Turn About

Too much had changed over the past few months in which Serpentor had taken over rule of Cobra. All of the henchmen obeyed each order given mainly in fear of the consequences that would befall them if they chose not to. Despite the constant annoyance that the forces of Gi-Joe brought forth their own troops were still just as strong as ever. Something that had been rare in the past.

Not only that, but Serpentor had begun to lead them to more and more victories as well. Although the plan at the White House had been a bit of a blunder in the past, things only seemed to look upward for their entire group. Although Serpentor was ruthless and demanding he was also smart and knew just what he was doing.

Oh, how the Commander had come to despise him with every fiber of his being.

All of that glory and fear that had suddenly become a part of Cobra's name was supposed to be his to enjoy and savor. Instead, he had to stand by and watch as some science experiment took everything that he had worked hard to achieve right out from under his nose.

Sure, there was the fact he was still alive and able to work under their new leader. But, it was just that fact alone that drove the Commander up the wall. He was actually forced to work under another like some type of lackey. His own rank had been reduced to nothing but a joke really. The entire legion of Cobra had become nothing but a bunch of traitors in his eyes.

"Brooding again are we, Commander?"

The man in question looked up from his place near the wall to see Destro at the doorway of the room looking rather smug if only because he had caught Cobra Commander in one of his agitated states.

"I am doing no such thing," the Commander replied as he turned to face what used to be one of his own faithful men. No longer was that the case. "What is it you want from me? Speak or get out of my sight."

"Our leader," Destro began with much emphasis just to rattle the Commander's cage, "wishes to speak with you about an assignment. It would be in your best interest to hurry along."

The arrogance that Destro dared to show only furthered the Commander's earlier anger. Such insolence had become quite the problem once his rank no longer mattered, but there was no longer a thing he could do about it. Something he was becoming quite sick of.

"Fine, let us see what his highness wants." The Commander didn't care how mocking his tone sounded or if he was ratted out on. He walked on ahead with Destro at his heels as the both of them made their way to the room that Serpentor had come to inhabit.

As they stepped into the room the Commander scowled as he saw even more of his traitorous minions lined up around Serpentor's ridiculous throne. His only belief was that they had all joined the room to watch him gravol at their master's feet. Something he was rather sick and tired of doing.

"I found him sulking around in the compound as per usual," Destro spoke up from behind him.

"Did you tell him that I have a job for him to complete?" Serpentor's eyes moved over from Destro to Cobra Commander's hidden face. "Surely that must have lifted his mood somewhat." There was a calculating look about him, daring the Commander to speak up against his words.

The Commander didn't back down from such a piercing gaze; not this time. He had done it too much already in the past few months. "I was given the memo," he replied with contempt. "What job do you need me to do that your other pathetic lackeys can't see fit to do for you?"

From his place beside the throne, Dr. Mindbender took a step forward to have his chance to retaliate before Serpentor could. "You seem to forget that you are nothing but a follower yourself now, Commander." He pointed a finger to Cobra Commander first before gesturing about the room to the rest of the group while speaking, "Serpentor controls your fate just as much as he controls the rest of us."

"You allow yourselves to be controlled because you fear his so called wrath," the Commander spat back with. "If I sat on a throne and bellowed orders in a snake suit than I'm sure I would garner so much attention as well. But, I am above such ridiculous means."

Serpentor stood instantly after such words, having just about enough of Cobra Commander's sudden need to badmouth him. "This is big talk from a man that was willing to fall at my feet once you knew very well you were beaten." Serpentor smirked lazily after his words, knowing them to be true. The Commander had been at his side, begging for a place as a minion months ago and could not deny it.

There was a scowl beneath the mask the Commander wore as soon as he knew he was caught. The knowing smirks around the room from what were once his own followers didn't help matters. "And I'm sure anyone else would have done the same just to slip away from Gi-Joe's sight," he reasoned still with some malice behind his words.

"In fact," he continued to speak as his courage started to return little by little, "I bet each and every one of you is merely licking Serpentor's boots right now because you're frightened of Gi-Joe. Not because you're scared of him." At those last words he pointed a finger at their new leader.

The Commander felt a sense of accomplishment when his words wiped the smirks off everyone else's faces, especially Dr. Mindbender and Destro.

"That is enough!" Serpentor's voice rose as did his anger after what Cobra Commander dared to say. "You are speaking out of line and daring to pit us all against one another. You will end this nonsense immediately. This I—"

"This you command," Cobra Commander finished for him with a dismissive wave of his hand. The action got a few startled murmurs from some soldiers nearby. Those that back talked Serpentor in such a way paid a heavy price that only led in death. The Commander didn't care about such a thing. He was sick of Serpentor and his horrid catchphrase as well.

Obvious fury was all that showed on Serpentor's face for quite a while. Many times the Commander had tried his patience, but this was the final straw. With a wave of his hand the large man pointed a finger towards Cobra Commander as his booming voice shouted, "Seize him! Be rid of him at once!"

The Commander watched as each Soldier in the room left their position near Serpentor and walked towards him instead. That was fine. It had been quite a while since he had been in a real fight. It mattered not if it was against allies or not. He readied himself by standing in a defensive stance instead of reaching for his gun right away, and when the first Soldier reached for him, Cobra Commander grabbed his arm and twisted it to flip the man over and force him onto his back.

The resistance had the other Soldiers hesitating, but Serpentor urged them on with a commanding shout and they had no other choice but to obey. Cobra Commander was ready for them all, dealing blows to midsections and even using a few of the soldier's own weapons against them without any real care to their lives.

