It's Like Having Been Born Again.Pt 6

Author chick's notes: Some crude innuendo (yay!) and swearing, other then that not much…at least not much that I'm going to spill here anyway. ;)

It's Like Having Been Born Again. Pt 6

It was a wonderful dream yet Leila couldn't figure out what the sudden buzzing sound was.A loud slap and she bolted up from where she had been sleeping.After shaking the last of her sleepiness away she saw the clock, and the hand draped over it where the snooze button was.Smiling to herself she leaned over and nibbled on Grunt's ear.All she got for her efforts were a few mumbled curses about 'ungodly hours' and 'no the ear's still tender'.Change of tactics, she reached under the covers until she found what she was looking for.A few slow strokes and Grunt became more alert.

"Unnn, Jesus Lei." He groaned as he cracked an eye open to look up at his tormentor.

Satisfied that he was now somewhat awake, Leila stopped her slow torture and got out of bed."I'll get some coffee going while you get ready." She said merrily as she donned a robe and left the room.

"That's cold!" He shouted after her as he rose from bed and made his way into the bathroom."God damn sneaking underhanded…" He muttered as he felt around for the light switch.The light gleamed to life and he shut his eyes to the sudden brightness.After a moment he began opening them, letting them adjust to the light.When he was able to, he opened his eyes completely, quickly shutting them again when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

Cover Girl had did as promised the day before when she said she'd change his appearance.Gone was his usual brown hair.In its place was a rich blue, the cut was different as well.Shorn nearly to the scalp at the back and only slightly longer on top, she'd shown him how to spike it for the look she was going for.A few more muttered curses about women in general and he was in the shower.Cover Girl had warned him that he'd see a lot of blue in the shower water and he was beginning to wonder if he'd wash her efforts out entirely.

Any thoughts of having ruined his disguise left when he felt a familiar kiss at the back of his neck as slender arms encircled his waist."Coffee should be ready by the time we're done.Want help?" Leila purred as she nuzzled the back of his neck.The shower took a little longer then expected but soon the two were dressed in robes and sitting at the kitchen table having a light breakfast.

"I actually like that look." Leila offered as she leaned forward for a better view.Grunt raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.Cover Girl had not only messed with his hair.She'd given him contact lenses that turned his plain brown eyes into a dark shade of blue, similar to what she'd done to his hair…then there was the earring.True it didn't hurt but an earring?Leila had had fun the previous night with it, nibbling around the silver stud while teasing pleasure out of him with her hands.

Glancing at the clock nearby, Leila returned her gaze to Grunt."It's almost time Rob." She said.She wasn't looking forward to this parting either.True they had just met but she had quickly found herself enraptured by the man sitting across from her, gulping the last of his coffee down.She said nothing as she returned to the bedroom with Grunt to help him finish getting dressed.

"At least I'll be comfortable for the flight." He muttered pulling on the black jeans Cover Girl had chosen.He was about to tuck in the white dress shirt when Leila suggested he leave it out.Grunt shrugged and did as she had suggested.Leila played with his hair a little getting it into the right style that Cover Girl had shown while he finished dressing.

"All set?" She asked when he rose and grabbed the duffle he'd packed the night before.

"I guess this is it for a while." Grunt said looking down into her eyes."Ah shit." He dropped the bag and took her into his arms for a last minute kiss.'Timeframe dumb ass.'He reminded himself as he reluctantly pulled away.Leila followed him to the front door of the suite, having decided the previous night that she wouldn't be able to watch him leave.Another quick kiss and he turned and made his way towards the hanger.Leila watched him for as long as she could then closed the door, hugging herself she leaned back against it and silently wished him a safe journey.Soon she'd have to be in the Control Center with her mistress, helping her get information and gathering more troops.

Grunt got to the hanger and found a car idling, waiting for him and Cover Girl to take them to an airstrip nearby.There was no sign of his partner as he got into the backseat and made himself comfortable.His mind was elsewhere so he was startled a bit when Cover Girl flopped down into the seat next to him.

"Hi." She mumbled sipping from a large cup of coffee.Grunt laughed and returned the greeting then they were on their way.

