To Rule The World

G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. It's purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined

To Rule the World

Part 5

Hollow Victory

By Nick Maro

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The acidic stench brought Duke awake instantly. He tried to rub his aching jaw only to find his hands tied behind him around a tree trunk. His mouth was dry, his tongue rubbed against a dry rag that acted as a gag. He looked around and tried to get a feel for his surroundings. The night sky showed through the grey haze. Four tents were set up before him.

The face of Flint popped up in front of him. He scowled at Duke. "You have a lot to answer for, traitor." He removed Duke's gag. "For starters, is this the top secret outfit you were bragging about heading? Well, is it?" Flint grabbed Duke by his shirt and thrust him back against the tree. Duke let out a groan.

Duke looked Flint in the eye. "I," he rasped, "think I can see how you'd come to conclusion that I'm with Cobra." He looked down at the uniform he was in. "Could I have some water please. My throat is as dry as the turkey you cook, Flint." Flint paused and reached for a bottle of water that was behind him. He poured a little water in Duke's mouth. Duke swallowed the water and smiled.

"Thank you," Duke said in a clearer voice. "As I was saying, I'm not a part of Cobra. I knocked out a Cobra soldier about a half mile up the trail I was on. I saw Recondo and tried to get away. But he caught me and knocked me out before I could explain." Duke fiddled with the rope that bound his hands to the tree trunk. "Any way I can be cut free?"

Lady Jaye, Wild Bill and Recondo stepped out from behind Duke and looked at him. "Show us where you left the body and your clothes, traitor?" Lady Jaye pointed a rifle at him. "You move and the jungle critters will be eating traitor brains for dinner." Flint cut the rope. He tied Duke's hands behind him again. Lady Jaye kept the rifle pointed at him. "Stand up and start walking. You try to run, I'll kill you."

Duke nodded and started walking west down the trail. Recondo walked beside him carrying a chemical light. The chemical light didn't need electricity, it used chemical reactions. The pale blue light illuminated the jungle eerily. Duke led the four Joe members down the worn path. They walked in silence. Duke stopped and nodded at clearing. "The body and my uniform should be under some leaves and branches."

"I'll go look," Flint said starting his own light. After a few minutes looking, he shook his head. "Nothing. Not a trace of a body or any clothes. So where are they, traitor?"

"I left them there! I swear I did." Duke's voice wavered with shock.

Flint looked at the other Joes and finally smiled, chuckling under his breath. "Okay, I can't hold it anymore. Bill, free Duke." Flint bent over and started laughing harder. "I'm sorry, Duke. It's just the look on your face when I said that I couldn't find them. That was too much." Flint straightened up and hugged his old friend.

"Recondo found the body and your uniform after we had tied you up," Lady Jaye explained after hugging Duke. "We didn't know what to do. Flint told Recondo to check the path for any other Cobra troops. He found the dead soldier's body and your uniform. Recondo buried the body a little further into the jungle. We kinda figured you killed the soldier. Your uniform is back at the camp. Mind explaining what had happened?"

Duke frowned. "After I left G.I. Joe, I was reassigned to a new secret operations team, codenamed Action Force. Within the first few weeks, I'd seen about as much action in the first year Cobra was around. We were the ones taking down foreign terrorists. As I understood it, G.I. Joe was the team that would take the spotlight and help keep Action Force secret. I watched your success of taking down militia groups around the United States while I helped keep the world safe from international terrorism.

"Action Force was a military team created by NATO countries. We were the best soldiers those countries had ever produced. I was surprised and honored to be even considered to act as the team leader. We were ordered to dismantle the Pyramid of Darkness Cobra was building. The team was given access to all the information we needed. I decided attacking the Mexican location would be the easiest. So, the Action Force team watched Cobra in secret for weeks.

"When Cobra was almost finished, we started to make our move on the control cube. We were attacked by a Cobra recon patrol. They took us by total surprise. Action Force was wiped out almost immediately. I survived by hiding under the dead bodies of my teammates. I'm lucky Cobra doesn't check to see if anyone has survived. I waited under the bodies for several hours, then pulled myself free. I stayed up all night burying my fallen friends. The next day I went for the control cube. I came across part of the same recon patrol and killed them. I took the uniform of one of the troopers so I could get inside the Cobra camp and destroy the control cube."

