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It was amazing, this new body. I especially liked the fact that I could wrestle with the toughest of guys and still pin them down if they were no more than a small toddler crying for its mommy. Rip never seemed to give up in his determination to defeat me in an arm wrestle. He worked harder than ever before to try and bulk up but my genetically enhanced body crushed him every single time. For what must have been the five hundredth time I slammed Rip's hand down on the table then cracked a broad grin.
"I almost had you!" Rip yelped as he nursed his injured hand.
"Come on Rip, just take the hit and get over it. You're not going to win." Duke said to him, gripping his shoulders and shaking them gently. "Give up your pride."
"No! I can do this!" Stubbornly he offered me his hand again, eyes narrowed in fierce concentration. "Again."
"I don't want to crush your hand, Rip. It's swollen as it is." I pointed out to him. "I don't think it's a good idea." Rip arched an eyebrow then groaned.
"I always get beaten by girls!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a girl, you'd be able to make a man of yourself." Scarlet said teasingly, coming to sit beside him with a pack of ice which she wrapped around his right hand, making him wince.
"Dang that hurts." Duke rolled his eyes then nodded to me as I stood. I gave him an uneasy smile then looked around, wondering what else there was to do. The doctors here had ordered I don't start training until they were sure there was nothing wrong with me and that my body had definitely healed. The only thing was, I was beginning to feel restless.
Sure my body was now some sort of superhuman machine but I still needed to burn energy. "I'm going to go for a walk." I announced quietly in case someone was listening. "I'll be back after I've had some air." No one seemed to hear but it was against procedure to go off somewhere without letting someone know where I was going.
Slipping away I began to navigate my way through the seemingly endless maze of corridors. I didn't find it as hard as I initially thought I would to get from the rec room to the surface. It seemed I could remember the way from the tour Scarlet had given me a few days ago. Another thing to add to the enhanced qualities.
Sometimes it made me feel a little sick, thinking about how mutilated and twisted my body was, a mere shadow of what it had been. For a while I had feared they had altered my features as I couldn't quite remember what I used to look like until most of my memories had returned.
I knew my body had felt wrong and now I remember why. Because I was used to being malnourished. It was okay though, I still had the same tawny bronze eyes, plain hair and plumped lips of my old self. I could even remember my mother, though most memories were still locked away in that soundless void where I was afraid to go searching. She had been beautiful, very beautiful. The kind of tragic beauty, like Juliet.
Once I was out in the main hanger where all the jets stood like silent sentries I climbed up into an air duct without anyone seeing, curling up in the grove as cool air blew in at me, taking the heat from my body which threatened to dehydrate me.
I could just see through the slowly beating fans out to the sand, a golden river under the blazing heat of the jewelled sun with its light bouncing off the ocean of water, turning the crusts of the rippled waves into a multitude of diamonds. If you could hold the sun in your hand without it burning, how much would it be worth to make it into a necklace like a diamond? Probably a lot, however I think it looks better in the sky. That way everyone can share its warmth.
Taking a deep breath and closed my eyes, listening to the distinct humming of the fans. Apparently the old base had been in another desert, the Pit, though after being infiltrated they had been moved here. I wasn't sure where "here" was but as far as I was aware, we were on an island. It was secure, completely off the books with plenty of sea around us to give fair warning of any attack, whether from above or below water.
I didn't sleep much these days because of the dreams but the fan seemed to lull me into a sort of security, allowing me to lapse into darkness with very little to disturb me, except for the occasional clang of a tool being dropped or the distant murmur of voices. I must have dozed for the good part of three hours before people began to come looking for me.
Not meaning to cause trouble I climbed out of the duct when I heard Rip calling my name. "Robyn! Robyn where are you?" I dangled over the edge to reach out for my next grip to lower myself onto a ledge but my fingers slipped as my foot lost its pressure on the wall, causing me to squeak and drop to the ground.
Instinctively I curled up into a little ball to make myself as small as possible, hoping that way less injury would occur. It all happened so fast that I didn't realise that someone was holding me for at least a few seconds. Slowly I pulled myself out of my shell, uncurling with a deep frown.
When I looked up into Snake Eyes' visor, I blinked, seeing my startled face reflected back at me. All at once my body rushed into motion, springing from Snake's grip then stumbled back a few paces. "I…I…" I fumbled, the smell of leather still surrounding me. Snake tilted his head to the side carefully then reached out to point to my arm. Looking down I found a small graze, which tingled as it began to heal. "Oh. Right." I swallowed, trembling slightly. "Thanks for the catch." I threw at him with a strange change of pitch somewhere in the middle, shooting up the range before I turned and hightailed out of there, stumbling into several people and other things clumsily on my way.
