Old Faces, New Places By Garrett Aja Old Faces, New Places Infirmary-Joe HQ Duke was bored. Even though it may be nice to be waited on hand and foot, it does get old after awhile. Even worse, the updates he received from Scarlett (and now Dusty) just made him hunger for the excitement of command even more. Not to mention that the cheesy soap operas that were on during the day really stunk. "Hello, Duke?" Cover Girl looked in, trying to make sure that Duke was not asleep. (As if it wouldn't be hard to do so.) Duke noticed that she had been taking quite an interest in him lately, even more so than normal. Not that he didn't appreciate Cover Girl's concern, it was just that Duke didn't...feel the way Cover Girl wanted him to. Since he wasn't with anyone, it was very hard for him to tell her off. "Come in, Cover Girl. What's new out in the living world?" Duke's flippant remark made Cover Girl smile profusely. "Not much, I'm afraid. Although word has it that we're going to be getting some new recruits soon." It wasn't like Duke already knew this, but Cover Girl had to talk about SOMETHING. "Any ideas on who they are?" "I haven't seen anything definite, but the group is...interesting, to say the least. We've got a nurse, a demolitions expert, a combat engineer, and, one that I don't even have full clearance to know about." The last one made Cover Girl jump. She definitely liked a mystery, especially when it came to men... "Oh? Well, I guess it sounds like you'll be having some fun," remarked Cover Girl. "Any idea on when Hawk sends down the order to bring them here?" "Actually, I think they're on their way right now." Computer Room "Thanks for getting that debugging done ahead of schedule, Mainframe. Thanks to all of the strange glitches we've been having lately, it'll make it easier to find out if Cobra is trying to sabotage our computers." Hawk was happy to know that at least one member of the team was completely prepared. While the glitches were mostly harmless things right now, no one could be sure if they would become openly hostile. Thankfully, both Mainframe and one of the new recruits had some very helpful computer experience. "It's my pleasure, Hawk. Let me tell you, it sure beats working for Microsoft." Microsoft was quickly gaining a reputation among PC users as being behind the times and highly arrogant. "If anything happens, I'll be sure to let you know immediately." "Thanks. Hopefully, you won't need to make that call." At least while working here, I can feel like I'm doing something important, Mainframe thought. Drifting off, Mainframe started to question the identity of his mystery caller. Inevitably, his thoughts turned to Zarana. Could it be her? After all, things had gotten pretty hot and heavy when she infiltrated the Joes. Mainframe felt that it was highly unlikely that Zarana had planned the romance, especially with how she reacted when the plot had ended. Then he noticed something. Someone had broken into the computer system! He could tell, if only because files were being looked at and subtly rearranged. I've got you know, he thought. "Hawk, this is Mainframe. We've got a problem." "OK, Mainframe. I'll be there immediately." The hacker had no idea that he/she was being watched. Thankfully, Mainframe traced the hacker's phone line. The hacker was using a terminal-on the campus of the University of Delaware. Pentagon-Washington, DC When she called Hawk, Scarlett was immediately referred to Lt. General Skyler Jean Andrews. Andrews was a lobbyist in DC for the Joes. She was also the lawyer in the two cases pending against Cobra. Known as "Phoenix" for her abilities to thrive in dangerous circumstances, Lt. General Andrews was supposed to be one of the original Joes, along with Scarlett. It was not surprising then that Phoenix hated Washington; she had recently become known as "Dark Phoenix" in private, due to the story line in the X-Men comic books that had one of its characters, known as the Phoenix (a fact not entirely lost on Andrews), went on a rampage that almost destroyed the earth before she killed herself. Now Zarana and Scarlett were waiting outside her office. Zarana was in the best outfit Scarlett could find, and Scarlett herself was in her dress blues. "Lt. O'Hara? The General will see you now." With the secretary's announcement, both Scarlett and Zarana got up and got ready to face what (for Zarana, at least) could be