Duke looked at his friend with sadness and vengeance burned in his eyes. "Action Force was destroyed yesterday and I plan on taking down Cobra once and for all. I assume you're coming along for the fun, right?"

Wild Bill smirked. "Duke, I'm just glad you're back and all. I'm sorry to hear about your team. And I think I speak for us all when I say lead the way."

"I couldn't have put it better myself, Bill. Duke, I'm putting you in command of this team. This is an unofficial change of command, but right now I don't think any of us give a shit." Flint handed Duke a spare pistol.

"Thanks, Flint." Duke put the pistol in his holster. He pointed at Lady Jaye's rifle. "By the way, you should be more careful with that thing. What if it went off while you were pointing it at me?"

Lady Jaye and the other Joes started chuckling. She pointed the rifle at him and pulled the trigger. It clicked. "There weren't any bullets in the chamber or clip. I had to make it look real when we were threatening you. After Recondo found the body and your uniform, we knew you were innocent."

"I'm just glad you're on my side. Let's get back to camp." Duke and his old friends started walking back. The other Joes updated him as they walked back to were they had made their temporary base.

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The Whale hovercraft drifted quietly to the coast of the small island. A vague image of it shimmered in the setting sun's light. Cutter was using both the jammer, for the effect the Pyramid of Darkness caused, and the cloaking device he'd received during the false of cession of the States that Cobra had planned out a year ago. The light around the hovercraft was bent. But heat and noise could still be detected.

The island the control cube was on, was about ten miles across. Cutter had landed the hovercraft on the opposite end of the island and turned off the engine about half way from the island. It had drifted almost to the spotted he'd wanted it. He gave Stalker the signal to disembark the Whale. "When you get off the Whale, mark where it's at in the sand. Nothing too obvious though."

"Gotcha, Cutter," Stalker said making a final check on his equipment. He applied some black grease paint under his eyes. He turned and addressed his command. "Okay men, this is it. I am your God for this mission. Cobra is on the other side of this island with their control cube. Our job today is to destroy this pile of crap and save the world. Now I know there are three other teams out there with the same objective. We can't think of them right now. No second guessing. We just assume they've failed and it's up to us. Only one cube needs to be destroyed. If more than that get destroyed, all the better. Now let's get out there and kick some serpent ass! Yo Joe!" The other Joes echoed his battle cry with their fists in the air.

Cutter lowered the ramp that led to the inner belly of the hovercraft. The four Joes ran out maintaining their silence. Stalker stopped at the edge of the jungle and made a mark pointing to the hovercraft. He then started cutting a trail for the Joes to follow. Low-Light kept a watchful eye out for Cobra troops. "I really wish you'd brought the jammer with, Stalker. I could watch for Cobra much easier that way."

Stalker kept cutting a trail through the jungle. "Cutter needs it to keep the Whale cloaked. The island isn't that big and it's mostly flatland. Kinda reminds me of Vietnam. Just keep an ear out for anything out of the ordinary."

"The whole jungle is making out of the ordinary sounds, Stalker," Gung Ho mumbled under his breath.

"Now you know how we feel coming into the swamps to see you, Gung Ho. Never know what's lurking in there." Torpedo watched the edges of the jungles. "Why didn't just stay on the Whale tonight? We're going to have to set up camp shortly anyway, Stalker."

"We have a time limit of sorts. The closer we get, the better. The cube is ten miles through dense jungle and we have the make our own path. I figure we should keep going for another two hours then break for camp." Stalker kept blazing the trail.

The Joe team kept up the rigorous pace. They finally stopped and made camp. Each man took a turn at keeping watch. They started moving again an hour before dawn.

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Roadblock tackled Shipwreck out of the way. Bullets flew over their heads. He sat up and fired back, giving Shipwreck cover to get back to the bunker they'd taken over. Shipwreck quickly ran back inside the bunker, he grabbed a fresh clip and loaded it into his rifle. He joined Wet-Suit and Leatherneck in giving Roadblock cover fire so he could get back to the bunker.

"Had to go and take the bait, didn't you?" Leatherneck sneered at Shipwreck.

"I figured there was going to be a few Cobra soldiers in that bunker, not ten BATs. I thought we'd destroyed them all." Shipwreck shot the arms off an oncoming BAT. "Next time when I hear gears moving, I won't go and investigate."

