Lady Jaye heard Mindbender's voice as if coming from a great distance. "Show me how Cobra can rule the world." She tried to think clearly, but felt muzzy-headed. I thought this was supposed to show the future, not how to alter it… And with that thought, the scenery shifted.
Before her, glowing lines branched out into darkness, shifting and overlapping. Some of the lines ended abruptly while others continued into the distance. Tentatively, she reached out and touched one of the lines of light. In front of her, the darkness was overlaid with a scene in which figures moved. The image grew larger.
It was like watching a movie. The other Joes were fighting their way out of the underground temple. She felt a thrill of hope as Flint destroyed the machinery surrounding the pool. Lady Jaye watched herself cross the main cavern and run up the stairs, followed by the others. They emerged into early dawn. The Cobra base was in chaos as the soldiers scrambled to defend themselves from the Joes who were pouring out of Sharcs beached on the shore. She watched as a Cobra soldier raised a rifle and pointed it at Shipwreck. Lady Jaye cried out a warning, but he couldn't hear her. The shot took Shipwreck in the back, and he fell with a wordless cry. No! This can't be the future, Lady Jaye thought, stretching her hand out as if to stop the motion of the characters before her.
Her hand inadvertently touched a spot farther down the same line, and the scenery shifted again. She saw herself being dragged into a lab by Tomax and Xamot, who strapped her to a table. Something moved over her, and her body began to change. She watched herself struggle for air as the Twins laughed…
Lady Jaye pulled her hand away from the glowing line. Did I just see myself get turned into a mermaid? And Shipwreck is dead… She shook her head, staring at the other lines. Those must be other futures, there must be thousands of them…
This time, she purposefully touched a line at a point farther away from her, near where it ended. Another scene resolved itself in front of her. In it, she saw herself chained above a stone-walled pit while men dressed in animal masks cavorted around her. They were lowering her toward some sort of creature at the bottom of the well. Its tentacles reached up toward her legs. Lady Jaye gasped as she watched herself pulled into the water. She snatched her hand back and the blackness surrounded her again. That explains why this line ends so abruptly, she thought with a shudder. These aren't showing Cobra's possible futures…they're showing mine.
She looked at the lines arrayed before her. Curiosity made her reach toward the end of a much longer line. She was old. Someone was sitting with her, holding her hand on a porch swing in front of a nice home. Lady Jaye studied her elderly self and tried to figure out who the other person was. He was still distinguished looking, despite the wrinkles and grey hair. Suddenly, the older version of herself clutched her chest and gasped. The man next to her turned in concern and said, "Alison?" Lady Jaye pulled her hand back again, unable to watch more.
She picked another one that was long, but reached for a spot about a third of the way down instead of the end. Her stomach gave a small flutter as she saw herself aged a few years, standing in a nursery. She was holding an infant and singing softly. Well, at least some of my possible futures are happy, she thought. A man walked into the room and put his arms around her, kissing her on the neck. Her other self looked up at the man with a wide smile. It took Lady Jaye a moment to recognize him out of uniform, and she drew her hand back again, in surprise this time. Flint and me married with kids? Well, I certainly looked happy enough. But which futures are more likely than others? And how do I get out of here? Lady Jaye looked around, but there was nothing but the darkness and the lines. She tried to picture herself back in the oracle room, but nothing changed. She sighed. Well, as long as I'm here…She reached out toward another line at random.
In one of the small cells, Flint paced, trying to think of a plan to escape. Alexios sat against the wall, hoping to remember something about the architecture of the temple that might prove useful. After a while, Flint stopped and sat against the wall opposite.
Alexios was the first to break the silence. "It must be difficult fighting Cobra day in and day out."
Flint regarded the man for a moment before replying. "You get used to it. None of us would be on the team if we weren't prepared to make sacrifices."
Alexios shook his head. "To the exclusion of all else?"
"Not everything else. It's not like we don't have lives outside the team."
"That's not what it sounded like to me." Alexios shrugged. "It's all Alison would talk about. The team means a great deal to her."
"Not enough, apparently," Flint mumbled in reply.
Alexios laughed. "I think you have underestimated her dedication."
Flint scowled, leaning forward. "Don't tell me you didn't try to convince her to leave the team."
"Oh, I tried," he replied. "She wasn't interested."
"You gave her a ring," Flint accused.
