The Return of Serpentor
Disclaimer: Same as before.
A/N: I am so sorry about the long wait. I was very busy with Christmas and all. But I'm back now and here's chapter 25. I hope you like and please review!
Chapter 25: The Aftermath
"Belay the celebration, people!" Hawk said sternly before it could get out of hand. There would be plenty of time for it later, but first there were other things to take care of. "We need to check for injuries and losses."
"Hawk's right," Flint said. He kissed Lady Jaye once more and then stepped back and looked around. Broken vehicles and aircraft lay everywhere, as well as pieces of them and tons of debris from the base's explosion. There were bodies lying among it all, but whether they were alive or not, he couldn't tell.
One of those bodies was Serpentor, lying motionless several feet from his mangled Air Chariot. "Do you think he's dead?" He whispered to Lady Jaye, indicating the motionless Serpentor.
Lady Jaye shook her head. "Nah, he's too mean to die that easily," she replied. "Besides, you can see his chest moving."
Flint looked again and saw that she was right. "Darn. I guess I was hoping for a miracle," he replied.
She giggled. "Come on, let's go help Hawk," She said and headed over to where he had landed his plane and was now getting out. As Flint followed her, he said, "I hope our guys that planted the bombs are okay."
Around fifty feet from where the base used to be, Mainframe groaned and brushed debris off of him and rose shakily to his feet. "Is everyone okay?" He asked.
Near him, the rest of the Joes were getting to their feet as well. "I think so," Gung-Ho replied.
"Well, aside from a pounding headache and ringing in my ears, I'm okay," Dusty answered.
"Nothing is broken," Footloose put in.
"Well, that was fun," Gung-Ho told Mainframe witheringly.
"Yeah, so fun that I want to do it again," Footloose added sarcastically.
Mainframe held up his hands. "Hey, this wasn't my idea," he defended himself. "I was just following orders."
"Wait, what about Zartan and his brother and sister?" Gung-Ho wanted to know.
Mainframe looked to where he was laying in a heap with Zandar, and then to Zarana, who had rolled a few feet away from him when he'd landed. "We take those two bozos in," he replied, indicating the two unconscious men.
Dusty nodded. "Right, but what about Zarana? Shouldn't we take her in too?"
"Damn straight, we will," Gung-Ho answered before Mainframe could reply.
Mainframe gulped. The only place he wanted to take Zarana was to a hospital, and then stay with her as the doctors helped her. But he couldn't just tell Gung-Ho that. He wouldn't understand. So he had to think of something else, and fast. "She needs medical attention," he said at last. "We need to get her to a hospital."
"All three of them will receive medical attention when we take them in," Dusty told him.
"Yeah, as much as they don't deserve it," Gung-Ho said. "Now come on, let's secure them and take them to Hawk." He started to Zarana, who was closest. She lifted her head and looked at him, and Mainframe could see the slight tinge of fear in her eyes, as well as yearning. Gung-Ho reached her and leaned down to haul her roughly to her feet.
"No!" Mainframe called out, hurrying over to her, his heart pounding in his chest. "Get Zartan and Zandar, you guys. I'll take her. He lifted her gently into his arms. "Don't worry, I won't let them or anyone else hurt you," he murmured reassuringly to her. He started walking in the direction of where Hawk stood. The others followed him, carrying Zartan and Zandar, who were still unconscious.
"We've got a bunch of minor injuries, General Hawk. You know scrapes, bumps, and bruises; nothing too serious," Called Flint as he ran back toward him after checking the rest of the team out.
"We better get back to base," Lady Jaye said before Hawk could speak.
"But what about the team that went in to plant the explosives?" Flint wanted to know. "We can't just leave them!"
"Here they come now," Hawk said. "And it looks like they have prisoners with them!" Then he noticed some else. "But why is Mainframe carrying Zarana?" That was very strange.
"Maybe's she's hurt," Roadblock suggested. "It looks like her brothers are unconscious."
"But she's not," Cover Girl pointed out.
"So, she still could have a leg injury or something," spoke up Breaker.
"Who cares, they're our prisoners, that's what matters!" Ace put in, tucking his dented flight helmet under his shoulder.
"Before we go, let's end this war right now," Shipwreck spoke up, pointing to where Serpentor still lay unconscious on the ground. "We won't ever have a better chance!"
"Shipwreck's right!" Duke put in, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Let's go over there and blow his brains out!" He pulled out his pistol and cocked it, and started to walk toward the fallen Cobra Emperor.
"No!" Hawk ordered, grabbing his shoulder and stopping him.
Duke looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?! He deserves it and more for what he's done!"
"Maybe he does, but killing in cold blood is not the Joe way!" Hawk replied sternly.
"This case warrants an exception!" Duke countered hotly. "And we both know that no one will object after everything he's done!"
"That's not the point!" Hawk told him. "If you blow him away like this, you become no better than he is!"
Duke opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a loud gasp from nearby. It was followed right away by a scream. "Serpentor!"
He turned along with others to see Scarlett throw a piece of debris aside and run up to him and kneel down. Her long red hair had come undone and was tangled, and she was dirty with dried blood on her arm and cheek.