a very interesting future. "Your last name's O'Hara?" Scarlett nodded. "No wonder they call you Scarlett." "It doesn't hurt that I absolutely despise that damn movie," Scarlett answered. "Now let me handle this. This woman and I used to know each other." "Hello, Scarlett, and Zarana, is it? Have a seat." Both obliged, with Scarlett being caught somewhat by surprise by Phoenix's friendly attitude. "Let me get right to the point: someone freed your brother, the Dreadnoks, Major Bludd, and the Baroness. Since the fools above me seem to think that I don't need to know anything about MY CASE, I can't tell you who it was. Thankfully, they're not accusing you for it. They won't charge you for any of the crimes to which we can get you for, Zarana, but you have to do this: join the military. Since you are a skilled spy and saboteur, you'll probably get sent to G.I. Joe. Any questions?" This soliloquy left Zarana stunned. It was almost exactly what she wanted: freedom from Cobra, protection from said agency, protection from the U.S. government (and with it, a fresh start across the globe), AND the chance to be close to Mainframe. "I'll take it," Zarana replied. "Congratulations, you are now a member of the U.S. military." Zarana's joy filled the entire room. It was as if a 20-ton weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Now, if you'll just go outside, my secretary will have you sign the proper papers and give a full statement." As Phoenix motioned towards the door, Scarlett and Zarana exchanged niceties and hugged. It was amazing to think that these two, who had been enemies just 48 hours ago, were becoming such fast friends. If there were a poster decrying the evils of Cobra, these women would be on it. "Scarlett, I'd like to speak with you for a moment." "Sure, what about?" Phoenix noticeably squirmed. "I hope you know that you've accepted a huge responsibility in helping Zarana defect Cobra. The top brass doesn't understand why she's doing this. You and I do. She's doing it because she's in love. As a result, they're making me come along with the both of you back to Joe Headquarters. When I'm done there, they'll probably make Hawk ram a microscope up Zarana's butt just to make sure she isn't going to betray us. And they'll hold you responsible if she does." "I understand," Scarlett replied. "I have to admit, this gone by so quickly. I'd like to go back to my vacation, though." Scarlett did. While she had mentioned her problems a little bit to Zarana, she really needed some time: time to be alone, time to rest, and time to figure out just how she felt about Duke. She didn't want to come back after one day and tell him she was in love. That would ruin their entire friendship. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I know how you feel; personally, I've had about enough of these losers here in Washington. But I can't change their minds, so you'll have to stay on base for awhile. You'll be returning to Joe Headquarters tomorrow morning. Both Hawk and I will want to see your report then." Scarlett nodded and sighed, understanding that no matter how much she did or did not like it, she'd have to deal with Duke a lot sooner than she'd hoped. With that, she turned towards the door. "Oh, and Scarlett-Shana-whoever he is, tell him that you love him." Scarlett almost jumped out of her uniform. How did Phoenix know? "Th-thank you. I'll try to." Tomax & Xamot's Office-Extensive Enterprises Building 10:00 AM, next day "Where is she? Tell me where she is!" "She has gone on a mission. It is none of your concern..." "Your sister will return in time." Xamot was almost cold in his ability to disarm the situation. "First you tell me that my brother is dead, and now you say that my sister is 'on a mission'? I've done a lot for this organization, and I'm not about to stand here and get jerked around by you two bozos!" Zartan was getting madder and madder. It was as if everything he had done for Cobra was meaningless. "While it is true you have done a lot for Cobra, it is also true that your lackeys have used every opportunity to foul up our best plans. Your sister is no exception." Serpentor had no time to deal with Zartan. In addition to the fact that Zarana had not checked in (a fact which was being kept from Zartan), there was a surprise attack on the Joe Headquarters to be planned. Destro was protesting this decision every step of the way. "Torch