"You saw that?" Alexio's eyebrows rose. "It was simply a token. An artifact from this temple, in fact. It was nothing more than a memento."
"A memento?" Flint stood, clenching his fists. "Did she mean that little to you then? I guess you must have women falling for you all the time, but rich or not, she deserves better than you."
Alexios stood and faced Flint. "Like you? Alison spoke very highly of you, but you haven't lived up to your reputation."
"I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm trying to stop Cobra."
"And your feelings are getting in the way."
The men looked over as the cell door opened. Scarlett glanced at the two men standing face to face, fists raised, and stepped between them. "Stop it, you two. Let's get out of here. Lady Jaye needs our help."
"What? What happened?" Flint asked.
Scarlett turned toward the door. "I don't know. Doctor Mindbender took her."
The three of them ran down the hall toward the main room and into the cavern with the oracle. They stopped short at the sight of Mindbender standing next to an immobile Lady Jaye. She was surrounded by a glowing blue light. Mindbender was shouting questions at her, but she wasn't acknowledging him.
Flint growled and rushed the machinery, hitting the main console with his broad shoulder. It toppled, landing in a shower of sparks. Mindbender turned, bringing up is weapon, but Scarlett disarmed him with a kick. She stepped in and grabbed him around the throat.
Alexios and Flint both ran to Lady Jaye as the light faded and she fell. She crumpled into Flint's arms and he lifted her carefully, cradling her to his chest and stepping out of the water. "Lady Jaye?" he whispered. Her eyelids fluttered and opened.
"Flint?" Her voice was weak, but Flint set her down and she stood, leaning against him. She smiled up at him and said, "I knew you'd get me out."
"Of course," he replied. "You didn't think we'd leave you here?"
She shook her head. "No, I mean I actually knew…" She took a step back and looked around the room. "Oh, man. This is weird. I'm going to have déjà vu for the rest of my life."
"It worked!" Mindbender yelled. "What did you see?"
Lady Jaye rolled her eyes. "Like I'd tell you. Thanks for the insight into all of Cobras plans, though." She stepped closer and smiled. "Just so you know, Cobra never wins."
Mindbender scowled as Flint tied his hands and feet. They left him there, taking the time to destroy the rest of the machinery, and headed up the stairs. It was nearly daylight, and the Cobra camp was beginning to stir. They paused in the last of the shadows.
"What did Mindbender mean?" Scarlett whispered to Lady Jaye. "Did you really see the future?"
Lady Jaye still looked a little dazed. "I saw a lot of futures." She gave her head a small shake and whispered back, "By the way, I think you can stop worrying about whether Duke likes you or not."
Scarlett's eyes opened wide. "What? You saw us—?"
"There you are!" Shipwreck emerged from his hiding place and crouched in front of the group. "We were getting worried. The Flagg is here and they've sent out reinforcements. What happened?"
"No time," Flint replied, pointing. "They're here, and Cobra's sounding the alarm."
The companions stood as the Sharcs landed on the beach. With a cry of "Yo Joe!" they leapt into battle, surprising the Cobra soldiers who were facing the other way. The first few fell with hardly a struggle, and the Joes and Alexios armed themselves with the Cobra weapons.
Lady Jaye was keeping a sharp lookout on the rocks above, and was ready when the soldier returning from sentry duty stood up from his hiding place. He took aim at Shipwreck, but before he could shoot, she sent a blast of laser fire that knocked the Cobra off his feet.
Shipwreck jumped, turning to see where she was firing. "Dang, Jaye—how did you know he was there?"
She smiled. "I'll tell you all about it later."
The battle was short-lived. With the additional Joe troops, Cobra didn't stand a chance. The soldiers were disarmed and the camp disassembled, although in the confusion Destro and the Baroness managed to escape. It was still a victory, though, and that was good enough.
Duke and his back-up team surrounded Lady Jaye and the others, making sure that they were all right and that the Cobra plans had been well and truly foiled. Their CO was told the short version of what had happened, and he shook his head in disbelief. "They must have given you drugs, or used hypnosis, or…" Duke trailed off, looking skeptically at Lady Jaye.
Shipwreck came to her defense. "She knew there was a Cobra soldier hiding above us. He would have shot one of us for sure if she hadn't been ready for him."
