To say that Doctor Mindbender was pleased with the way things had gone lately was an understatement. With the help of mind controlling microchips, Cobra had managed to take over the country of Iceland. His invention had played an integral part of Cobra's ultimate goal; world domination. With one device working so perfectly, he had managed to find the time and energy to dust off some of his old ideas and begin working with them. One of them, the one that he now held in his hand, was actually a modification of one of Destro's ideas. Eau de Cobra, he'd called it. The Joes foolishly thought the recipe lost, but Mindbender knew otherwise. He'd tinkered with it and finally come up with an even better potion. Eau de Mindbender, as he playfully dubbed it. Now all he needed was a human guinea pig.
* * *
Duke sat huddled in the tiny prison cell that Cobra Commander had provided them with. He, along with four other Joes, had made an attempt to spy on their activities on Iceland, determine if Cobra Commander had somehow bribed the president into surrender. Unfortunately, each Joe had felt the sudden need to bow before the might of Cobra. In the back of his mind he knew this was wrong, that he and the others should be working on a way out of here. Instead they didn't want to leave. What was the point? They'd just get captured again. Even if they did get out, it wouldn't do any good. Cobra would take over the world eventually and they'd be back at square one. It might almost be better to just request that they be allowed to join Cobra. Idly he placed an arm around Scarlet and felt her shivering.
"It's not exactly warm in here," she muttered.
"No less than we deserve," Breaker said from across the room. "We're enemies of Cobra and have earned the punishment we're getting."
The last two in the room, Snake Eyes and Sgt. Slaughter, nodded in agreement. "Footsteps," Slaughter said. "Maybe they're finally going to put us out of our misery." The others tilted their heads to hear the approaching footsteps. There were no other prisoners and it wasn't time for a changing of the guard. They were a little shocked to see Doctor Mindbender standing before them.
"Hello, Joes. Scarlet, would you care to join me. I need you for an experiment," he said, his voice indicating that he would not take no for an answer. She looked briefly at the others and squeezed Duke's hand lightly before standing and following.
* * *
"Again!" Storm Shadow said, pointing at the mannequin. Airtight groaned. This was the fifth time in the last ten minutes he had had to attack the dummy. It was an elaborate series of kicks, feints, jabs and rolls. He was allowed ten seconds rest between attempts. Each time he made a mistake, he would have to do the sequence over again. The ninja was a trying teacher who demanded discipline and perseverance. He did as instructed, lunging, punching, kicking, twisting and generally trying to incapacitate his imaginary foe. "Your punch is too high, you expose your chest!" Storm Shadow would remark. "You have rolled too late. Your opponent as had time to regroup. You are now dead." Airtight collapsed to the ground to catch his breath.
"Stop this at once. I need Airtight," Doctor Mindbender said, entering the training arena.
"He cannot leave until he gets this right," Storm Shadow replied.
"I outrank you. I demand that you release him from your training."
"Cobra Commander will hear of this," the ninja snapped, leaving by another way.
"You'd better watch your back," Airtight said, "that guy can beat you twice before you know what hit you."
"Bah, he's not important. Come with me. I have something to show you."
* * *
The door to Mindbender's bedroom opened up and a heady odor invaded Airtight's nostrils. The room was cluttered, pieces of paper and bits of machinery covering every available surface. It was amazing that nothing ever got lost in here. The aroma's source became obvious when Airtight walked into the side room where Mindbender's bed was located. Scarlet, dressed in only her undergarments, was making his bed. She wore some strange exotic perfume. He turned to the scientist and glowered at him. "Are you crazy?" he asked. "Keeping your prisoners alive is one thing, sleeping with them is another."
"Scarlet, darling, would you go into my kitchen and fix us some drinks?" Doctor Mindbender asked. The woman gave him a wink and went to do his bidding. "Marvelous, isn't it? My love potion works stronger than I'd expected. You spray it on your target and they'll do anything for the first person they see. At first she would have done anything for me out of fear. Now she'll do it for me out of love."
"And what will you do when it wears off and she realizes what you've done? These things do often have time limits. And she'll remember that you made her sleep with you."
"Sleep with me? Heavens no. I merely tested to see what she would do. I could probably tell her to sleep with me, but that's not as much fun. Think of the money I could make, selling her to the men. Send her to the highest bidder," Doctor Mindbender said, eyes glazing over at the prospect. "Perhaps even Cobra Commander would make a bid."
"As I said. You're crazy... Although, a plan like that has it's benefits. She'll do anything you say?" Airtight asked.
"Anything."
"Good. Let's go test that."
