GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Chapter Eighteen

Scarlett braced herself and launched into a forward spin kick, her bare foot swinging right over Snake Eyes’ head as he ducked underneath and rolled to the side. He swung his open palm at her and she blocked him with her elbow before switching her stance and aiming a kick at his ribs. He deftly dodged and swung his arm down at her shoulder.

She blocked his attack and swung at his face, but Snake Eyes seemed to slide around her fist like a magnet pushing away from another magnet of the opposite polarity. Every time she tried to hit him, he slipped away as if surrounded by a force field. Like her, he wore a blue foam helmet to protect his head, but he still wore his facemask and goggles. Foam gloves like boxing gloves were on his hands.

He backpedaled on the blue practice mat and then lunged forward with a blinding sequence of punches and karate chops, his hands moving like a blur. Scarlett smacked his hands away and blocked most of the moves, but one punch got through, clipping her on the shoulder. She spun around with the momentum and her leg swung out again, but Snake Eyes had already dodged out of reach.

He moved so fast. Scarlett had never seen someone who could move so fast. And his fighting style was like a combination of several other disciplines; Scarlett noticed bits and pieces of Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, and other martial arts all mixed together. He was not an expert in any single discipline, but he knew so much that he was able to constantly alter his fighting style to match whatever Scarlett could throw against him.

She was already covered in a sheen of sweat, her blue t-shirt sticking to her back, her breath coming in gasps. Strands of her long red hair stuck to her forehead. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes didn’t seem to even be winded yet, but it was hard to tell with him.

They circled each other for a few moments, giving Scarlett time to catch her breath. Other members of the GI Joe team watched them from the edge of the practice mat, their attention fixed, as if they had money on the outcome of the sparring match. Scarlett wondered if maybe some of them did.

Snake Eyes charged her and launched into a roundhouse kick. Scarlett backed away as his foot swung by, inches from her face, and then she jumped up as he continued around in a circle, his leg swinging out in a sweep kick. As he returned to a standing position, Scarlett jumped in, aiming a punch at the center of his chest before he could switch to a new stance.

He grabbed her arm, letting her momentum bring her forward, and effortlessly spun her around, flipping her onto her back. She hit the mat hard, the breath whooshing from her lungs, and lay there for a moment, gasping for breath.

She wearily reached into her mouth to pull out her plastic mouth guard. Her arms flopped to her sides. “Okay,” she panted. “I’m done.”

Snake Eyes appeared over her and extended his hand. Scarlett took it and allowed herself to be lifted to her feet, still breathing heavily. She patted Snake Eyes on the shoulder and shook her head, pulling on the velcro straps of her helmet.

She yanked off the helmet and shook her head to get her hair out of her face. “Maybe next time,” she said with a weary smile.

Snake Eyes nodded knowingly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She walked from the practice mat and picked up her towel, draping it around her neck. She was tired, drenched in sweat, and in desperate need of a shower.

“What do you think?” Gung-Ho said to Short Fuse, who stood next to him. “He’s pretty good, but I think I can take him.”

Snake Eyes pointed at Gung-Ho and then at the mat in front of him.

“I think he’s calling you out,” Short Fuse said.

Gung-Ho considered it and then shook his head. “Nah, I think I’ll pass.”

Scarlett laughed as she walked off toward the showers. “Good idea.”

“I just don’t want to bruise him all up,” Gung-Ho said. “That’s all.”

Snake Eyes stalked around the mat like a caged lion, waiting impatiently for an opponent to challenge him. Gung-Ho, Short Fuse, Heavy Duty, and Clutch stood around the practice area, looking at each other uncertainly.

When Scarlett was out of sight, Gung-Ho hooked him thumb in her direction. “Beating up on a defenseless woman like that. He should be ashamed of himself.”

Clutch looked over at him. “I don’t know, man. I think she can take care of herself pretty good. She would have kicked my butt, that’s for sure. I don’t know any of that ninja stuff.”

Heavy Duty cracked his knuckles and reached for a foam helmet and gloves, sitting on a bench right by the practice mat. “Alright, I guess I’ll give it a shot,” he said, pulling on the gloves.

Duke came from the hallway, and Gung-Ho immediately walked over to him. “What does Hawk say?” he asked. “Are we going to have trouble with the police?”

