Disclaimer: I don't own G.I. Joe.
Author's Note: :italics: is telepathic communication.
The door opened up while Stalker was in mid sentence. He paused and everyone in the room watched as one of the lab technicians came in with an odd-looking device. It looked like a cross between a dowsing rod and a metal detector; y shaped and metallic with a small display screen on the left side that was beeping softly. The lab technician started pointing it at the Joes on the left side of the room. It continued beeping the same as he pointed it to each individual. He was pointing it at his fifth Joe when Duke asked, "What are you doing? Do you realize you are interrupting a closed debriefing?"
The technician stopped what he was doing, lowering the device to his right side. "Sorry, Sir! This is the FTESD, that is Father Time Energy Sensing Device, we were ordered to recreate." The technician pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. "The device started beeping outside the test room and I decided to follow it and find out who among us is Father Time."
Everyone looked at him in surprise and he lifted the device back up to continue scanning. As he did, the beeping increased in both frequency and volume. He frowned at it and pointed it to the person standing just to the right of him, but it did not increase further. He pointed it to the next person and then to the next two people standing along the wall, but it still did not increase. When he pointed it to Snake Eyes in the corner, it stopped beeping, but increased in volume and made a continuous noise. The technician stared at Snake Eyes, his jaw dropping in awe.
"Turn tha' infernal racket down!" Beachhead yelled, after listening to it for a minute. The technician jumped and switched the device off quickly.
Hawk cleared his throat, looking at Snake Eyes. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"
Snake Eyes snorted, *It's malfunctioning. I am as likely to be Father Time as Deep Six is.*
The man in question frowned deeply as everyone looked at him. The technician gulped, turned the FTESD back on, and pointed it at Deep Six. It gave off a continuous sound, but nowhere near as loud. The technician turned it back off while lowering it. "Should have installed a mute button," he muttered.
Deep Six was now giving off his patented death glare at the technician. Unnoticed, Snake Eyes shook his head slightly to the right as if he had something in his ear.
Hawk addressed the technician. "Are you sure, absolutely sure, that there is nothing wrong with it?"
"No sir! We delayed letting you know it about its completion because we wanted to test it thoroughly. It is one hundred percent accurate." The technician pushed his glasses up again with a slightly trembling finger.
"So if we trust this device, Snake Eyes is Father Time and Deep Six is what? A spawn?" asked Duke.
Deep Six snorted as Snake Eyes signed *No*
"I want an explanation now. Why are you both giving off energy signatures this device can read?" demanded Hawk.
Snake Eyes and Deep Six both shrugged.
"You will both answer. And 'I don't know' or any variation of that is unacceptable," Hawk glared at Deep Six. "You first, Deep Six." Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"I have a friend," Deep Six said, still giving off death glares to the technician.
"And?" asked Hawk as everyone looked back at him. They went back to looking at Deep Six.
"The rest is classified," Deep Six growled, glancing at Hawk and then going back to staring at the technician. Everyone looked back at Hawk.
Hawk rubbed his forehead, "So let me get this straight. You are a friend of Father Time, but you can't tell us about it?"
*Quite giving death glares* Snake Eyes signed at Deep Six. Deep Six shifted his gaze to Snake Eyes. Everyone else looked at him as well. *What?*
"So are you Father Time?" asked Flint.
Snake Eyes' shoulders were shaking in laughter as he signed, *No.*
"Than what are you?" asked Lifeline.
His shoulders stopped shaking. *Told you, device is malfunctioning.*
The lab technician pushed his glasses up on his nose again. "It is not, Sir!" Snake Eyes turned his head towards the technician, who gulped.
Breaker interjected, "If it were malfunctioning, wouldn't it be going off for everyone or not at all?"
The technician nodded, "Yes and we tested it using the formula Cobra had in their notes."
*We should trust Cobra now?* signed Snake Eyes.
