Standing on the dark hemisphere of Eternia, the fortress of evil known as Snake Mountain was a place of eternal darkness. At night however it took on an even more sinister foreboding appearance. Only the bravest, or foolish, of souls dared enter its presence. In fact, the only thing more frightening than the fortress was its master himself.

Skeletor shifted on his bony throne and reminded himself that he really needed to get a new cushion for it. Right now however he was more concerned with his guest standing before him. It was not often Snake Mountain received visitors (welcome ones anyway) and it always meant business. This time was no exception.

"I am pleased you saw fit to grant me an audience, mighty one."

"Spare me your flattery Hiss," Skeletor groaned. "You would not have come here if you did not want something from me."

The lord of the Snake Men clenched his fist momentarily but maintained himself. Skeletor was a valuable ally to him at times, but ultimately King Hiss knew better than to trust such a man and avoided working alongside him if possible. Now, however, Skeletor was right, he did want something.

"It's about He-Man. Try as we might he is far too powerful for either of us to defeat with our current powers and armies."

Skeletor nodded in agreement, much as he loathed to admit it. "Are you suggesting a joint attack? We've done so before and obtained nothing!"

"Oh no mighty Skeletor, I'm proposing more than that. Much more." Hiss grinned wide and Skeletor wondered for a moment how he managed to achieve such expressions on his false face. King Hiss looked human but that was a clever deception. A disguise that hid his true form as lord of the Snake Men. Under that "skin" lurked a hideous serpentine form.

"As you know," Hiss went on, "my massive army of Snake Men is trapped in limbo. My efforts to free them have fallen short. Despite my vast powers, I have not been able to free any more of my warriors since I brought Snake Face and Sssqueeze back to Eternia."

"I see," Skeletor said. "So you want me to help you liberate your army so that we can conquer He-Man and Grayskull."

"Precisely," Hiss grinned.

"But as I recall," Skeletor interjected, "He-Man permanently sealed the dimensional cauldron I used to free you. And besides that, our spell only brought your warriors from Etheria rather than the limbo we sought."

Hiss sighed, "True, the portal here at Snake Mountain is lost to us. However, I have been greatly increasing the power of my cauldron at Viper Tower. With your added magic I am confident we shall succeed this time, provided there are no distractions. I would already have my army if He-Man hadn't interfered then. But we must act tonight while the planets are in the proper alignment."

Skeletor thought long and hard. "What guarantee do I have that you will not turn on me once your army has been released?"

Hiss ground his fangs. He's smarter than I gave him credit for, he thought. Aloud however he said, "Unlike some of your other black-hearted allies, I always remember those who help me. With the power of the snake army behind us all of Eternia will fall and the glory days of Preternia will return! I trust you remember them well don't you... Keldor?"

"What did you call me?" Skeletor roared.

"You didn't really think I wouldn't figure it out did you old friend?"

Skeletor had once been the sinister warrior mage Keldor. At one point he had traveled back in time to the ancient days known as Preternia and had allied himself with Hiss. Eventually though, Keldor had returned to the present and left Hiss to be overpowered by the legendary wizard He-Ro who banished him and his armies into a dimensional limbo.

Keldor had then attempted to conquer the Hall of Wisdom and gain control of the awesome powers held by the Council of Elders. During the battle Keldor's face was struck with deadly elixir that would have killed him if not for his skills in the dark magic arts along with the aid of his then teacher Hordak. Keldor survived but at the cost of his face which was reduced to a pale skull. Henceforth Keldor would be known as Skeletor.

After several defeats to He-Man, Skeletor decided to reaffirm his old alliance and freed King Hiss from his limbo prison. Wary of possible retribution for his betrayal however, Skeletor had kept his true identity from the Snake Lord. Until now it seemed.

"That man is dead now," he declared "Only Skeletor remains! But you're right, I do remember and I agree that we should bring your army here."

A short time later in Viper Tower, the sinister lair of the Snake Men, the evil allies stood before Hiss' massive spell cauldron. They had gone to great precautions to assure that there would be no interference from Eternia's heroic forces. Only a few of their evil warriors stood nearby. Among Skeletor's warriors there was Evil-Lyn, a black-hearted witch with a dark thirst for power; Beast Man, a savage brute of a creature able to communicate with and control animals; Stinkor, a humanoid skunk with the ability to… stink; and Trap Jaw a deadly cyborg with a mouth made of steel.

