Here we are. Another episode of Rise of Cobra is up. Oh, and I
apologize. I'm not going to be able to work the new ally into this
chapter, but something in this chapter
As Some Questions Are Answered...
Magneto paced the corridors of his newest base, another Asteroid M, "one of our mutant officers in Cobra has sent us some vital information. That fool Cobra Commander is planning something big. We don't know anything specific, but it has to be big if he's keeping it this hush-hush."
Pyro smiled, "so what exactly do you want us to do boss?"
Magneto had assembled a group of Acolytes, "Your job is to destroy Mindbender's lab and set back his research as far as you possibly can. If possible you need to find out exactly what Cobra is up to."
"Right boss," smirked Pyro, "burn the lab to the ground and interrogate the scientists. It'll be my pleasure."
Althea signaled for Toad to move around the corner of the wall. He leapt out and surprised the man crouching on the ground. He had a small radio and was speaking quietly into it.
"I think they're onto me. I have to sign off now," he said just before Toad jumped out. Toad kicked the radio from the man's hands and punched him. The man leapt up and drove his foot into Toad's stomach. Toad stumbled back and the man ran.
Althea chased after him, "give it up Lee. We're onto you anyways!" With a flying tackle she brought him to the ground. He smashed his elbow into her chin, and flung her into a tree. Pietro ran up.
"You OK?" He asked.
"I'm fine. Get Lee," she answered.
Lee was in the process of climbing up the wall of the base when Pietro caught up. He ran up the wall and knocked Lee down. Lee threw a smoke bomb and ran in the opposite direction. By the time the smoke cleared he was gone.
Fred crossed his arms and planted himself squarely in front of the armory door. Before long Lee ran up.
"I need to get in, General Hawk sent me. He said that its urgent, and I need to get some heavy artillery right away."
"Yeah right," Fred snorted. "Tell me please, exactly how stupid do you think I am?"
"Stupid enough to fall for the misdirection technique long enough for me to get to this," smirked Lee, and threw a bomb with knockout gas in it. By the time the smoke cleared Fred was unconscious on the ground. Lee stepped over him and quickly picked the lock to the armory door. It swung open and Lee switched on the light.
Roadblock and Low Light leveled guns at him, "looks like the game's up," smirked Low Light. Lee turned to run. Standing in the doorway, also holding a gun was Shipwreck. Cover Girl was perched in the rafters with a sniper rifle.
"So, why'd you sell us out?" asked Shipwreck, "mind control? Blackmail? Bribery?"
"Actually," Lee answered calmly, "I was planning on selling you out the whole time. You see, my name's not Lieutenant Lee. My name is Darkshadow." He pulled off an intricate mask to reveal that he was speaking the truth.
"But, that... that's impossible!" Said Shipwreck flabbergasted. "You're dead! I saw you go down with a crossbow bolt in your heart."
"Actually you saw my body double go down. He was surgically altered to look exactly like me. I was still in the vessel. When you scouted the wreckage you weren't actually expecting to find anybody inside, and you were careless. It was child's play to avoid you and then hide outside. Since then I've been biding my time."
"But the DNA scan of the body..."
"I took the liberty of altering your records of my DNA while I was inside your base. It was the perfect back-up plan."
"And I suppose you went crawling back to Cobra on your knees, begging for them to forgive you."
"Actually, they have no idea that I am still alive. I contact them only as Lee. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pressing appointment." He grabbed Shipwreck and hurled him into Roadblock and Low Light. Then he grabbed Low Light and hurled him into the way of Cover Girl's bullet. He took off running.
"For the last time, I'm fine!" snapped Low Light. "The bullet was mostly stopped by my bullet proof vest."
"Mostly," repeated Bree, "but it went three centimeters into your shoulder and hit a tendon. You're lucky you can even move your arm."
"Yes, but I can move it so will you just stop fussing over me like a mother hen?"
"Fine, but don't lift anything heavy for a couple of weeks."
"Weeks?! Is that how long it will take it to heal? There's no way I can stay out of action for that long. Not the way things are going down!"
