"This is your room?" Storm blinked.

"Uh huh!" Billy ran towards his bed, jumped, and landed in the middle, effectively messing up the covers. "I sleep right here," he told him informatively.

"Oh, really?" The ninja rolled his eyes. "I thought you slept on the floor. I had no idea you slept on the only bed in the room."

Billy sat up and stared at him. "Are you stupid? Of course I sleep on the bed!"

"That was your first lesson on 'sockism,' kid," Storm replied dryly as he replaced the ceiling tile and began walking around the room. At a first glance, it looked like a normal boy's room - the walls were painted blue, there was a small drawing table complete with crayons and paper, and toy helicopters and soldiers were littered everywhere. But as he continued his inspection, he noticed Cobra symbols on... everything.

"This is insane," he muttered as he stared at a poster of Cobra Commander above the caption, 'Hail Cobra!' The toy helicopters, planes, and soldiers all had the Cobra insignia, and the symbol was painted on the wall above Billy's bed. Heck - even the stencils on the drawing table were of the Cobra symbol. "This looks like some sort of propaganda torture room."

Billy didn't respond to the comment. He was too busy staring at the symbol on his pillow and trying to mimic the snake's opened mouth.

"Hey, kid."

"Billy!"

"Fine, Billy. Do you have any kind of secret hiding places in your room?"

The boy narrowed his eyes in an attempt to appear suspicious, but only managed to look like he was nearsighted. "If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret." He steepled his fingers and glared playfully at Storm over them.

"Are any of them big enough to fit you?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Fine. I'll go looking, then." Storm got down and looked under the boy's bed. Immediately, he spotted a shoe box.

"No, no, no!" Fifty pounds of determined kid slammed into him. "No touching!"

"Not touching! Chill out, kid. Do you want someone hiding under your bed waiting to kill you?" Storm reached under the bed and carefully felt around as two small fists assaulted his back. "What the hell is in that box, anyways? Drugs? Pictures of girls?"

"NO TOUCHING!" Billy screamed.

"I'm not touching! Gosh, kid, give me a break." He grabbed the back of Billy's shirt and pulled the boy off of him.

The Commander's son was momentarily stunned into silence, then exploded. "You touched me!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"I touched your shirt."

"YOU TOUCHED ME!" Billy started thrashing and kicking on the floor.

Storm's ears rang, and he felt a persistent throb on his forehead. "Shut up. Please, shut up."

"I'm gunna tell dad you touched me!"

"Go ahead." Grumbling, Storm pressed an ear against the wall and began knocking in various places, seeking out thin spots. "See if I care."

Billy blinked. That threat usually worked. "I-I'm gunna do it!"

"Like I said - go right on ahead." Storm took a step back and frowned at the walls. They were fortified with concrete and unusually thick. At least he wouldn't have to worry about a possible insurgent crashing into Billy's room through the walls.

The child remained quiet for a while, struggling to decide what to do in this situation. Threatening to tell his father usually scared people into doing what he pleased. Maybe... the ninja was faking it. Maybe he really was scared, but didn't want to show it. After all, isn't that what ninjas did? Pretend?

Satisfied with his evaluation, Billy got up off of the floor and walked over to the ninja. "Stormy-"

"It's either Storm Shadow or Storm - not 'Stormy.' Gosh, kid. It's not that difficult."

"Can I call you bobbyguard?"

Storm glared down at him. "No, and it's bodyguard. Bah-dee-guard. Not 'bobbyguard.'"

"Stormy." Billy ignored the helpful pronunciation guide and tugged on one of his coattails. "I know your secret," he whispered loudly.

Storm's expression didn't change, not that Billy could tell with his mask in the way. "Really."

Billy nodded. "You're scared of Father," he said triumphantly.

Sighing, Storm went back to checking every nook and cranny. "I'm not scared of anybody."

"Don't worry!" Billy patted his leg reassuringly. "Your secret is safe with me - I won't tell Father you touched me."

"For the last time, kid-"

"BILLYYY!"

Storm glared at him. "... Kid, I didn't touch you, and I'm not scared of the Commander so you can tell him whatever the heck you want. Tell him I turned pink and sprouted wings, for all I care."

Billy looked dumbfounded at the mental image. "But..."

"But everyone else here is afraid of him?" Storm finished. "Well, are Destro and the Baroness scared of him?"

Billy contemplated the question. He didn't see Destro around much, and the one time he wandered into his workshop, all he got was very loud, very firm, "GO. AWAY."

Then there was the Baroness. Billy liked her a little more. She didn't yell at him or tell him to go away. In fact, she gave him a hug and some strange treat once. She also said his name funny, like, "Bee-lee," but only when his father wasn't around.

"They're not scared," Billy finally answered quietly. "They're important."

"Exactly. Their presence is vital to Cobra's whole operation, so Cobra Commander can't do anything to them."

Now curious, Billy tilted his head back to look at the white-clad ninja. Unintentionally, he rested both hands on Storm Shadow's leg for support. "You said you're not afraid. How are you important?"

"Guess."

"You..." Billy's face scrunched up. "You..." He scratched his head, thinking.

Storm Shadow grew impatient. "I was your father's bodyguard. I keep him alive when people want to kill him."

"Ohhhhh... wait." Confused, the boy yanked on his coattails again. "But you're my bobbyguard!"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Reaching down, Storm freed his uniform and held the ends out of Billy's reach. The constant tugging was starting to bother him. "I got reassigned. The Commander really doesn't want anything bad happening to you."

Suddenly realizing he had nothing to pull on, Billy jumped up and down, staring at the man's hand. "GIMME! MINE!"

"No." Storm fiddled with the door, making sure the locks were secure.

"I WANNA!"

"My coattails - not yours. Get your own." Ignoring the child's indignant protests, he turned his attention back to the door. It had two locks - one controlled by a panel outside and one that could be locked from inside the room, just in case an intruder managed to enter the correct code. The door itself was strong and a little heavy, so that it couldn't be kicked down.

Storm slowly exhaled. Cobra Commander did a good job keeping his son relatively safe in his own room.

"STORMYY! GIMME!" Billy had given up jumping and was now standing on tip-toes, wiggling his fingers at him.

His only response was to walk over to Billy's bed and sit on it, coattails safely tucked under him.


A/N: I actually have no idea how the Baroness would say Billy's name, so I just... kinda tried to hear her voice in my head and write the pronunciation. Please tell me the correct way if you know what it is and I'll change it.