King Hiss had far fewer warriors at his disposal. There was Rattlor, swift and deadly as he was hideous; Sssqueeze, a constrictor whose coils had developed into eight foot arms; Blast Attak; not actually a Snake Man but a robot Hiss had built that served as a reusable time bomb that could reform after detonating; and Kobra Khan, a Snake Man from modern day that had once been in the employ of Skeletor.

Before beginning the ritual Skeletor had pulled his old ally aside.

"It has been some time since I heard from you. I trust everything is going all right. Isn't it?"

"Of coursssse Lord Ssskeletor," Khan hissed. "Sssurly you knew that when you assked me to be your ssspy it would be difficult for me to alwaysss report to you."

"Yes of course," Skeletor agreed. "Be ready my old ally. Once we have defeated He-Man and taken Grayskull my alliance with Hiss will be over and he shall suffer the same fate. I will be counting on you to strike from within."

"Oh you needn't worry," Khan said. "I know where my true loyaltiesss lie."

Skeletor nodded and went to join Hiss, but there was something in Khan's tone made him feel wary.

As the dark lords chanted and fired their magic into the pool, their henchmen watched with mixed emotions.

"They're wasting their time," hissed Rattlor.

"Quiet you scaly cretin!" Evil-Lyn growled through clenched teeth. She eagerly awaited the arrival of more fools that she could manipulate to her advantage.

Hiss was loosing his self-control to the anticipation. Soon his army would be free, he could feel it. "Come forth army of the serpent! I command you to come to me!"

Trap Jaw meanwhile was more bored than anything and finally said so. "It'll be a miracle if they don't blow it."

"Tick... tick... blow?"

Too late Trap Jaw realized his mistake. He had forgotten that Blast Attak was standing right next to him. Intelligence was not one of the robot's strong points and he had a tendency to misinterpret expressions as instructions to detonate.

Before anyone could stop the walking, talking time bomb he exploded. The force of the blast knocked Skeletor and King Hiss over interrupting their spell and sending magic bolts flying everywhere.

"Who is responsible for this?" Skeletor roared pulling himself up.

All hands pointed to Trap Jaw, even those of Blast Attak who was still trying to pull himself back together. King Hiss grabbed the cyborg's throat, all his rage showing clearly through his human disguise.

"Do you realize what you've done?" he bellowed, his fangs pushing through the fake skin. "If you've ruined my chance to summon my army I'm going to..."

"Wait master look!" Sssqueeze said and pointed with his extra long arm towards the pool where the outline of a man was taking form. At first Hiss released Trap Jaw in excitement as the warrior appeared, but then as the outline took form his smile faded. Although there was an emblem of a serpent upon his chest, this was no Snake Man. The figure was too human in appearance although his face was completely hidden under a cloth hood with only two eye holes cut in it. Whoever this was, he was clearly as surprised as everyone else.

"Where am I? Who are you creatures?" When the stranger spoke many of the gathered henchmen cringed at the sound of his voice. Despite being used to the maniacal tones of their masters, this man's raspy evil voice was more than enough to send a chill down their spines.

King Hiss however was not so easily frightened. "No stranger, the question is who are you and by what right do you wear the mark of the serpent?"

"You dare question me?" The hooded man snarled. "I have more right than you I'm sure, you pathetic imbecile! I'm Cobra Commander!"


"Careful Scarlett," Storm Shadow warned his companion. "Remember who we're after here. Be ready for anything."

"Don't worry so much," Scarlett grinned. "This time we've got her."

Less than a minute later the redheaded ninja's smile turned into an expression of pain as a crossbow arrow flew out of the darkness and embedded itself in her shoulder. In a flash Storm Shadow yanked the deadly projectile out with one hand, and with his other began pouring the anti-venom down his friend's throat. He didn't bother to check the arrow first. The ninja master knew his enemy. Vypra never fired dry shots.

Hearing cackling laughter above them the two Joes looked up to see the shadowy black-garbed figure standing on a nearby rooftop. As she loaded another arrow into her crossbow Vypra called out to her enemies.

"I'm impressed G.I. Joes! I didn't expect you to track me this far. However, I don't have time to deal with you right now, so I'm afraid we'll have to skip the pleasantries!"

