O's A/N: Please remember that this is my version of what happened to Snake Eyes to cause his disfigurement, and what transpired between him, Scarlett, and Storm Shadow. I deviated from standard comic 'verse, but from what I have read in the new Joe Reloaded comic, it appears that Devil's Due has something different up their sleeve as well. Of course, I bounced a few questions off Slayne, SapphireMind, and Scarlett Phoenix on this as well - Thanks for the input. Also, special thanks to DesertFox for continuing to beta read for me. And last but certainly not least, thanks for the reviews and comments. Much appreciated.
O's Disclaimer: I do not own GI Joe or the characters. Hasbro/Sunbow/Marvel/Devil's Due comics created GI Joe. I make no money from this fic or from any reference to Stephen King, John Saul, or their books.
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Title: An Old Flame
Author: Scarlett Storm O
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Snake Eyes and Scarlett's past revealed.
The next morning, Scarlett awoke with a throbbing pain in her shoulder. She meticulously maneuvered it into its sling and took a pain capsule. She hated to take pain medicine, but sometimes the pain was too overwhelming to ignore.
Grabbing her new John Saul novel, Black Creek Crossing, Scarlett settled down in her recliner. Today would be a good day to start my new book, she thought. She was on inactive duty until her shoulder healed, and under Doc's orders to relax and take it easy for a few days.
(a few hours later)
A knock on the door aroused Scarlett from her sleep. She got up from her chair and answered the door to find a surprised Duke just about ready to use his master key.
Startled, he stammered, "Hi. I was just going to see if you were alright since you didn't answer."
A little confused and disoriented, she said, "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. I didn't hear you knocking at first. Come on in."
"How are you feeling today?" Duke asked, still concerned at her strange behavior.
Slightly irritated with his attempted invasion, she retorted, "Like I just got stabbed by a sword-wielding madman."
"Smart-ass. At least he didn't stab your sense of humor," he replied with a wicked grin. It was this attitude that initially drew him to her. The caring, less sharp-tongued Scarlett was a pleasant surprise that he had been enjoying getting to know recently.
Noticing the first sergeant's amusement, she flashed him her 'gotcha' grin and continued, "Seriously, my shoulder was hurting badly this morning so I broke down and took a pain pill. I guess the side effects were more potent than I expected," she told him.
Duke smiled and relaxed, realizing that her pain medicine had been the cause of her drowsiness. He gave her a kiss, then settled down on her sofa, coaxing her to sit next to him.
Taking a seat beside Duke, Scarlett asked, "How are you today?"
She waited for him to smart-off to her as she had done to him a few seconds ago, but he answered, "I'm a little sore from the fractured ribs and my ankle hurts, but my legs are back to their old stable self."
Scarlett smiled and cast a wary glance at the man sitting beside her. "Have you seen Snakes yet?"
Duke met her gaze and returned her smile. "I stopped by earlier. He seems alert and healing well." Duke hesitated but continued, "He asked how you were doing. I think he was concerned that maybe you didn't fair well in the battle. I reassured him that even though Storm Shadow had gotten in a lucky shot and wounded your shoulder, you still held your own."
Duke waited for Scarlett to respond, but the room stayed quiet. Choosing his words carefully, he divulged the rest of his conversation with Snake Eyes, "Scarlett, Snakes asked to see you."
Scarlett locked eyes with Duke, noticing that his eyes were full of questions. Their relationship teetered on the edge of newfound love to almost lovers, but regardless, their friendship was rock solid. She regretted some of her actions and words against him yesterday and knew an explanation was in order.
"Conrad," she began, "I never meant for you to find out about Snake Eyes and me this way." Duke gave her a questioning look. She explained, "Yesterday's events and Tommy's accusations were not how I wanted you to find out about my past relationship with Snakes."
Duke shook his head and said, "Don't fret about that, Shana. I was shocked, yet it didn't surprise me. It actually answered a lot of strange actions about the two of you." He paused and then continued, "Was what he said true, though? Were you engaged at one time?"
Scarlett could hear the hurt in his voice as he asked his question. She had avoided ever mentioning Snake Eyes before to him. As far as she was concerned, that happened in the past, but the past had a way of rearing its ugly head when least expected. She nodded her head and answered, "It was a long time ago, prior to my enlistment in the Army. After things fell apart between us, I truly never expected to see him again. When he left, he had headed up to his cabin in the mountains somewhere."
