Shadows From the Past
Note: This is the concluding chapter to this story, which is one of those stories that could be continued indefinitely, and I would love to see other people bring the Red Shadows back in their stories. Maybe I will pick this one up again in the future, maybe not. Only time will tell.
I do not own the rights to GI Joe, Cobra, Red Shadows. It is a pity that the Red Shadows were not covered in the Now You Know book, it is not easy for Americans like me to get hold of those stories, as interesting as they were. (The ones that did not read like toy ads, anyway.) ( Anyway, I do hope you have enjoyed my fanfic.
Part 9 A: Scarlet.
Scarlet snapped awake at the sharp hurried knocking sound on her door. She instinctively reached past her robe, and instead pulled on her pants and shirt, so that while she may not be combat ready, she was that much closer. She opened the door to find Jinx and Spirit waiting outside.
"What's happened?" She asked.
"We just got an anonymous phone call telling us where Billy is." Jinx answered. "They also said that Firefly has been dispatched with orders to kill him, so we are going now. Duke wanted us to take you along to sneak in, and sneak him out."
"The voice sampling software says the caller was really Destro." Spirit said.
"Ill finish getting dressed."
****
Fortunately the Red Shadow's base was in a remote location, Scarlet thought. When the big showdown happened, there would not be many civilians around to get in the way. On the other hand, with that much space, they could certainly hold a large number of troops.
Jinx, Spirit and Scarlet moved silently in the night, going from shadow to shadow. There certainly a lot of buildings on the property too. Mostly quickly assembled hangers or barns. A quick look inside one revealed tanks. Scarlet sure hoped the brass would allow them to use air strikes to take out most of this hardware before any shooting started. She doubted that they would though. They may not mind firing a smart missile across Saudi Arabia, but it was another matter entirely to fire one across Ohio. They would sooner loose than admit to the people that something was wrong.
Spirit sent a quick signal over their communicators to let Duke know that they had confirmed this to be a Red Shadow strong hold. In the morning the build up would begin, and every one wished they had enough explosives to do some midnight demolition work, but their priority was to locate Billy, so they kept going from building to building.
Scarlet spotted another guard wearing the distinctive red uniform of the Red Shadows. "Spirit, we still need to know where they are holding Billy. can you take him down without killing him?"
"I didn't kill the last one. He took a suicide pill as soon as I tried to ask a question."
She thought for a moment. They were too fanatical then. Instead she raised her crossbow, her bolt killed the man quickly and silently. They continued their search.
At the center of the compound, they found a building that looked most promising. It was larger than any of the others, and much more heavily guarded. They would not be able to sneak in the front door of this one, and they were suddenly reminded that they did not have much time before one of the guards they had killed would be missed.
With the help of Scarlet's crossbow, they found another way into the building using a second floor window. Once inside, they split up, each of them taking a different floor.
The alarms sounded. Someone must have found one of the bodies. Scarlet tried to meld into the shadows.
Gunshots.
But not inside the building, someone was shooting out on the compound. She could only assume that somewhere on the Red Shadow's compound, Firefly was being blamed for the deaths of several guards, but Firefly had ninja training too. She doubted the Shadows would be able to get him. They had to be sure to find Billy first.
The building was starting to come alive, troops running down the halls. Scarlet narrowly avoided detection once again by ducking into a darkened room. Still, she felt sure that if the Red Shadow's masks didn't cut peripheral vision so much, she would have been discovered long ago.
Scarlet had the strangest feeling she was not alone. There was a figure in a chair.
"Who enters my chambers unannounced?" A voice asked. It sounded too much like Cobra Commander's voice. She fired.
The crossbow bolt hit the man's chest square in the middle, and went in deep. A clean kill.
He stood up.
No, he wasn't Cobra Commander, despite the voice. His outfit looked more like the man in the iron mask.
The man reached up and pulled out the crossbow bolt, and held it up to his mask at eye level.
"You dare try to kill your Baron?" he said, and leveled a pistol at her.
She went to dodge, but what should have been a graceful maneuver turned into a disaster as she tripped over a dead body on the floor.
Click. Click.
The Baron's gun was apparently empty, but he continued to press the trigger oblivious to the fact that it would do no good.