Vypra took careful aim at the Joe's heart. Storm Shadow quickly summed up the situation and didn't like what he saw. No matter what he did. someone was going to die. If he didn't move the arrow would claim him. But if he did, Scarlett, unable to move for she was still recovering from the last attack, would be struck. A double dose of Vypra's particular mix would be instantly fatal. Faced with a no win scenario Storm Shadow did the only thing he could and stood his ground. He would die, but with his death his friend would survive. The great warrior closed his eyes and waited for the end.

But the end never came. Before Vypra could pull the trigger she was struck from behind by a fast red streak. Toppling to the ground in pain, Vypra turned as the red blur followed and came into focus with the blade of a ninjato pointed straight at her throat.

"Striking me in the back Jinx?" Vypra coughed. "How dishonorable."

Jinx ripped off her hood with one hand while keeping her blade still with the other. Her young beautiful face was marred by an expression of absolute anger and hatred. Glaring at her foe she growled through clenched teeth.

"I am a ninja! You have no right to talk to me about honor you murdering bitch!"

Vypra laughed, "Strike now and you'll be no better, my young opponent. If you truly have so much honor than face me in a fair fight."

Jinx shook her head, "No Vypra. I've given you that chance many times before, and you've always used it to escape and kill again. Not this time. Our rivalry ends right now... with your death!"

With that Jinx raised her sword and plunged it through Vypra's chest. A moment later Jinx dropped the sword in shock as she realized it had indeed literally gone through Vypra. It had not punctured the flesh, but rather had passed through her body as if it were made of thin air.

"What the hell?" Jinx stammered as Vypra's body began to glow and fade away. Most humans at seeing this would have simply stood and stared, but Jinx had been to Cobra-La and survived, so there was very little that could petrify her anymore. When she realized that her hated enemy was escaping from her again, despite the oddity of the situation, she grabbed Vypra around the neck and held firm. Then, before the startled eyes of Storm Shadow and Scarlett, both women disappeared in a flash.

To say that both Jinx and Vypra had vanished from the face of the Earth, in this case, would be the literal truth. For both, to their equal surprise, now found themselves in the middle of Viper Tower surrounded by the largest assortment of frightening creatures imaginable. Vypra's fears lessened when she saw that among these creatures many of her fellow Cobra soldiers were present. This of course only worsened Jinx's concern. Now this was enough to petrify her.

"Ahh Vypra, it's about time we located you," Cobra Commander laughed. "And I see you brought a friend with you. Boys, let's make her more comfortable."

With that two Alley Vipers -Cobra's urban assault troopers- grabbed Jinx and held her at gunpoint. Not that it made a large difference. She could see that resistance would be foolish.

"What on Earth..."

"You're not on Earth anymore my dear," Cobra Commander interrupted. "Welcome to Eternia. It's a wonderful place. I've already made some new friends here. We've worked out a little arrangement that will be mutually beneficial to us. Cobra will provide them with the manpower they need to conquer this world, and in return they'll provide us with enough magical power to conquer Earth!"

King Hiss grinned. "Admittedly it's not what I was aiming for but it'll do."

"With all due respect Commander," Vypra sneered, "why are you telling her this? Let's just kill her now and get on with our work."

"Oh no," the Commander laughed, "That would be a waste of her talents. I've always admired your abilities Jinx. After all, you defeated Pythona in unarmed combat. No one else was ever able to say that and now, thanks to you, no one ever will. Such skill would be a valuable asset to me."

"You're wasting your breath rag face!" Jinx spat. "You know I'd never join Cobra!"

"Never is a long time Jinx," Cobra Commander laughed. "Skeletor, do you think you could whip up a little spell to make our friend here more cooperative?"

Skeletor walked over and ran a bony finger down Jinx's now trembling cheek.

"Yes my friend. I think that can be arranged."


"And then they just disappeared?"

"Yes sir," Storm Shadow nodded, "One minute Jinx had Vypra at her mercy the next there was a flash of light and they were both gone."

General Hawk, the commander and chief of G.I. Joe, leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin in thought. This wasn't the first such incident of this kind today. Several Joe units had been in combat with Cobra operatives when the terrorists had up and vanished in a flash of light. However, up till now only Cobra officers had disappeared. Now that his soldiers were disappearing Hawk was growing concerned.

"I used to think if Cobra simply vanished from the face of the Earth it would be a dream come true," Hawk said finally. "But this has got me worried."

The hard-core Joe code named Roadblock nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, someone wants to zap Cobra that's just fine, but they vaporize Joes and their ass is mine!"

