> Equestria Ninja Girls: Magic vs. Venom
>  by AmethystMajesty25
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Unknown Forces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One afternoon in an undisclosed location, bullets were flying and explosions were booming on all cylinders...

"Contact front! Contact front!" Sunset shouted. "Heavy enemy fire! I need you to bring them up the line. Bring up the line."

Leo replied, "Check that, Sunset, but I can’t. I’m taking rounds back here."

"I need you! I need you now! Air strike! Call in an air strike!" Sunset ordered.

However, in reality, Sunset and Leo were communicating on their headphones and playing an online team deathmatch in an action/adventure video game in their respective homes.

Leo asked Sunset by headphones while trying to figure out the buttons on his controller.



Leo: How? How do you call an air strike?



Sunset shook her head, feeling disappointed. 



Sunset Shimmer: Are you kidding me?



Leo panicked and suggested her.



Leo: Can I bring... Umm, what about those, like, care package thingies.



Sunset informed Leo.



Sunset Shimmer: I need you to sprint and help me because I’m going to lose. 



Leo responded.



Leo: Can you use a care package thingy? I can bring you one. 



Sunset shook her head. 



Sunset Shimmer: A care package thingy?



Then, a random player started shooting at Leo.



Leo: Who’s shooting at me?! What da-



Sunset cut off Leo in a louder voice.



Sunset Shimmer: I’m bleeding out right there and you’re...



She paused for a second saw Leo’s avatar spinning around.



Sunset Shimmer: Are you spinning?



Sunset asked, feeling concerned of Leo’s actions in the game and he answered.



Leo: You gotta cover 360.



Sunset contradicted.



Sunset Shimmer: You’re spinning.



Leo didn’t hear Sunset and continued their conversation. 



Leo: Huh?

Sunset Shimmer: How could you be so good at combat? But you stink at video games.



Sunset questioned as Leo calmed her down and answered.



Leo: I think you need to relax. And I don’t stink. Alright? Just chill. It’s just a game.



Then, Donnie came by and tapped on his shoulder. Leo took off his headset and Donnie whispered to him.

"Okay. I’ll be right over." Leo told Donnie.

The ninja turtle leader put his headset back on and informed Sunset. 



Leo: Hey uh, I gotta go. Something just came up.

Sunset Shimmer: What happened?

Leo: I gotta go help my brothers.

Sunset Shimmer: Okay. Just do what you gotta do. Let us know if you need our help.

Leo: Will do. This is Leo, signing off.



Leo took off his headset and rushed off along with Donnie to find his other two brothers while Sunset Shimmer continued to play her video game without him. 





Meanwhile in New York, the black ninja known as Snake Eyes, flew on his wind glider and landed on the roof of the TCRI Building. He silently took down the guards and went inside and started searching within the building like a bloodhound. However, Leo and Donnie arrived and saw Raph and Mikey spying on the ninja across from the TCRI Building.

"Mikey. Explanation?" Leo asked.

Mikey answered, "I saw someone burst into TCRI. The thing is, he’s a ninja. But, he didn't look like one of Karai’s ninjas."

The rest of his brothers looked through their binoculars and saw Snake Eyes sneaking into the building.

Donnie asked his brothers, "Think it might be trouble?"

Raph replied, "Ah, who cares. You know what they say, “Better safe than sorry.” Right?"

Snake Eyes reached for his sword as Leonardo noticed the Arashikage symbol on his outfit.

"I never seen that symbol before," Leo saw before he noticed Raph zip lining to the TCRI Building, "Raph, wait!"

Raph broke through the windows and confronted Snake Eyes

"Nice outfit. Where did you get it from? The dry-cleaners?" Raph asked.

While his mask prevented him from visually showing it, Snake Eyes was confused at the turtle creature in front of him.

Raph charged towards Snake Eyes, but because of his quick actions, he quickly counter and block his attack, sending Raph to the floor, but he did so without hurting him but his hide was hurt. The rest of Raph’s brothers arrived and saw what the ninja did.

"Raph, are you alright?" Donnie asked.

"I’m fine. But I can still fight." Raph answered.

Mikey was impressed of the black ninja’s moves and said, "Wow! This guy’s good."

Leo shouted, "Stop! Who are you? And what do you want?"

Snake Eyes lifted his sword and taunted the turtles to come at him.

"Is he serious about this?" Donnie asked.

Raph replied, "I don’t know, but he’s going to get a butt-whooping from me."

"Either way, let’s take him down real quick. We don’t know what this ninja is capable of." Leo informed his brothers.