Duke nodded slowly. "Well, if that's the case, I'd be interested to hear what else you saw." He turned to the others. "I suppose we don't have to head back right away. Let's get a little well-deserved R and R and we'll leave tomorrow." Alexios graciously invited the team back to his mansion, and Duke readily agreed.
Duke dragged Lady Jaye along with him toward his Sharc. "I understand we've got a couple of hours of travel time. Let's chat." She sighed, casting a wistful glance toward the yacht, but followed.
Lady Jaye answered most of Duke's questions, but kept back the private things she had witnessed. She had to repeatedly insist that she wasn't now a repository of all of Cobra's future plans, and after he heard about a few of their most outlandish ones, he quieted down, concentrating on driving the craft and digesting the bits and pieces she had given him.
They parked on the beach near Alexios' mansion and headed up the slope to the house. The others were already there and the party was in full swing. Lady Jaye headed up to her guest room to change.
Flint was trying to enjoy the party, but was swept into a business discussion with Duke, who wanted a more thorough report on what had happened. They ignored the noise and merriment around them as Flint rushed through the telling. He looked around the room every few minutes, but saw no sign of Lady Jaye. Duke kept asking more questions, and finally Flint growled, "Duke, no offense, but I'm tired and hungry and there's a party going on around us. Can't it wait?"
Duke looked momentarily taken aback. Then he grinned as if taking in the surroundings for the first time. Scarlett waved from across the room and Duke nodded. "Right. Later." He headed through the throng toward the redhead.
Flint found Lady Jaye sitting with Cover Girl, Shipwreck, and Torpedo on the balcony. They were, of course, quizzing her on what she had seen in the oracle room.
"So, did you see me with anyone special?" Cover Girl eagerly asked.
Lady Jaye laughed. "Yeah, I sure did. Emphasis on 'special.'" She gave Cover Girl a playful punch on the shoulder. "Who knew? Each to their own, I guess."
"What does that mean? Who did you see me with?"
"I'm not saying. I don't want to mess it up."
"Just a hint?" Cover Girl pleaded.
Lady Jaye adamantly shook her head. "No."
Shipwreck leaned in and asked, "Well, what about me? Am I rich and famous in the future?"
"Sorry Shipwreck, but the only time I saw you, you were shot in the back by that Cobra soldier."
He looked stunned. "Wow. You were saving me back on the island? I'm touched."
Flint finally spoke up from his position in the doorway. "What about yourself? You must have seen something about your own love life." He tried to keep his voice light but failed miserably.
Lady Jaye stared at him, taking in every aspect of his voice, stance, and body language. "Yeah, actually, I did," she said with a wry smile.
He crossed his arms and scowled. "And do you and Alexios live happily ever after?"
Cover Girl stood abruptly and pulled Shipwreck with her. "Lets go get some more food," she said, dragging him toward the doorway.
Shipwreck looked back over his shoulder and protested, "But I want to see this!"
Lady Jaye watched them leave and coolly answered, "Why would you think I would end up with Alexios?"
Flint took a step closer. He gestured around him, indicating the mansion and its splendid view. "He's good-looking and filthy rich, for starters. And he obviously likes you."
She stood and faced him. "Flint, if that's all I wanted out of life, I would never have left home." She took a step forward. "The Joes mean more to me than anything I could find here."
"So this was only a fling?"
"Is that why you've been acting like such a jerk? You think I've been sleeping with him?" She chuckled. "That explains a lot."
He frowned. "It's not funny."
"Yes it is," she replied, breaking into a wide grin. "And here I was worried that you were mad at me. I didn't realize you were jealous."
"I wasn't—"
She stared at him, raising an eyebrow, and he finally looked down. "Fine. I was jealous," he mumbled. "Happy?"
"Yes," she replied, closing the remaining distance between them.
He looked up, expecting to see mockery and scorn in her features. Instead, she met his gaze with a look of tenderness. "For someone so smart, you can be really thick sometimes," she whispered. "I was never interested in Alex."
Flint was finally starting to smile. "Oh?" He shifted closer, bringing his body up against hers. She reached a hand up to brush her fingers gently across his jaw. He leaned in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and letting days worth of pent-up frustration work itself out of his system.
He finally broke the kiss and leaned back to look her in the eyes. "So, do we have a happy future together?" he asked, voice husky.
"The possibilities are endless." Lady Jaye smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.
A/N Ok, maybe not so tragic. I'm too much of a romantic, I guess. Maybe next time...