Meet the Eloi

The Misfits were on their way to the woods of Maine in a helicopter with several Joes. "So who are these Eloi?" Lance asked. He was wearing a red and black uniform and wore a simple gold diadem on his forehead.

"A few years ago Lady Jaye and I were on a mission," Flint explained. "Along with Roadblock and some other Joes. We got separated from the group while fighting Cobra and were found by this group of mutants. They created a community of mutants hidden from the outside world. Long story short, Cobra tried to catch them, we stopped them and became friends with the Eloi. We've kept their existence secret."

"This sounds interesting," Althea remarked. She was wearing a black and blue uniform. The other mutants were wearing their original uniforms except for Todd. He had on his new black pants, green top and black trench coat as well as a banana with gold markings on his forehead.

"I think I ought to warn you," Lady Jaye said. "These mutants are …different."

"Different?" Pietro asked. "How?"

"You have to see for yourselves," Roadblock told him. "That's all I'm gonna say."

They landed in an open space near a mountain range. "We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot," Flint said. "Now remember, they're a little shy around strangers so don't be so eager to fight."

They made their way into the woods. They hadn't gotten very far when suddenly a tangle of vines blocked their way. Soon they were trapped in a circle, surrounded by trees, bushes and vines.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle," A voice said. "If it isn't my old buddy Flint! How are ya you old hound dog you?"

There stood a Native American man in a gray hunting outfit with a gray cowboy hat on his head. He had long white hair and one side of his face looked like it had been melted, like a candle. The eye on the melted side was huge like a vulture's and glassy. The other eye was brown and piercing. "Well if it isn't Flint and the other members of GI Joe! What the hell are you guys doing in this neck of the woods?"

"Hey Thorn," Flint waved. "We're here to investigate possible Cobra activity. You seen any snakes around?"

"Oh yeah," Thorn nodded. "Couple of days ago those slippery sissies were nosing around the south side perimeter. But a couple of my boys here spooked 'em off," He motioned to the trees and they bended to his will. "Nothing like a couple of angry pines to send a snake packing!"

"Thorn here is the leader of their own militia group called the Outriders," Lady Jaye explained. "Their job is to protect the Eloi."

"Well somebody's gotta protect those hippie wannabes," Thorn grunted. He whistled. "Hey Outriders! Come on out! It's the Joes!"

A whoop came up and six mutants appeared. Some looked human and others didn't. "Hey boss!" One mutant that looked exactly like a golden lab retriever in hunting clothes and a cigarette pointed to the kids. "Those kids are mutants!"

"Real observant Hound Dog," A woman with brown hair and biker clothes snickered.

"Shove it Lacey!" Hound Dog snapped.

"Hey man like be cool a'ight?" A tan man with a catlike face and ears wearing sunglasses spoke up. "No need for negative vibes."

"These are my Outriders," Thorn explained. "Hound Dog's our tracker. Best nose in the entire state. His brother Hepcat, here's got a talent for catching food and setting traps."

"Brother?" Wanda asked.

"Our Daddy-O was a nutball scientist," Hepcat explained. "Real into the whole 'Island of Dr. Moreau' concept, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah half the mutants here are family thanks to that whack job," Hound Dog said. "It's a long story."

"That's Lacey," Thorn introduced the brown haired biker. "Her husband Big Tom," He pointed to a bald biker with black sunglasses. "Over there's Mrs. S," There was a fiftyish heavyset woman with a rainbow colored beehive hairdo in hunting gear. "And that's Claw, called that for obvious reasons." Claw was a normal looking man with a brown beard and hunting clothes. He was normal except that his right hand was a huge claw.

"This is our new mutant group we're training," Lady Jaye introduced. "The Misfits. This is Wavedancer, Avalanche, Toad, Blob, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Xi."

"Geese Louise they're just kids!" Hound Dog exclaimed.

"You're all kids compared to me," Mrs. S told him.

"Ah ya gotta start trainin' 'em when they're young," Thorn waved. "It's good for 'em! At least they won't be wimps like the Eloi."

"What are they like?" Pietro asked.

"Follow me," Thorn waved. "You have to see it to believe it."

They walked for about half an hour until they came to a clearing. There were dozens of mutants of all types wearing colorful clothes. There were several tree houses and tents as well as a huge cave near a waterfall. "Wow," Fred looked around. "Look at this place!"

"It's a tye dye explosion," Pietro said.

"These people never left the sixties," Thorn snapped. "They're into peace and love and all that crap."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Someone said.

The man was thin and short, just under 5'3. He was covered with brown fur and had huge hands with sharp fingernails. He had thick black glasses on and was wearing brown baggy pants and a plaid jacket. He looked like a mutant version of Woody Allen. And he sounded just like him as well. "Well I know it's not as appealing as blowing somebody's face off but we like it."