Snake Eyes defended himself easily with Raph’s fighting technique, but he kicked Raph to the ground, causing him to lose his sais. However, he allowed Raph to get up and pointed at his sais.

Raph got up and grabbed his sais. "I gotta admit, you’re tough, but I’m much tougher than you."

Despite his cockiness, Raph and his brothers clashed with Snake Eyes with their sick ninja moves and weapons. The fight went on but the ninja was too much for the turtles. Raphael tried his luck again, but no good he did however, managed to rip off his logo patch.

During Snake Eyes’s fight with the turtles, he spotted Storm Shadow on a building across from TCRI, ready to take the shot.

"Fair well, brother." Storm Shadow said as he fired the gunshot.

Snake Eyes kicked Donnie and Mikey out of the way and tackled Leo to safety. The bullet broke through the window and it missed his target. Storm Shadow growled and contacted all Cobra operatives, "Attention all Cobra units, we have intruders on the top floors. Take them out."

A large number of Cobra operatives disguised as TCRI security guards immediately went up the stairs to find Snake Eyes and the Ninja Turtles. G.I. Joe’s ninja commando put his sword away and waved bye to the turtles before disappearing into the shadows.

"Hey! Come back here! I’m not finished yet!" Raph complained, feeling frustrated as always.

Mikey suggested his brothers, "Uh bros, maybe we should scram out of here before they start shooting bullets at us."

"Good idea." Donnie replied.

Leo answered, "Fall back, my brothers!"

The turtles soon heard the guards coming from the stairs and left and threw a smoke bomb to escape. After that, a group of (Cobra) security guards arrived on the scene of the battle, but they were too late to capture the turtles.

Storm Shadow commented, "Those freaks fought like ninjas. Their style must be from the Hamoto Clan. Interesting."

Then, one of his Cobra operatives contacted Storm Shadow.



Security Guard: Sir, we have no sign of the Joe or the other intruders.



Storm Shadow threatened him, "You better deliver me some good news or else I’m going to use you as my practice dummy. Continue the mission and deliver the substance to our convoys for Dr. Mindbender."



Security Guard: Yes sir.



What they didn’t know earlier was that Snake Eyes swiped a communicator and listened to their conversqtion. The ninja commando flew away from TCRI with his glider attachments from his suit and went back to find his G.I. Joe teammates.





The Ninja Turtles took a breather in an empty construction site after escaping from the clutches of Cobra.

Leo sighed, "Well that went well."

Donnie noticed something about the ninja, "Did you guys noticed he never said one word during the fight right? Not even a grunt or groan."

"Hmph. I didn’t even noticed." Raph shrugged.

"So we’re not even close to knowing that guy. How typical." Leo said.

Mikey was captivated by the ninja and said, "I don’t know about you guys, but that guy was awesome! Did you see his moves? It was so cool!"

Raph shouted, "Shut up Mikey. Now what are we waiting for? Let’s go after him!"

Donnie replied, "Without having a lead on him? We'd be running around with our heads in our shells if we don’t find him. Plus, his style looked familiar." 

"I don’t think he was trying to kill us, he let me get back up and get my sais, and I spotted a sniper who was about to shoot us and he saved us without breaking a sweat." Raph mentioned.

Donnie nodded, "Hmm, you made a good point right there."

"Hey Raph! Didn't you rip something off of his sleeve?" Leo asked him.

Raph answered, "Oh yeah, I did."

Leo ordered, "Let’s see it."

Raphael opened his palm to reveal to what it looked like to be a logo patch.





Donnie commented, "I’ve never seen that symbol before."

"Me neither. Let’s head back home. I’ll consult with Master Splinter in the spirit world while you guys figure out who our mystery ninja is. Maybe sensei knows something about him." Leo ordered.

Raph ignored him and demanded, "I still say we go after him now! Maybe there’s a chance we'll catch up to him!"

Donnie warned him, "Raph, if he is as skilled as a ninja, he’d be long gone by now."

Raph sighed and crossed his arms, "Alright. That’s fine."

Mikey got an idea and told them, "Hey dudes! How about we grab some pizza to cheer us up!"

"Thin crust. New York style. No invisible anchovies." Donnie ordered.

Raph repeated, "And we mean NO anchovies, Mikey!"

"Okay okay. Just relax. I’ll take care of it bros." Mikey replied.

While Snake Eyes continued soaring throughout the city, he thought about Leo and his brothers. He remembered learning about the Hamato Clan a while back, but found it impossible after learning of the clan's destruction. While Snake Eyes continued gliding, G.I. Joe’s team leader, Duke, contacted him through communications and asked him. 



