G.I. Joe - Old School American Heroes

[The GrandMage]

1995 - Washington D.C.
"They didn't just up an vanish!" Hawk said, pounding a fist on the table.

The gathered Generals looked up from their reports, and then looked at each other. Crowther, and sighed. "Of course not, Hawk. But the fact of the matter is COBRA is gone. I know your feelings on the subject. After all, when Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta was disbanded, you were the one who argued against it that most. When COBA disappeared shortly before the planned attack by the combined European forces, you were the one who said it should be looked into. And it has. There's nothing left to be found, Abernathy. COBRA is gone. It's command has dispersed. They're wanted international criminals, and we'll keep an eye out for them, but even you have to admit that they've lost. They're in hiding now, Abernathy, cowering under rocks in the middle of nowhere until time catches up with them. You've seen the reports, we all have. It's over."

Hawk stood up, and looked around at The Jugglers. "Yes sir. It would seem so."
But he knew that it wasn't.

2000 - Washington D.C.
General Abernathy sat on the council, reviewing the reports. On the display screen was satalite photos of Cobra Island, with detailled information about the rebuilding effort. The reports were full, mostly because of the support and cooperation of Broca Industries. Led by former Crimson Guartdsmen and last known member of the Fred Series, Fred Broca X had gathered together the Vipers from around the globe, and brought them back to Cobra Island. There, utilizing COBRA's old technology and plans, Broca Industries had reclaimed the island as a soveriegn nation, cleaned it, and was busy rebuilding the island around their newest factory, which stood on the location of the old Terror Drome.

There was no question everyone on the isalnd had at one time been associated with COBRA, but no one on the wanted list showed up. To extradite and try them all would be folly, especially with the technology they now had. Under Hawk's suggestion, the Jugglers had sent former Joes and Eco-Warriors Clean Sweep and Ozone to investigate. The claims were true. Broca Industries had the ability to turn harmful toxic waste into an energy source. An ability they kept secret.

Their cooperation, movement away from former COBRA ideals, and the interest in their new technology had earned them a spot in the UN, as equals. Although Hawk managed to convince them to keep an eye on this development, Broca Industries was written off by the Jugglers. Hawk kept the frown from showing. He could not jeopardize his pet project, not this soon.

2001 - South America
Spirit moved into the small cabin. It was morning, and his priliminary scouting had shown that the cabin only had activity during nightfall. After all this time, it appeared he was finally on the right trail. False and cold trails had led him to a tanker, to Panama, and now to here. A destroyed village with a single ARBCO shell. Whispers of "El Fantasma Azul."

It could be that this was where the trail ended. Where his finally found his target. First hand intelligence was required. A small satelite dish and a laptop sat on the table. The l;aptop bore COBRA's symbol. Slowly, Spirit opened the computer.

"What!?" Spirit jerked back, staring at the pictures on the screen. The town, the woman, the boy... "Sara? William!? Oh, my God... MY FAMILY!?"

"Hello, Iron-Knife," SPirit turned, hearing the familiar voice right behind him. His eyes caught the assualt rifle pointed at his head before he could turn around.

"...You've been expected," Cobra Commander said, having gotten the drop on the tracker.

2004 - Washington D.C.
General Abernathy, now head of the shadow council of generals known as The Jugglers, sat back, reviewing once again the weekly updates from Charlie Iron-Knife. The updates that had cut off the day before he was to investigate the supposed hideout of Cobra Commander. The hideout that had disappered. No one else could find any trace of the place, or Spirit, or Cobra Commander. Once again, his enemy had vanished. He sighed.

Between weeding out the Corruption of The Juggler, his own works, and the work he had to perform to keep his positiuon within The Jugglers, Hawk had no more time to look into this. He looked over at Clean Sweep. The former Joe was here, giving his annual report on Broca Industries. Still nothing in the least bit mysterious or shady. He and Ozone continued to work with Broca Industries, but after all this time, it was becoming more of a drag on resources than anything else.

Hawk sighed. "Contact Kunitz. Bring him home. If Broca Industries was up to something, we'd have caught wind of it by now. The two of you will be reassigned to continue your work finding toxins within the United States, and shipping them to Cobra Island for cleaning."

Yesterday - Cobra Island
The sub docked in the underground harbor, it's doors opening. Storm Shadow exited first, eyes taking in everything of the new, secret headquarters of COBRA. Behind him, Cobra Commander entered his new lair. His ceremonial cowl moving as he walked, Cobra Commander took note of his High Command.

Storm Shadow, Destro, the Baroness, Zartan, and finally, Billy. All under the power of the Brainwave Scanner, they were now completely loyal to COBRA, and to him. "For years, we have been biding our time, allowing our venom sacs to refill. Hidden underground, preparing for the day when COBRA would strike out at the world again. Now, we are richer than ever, and stronger than ever, as well. Crimson Guardsmen have infiltrated businesses and governments all around the world. Why, we even have a former member of G.I. Joe itself on our side..."

