It's Like Being Born Again. Pt 11
Author chick's notes: Now if memory serves…I believe I mentioned that the Baroness was informed of a meeting she had to attend with the rest of COBRA's ranking officials…before 'steeling' herself for some good old fashioned mind blowing fun. (Pun completely intended) And I don't give a shite what reality this is in…those two belong together! Oh wait…I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I? Mwahahahaha. Disclaimers in Pt 1.
It's Like Having Born Again. Pt 11
Zartan escorted her to the main meeting chamber in the White House, where Cobra Commander had set up his own personal throne room. The Baroness joined the meeting, standing near Dr. Mindbender and waited for the commander to start. She made a mental note of the fact that Cobra Commander's cloak looked wrong as it hung over his left-shoulder.
"So very nice of you to join us Baroness." Cobra Commander hissed from the throne. "I do hope that Destro's loss has not affected your loyalty to me." He added. She could have sworn that he was grinning like the madman he was under his faceplate as she spoke up.
"That fool got as he deserved." She spat. Wishing instead that it had been the man seated before her who had received the grizzly fate.
"Good, good." He hissed again. "I wouldn't want to have to order such atrocities against you, my dear." She winced mentally at the thought of receiving the same fate as Destro, or worse, but showed no outward sign of it.
"Now I called you all here to inform you of a few…policy changes if you will?" The commander began. "As of now you will all report your camps activities to me, I will not tolerate any more betrayal!" He screamed, the architecture of the room echoing the sound all over.
The Baroness raised an eyebrow at the statement, as did a few others. "Yes, I know. Several of you already keep me well informed and I appreciate that." He began when he saw the looks on hers and the twin's faces. "However, from now on, I will have couriers assigned to each of you. The courier's job will be to go over the reports, then personally deliver them to me…Daily!" He finished.
Cobra Commander continued telling the assembly of his other changes, saying he would also provide discs with the information in case anyone should 'forget' the new rules. "These discs I expect will be shown to your ranking officers and personal. I want no more secrecy." He bellowed. "Now go. You are dismissed. You'll find that your couriers will be waiting for you at each of your headquarters. If I hear that they have not been met by the end of the day, I will suspect the worst and have you hanged!" He threatened as the group disbanded.
Deep in thought of this new twist, the Baroness didn't notice Mindbender until he gently grabbed her arm. "What do you want?" She hissed, angry with herself for being taken by surprise.
"I wish only to have a few words with you." Mindbender began. "That madman will destroy us all with his paranoia." Mindbender said.
The Baroness weighed his words carefully before speaking. "You heard what he said. Do you honestly expect me to be as stupid as that fool Destro?" She said.
"No, no of course not. But these new changes…they'll impede my research." He began complaining about how he would be hindered from conducting his mad experiments. She paid just enough attention so as to not appear uninterested. Her decision was rewarded handsomely when she heard him ask if she noticed anything peculiar about Cobra Commander at the meeting. "You noticed his left side yes?" He asked, almost purring in glee.
"His cloak was covering it, but yes it did seem odd. Why?" She asked, wondering what Mindbender was about to tell her.
"His arm. He lost it to gangrene." Mindbender grinned. At her shocked look he explained. "Destro it would seem had gotten off a lucky shot. The Commander in his fit of megalomania, neglected to have the wound properly treated and it became hideously infected."
The Baroness winced at his enthusiastic tone as he explained how he had the 'privilege' of removing the lost limb himself. "You no doubt have it in a jar in that macabre collection of yours?" She asked, knowing Mindbender's morbid habit of keeping body parts of victims he'd either experimented on or had been executed.
"Yes. Right next to that traitor's heart." He smiled, referring to Destro. According to rumor, Mindbender also kept the hearts of execution victims as a trophy of sorts. 'The key to their betrayal' he had once called them. She shuddered before excusing herself so she could meet with her 'courier'. Mindbender bid her well and left for his laboratory.
In the car, she began pondering how to deal with this new person who no doubt would be loyal to Cobra Commander. She had several Joes at her private bunker and she was spending a lot of her own time there as well. Arriving at her private mansion within the city, she made her way to her office, knowing that the courier was waiting for her there. She walked in to find two people instead. The woman she didn't know but the man she knew all to well. 'Interesting', she thought to herself before speaking to the pair.
"You are?" She asked of the woman who was not at all what she had expected. She had her long hair pulled back into a braid that reached the middle of her back. It had been dyed a brilliant shade of pink and her clothing was very non-COBRA issue, torn jeans, boots, and a black leather jacket over a white halter-top.
"Name's Zarana." She answered, inspecting her nails as she did so. "This is my partner Blaine." She said looking up to the Baroness and jerking a thumb at the man behind her. Blaine winked at the Baroness and smiled.
Seeing the gesture she kept her composure as she grilled Zarana for more information. "I suspect you are the courier I was assigned?"
Zarana nodded her head. "Yeah. Old Snake-puss would never do his own footwork so he got me brother to do it for him." She said.
"Your brother?"
"Yeah, Zartan, the head of his military police." Zarana answered. "I've got another brother too, Zander, me twin." She offered.
"I had no idea that Zartan had any siblings." The Baroness commented aloud.
Zarana smiled. It was genuine much to the Baroness' surprise. "Now I doubt you work out of here?" Zarana began, waving a hand around the plush office. She noticed the Baroness narrow her eyes and decided to get to the point. "Look Lady? I know what you really do. And I know you know Blaine as well." She said. At the Baroness' shocked look, the man spoke up.
"Relax I already checked the place for bugs. Found one and it's been taken care off." He grinned.
The Baroness considered the two as she began thinking the fates had spared her again. "What are your goals then, Zarana is it?" She asked.
Zarana's sudden change in expression caught her off guard. Gone was the flippant attitude, only to be replaced by deadly seriousness. "I want that maniac deader then you do, Lady. You don't want to know what he did to me." She said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she spoke. Blaine rested a comforting hand on her shoulder as the memories of her brutal nights at the emperor's hand came flooding back. "I was assigned by Zartan to keep an eye out on the southwest. He knew what had happened and figured it was the only way he could safely get me away from that shithead. That's how I met Blaine." Zarana explained. "I knew he was a Joe and I saw in him a way to get my revenge. I want this nightmare over with already."
The Baroness' expression softened as she stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "If what you say is true, then I welcome your help." Zarana sniffled and thanked her for her trust. "And I'm glad to see you again Mainframe." She smiled at the Joe behind Zarana.
"No sweat, the feeling's mutual." He smiled. "Thunder dropped me a note and said what was going on. It was a no brainer then, for Z to convince Zartan to get her assigned to you…not to mention a good excuse for the pair of us to show up on this side of the coast." He winked. "And before you ask, Zartan has no idea his little sister is not working alone." He added. "How else do you think the Resistance has been so successful out west?" He added pointing to Zarana.
The Baroness smiled, saying she was grateful for any assistance the two would be able to provide for her. "Come. As you pointed out earlier, I do not work out of here. I have a private bunker nearby." She said as she led them towards the waiting car outside. Mainframe left separately in case anyone was watching and quickly caught up with the car containing the two women.
When the Baroness asked how she was supposed to deliver her daily reports, Zarana told her a computer communiqué would suffice for the Commander. "I won't have to go anywhere near him at that rate. And it'll be to bloody easy to get him thinking that everything's right as rain with you. I'll keep him off your back." She promised.
"Excellent." The Baroness smiled. "Come, we have much to do." She said as their car followed by Mainframe's pulled into the hanger of her bunker.
To Be Continued…