Half an hour later the two were in the air.With the Baroness' influence in COBRA no one would question the private flight logged in and heading towards the west coast.They were in the air for roughly an hour before Grunt decided to see if Cover Girl was awake enough for conversation."I don't remember you not being a morning person." He said as he watched her glower into her third cup of coffee.

"I usually am…however! I spent a better part of the night trying to get that thick skulled moron to accept facts as they are here." She hissed.Grunt laughed knowing full well as to whom and what she was referring too.

"Now that's the Cover Girl I know." He laughed."When it comes to Clutch at any rate." He added.She narrowed her gaze at him and snorted.Grunt said nothing for a moment before remembering another fact regarding the woman seated next to him."You married him." He teased. That got a smile out of her, if a wry one at that.

"I was coerced." She retorted.Grunt took her hand in his as a gesture of reassurance.Knowing that it must have been difficult for Cover Girl to know that she had a second chance for happiness handed to her by a twist of fate and a freak accident.She smiled gratefully up at him before reaching up and rearranging a stray lock of hair.

"By the way?" Grunt asked after a while."Why an earring?" Grunt could understand the other changes but not the earring.Cover Girl smiled at him.

"Leila thought you'd look cute with one so I did it." She said, explaining why she had taken great delight in piercing his right ear.

"Leila?All she's done so far is nibble on it!" He exclaimed. "Not that I mind but Jesus."

Cover Girl looked thoughtful for a moment."Hmmm? I see…" The look went from thoughtful to evil as she curled her tongue in her mouth and spoke again. "Oral fixation?" She teased, the words sounding distorted from the way she had held her tongue in her mouth.They both burst out laughing at the joke before returning to a companionable silence.

Several hours later they had arrived in San Francisco.Cover Girl had explained on the trip over that Cobra Commander had kept the city relatively intact, mainly as a place for the troops to play.He'd also done the same with several other cities in the US as well, the Baroness believing he'd done so out of some warped twisted logic.

A car was waiting for them as they disembarked the plane.Grunt put their bags into the trunk and got in next to Cover Girl who had handed the driver a slip of paper with an address.Tripwire's Grunt figured.A short ten-minute drive and they arrived at their final destination.The driver had opened the door for the two and got their bags out of the trunk for them.Cover Girl thanked him and headed up the steps towards a simple flat.

"Oh when we get inside take your shoes off." She said.Grunt remembered that the Tripwire he knew had become fascinated with Japanese culture when he had lived there as a child, he figured that this version had also had a similar fascination with the place.Suddenly the door opened and it took a moment for Grunt to recognize the man who answered as Tripwire.He was wearing wire-rimmed glasses and dressed head to toe in black.

"Courtney!Rob!" He smiled as he allowed the two in.Cover Girl kicked out of the mules she was wearing while Grunt stooped down to undo his hiking boots."Thanks." Tripwire said when he saw the gesture.Grunt watched the man as he gracefully led them to a small yet comfortable living room.The décor was heavy on the Japanese influence and suited the place rather nicely.

Grunt knew that Tripwire had been filled in on his situation so he didn't feel to out of place when he mentioned that Tripwire was no where near as accident prone as the one he knew.Tripwire laughed before telling Grunt that it was only when he stopped trying to live up to everyone's expectations except his own that he found that he was indeed quite graceful."You'll notice nothing's broken." He winked before asking his guests if they'd like something to eat or drink."I just made some tea…" Cover Girl wrinkled her nose at the suggestion and he laughed."Or you could raid the fridge for whatever that maniac has stashed in there." He smiled.

"Speaking of 'that maniac', where is he?" Cover Girl asked as she made her way into the kitchen to make coffee instead.

"In the shower.We were out late last night securing a pick up." Tripwire explained.Cover Girl had explained to Grunt how the couple operated so there was no need for further explanation, as he took a seat in a comfortable chair.

"Hey Robbie? What do you want?" Cover Girl called out from the kitchen as she poured herself some coffee.

"Beer if its there." He replied.Cover Girl came out with a beer and handed it to him.They passed the time with small talk before a deep rich voice interrupted their conversation.