Wet-Suit laughed as he destroyed a BAT that was almost near the bunker. "Old Shipwreck there is a regular Scooby Doo. Next thing you know he'll be asking for a Scooby Snack." He launched a grenade at group of BATs who picked it up and stared at it. They disintegrated within seconds. "I think Cobra programs them to be dumber and dumber each time we encounter them."

Slamming the door behind him, Roadblock grabbed Shipwreck by the shirt. "Didn't I tell you to wait? Just what the hell were you thinking, Delgado? You almost got all of us killed with that bonehead move. My orders were that if you heard anything out of the ordinary, you tell me first! Not investigate it for yourself! We just wasted valuable ammo on those BATs. Ammo that could've been used in destroying the control cube." Roadblock let go of Shipwreck's shirt.

"The BATs could've been stopped if we had turned off the jammer," Wet-Suit pointed out.

"Thinking rationally isn't common in the middle of a firefight. But now we need to pack up and get moving. Cobra is bound to know we're here." Roadblock grabbed his backpack. He threw Shipwreck's backpack to him. "Next time be more careful out there. You may not have any of us to watch your back for you."

The four Joes cautiously left the safety of the bunker and moved quickly across the open field. They kept they head low and ducked into the tall grass when they heard movement. They entered the sparse forest and arrived at the field the control cube was located a few hours later. Roadblock moved the Joes further back into the forest.

"We'll wait here until nightfall. Until then, I want to surveillance for their shifts and guard duties." Roadblock pulled his binoculars off his neck and handed them to Shipwreck. Shipwreck took off leaving Roadblock and the other Joes. The three others rested against trees watching in different directions for Cobra.

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The group of Joes slowly looked at the bottom of the cliff. An ancient Nepalese temple sat there. Tents and Hiss tanks surrounded the temple. Cobra soldiers went about their business. Snow Job brought his binoculars to where the temple walls had been brought down. "I don't see any place we can sneak in. Maybe if we knocked out one of the Ice Serpents. How do you think of that, Iceberg? Iceberg?"

Snow Job turned around to see why his friend didn't answer. Iceberg, Alpine and Bazooka each had their hands up and weapons on the ground. They were face to face with twenty Cobra soldiers and arctic troopers. Snow Job put his weapons down and swore under his breath. The Cobra soldiers took their weapons and gear and guided them down the mountain path to the base. The Joes were put into a cell together and left unrestrained.

Alpine paced the length of the cell. A Cobra guard banged on the bars and yelled for him to sit down. He sat next to Bazooka and bounced his leg in impatience. "I guess you were right about the smoke from the fire, Bazook."

"Back away from the door and keep your hands where we can see them," a guard yelled opening the door to the cell. He pointed at Iceberg. "You, come with us. It's time to answer a few questions about why you're here. Move it!" He pointed a rifle at Iceberg and motioned him out with it's barrel.

Snow Job got up to object, but was knocked down by the stock of a guard's weapon. "Stay down and keep still!"

"Do what they say, Snow Job. I'll be okay. We'll get out of this some way." Iceberg turned to his captors. "Let's get on with it then."

The Cobra soldiers brought him to a small tent. They told Iceberg to sit in the chair. He did as told. His hand were bound behind him to the chair legs. A bright light shined into his eyes. He saw a shadowed figure stand in front of him. "Welcome to Sundar, G.I. Joe. I'm sure that you recognize me."

Iceberg stared into the one eye of the man before him. "Major Bludd. What's the matter? Couldn't Cobra Commander stand to see you around the snakes nest anymore?" He was fiercely backhanded by Major Bludd. Iceberg spat some blood into the snow. "Guess I hit a nerve, eh?"

Major Bludd started to backhand Iceberg again. A Tele-Viper entered the tent and handed him a piece of paper. Major Bludd put his arm down. "Consider yourself lucky, Joe. Cobra Commander has heard of your capture here. You and your friends are now prisoners of war. You will be treated as foreign dignitaries so you cannot say that Cobra is cruel." He turned back to the Tele-Viper. "Show our guest and his friends to their new quarters. They are not to be harmed."

Saluting, the Tele-Viper escorted Iceberg to a large tent. Food had been set out as well drink. Moments later, the three other Joes joined Iceberg. They were left alone. They each looked around suspiciously, then looked at each other. "I get the feeling that there's something else going on here other than the Pyramid of Darkness," Iceberg said looking at the food. "Major Bludd said that we're to be treated as foreign dignitaries. Since when is Cobra that polite?" The other Joes sat down and started talking about what they should do.

