CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Click Click Boom

Thalia was asleep in her room when the alarm went off and her door burst open. She shot up in bed and scampered backwards as a dark shape lunged for her. She fell off the mattress in the process of escaping and chucked a pillow as she landed on the ground. A breathily giggle escaped her lips when she realized it was only Snake Eyes but seconds later, a blast went off and Thalia saw two bloodied shapes fly past the open door. Wide-eyed, Thalia looked up at the ninja and he shook his head rapidly, motioning he'd explain later. He quickly helped her stand and the two of them rushed out of the room, Snake Eyes pushing her ahead as another loud boom rocked the building. A flurry of gunfire erupted somewhere ahead of them and Snake Eyes surged forward and forced Thalia onto her knees against a wall. He drew both swords and disappeared around the corner.

She heard the sound of his swords striking something hard, the clean cling of bullets rebounding off his swords. What the hell is going on? Snake Eyes materialized from around the corner and for a split second, Thalia thought of running in the opposite direction – his posture was so tight and so deadly she nearly forgot who he was for a second. It reminded her of that other ninja, and as Snake Eyes flicked the fresh blood off his swords, sheathing one blade so she could take her hand, Thalia tried not to kick him.

They ran down the hallway and she spared a quick look over her shoulder, seeing large splotches of red blanketing the walls around several limp bodies in Cobra uniforms. She faced forward as they sprinted into the Pit, several of the larger jets were being destroyed by people who looked like the US Army. Snake Eyes jerked Thalia to one side and the two of them boarded an elevator with cracked glass. This time, Thalia needed no sort of cue to duck, kneeling against the wall as someone dove for them.

Snake Eyes tensed for a moment as a hand breached the chamber, Thalia let out a muffled scream the hand was caught between the top of the elevator and the rising floor. There was a loud snap and scream followed the hand's descent into the chamber – the bone splintering off with bloodied chunks. Snake Eyes moved in front of it and put his hands on her shoulders.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly, trying to focus on his face.

Snake Eyes stared at her for a long time as the elevator sunk deeper and deeper into the darkness, he rose as it slowly lurched to a stop. He carefully peeled the cracked glass away and wrapped an arm around Thalia's waist, lifting her off the ground and carrying her over the broken shards. Beads of glass cracked under his feet for a few steps and then he set her on the ground, motioning for her to stay put as he checked the hall. He was back in a couple of seconds and Thalia tiptoed after him into a large, still mostly dark, room where a whole bunch of vehicles were stored. Snake Eyes gravitated towards a huge black monster of a motorcycle, where Thalia looked down at the lime green nightshirt that ran down to her knees and frowned.

"I don't think –"

Snake Eyes reached over the bike and pulled out a long duffel bag, sliding it towards her as he made sure the vehicle was still operational. Thalia bent down and opened the bag, pulling out a full-bodied black suit, not the same tight leather of Snake Eyes's suit but made of some sort of durable fabric. She looked up the ninja's back and shrugged, pulling the suit on and clipping the belt around her waist. The bag was still full of other stuff but she didn't bother examining them too much, she found a pair of black combat boots with socks and pulled those on, joining Snake Eyes.

He turned and gave her a once over, taking the bag and shoving it into a hidden compartment before boarding the bike. Thalia awkwardly climbed on and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head between his shoulder blades. He tapped her hands and she sat back, he held a sleek black helmet out and before she had time to put it on herself, Snake Eyes dropped it onto her head.

"Um, I can't see anything Snake Eyes."

The motorcycle roared and she latched onto him again, the bike lurching forward down the darkened hall before the bay doors opened and the bike lifted up into the air. Right around there, Thalia's helmet made a soft beeping sound and she could suddenly see the inky black sky stretching out as far as the eye could see. She tentatively snuck a glance behind and saw dark plumes of smoke rising out of broken windows. Orange flames blossomed inside and when she wanted to get a closer look, the display on her helmet suddenly zoomed in on the front entrance where two Joes lay in crumpled heaps on either side of the door. Thalia shut her eyes and put her head against Snake Eyes's, hoping for sleep.

"…the G I Joes have exceeded the limits of their mission. On my orders, a new special unit's team codenamed COBRA, has terminated all G I Joe headquarters and personnel with extreme prejudice to avoid civilian casualties. Effective immediately, the G I Joes are no more."

Thalia groaned and rolled onto her side, bringing a pillow close to her chest and breathing out slowly. Her legs ached from the long ride and she could feel the bruise on her back throbbing; unconsciously she straightened out with a whimper and buried her face further into the pillow. She was faintly aware of the sound of running water somewhere in the room, and she tried paying attention to the TV because it sounded kind of important. She sluggishly opened her eyes, looking over the TV and at the two curtained windows where warm sunlight filtered through into the room.

There was another bed across from hers, separated by a small table and lamp, and she leaned over and grabbed the remote and shut the TV off. Thalia carefully sat up, yelping as the angle bothered her bruise, someone darted out from what she guessed was the bathroom and they helped her sit up properly. The pain forced her eyes shut and for a couple minutes, she focused on regulating her breathing as the stranger rubbed gentle circles into her back. The heat from outside stroked her face and she blinked her eyes opening, staring at the unfamiliar face inches from her own. Instinctively, she lashed out and shoved him backwards a few steps.

Ripped black jeans, a dark green T-shirt with a vague design, brown scarf, black leather jacket.

Nope, she thought. Not ringing any bells.

