Chapter 22:

Storm Shadow reached down, firmly gripped Isabella by her upper arm and almost effortlessly, lifted the young woman back up into a standing position.

She stumbled slightly, wincing inwardly as another stab of pain shot through her leg. Then, to her utter disgust, the white-clad ninja in response slid an arm around her shoulders, forcing her to actually lean into his lean body; probably because this way, it gave him the upper hand. This way, she was more under his control; physically at least.

"But this closeness…" Isabella thought to herself as she glanced warily at Storm Shadow through her peripherals. It made her very uneasy and restless. He was too close for her tastes. She did not like it one bit.

"Do you mind?" she asked while fixing the white ninja with an icy glare.

Storm Shadow pretended not to hear, "Let's go." He ordered; signaling that it was time for them to move out.

With a forceful nudge on her back, Storm Shadow started forward, dragging with him a resisting Isabella who was still tucked under his arm.

The first step was killer on Isabella's leg.

"Ow!" the young woman cried in protest of walking; with the throwing star still lodged in the muscle of her left calve, Isabella could feel the jagged piece of metal cut deeper into leg with every step.

Her cry though, went unnoticed by Storm Shadow as he continued on directing her down the corridor with the rest of his team following behind.

"Hey, Jackass!" she hissed through her teeth, "You forgot to take out that blasted ninja toy from my leg!"

Storm Shadow's only response was the small, corner-lifting of his mouth behind his mask in what was probably a smirk. And then to Isabella's already growing hatred for the guy, he lengthened his stride, leaving her with no choice but to quicken hers to the obvious point of hobbling.

Oh, if only she had her gun. Better yet, her team?

Like an answer to a prayer, the security alarm started to sound. Its loud, ear ringing call echoing off the walls, resounding all throughout the pit.

So the Joes did know that their base had been infiltrated….

Good.

Understanding that they've been caught, Storm Shadow, the Baroness, and their Vipers started off at an easy run down through the corridors. The Ninja was practically having to half drag half carry Isabella for she refused to make their job easy for them by digging her heels into the floor to slow the ninja down.

Suddenly, Storm Shadow tugged Isabella along with him into one a large, open room with all sorts of high tech gear; his comrades following swiftly behind. As they started across the room, Isabella caught sight of half a dozen escape pods that resembled drills.

"Must've been how they were able to sneak in here…" Isabella noted to herself. But then something else caught her eye as well; a large and dark, bulky build that had swiftly snuck behind one of the large pillars in the room.

A smile of recognition pulled at Isabella's mouth. These guys were so going to be in it.

At once, Heavy Duty stepped out of hiding and fired off a couple of grenade guns that effectively blew the pods up while also momentarily taking out two of the Vipers who had been standing guard.

While the sudden explosions shook the ground, startling Storm Shadow and the Baroness briefly as they watched their escape route perish before their eyes, Isabella took advantage of their distracted forms. Locking her elbows together, Isabella rammed them down into Storm Shadow's side with all her might.

He hunched over slightly from the attack, giving her the needed time to slip away out from under his arm and retreat back a few paces.

"Bella!" Heavy Duty yelled in an attempt to get her attention.

The woman's head snapped around to see Heavy Duty across the room holding something smaller in his hands.

"Catch!" he added before he drew his arm back and chucked the object he held directly at her.

At once Isabella stumbled forward and caught the object in her hands while a small smile of gratitude pulled at her mouth as she looked down on at what she now held; a nicely polished and fully loaded pistol.

Oh yes, now it was time to get in on this fight.

Gripping the gun firmly in one hand, Isabella turned about to scout out her closest opponent, her eyes coming to land on a Viper standing about ten feet away on her left side. He had spotted her too. At once he turned to face her directly before he started to advance.

As Isabella watched him get closer, she raised her armed hand up, took aim with the pistol, and once the Viper stood close enough, she fired. The bullet however ricocheted of his metal plated chest. And that was when Isabella remembered,

"Damn…." She muttered under her breath as she fired a couple more times at the approaching Viper, "…these guys are bulletproof. Hey, Heavy Duty!" she called as she retreated back a few steps as the Viper continued to approach, "….it's not working!"