tells me that Zarana has been acting strange. If this is your doing, I will have all of your heads!" With that, Zartan stormed out of the room. "We must tell him that..." "his sister is nowhere to be found." Serpentor considered the idea. "Perhaps. But not yet. Remember, Scarlett is supposed to be on vacation. There are few opportunities to capture someone in that circumstance. You will let that mercenary know nothing. This, I command!" After Serpentor left, the twins thought over what the Emperor had said. His statements lacked strong founding in logic. Could the commander be losing his grip on reality? Infirmary-Joe HQ Dusty had been having a busy day. Doing Duke's job in addition to his own was not easy. He could definitely see why Duke ordered Scarlett on vacation. How could she do it? Even worse, Dusty thought, Scarlett was acting strange around Duke lately. While he knew that both soldiers cared about each other, he wasn't sure if they wanted to be serious. Whatever happened, he did not want to see his friends hurt. At the same time, Cover Girl was with Duke, AGAIN. They were discussing any of a number of issues, from the weather to who Cover Girl was dating! While Cover Girl saw this as just a simple flirting technique (she wasn't dating anyone; wink-wink, nudge-nudge), Duke was really put off by that remark. He found it highly arrogant and extremely rude. "Well, Duke, I really should be going. If Hawk finds out I've been here all this time, I'll probably be sent to the Slaughterhouse." The last part of Cover Girl said was enough to make both cringe. "OK, I wouldn't want to keep you or anything,..." Just great, Bored again, Duke thought. When do I get out of here? Just as Cover Girl was turning around to leave, she collided right into Dusty. All the files he had with him for Duke went flying as both Dusty and Cover Girl fell straight to the ground. "Are you alright?" Dusty asked. Unknown to all but himself and Duke, Dusty had the serious hots for Cover Girl. Running smack into her like this scared the hell out of him. "That's alright, I'm OK. You don't have to worry about me," answered Cover Girl as she struggled to figure out the number of the truck that had just hit her. Just as she said that, she looked up, and everything changed. Dusty, with his innocent looks and baby-faced smile, was looking right at her, deeply concerned that he had hurt her bad. It was at that moment that Cover Girl truly noticed Dusty. "Sorry about that," was Cover Girl's blank reply. It was like she was in school again... only this time she didn't have to live up to somebody's standards of "cool" and "lame". "Um, look, Dusty, I have to go now, but if you'd like, I could stop by your place when I get off duty." She was visibly hanging on Dusty's every word. Duke couldn't help but appreciate the humor of the situation. His coworkers had fallen in some sort of puppy love in just a matter of seconds." "Sure, but I don't get off until 1730 hours." If Dusty could be more awed at this point, he definitely would be. "Great! See you then. Bye!" Cover Girl waved, smiled profusely, and ran off, almost running into Lifeline on the way. Poor Lifeline didn't even have a clue what had just gone on. Once Cover Girl was gone, Duke started laughing incredibly hard. Dusty just stood there asking, "What's so funny?" for about two minutes, until Duke finally calmed down. "You two, that's what," claimed a smiling Duke. "I haven't seen anything like that since I was in high school." "Seen what?" Dusty was still in a daze. He was stepping on papers, and otherwise making even more of a mess than he and Cover Girl already had. "Oh, man, you've got it bad... Let's pray that she's not as bad as you." Duke was smiling the whole way. If he knew what Scarlett had been dealing with lately, he probably wouldn't find it as entertaining. "Got what? What are you talking about?" "Dusty, as they said in 'Bambi', you're 'twitterpated'." Duke laughed again. This was the most fun he had in months. Just as Dusty was ready to interject, Doc walked by. "What is this mess? Dusty, pick that up before somebody gets hurt!" Doc had seen at least part what had just happened, so he had an idea that Dusty wasn't exactly "all there". Dusty responded to Doc's scolding by snapping back into reality and summarily beginning to pick up his mess. "Oh, by the way, Duke: you're free to go. All of your tests for today