"Hey Babe…I got Chaz scheduled for a 'ménage a trios' tonight...Oh hello!" Sci-Fi greeted when he saw that their expected company had arrived.Cover Girl smiled up at him from her spot next to Tripwire on the couch, Grunt waved politely."Hold that thought." He said as he made his way into the kitchen.Grunt noticed he held a bottle of aspirin rather tightly in his hand.He looked back at the two on the couch and saw that both of them were mouthing something at him.It took a moment but he finally saw that they were trying to tell him that 'ménage a trios' was the term they used for a weapons pick up.Grunt nodded that he'd gotten the message when Sci-Fi spoke up again.

"Babe?What did I get wasted on last night?" He asked as he stared into a cabinet full of various liquor bottles.

"The usual."

"'K.Thanks." He said as he got out the Jack Daniels and added some to his coffee.Grunt watched as he swallowed a couple of pills then washed them down with the spiked coffee.The old 'chase the hang over away with a bit of the dog that bit you' routine he noted, having done it himself a few times in the past.Sci-Fi then made his way into the living room and flopped down on the couch next to Cover Girl."Hi. Miss me?" He teased as he placed a small kiss on her cheek.

"Yes, scoundrel." She teased back.

"Cool." He grinned as he took the towel off from around his head.Grunt had seen the roster photos of the man but like Tripwire he too looked different from the time the photos had been taken.Instead of short brown hair, Sci-Fi now had long hair dyed black with a bright green streak in the bangs.Sci-Fi looked up at Grunt and smirked."She had fun with you didn't she?" He asked when he got a better look at Grunt's appearance.

"There's an understatement." He replied shooting Cover Girl a look, who poked her tongue out at him.

"Ah don't sweat it.You'll blend in looking like that here." Sci-Fi offered as he towel dried his hair a little more.The conversation switched to getting Grunt acquainted to Tripwire and Sci-fi and the couple learning of his story and how he had ended up in this dark twisted parody of the reality he knew.

"Do you remember any specifics about the device?" Tripwire asked.Both he and Sci-Fi had gone into techno mode trying to theorize how the accident may have been caused.

"Nope.Just that it was about this long and when it went off, we ended up here." Grunt said, holding his hands apart to give an approximate estimate of the size of the matter transmuter.The two began discussing ideas in highly technical terms to each other, leaving Cover Girl and Grunt to look at each other in confusion before Grunt interrupted them."Uh Trip?English?" He said.

Both Tripwire and Sci-Fi stopped mid sentence and looked at him in surprise. "Man, it's been a while since I've heard that." Tripwire said, a wistful smile on his face."For safety reasons, we go by our given names."Grunt apologized and said he understood the reasoning behind it when Cover Girl piped up from between the couple.

"Given names my ass!Try 'Tor' and 'Sea'." She said, jerking her thumb at each man as she said his name."Or 'Babe' and 'Koi' if they're talking to each other." She teased.Tripwire smirked and Sci-Fi elbowed her.

"Well yeah, the short versions of our given names." Tripwire said."Seeing as we were both cursed with cruel parents." He laughed.Grunt remembered what he'd been told about Tripwire's parents disowning him but said nothing.Figuring that if it did come out, he'd wait for the man himself to bring it up.

They continued talking a bit more before getting down to business.Sci-Fi said how he had told their contact what time and place to meet them at and how to go about getting the shipment out of the city.Grunt marveled at the ingeniousness of their scheme.They had most of the bars and clubs in the area working for the Resistance.Like bootleggers during Prohibition, a contact, posing as a liquor delivery person would show up at a certain time and drop off whatever the bar had ordered.Then in the boxes from the last delivery he would sneak the weapons or whatever had been requested out of the place and then out of the city.

Tripwire and Sci-Fi would already have the boxes ready before any of the bars or clubs would open, then show up later that night and pose as patrons of the place.Tripwire mingling in the crowd and Sci-Fi staying at the bar near the stockroom.Both men keeping an eye out for any spies who might be working for COBRA.Occasionally others would show up to pose as employees and help move larger shipments.That's where Cover Girl and Grunt came in.They had gotten a hold of a particularly large amount of supplies in their last heist and needed help moving it quickly.

