Kyle stepped outside and raised a hand to shield his eyes. The sun was blazing and though it was early, it was shaping up to be another scorcher. His new batch of recruits had arrived the night before, discreetly transported via an Arbco truck. Now they stood beneath a ramada, the only source of shade in the area. Each was dressed in a simple jumpsuit, the color denoting their place in the Cobra rank and file.

"Alright! Form up!" he shouted as he approached the group. The motley assortment of soldiers and specialists looked up from where they'd gathered, but no one moved. They looked Kyle over warily. Slowly, they returned to their conversations. He narrowed his eyes and sucked his teeth. Already he could see he was going to have his work cut out for him.

"Form up you worthless fools!" he shouted, louder this time. Again, no one budged. His eyebrow raised and he crossed his arms slowly. Perhaps he'd have to try something different.

"I said form up." he said again, quietly this time. The soldiers continued their conversations unabated. Kyle sighed and drew his pistol. In a quick motion he brought it up and put a round in the thigh of the nearest man. The soldier shrieked and dropped to the ground clamping his hands over the wound. The conversations died and all eyes locked on him.

"Oh good, you noticed me. Now that I have you attention, which one of you is…" he paused looking down at a clipboard he held in his free hand. "…Mallory Peebles?" he asked. A tall woman with long blonde hair raised her hand nervously. She was dressed in a light green jumpsuit.

"I… I am sir." she muttered nervously. Kyle smiled and holstered his pistol.

"Ah. Be a dear and see to that. Would you?" he said, gesturing to the bleeding man. Mallory looked to the injured man and then nodded before pulling her kit out and kneeling over him.

"Good, now, I am Carnage." He said, pacing back and forth in front of the gathered soldiers. "Cobra Commander has no use for worthless fools like yourselves, and it is merely by the grace of the Baroness that you are still allowed to breathe." Kyle glanced at the man he'd shot and gestured at him with a nod of his head.

"Except for Mister Kutter, it's the grace of Miss Peebles there that will determine whether or not he dies."

"No pressure, huh?" she hissed under her breath as she pulled a long pair of forceps from her bag and looked at the man. "Try not to wiggle. Or this will hurt more." she said moments before jabbing the instrument into the man's thigh. The man screamed and then passed out, allowing the woman to work in peace. Kyle winced despite himself and paused before continuing.

"Anyway, the Baroness has granted you half a year to prove yourself worthwhile to Cobra. That is why I'm here." Kyle stepped over Kutter's prone form and approached the group, watching several of them tense up. The biggest amongst them, a Python Patrolman, looked like he was torn between his fight or flight instinct.

"I will have the distinct pleasure of bringing you insubordinate wretches into line. If any of you are religious, you best start praying to your deity of choice now. Once you are down below, your souls belong to me. I will mould you into the type of soldier Cobra can use. Along the way, I will submit progress reports to the Baroness, and if she decides that your progress is not satisfactory…" Kyle turned and pulled his Viper helmet from where it was clipped to his belt and slid it over his head, his reflective red faceplate hiding his wicked grin. "You will disappear and cease to be a thorn in the Commander's side. Do we have an understanding?"

Once back underground, Simon Kutter had been deposited in the med-bay under double guard while Carnage ordered everyone else to the obstacle course. A large cavern had been dug into the earth, the floor of which was made of several mobile platforms that would raise or lower at his command. They could also open to reveal a water tank or a sand pit for people to traverse. It was all very hi-tech, but right now, Carnage used it to establish dominance of his new batch of problem children by running them ragged through its most simple course.

"Move your ass, Faulk! If I have to come down there you're going to regret the day you were born!" Kyle yelled from the observation and control tower. Byron looked up and gave him the finger as he picked up his pace. Kyle smiled and surveyed the rest of the obstacle course. Dahlia was climbing the third wall with ease and Mallory was right on her tail. Kyle hated to admit it but, for a medic, Mallory could really move. His eyes then fell on the Frag Viper in their midst as he struggled climbing a high wall.

"Watts! If you don't get your worthless hide over that wall I'll strap one of your little homemade explosives to it and launch you over!" Raymond Watts groaned loudly as he swung his leg up over the wall and used it to pull himself up, spitting curses the entire time.

"This sucks!" he grunted as he dropped down on the opposite side, landing in deep sand and struggling to lift his legs out and start up the next wall.

"Suck it up! You only have ten more laps!" Kyle shouted at him. "Arby, do you have the status report for me?"

"Yes."

Kyle turned slightly and held out his hand. A clipboard was deposited in it and he straightened to look it over.

"They're still not performing up to spec, are they Arby?" he asked.

"No." Arby replied. Kyle shook his head.

"They're valuable assets... and I know that if they could just maintain discipline they'd be a formidable force." Kyle turned and looked into Arby's faceplate. The B.A.T. said nothing.

"You don't agree?"

"No." it said, with a shake of its head. Kyle smirked.

"Why's that, oh wise and mighty robot." he asked mockingly. Arby pointed and Kyle turned to look at what he was pointing at. He groaned loudly and shook his head. Byron and Mallory were sneaking off the obstacle course hand-in-hand.

"Faulk! Peebles! Screw on your own time! Get back on the course before I get the hose!" he barked. Byron and Mallory turned slowly and sauntered back towards the course. Kyle turned to look at the B.A.T., its faceplate revealing nothing.

"Halt deine fresse." he murmured.

"Nein." the B.A.T. replied.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Behold, the rest of my OCs. There's Dahlia Kane, Byron Faulk, Simon Kutter, Mallory Peebles, Raymond Watts, Denise Layton and a few more. They will be introduced and described better as the story progress. I promise I will make them more than just names. I will make them characters.

Translation: Halt deine fresse. - Shut your face.

Nein. - No