Chapter 23

Battle Of Northbrook

Disclaimer: As mentioned originally, this, like the 'Jammin' In The Stars' arc, has been something I've been looking forward to doing for some time now.

It was pretty much just another day for the residents of Northbrook, Illinois and it'd be a day many would remember for years to come. For it would be the day that Cobra would choose to attack the area without warning and unintentionally see to it that the existence of the Misfits would finally become known to the world. And it all began when the Cobra aircraft known as Rattlers would show up above the town and begin to drop bombs in various places, followed by ground troops arriving to cause further chaos. It didn't take long for those like the Cops, random civilians, and a few private types with their own stock of weaponry to start fighting back as all Hell broke loose. It also wasn't long before the Joes thankfully arrived as well once the news had gotten to them about what was going on. "LOOK! Something's in the air!" Shouted an African American teenaged girl with a baseball bat in hand and blood on the side of her face.

True enough as those around her, ally and enemy alike, looked up, they would see several strange things of some kind in the sky. Ones that shockingly enough, would see airplanes flying out of it belonging to that of GI Joe and sparking a lot of cheering as they started to fire on the Rattlers. To continue with this, several more of the strange things would appear in various areas of the town, revealing more help from the ground forces of GI Joe this time around and leaving for one tired out Manifold back at the Joe Base. Preventing him from being able to join in on the fight right away thanks to how much energy he'd just used to open those portals of his. "Quicksilver! Use your speed to start evac outta the area!" Ordered General Hawk.

Not needing to be told twice, Quicksilver grimly nodded and sped off to start his part of things by first focusing on anyone that was too hurt to move while Arcade helped Hawk fight off Cobra forces with some specialized power gauntlets he'd come up with. As he did this, various Joes, Greenshirts, and Misfits through out the town would start to fight back against the Cobra troops while also helping those who needed it when able. However, due to the nature of Lance's powers, he wasn't able to use them unless he wanted to cause more damage to the area and had been given a weapon to use if needed. Something that part of him hoped like Hell he wouldn't need to use. Agent Walker was also wearing a mask to conceal her identity as well and she, Betsy, now going by the codename Psylocke, and Xi were proving to be an effective fighting force as they fought off various Cobra troopers. Of which some were even Synthoids as well for that matter. "Its unexpectedly bold of them to launch this attack." Commented Xi as he ducked a blow and made one of his own.

Effectively ending a Synthoid for that matter but not letting up in the fight as doing so would've been a bad idea. Agent Walker said nothing due to her focus on the task at hand but she had to agree. "Too right by half!" Yelled out Betsy, who had recently been supplied with a grey and purple set of armor to better protect herself out in the field, complete with a mask and a cape/hood combo courtesy of her brother Brian from back home.

A Butterfly shaped energy aura could occasionally be seen popping up on her face anytime she used a Psi-Bolt on an attacker. Though using it a great deal wasn't a good idea given that it could tire her out and that wasn't a good thing at the moment. But she was working on that during training sessions however. Lance, ironically had found himself at the school he and Kitty had attended back when they originally lived in Northbrook and was doing what he could with a few of the Greenshirts and as well as Spirit to ensure those stuck in the school got out safely and away from the area. So far he'd been using nothing but his fists and feet to fight off anyone that tried to attack him but when he was forced to use his weapon to on a Cobra who had one of Kitty's former tormenters as a hostage, and then again on several other Cobra troopers, the young man couldn't help but feel bile rise up in his throat. "Lance! Are you okay!?" Spirit asked his son in a great amount of concern.

Forcibly swallowing back what wanted to come out, Lance weakly shook his head. "But… Now's not the time to worry about that..."

As losing it here and now would just be a bad thing and no one could afford that. But afterwards? Now that would be a different story. Spirit gave his son a worried look but it didn't last long as they were forced to focus their attention on the situation at hand. As that went on, Toad, Cover Girl, and Wavedancer were having one Hell of a fight on their hands. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think these guys were trained by Big Boa considering how tough they are!" Panted out Cover Girl.