The body Scarlet had tripped over, she realized was another Red Shadow soldier. She backed up out of the room. Eventually the Baron returned to his seat and put his gun back down.
She heard two beeps on her communicator, indicating that Spirit had located Billy. She headed back to the window where they had entered to wait for Spirit and Jinx to leave.
Billy was in remarkably good shape for his confinement, but Spirit still needed to help get him down the rope.
The Red Shadows were very well trained, that much Scarlet and the others could tell easily, the way they ran back and forth across their compound searching for intruders.
A series of large explosions rocked the compound, followed by the sounds of a low flying airplane passing overhead.
Scarlet easily identified the plane as an A-10 Warthog. no, that wasn't quite right, the wings weren't a quite the right angle, and there was a turret behind the cockpit. Cobra Rattlers.
"The shootings started, Joes. lets get out of here." She said, leading Spirit, Jinx, and the exhausted Billy into the darkness and confusion.
Part 9 B: Cobra Commander
"Commander," Destro began in the voice that came across as an arrogant whine, "Wild Weasel reports that the enemy has deployed its Robo-Skulls." The fool really didn't have a firm grasp of what was to happen, and was not entirely pleased that he was being forced to act as driver to Cobra Commander in his very own Dominator.
"Good. Send in the Firebats, Night Ravens and Mambas to handle the Robo- Skulls. The Rattlers are to continue their bombardment of the Red Shadow's ground forces. Any sign of GI Joe forces?"
"Not yet, Cobra Commander. wait a moment." Destro touched his ear piece trying to make out what was being said more clearly. "Yes, Firebat 6 reports seeing armored columns of GI Joe and AF forces moving into the area."
Behind his mask, Cobra Commander smiled. "Excellent. Now we can begin, send in the HISS tanks and the first battalions of CLAWS, Vipers and BATs. Remember, their first targets are to destroy the Red Shadow Skeletron androids. Once they are destroyed phase two can begin."
"Are you sure this is wise, Commander? It is such an obvious trap!"
"Yes it is, isn't it? But a trap for who, Destro? That is the question." He could withdraw and let the Joes deal directly with the Red Shadows, but he knew the Shadows too well. Their leaders were driven by revenge against Cobra, and would fade away like the shadows they were before any Joe mounted attack.
"And why aren't you using any of your Neo Vipers or Crimson Guards?"
"I am using a few of my Crimson Guardsmen, Destro. But the fact is, I have no desire to throw away my best troops in this operation. BATs are easily built, and the Viper units are made up of potential troublemakers. Unfortunately I needed to deploy the Claws to take out the Skeletrons. We shall just have to hope that the enemy holds their Krackens in reserve."
"Now, would you please explain why you are wearing that ridiculous outfit?"
Anger flashed across Cobra Commanders eyes, and hardened his voice. "In good time, Destro."
****
"I dragged a lot of people out of retirement for this," Duke said, "This had better all go down according to plan."
"This is our single best chance to wipe out both Cobra and the Red Shadows," Hawk replied. "Everyone knows what is at stake here. They will all do their jobs."
Duke took a breath, and wished he were closer to the front for this operation. He picked up the radio mike "Squad commanders, report in." "This is Eagle, SAS forces ready to deploy." Eagle was technically too old for action, but he commanded too much respect among the SAS, and had the most experience dealing with the Red Shadows of anyone. He was one of several old AF soldiers who had been reinstated for this one last battle. He didn't let the edge he was feeling reach his voice, ever since the Operation Bloodhound days, he could feel when Ironblood was near, and Ironblood was definitely in the area.
"Sergeant Stalker here, the Joe forces are ready to go! Hey, Duke, Why did you change my call sign for this op?" The black Sergeant, who was one of the first Joes recruited asked.
"To cut down on confusion. Whose next?"
"Stalker here, the Vamps are ready to go." Stalker was another from the old AF that had fought the Shadows, he was a white man who wore a driving mask very similar to Snake Eyes' original costume.
"Oh."
"Quiet Sergeant Stalker. Next."
"Steeler, AF and Joe tank platoons are in position."
"Covergirl here, and my Wolverines are in position," Covergirl was a former model who had joined GI Joe, and recently been reinstated along with the rest of the team.