* * *
Firefly was in charge of the detail of soldiers. They were going building by building, taking a general census, ensuring that everyone was under Cobra's power. A few people agreed to undergo military training to become the newest Vipers. It was during this process that he noticed Airtight, Doctor Mindbender, and a cloaked woman, going into a house. He wondered why they were going there? All that was there was a mother and her three year old child.
* * *
General Hawk paced slowly in front of the crowd before him. This was one of the darkest days he could remember. Cobra finally had a foothold in their quest for world domination, and there wasn't a blasted thing they could do about it. Legally. A perimeter guard had been set up around the place, just in case. There were a few members of Cobra on whom crimes could be pinned, but with the help of the Crimson Twins they were usually able to avoid any serious penalties.
The crowd in question was the upper echelon of G.I. Joe. Those people who would have some say in what the next course of action should be. This was complicated by the disappearance of two of the top five members: Sgt. Slaughter and Duke. "Ladies and gentlemen, I won't lie to you. The situation is bleak. We don't know how Cobra got a hold of Iceland, but however they did it, you can bet they'll try it on a larger scale. Five of our best Joes, already, have been taken captive we believe, and many more would be lost trying to find out what's happening. That is, if we went about things the conventional way. I'm going to try and negotiate with Cobra Commander for their release, but I want a team of Joes to pay a visit to Extensive Enterprises. Poke around there in cover of darkness. See what you can turn up. Be careful though. Don't get caught," Hawk said. Immediately hands went up volunteering for the job. "Just what I'd hoped for. Lady Jaye, Flint, Mainframe, and Alpine. The job is all yours. Dial Tone, come with me. We're calling Cobra."
* * *
Cobra Commander lounged in his throne. No one was really sure where he had gotten it from, but it was his and he seemed to enjoy sitting in it. When General Hawk came calling, Cobra Commander had been doing some mundane paper work with his body guard Storm Shadow looming over one shoulder and Doctor Mindbender over the other. He shooed away his secretary and faced the camera, his demeanor indicating that he was grinning from ear to ear. "Ah, Hawk, so pleased you called. It saves me the trouble of calling you to gloat."
"I'm not here to exchange pleasantries, Cobra Commander, or to listen to your list of achievements. I want to negotiate the release of my men," Hawk said.
"Poppycock! They broke my first law as emperor of Cobra. No member of G.I. Joe may set foot in my domain," he replied.
"What's your price?" Hawk demanded.
Cobra Commander turned as Doctor Mindbender whispered in his ear. Then faced the camera again. "We will meet in person and discuss, under a flag of peace. None of my men or myself will be harmed. Agreed?"
Hawk seemed stunned, having clearly expected a long, grueling conversation via telephone. "Agreed. Tomorrow at noon."
As soon as the communication was terminated Cobra Commander cackled loudly. "Gather our people," he told Storm Shadow, "tell them that tomorrow Hawk dies."
* * *
The plan was simple, as Mainframe saw it, get in and get out. He and Lady Jaye would sneak in through the basement while Flint and Alpine scaled the massive structure. Wild Bill would do half the work, flying them as close to the tower as he could and letting them jump the rest of the way. With luck no one would see them from this height. Mainframe tapped his computer into the locking device of the rear door. It seemed to require a four digit number. Frantically, the computer began to test every possible combination until it struck the right one. They were in.
Lady Jaye poked her head through the door first and glanced cautiously up and down the hallway. She then signaled Mainframe to follow as she took the first few steps. The duo walked for what felt like an eternity to the computers expert. He was nervous now, though he'd been involved in this kind of mission before. When they finally reached the elevator Lady Jaye checked over their disguises one last time and pushed the call button.
"Come on, Hank, let's get this over with," Lady Jaye said.
"No problem, Betty-Sue," Mainframe replied, hoping he sounded confident.
* * *
Flint pointed at a door off to the side of the room, no doubt some sort of closet, while he walked over to the pair of desks that sat next to the large windows. It seemed that the Twins were not in tonight. The third in command of G.I. Joe rifled through the drawers, disappointed when he turned up nothing useful. Blank paper, a telephone, pens, a deck of cards. Beyond that, nothing. "How 'bout you, Alpine? You find anything in there?"
"Just their business suits. Nothing in the pockets. Don't these guys leave anything lying around?" Alpine replied, closing the door.
"Apparently we shouldn't," Tomax said, entering the office. "It attracts visitors. I trust you have a valid reason for breaking and entering?"
"Sorry, we thought this was our place. We'll be leaving," Alpine began.
"I'm afraid I can't agree to that. I'm sure Cobra Commander would pay well for the capture of four more G.I. Joes. Status report, Xamot."