"Jinx wasn't vaporized Roadblock," Storm Shadow countered. "She's still alive."

"Stormy, I know how much you cared about Jinx," Scarlett said softly, wincing at the pain in her arm. The anti-venom had done its trick but the puncture wound would take some time to heal. "Jinx was your cousin and your student, and I understand you two were close, but I think we need to accept the fact that she was probably killed."

"No Scarlett, she's alive." Storm Shadow stated firmly. "Remember she and I are of the same blood. There has always been a strong link among us and, although I do not know exactly what has happened to her, I can tell she is still with us."

At this point G.I. Joe's field commander Duke stepped forward. "That's good enough for me," Duke said in that tone he had that always demanded attention. "Storm Shadow's demonstrated psychic like abilities before. I'm willing to act on them."

Hawk rose to his feet, "All right then. Everyone get on top of this. Report anything you find out straight to me. I want to know exactly what's going on and who's responsible. And if Jinx is alive I want her brought back safely!"

The room spoke in unison, "Yes sir!"

Outside Hawk's office Storm Shadow stopped Duke and pulled him aside. "Thank you Duke. For backing me up in there."

"I know what you're going through Stormy," Duke said. "I want to find Jinx just as much as you do. She's not only a great fighter, she's a good friend. I don't think I could have made it through my brother's death without her."

"Really?" Storm Shadow said. "Jinx told me it was you who helped her."

Duke nodded. His half brother Lt. Falcon and Jinx had been developing a strong, close relationship until Falcon was shot and killed by one of Vypra's arrows. The death had weighed hard on both of them and they had turned to each other for support. Jinx however seamed to be taking it worse, apparently blaming herself for not being able to save him. She had taken out a personal vendetta against Vypra and made it a point to track down the vile killer and finish her. The two had met and fought many times, but on each occasion Vypra had managed to escape and would not be seen or heard from until she killed again. Duke had often feared that Jinx's thirst for revenge would get her into trouble someday and it looked like that day had arrived.

Duke placed a hand on Storm Shadow's shoulder and made a firm statement, "We're going to get her back my friend. Let's get to work."


Jinx had thought she'd seen it all. When she battled against the giant insects and serpent men forces of Golobulus in Cobra-La she had come to accept it. She had no problem with the concept of cars and planes turning into giant robots and fighting to the death. That was actually kind of cool. But now when she found herself in a dungeon on an unknown planet waiting for a living skeleton to cast a magic spell on her that would force her to help an army of freakish monsters capture an ancient castle that would grant them the ultimate powers of the universe, she was starting to feel a bit uneasy to say the least.

Suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. At first she assumed it was Skeletor come to cast the spell at last, but as she listened Jinx realized that it had to be someone else. Judging from the sound whoever was coming was wearing metal boots. A moment later the figure entered her cell.

She had been right, it wasn't Skeletor nor was it anyone she had seen up till now. The stranger was wearing heavy golden copper colored armor. His helmet and mask looked like a cross between Darth Vader and the alien from Predator. The only parts of his face left exposed were his lizard like eyes and an opening near his mouth. He was clearly a reptile man of some kind. If nothing else the tail protruding out of the back of his armor told that.

The stranger closed the door, but not all the way Jinx noticed. Perhaps she could overpower this man and escape. She shifted slightly ready to move, but then reality set in as she remembered she was still shackled to the wall. The reptile man approached her and held out a plate of unrecognizable food. It was clearly some kind of meat but one could only guess what sort of animal it had come from.

"Here," the stranger said in a low raspy tone." It may not appear appetizing but it'll give you energy. Which you'll need if you're going to escape." Before Jinx could say anything he grabbed a knife off the plate and began picking the locks of her chains.

"You're helping me?" Jinx asked with obvious surprise. "Who are you?"

"My name is Saurod," the armored reptile replied as he worked. "I'm a mercenary. I have no loyalty to Skeletor -or anyone- and therefore can't stand the thought of any other being forced to serve someone against their will. Go on eat," he gestured toward the food, "I assure you it tastes much better than it looks."

Jinx hesitated a moment longer then slowly took a small bite of the meat and laughed. "I don't believe it. It tastes like chicken." Even though his face was masked Jinx could see that Saurod had no idea what she was talking about. "Never mind."