The Joes watched as she checked his vitals and then gently shake him in an attempt to wake him. They couldn't tell if it worked, but none of them missed her stroking his cheek and kissing him deeply.
"Okay, that's just disgusting!" Ace exclaimed.
"It's more than disgusting, Ace!" Roadblock told him.
"That son of a bitch! I'll blow his fucking brains out!" Duke swore, lifting his pistol.
"No, you could hit Scarlett!" Flint told him.
Hawk grabbed the end of the gun and pushed it down. "What did I just tell you?"
"I don't care!" Duke shot back. "He doesn't deserve to live!"
"That's not for you to decide!" Hawk snapped back, yanking the pistol out of Duke's hands and ejecting the magazine. "Now come on, we've got to get our injured back to the Flagg! And help Ledger's people do the same!"
"But what about Scarlett?" Roadblock asked. "We can't just leave her!" Heads nodded in agreement.
"She's made her choice. She's one of them now," Hawk replied sadly.
"I won't accept that," Lady Jaye said firmly. Scarlett was her best friend.
"Damn straight!" Duke muttered to himself as he reluctantly followed Hawk. He didn't have a choice right now, but one of these days, very soon, he would get her back and then kill Serpentor! Until then he would have to bide his time.
When Serpentor regained consciousness, he immediately noticed two things: The pounding in his head and a soft familiar touch on his cheek. He looked left with his eyes and glimpsed long red hair hanging down. "Scarlet?" He murmured. "Is it really you? Are you okay?"
"Yes, and yes," She whispered back. "Although I'm pretty banged up."
"I saw your plane explode and was afraid you had…" He broke off, unable to finish.
She shook her head. "No, I ejected just in time. I got hit with some bits of debris and had a rough landing though," she explained.
He reached up and pulled her close just as she leaned in. They kissed deeply and passionately. After a few minutes, Scarlett pulled back slightly and continued her story. After I landed, I was trapped by debris until some Vipers freed me. I then got up and ran to find you. When I saw you lying here, I was really scared." Her voice was thick with emotion.
"That makes us even, then," he replied, just as emotionally. "When I glimpsed your plane explode, it scared the hell out me." He started to sit up, but stopped when the pain in his head seemed to explode. He lay back down with a groan and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for it to fade a little.
"Shh, don't try to move," she told him softly. "Just lay there and be still. You have a concussion and I'm not sure what else."
He opened his eyes a little. "But Mindbender, the Baroness, Destro, everyone else! I have to see how they are!" He said frantically.
Scarlett stroked his cheek again. "The Baroness and Destro are okay. I saw them as I was getting freed. Cobra Commander is fine. Destro was talking to him over the radio. As for everyone else, I'm not sure. But I do know that you won't help them by injuring yourself further." Her voice was firm.
Serpentor relaxed a tiny bit. "What of the base?" He asked. "Is there anything left?" He had a sinking feeling that he already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.
"It's completely gone," Scarlett told him regretfully, and then turned anxious. "What's going to happen to us? Are we finished?"
Serpentor started to shake his head, but stopped as he realized that would only make his pain worse. "Not even close, my love. We have several fallback spots as well as the Terrodrome on Cobra Island. In fact, the latter is where we should go. It has medical facilities as well as doctors and nurses."
Scarlett nodded. "I'll tell the others and bring back some help for you. Don't move, I'll be right back." Her heart constricted at leaving him there, but she had no choice. She couldn't carry him without jostling him alone. She kissed him again and then hurried off to get help.
Hawk was getting ready to get back in his plane when Mainframe came up to him, still carrying Zarana. "Gung-Ho and Dusty have Zartan and Zandar restrained inside a Tomahawk. Beachhead's making arrangements for them to go to a military hospital under supervision. But I think Zarana needs to go with us."
"Why?" Hawk asked, surprised. "She's injured, too. She needs to go with her brothers."
"That's right," Flint put in. "She's the enemy. We can't take her back to the Flagg with us."
"No she's not, not anymore," Mainframe said, shaking his head. "Plus, she has vital information that will help us end this war once and for all." She nodded in agreement at his words.
"We can't trust her, it's too risky," Hawk told him.
"No its not," Mainframe countered firmly. "Anyway, I'll take full responsibility for her and everything she does."
"Are you nuts?" Gung-Ho asked him.
"No I'm not, Gung-Ho," Mainframe replied. "I'll explain everything when we get back to the Flagg."
"You'd better, Mainframe," Hawk warned him. "Because I'm taking an awful risk by allowing this."
Mainframe smiled at him. "Thank you, General," he replied. "You won't regret this."
"I hope not. Now let's go," he said. With that, he got into his plane. Mainframe carried Zarana to another Tomahawk and got in. The other Joes got into their vehicles as well and seconds later, they were off, heading back to the Flagg; all accept the Tomahawk carrying Zartan and Zandar. It headed in another direction to a military hospital.
A/N: So what did you think? Will the Joes accept Mainframe? What will her brothers do when they find out? Will Serpentor be okay? Stay tuned to find out and please review on your way out! Remember, reviews are great motivators!