He nodded. "Now is the time. Our time. Finally, our organization shall coil around the world like a giant cobra!"

From across the hidden harbor, thousands of voices chimed as one in the battle cry of his loyal troops: "COOOBRA!"

Today 1100 Hours - Soft Master's Miliotary Academy, Spanish Harlem, New York
Dojo was tarining early students, while T'Jbang was leading advanced students in meditation. Nunchuk wasn't teaching students at the moment, so it was he who went to help the man who entered the Academy, wearing a trenchcoat and hat. It was too late when he saw and recognized the feet for what they were. "BAT!"

T'Jbang and Dojo looked over towards their friend, but it was too late. With a metallic hiss of "Cooobra," the BAT had activated his self-destruct system.

The explosion resounded throughout all of Spanish Harlem. Chunks of debris flew everywhere. Fires ravaged much of the block where the Academy had once stood. It would be days before an accurate death count could be tallied.

Elsewhere, all around the world, similar attacks were being held against the former members of Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta, more commonly known as G.I. Joe. BAT and BAATs were attacking simultaneously all across the world. Machine gun fire and blood would herald the rebirth of COBRA.

Deep within his underground lair, Cobra Commander laughed as we watched the havoc being played out over the many monitors that showed the current status of each of the members of G.I. Joe.

 

[Ravenloft]

Shipwreck

"Come on ya scabs, get the hell offa my ship!" Shipwreck shouted as he used the stuffed swordfish he had had mounted on the wall of his captain's cabin to shove another of the BAT's overboard. "This is getting very annoying..." He muttered as he swung the swordfish at another encroaching BAT. "Rawk, annoying, Rawk, annoying!" Chimed in Shipwreck's parrot. "Ah shaddup you!" Shipwreck shot back.

 

[Ravenloft]

Roadblock

"What's the problem out here?" Roadblock called out as he marched out from his kitchen after hearing the commotion in the dining area of his restaurant, carrying a pot of boiling hot delectable sauce. He stumbled upon a scene out of an arnold shortzinager movie. "Oh hell no!" He shouted as a BAT dropped the dead body of Roadblocks former head waiter. Anthother BAT approached, leveling its guns at Roadblock. "Designation: Roadblock, assigned for immediate term-bzzt!" Roadblock had pitched the sauce in the pot right into the BATs face and ran back around the corner, into his kitchen. They were comming, but Roadblock already had a concealed trap door in the floor open. Hopping down into the hole, Roadblock grabbed the massive machine gun he had hidden down her, licking his lips as he turned about, waiting for those bats to show their faceplates... Still wearing his apron and chef's hat as he did.

 

[The GrandMage]

Duke

Duke knelt down, looking over the broken BAT. He looked up, curveying the carnage around him, as if attempting to find the source of the robots. Duke quickened his pace, moving along the direction the BATs had come from. He glanced around, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. It was as if they had materialized from thin air. He looked back over the dead and dying soldiers.

His face screwed up in anger. "COBRA."

 

[The GrandMage]

Hawk

Hawk looked over the gathered troops. Some he'd known for a long time. Others were new recruits, selected from within the military ranks. For this first mission he'd chosen those who had connection to past Joe members.

"Well, I'd like to welcome those of you I remember back to the Pit. To those of you who are new to this location, I'd like to welcome you to the newly reinstated Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta, codenamed G.I. Joe. This group was originally founded to fight the international terrorist group COBRA. Back in 1994, with the bombing of Cobra Island, and mounting budget problems, along with COBRA withdrawing to a European front, G.I. Joe was disbanded. Shortly thereafter, COBRA disappeared shortly before what would be the foundation for the European Union would perform a calculated attack against them. At eleven hundred hours yesterday, COBRA made it's presence known again. Our initial reports suggest that priority targets were those who were former G.I. Joe members. We haven't been able to trace them all down, but out of those we have found, we'd found out three things. First of all, these attacks were clearly coordinated well, and are not the action of a rogue agent, or one done without forethought. Second, the death rate has been extremely high on our prior members. And third of all, the androids used were expendable, as even those who accomplished their mission just self-destructed."

"Of those who have been found to survive, only a select few have survived uninjured and are service-ready. You've all been chosen to lead the first mission of the reinstated force. To help you, we've enlisted a few new recruits. Most are still being put through the last stages of trasnfer and training. We have two ready to work with you now. Snake-Eyes, I beleive you known codename Kamakura. The other man is codename Dragonshadow. Both were chosen for their training in Ninjutsu. This will be needed, because your first mission will be to infiltrate a Dreadnok installation deep in the Everglades."