"Hello Mole," Lady Jaye smiled.

"Hello there," Mole waved.

"Mole?" Lance asked.

"I dig," Mole held up his hands. "That's my thing. I can dig through almost anything. Well not metal obviously. And lava that's still hot, not such a good idea. But pretty much any dirt and rock like substance I can go through. I can even dig through sand. Of course I don't really like to because it's all small and it gets in my fur and it takes forever to get it out. You would not believe how hard it is to get sand out of fir. Oy, you think you have problems with a day at the beach? Try having it with fur on. It's not a picnic. And those sand fleas. Don't get me started on them."

"I could always take care of them," Todd said.

"Mole here is the leader of the Eloi," Lady Jaye explained.

"I didn't know there were other mutant communities," Wanda said.

"Well we aren't exactly listed in the phone book for obvious reasons," Mole told her. "Most of us either retired from circus life or escaped from labs. I myself came from New York. I used to live with another mutant group…"

"You mean the Morlocks?" Pietro asked.

"You've heard of them?" Mole blinked.

"Yeah, and you left?" Lance asked.

"Yeah well, to tell the truth I was anxious to get out of there," Mole shrugged. "Not that living in a sewer didn't have its perks but my ex-girlfriend was a bit…territorial. Let's just leave it at that. Okay she was nuts. That's kind of why I named this group the Eloi. You know the other group of futuristic people from the novel the 'Time Machine'? It was our favorite book. We used to read it together until she threw it at my head once too often and set it on fire."

They headed deeper into the village. "Most of us either live in the Cavern or the trees," Mole pointed to a huge cave. Then he pointed to several tree houses above them. Rope bridges connected them. "I like the Cavern myself for obvious reasons. Dug most of the homes in there. Mine's a nice two-room cave. You wouldn't believe the deal I got on it. Very stylish. And it's near the underground spring so there's fresh water all the time."

"Welcome strangers," A 19-year-old teenage girl with long green hair and dark skin walked up to them. She was wearing a long green skirt and a tan peasant blouse with several necklaces. "I am Willow. Welcome to our community."

"Hi there!" Todd waved. "Nice to meet ya!"

"Fellow Eloi, let us greet our visitors with the song of welcome," She raised her hands.

"Oh god no," Thorn put his head into his hands. Immediately all the Eloi around began to sing.

Fine day's forays! Our hearts soar-ays!

Welcome strangers! Come this way!

Fine day's forays! Our hearts soar-ays!

Welcome to all we meet this day!

Welcome, welcome, happy meeting!

Welcome, welcome, happy greeting!

This is how we show we are glad to see

The greeting of the Eloi we!

Happy da-aays, celebrate!

Happy nights, celebrate!

Our happiness is in your grasp

So long as we have hands to clasp!

Welcome, welcome today!

"Okay now that that's over with…" Thorn grumbled.

"Welcome, welcome…" The Eloi kept singing.

"SHUT IT!" Thorn shouted. "In case anyone's forgotten Cobra's back! And this time they brought help! Now we need to stop the singing and start the planning!"

"Spoilsport!" Someone shouted from the back.

"Yes well I feel that in this case Brother Thorn does have a point," Mole said. "All right now! In about two hours we are going to have an emergency meeting so everyone go and get your speeches ready!"

"And I'll help get the food ready," Hound Dog nodded. "Hey sis!"

"Yeah?" Five animal like mutants responded at the exact same time.

"Not you," He waved. "Ewe! Hey Ewe!"

"Yes," A woman with a sheep's features popped up.

"How about making us some of your famous brownies?" Hound Dog said.

"How about not?" Thorn snapped. "We need our minds clear for this! Just get something okay Ewe!"

"What me?" Hound Dog asked.

"Not you, Ewe!" Thorn shouted. "Lord I hate going through this all the time!"

"I'm not exactly thrilled with it either," Ewe said as she stormed off in a huff.

"Well don't look at me!" Hound Dog snapped. "Daddy chose that name!"

"Your father had a weird sense of humor," Thorn grumbled.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Pietro asked.

"Living here or total?" Hound Dog asked.

"Total?" Wanda asked. "There's more?"

"Oh yeah. Daddy was a busy man," Hound Dog quipped. "There's twenty of us here but last count there were forty five of us all."

"Forty Five!" Pietro gasped.

"Yup," Hound Dog nodded. "All animal based."

"Well except for Herbert over there," Hepcat pointed to a man lounging around in a small pond nearby. "Only normal kid dad ever had until he decided to mutate him too. Gave him some gills along the side of his body so he can breathe underwater. Course he also fried his brain so he thinks he's a goldfish."

