She was standing on a battlefield. Smoke and noise surrounded her in a confusing swirl. What-? How did I get here? She wondered. We must be fighting Cobra; that's all I need to know. She headed towards the nearest sounds.

The ground began to rise. As she neared the top of the small hill, she automatically reached for her weapon. The holster was empty. She crawled the last few yards and peered over the top.

What she saw before her made her heart jump and stomach sink. It was a scene of utter destruction. Bodies lay sprawled in graceless heaps across the scorched ground. Blood soaked into the grass in dark patches.

Lady Jaye stood, careless of her profile against the sky. She began to run, hoping that her eyes were playing tricks on her. She reached the first corpse. Bile rose in her throat as she recognized the uniform. Stalker. She felt tears build in her eyes.

Moving on to the next body, her mind began to feel numb with shock. Shipwreck. More bodies lay nearby. Lady Jaye choked back a sob. Cover Girl. Ace. Bazooka. Footloose. This is not happening, she thought. This can not be happening. But the smell of blood was all too real.

The sound of voices snapped her out of it. She whirled around to see two men run out of a nearby stand of trees, followed by several Cobra Troopers. She bolted toward them. "Duke! Flint!" They turned at the sound of her voice. "What happened?" She asked as they neared each other.

"No time," Duke replied. They all turned to face the oncoming soldiers. Flint silently handed her a small gun, noticing that she was unarmed. He was also carrying what looked like a Cobra sniper rifle.

"Only three shots left. Careful." He met her gaze one last time. He raised his own weapon and sighted on one of the soldiers.

Duke and Flint began firing at the same time. Several Cobras fell, but more kept coming. She fired a shot of her own, all too aware that they were outgunned and outnumbered.

The soldiers in blue uniforms were dropping back, taking shelter behind the burned-out husks of equipment strewn across the field. They could afford to take their time.

Duke surveyed the situation. "Well. Guess this is it. I was honored to fight with both of you." The Cobra troops began to fire.

There was not much they could do. Lady Jaye was already out of ammunition. She prayed silently and waited.

Duke took a bullet in the center of his chest and went down. Before she could react, she felt the sting of a shot through the hip. She staggered, but remained on her feet.

Flint's gun fell silent, empty. He pushed Lady Jaye to the ground and moved between his teammates and the line of fire. And just stood there, protecting them in the only way he could now. No! she wanted to yell. Not you! I never told you… But it was too late for that now.

The first bullet hit him in the leg. He gritted his teeth. Two more took him in the knee and arm, and still he stood. Lady Jaye watched through a blur of tears as a barrage of fire tore through his stomach and chest.

No! She cried silently as he finally fell. She reached out to him, and a flash of pain seared across her back. Bullet after bullet dug into her. She screamed. The pain was incredible. Oh, God, just let me die! she prayed, grasping Flint's still fingers in her own. She began to feel cold creep up through her legs, and it was difficult to breathe. Let the pain end. Let me join my friends…

Doctor Mindbender was watching Lady Jaye closely, jotting comments on a clipboard. Dusty could see even from across the room that tears were coursing down her cheeks. She moaned and opened her eyes.

She looked confused. "What—?" she whispered.

"Round one is over." Mindbender told her. "Care to tell me about it?"

She looked up at him, eyes glazed. "They're dead. They're all dead. Duke, Shipwreck, Cover Girl, Stalker…Flint…I'm dead, too. Aren't I?"

"Not yet, my dear. It's time for round two."

Dusty felt a wave of guilt wash over him as Mindbender threw the switch again. Her worst fears…the team dying around her… He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of her renewed cries of anguish and pain.

She was on a cliff overlooking the ocean. A small band of Cobra Eels was on a ledge below her. Wait a minute, she thought. This isn't right… I was shot. We were in a battle… She shook her head to ease the confusion and concentrated on the scene in front of her.

One of the Eels was holding a remote control device in his hands. "You know the procedure," he told his companions. "We wait for the signal from the other teams and set off the explosions all at once. Then we leave as fast as possible. The shockwaves are going to make this island sink like a stone."

Lady Jaye felt a chill course down her arms. She glanced around, slowly recognizing her surroundings. They were on the Joe's small base on an isolated Hawaiian island. I can't let them use that remote! She told herself. There are too many people here. She didn't know why she knew that, but dismissed the nagging concern at the back of her mind. It was time for action.

With a yell of "Yo Joe!" she leapt off the edge of the cliff, dropping the fifteen feet onto one of the Cobra Eels. She felt her knee give way as she rolled off the stunned man's back. Ignoring the pain, she kicked at the man with the remote. It flew out of his hands and over the edge.

They regrouped quickly. Two of them drew knives, circling her warily. She turned with them, trying not to let any of them get behind her. A knife flashed and she twisted just in time. The blade scored along her upper arm, leaving a shallow gash.