indicate that I can at least let you go. But let me remind you: don't go full bore yet. Your heart is doing better, but it isn't back to where it was. In fact, I'm not sure it'll ever be the same." Duke instantly popped out of bed. He was ready to go the second he came out of his coma. "Sure, Doc. But you might want to check out Dusty, though. He's got a little case of the love bug. He and Cover Girl were about ready to turn this place into a cheesy romance novel." Dusty automatically went on the defensive. "I am not! That's not true! Duke, stop laughing!" Dusty nervously scooped up the rest of Duke's files and made a quick exit. Before going out, Doc mentioned, "Don't worry, son. You're secret's safe with me." Turning his attention to Duke, Doc reminded his CO, "You can't go at full speed yet. While you can do administrative tasks and begin light workouts, you're not ready for battle. I don't care if Cobra Commander himself comes back and challenges you to a duel: you're not fighting. I've already told General Hawk that. Now get of here, before I change my mind." While Doc was kidding in his last remark, Duke didn't want to test his patience. He quickly went into the bathroom to change, and was out of the infirmary in two minutes flat. Joe Proving Grounds "Before you came here, you were the best in your fields," shouted Sgt. Slaughter. Breaking in new recruits was his favorite job of all. In addition to the Rawhides (with the glaring exception of Lt. Falcon), Sgt. Slaughter was currently training I-Vy, Castle, Whizz-Bang, and Diva. I-Vy was the Joe's new head nurse. Normally that would disqualify her from the worst of this training, but she was also an Air Force pilot. She and Diva were already on Sgt. Slaughter's list of people to hound. Whizz Bang was a an expert in chemical warfare who basically melted away Cobra's forces with an experimental compound he devised during an attack on Nellis AFB a few months ago. While viewed as highly unpredictable by some, Hawk immediately saw his potential for the Joe team. Airtight was going to have the "honor" of mentoring Whizz Bang. Castle's presence among the new recruits was due to his extreme commitment to excellence. Sgt. Slaughter specifically told Hawk that this soldier is the most polished of the new recruits, even after the battle-tested Rawhides. Driven to prove himself to the father he never got to know, Castle stood there as testament to what the others could become. Diva was a late addition to the Joes. When Mainframe's trace signaled that their hacker was at the University of Delaware, this is who they found. Kristine Soltis had hacked into corporations, banks, governments, and other entities just for a thrill. Hacking into the Joe database represented the biggest thrill of all for her. When Hawk and Mainframe hurried over to that university's campus, they found an aspiring Broadway singer. While Hawk would have dismissed any chance of letting her on the team, he was dually impressed when Miss Soltis had to be separated from Mainframe when he snickered at the idea that SHE was the hacker. Hawk hired her on the spot. Twenty hours later, she was hearing the best of what Sgt. Slaughter had to offer. "Are you paying attention to me, Diva!?! I'll run you into the ground so far, it'll take a mining expedition to find you!!!" "Sir, yes sir!!!" Diva answered with all the fury of someone who could definitely bang heads with her new drill sergeant, if she so chose. "Since it appears that two of our new friends have decided to chicken out,..." Just as Sgt. Slaughter started to say this, none other than Zarana showed up. While Phoenix was willing to let Zarana pass on this part of her training, the former Dreadnok ASKED to go through it. "Well, I guess I was wrong about one of them. Why are you late, Corporal!?!" "Sir," huffed Zarana, who had ran double time all the way from her chopper. "I'm late because Lift Ticket decided at the last minute that we needed to re-fuel before leaving, sir." It was a pretty bad excuse and everyone knew it. "That's not good enough! I want you to do 3 laps around base! Everyone else, drop and give me twenty!" Everyone obliged (especially Zarana), but it was fairly obvious that Zartan's sister had not made any new friends. Checkpoint Alpha, 1230 hours Since Law was busy getting a more formal indoctrination into the Joes, the job of guarding the front door of Joe HQ fell onto