With no other choice at hand, Isabella locked the safety of the gun and tucked it into her belt before she decided that her best option was hand-to-hand. Charging, Isabella threw all her weight at the Viper's center, effectively knocking them both to the ground. Taking the dominating position on top of the guy's chest, Isabella curled her hand into a tight fist, raised it up and rammed it right into the Viper's head. As her knuckles connected with the metal helmet, pain shot up her entire arm.

She bit back a cry, as her hand automatically coming up to be cradled against her chest. "Way to go Bella…." She mentally kicked herself, "….punch metal with bruised knuckles."

Isabella felt sure this time she may have broken one or two.

But before she could think more on that particular thought, the Viper, who was beneath her, had recovered and threw a punch of his own; landing a blow directly on the right side of her jaw.

Isabella fell roughly to the ground, skidding back across the floor for about a foot or so. The force briefly left her in a daze, but she quickly shook it off and picked herself up off the ground.

But just as she got back to her feet, the boot of the Viper collided roughly with her midsection, stealing the breath right from her body. While she hunched over, the he reached out and grasped her by her neck, lifting off the ground, forcing her to dangle in midair.

"Sh….it…" she managed to get out. Though it was only seconds, Isabella felt like she had been hanging there helplessly for minuets. It was amazing that she hadn't passed out yet.

"Hey, Metal-head!" yelled a most familiar voice from across the room, "….get your hands off my girl, Bella!"

It was Ripcord. And following his voice came the sound of a motorized vehicle. Both Isabella and the Viper turned to watch as Ripcord charged at them, driving some kind of cart.

"I said drop her!" Ripcord shouted, his face holding the expression of pure rage.

The Viper, surprisingly, complied with the order and released Isabella. Her comrade than gave her just moments to move to the side before he floored the cart and drove it straight into the Viper's chest.

With the Viper dead and out of the way, Ripcord hopped out of the driver's seat and ran over to Isabella who was tenderly rubbing the base of her throat with her hand.

"Hey, girl." Ripcord greeted, a look of deep concern etched on his dark face, "…you ok?" he asked while he placed a hand down on her shoulder.

Isabella swallowed but nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm okay." She answered, "Thanks for the hand."

Ripcord grinned before he reached down to his belt and pulled out a handheld of his own, "No problem." He assured as he skillfully twirled the gun with his finger, "…now let's take care of these bastards."

Isabella smiled in response but as the two turned around to face the multiple fights going on, the smile vanished when a flash of white came directly at them.

"Ripcord!" Isabella cried out in warning as she started reaching for her own gun. Ripcord automatically raised his own up in response but when Storm Shadow's katana came down on the nose of the gun, smoothly chopping the piece of metal off, Ripcord could only stare at his busted weapon with a lock of pure shock on his face.

Storm Shadow then swung his blade around, prepared to strike at Ripcord again but before he could bring the weapon down a second time, Isabella snagged Ripcord by the back of his shirt and threw him out of the way, prepared to take the blow herself.

Only it never came. But something else did.

A blur of black, moving so swift and silently like a shadow, it jumped out of nowhere and stepped protectively in front of Isabella's form. Following it, was the distinctive sound of clashing metal. The noise instantly startled Isabella, but what even alarmed her more was not what had stopped Storm Shadow, but who.

It was an unbelievable sight that Isabella couldn't look away from. Her turquoise eyes were glued to that well-muscled back that had shielded her perfectly from the White ninja's blade. The black figure's stance was wide, and skillfully poised as he held his katana up, crossed like an 'X' with Storm Shadow's.

And…

…it was positively…..breathtaking seeing him like this.

Isabella could not deny the fact that her heart had suddenly started pounding the moment she recognized who this man was; and she was absolutely blown away by the sight of him.

"Snake Eyes…" she managed to speak out, her voice no louder than a soft whisper of disbelief.

He had heard her though; his black, masked head turned slightly over his shoulder in acknowledgement. Feeling his eyes and their intensity, though they were hidden by his visor, stare directly back into her face, Isabella blushed faintly and offered him a tiny, sincere smile of gratitude. It was the least she could do for him.

Her savior….