"Hunter here. My Wolverines are also in position." Hunter was a Mexican bandit who had joined the old Action Force in hopes of redeeming himself and winning a pardon for his crimes. Whenever he enters combat, he wears a mask similar to Cobra officers to keep from being recognized.
"All forces, wait until Cobra is fully engaged with the enemy before entering the battle," Duke cautioned, and all the commanders acknowledged.
"I'm worried, Duke," Hawk said. "I expected Cobra to have come with a much larger force than that."
Cobra HISS Tanks in a V formation punched a hole through the Red Shadow's outer defense line, a move that took them by surprise, as they expected Cobra to attempt to surround them. Instead Cobra's move easily allowed the Shadows to move in on Cobra's flanks. Immediately behind the HISS tanks an army of Vipers and BATs followed, forming a protective barrier around Cobra Commander and Destro in Destro's Dominator. In the air, a variety of Cobra aircraft did battle with Red Shadow Robo-Skulls.
Two Strike HISS tanks stopped well short of the quickly shifting front lines. Their forward crew compartments raised up as high as they could go, and a Crimson Guardsman climbed out on top of it, armed with a high power sniper rifles. "Commander," Destro spoke, "We have eliminated the last of the front line Skeletrons, but at a tremendous loss of manpower."
"Excellent," answered Cobra Commander, "Move us to the front line."
"As you wish." Destro obeyed, even though he had no idea what the Commander had planned. He just felt certain that it could not be a good idea.
The Dominator stopped, and Cobra Commander opened the canopy and stood in the seat for all to see. He was not wearing his traditional venom blue suit with silver battle helmet, instead he was wearing a white suit, with a black and Red V emblem on the front, a white Skull and Crossbones centered in the field of red. He had added a black cape, and a Cobra armband. On his head he wore the stovepipe like mask that had once been instantly recognizable as Baron Ironblood.
The Black Major pulled his pistol, he knew better than to underestimate this opponent. Red Jackal fumed at the outrageousness of his old commander to once again wear Ironblood uniform, while Red Laser simply stared in disbelief. Red Wolf had not yet noticed, as he was involved in a dogfight with several Cobra planes. Baron Ironblood, did not seem to fully understand what was going on. He stood climbed up on a Hyena Tank and ordered it to the front lines, to face his Cobra equivalent.
"CEASE FIRE!" Cobra Commander shouted, a microphone in his mask carrying his voice across the entire battlefield over loud speakers, while radioing his words to both the Cobra and the Red Shadow aircraft.
The Cobra forces obeyed, recognizing the voice of their Commander. The BATs also obeyed but they had been programmed to expect this unexpected command. The Red Shadows also obeyed, recognizing the voice of Cobra Commander as the voice of their commander, the Baron Ironblood.
For a moment the battlefield was silent. Destro was just as shocked as the GI Joe observers at the results. The Joe observers began to worry.
"My dear Red Shadows, we have all been betrayed!" Cobra Commander shouted, and still not a single soldier moved.
Baron Ironblood on his Hyena, which was essentially a red HISS tank, stood to challenge the affront to his authority. "I am the Baron Ironblood!" He said, in the same voice as the Commander. "Kill these Cobra swine!"
The Red Shadows shuffled their guns, not entirely sure what to do when faced with two Ironbloods, each giving conflicting orders. "Really?" Cobra Commander answered, "Do it yourself!" The Commander raised his gun to fire at the Baron's head, taking careful aim at the eye visor.
Black Major and Red Laser each smiled, knowing full well that the range was too great for the Cobra Commander's puny pistol to even be able to scratch the armored visor of the Baron.
Cobra Commander fired, but it did not matter if his shot hit or not, because at the same moment, the two Crimson Guardsman snipers the Commander had deployed also fired. Their shots shattered the visor, and ripped through what lay behind it, and ricocheted within the heavily armored mask doing that much more damage to the wearer.
Baron Ironblood's head exploded within his mask which then fell off his shoulders revealing a mess of wires where his neck use to be.
"Your leaders have betrayed us," Cobra Commander continued, "by replacing me with that THING and forcing you to fight against me! And leading us into a trap! We are now being surrounded by GI Joe's forces, as your leaders well know.