Thalia couldn't see much of the man's face as it was covered by one of those designer surgical masks popularized by Eastern countries – it looked like the mouth of a cartoon bear or dog. He had startling blue eyes and Thalia noticed one side of his face looked somewhat paler, as if he had been burned a long time ago. Another scar moved from the centre of his forehead, curved over his nose and cheek before disappearing under the mask again; another scar cut through his right eyebrow. To top it off, he was wearing a black beanie that failed to cover all of his thick blond hair.

Thalia felt very peculiar staring at him, scrutinizing him; something must've shown on her face because he raised hands very slowly and signed a rather lame "Good morning".

"Snake Eyes?" she murmured, sliding off the bed and shuffling close to him, ensuring the height difference was still the same.

He nodded very slowly, his eyes crinkling at the sides as if he was smiling. He was smiling. Actually smiling, and she could tell for once. Thalia bit the inside of her lip, reaching up and carefully tucking his blond (she never thought he was a blond) hair under the hat, tilting her head as his eyes twinkled. This was weird. Like, really weird.

"I'm gonna go over there." she said suddenly, hopping over into the bathroom. Her face suddenly felt very warm and she touched her cheeks with a shake of the head. Thalia remembered fleeing the base with Snake Eyes as the U.S army exterminated all the Joes currently stationed there. She sighed deeply, staring at her still clothed body and wrinkling her nose at the smell of warm leather.

A glance at the sink displayed a row of hair colours lined running from the gamut of conventional to cotton candy pink. Thalia turned her head towards the door of the bathroom where Snake Eyes nodded expectantly. Pick one, he seemed to say but he didn't sign anything. She immediately flicked the pink hair colour into the sink, continuing the motion as she continued staring at Snake Eyes and those blue, blue eyes. One colour was left and she tossed it towards him, glimpsing the bathtub behind her that was full of warm water, residual steam rising off the unbroken surface. Thalia got the hint, watching Snake Eyes pull the door shut as she begun the task of pulling off the suit.

She unclipped the belt and laid it on top of the sink, pulling the zipper of the suit down to her navel and carefully peeling the sleeves off her arms. She leaned against the sink as she pushed the suit down off her legs and kicked it into the corner of the room with her undergarments. Thalia climbed into the bathtub and sunk down, her eyes still on the door as she moved the water over her legs and stomach. Unconsciously, her fingers brushed up against the various little burn marks and bruises still visible – maybe they'd never heal. Thalia released a sigh as she tipped backwards and put her head underwater, keeping her eyes shut and breathing out her nose.

So, what now?

Thalia pushed her face out of the water and exhaled slowly, peering at her knees as they stuck out of water, dark burns dotted her knees along with the growing landscape of gooseflesh. The lights were off in the bathroom, the water was so much warmer than the surrounding air.

"Guess it's just me and him," she said quietly, sitting up and grabbing the small bar of soap.

But what does that mean, exactly?

Thalia shook her head, letting the soap lather up her skin before she looked over the edge of the tub and spotted a small bucket. She picked it off the ground and shoved it under water, pulling up bucket after bucket of warm water and pouring it over her body.

I don't know.

When she finished, she exited the tub and wrapped a towel around her body; Snake Eyes was sitting on the bed closest to the TV and Thalia saw a small stack of clothing waiting for her on the other bed. With his eyes fixed on the television, she trusted him not to turn around while she dressed.

He'd picked out a white long-sleeved shirt and a green button-up shirt with shorter sleeves. Because of the extensive burns, almost everything was cotton based, including the soft grey pants that didn't get stuck on her scars. She wandered over to his side and tapped his shoulder once she was done and he pulled off the jacket and scarf he was wearing, leading her back into the bathroom where he opened the box and pulled on the latex gloves.

"So…we're going undercover?" she began, shutting her eyes as Snake Eyes squished the tube of hair colour into his hands. She smiled as it occurred to her that he couldn't answer back yet and exhaled softly. He ran his fingers into her scalp and scrubbed the colour into her hair, it reminded Thalia of another moment between a man and a woman she used to know. When the man had time off, he'd come home and the woman would pull the box out from behind her back and smile that sweet smile. The man would eye her greying hair and nod in agreement and they'd disappear into the bathroom. After a while, one of two children would run for a plastic bag and the woman would gather up her long hair and fit it inside the bag.

Thalia's hair wasn't very long but they still did it that way, with a plastic bag over her head and a towel draped over her shoulders in case any of the hair colour dripped. The two of them walked back into the room, onto their separate beds, and Thalia couldn't take her eyes off him.

"You know what?" she said. "I always pictured you bald, to be honest."

Snake Eyes lay on his stomach and gave her a skeptical look, pulling off his beanie and shaking his hair out. Thalia opened her mouth and laughed, sliding onto the floor and silently asking permission from Snake Eyes touch his hair. He nodded and lowered his head as Thalia crawled over. She hesitated for a moment before Snake Eyes looked up at her and gave another affirmative nod, she carefully moved her fingers through his hair; it was a little past his shoulders, longer than Lo –

She spied a ribbon on the bedside table, maybe to tie up the curtains, and gathered Snake Eyes's hair before attempting it tie it into a ponytail.

"It's so thick…" she mumbled, fumbling with the knot. Snake Eyes sat up and moved his hands behind his hand, Thalia's frown deepened as he turned and showed off his handiwork for the briefest of seconds before pulling the toque back on. She pulled herself onto the bed next to him and looked at the TV rehashing the news broadcast she'd overheard.

"So…what happens now?"

"We wait. The others will be fine and they'll contact us once they're safe."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"You haven't let me down yet." She conceded. "What colour did I pick out anyway?"

...

….

…..

"Oh my god, I'm a blueberry."