"What happened between you two?" Duke didn't want to pry, but at the same time, he wanted to know.
She simply stated, "Life, his accident, and I guess we both grew up." Scarlett shouldered some of the blame. She didn't want to reveal that Snakes left her because she reminded him of his old life, and he wanted her to have a better life or at least a more normal life. Life with a scarred, mute man was not something a young woman should have to endure, according to Snakes' philosophy.
Duke listened to her explanation sympathetically. He felt the urge to be angry at Snake Eyes but knew all too well that relationships come and go. He had had enough of them fail prior to his Army life, and after he enlisted in the Army, there was no time for any kind of relationships. The Army was his life, until he met Scarlett and her intriguing attitude.
Scarlett eyed Duke with concern. He had not spoken, and she was trying to read his eyes. The silence was maddening so in a begrudging voice she said, "You and I had this spark before Snakes came on board. His presence unnerved me, and I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. I watched your friendship grow, and I didn't want you to think any less of him. He is a good soldier. Please don't hold him accountable for his actions all those years ago. It was a long time ago, and as we both have seen within the last 24 hours, the past exists and can bite you in the ass at any given moment. I want you to know that my feelings for you outweigh any feelings that I thought I had for him. I was young. We were young. If you want to be angry or upset at anybody, then I would be that person."
She looked away from him, but a gentle hand brushed against her face and turned her head to face his. As she began to say something else, Duke silenced her concerns with a kiss.
Duke understood her anxiety and conveyed to her his thoughts. "Honey, it was years ago, and you both have grown from your experiences. I never asked you about your past even when I noticed that a rift existed between you two. When I heard Storm Shadow refer to Snakes' as your ex-lover, I will admit that I was jealous and hurt, but not because you never told me – because I thought I had you all to myself." He finished by flashing her a wide grin and pulling her close to him.
As Scarlett snuggled in his arms, she revealed, "You still have me all to yourself, if you want me."
Duke reassured her of his feelings by giving her a kiss, while his heart silently let out a sigh of relief. Not wanting to disturb the tender moment, he held her in his arms. After a little while, he inquired about yesterday's events. "You had mentioned a vendetta between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Care to share?"
Scarlett sighed, "Now that story will take a bit longer."
"I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be," Duke answered her as he planted a small kiss on the tip of her nose.
Scarlett took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and began:
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The summer before I was to start college, Snake Eyes and I traveled to Japan to meet some of his sword brothers. Tommy was one of them, and Snake Eyes' closest friend. During my summer there, I learned numerous martial arts moves, more deadly than anything my father had taught me. The Hard Master and Soft Master were wonderful teachers, and I excelled at nearly everything that they taught me. About that time, Tommy and Snakes would go out on missions with five other brothers. I would accompany them occasionally but would rather stay at the dojo, practicing my newly learned moves and honing my skills.
You had asked me yesterday about my name, Black Widow. I was christened with that name because of my red hair, the dark clothes that I wore on missions, and dangerous accuracy with the crossbow. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes also helped me improve my proficiency with the sword. Until yesterday, I had only been engaged in one other 'real' sword battle, and that was the battle where I was introduced to Sergeant Wilkinson, Stalker. Stalker's army platoon had encountered some vagabonds that were just itching to stir up trouble, so Tommy, Snakes, and I helped derail their plan and befriended Stalker. Shortly after, Stalker and his team were transferred.
The final mission that Snakes was to go on before he took me back to the States for college was the one that ended up going dreadfully wrong. Snakes was hesitant to go because of the timing, but I had insisted that he not leave an empty hole in the team. After all, the seven of them were unbeatable. They had dubbed themselves the 'Lucky Seven'. The mission ended up going bad from the get-go when one of the members got bitten by a snake and fell deathly ill. The remaining six pressed on until they reached their targeted location. It was later discovered to be a trap, and the building was wired with explosive devices.
I don't know what the purpose of their mission was, but the team was inside the building doing what they were supposed to be doing when the building exploded. Unfortunately, the primary blast happened in the vicinity of Tommy's real brother, Timothy, and another teammate, Jaysen.