"Join me and Cobra against our common foes! Restrain the Black Major, Red Laser and Red Jackal for trial, then turn your guns to the perimeter where GI Joe awaits."
"Bloody hell," thought Black Major. Yes, he had know about the Joes plan to ambush them, and had not informed anyone else. If Cobra Commander were killed, it would have been worth the loss of a few hundred Red Shadows. Still he had not survived as long as he had by taking foolish chances. He shot and killed the nearest Shadows before they had a chance to come near him, then ran to make his escape.
"Crap" thought Hawk. The last thing he had expected was for the Red Shadows to join forces with Cobra against them. "Send everyone in!!" he ordered.
Jackal had kept a close watch on the Black Major; he knew the Major had an escape route. A Red Shadow jumped on him in an attempt to restrain him, but he fell after Jackal head butted him with his cybernetic skull. He ran after the Black Major in his own bid for freedom.
Red Laser was held firmly by two Red Shadows. He was in too much shock to even think of fighting back.
Two columns of Wolverines charged into action, their missiles firing into the Red Shadow and Cobra Ranks.
Fresh Mambas and Cobra Fangs seemed to come in out of nowhere, at the same time the GI Joe Awe Strikers and Dragonflies came onto the scene. In the fresh confusion, the Dominator's tail extended and rotors deployed.
Cobra Commander and Destro, took to the sky in the Dominator, and flew away from the battlefield, along with most of the Cobra air forces flying escort for them, leaving the token Cobra ground forces behind to fend for themselves, along with the Red Shadows.
****
The final report on the battle was simple and clear. The battle had been a massacre. The Joes took heavy losses, mainly among the Greenshirts and SAS, but many of the regulars were wounded. The few Cobra forces he had left behind had been wiped out, either by the Joes or his own BATs.
The Red Shadows had once again, and hopefully more effectively, been wiped out. There were still a few had escaped. If they ever reared their heads again, they would be killed.
Yes, it had been a massacre, but then, that had been the point.
Cobra Commanders laughter echoed down the hall.
Note: This is the concluding chapter to this story, which is one of those stories that could be continued indefinitely, and I would love to see other people bring the Red Shadows back in their stories. Maybe I will pick this one up again in the future, maybe not. Only time will tell.
I do not own the rights to GI Joe, Cobra, Red Shadows. It is a pity that the Red Shadows were not covered in the Now You Know book, it is not easy for Americans like me to get hold of those stories, as interesting as they were. (The ones that did not read like toy ads, anyway.) ( Anyway, I do hope you have enjoyed my fanfic.
Part 9 A: Scarlet.
Scarlet snapped awake at the sharp hurried knocking sound on her door. She instinctively reached past her robe, and instead pulled on her pants and shirt, so that while she may not be combat ready, she was that much closer. She opened the door to find Jinx and Spirit waiting outside.
"What's happened?" She asked.
"We just got an anonymous phone call telling us where Billy is." Jinx answered. "They also said that Firefly has been dispatched with orders to kill him, so we are going now. Duke wanted us to take you along to sneak in, and sneak him out."
"The voice sampling software says the caller was really Destro." Spirit said.
"Ill finish getting dressed."
****
Fortunately the Red Shadow's base was in a remote location, Scarlet thought. When the big showdown happened, there would not be many civilians around to get in the way. On the other hand, with that much space, they could certainly hold a large number of troops.
Jinx, Spirit and Scarlet moved silently in the night, going from shadow to shadow. There certainly a lot of buildings on the property too. Mostly quickly assembled hangers or barns. A quick look inside one revealed tanks. Scarlet sure hoped the brass would allow them to use air strikes to take out most of this hardware before any shooting started. She doubted that they would though. They may not mind firing a smart missile across Saudi Arabia, but it was another matter entirely to fire one across Ohio. They would sooner loose than admit to the people that something was wrong.
Spirit sent a quick signal over their communicators to let Duke know that they had confirmed this to be a Red Shadow strong hold. In the morning the build up would begin, and every one wished they had enough explosives to do some midnight demolition work, but their priority was to locate Billy, so they kept going from building to building.