"You are avoiding the question Snake Eyes," warned Hawk. Deep Six snorted. Snake Eyes turned towards Deep Six, glaring at him, not that anyone could see. *Shut up. At least I am not giving spawns from my evil acquaintance from the sea to my girlfriend,* he signed with sharp and jerky movements that everyone had come to associate with his being agitated.
"Deep Six has a girlfriend? How the hell does he have one and I don't?" asked Clutch in shock as everyone else other than Snake Eyes stared wide-eyed at Deep Six.
Deep Six death glared at Snake Eyes, "Thanks a lot."
It was Snake Eyes' turn to snort. *That will not work. I'm tired of running interference.*
"DEATH!" shouted the lab technician as he pointed a finger at Snake Eyes while sliding sideways away from him. "You're Death!"
Snake Eyes resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He settled for giving the universal sign for so-so.
"What do you mean so-so?" asked Duke.
Snake Eyes sighed heavily, *G-r-i-m R-e-a-p-e-r,* he fingerspelled quickly. Everyone sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Scarlett spoke up.
"Did you know about Father Time all this time? Did you just let us waste time and effort when you could have just told us? What the HELL, Snake?" She had stood up while she had spoken and was leaning angrily over the table.
*Not for me to say.* He hesitated before signing again, *I only met him once and I know he disguises himself. Other than that,* he shrugged.
"Yes! Paydirt, baby!" said Shipwreck as several Joes groaned, while Ripcord slapped himself on the head.
"How long have you been the Grim Reaper?" asked Psyche-Out at the same time that Duke said, "Deep Six also knew, Scarlett."
*That mission in Germany four years ago. I came back and took a month of leave,* replied Snake Eyes.
"I remember that. I thought it was odd then, since you hardly take time off," said Hawk.
Snake Eyes sighed. *Had to learn how to be Grim Reaper.*
"Is there anything else you know about any of it? How the system works for instance, or how many more like you and Father Time are out there?" asked Lady Jaye.
Snake Eyes shrugged. *It works differently for everyone. Father Time has always been Father Time. Some powers reside in objects that choose.* His hands stilled for a moment, before he continued. *My assistant may have more information. She has been around for a while.*
"I want as much information as possible. While you get a hold of her, Scarlett and Lady Jaye will go over the information everyone has gathered and we will see if we can pinpoint where to start using our new device," ordered Hawk.
The technician spoke up, "Sir, should we have everyone come into the lab for testing?"
"Ah, hell no," grumbled Beachhead.
Flint smirked. "Is there something you'd like to tell us, Beachhead?"
"No, but Ah don't think it matters so long as it doesn't interfere with our job."
Billy spoke up. "It might also do more harm than good if people are forced into revealing themselves. Maybe it should just be voluntary."
Hawk nodded. "Let it be voluntary. No one is to go questioning, sneaking around, or otherwise trying to find out if they suspect someone, either. I will not have unknown powers doing more damage then you people already do to my base! Anyone caught doing so will face six months of janitorial duties, and will be restricted to base during that time. Dismissed."
Everyone started filing out. Snake Eyes was heading to his room when Scarlett caught up to him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded as they walked down the hallway.
He stopped suddenly, looking ahead. *I didn't want you to know.*
She stopped with him. "Why not?" she asked as her eyes flashed dangerously. "How am I supposed to trust you when you keep secrets like this?"
*No one needed to know,* he signed angrily. *What will they expect now that they do?*
"Why do you think they will expect anything, Snake? We all know if there is anything you could do to prevent fellow teammates from dying, you would. We all know how much you push yourself. Even if you didn't think anyone else needed to know, you could have at least told me. You know I wouldn't expect anything."
He sighed. *I know you wouldn't.*
"Are you going to go contact your assistant?"
He nodded cautiously.
"Can... I watch?"
His response was a jerky and immediate no. He started walking again at a fast pace. She followed.
"Why not, Snake?"
He kept going, signing behind his back, *I do n-o-t want you to see it.*
"Snake Eyes!"
He shook his head and jogged around the corner. Before Scarlett could catch up, he started running down to the next hallway and around another corner. Once out of sight, he climbed up into a nearby vent.