Hawk turned, and pushed a button. The display screens lit up, showing the installation on one screen, a man's picture and profile on another. "This man is an undercover FBI agent codenamed Hognose. He's infiltrated the Dreadnoks to try and find their bases of operation all over the world, he says Zartan's been acting strangely lately. You're to meet up with him, and infiltrate Zartan's personal quarters, using his computer to get both the data he needs, and hopefully any information leading to the discovery of COBRA's new headquarters. You'll also need to extract the agent with you. WIth COBRA back in action, it's no longer safe to have long-term undercover agents. With their brainwave scanner technology, there's no telling what they could do."

He looked over his troops. "Duke with be taking my place as your CO.I wish the best to you. You'll have the rest of the night to aquint yourselves and get ready. You ship out at 0800."

 

[dragonrazor]

Anthony “Dragonshadow” Draco, Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Rangers, had no more than gotten off the plane from his last mission when he was given a new assignment. This one was different, however. As he read the reassignment papers, labeled Top Security Clearance and Classified, he started to feel as if something had gone extremely wrong somewhere in the world. A former student of the South Harlem Ninjutsu Academy, which mainly catered to students trying to make something of themselves and police officers learning how to better deal with crime, he had spent years afterwards training with melee weapons and firearms. Among his comrades, he was famous for being able to hurl not only knives and hatchets, but swords as well, with deadly accuracy over more than ten meters. Of course, if given a gun, he was nigh infallible with it. He could hit anything up to one hundred meters with deadly accuracy using most weapons, but he was famous for his use of submachine guns and pistols in hostage situations. In fact, he was recruited into the Rangers after shooting a man holding a little girl hostage in the head with six rounds from a nine millimeter MP5A5.

As he got off the helicopter at his new assignment, he studied the base intently. He had four duffelbags loaded with firearms and attachments, melee weapons, and his stuff. He would have carried most of it himself, but one of the base’s low-ranking soldiers came out and grabbed two of the bags from him. He just shrugged, and followed the soldier, wondering just what was going on.

A few minutes later, he was being briefed by a man he had never seen before. He listened quietly to the briefing, then turned to face Kamakura, who he had met once, and Snake-Eyes, the legendary ninja whose students had founded the academy he was taught at. He had heard the man couldn’t talk, but he didn’t know for sure. He had never bothered to ask, of course, as he didn’t think it was necessary. All he could think to do at that time was to bow to the two ninja, then straighten up again. He waited for them to speak, even as he leaned down and started to go through his packs, putting silencers on some of his guns, then loading them.

 

[The GrandMage]

Kamakura

Sean Collins let his eyes narrow at the mention of COBRA. Perhaps better than anyone else, he understood just what COBRA was, having been a young member of the terrorist organization and son of a Crimson Guardsmen. However, he was glad to see his teacher, the Silent Master, was okay.

Bowing in return to Dragonshadow, Sean absently touched his right forearm, which bore the tattoo of the Arishakage clan. He smiled, and decided to talk to the other newcomer.

"Hello, Dragonshadow. It's very good to meet you. You've also trained in Ninjutsu? I was trained by the Silent Master, well, Snake-Eyes. He was a good friend of my father's. As such, I've trained in the Arishakage School of Ninjutsu. What school of Ninjutsu have you trained in?"

 

[dragonrazor]

Anthony was busy popping a clip into a submachine gun when the ninja asked his question. He checked to make sure the sights were aligned, then smiled. What would the man say if he found out that he was trained by one of his fellow students. He picked up another gun, loading it and chambering a round, before slipping it into a holster. As he did so, one of the bags shifted, and a sword slipped out, the hard composite scabbard clattering against the ground. When he finally spoke, it was with the ease of being with friends.

"I was trained at Soft Master's Military Academy, in South Harlem. I hear it was totalled. I know it's a bad idea to make this personal, but that's not something I can tolerate. Don't mind the hardware, I'm a bit of a collector."

 

[The GrandMage]

Kamakura

"Ahh, the Soft Master's Academy, I've heard of that. Tj'bang, last known master of the 'Silent Backlash' secret technique, was a teacher there. Three honorary Masters of teh Arishakage School of Ninjutsu. It must have been an amazing experience. So it was attacked? With their work with children, such an attack is...monsterous. Just the sort of thing to expect from COBRA."

Sean shook his head. "Revenge is not the best motive, but COBRA has earned a need to be destroyed. They have no concept of the value of life. My father was a Fred series Crimson Guardsmen. Men given plastic surgery to look alike and given good jobs infiltrating businesses and politics. They all looked alike so they could be easilly replaced on death. COBRA doesn't care about people..."

Clenching his fist, Sean breathed deeply, calming himself and returning to the proper mindset. "Just,...don't let yourself become overcome with the need for revenge. It was the need for revenge that allowed the Young Master to fall into COBRA's clutches. Now Storm Shadow is little more than a brainwashed puppet for Cobra Commander."