"I have the Joes, dear brother. Maybe we should keep this one for ourselves."
Tomax' face crinkled up at his brother's remark but shrugged it off. It didn't really matter which one he was referring to, the prospect of money outweighed any romantic pursuits. "Just bring them up to our office. We'll have a helicopter deliver them straight away." Just as Tomax was ending the conversation he doubled over in pain, dropping the gun that he'd been drawing. Never one to pass up an opportunity, Flint charged forward and tackled Tomax, driving his fist into the Cobra's head. He and Alpine bound Tomax and took him to the lobby.
* * *
"You can't try us," Tomax snickered.
"Wanna bet? How about possession of a concealed weapon?" Lady Jaye retorted.
"It'll never stick," Tomax said.
"We'll be out," Xamot began.
"Within the week."
* * *
The U.S.S. Flagg drifted lazily at sea, a few miles from the nearest coastline. A delegation of G.I. Joes were gathered on deck, awaiting the arrival of Cobra. It was Cutter that first noticed the Cobra Hydrofoil approaching, in it was Cobra Commander and a pair of his generic guards. The boat pulled up alongside the carrier and, once the ladder was thrown down, its passengers came aboard. Hawk eyed Cobra Commander dangerously but gestured to an office. The Commander motioned for his men to stand outside the door and be ready for anything, while he himself went inside.
"Let's cut the small talk. I want my men back, name your price," Hawk said, steepling his fingers. This wasn't a negotiation he wanted to be making, but if he could come to an agreement, he might be able to learn more about Cobra's operations.
"You'll find our price is reasonable. We want the world to surrender to Cobra!" he said, sitting back in his chair.
"You don't really think I'd trade the lives of five men for the world, do you?"
"No. No I didn't. Which means there's one other option. Blood. We demand your life in return for one Joe."
Hawk gaped, uncertain what Cobra Commander meant. He couldn't possibly mean for Hawk to kill himself, did he? All his years of military training kicked in suddenly as Cobra Commander drew a gun from its holster and fired. The bullet lodged in the general's collar bone.
* * *
In all his years of being a Joe, Dusty had never been particularly fond of the sea. He was more of a desert kind of guy, though it was nice to take a break from it all on occasion. He and Footloose were trading stories when they heard the gunshot from within the cabin. Both men ran, knocking the Cobra guards out of the way and gasped at the sight. Cobra Commander, his gun still smoking, stood over a bleeding General Hawk.
"Take one more step and I finish the job," the leader of Cobra said simply. Dusty was confused, he didn't know what to do. "Now back away slowly. I can't miss him at this range." The two stepped back as ordered.
With all his attention focused on the Joes at the door, Hawk saw the perfect opportunity to act. He lashed out with his foot and caught Cobra Commander off balance. Dusty and Footloose charged in and tackled him to the ground, pinning him. The other Joes, alerted by the noise, soon filled the space around the door. "Someone get Hawk some medical attention and then get this piece of garbage out of here," Dusty snapped.
* * *
Flint walked alone around the perimeter of G.I. Joe base that night. It seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Hawk out of commission. Duke and Sgt. Slaughter missing. That left him in command. And even then he had botched the Extensive Enterprises mission. The Twins were right, there was no charge they could pin on them. Sure they'd had illegal firearms, but those were only found after the Joes had broken into their base. It was plain and simple. Tomax and Xamot would be out before they knew it.
The only bright spot was that they had captured Cobra Commander, which may or may not be a good thing. After all, they'd had the terrorist in their clutches before and he'd escaped. What was to say Cobra wouldn't try again. He nodded a greeting to Mutt and Junkyard and kept going. It just didn't make any sense. Why would Cobra Commander go through all that bother to wound Hawk? Even if he'd succeeded in killing him, he had to know that he would be captured. He'd have been better off sending one of his lackeys. Something didn't add up.
* * *
The new and improved Terrordrome:
Doctor Mindbender watched with pleasure as Cobra Commander sat in his prison cell. A video camera had been rigged to the helmet, and microphone. "Our slave has done very well so far," he said over his shoulder.
"Indeed it has. Your love potion is indeed very strong. Why, that Joe jumped at the chance to take my place. 'Anything to make you happy, Cobra Commander,' he said."
"Yes, yes. And when we reveal to the world what G.I. Joe is doing, they'll believe that it was an elaborate set up. Something to make Cobra look even worse," Doctor Mindbender said.
"Or else they'll execute one of their own men. That alone should make them think twice. Face it, Doctor Mindbender, we've won!" Cobra Commander shouted, pounding a chicken leg off the table. "We've won!"