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The command room of Cobra Island was alive with activity. Destro watched the activity with the Baroness beside him. He glanced at her and smiled behind his polished, metal mask. Things were going better than expected. Cobra Commander's plan was going as it should have. The negotiations with several powerful countries were going along smoothly. All bumps in the road were removed.

A Crimson Guardsman approached Destro and the Baroness. He had a blonde man in a dark uniform behind him. Destro turned and frowned behind his mask. "Guardsman, take those shackles off of the good General this instant. We pose no threat to him and he to us. Isn't that right, General Abernathy? Or do you prefer General Hawk?"

Hawk rubbed his wrists where the handcuffs were. "Hawk will do for now. I only regret that I was captured before I was able to stop you."

Destro laughed deep and loud. "You G.I. Joe really are an amusing bunch. Yes, we have effectively shut down the planet from using electricity. But we've only done so in retaliation of being persecuted by virtually every government on the planet. But, if you watch the monitors, I think you'll find something very interesting." Destro gestured to the monitors that had images from the four control cubes.

"Just what am I looking at?"

"Your men at the Nepal location are guests of Cobra. The teams at the other locations have the option of being corpses or guests." Destro glanced back at Hawk. "I hope they'll be guests. I would so hate having their deaths on my mind. But take your time making your decision. While you are, tell the Baroness and I how you came to our island." Destro patted a chair for Hawk.

Hawk sat in the plush chair and sank a little. "I do this only under protest. I used a jamming device that Mainframe had developed and attached it to a Skystriker jet fighter. The jammer gave me a large enough bubble to operate the fighter. I had enough fuel to make it to most of the way. I prepared for this situation. Ejecting out before the plane could crash into the water, I grabbed an inflatable emergency raft. I was only a mile from this island. I'm guessing the plane crashed close enough to the island that you saw it and alerting you to a possible intruder.

"Rowing to shore, I hid the raft under a tarp once I got there. I ran through the forest the maps I had showed. Avoiding a patrol, I put on a diving suit and swam to this island. I got out of the wet suit and avoided another patrol. I was able to slip inside with the use of a personal cloaking device that bent the light around me. I was caught in your new synthoid lab." Hawk looked directly at Destro. "Tell me what you have done with Vladamir Volkov, the Russian United Nations representative."

The Baroness looked at Hawk with a curious expression. "You came all this way to find out about some unknown politician? Unbelievable what you Americans would call standards."

Hawk glared at the raven haired beauty. "He was my friend. Now what has happened to him?"

"Comrade Volkov is one of those bumps in the roadthat had to be smoothed out. Had we known he had such high powered friends, we would've found another way of dealing with him." Destro paced the length of the observation deck. "Now, come stand with me while we watch the fruition of Cobra's efforts."

Slowly Hawk rose from his chair and watched the monitors next to his sworn enemies.

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Cutting through some brush, Stalker held up his hand. The other Joes stopped behind him. Stalker pushed some leaves aside to show the Cobra base and the control cube. He backed the Joes up and started pushing through the brush, marking trees as he passed them. The group stopped again and Stalker turned to them. "We'll wait here and watch until dark. Then we'll split up one by one and act as a distraction for Gung-Ho to plant the explosives. Any questions?"

The three other Joes shook their heads and turned to watch the Cobra's troops. Torpedo furrowed his brow after watching for a few minutes. "Is it me or does it look like they're packing up? What the hell?"

"Hmmm, looks like you're right," Low-Light said after watching for a few minutes.

"Okay, we hang back for a half hour. It could be a trap. If they're still packing up, we'll attack then." Stalker sat on a log and watched Cobra continue to load crates and boxes.

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Running through the trees of the Mexican jungle, the four G.I. Joes and one former member came into sight. They were met by what they'd least expected. One control cube and no Cobra soldiers. They looked at each other in confusion. Lady Jaye looked around at their surroundings then finally at the black cube. "Okay, I give up. Where did they go?"

Recondo looked at the tracks that the trucks had left. "Looks like they're traveling east. They could be meeting a cargo ship on the coast over there. As for why they left, no clue. The Pyramid is still active, so the other Joe teams haven't been successful yet. Flint, do we plant the bomb or what?"