Scarlet spotted another guard wearing the distinctive red uniform of the Red Shadows. "Spirit, we still need to know where they are holding Billy. can you take him down without killing him?"
"I didn't kill the last one. He took a suicide pill as soon as I tried to ask a question."
She thought for a moment. They were too fanatical then. Instead she raised her crossbow, her bolt killed the man quickly and silently. They continued their search.
At the center of the compound, they found a building that looked most promising. It was larger than any of the others, and much more heavily guarded. They would not be able to sneak in the front door of this one, and they were suddenly reminded that they did not have much time before one of the guards they had killed would be missed.
With the help of Scarlet's crossbow, they found another way into the building using a second floor window. Once inside, they split up, each of them taking a different floor.
The alarms sounded. Someone must have found one of the bodies. Scarlet tried to meld into the shadows.
Gunshots.
But not inside the building, someone was shooting out on the compound. She could only assume that somewhere on the Red Shadow's compound, Firefly was being blamed for the deaths of several guards, but Firefly had ninja training too. She doubted the Shadows would be able to get him. They had to be sure to find Billy first.
The building was starting to come alive, troops running down the halls. Scarlet narrowly avoided detection once again by ducking into a darkened room. Still, she felt sure that if the Red Shadow's masks didn't cut peripheral vision so much, she would have been discovered long ago.
Scarlet had the strangest feeling she was not alone. There was a figure in a chair.
"Who enters my chambers unannounced?" A voice asked. It sounded too much like Cobra Commander's voice. She fired.
The crossbow bolt hit the man's chest square in the middle, and went in deep. A clean kill.
He stood up.
No, he wasn't Cobra Commander, despite the voice. His outfit looked more like the man in the iron mask.
The man reached up and pulled out the crossbow bolt, and held it up to his mask at eye level.
"You dare try to kill your Baron?" he said, and leveled a pistol at her.
She went to dodge, but what should have been a graceful maneuver turned into a disaster as she tripped over a dead body on the floor.
Click. Click.
The Baron's gun was apparently empty, but he continued to press the trigger oblivious to the fact that it would do no good.
The body Scarlet had tripped over, she realized was another Red Shadow soldier. She backed up out of the room. Eventually the Baron returned to his seat and put his gun back down.
She heard two beeps on her communicator, indicating that Spirit had located Billy. She headed back to the window where they had entered to wait for Spirit and Jinx to leave.
Billy was in remarkably good shape for his confinement, but Spirit still needed to help get him down the rope.
The Red Shadows were very well trained, that much Scarlet and the others could tell easily, the way they ran back and forth across their compound searching for intruders.
A series of large explosions rocked the compound, followed by the sounds of a low flying airplane passing overhead.
Scarlet easily identified the plane as an A-10 Warthog. no, that wasn't quite right, the wings weren't a quite the right angle, and there was a turret behind the cockpit. Cobra Rattlers.
"The shootings started, Joes. lets get out of here." She said, leading Spirit, Jinx, and the exhausted Billy into the darkness and confusion.
Part 9 B: Cobra Commander
"Commander," Destro began in the voice that came across as an arrogant whine, "Wild Weasel reports that the enemy has deployed its Robo-Skulls." The fool really didn't have a firm grasp of what was to happen, and was not entirely pleased that he was being forced to act as driver to Cobra Commander in his very own Dominator.
"Good. Send in the Firebats, Night Ravens and Mambas to handle the Robo- Skulls. The Rattlers are to continue their bombardment of the Red Shadow's ground forces. Any sign of GI Joe forces?"
"Not yet, Cobra Commander. wait a moment." Destro touched his ear piece trying to make out what was being said more clearly. "Yes, Firebat 6 reports seeing armored columns of GI Joe and AF forces moving into the area."
Behind his mask, Cobra Commander smiled. "Excellent. Now we can begin, send in the HISS tanks and the first battalions of CLAWS, Vipers and BATs. Remember, their first targets are to destroy the Red Shadow Skeletron androids. Once they are destroyed phase two can begin."
"Are you sure this is wise, Commander? It is such an obvious trap!"
