as she watched the little blood rivers. Trap-Jaw clenched his jaw again and squeezed his eyes closed as he felt the muscles and tendons in his side tare against the jagged edge of the pipe. Perhaps that Kidney thing that Tri-Klops always warned him about was getting poked too, the one that was apparently going to shut down with all the 'crap' he eats and drinks. "Ok then, I'll go find Tri-Klops." Teela sighed, giving into the brutes stubbornness. "Where would he be?" She asked looking him in the eyes, her own saying she meant what she said. A heroes promise.
Trust was a big issue when it came to saving lives, and right now Trap-Jaw needed to trust her. She squeezed his shoulder and then walked around to his wounded side as he stared at her in a far off way. "But I still think I should alert my father too, just in case we can't find Tri-Klops. He would have a med-table at the ready for our arrival."
Trap-Jaw felt his pulse miss a beat; at first out of painful instinct and then the realization of a better sensation. The feeling of the warm hand that had been clenched on his shoulder was more than welcome, a great change from the one usually around his throat. Even Evil-Lyn's hands were ice cold. "I'm going to bandage this up as best I can." Her voice was distant for a moment, both to his ears and in her voice itself; she was busy, in thought. She tore off some of her outfit around her stomach and pressed the cloth to the wound as gentle as she could to use as a makeshift gauze. Trap-Jaw let his breath exhale with a whimper and he grabbedthe closest thing in each of hers, her foot, giving a small glare in her general direction that stated to get away from there. "Sorry, but we need to stop the bleeding, unless you like being a dead-man-walking." She stood up. "Oh yea, with no chance of survival to add." She said leaning back down to pry his hand off her foot.
She then walked over and grabbed some lone un-burnt wires that were thrown from the Sky-Sled and tied them around his waist to hold the make-shift gauze in place. His belt was no help so she ran her fingers around trying to decipher how to take it off. Trap-Jaw sat still, quivering every now and then. He didn't really know what to think, which usually wasn't very abnormal, but in this instant, he would have had plenty to say if another were in his place. Heck, even if he were more cohereant he'd have tons to harrase her with as her hands circled his waist, just like any other woman. But his mouth felt too dry and his head spun too much to even try. Just staying upright was a battle on it's own.
To Teela though it was very awkward to be that close to him, to reach around his waist and care for him like any other of the soldiers back home. To talk to him like an ordinary person in need. What was worse was the race in her chest and the pit of her stomach she felt when he had grabbed her foot. Her head told her he was going to attack, but there was something that said otherwise, something entirely different. She had never been near him this long in any battle they fought so she shook her head and left it to plain discomfort.
"That will need to do for now." Teela stood up and looked around again, ignoring the belt when she couldn't figure it out. She gave an exasperated sigh. "OK, just point me in the direction Tri-Klops is in and-" Trap-Jaw grabbed her leg this time, nearly knocking her over from the sudden startle. It was the type of clutch that said 'Pay close attention to these next words'
"I'm comin'…" He staggered. "I'm not stayin' here… for someone else or somethin' else… ta pick off…" He tried to pull himself up. "I'll be… OK… at… walkin'… once I'm… up…" He said trying again, voice strained. Teela pushed him back down. "Come on!" He barked, lashing out with his only arm. Teela could see that he wouldn't last much longer, not on his own, but to make that journey, wherever it was…
'There is no option; he needs to be looked after.' Her inner voice said. 'Villain or not, he is dying. It is the right thing to do.'
She sighed lightly, hoping Trap-Jaw didn't hear. He was on his knees leaning on his one arm, shaking. He was breathing in long heavy takes and staring at the ground like it was the last thing he was going to see. Her heart sunk a little more and she took half a step closer. .
"Fine, let's get you up, and we'll start out. How far?" She asked looking around again, making sure there was nothing about to come down on them. 'No one to see this.' She thought. After studying her for a moment, trying to decided weather or not this was a trick Trap-Jaw pointed in the Southern direction of the Dark Hemisphere. Teela noticed his arm muscles were tense from the strain of trying to keep it steady.
"About thirty clicks… that way…" He started; he was taking more breaths as he talked. Teela nodded, almost relieved. It was more than twice that distance to the Palace one way. "Then… we go… underground… a ways…" He smiled a little and wobbled as Teela helped him stand. She had him lean on her for support. "Sorry…" He mumbled softly, not really wanting her to hear. 'Must be I hit my head so hard I can't even utter insults anymore…Supposed to call 'er weak or somethin'.' He grumbled mentally and looked at the girl. 'Heh, I'm gunna end up crushin' 'er if I fall.' He smirked at the thought and then his mind wandered back to when he did fall on her. He frowned. No, she was tougher than that, it had already been proven. He grumbled again as a twitch started on his right eye brow. He knew he hit that, there had been a rock sticking out when he fell on Teela. His head hit it and now it was trickling something slightly. 'Great, I'm gunna bleed out in twenty different places!' He gripped Teela even harder, leaning a little more than necessary in self pity.