both Mutt and Junkyard. While it wasn't the hardest of tasks, it was certainly boring (for Mutt at least). While wallowing in his boredom, Mutt noticed that Junkyard was jumping around, as if something was bothering him. "What is it, boy? Do you hear something?" Then suddenly, Mutt heard it, too. While he had no clue where it was coming from, he could make it out, for sure. It sounded a lot like the beginning of the Beatles White Album. He hadn't heard that since- A few seconds later, a pristine 1964 Ford Mustang rolled up to the gate. It was a dark shade of blue and looked absolutely beautiful. The owner, who looked to be scared as was possible for one person. "Um, could you tell me how to get to Duke's office, please?" Mutt was taken aback. Not only was it odd for him to see someone afraid of DUKE, he found it odd that Duke would be having people stop by for him in his office. "Sure, but I'm not sure he'll be there. He's been injured in the infirmary for quite some time." "OK. I'll try that if he's not in his office." Once getting the directions, the driver parked his car, neatened up his clothes, and proceeded to head for Duke's office. Duke's office-10 minutes later Duke's office was nothing special, to say the least. He had no secretary (mainly because he didn't want one), his outside view was only about average, and the only real asset was that it was located fairly close to most of the offices and such that he needed to visit most often. But regardless of this, Duke was very happy to be back in it. He had a few appointments, but one was bothering him: one of the new recruits, named Link, was to report directly to him before reporting to Sgt. Slaughter for his run of basic training, Joe style. That was to have occurred nearly two hours ago. Just then, someone walked in. "Hello, are you Duke, by any chance?" The person walked in very meekly. "Why, yes, I am. How can I help you?" Duke figured that this was his "mystery guest", as Hawk put it. Even Hawk knew very little about this new Joe. "Well, you see, I'm Link, and I was supposed to meet with you about, oh, 2 hours ago. I kinda got off to a late start on leaving, and well, I'm just getting here." Link was starting to get very nervous. "Don't worry. Sit down." Duke was surprised. No one was really afraid of HIM, and he certainly liked it that way. "What seems to be the problem? You're rather jittery today." "Well, I was at the Celtics game in New York last night, and it went into OT. Seeing as how Sgt. Slaughter is going to be my drill instructor, it kinds makes me fear what's going to happen to me once I go over there." The newest Joe cringed at his last thought. "Don't worry. Just go over there, and take it. He'll probably ream on you for awhile, but that's all. It could be worse: just ask my brother. He's going to be your roommate on base. If you'd like, though, I can arrange to have you take the tour of the base you were supposed to have taken earlier." Duke saw that this soldier, while listed as an "attitude problem" in his file (at least the parts that weren't blacked out), he could see that this was a good kid. Certainly a free spirit (Link's hairdo was something to be seen), but not a jerk like Falcon could be. "Actually, I'll wait on that until later. Who should I see when I want to get that tour?" "Go to Lady Jaye. If she's not around, see Scarlett. Just tell either one that you're new, and that I said to give you a little tour around the place." Duke figured he should let both LJ and Scarlett know about this. He figured he'd do it later. "Oh, and welcome to the team. Dismissed." Duke shook Link's hand, giving him a modest smile. "Thank you, sir. Glad to be here." And with that, Link rushed off to received what he figured would be a rather harsh tongue lashing from Sgt. Slaughter. Scarlett was on her way to deliver the report that both Hawk and Phoenix were expecting. She had been looking around for Dusty so she could thank him for covering for her, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. Her last bet was to visit Duke's office. Besides, if Dusty wasn't there, she could just talk to Duke. While she wasn't going to come clean, Scarlett decided that it was time to show a little bit more interest. As she approached Duke's office, she noticed someone approaching who she had never seen before. He didn't notice her, and was about to slam right into Scarlett before she yelled