"Doesn't sound like someone I'd wanna meet, yo!"

"Trust us, you don't want too, he's basically Cobra's Juggernaut." Wavedancer told him as they fought on.

Toad's eyes widened and he'd get slugged in the face for his momentary distraction much to the alarm of his girlfriend and Cover Girl. "I'm fine!" Assured the young man as he gave a punch of his own to the Cobra trooper.

"But you won't be for long." Rumbled a voice and three pairs of eyes widened at the sight of a huge, muscled man with a white helmet covering his head and face that also had a red visor on it that might remind one of Cyclops and a pair of red spiked straps on his upper body for extra intimidation.

"I had hoped to face the fat one amongst you as he seemed like a challenge but I'll take what I can get with you three. And then I'll kill the men you've defeated since they've ultimately been failures."

"Oh boy. This must be Big Boa." Gulped Toad.

"Unfortunately." Wavedancer told him grimly.

"We've got this!" Cover Girl stated confidently.

More for their benefit than her own as Big Boa laughed before charging at them.

As those three began their fight with Big Boa, Fred 'Blockade' Dukes was fighting off several monstrous creations that Dr. Mindbender had made just for the occasion as Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and the Scarlet Witch dealt with various Cobra forces as quickly as they could in an effort to join Fred in his fight. To their surprise however, several Mutants got involved in the fight much to the big Texan's happiness since Mindbender's creations were damned difficult to deal with! "Gotta say, I'm surprised to see Mutants working for the Military!" Shouted a Native American man in his 30s that could basically cause Dehydration in an individual.

"We got adopted!" Blockade told him as he body slammed one of Mindbender's creations.

Effectively causing it to burst and its insides to get all over Fred and the ground. The battle continued all through out Northbrook and even outside it in the air courtesy of the Rattlers going beyond the town and GI Joe's aerial capable giving chase. Eventually, the invasion came to an end with Cobra forces retreating or surrendering if they weren't already knocked out or dead and giving the good guys the win. Though it didn't necessarily feel like a victory given the amount of death and destruction that had happened in Northbrook, Illinois. Plus, the effects it would cause the Misfits to deal with for some time thanks to the horrors they'd dealt with this day.

Cobra Command

One Cobra Commander could be visibly seen shaking in absolute rage after being informed of the failure in Illinois as he headed to his personal quarters for a talk with someone he'd thought an ally in his Cause for World Domination. And once the video connection was established, he quickly let loose with what he was feeling. "VOLKOFF! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

"You will have to be a little more specific, Cobra Commander. And please, no need to yell as its so unnecessary." Replied Volkoff in a cool manner.

Making the Snake scowl unhappily as he hissed. "Our invasion of that town in Illinois! It failed! Where were the forces you promised me for this operation!? They were nowhere to be found!"

Were he able, he would shoot her right between the eyes, damnit! "Regrettably, I found I had little time to inform you that those promised forces had to be re-assigned elsewhere due to an unexpected development that occurred. I promise, my friend, that this will not happen again in the future." Volkoff told him over the link.

"How do I know you aren't lying to me!?"

"Does the 10 million I'm sending to your personal account give you any reassurances?"

Of course, Volkoff didn't give a damn if he believed him or not. To say that Cobra Commander was shocked by the money that had just been transferred to him was perhaps an understatement. "I… Yes, I suppose that does greatly reassure me, Volkoff. But I will not be so lenient towards you in the future should you not be able to adequately re-inforce my army as promised." Hissed the Snake before severing the connection.

Volkoff, from his secret location, shook his head with a scoff and a sneer. "Its fortunate you and I were not in the same room as I would've shot you then and there, Cobra Commander. Your time is coming soon enough."

And in his opinion, it couldn't be soon enough. For one less obstacle in his way worked best for him and his organization.

Author's Notes: I probably could have broken this up into several chapters but I still think it works best as just one. And ooh, Volkoff is stirring the pot a bit isn't he!?