GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Epilogue

Cobra Commander sat in darkness, contemplating the future. In the room with him, lined up against the walls, were half a dozen of his most highly-trained soldiers, three on each side, each of them smartly dressed in a dark red military uniform with gold trim and gold buttons down the front of their jacket. They wore black boots and a sleek red helmet with a black facemask and visor. In their arms, they carried dull black assault rifles.

Through the doorway, a figure in white entered the room. Storm Shadow, his white trenchcoat crisp and clean, almost glowed in the soft light, his appearance in sharp contrast to Cobra Commander, whose own uniform was dark blue and currently bathed in shadow. What little light there was reflected off Storm Shadow's white outfit, making the room slightly brighter.

“You have made our travel arrangements?” Cobra Commander asked, his voice low, as if he was distracted by something.

“Yes,” Storm Shadow replied. Since the events in Springfield, he had chosen not to wear his mask in the Commander's presence. His face was no longer concealed from Cobra.

Cobra Commander leaned forward in his throne, his reflective silver facemask mirroring the dark room. Storm Shadow, seeing his reflection looking back at him, turned to the left and right, noticing the Cobra soldiers on guard in the room.

“What do you think of my new elite guard?” Cobra Commander asked eagerly. “They are my Crimson Guard. I have great plans for them. Come, Storm Shadow, allow me to show you the future of Cobra.”

With that, he stood up and rapidly walked off the raised dais to a side door, his black cape rustling behind him. Two of the Crimson Guards followed him wordlessly, and Storm Shadow trailed behind. Cobra Commander led them down a narrow hallway to another large room, where more Crimson Guards were stationed.

A dry erase board took up one entire wall of the room, and there were messages and notes scrawled all across its surface in a multitude of colors, as well as dozens of pictures taped to it, some circled, some connected to others with hastily-drawn arrows and lines. Storm Shadow immediately recognized some of the pictures.

“Imagine,” Cobra Commander rasped. “Imagine Cobra agents infiltrating every level of the government. We are going to set up a program to insert our own men into high-ranking positions across the country. Political advisors, government officials, banking executives, religious leaders. All of them will have Cobra agents very close by. In time, our agents will be able to directly affect policy on a national level.”

“Why not create policy yourself?” Storm Shadow asked. “Let one of your own people get elected. You have the money and influence to swing an election if you had to.”

“It is tempting,” Cobra Commander said in a whisper as he looked across the board at the pictures of business leaders and state representatives. “But anyone seeking political office is subject to intense scrutiny. Their entire past will be investigated in the search for scandal and controversy. Our people would be discovered. No, we want to be the invisible force behind the scenes. Our people will work in the background, where they are just as powerful, but without the constant public attention.”

“What about the military?”

“Yes,” the Commander said smoothly, “The military is the only part of our plan that is incomplete. Trying to infiltrate the Pentagon will be much harder than sneaking someone into a business executive's inner circle. That is a long-term goal. Although I already have started a plan to get some of our men into the FBI and CIA.”

“Impressive,” Storm Shadow conceded. “But if you are directing your efforts toward domestic affairs, why are we traveling to Europe?”

“We need more funding,” the Commander said, standing up straight and smoothing out wrinkles in his uniform. “And we need some new employees to replace the late Doctor Mindbender and Major Bludd. I have some people in mind.”

“I thought you could create the serum on your own without Mindbender's help.”

“Of course we can. We have already produced about half of our shipments to our buyers overseas. Do you think I would have terminated Mindbender if I still needed him?”

“Then why are you getting someone to replace him?”

“I need someone to build upon his work,” the Commander said cryptically. “We can go much further with the serum, I am sure of it. I need someone with the ambition and foresight to go even further than Mindbender dared.”

“And then what?”

“Then we can move forward with our larger goals in mind.”

They left the room and went down the hall to a staircase leading upward. So far, this smaller facility lacked elevators. Cobra Commander's boots clicked harshly on the concrete steps as they ascended, the two guards still accompanying them, and Storm Shadow bringing up the rear. As they reached the top of the steps, bright sunlight shone in from nearby windows.

Cobra Commander walked out in front of the open bay windows to look out at the area in front of the building. There was a dirt road heading straight ahead and several half-completed buildings in the middle of construction on either side of the road. Large yellow construction vehicles, bulldozers and backhoes, were on the move, tearing up the ground and clearing away debris. Incomplete wooden structures were raised all around, new frames for buildings, waiting for walls and windows to be installed.

There were dozens of men outside, energetically working on the new construction projects, steadily cutting wood and pouring concrete, studying blueprints and laying pipe and cables. The entire area was a frantic scramble of manual labor, as teams of Cobra agents began to build their new town in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

“In time,” Cobra Commander said softly, “We won't have to hide. This town will be another temporary base of operations. Soon, we will take our first step toward legitimacy, our true arrival to the world. And then you will see my plans for the future.”

“What do you mean?” Storm Shadow asked.

“An island,” Cobra Commander said. “An island out in the Pacific. Far from the jurisdiction of the United States. We are going to make that island our home. Our very own Cobra Island.”

The End

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