at him. "Hey! You need to watch where you're going! You could get us all killed if you don't look where you're going!" "Oh, I'm sorry," offered the new Joe. "I'm running a little late, and I don't want the good sergeant to run me into the ground any further than I already expect him to." "OK. Just be a little more careful. Cobra could show up at any time." And they were bound to, since they probably thought that I've already been replaced by Zarana, Scarlett thought. "By the way, I'm Scarlett, chief counterintelligence officer for the Joes. Who are you?" Recognizing the name, this new recruit lit up. "I'm Link. I'm split between handling communications and handling the computer systems here. I've been told that I'll spend more time doing the latter." "Well, that means I'll probably be seeing more of you. I'm a friend of a friend of Mainframe, the head computer guy here." Scarlett smiled, knowing that this was a very good way to get in a little gossip once in a while. "Cool. I shouldn't say this, but I've done a little work helping out espionage operations and stuff before. Inserting names, that kind of thing. So I'll probably get assigned to go along with something like that. Of course, if you tell anyone I told you that, I'll have to kill you." Link said that with a sly, "I'm joking, but I'm not" smile on his face. "Hopefully, Duke would keep you from doing that. That is, if he's not all over... oh, never mind." Scarlett scowled, knowing she had let on just a little too much. "Ooh, a little competition. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. And I do know a few hitmen who could help 'ease' your problem." Both of the two soldiers laughed at that suggestion. "Oh, and before I forget, Duke said that I should ask you or, Lady Jaye was it? to give me a little tour around the base once I get off duty. That is, if Sgt. Slaughter actually LETS me off duty." Scarlett nodded in agreement. "I can do that. I get off at 1830 hours, so just stop by when you're done getting tortured." Link immediately cringed. "I'll be there. (I hope.) Nice meeting you, anyways." Scarlett smiled. "You too." As Scarlett reached Duke's office, she noticed that he was alone doing paperwork. "Hi Duke," replied Scarlett. "Miss me?" "Of course," Duke was being incredibly sly about Scarlett's reappearance. "Why shouldn't I?" "Well, with all the time Cover Girl has been spending with you, I'd say you'd have more than enough reasons to not need to miss me." Duke had an idea where Scarlett was getting at, but only slightly wished that it was because she was jealous. "Trust me, she's not interested in me at all," said Duke, grinning from ear to ear. "It's safe to say that both she and Dusty are concerned only with each other." Scarlett was pretty skeptical of Duke's claim, especially since she was convinced that Cover Girl was out to steal Duke from her. "Yeah, right. Dusty's my friend and all, but-" "Hi guys!" Just then, Dusty walked in, happier than either Duke or Scarlett had ever seen him. "Why are you back so soon, Scarlett?" "I kind of ran into a new recruit, in an odd sort of way." Scarlett left the thought hanging as Dusty agonized over what it meant. "Dusty, let's just say that neither Cobra or Zartan will be happy to know that Zarana is now with G.I. Joe." The jaws of both men fell to the floor. "What!?! Zarana is a Joe?!" The look of surprise on Duke's face was something Scarlett had not expected. "Duke, you mean you don't know?" Scarlett was concerned. She did not wish for Duke to openly dislike her newfound friend. I thought that-" Duke was noticeably disturbed. He scolded himself for not going through his work quicker. "I hope you realize that she could very well be duping you. Zarana isn't an innocent little girl. She's a trained mercenary, and a good enough liar to fool most of us." Scarlett quickly came to Zarana's defense. "She may be all of those things, but she's-" Scarlett hesitated, knowing that she shouldn't be telling everyone on base. "You see, she's in love with Mainframe. Remember when she posed as that army officer in order to steal those subs? Well, she fell for him then. And she can't be lying. Once she gets done training today-" Scarlett glanced outside, trying to catch a glimpse of the training that was going on-"she's going to suprise him. She's trying so hard to impress him, it's just beautiful." Dusty smiled, knowing exactly how Zarana