"I'm afraid that even with Lifeline's help, you'll have to rest it for at least ten days, or it might heal wrong."
"Fine," growled Low Light, "I'll shoot with my other hand. But there's no way I can just sit out. Darkshadow's alive and kicking. We're going to need every bit of help we can possibly get."
"So what's the big deal about this Darkshadow?" Asked Lance. He was doing stretches in the ninja dojo, while Althea and Toad worked out. Althea was holding a punching bag while Toad hit it.
"I mean," continued Lance, "we've fought ninjas before, right? I mean Sergeant Slaughter and Snake Eyes demolished almost an army of them once right?"
"The big deal is," Toad said, "that we never saw him coming. Not last time, not this time. Who's to say it will be different next time. He manipulated me! He made me hurt the Blind Master! I was helpless!" He leapt up and kicked the punching bag with both feet. Althea flew back and landed on a pile of work out mats. The punching bag snapped off the string had been hanging from and hit the far wall, exploding on contact.
Toad ran over, "Al, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Thanks. But maybe you should consider getting Blob the immovable objects to hold the bag in the future. Lets move on to the throwing knives, shall we?"
Lance was starting to do stretches, "so Darkshadow's smart," he said, "I've got that, but how good is he?"
Althea started throwing the knives. Toad dodged them at first, and then kicked one out of the air, and finally caught the last two, twirled them around, and fired them bull's-eye into the target. Althea went over and tried to pull them out, but they were stuck. Finally she yanked them out, complete with the target. They left about an inch deep hole in the wall.
"Trust me, he's good. As good as the Blind Master, maybe better."
"You've got to be joking."
"No joke," said Althea grimly. "He's good. Maybe the best."
"So how did you beat him last time if he's good?" Asked Lance as Althea picked up a crossbow and loaded a bolt.
"We didn't. That's the point. We beat his body double. Xi turned invisible and shot him with a crossbow," said Toad as Althea set an apple on her head.
"Will that work again?"
Althea fired the crossbow, Toad caught it out of the air, and threw it like a dart, slicing the apple cleanly in half, and burying the bolt in the wall, "I doubt it. He's not the type to let something like that happen more than once."
He picked up two Bo staffs and handed one to Althea, "let's go outside for this one."
All three went outside. Lance focused his powers, and created a circle of dirt raised up from the rest of the ground, and Althea and Toad faced off.
As they were battling Lance asked, "so, is there any way to beat this guy?"
"Yeah," said Toad, "a sword through the chest ought to do it. But I don't know if I'm ready to cross that line right now."
He feinted, and then used a lightning fast move to knock the staff out of Althea's hands.
"But if it comes down to me or him, I'm not going to let it be him." he used his Bo staff to trip Althea, "Lets just hope it doesn't," he helped Althea to her feet, then jumped out of the ring, and walked away.
A guard walked to a door, and crouched down, letting a black pad scan his eye. Then he pressed his thumb up against the same pad. Finally, annunciating clearly he said, "clearance code Alpha Omega."
The three feet thick door opened and he stepped through. Juggernaut was floating in a tank full of green liquid. The guard's hand turned into a sledgehammer and he smashed a hole in the tank. Juggernaut woke up, as the green liquid began to drain out, and smashed away the rest of the tank.
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded of the guard, who had, in the short time it had taken Juggernaut to demolish the tank, changed into a person who looked like a respectable businessman, complete with briefcase.
"I have been authorized to make you a once in a lifetime offer. Cobra wants you on board for their bid for world order. A helicopter will be landing in approximately five minutes. You'll need to have made your decision by then."
"Is the pay good?"
"If the plan succeeds, you will be given a small area of land, specifically, Mexico."
"Mexico, huh? You can count me in."
"My master will be pleased to hear that," the shapeshifter reverted to its original state, namely a pile of protoplasmic goop.
"Hmm, that's weird," snorted Juggernaut, and strode into the small army of guards that was charging into the room, "Look's like it's time to go to work. Mexico. Hmm. Sounds good to me."
Deeper and deeper into the mystery we delve. Darkshadow is alive? Cobra has shapeshifters? I would like reviews? Well, yeah, duh.