"Besides," Saurod continued, "I don't trust that Cobra Commander. I know his type. Once Grayskull is captured he'll take the powers for himself and with his superior army size he'll be able to conquer both of our worlds. Head west when you get out of here and you'll find a small village. Tell them you need to go to Eternos to warn King Randor about Skeletor." As he said this Saurod removed the last of the shackles. Jinx had to admit she was amazed at how fast he had managed the job.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Don't concern yourself about me," Saurod said. "I'll just tell Skeletor that I gave you some food and you used the knife to pick the lock. That's close enough to the truth."

"Won't that get you into trouble?" Jinx asked with concern.

"The worst he can do is kill me," Saurod scoffed, "and he's done that before so he knows I'm not scared of it."

"Excuse me?" Jinx wasn't sure she had heard that last comment right.

Saurod explained, "Skeletor once killed me for failing him. But he later decided to give me a second chance. He probably realized he's not exactly overburdened with intelligent warriors, but whatever the case he revived me. As far as he knows the experience has made me a better and more reliable soldier but in truth, well let's just say one doesn't exactly forgive being sent to the afterlife so easily."

"I see," Jinx lied as Saurod checked to make sure the coast was clear.

"All right," he said finally leading her out, "see that tunnel? It leads directly outside. Get going and don't stop."

"I don't know how to thank you," Jinx said with admiration.

"You can thank me by succeeding," Saurod replied. "Now go, someone's coming."

Jinx listened, "Are you sure? I don't hear anything."

"I can smell them," he growled. "I'll distract them while you run."

She didn't argue. Although Jinx was still trying to adjust to her new environment she knew enough to trust Saurod's judgment and ran. He had been telling the truth. The tunnel was narrow, filled with cobwebs and smelled terrible but it did eventually lead out of the tower. As she emerged dawn was breaking. Although dirty and exhausted Jinx didn't stop to rest until she was far beyond sight of the dreaded place. Only then did the full weight on her shoulders come in to focus.

I'm the only one who can warn these people, she thought, but I'm a stranger to this world how do I know they'll believe or trust me? Then again if this Skeletor was as bad as she guessed they probably wouldn't take any chances.

As Jinx took of running again she couldn't help but feel that she was going to be sorry she ever got involved in this.


Saurod collapsed to the floor writhing in pain as the white-hot energy flowed over his body again. His reptilian heart was racing in terror and his flesh was beginning to swelter under the heat his armor was now conducting. Gasping for breath he looked up at the dark Lord of Destruction glaring down upon him.

"I'm sorry Lord Skeletor. I underestimated the prisoner's abilities. Please forgive my moment of ignorance."

Skeletor was still fuming with anger but he lowered his hand and turned away allowing Saurod to recover from his punishing assault. "This rare display of stupidity is most unlike you Saurod. I'd advise you not to let it happen again because next time I won't bring you back!"

"Understood," Saurod said getting to his feet. It was hardly an empty threat. Skeletor would not have brought Saurod back from the dead a second time as, in truth, he was not the one who had done it the first time. He had managed to convince the mercenary that this was the case, and used it to his advantage, but in reality Skeletor had been completely mystified by the resurrection. Saurod's life had actually been revived by a pair of Cosmic Enforcers as part of an experiment and wager, but that is another story for another time.

In the shadows of his mask Saurod's eyes narrowed. Everything had gone as planned. Assuming the little human had not run into any more trouble she would soon complete her mission. Actually, even if she had encountered more danger, he was confident she could overcome it. Saurod knew a true fighter when he saw one. His race had long considered females to be inferior, so for him it was a privilege to find a woman with such a strong warrior's spirit. As for himself, the pain would soon subside and he would not be tolerating Skeletor's abuse for much longer.

Skeletor meanwhile was conferring with his evil cohorts. "You see what I have to put up with?"

"What are you complaining about?" Cobra Commander said. "I have to pay mine!"

"What do you suggest we do about the Joe?" King Hiss asked.

"What difference does it make?" Evil-Lyn sneered. "One puny little earthling is of no importance!"

"Still," Skeletor pointed out, "I don't want her informing the Eternian forces of our plans before we're ready."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have blurted them out to her," Vypra muttered, earning a dirty look from Cobra Commander.

"You have a point Skeletor," he said. "I'll send out a squad to locate her. If we can recapture her alive, fine. If not, you can't say we didn't give her a fair chance."

All of the dark forces broke out in sinister laughter save Saurod who, for the first time, began to feel a moment of concern for his new ally.