 

[dragonrazor]

Anthony nodded, as he loaded another gun, this time a handgun. He wondered briefly if he should resharpen his blades, but there would be plenty of time for that on the way there. He listened to the ninja's explanation of his heritage. He figured it must be tough in this organization to be the son of the enemy. Still, it gave him perspective on his own reasons for not turning down the assignment. Of course, they probably would have tracked him down and dragged him along anyways.

"Yeah, kids and police officers, from what I heard. The city's out quite a few good men. The training wouldn't have helped them much. I heard something about an explosion. I doubt anyone survived, if it was loud enough for the police to actually hear it in their precinct(sp?). What we do now, we do for the restful repose of those killed by COBRA."

 

[The GrandMage]

Kamakura

Sean looked the man over. "The only thing that will help people is shutting COBRA down for good. Remember that: COBRA is an organization. It's not the people in it. Most of it's members are brought in through manipulation, and COBRA's been known to use brainwashing to get what it wants. For the most part, it sucks in those who feel undervalued, or ignored. People who are unhappy with their life and seem to be stuck there because of the system. Sure, some of it's members are real creeps, but a lot more of them are people being as hurt by COBRA as the people they kill."

Kamakura sighed, and looked around the Pit. He moved over towards Snake-Eyes, and began a hushed conversation with his Master, reviewing the techniques needed for their upcoming mission. COBRA was upon the world again, and judging by the few people gathered together, it's first strike from the shadows had cripped the Joes.

How would they manage to fight the organization off this time?

 

[dragonrazor]

Dragonshadow

Anthony shrugged, and continued his work. He chose only the weapons he could use silencers with, and made sure they were snug in their holsters, to keep them from making any noise where they were going. Lastly, he started to work on the melee weapons. A variety of old fashioned throwing stars and kunai knives were quickly sharpened and placed in pouches, and some tashibashi were thrown in just to make sure he had everything. He pulled out some smokebombs too, not thinking they'd be needed. He felt safer with them, since they were effective misdirection. Finally, he took a straight, doubleedged katana out, sharpened it quickly and effectively, and strapped the sheath onto his back. Once that was done, he slid the katana into its sheath, and started loading spare ammo clips into the pockets on the coat.

 

[Ravenloft]

Shipwreck

As shipwreck swung his swordfish at another BAT, catching it right in the middle, lifting it off its metal feet, and sending it back into the water, his parrot took to the air. "Hey, where you going, ya coward?!" Shipwreck called out not noticing the BAT directly behind him at that moment. He got caught with a double fisted blow to the head and reeled forward, almost toppling into the water himself, but at the last moment dug his foot into a bundle of rope, tripping and falling, his arms over the edge of the ship. his vision was foggy, but not so bad that when he turned around he saw the counter on the chest of the BAT that had knocked him for a loop going down to zero. "Oh no..." Shipwreck groaned as he tossed himself backwards, just in time to evade the explosion that would have no doubt killed him if he hadn't.

*3 hours later*

Shipwreck was losing steam, treading water, his head was throbbing, the only thing that was keeping him going was the annoying parrot that kept trying to land on his shoulder, that and the constant stream of epethets spewing from his mouth. Rescue crews picked him up and he promptly gave them his old Joe code, and was, after a good look over, on his way to Joe central.

He arived

 

[Ravenloft]

A massive volly of lead showered the encroaching wall of BAT's, sending a good number of them flying in a shower of poorly constructed parts. Eventually, after a good twenty minutes, Roadblock ran out of ammo and while he was desperatly opening another case, they came down into his hidden room, he used his favorite machine gun as a club, beating them back as best he could, but his best wasn't good enough, he watched the timer on the BAT he was beating on count down. A blinding explosion later and Road block was passed out, missing an arm. He barely made it, rescue crews dug him out of the wreckage of his restaurant. They found his dog tags and after stablizing him, he was sent to Joe central as well.

He arived.

 

[dragonrazor]

OOC: did this die?

 

[The GrandMage]

OOC: Probably. I'm gonna try to ressurect it later tonight, when I get some free time.

 

[The GrandMage]

Duke

Duke had met with and had the other ready-foir-action Joes mingling for a while now.

Too many soldiers were out of contact. He looked through the reference lists of active soldiers. The Joes would need to recruit more men to stay afloat. If this mission failled...


Duke turned his attention to the assembled soldiers. "You are the few Joes ready for Active Duty. We're definitely understaffed, and several years behind on technology. This first mission isn't just a normal mission, it's an important assessment as to whether G.I. Joe will actually be reopened to deal with the COBRA threat. We've lost a lot of men in the past few days. A lot of good friends. Some of you are going back into service cold. I really wish we had more time to prepare, but with the state of affairs as it is, this is all we've got to go on. Are you ready?"