"Oh man I'm sorry," Fred said.

"Don't be," Hound Dog told him. "We're not. Actually it's an improvement over the way he used to be. Eh, he's happy, we're happy. No big deal."

"So what do you all do?" Mole asked. "What are your powers?"

"Well Wavedancer here can breathe underwater as well as manipulate water," Lance told him. "I can create earthquakes as well as do some earth shifting."

"You are an earth mover," Willow's eyes brightened. "How wonderful! I am a plant shaper. I can make the plants grow and bend." She demonstrated on a nearby vine.

"Wow," Lance blinked. "That's pretty cool."

"Come," She took Lance's hand. "I must show you my latest flowers that I grew!" She took him to a bush filled with multi-colored flowers.

"Oh brother," Thorn grumbled. "She's at it again!"

"What?" Roadblock asked.

"Willow's my daughter," Thorn sighed. "She has the same powers I do. Now don't get me wrong, I love her but…well she's a slut."

"Thorn!" Mole reprimanded. "We've had this little talk about labeling people's sexually! Just because she expresses herself freely…"

"She's expressed herself freely with any teenage twerp that's crossed her path ever since she was fifteen!" Thorn snapped. He softened. "Look, it ain't like she does it on purpose. She ain't mean. She really does fall in love with boys. Then she sees another one and falls in love with that one and so on. Just can't make up her mind."

"Well by the looks of it she's changed it again," Mole pointed out as Lance and Willow were talking.

"Well I just hope she doesn't make this kid a wreck like she did with her last boyfriend," Thorn grumbled. "Poor guy was so broken hearted, he sat in a tree for a week."

"It was not a week," Mole said. "It was just a couple of days. He needed some time to center himself and get closer to nature."

"Oh lord Avalanche is already a loon," Wanda groaned. "He just broke up with this ditz of a girl…"

"Say no more," Thorn sighed. "Oh well, nothing you can do but hope for the best. Now let's get going. You might wanna freshen up before the meeting starts."

"What do we need a meeting for?" Pietro asked. "To figure out if what plans we are going to use?"

"I wish!" Thorn grumbled. "The meeting is to figure out if we are going to decide if we are going to fight or not! Like I said, these people are nuts! I need a drink," He stalked off.

"I told you they were different," Roadblock sighed as the remaining Misfits looked at him.

"Is it just me or do these mutants seem a little…pathetic?" Pietro asked.

"This from a mutant who hides in the closet whenever his sister is ticked off at him?" Todd quipped.

"I do not!" Pietro snapped.

"That's true," Wanda said. "Once he hid in the garage."

"WANDA!" Pietro snapped.

"Pietro is a scaredy cat!" Todd snickered.

"Cut that out!" Pietro snapped.

"Pietro is a scaredy cat!" Both Todd and Fred laughed.

"That's it!" Pietro snapped. "You are both dead!" He chased after them.

"No violence!" Mole cried out. "No violence!"

"Good luck," Althea snickered.

"Oh this is gonna be a fun mission," Roadblock sighed.

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Several miles away a figure watched the smoke from the Eloi's campsite through his field glasses. "I must thank the Joes for leading me right to their headquarters," Trask smiled. "Saves me a lot of trouble. Now all I have to do is wait for this backup Bragg is sending me and those mutants will be mine." He grinned as he looked at his small platoon of soldiers.

"And if for some reason they fail," His assistant said. "We always have our ace in the hole." He pointed to a large crate that was being secured nearby.

"That we do lieutenant," Trask grinned. "That we do."

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Copperhead sulked as he left the general store. It was a small place that was the closest to the Cobra Command base. "Get this Copperhead. Get me a magazine Copperhead. Buy me some grape soda Copperhead. I didn't join Cobra to be some Dreadnok's personal shopper! Cobra Commander is really gonna get it! I swear one of these days I'm gonna…"

He yelped as someone grabbed him and dragged him behind the shack. He was roughly thrown against the wall. "Hey! Who do you think you're…?" He stopped when he saw who it was.

"D-Destro?" Copperhead yelped. "What are you doing here?"

"I believe we have something in common Copperhead," Destro held him by the shirt. "We are both being unfairly prosecuted by Cobra Commander."

"That we are," Copperhead relaxed a little. "Not to mention that jerk Zartan and those Dreadnoks. Just because Zartan replaced you doesn't give those morons the run of the…yikes!" He yelped when Destro grabbed his throat.

"What do you mean 'replaced'?" Destro hissed.

"Z-Zartan's now Cobra Commander's right hand man," Copperhead gulped. "I thought you knew!"

"No," Destro's eyes narrowed. "I did not. Something very wrong is happening in Cobra. And I believe it's time we found out exactly what!"