When the final Solder fell to the floor, the Commander tossed aside the borrowed gun on top of the still body and lifted his head to look at each of the remaining lackeys that stood around Serpentor. "This is all?" He asked with obvious snark. "Come now, Serpentor. I thought you were going to give me a fight."

"I will give you a fight," Baroness finally spoke up as she stepped forward. Her boots echoed in the sudden quiet of the room with each step she took towards Cobra Commander. "I am not afraid of a weak minded man such as you. These Soldiers," she gestured outward to the bodies. "They were terrible fighters. Now you have your hands full, yes?"

The Commander had no qualms about fighting a woman. Baroness acted anything but most of the time, so all he could do was chuckle quietly under his mask. "Oh, I'm sure. You won't be receiving any mercy from me just because you are the opposite gender, though." He lifted a hand and waved it in a come hither gesture. "Come on then."

Baroness snarled at Cobra Commander's cocky attitude. She was not impressed with the man's change in demeanor. Her gun was kept at her side and she charged forward instead, deciding to use her fists on the man. One swung out for the Commander's face which was caught while the other went for his gut. That he managed to catch as well, surprising the woman. She had never thought the man actually skilled in hand to hand.

"Shocked?" Cobra Commander questioned close to her face. The invasion of person space had Baroness on edge and even Destro looked ready to jump into the fight from the sidelines. "You shouldn't be," he continued and without any warning he held tighter to her hands. The twist he gave to them had Baroness crying out before he let go and lifted a booted foot to kick her in the gut. Baroness slid along the metal flooring and came to a stop against the wall where Destro ran to check on her. The woman's pride caused her to push him away as she attempted to get up on her own.

"I was your leader for years!" Cobra Commander shouted with authority, looking over each of his men and the fallen Baroness. "You do not think I would be capable of handling myself in a fight? You are foolish!" His eyes then traveled back to Serpentor. "Did you think I would not take on my own men? You were sorely mistaken as much as they were."

Serpentor had no words to respond back with just yet. He turned his back on Cobra Commander to look at what was now his army. A worthless army that couldn't even take on one single man. What kind of group were they? It was ridiculous.

"You are all hopeless!" Serpentor slammed the end of his staff down on the floor to make his point a bit more menacing. "You are not fit to be my soldiers when you cannot even kill one traitor." He ignored their frightened looks and turned back around to look at Cobra Commander. "And you," he continued speaking. "I will deal with you myself."

The Commander kept both his hands clasped behind his back in a show of arrogance. "That's perfectly fine with me, Serpentor. I have been waiting for this moment for quite some time now. This will prove which one of us is truly worthy to be leader of Cobra."

"It shall be me," Serpentor replied. The Commander's arrogant stance riled him up and he wasted no more time with words. The current leader of Cobra stepped towards the other man and used his staff as a weapon, picking it up with both hands to swing it around towards Cobra Commander's head.

The Commander ducked the swing, but his hood swished about with the force in which Serpentor had swung. Cobra Commander breathed heavily beneath as he realized the other man was not toying around. Before Serpentor could pull his staff back, the Commander reached up to grab hold of the end in an attempt to yank it away.

Serpentor laughed outright at the Commander's weak grip. He could tell the man's hands were slipping and all Serpentor really had to do was stand there and watch while Cobra Commander failed to pull the makeshift weapon. It was pathetic. Serpentor yanked on his end of the weapon which, in turn, forced Cobra Commander towards him.

"You cannot match me in strength. It is sad that you even try," he said before he raised a fist and punched it straight into the hooded face of the Commander.

Cobra Commander lost his handle on the staff and slid across the floor. Blood poured from his nose and stained his hood from the inside and out. The pain was unbearable and it was obvious that his nose was broken to all that were witnessing the fight. He clutched at it while he watched Serpentor laugh at his misfortune.

"You are not the better man," Serpentor went onto taunt. "I am superior. I was created to be better than you, better than Gi-Joe and better than anyone else in the world." At the last few words he lifted his staff high in the air along with his arm as if to praise himself.

Cobra Commander crawled back to his feet while he watched. His bloodied hand went for his gun and unlatched it from his belt. He could see each of his old lackeys watching his movements carefully from behind Serpentor. If they ruined this for him than by God he would shoot them too.

"But," Cobra Commander began in an even tone, "you are not immortal."

As soon as Serpentor dropped his head back down to look at the Commander with a quizzical gaze that's when he took his shot. A blast right between the eyes that hit dead center. Cobra's wondrous leader fell like dead weight to the floor with blood pooling out behind his head.

"My beautiful creation!" Dr. Mindbender rushed forward from the group without hesitation to check on his fallen experiment. He was down on his knees in seconds looking at the hole that had been created by just a single gun. The doctor's eyes then went to the Commander and he scowled. "Why would you do this? He was the perfect leader."

"He was a corrupted leader," Cobra Commander spat back. "You were all slaves to him and for your treachery I should do one better and shoot all of you as well." The threat was enough to shut the doctor up and have everyone else's nerves on end. The Commander ignored them for the time being and took steps forward, over the fallen body until he reached the large throne.

"I am your leader once more," Cobra Commander said as soon as he was seated. "You will all obey me and realize that without me you are nothing. If any one of you decide it best to go against me again than I will not hesitate to put a hole through your head like our dear friend Serpentor." He glanced around. "Is that understood?"

The answer he got was muffled at best all around the room, but the Commander was certain he had instilled at least a bit of fear into the ranks. "Very well," he said and waved his hand. "Clean up this damned mess. I don't want it staining the floor."

He watched as Mindbender and Destro started to haul away the doctor's so called perfect experiment, and even with his still broken and bloody nose he managed a grin. Oh, it was good to be back on top.