Zaltana sees many faces she knows and many faces she doesn't. There's twenty six of them, and the others are all being carted off to do something or go away permanently based on their likability. Zaltana smiles, knowing that Thomas, Mina, and Hibiki are with her. The next few weeks are going to be rough though, because now that they've gotten first place in their spots, they have to keep those spots.
Zaltana brushes her hair out of her face as Fiona fills her view. The duo hate each other, have since they met. Fiona thinks Zaltana's a slut, though Zaltana has only slept with Thomas and a drunken night with Firefly, and Zaltana thinks that Fiona talks big for who she really is. The blonde knows that if it came to it, Fiona would run rather than save her "friends" any day. "I bet you bought your way on this team, like you bought your way to the advanced serum."
Zaltana sighs, not in the mood for her. How the hell did she make it? The bitch doesn't know left from right. "Even if I did, at least I didn't bullshit my way on. Tell me, are you nearly asleep from acting like the sweet, kind, innocent girl we know you aren't?" Fiona turns slightly red, matching her dyed hair. Mina may dye hers pink, but at least it looks cute on Mina. Fiona just looks... fake. "So it's true?"
Fiona steps in, gritting her teeth. Zaltana has gone through this too many times, so she steps to full height, just an inch smaller than Fiona. She faces her easily, showing how unafraid she is as she lights up the cigarette and takes a drag, blowing the smoke in her face. Fiona turns even more red, and Zaltana smirks. "I'll get you out of here. I'll be tested with the serum next. I'll be better than you ever were." Fiona storms off, only one of her "friends" joining her. Jamie is even more two faced than Fiona herself.
Zaltana turns back to her friends, people she actually trusts. "So... Tonight's over. What do you guys wanna do?" Zaltana passes the light to Hibiki, who passes it to Thomas, who intends to smoke it. Most health hazards don't apply to them anymore, but Zaltana wasn't one for a commitment. An addiction, to her, is a commitment. "We could go watch a movie."
"And risk running into bloody Quemar?" Mina scoffs in her British accent. "I'd rather not. We should go skating." Leave it to Mina to come up with an idea to get rid of energy. Zaltana laughs, and shakes her head. Mina turns her puppy eyes on Hibiki and he falls immediately. Zaltana is sure Hibiki has a little crush on her, but he never openly admits it. Zaltana turns to Thomas, who shrugs.
She promised a private dance, so she would give it. They walk to her room, not really feeling a need to touch each other. That's something Zaltana loves about being friends with Thomas. They can be sex partners or they can be friends. "So, I heard that someone asked you out the other day." Zaltana is always in his business, wanting to know everything. While the blonde has the sneaking suspicion that he's gay, he won't admit it openly. He shrugs in response. "When are you going to say yes, Tommy? There are plenty of girls here, each of them as good a fuck as me."
"They just aren't right," he says. He gestures to her. "You are someone I can have sex with and talk about how good bacon is five minutes later while getting dressed. Other girls... They aren't like that around here, you know?"
"I'm also not as far up my ass as they are." Zaltana reaches in her back pocket, taking out a napkin. "Got some water? This make up is driving me crazy." He chuckles, pulling one seemingly out of no where. Zaltana pours it over the trash can, proceeding to wipe all traces of it away. "Anyway, so what? Use them for sex then. You're the best looking guy around. Plus you're pretty awesome."
"That's just it," Thomas says a bit loudly as they reach her bedroom. "I don't just want sex! I want a friend, someone to confide in, and someone to..."
"Love?" Zaltana lets out a bitter laugh. Thomas gives her the same kind of smile. "Look at where you're standing, Tommy. You are standing tall and strong with a parasite pumping you full of drugs that make you heal faster than the average human. Fuck the rest that comes with that damned bug. You want to think people will honestly love someone like any of us? Me, you, Mina, Hibiki, Fiona, Quemar? No, that's the answer. There's no way."
"But..." Thomas hesitates, something Zaltana has never seen him do until this moment. "I feel like we had another life before all of this. Besides, it's a bit strange." Zaltana sighs. She knows why he's talking so freely, and she feels that she can say anything openly too. "Think about it, Z, before you say anything. We have all forgotten hunks of our past. I can't remember anything between fifteen and twenty two. Mina can't remember anything until she was sixteen. Hibiki can't remember anything between seventeen and twenty one. At the same time, we can't remember names and faces. Sure, it comes occasionally, but only you remember your whole past."
Zaltana does as he asks, thinking it over and flipping it in her mind. She thinks he's crazy, and that's where she stands. "Tommy, if Cobra was the bad guy, we'd know by now, wouldn't we? G.I. Joe is the big, bad guy. They have gained the respect of countries by making us out to be criminals, and we're the ones trying to make the world better."
"What difference would it make if we evolved, Z?" Zaltana hesitates herself. "Exactly. People will still kill each other, little girls will still be raped, and sickness is still very possible. Besides, we're such a success... why do we need to promote ourselves to people like that? Hell, by killing?"
"It doesn't matter," Zaltana says with a resolution. "If you feel so strongly about this, we'll hack into the Cobra database this weekend. We don't have to know right now, and we don't have as much access as I'd like and as you'd like. Just think, in about four weeks we'll be in the clear. The survivors. Let's worry about this first piece."
Thomas sees how desperate she is to avoid a fight and leans down, kissing her softly as he opens the door behind her and drags her in, closing the door and locking it.
Aron stares at the picture of his mom, wondering how much she's changed in the last two years. He doesn't hear anything behind him as Storm Shadow sets the picture down. "Time for bed, Aron." The boy looks up, his eyes red. Storm Shadow rarely calls him by his name, but Aron knows better when he does. He knows not to disobey because it'll hurt the both of them.
He sits up, looking down at his uncompleted math homework. Nothing makes sense after hearing his mother is still alive, so he doesn't even want to try. Storm Shadow looks down at it and grabs the pencil. The equations were completed within moments, a perfect copy of Aron's sloppy writing. "Storm, do you think if mom saw us, she'd remember? I mean, just.. you, me, Pelican, and Aunt Hillary?"
Storm Shadows chuckles slightly, and Aron looks at him with a frown. "Your aunt isn't interested in your mother being alive. Why would she be? Pelican has already moved on, so it isn't like she could go back to him. If she were going to regain her memory after seeing me, she would have. Don't get your hopes up, Aron. It won't end well."
"But can't I just try, Storm? She's my mom." Tears slide down his cheeks as his true fears come out. "Moms don't forget their sons. They just don't."
Storm Shadow pauses a moment before doing something he truly doesn't do often enough. It isn't his character. He pulled Aron into his arms to comfort the boy. Aron cries silently on the ninja's shoulder. "She might come around eventually. Just remember who has taken her away from us." Aron nods his head, and Storm Shadow stands, carrying him easily. Aron is in the beginning stages of his first growth spurt, so Storm Shadow knows he can't keep doing this for very long.
Storm Shadow sets the boy down, turning off the light and putting his books in his bag for the next day of school. His dark eyes stare at Aron, lingering for a long time in case the boy needs him. Aron stays perfectly still, knowing he won't get any sleep. Storm Shadow leaves him there, going to meditate.
Jaye is in the living room, sitting with Flint's arm draped over her. Flint's asleep, but Jaye is far from it. Roadblock is with Snake Eyes, sparring half heartedly. Storm Shadow has no idea how they're going to do it, but he knows quite well that he's thinking the same thing everyone, even Hawk, Beachhead, Clutch, and Lowlight are thinking.