"So Court, you're on bartender duty and uh." Sci-Fi stammered."You can skip out if you want to.It's a pretty deviant scene." He told Grunt.Tripwire narrowed his eyes and turned to his lover.

"Koi?" Tripwire said, using the Japanese term for 'beloved'."Where's Chaz meeting us tonight?" He asked wryly.

"The Café, why?" Sci-Fi asked still a little tired from the previous night's activity and not fully alert.

"Exactly!It's not like Daddy's or anything." Tripwire said, eliciting a giggle out of Cover Girl who sat between them.

"Oh yeah." Sci-Fi said."Okay never mind Rob.The Café has a pretty mixed crowd, nothing to outrageous." He continued."You can work stock duty and help Chaz get the truck loaded." He said, figuring that Grunt wouldn't mind it too much.

"Sure." Grunt replied then asked how long it would take to get to the place.

"It's a five minute walk up the street." Tripwire said.At Grunt's surprised look Cover Girl spoke up.

"Do you know where in 'Frisco you are exactly?" She asked.At Grunt's 'no', she filled him in."This is the Castro District.Since about the late sixties, its been known as a haven for gays and lesbians." She explained.

"Oh, okay." Grunt shrugged and went back to listening to what Sci-Fi had planned for him.Noting that Grunt didn't seem to taken aback, Tripwire and Sci-Fi took turns explaining the procedures they had in place for their work and contingency plans just in case they were caught.

After everything was settled Sci-Fi looked at his mug, then rose up from the couch."Mmmm. Coffee…" He murmured as he made his way out to the kitchen.Tripwire shook his head at his beloved's one-track mind then suggested to Cover Girl and Grunt that they'd be up late and might want to rest.

"We just got up before you arrived here, so we won't be going back to bed I don't think." He started."If you want you can share the guestroom or one of you could take our bed for a nap." He added.

Cover Girl let Grunt have the guestroom and said she'd crash in her host's bed until later when she'd take the futon in the living room."That sucker's sooo comfortable." She purred before Grunt could protest.Grunt was undressing when he heard Cover Girl remark about the main bedroom.He heard Tripwire explain that he had to compromise in the apartment's décor and had let Sci-Fi take the bedroom to do with as he pleased."That explains the dungeon look." Cover Girl joked, remarking that the room clashed with the rest of the place.Grunt shook his head in amusement and slipped into bed, it wasn't long before he was fast asleep.

Later that evening, having rested and eaten, they set off for The Café.Everything went off without a hitch much to Grunt's relief.Sci-Fi had found a spy and dealt with her in a rather amusing fashion.Cover Girl was bartending near where Sci-Fi was seated and had slipped a drug into the woman's drink. Before long she was completely intoxicated and Sci-Fi, pretending to be concerned for her well being, picked her up and took her to the bathroom, where he left her.Someone thinking she had OD'd then called for an ambulance and she was whisked away.The drug would leave her memory blank and feeling sick for a few days but wouldn't cause her any real harm.Another plus was that it didn't show up in drug screens either, so no one was the wiser.

It was nearly sunrise when Grunt and Cover Girl made it back to the apartment.Sci-Fi and Tripwire had left when the bar officially closed.Tripwire had gone home and Sci-Fi had gone with Chaz to drop off the shipment they were smuggling out.Grunt came out of the bathroom as Sci-Fi walked in saying that everything had gone according to his plans.They figured they'd take a day to rest and give the couple time to arrange for a house sitter before heading back east.

Cover Girl had received word from the rest of her contacts that they'd be making their way to the main hideout as soon as they could.Diana being the exception seeing as she was in hiding because COBRA was actively seeking out Resistance fighters in the region she was currently at.The former October Guard member saying she'd get there when she could in her message.Cover Girl forwarded the information, including her group's plans to the Baroness.The following morning, all four were on a plane and heading back to the bunker that Grunt knew as 'home'.

To Be Continued…