Flint walked cautiously up to the cube and studied it. "Doesn't look booby trapped or rigged in any way. But that doesn't mean anything. We'll use the remote detonator. That way no one gets hurt." He took the bomb from his backpack and set it on the side of cube carefully. He backed away slowly, but nothing happened. He handed the detonator to Duke.

"Let's get back into the jungle, troops. Cobra may have planted traps inside the cube." Duke led the team to the edge of the jungle from where they had come. "Wild Bill, turn the jammer on just in case." Wild Bill pulled the jammer out and flicked the switch on it. Duke turned to the others and gave a small smile. "Time to avenge Action Force." They smiled back. He put his thumb on the button of the detonator.

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Firing at the passing trucks and tanks, Roadblock pushed his team back into the forest. The last of the Cobra convoy passed them. Shipwreck looked at the team leader. "Well, what do you make of that?"

"I have no idea. It's not like Cobra to abandon something this important to their plans." Roadblock started walked back towards the control cube. "Notice how they were shooting around us and not at us? It was almost like they were missing on purpose. I don't like this one bit."

The black cube sat before them. Leatherneck frowned. "I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach that somethin' ain't right here and this time it's not just Wet-Suit. I say we blow this baby up and get the hell outta here."

"For once I find myself agreeing with the Jarhead here," Wet-Suit mumbled looking the cube over.

"Okay, lets plant the bomb and move." Roadblock grabbed the explosive from Shipwreck's backpack and planted it near the base of the cube. He set the timer for ten minutes. The Joes started running back the way they'd originally came. The USS Flagg waited for them off shore.

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Major Bludd entered the tent the Joes were staying in. He looked them over quickly. "Gather whatever supplies you brought with you. We've been ordered to leave by Cobra High Command. You will be brought back to Cobra Island with us, where then you'll be picked by a representative of your military. He's there waiting as we speak. Please hurry." He left the Joes alone.

"This just gets stranger and stranger, guys. First we're treated like we're important political figures and now we're politely told we're being brought to Cobra Island. That one-eyed snake even said please!" Alpine finished eating his sandwich. He made another and put it into his backpack.

"I think we better get out there as quick as possible. Who knows what Cobra might do to us if we stay here much longer." Snow Job put on his backpack and waited for the others. "I just want to know why they're abandoning the control cube. It will be completely defenseless if they leave it now. Doesn't add up."

Snow Job and his patrol left the tent. They were escorted by a guard to a Cobra helicopter that was ready for lift off and waiting for them. They each got on board and sat together. Major Bludd sat opposite of them. He offered the four G.I. Joes a glass of champagne. They each declined the offer. Seconds later the helicopter took to the air.

Bazooka looked out the window at the temple the control cube was in. "Why did you leave the cube? Doesn't Cobra want it anymore?"

"Shut up, Dumdum." Alpine elbowed him.

"Actually, that's a very good question and your friend answered it himself," Major Bludd answered in his Australian accent. "No, Cobra isn't interested in it anymore. A situation that is more, let's say beneficial, has arisen. The Pyramid of Darkness is about to brought down."

"Then why do the Pyramid of Darkness in the first place? What was the whole point?" Iceberg asked from looking out the window.

Major Bludd smiled slightly. "Large scale wars are no longer fought with armies or weapons. The weapons of choice now is psychology and information. The Pyramid of Darkness was effective to a point, but it should never have been a long term solution. Cobra Commander eventually realized this. The Pyramid cast fear into people's hearts and minds. They remembered what it was like. That was the psychology. This time it has paid off as the world will soon see in a few moments."

The four Joes looked out the window to witness the cube exploding inside the temple. The helicopter shuddered slightly from the shockwave. They looked at the smiling Major. Outside, they noticed it wasn't grey and hazy anymore. The Pyramid of Darkness was gone.

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Watching the monitors in the command center of Cobra Island, Hawk stepped back in shock as the control cubes simultaneously exploded. He knew that Snow Job and his team were shocked even though he couldn't see their reaction. But the three other teams reacted in shocked surprise. He saw them look at each other in confusion. Destro walked up beside Hawk holding a microphone. "Tell them their mission is completed and to head back to headquarters."

Hawk took the microphone and cleared his throat. "Okay teams, the mission has been a success. Head back to headquarters. I'll join you there shortly. I know you're confused, but all will be cleared up shortly. General Hawk out." He handed the microphone back to Destro. "Now when do I get to go back?"