“No,” Duke said with a shake of his head. “Hawk has smoothed things over with the NYPD. You guys are working under the orders of the Pentagon, so there’s no reason to worry. Hawk was actually very pleased at how quickly you took care of the situation.”

“It could have been lots worse, that’s true,” Gung-Ho said. “We didn’t have any civilian injuries, thank God.”

“If there had been civilians injured, we’d certainly be having a different conversation,” Duke admitted. “But even then, you would not be held responsible, any more than police officers are held responsible in situations like this.”

“That’s a relief. So what about those Cobra guys? They ain’t talking yet?”

“Not yet. The three survivors were sent to the hospital, but only one of them has woken up so far, and he’s not talking to anyone.”

“So we have no idea where they came from?”

“Not yet,” Duke said. “But we’re working on it.”

Heavy Duty, meanwhile, walked into the center of the practice mat and pounded a gloved fist into his other hand. He moved his head around, stretching the muscles in his neck, and faced Snake Eyes. He towered over him, looking down on Snake Eyes like Goliath against David.

“Alright, man. Your move.”

Snake Eyes nodded and rushed at Heavy Duty, jumping into the air with his leg outstretched. Heavy Duty lifted his arms in defense and staggered back as Snake Eyes kicked him directly in the chest. He lumbered forward, swinging his arm down, and Snake Eyes leaped out of the way, rolling sideways to his feet. Heavy Duty punched at him and Snake Eyes used both his arms to block the strike. Jumping in, he struck Heavy Duty in the stomach and then swung an uppercut at his chin.

Heavy Duty turned his head to the side and the uppercut glanced off the side of his foam helmet. He swung his arm up and struck Snake Eyes right in the chest, knocking him off balance. With his other arm, Heavy Duty grabbed Snake Eyes by the neck and lifted him up. Snake Eyes swung up and slammed both feet directly into Heavy Duty’s chest.

The two of them flew away from each other, Heavy Duty reeling backwards, gasping for air, and Snake Eyes falling to the mat and quickly doing a backwards somersault to return to his feet.

Everyone was on the sidelines, cheering them on. “You almost had him!” Gung-Ho laughed.

Snake Eyes shook his head as if trying to clear it, and then came running at Heavy Duty again, launching into a series of rapid punches. Heavy Duty blocked them, his huge arms able to take the hits easily, but he stepped backwards under the assault. When Snake Eyes retreated a moment, Heavy Duty threw several punches, which Snake Eyes dodged expertly, swinging his fist in to strike Heavy Duty right in the gut. Heavy Duty groaned and doubled over, and Snake Eyes jumped up in a roundhouse kick.

He got Heavy Duty right in the side of the head, and he fell down like a tree, slamming into the mat and rolling onto his back.

Gung-Ho turned away and covered his eyes with his hand. “Oh, man that had to hurt!”

Heavy Duty pulled off his helmet and let Snake Eyes pull him to his feet. He spit out his mouth guard and lifted his hand to his head.

“I sure am glad you weren’t doing that for real,” he said with a short chuckle. He began to tug off his boxing gloves. “I know you pulled that last kick. You probably would have knocked my head clean off if you were actually hitting me as hard as you could.”

Snake Eyes nodded in agreement and then took off his helmet and gloves as well, signaling that he was done for the night.

Short-Fuse walked over to Duke. “What do you say, Hauser? Want to do some sparring and let me beat you up for a little while?”

“No, thanks,” Duke said with a sarcastic smile, crossing his arms. “I don’t want to mess up my hair. I have a hot date tonight.”

“Of course you do. I bet all the ladies love you, Hauser.”

Duke laughed. “You always call me Hauser. You know you’re the only one who does that? Are you ever going to call me Duke?”

“When we’re on a mission I will,” Short Fuse said with a shrug. “But as long as we’re here at the base, I’ll always call you Hauser.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Because you aren’t the Duke,” Short Fuse said. “John Wayne is the Duke, and no one else can have that name but him. You don’t come across as a Duke, it just doesn’t sound right.”

“If you say so,” Duke said.

Short Fuse gave a rare smile. “You’ll always be Hauser to me.”

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