Scarlett rounded the corner, stopping when she saw it was empty. "God damn it, Snake Eyes!" she shouted. Frustrated, she turned around and walked angrily down to the file room.
Snake Eyes heard her up in the vents and winced. Using ninja skills to hide from your girlfriend; Tommy would laugh at him right now. He figured it would probably be a good couple of months of chocolates, flowers, and romantic evenings before she would stop being angry with him, but it would be worth it if she never saw him in his Grim Reaper form. He continued crawling through the vents until he got to the closest exit near his room. Dropping down from the ceiling, he quickly went to his door, unlocked it, and once in, locked it again. He pulled the chair from his desk and put the back of it under the doorknob, further preventing unwanted intrusions.
He still did not know if it was his own penchant for picking up weapons or if it was the scythe itself that had made him take it. It had just lying on the ground in front of him in the woods of all places. Had he known what it really was, he wouldn't have touched it. He was busy enough with all the missions Hawk assigned him, getting Tommy to throw off the brainwashing, as he was once again, currently trying to do, training apprentices, and trying to fit in whatever left over time he had with Scarlett. He didn't need another full-time job listening to petitions, prayers, and dealing non-Cobra related death.
He sat down on the floor in a meditative position. Once he was comfortable, he imagined the feel of the black wooden handle in his hands and pictured the long, beak-like curve of the polished blade. He found the curve of the blade appealing. He also liked how a piece of it protruded above the handle and spiked out a couple of inches in the back.
When he had completely imagined the scythe in his hands, it materialized and he started floating. Dull black wings appeared and curved around him briefly before folding up behind him. His clothes changed to a black robe. He hated this part, where his mask came off and his face was exposed. He had looked in the mirror once. The transformation, while not making him into a skeleton as he thought it would, made him look drawn and emaciated, causing the already ugly scars on his face to be more prominent. Even with the hood of the robe over his head, he felt exposed and hated it. He balanced the scythe in his lap and then flipped the hood up over his head. He had no idea why it didn't materialize already over his head. He was told it was a thing of practice and preference, but it never seemed to behave for him.
When he had first come into being the Grim Reaper, he had told the assistant it would be difficult for him to do the job and had been dismayed when she had told him he was stuck with it. He was able to arrange it with her so he only had to do whatever absolutely had to have the Grim Reaper's personal touch. He reached out in his mind for her, imagining a hooded figure in a black cloak and a scythe identical to his. He knew that just as he saw an image of her standing still, cloaked, and scythe in one hand, she saw the same of him.
:What causes you to call for me, M'lord?: he heard her say in his mind.
:I need you to get information on Father Time and any others like us. Who they are currently disguised as, how their powers work, and how the whole system works.:
:M'lord, if I may know why?:
He nodded. :There is an assassination plot on Father Time.:
:As M'lord surely knows, there is a system in place for dealing with such things.:
:It works differently than this power, if I remember right.:
:That is correct, M'lord. Father Time is quite capable of taking care of himself, but should something arise to cause his death, his powers would pass on to whoever killed him. It is not our concern.:
He raised his head to glare at her, his eyes becoming solid blue and glowing as he did so. :It is our concern. An evil Father Time would be disastrous.:
She bowed her head. :My apologies for angering you, M'lord, but a new Father Time would only be able to affect time from the moment they took up the powers. There are strict rules in place for such things.:
:That is exactly the kind of information I need.:
:When would M'lord like it done?:
:ASAP.:
:I am sorry, M'lord, but what does that mean?:
He sighed. :As soon as possible.:
:Yes, M'lord,: she said as she faded out.
He pictured himself back in his room dressed in his normal commando ninja gear. He felt much better feeling his mask on his face again, although his eyes still felt weird. He hated how the power tended to flare up like that. He got up, stretching as he did. He decided he would go ask permission to leave base so he could stock up on Scarlett's favorite chocolates.
Author's Note: Deep Six, his association with Cthulhu, and his girlfriend come from twitter.