I know it wasn't fair to Snake but he still scared me. The leather smell of his gloves as well as the doctor's lab coat was still distinct in my memory, unable to be washed out and he wore that mask, which terrified me even further. The Doctor, or Cobra Commander, wore a mask too and the similarities were just a little too much for me at the moment.
Rubbing my graze I watched as it healed over miraculously, melting away until smooth, clear skin was all that remained. "I see you do not like my brother." A calm voice made me literally leap out of my skin, slamming myself into a wall to stare at the person who had so rudely interrupted my thinking and scared me in the process. Storm Shadow smirked as he stood up from slouching. "He won't hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of. I'm more likely to kill you than him." I didn't point out that this didn't exactly boost my confidence.
Simply wanting to get away I looked at my feet then shuffled forwards until I was far away from him. For the rest of the day I hid in my room, burying my face into my pillow as the clock ticked slowly round its path before beginning anew. I made a promise to myself to ask to begin training tomorrow. I was bored of just sitting around with nothing to do.
The doctors declared that there was nothing they could find that would affect me health wise and there were no nanomites in my system so they were certain that the Commander hadn't used his old project on me. I had to ask what they were talking about after a while because I had become seriously lost. Team Alpha had filled me on all that had happened with some crazy Scottish guy called McCullen, Cobra Commander, Storm Shadow and Duke's ex-but-not-anymore-girlfriend. I almost didn't believe them.
"So…where is she now?" I asked curiously, tucking my hair behind my ear with my little finger.
"In a secure facility. They're still trying to figure out how to remove the nanomites. Once they're out Anna will be arrested for criminal offences and most likely sentenced to life in prison." I stared at Scarlet then to Duke who seemed perfectly at ease.
"But it wasn't her fault she did those things. That's not fair." Duke smiled up at me from where he sat.
"Hawk's going to recruit Anna for the team the moment she's nano free. It'll mean she'll be freed from any charges or sentences for the duration of her service here." That made sense, however it also meant that Anna would have to be a Joe forever. "She's okay with that. Anna's actually looking forwards to kicking ass on a different team."
"Besides. This isn't the first time we've dealt with Cobra. We ran into them when they infiltrated the government and impersonated the President." Roadblock said as he lifted weights as easily as if they were his kids. "Tried to blow up the world. Thankfully he only hit London." I remember hearing about that. It was awful, almost half a country ripped apart by some unknown explosion. There hundreds of theories and explanations for it but the government had never actually confirmed anything.
"Thankfully?" I shot him a look which he raised an eyebrow at. "A lot of people died. Good people."
"A lot of people die every day." I flinched then pressed my mouth shut, turning my head down to the floor. With a sigh Roadblock put his weight on the rack then sat up, leaning on his knee as he looked at me. "Look, I'm sorry but's that the truth of it. There's no point in sugar coating it." I gave a little shrug.
"Sometimes people like to have a little sugar instead of salt all the time." I shot back then looked to Rip who looked excited to see the fight he was expecting to erupt. "Rip? Your eggs are on fire." Rip stood up, sniffed the air then yelled aloud, racing to the kitchenette to douse the flames that had cremated the eggs he had been cooking. I stifled a giggle then looked up as Heavy Duty walked in.
"Alright, General wants us to help the newbie make something of herself. Any volunteers?" Thankfully Scarlet came to my rescue.
"I call first session!" I sent her a look of pure gratitude. "A whole day, so you boys can fight over who gets her next." She turned back to her book, turning the page ever so carefully.
"Fine, I call next session." Rip called over his shoulder then grinned at me. "You and me are gonna fly." I paled considerably.
"He doesn't mean literally does he?" I asked, making Heavy laugh gently.
"Don't worry. He's crazy but he's the best pilot we have. You'll be in safe hands." So with a week fully planned in advance I mentally went over everyone I was going to train with and the order in which it was going to happen. Scarlet for an entire day, then Rip for the next but only until noon which would then take me over to Heavy Duty who will teach me some aquatic skills. After that it was Roadblock, who looked sinister enough for me to tremble in my boots. I kind of worried about that lesson. Scarlet had cut in and quickly called the fourth day, which she eventually agreed to share with Roadblock.
Duke gave me a gentle pat on the back then said he'd train me on the fifth day then leaned down. "You're going to hate me after, trust me." It was only then I remembered he came from a renowned military family. Damn. Day six went to Rip and Heavy then day seven was the one I was glad to be set furthest away. Weapons training with both Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes.
I was pretty sure I wasn't going to last this week.
Boy was I right.