As Some Questions Are Answered...
Magneto paced the corridors of his newest base, another Asteroid M, "one of our mutant officers in Cobra has sent us some vital information. That fool Cobra Commander is planning something big. We don't know anything specific, but it has to be big if he's keeping it this hush-hush."
Pyro smiled, "so what exactly do you want us to do boss?"
Magneto had assembled a group of Acolytes, "Your job is to destroy Mindbender's lab and set back his research as far as you possibly can. If possible you need to find out exactly what Cobra is up to."
"Right boss," smirked Pyro, "burn the lab to the ground and interrogate the scientists. It'll be my pleasure."
Althea signaled for Toad to move around the corner of the wall. He leapt out and surprised the man crouching on the ground. He had a small radio and was speaking quietly into it.
"I think they're onto me. I have to sign off now," he said just before Toad jumped out. Toad kicked the radio from the man's hands and punched him. The man leapt up and drove his foot into Toad's stomach. Toad stumbled back and the man ran.
Althea chased after him, "give it up Lee. We're onto you anyways!" With a flying tackle she brought him to the ground. He smashed his elbow into her chin, and flung her into a tree. Pietro ran up.
"You OK?" He asked.
"I'm fine. Get Lee," she answered.
Lee was in the process of climbing up the wall of the base when Pietro caught up. He ran up the wall and knocked Lee down. Lee threw a smoke bomb and ran in the opposite direction. By the time the smoke cleared he was gone.
Fred crossed his arms and planted himself squarely in front of the armory door. Before long Lee ran up.
"I need to get in, General Hawk sent me. He said that its urgent, and I need to get some heavy artillery right away."
"Yeah right," Fred snorted. "Tell me please, exactly how stupid do you think I am?"
"Stupid enough to fall for the misdirection technique long enough for me to get to this," smirked Lee, and threw a bomb with knockout gas in it. By the time the smoke cleared Fred was unconscious on the ground. Lee stepped over him and quickly picked the lock to the armory door. It swung open and Lee switched on the light.
Roadblock and Low Light leveled guns at him, "looks like the game's up," smirked Low Light. Lee turned to run. Standing in the doorway, also holding a gun was Shipwreck. Cover Girl was perched in the rafters with a sniper rifle.
"So, why'd you sell us out?" asked Shipwreck, "mind control? Blackmail? Bribery?"
"Actually," Lee answered calmly, "I was planning on selling you out the whole time. You see, my name's not Lieutenant Lee. My name is Darkshadow." He pulled off an intricate mask to reveal that he was speaking the truth.
"But, that... that's impossible!" Said Shipwreck flabbergasted. "You're dead! I saw you go down with a crossbow bolt in your heart."
"Actually you saw my body double go down. He was surgically altered to look exactly like me. I was still in the vessel. When you scouted the wreckage you weren't actually expecting to find anybody inside, and you were careless. It was child's play to avoid you and then hide outside. Since then I've been biding my time."
"But the DNA scan of the body..."
"I took the liberty of altering your records of my DNA while I was inside your base. It was the perfect back-up plan."
"And I suppose you went crawling back to Cobra on your knees, begging for them to forgive you."
"Actually, they have no idea that I am still alive. I contact them only as Lee. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pressing appointment." He grabbed Shipwreck and hurled him into Roadblock and Low Light. Then he grabbed Low Light and hurled him into the way of Cover Girl's bullet. He took off running.
"For the last time, I'm fine!" snapped Low Light. "The bullet was mostly stopped by my bullet proof vest."
"Mostly," repeated Bree, "but it went three centimeters into your shoulder and hit a tendon. You're lucky you can even move your arm."
"Yes, but I can move it so will you just stop fussing over me like a mother hen?"
"Fine, but don't lift anything heavy for a couple of weeks."
"Weeks?! Is that how long it will take it to heal? There's no way I can stay out of action for that long. Not the way things are going down!"
"I'm afraid that even with Lifeline's help, you'll have to rest it for at least ten days, or it might heal wrong."