must feel. Duke, however, cringed a little. As much as he was attracted to Scarlett, he hated it when she got all mushy like this. It made him afraid that he'd have to do something silly like that to get her full attention. "So, Dusty," Scarlett continued, "I here you have a girlfriend now-" "Duke! I thought you weren't going to say anything! Scarlett, there's really nothing to it, seriously. I just ran into her just before Duke got released, and he swears that we're both seriously infatuated with each other." As he said this, Dusty was blushing profusely. "Well, if you need someone to double date with, just call me. That new recruit, Link, he's pretty cute. I might have to ask him out sooner or later." Duke was getting jealous, and both Scarlett and Dusty could tell. Great! thought Scarlett. He's just got to be interested. "Well, I've got to go and deliver these reports to Phoenix and Hawk. Bye." Scarlett smiled and left. While she had made no real progress with Duke, she was sure now that he was really interested in him. "Jeez, she's almost as giddy as Cover Girl was earlier," Dusty remarked. "How would you know?" Duke angrily asked. He was very jealous. How could she? "You certainly weren't looking at her face when she left, that's for sure." Dusty blushed. "I was looking for any papers that had fallen on the floor..." "Yeah, right. That's only if they were glued onto her ass." Duke smiled, knowing that he had really embarrassed Dusty. Outside, Cover Girl was headed to Duke's office to hand in a report detailing how ready the ground forces would be if Cobra attacked. She had originally volunteered to write and deliver the thing so she could impress Duke. Now, she was using it so she could see Dusty. Why hadn't I noticed him before? she thought. It's not like he's some loser, like Shipwreck. At that same time, Scarlett was heading towards Hawk's office. Seeing her, Cover Girl decided to speak with her. She decided it was high time she patched things up with Scarlett, especially since she was going to be seeing more of her in the future. "Scarlett! Um, hi, how are you doing?" Scarlett scowled. What the hell does SHE want? Scarlett did not believe a word of what Duke said. She hoped it was true, but was pretty sure it wasn't. "I'm doing fine, I guess. And you?" The look on her face implied that Scarlett was thinking, "I hope your dying, you little skank." "I'm doing great. I was just going over to Duke's office to drop off this report, and to clear up some things I have planned for tonight. Is Du-" Scarlett completely lost control. "You stay away from Duke! Can't you tell how I feel?" Before a stunned Cover Girl could respond, Scarlett knocked her to the ground with a sweeping high kick. Never one to hit a person on the ground, Scarlett lifted up Cover Girl and punched her right in the face. Amazingly, no one was around to see this. "Why do you have do this to me!?" Scarlett asked, before she could deliver another blow to Cover Girl, Scarlett collapsed to the ground, weeping profusely. A still dazed Cover Girl walked over to her, not fully understanding what was going on. "Scarlett, what are you talking about? I'm going anywhere with Duke. In fact, I don't even care about him in that way." "LIAR!!!" Scarlett swiped at Cover Girl, completely missing her. She was completely blinded by her sorrow. How can she say that? I'm gone for 2 days, and already everything I've done to try and win Duke over has been ruined. Scarlett's thoughts were running wild. Why me? "Scarlett, you need to calm down." As Cover Girl brought Scarlett over to a nearby bench, she tried to comfort her. Scarlett, however, wouldn't allow it. "Now, come on. Sit down. Scarlett...Scarlett! Look at me!" Cover Girl lifted Scarlett's head and looked directly into her eyes, as serious as she had ever been in her life. "Scarlett, I'm not trying to 'steal Duke'. He's just a friend. I'm pretty sure he'd rather be with you anyways." Scarlett finally stopped crying. "Are you sure?" Cover Girl nodded, smiling slightly as she did so. "Yup. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you over the years. I should have realized earlier that he cares about you, and you alone. Besides, I need your help with Dusty. I just realized today what a nice guy he is. Not to mention, he's got a nice butt." Scarlett couldn't help but laugh. She knew that if Cover Girl told Dusty that, he'd be blushing for a week. For the next 10 minutes, Cover Girl told Scarlett what had happened earlier, and how she was going to win Dusty over tonight. Scarlett mentioned that she wouldn't have trouble since Dusty had been attracted to her for some time. They then gossiped about the new recruits, particularly Link (and his "huge 'do. It goes out to here!" Scarlett mentioned, bringing her hands out a full inch beyond her own long, red hair.). When they realized that they were slacking off WAAAY too much (Scarlett especially; Hawk was going to kill her for sure), they both parted their ways and hugged, apologizing for being so rude to each other. Once again, Scarlett had gained a new friend without even really trying. Hawk's office While Scarlett and Cover Girl were smoothing out the edges of a particularly rough relationship, Phoenix was waiting for Hawk in his office. Tired of standing, she decided to sit at his desk. Safe to say, she didn't care at all what Hawk thought. Noticing some cigars, Phoenix took one and smelled. A Cuban, she thought. Not exactly something a soldier should have around, but I guess it'll do. She produced a Zippo lighter (with a picture of the comic book character Phoenix on it), and lit the cigar with it. Ah, this is the life, she thought, as she put her feet up on the desk. Then, all of a sudden, Hawk stepped in. When he saw Phoenix, sitting in his chair, feet on his, AND puffing on one of his cigars, he got very mad. "What the hell are you doing!?! I don't care if you're the Joint Chiefs, you won't be doing that on MY desk!" Hawk did not enjoy the prospect of having Phoenix here, even if it was only to be until Zarana was fully trained. "Well, too bad, bozo, 'cause I'm running things until this Zarana person is fully integrated into this strike force." Hawk fumed. "Just because all of the losers in Washington loved you, it doesn't mean I have to." Hawk was taller than Phoenix, but it didn't seem so. Her attitude loomed over him like a tower. "You'll need to change that attitude real quick if you want to deal with me." Hawk shouted back at her, "You of all people, to talk about authority! The brass in Washington is just waiting for you to screw up before they can throw you out of the military!" Phoenix chuckled. "Look, if it wasn't for me, you'd still be a simple grunt, and the Joes wouldn't even had been formed. Besides, I'm not the one who let our most important captives go free." Even though none of the Joes were defending Alcatraz, it had been Hawk's idea to send Cobra's men there in the first place. "If you mean to blame me for that, well-" Just as Hawk was ready to really tear into Phoenix, Scarlett walked in. "I'm sorry I'm so late with this report. If you'd like, I'll leave now and let you finish." Scarlett hand both copies of her report and headed for the door. "I didn't say you could leave, Scarlett." Hawk firmly answered. Phoenix promptly countermanded him. "Hawk, I'm in command here. Scarlie, you're free to go. And don't worry about being late with your report. You shouldn't even be here now. You should still be on shore leave, as Duke ordered you." Phoenix glared at Hawk the entire time. "Yes, I guess so. I'm going to go get some grub. Anyone interested?" Neither parties were. Scarlett left, knowing that Hawk was about to get reamed out, big time. Destro's penthouse, Manhattan As soon as she reached New York, the Baroness had gone to the Extensive Enterprises building, looking for Destro. When told he was here, Anastasia Decobray had immediately caught a limo in order to get to the penthouse. She refused to go any other way. When she arrived, the Baroness was suprised to find no one present. That is, until Destro emerged from his bathroom. "Destro? Is that you?" Even though the Baroness had known Destro for an extremely long time, she had never seen his true face until now. Oddly enough, it looked almost exactly like the mask that hid his true face. His dark green eyes glistened as he beheld her. "Baroness? I thought you were in prison." "I was, until last night. Storm Shadow freed us, but almost killed Zartan before leaving." She reported this, knowing full well that her lover despised the leader of the Dreadnoks. "There is time for that later. First, I must attend to you." With that, the weapons dealer embraced the Baroness, kissing her for an extended period of time. The deadliest pair in the world had been reunited.