"Yes it is, isn't it? But a trap for who, Destro? That is the question." He could withdraw and let the Joes deal directly with the Red Shadows, but he knew the Shadows too well. Their leaders were driven by revenge against Cobra, and would fade away like the shadows they were before any Joe mounted attack.
"And why aren't you using any of your Neo Vipers or Crimson Guards?"
"I am using a few of my Crimson Guardsmen, Destro. But the fact is, I have no desire to throw away my best troops in this operation. BATs are easily built, and the Viper units are made up of potential troublemakers. Unfortunately I needed to deploy the Claws to take out the Skeletrons. We shall just have to hope that the enemy holds their Krackens in reserve."
"Now, would you please explain why you are wearing that ridiculous outfit?"
Anger flashed across Cobra Commanders eyes, and hardened his voice. "In good time, Destro."
****
"I dragged a lot of people out of retirement for this," Duke said, "This had better all go down according to plan."
"This is our single best chance to wipe out both Cobra and the Red Shadows," Hawk replied. "Everyone knows what is at stake here. They will all do their jobs."
Duke took a breath, and wished he were closer to the front for this operation. He picked up the radio mike "Squad commanders, report in." "This is Eagle, SAS forces ready to deploy." Eagle was technically too old for action, but he commanded too much respect among the SAS, and had the most experience dealing with the Red Shadows of anyone. He was one of several old AF soldiers who had been reinstated for this one last battle. He didn't let the edge he was feeling reach his voice, ever since the Operation Bloodhound days, he could feel when Ironblood was near, and Ironblood was definitely in the area.
"Sergeant Stalker here, the Joe forces are ready to go! Hey, Duke, Why did you change my call sign for this op?" The black Sergeant, who was one of the first Joes recruited asked.
"To cut down on confusion. Whose next?"
"Stalker here, the Vamps are ready to go." Stalker was another from the old AF that had fought the Shadows, he was a white man who wore a driving mask very similar to Snake Eyes' original costume.
"Oh."
"Quiet Sergeant Stalker. Next."
"Steeler, AF and Joe tank platoons are in position."
"Covergirl here, and my Wolverines are in position," Covergirl was a former model who had joined GI Joe, and recently been reinstated along with the rest of the team.
"Hunter here. My Wolverines are also in position." Hunter was a Mexican bandit who had joined the old Action Force in hopes of redeeming himself and winning a pardon for his crimes. Whenever he enters combat, he wears a mask similar to Cobra officers to keep from being recognized.
"All forces, wait until Cobra is fully engaged with the enemy before entering the battle," Duke cautioned, and all the commanders acknowledged.
"I'm worried, Duke," Hawk said. "I expected Cobra to have come with a much larger force than that."
Cobra HISS Tanks in a V formation punched a hole through the Red Shadow's outer defense line, a move that took them by surprise, as they expected Cobra to attempt to surround them. Instead Cobra's move easily allowed the Shadows to move in on Cobra's flanks. Immediately behind the HISS tanks an army of Vipers and BATs followed, forming a protective barrier around Cobra Commander and Destro in Destro's Dominator. In the air, a variety of Cobra aircraft did battle with Red Shadow Robo-Skulls.
Two Strike HISS tanks stopped well short of the quickly shifting front lines. Their forward crew compartments raised up as high as they could go, and a Crimson Guardsman climbed out on top of it, armed with a high power sniper rifles. "Commander," Destro spoke, "We have eliminated the last of the front line Skeletrons, but at a tremendous loss of manpower."
"Excellent," answered Cobra Commander, "Move us to the front line."
"As you wish." Destro obeyed, even though he had no idea what the Commander had planned. He just felt certain that it could not be a good idea.
The Dominator stopped, and Cobra Commander opened the canopy and stood in the seat for all to see. He was not wearing his traditional venom blue suit with silver battle helmet, instead he was wearing a white suit, with a black and Red V emblem on the front, a white Skull and Crossbones centered in the field of red. He had added a black cape, and a Cobra armband. On his head he wore the stovepipe like mask that had once been instantly recognizable as Baron Ironblood.