"Fine," growled Low Light, "I'll shoot with my other hand. But there's no way I can just sit out. Darkshadow's alive and kicking. We're going to need every bit of help we can possibly get."
"So what's the big deal about this Darkshadow?" Asked Lance. He was doing stretches in the ninja dojo, while Althea and Toad worked out. Althea was holding a punching bag while Toad hit it.
"I mean," continued Lance, "we've fought ninjas before, right? I mean Sergeant Slaughter and Snake Eyes demolished almost an army of them once right?"
"The big deal is," Toad said, "that we never saw him coming. Not last time, not this time. Who's to say it will be different next time. He manipulated me! He made me hurt the Blind Master! I was helpless!" He leapt up and kicked the punching bag with both feet. Althea flew back and landed on a pile of work out mats. The punching bag snapped off the string had been hanging from and hit the far wall, exploding on contact.
Toad ran over, "Al, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Thanks. But maybe you should consider getting Blob the immovable objects to hold the bag in the future. Lets move on to the throwing knives, shall we?"
Lance was starting to do stretches, "so Darkshadow's smart," he said, "I've got that, but how good is he?"
Althea started throwing the knives. Toad dodged them at first, and then kicked one out of the air, and finally caught the last two, twirled them around, and fired them bull's-eye into the target. Althea went over and tried to pull them out, but they were stuck. Finally she yanked them out, complete with the target. They left about an inch deep hole in the wall.
"Trust me, he's good. As good as the Blind Master, maybe better."
"You've got to be joking."
"No joke," said Althea grimly. "He's good. Maybe the best."
"So how did you beat him last time if he's good?" Asked Lance as Althea picked up a crossbow and loaded a bolt.
"We didn't. That's the point. We beat his body double. Xi turned invisible and shot him with a crossbow," said Toad as Althea set an apple on her head.
"Will that work again?"
Althea fired the crossbow, Toad caught it out of the air, and threw it like a dart, slicing the apple cleanly in half, and burying the bolt in the wall, "I doubt it. He's not the type to let something like that happen more than once."
He picked up two Bo staffs and handed one to Althea, "let's go outside for this one."
All three went outside. Lance focused his powers, and created a circle of dirt raised up from the rest of the ground, and Althea and Toad faced off.
As they were battling Lance asked, "so, is there any way to beat this guy?"
"Yeah," said Toad, "a sword through the chest ought to do it. But I don't know if I'm ready to cross that line right now."
He feinted, and then used a lightning fast move to knock the staff out of Althea's hands.
"But if it comes down to me or him, I'm not going to let it be him." he used his Bo staff to trip Althea, "Lets just hope it doesn't," he helped Althea to her feet, then jumped out of the ring, and walked away.
A guard walked to a door, and crouched down, letting a black pad scan his eye. Then he pressed his thumb up against the same pad. Finally, annunciating clearly he said, "clearance code Alpha Omega."
The three feet thick door opened and he stepped through. Juggernaut was floating in a tank full of green liquid. The guard's hand turned into a sledgehammer and he smashed a hole in the tank. Juggernaut woke up, as the green liquid began to drain out, and smashed away the rest of the tank.
"Who the hell are you?" He demanded of the guard, who had, in the short time it had taken Juggernaut to demolish the tank, changed into a person who looked like a respectable businessman, complete with briefcase.
"I have been authorized to make you a once in a lifetime offer. Cobra wants you on board for their bid for world order. A helicopter will be landing in approximately five minutes. You'll need to have made your decision by then."
"Is the pay good?"
"If the plan succeeds, you will be given a small area of land, specifically, Mexico."
"Mexico, huh? You can count me in."
"My master will be pleased to hear that," the shapeshifter reverted to its original state, namely a pile of protoplasmic goop.
"Hmm, that's weird," snorted Juggernaut, and strode into the small army of guards that was charging into the room, "Look's like it's time to go to work. Mexico. Hmm. Sounds good to me."
Deeper and deeper into the mystery we delve. Darkshadow is alive? Cobra has shapeshifters? I would like reviews? Well, yeah, duh.