She instinctively ducked, and the other knife passed over her head. Unfortunately a boot connected with her shoulder, and she fell on her back. The man she had kicked grabbed her hair and shook her hard. "It's hopeless, you little wretch. With or without our set of charges, this island is going under in about two minutes." He punched her hard in the mouth.

The Eel holding her signaled for his team to depart, and one by one they dropped off the ledge and into the water. He drew his own knife as Lady Jaye struggled dizzily. Placing the blade against the back of her right calf, he casually severed her hamstring. She cried out in pain, shock hitting her system immediately. The Eel stood and gave her a mock salute before stepping off the ledge himself.

She was still conscious when, moments later, distant explosions shook the ground around her. The entire ledge shifted, throwing her into the air. She barely had time to take a breath before hitting the ice-cold water of the Pacific.

Struggle as she might, she just couldn't swim with the injured leg. She sought desperately to get to the surface, but it seemed farther away every moment. Her movement slowed as she ran out of oxygen and her blood drained into the water. With her last thought she prayed for the safety of her teammates. I hope you all got out in time…Get 'em for me…

Mindbender was pleased. She was responding exactly as he had hoped. Given enough time, he could completely break her.

When she opened her eyes this time, she didn't speak or even look around her. She knew something was wrong, but couldn't pull her mind together enough to think coherently. There was something about Mindbender's lab…She tried to hold on to the thought but it slipped away. She heard someone laughing, heard another voice crying out in anger…But she couldn't focus on it.

She turned her head. A hand was working some sort of controls nearby. She knew it was important…She didn't know why, but she was terrified of that hand. Her fear soared as the hand reached toward a small switch…

"Round Three."

Lady Jaye looked at the man in front of her. Round three? What did he mean? She blinked in confusion. She was sitting at a table in a dim room. She recognized the man seated near her as a spy she had trailed some time ago. He had given her the slip… and apparently she had found him again. But…She tried to think. Images of icy waves entered her mind, and she shivered, remembering the chill of surrounding water. Wasn't I… She never finished the thought.

"I am impressed, Ms. Burnett," the man said. "You managed to find me. Of course, I also managed to find you." He leered at her. "Tell me what they know."

Lady Jaye realized she was tied to the chair. Her mind struggled to remember how she'd gotten there. She couldn't answer his questions even if she wanted to. She didn't know.

The spy stood up and considered her silence. "Oh, well. I'm not very good at this," he told her, picking up an object from the table, "But I'm sure I can get the job done." He held a crowbar loosely in his hand.

She swallowed. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. In one swift movement, he brought the metal in a wide arc and down on her shoulder. She whimpered in pain as she heard her collarbone snap.

"What did you tell them?"

She said nothing. He swung again, this time hitting her knee with a sickening crunch. Her stomach lurched.

He repeated the question. She still had no answer for him. He hit her arms, her legs, her back, each time pausing long enough to ask her again.

She didn't know when she began screaming, but the blows didn't stop. The man was past the point of giving her a chance to answer. He just kept swinging, reveling in the pain he was causing. Her voice sounded hoarse and ragged, and she could only continue screaming while her mind begged: make it stop, make it stop, make it stop…

She came to when a splash of icy water hit her face. She could still feel the dull throb of pain in her limbs. She groaned.

"Still with us?" a voice asked.

She knew that voice…Why? What did it mean to her? She went under again without knowing the answer.

A man shoved her roughly against the brick wall. She struggled madly, trying to twist out of his grip. What happened? Am I losing my mind? She wondered. I am in London, being beaten to death by a spy…

And yet she recognized the man who had her pinned. Torch. One of Cobra's hired mercenaries. I don't understand…Her mind reeled.

The thug turned his head to call over his shoulder, "Hey, mates! Looks like we've got entertainment tonight after all!"

He pulled her in front of him and wrenched her hands behind her back. She stopped struggling as she saw the other Dreadnoks approach down the alley.

Ripper laughed and leaned in toward her. "Yeah, hold her just like that," he told his companion. He bent down and kissed her roughly, grabbing at her shirt and squeezing painfully.

She shook her head and tried to dislodge his mouth, only to receive a backhanded slap across the face. Her head rang. This isn't right… I'm not really here… her mind argued.

Another slap to the face jarred her senses. Ripper grabbed her jaw painfully and slammed her head into the wall behind her. She crumpled, barely aware that the three men were still standing above her.

"I don't think she's got much fight left in her," Torch commented.

"Too bad," Buzzer responded. "I always like a little bit of a struggle."

Lady Jaye prayed for the pain to take her under and into oblivion…

Dusty sat against the back wall of his cage with his head on his knees. His heart felt like it was being wrenched from his chest every time another sob escaped from Mindbender's prisoner. I'm so sorry, Lady Jaye…He wondered what she was going through now.

She seemed to wake up every half hour or so—confused, disoriented, and in pain-- only to have Mindbender flip the switch again. Dusty felt a deep hatred burn through his veins every time the man moved. How much longer is he going to keep this up? He wondered. How long can she keep a grip on her sanity? Deep down he was afraid of finding out the answer.