The Black Major pulled his pistol, he knew better than to underestimate this opponent. Red Jackal fumed at the outrageousness of his old commander to once again wear Ironblood uniform, while Red Laser simply stared in disbelief. Red Wolf had not yet noticed, as he was involved in a dogfight with several Cobra planes. Baron Ironblood, did not seem to fully understand what was going on. He stood climbed up on a Hyena Tank and ordered it to the front lines, to face his Cobra equivalent.
"CEASE FIRE!" Cobra Commander shouted, a microphone in his mask carrying his voice across the entire battlefield over loud speakers, while radioing his words to both the Cobra and the Red Shadow aircraft.
The Cobra forces obeyed, recognizing the voice of their Commander. The BATs also obeyed but they had been programmed to expect this unexpected command. The Red Shadows also obeyed, recognizing the voice of Cobra Commander as the voice of their commander, the Baron Ironblood.
For a moment the battlefield was silent. Destro was just as shocked as the GI Joe observers at the results. The Joe observers began to worry.
"My dear Red Shadows, we have all been betrayed!" Cobra Commander shouted, and still not a single soldier moved.
Baron Ironblood on his Hyena, which was essentially a red HISS tank, stood to challenge the affront to his authority. "I am the Baron Ironblood!" He said, in the same voice as the Commander. "Kill these Cobra swine!"
The Red Shadows shuffled their guns, not entirely sure what to do when faced with two Ironbloods, each giving conflicting orders. "Really?" Cobra Commander answered, "Do it yourself!" The Commander raised his gun to fire at the Baron's head, taking careful aim at the eye visor.
Black Major and Red Laser each smiled, knowing full well that the range was too great for the Cobra Commander's puny pistol to even be able to scratch the armored visor of the Baron.
Cobra Commander fired, but it did not matter if his shot hit or not, because at the same moment, the two Crimson Guardsman snipers the Commander had deployed also fired. Their shots shattered the visor, and ripped through what lay behind it, and ricocheted within the heavily armored mask doing that much more damage to the wearer.
Baron Ironblood's head exploded within his mask which then fell off his shoulders revealing a mess of wires where his neck use to be.
"Your leaders have betrayed us," Cobra Commander continued, "by replacing me with that THING and forcing you to fight against me! And leading us into a trap! We are now being surrounded by GI Joe's forces, as your leaders well know.
"Join me and Cobra against our common foes! Restrain the Black Major, Red Laser and Red Jackal for trial, then turn your guns to the perimeter where GI Joe awaits."
"Bloody hell," thought Black Major. Yes, he had know about the Joes plan to ambush them, and had not informed anyone else. If Cobra Commander were killed, it would have been worth the loss of a few hundred Red Shadows. Still he had not survived as long as he had by taking foolish chances. He shot and killed the nearest Shadows before they had a chance to come near him, then ran to make his escape.
"Crap" thought Hawk. The last thing he had expected was for the Red Shadows to join forces with Cobra against them. "Send everyone in!!" he ordered.
Jackal had kept a close watch on the Black Major; he knew the Major had an escape route. A Red Shadow jumped on him in an attempt to restrain him, but he fell after Jackal head butted him with his cybernetic skull. He ran after the Black Major in his own bid for freedom.
Red Laser was held firmly by two Red Shadows. He was in too much shock to even think of fighting back.
Two columns of Wolverines charged into action, their missiles firing into the Red Shadow and Cobra Ranks.
Fresh Mambas and Cobra Fangs seemed to come in out of nowhere, at the same time the GI Joe Awe Strikers and Dragonflies came onto the scene. In the fresh confusion, the Dominator's tail extended and rotors deployed.
Cobra Commander and Destro, took to the sky in the Dominator, and flew away from the battlefield, along with most of the Cobra air forces flying escort for them, leaving the token Cobra ground forces behind to fend for themselves, along with the Red Shadows.
****
The final report on the battle was simple and clear. The battle had been a massacre. The Joes took heavy losses, mainly among the Greenshirts and SAS, but many of the regulars were wounded. The few Cobra forces he had left behind had been wiped out, either by the Joes or his own BATs.
The Red Shadows had once again, and hopefully more effectively, been wiped out. There were still a few had escaped. If they ever reared their heads again, they would be killed.
Yes, it had been a massacre, but then, that had been the point.
Cobra Commanders laughter echoed down the hall.