Snake Eyes is the same today as he was back then, willing to go to any length to save someone. He rushed in after them but was only able to pull Jaysen to safety before a second bomb detonated and the entire building began to collapse. Snake Eyes had reentered the raging inferno but had to retreat when the second bomb engulfed him in flames. He was badly burned with third degree burns, primarily on his face and neck. The fiery blast not only charred his voice box, rendering him speechless, but also the burns left ugly scars on his face. Reconstructive surgery was an option, but it would take years of plastic surgery to reverse the scar tissue damage. Snakes refused to submit himself to years of surgery and therefore never considered it, resorting to hiding behind a mask.
To make matters worse, Tommy accused Snake Eyes of leaving his brother behind to die and went on a rampage, vowing to return the 'favor' some day. One of the team members took Snakes and Jaysen to the nearest hospital, and the other member tried to subdue Tommy and take him home. I was devastated at learning of Timothy's death, Jaysen's injury, and the fate of my fiancé.
I didn't start college and stayed with Snakes for months until it was safe to transfer him back to the States. I was familiar with basic sign language skills, but I needed to enhance them so that I could communicate better with him. He had changed so much - he was very bitter. I thought he blamed me, and my guilty conscience kept me by his side. When Snakes was released from the hospital and came home to live in his little apartment, I moved in with him to help take care of him, but he was so irritable. We argued constantly and finally parted ways. I did a lot of growing up in those months spent with him. I learned many hard lessons about life, but eventually realized that what happened to him was not my fault and he never blamed me.
Because of an assortment of feelings ranging from anger to betrayal and hurt, I enlisted in the Army and left my old life and memories. When GI Joe was formed, I was forced to face the man who broke my heart. My bitterness had been concealed but never faded. Snakes and I had a heart-to-heart shortly after he joined the team, and we worked out our differences and agreed to be friends as best as we could. Until yesterday, I hadn't confronted all of my feelings for him. I live by the same code of honor and integrity that both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow honor. Storm Shadow is...er...was an honorable man, but this grudge he holds over Snakes is not justified.
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At the conclusion of her story, Scarlett sat in the silent room. Duke was speechless and in awe of the whole tale. It definitely explained a lot of why she felt the way she did, and why she acted the way she did yesterday. She was protecting her honor and the honor of an innocent man. This Tommy guy was angry that his brother died and wanted to blame the only guy that had tried to save him. Snake Eyes had always been the one willing to stage a rescue, and definitely was the most unselfish man that Duke had ever met.
Duke thanked her for sharing her story and expected that it felt good to get a harrowing past off one's chest. He said, "I know I told you this yesterday, but you were really great against Storm Shadow. He said a lot of things to try to shake your confidence during your battle, and you never let it bother you."
"I couldn't let it get to me, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now," she confided to Duke. "Thank you for listening and taking this all in stride. I wish that I would have been able to tell you about Snake Eyes and me a different way, a different time. I'm sorry. I really am," she managed to say as she craned her neck and cocked her head to the side to look up at his face.
Duke gave her a kiss on her forehead. "There is nothing to be sorry about. I know you would have told me in due time. I respect your decision. I guess no one ever knows when their past will come back to haunt them." Scarlett nodded in agreement. Her past had definitely come barreling back to greet her in the present.
They spent the next few hours conversing on things that they had done in their past and other skeletons in their closets. Eventually, Duke excused himself to return to his quarters so that she could get some rest. She thanked him once again for listening and being open-minded. He told her that he wouldn't want to have it any other way. Scarlett walked him to the door, and as they embraced, she felt the strength of his arms give her the energy and confidence to make the decisions that she needed to make. Duke gave her a kiss and left her to her thoughts.
Scarlett tried to distract her mind from the past that she had just revealed to Duke and her troubled thoughts surrounding Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. She tried to read her book again but her thoughts wondered. She turned on the radio, but the music didn't help take her mind off Snake Eyes.
Restless, Scarlett paced the length of her quarters. The past that she had just told Duke troubled her. Snakes wanted to see her, and despite the past, they were teammates now. She couldn't avoid him forever, and she would much rather visit him in the infirmary than at his place. Snakes would heal fast, and she wouldn't be surprised if by tomorrow or the next day, he would be released.
TBC – Chapter 5 – Visitors