"All in good time, my dear General Hawk. First, I believe Cobra Commander has something you'll find very interesting." He pointed to the main screen of the command center.

The blank screen came to life showing the hooded face of Cobra Commander. He looked to be standing on a platform in the middle of Red Square in Moscow. There were some Russian officials standing behind him along with Tomax and Xamot. Cobra Commander approached the microphone. His voice was clear and powerful.

"Citizens of the Planet Earth," he began, "as you may have noticed I have brought down the Pyramid of Darkness out of the kindness of my heart. For today is a day of celebration for Cobra. Today Cobra has inherited a home. They have earned a place they may call their own. Today the Russian Government has named Cobra their ruling body. Today, I have become the benevolent leader of Russia. I swear that today is the start of an era of greatness for Cobra and the Russian people. Cobra will not rule with an iron fist but with the open hand of kindness. We hope that the other countries of Earth won't judge Cobra on their past, but what they do in the future. My first act is to open free trade with any country who desires it.

"But a message to my people. You are free people. You are free to join the Cobra army. You are free to become dreamers, artists or to follow your heart's desire. There is a new wind blowing and it has the sweet smell of freedom. Hail Cobra!" Cobra Commander flung his arms wide as a cheer from the audience before him cheered. They chanted Cobra Commander's name with respect and awe. The screen went black after a few moments.

Hawk looked at Destro. His face was pale white. His worse nightmare realized. Cobra had legitimate country. To make it worse, it was a superpower country. A superpower country with a failing economy and political system. He needed to sit down. Hawk took the glass of water the Baroness had given him. "I don't believe it," was all he could say.

"I couldn't either when Destro told me his plan. I thought the Commander was mad. But now I see him for the genius he truly is." The Baroness sat next to Hawk. "The rules of warfare has changed, Hawk. It took Cobra Commander a long time to realize this. I hope G.I. Joe has as well."

"The world won't accept this as a reality."

Destro laughed a deep, good natured laugh. "Yes. Yes, they will. It is the new reality of things. The world changes every day, but it rarely changes on a global scale. In a way now we're your new allies in the world."

Hawk sat in silence thinking everything over. He slowly began to accept the truth of the situation. A few hours later, the helicopter with Snow Job's team arrived. Hawk and the four G.I. Joe's were reunited. They got on board a helicopter that was sent from Japan by the United States government to take them all back.

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It was a month after Cobra had gained control of Russia. So far everything was going smoothly. Cobra Commander had kept his word about running the country fairly and justly. General Hawk stood before the microphone at the podium. He looked at the G.I. Joe troops before him. He smiled at them and cleared his throat.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming. I'll make this short and to the point. I just returned from a lengthy set of conferences with the Chiefs of Staff and the Commission. I bring excellent news. G.I. Joe is once again a fully functional arm of the Military. Our mission remains the same, but the way we operate has been changed. We're now a covert operations team. Our mission is to make sure Cobra stays in line and doesn't try for world domination. We have spies in Russia now keeping a close eye on them. Missions will be handed out tomorrow. Today we celebrate the reactivation of G.I. Joe. Yo Joe!"

All the G.I. Joes in the audience shot their fists up and repeated the battle cry.

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Sitting behind his desk in the Kremlin, Cobra Commander hung up the phone. He looked up at Tomax and Xamot. Tomax stepped forward. "How was the—"

"—call from China, Commander?" Xamot said finishing his twin brother's sentence.

"It went perfectly. All is in place for China to declare themselves a part of Russia." Cobra Commander looked out the window. "It's finally coming true. If Cobra can't force the whole world to becoming theirs, then we'll just have to pick up each country one by one. Soon the whole world will bow before COBRA!" He thrust his hands out. He laughed loud and high pitched.

THE BEGINNING

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Author's Note: Well, this was the first part of a trilogy. Kinda obvious by the ending. Think of this as the Star Wars trilogy where each part can stand out on it's own. I'm not too sure when I'll be writing the second story arc. But it will be three parts and wrap up some plot lines. I did set out to do the one thing I wanted. Cobra won. I hope you've enjoyed this. Without the fans of my work, I wouldn't be doing this. Thanks for the support and take care.

-- Nick Maro July 02, 2001