Teela looked over at the broken Sky-Sled and sighed as she felt her upper arm fall under pressure from all sides. She ignored it thinking Trap-Jaw was just in pain again. "On foot then, huh, or do you guys hide anything around here?" She asked hopefully as they started their slow walk, the sound of Trap-Jaws legs whirring and whining in protest with each trudge he took. They had been damaged too, but not as bad. It was his upper half he landed and skid across the ground on.
"No," He thought for a moment. "There are doors all over... the place, the vehicles are... a good idea actually… for future use…" He grunted and then grinned, gritting his teeth through the obvious pain as they descended a slight slop. His eyes drooped slightly then opened again, a new rush of sorts beginning to mess with his mind. He smiled down at Teela as she glanced up at him cautiously. It was becoming easier to feign pleasantry the longer he bleed out. Things were beginning to spin a little.
Teela smiled ignorantly at his ability to switch so easily from foe to friend. 'But then again,' she thought, 'He is dying and needs my help...' There had become a buzz about him that unnerved her a little as they traveled, the way he kept looking down at her. It wavered from friendly to feind to friendly to something else she couldn't pin point, but it unsettled her stomach, each state he took. She started to feel uncomfortable; him being hung over her like that. This was not a mission she should be doing alone. 'Oh, how I wish He-Man was here…' She let her mind wander on what would happen if he was there with them. Things would most likely go a lot smoother. He-Man would make Trap-Jaw do what they wanted, or pick the over sized brute up and carry him to wherever in no time.
Walking past a group of boulders Trap-Jaw tripped when his right leg refused to move, pulling Teela down with him. Trap-Jaw all but laughed out loud as he heard Teela stifle a scream. On purpose or accident it was a good thing, because just above a Gryphon flew by carrying Beast-Man and a large crate which had something lashing out of what was most likely breathing slots. The shadows concealed them from the Gryphons powerful vision as it swept its eyes over the terrain, searching for signs of trespassers. "Ok… just up there… is a door… then a room a little ways in. It's got some other Sky-Sleds…" He looked around carefully. "I hope they're in…workin' condition. Be careful…" He said pressing a button under a medium sized stone he lifted, after reassuring himself there was no one else around. "It should help us… go faster." He groaned as he tossed the stone away and pushed himself into darker shadows. Teela walked close to him in case he needed help. "Skeletor's… probably got a… bunch of others… wanderin' 'round in there." He huffed with a cough. "I'm not… in friendly favours… with them… at the moment…" He admitted with a half shrug as his body tried to convulse again, remembering the fight the group of them had.
It was in terms a raciest fight, one that had pushed the group's tolerance towards each other to a breaking point. In other terms they became pissed at one another, scuffed and then later ended up pissing off Skeletor and were therefore punished by the Great Tyrant himself.
Trap-Jaw's punishment at first didn't seem too bad, all he had to do was reconnaissance and try and get Beast Man to either bath himself properly or help him bath his pets, secretly soaping the giant fuzz ball in the process so he had to rinse. Both bathing taskes were near impossible. It all didn't seem too harsh for once, until he got a pipe stuck in his back. 'Once again Skeletor's tryin' ta kill me,' He thought, pushing memories of the past to the back and focusing on the present. To him, anything that happens in the past are just to be built on, and used later to fuel whatever it is that he had planned. The plan itself was still in the process of thought, of course.
Teela looked down the now revealed corridor then glanced back at Trap-Jaw. She didn't trust him, but he didn't look like he could go anywhere on his own, seeing as it took him what seemed like forever to shimmy himself into a better hiding spot. He had somehow managed to pull himself a little more forwards now so he could peer down the tunnel as well, but his breathing was un-rhythmic, and he was shaking from the effort to keep his head up the way it was. 'I should have helped him move.' She scorned herself as she watched him lay there. 'All that movement has started his blood pumping, which just means more blood loss. More blood rivers...' She sighed with a shiver.
"So the guys in here won't care if I'm helping you then, huh?" She asked looking at Trap-Jaw lying on the ground, sweat dripping down his face now from the strain to stay alert. In the dim lighting she could still see that his eyes were falling in and out of focus. He shook his head and let it rest on the ground for a moment and she sighed. "The things we "Good Guys" do." She joked, flashing a weak smile when he looked up at her, before running into one of Snake Mountain's labyrinth like sections. Trap-Jaw frowned for a moment as she ran off but then caught that she was only trying to be light hearted. He chuckled, but the chuckle turned into a vicious cough. He stifled the noise as much as possible, so as not to draw attention to his location and the young female trying to help him, but it was hard as he felt a weight clamp down on his chest. His cough turned to a choke and he began to hope someone, anyone, would come by as he was now making little to no noise even when he tried. Teela was out of sight now.
Down the corridors and through the first open door she could find, Teela slid through the shadows and past the half asleep or brawling guards. Trap-Jaw was right; the others seemed more ticked off than usual, even she could see that, and she didn't live there. Her eyes scanned the area. Two-Bad was off in a corner farther down the corridor pounding on someone. After careful listening and then a lucky move from Two-Bad she was able to see that it was Stinkor. "Poor guy…" She breathed as he cried out accompanied with the sound of a snap, and then she pressed on reminding herself there was someone in worse shape outside waiting for her. The barbaric happenings inside Snake Mountain with its crew were nothing to fret over now, if ever.
The Sky-Sleds were pushed up against the farthest wall of an overlarge chamber room, half covered by a tattered tarp. In an instant Teela had one ready to go, started and straddled. She looked around again in a quick attempt to find some sort of emergency kit and noticed a Doomseeker watching her from behind another sled. "Hey!" She shouted in a whispered tone. "Go find Tri-Klops. Trap-Jaw needs his help, now!" The Doomseeker paused a moment, almost in consideration, and then took off in the opposite direction that Teela thought it would go. "Weird… but it probably knows a faster way to get there itself." She said to the side, revving the engine slightly while pondering the small devices actions once more and then taking off.
Luck was on her side as she exited Snake Mountain; there were no guards in the corridor this time. Sticking to the shadows would have been much harder with the Sky-Sled. They must have noticed Two-Bad and Stinkor and either went to report to Skeletor or had them take it somewhere else, perhaps a more private place to watch. Teela shuddered at how ruthless the low lives of Snake Mountain could be, but it was Skeletors domain, what else was to be expected?
When Teela got back outside it was darker, the stars were just beginning to peek through the purple sky. She pulled up beside Trap-Jaws head and cut the engine, then looked at him closely. When there was no smart ass remark about time being an issue she noticed he wasn't moving. "Hey, Trap-Jaw, you're ride's here." She said getting off, hoping for a stir of some sorts. 'But nothing like a blaster,' She thought. It was entirely possible that Two-Bad and the others had come out this way and noticed their beaten up comrade lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and then quickly devised a plan to lure her out and capture her when her guard was down. But there was nothing, no movement anywhere except off in the far distance. Probably Beast Man again.
She knelt and pressed her index and middle fingers to Trap-Jaws neck looking for a pulse since he showed no sign of movement to her vocal jabs and insults, it was barley there. "Oh, come on!" she exclaimed running to his back and trying to pull him upwards, a small panic setting in as she realized how big he really was compared to her, now that she was alone not just to fight him but to take care of him. "Trap-Jaw, get up! I can't," She stopped and took a deep breath, setting the unconscious bad guy down again. Letting herself start to panic wasn't going to get anything accomplished. Even though it was a horrible thing, no matter who it was, to have someone die in anothers care. To have been the last with them.
Her eyes wandered around examining her surroundings for anything useful. Something her father had taught her to do. "Use your surroundings to their full potential to give you an advantage." He had said. But there really wasn't anything that was of any use here, except the sled. The trick to that was getting him on it though.
Teela brought the Sky-Sled over as close as she could to the unconscious mans side and set to work at getting the near truly dead weight, that was more than twice her size and way more than five times her weight, off the ground onto their new mode of transportation. "Wake up!" She shouted one last time, hitting him on the back of his left shoulder, ignoring the possibility of someone else hearing them now. Trap-Jaw stirred slightly. She hit him again and then took hold and shook. "Wake up!" She hissed this time.
"What…" He began but Teela silenced him.
"I just need you awake for a little bit here, it can't be that hard. And then you can rest until we get to Tri-Klops." She whispered. "I can't lift you onto the Sky-Sled." Her hands moved under his arm again and pulled up. "You're too damn heavy." She said letting him back down the few inches she had lifted him. Trap-Jaw smiled weakly as he felt her trying to move him around.
"It's all th'… armor…" He joked, coughing and quickly whipping at his face. "I'd…" Teela shushed him again by placing her hand over his mouth, but quickly removed it, a small fear that he would bite her hand off was tugging at her insides. Then she commanded him to get onto the sled. She looked at her hand and frowned deeply. He was starting to cough up blood. The more time spent like this the more she was thinking of just calling in her father and the other Defenders for help. Too much time was slipping by.
Trap-Jaw let Teela help him stand, shakily and looked at his belt. "This ol' thing... by itself... must weigh... Thirty pounds." He choked on a weak chuckle and tugged at the belt. "Might as well... take it off... Be too much... weight already... for the Sled." He pushed off Teela, nearly sending her tumbling to the ground, and with empty eyes unfastened all three hidden latches. The heavy Steel belt fell to the ground with a dull thud and rolled slightly down the small hill. He looked to his robotic arm attatchment joint but thought better of it. Tri-Klops would kill him if he lost the whole thing. "'Alright," he said softly. "Lets go." He said glancing once more at his belt. Teela glared at him as she regained her composure and grabbed hold of him once more.
Once they were settled and Teela was sure Trap-Jaw wasn't going to fall off she kicked the Sled into high gear and took off like a Serpinataur being perused by a Mother Dragon across the Dark Hemisphere skies, keeping low enough as to not draw any unwanted attention. Any more delays could mean the death of Trap-Jaw, and that was something the young warrior did not want on her conscience for the rest of her life, even if he is a criminal. It was still a life. His blood was now literally on her hands.