Duke: Snake Eyes, do you have anything to report?







Later in their lair, Leo continued meditating and talked to Master Splinter in the spirit world while his brothers continued to enjoy eating pizza.

In the spirit world, Master Splinter informed Leo, "My son. I have found the answer that you seek. This symbol that you saw was from the Arashikage Clan. A ninja clan that had rivaled the Foot Clan many years ago. They disbanded years later after their Sensei was assassinated. However, there were two known survivors of the clan. The sensei's nephew, Storm Shadow, and a ninja by the name of Snake Eyes."

"Snake Eyes? Storm Shadow? Those are some interesting names Master Splinter. I will let my brothers know about it. Thank you sensei." Leo said.

"You are very welcome, my son." Splinter replied as they both bowed to each other before Leo woke up.

Leo entered the kitchen and informed Donnie, "Hey Donnie, see if you can look up the names of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow."

"I’m on it, Leo." Donnie answered as he walked towards the laptop on his desk.

Mikey kept chewing a mouth full of pizza, "Too cool! Even those names are awesome!"

"Hmm... Snake Eyes." Donnie said as he put a slice of pizza in his mouth and researched on his computer, "Nothing. I can’t find any person that is named Snake Eyes. I only found articles and images of the snake’s eyes."

Raph responded with sarcasm, "Wow Donnie! And I thought you were a genius."

"Congratulations, Raph. You just volunteered to disarm the next bomb we come across." Donnie informed him.

Raph shrugged, "Ehh, whatever."

Mikey told his nerdy brother, "Don’t let him get to you Donnie. He’s just mad because he got his shell waxed."

Raph growled, "I heard that!"

"But what about the other guy? What was his name? Storm Shadow? Which by the way sounds like an awesome name if I were to name him." Mikey remembered.

Donnie continued researching and found his answer, "Ahh yes. I found him. It says that he is a wanted criminal."

"So we mistook Snake Eyes as an enemy? Well that makes sense." Mikey said. 

Donnie asked, "Leo, do these ninjas belong in the same clan or different clan?"

"They were once both in the same ninja clan known as the Arashikage Clan." Leo answered. 

Mikey brought up a suggestion for his brothers, "Dudes, if this clan were enemies of the Foot. Doesn't that mean they were allies to the Hamato Clan?"

Donnie responded, "Maybe, if you think about it, but we’re not quite sure if this “Arashikage” clan formed a partnership with the Hamato Clan years ago. Or even centuries ago."

Raph asked Leo, "Okay Mr. Fearless leader. What do we do now?"

Leo answered with confidence, "We find Snake Eyes again."

Raph nodded, "Another question. How in the world are we going to do that?"

"Raph’s right. It’ll be like trying to find a needle in a huge haystack." Donnie said. 

"Don’t worry. Master Splinter always told us, “When the tiger finds his meal, he will hunt until he catches it.” "

Mikey realized what Leo said, "Oh, I think I get it. Let him come to us."

"Perhaps we can communicate with this “Snake Eyes” and tell him that it was a huge misunderstanding." Donnie suggested.

"Good idea. Let’s..." Leo stopped talking when his T-Phone rang. He picked it up and answered the call, "Karai?"



Karai: Leo... we... need... 



Their communications seemed to be malfunctioning as Leo questioned her, "Karai, you’re phone connection’s breaking up. What’s happening?"

Karai responded.



Karai: Trouble... TCRI... help...



Karai said until she was cut off and their call ended abruptly. 

Leo kept calling Karai on her T-Phone, "Karai? Karai?! Are you there?!"

The rest of his brothers locked eyes on Leo and wanted to know what’s going on. 

Leo ordered his brothers, "Raph, fire up the Shell Raiser. Donnie, contact April, Casey, and the others. Mikey, grab the first aid kit."

Raph asked, "But what about Snake Eyes?"

"We’ll save that for later. Right now, we gotta go." Leo ordered.

"And how exactly are we going to find her?" Donnie asked.

Leo remembered the clues that Karai mentioned during her urgent, phone call. He informed them, "We are going back to the TCRI Building."

"Seriously? We just got back from that building and now you want us to go back there?" Raph complained.

Leo told Raph, "We don’t have much time for arguments. Right now, we gotta save Karai and her team." The turtles exited their lair to rescue their good friend and ally, Karai, and her Foot Clan.





Meanwhile at G.I. Joe’s cargo plane, Snake Eyes along with his fellow comrades, Duke, Ripcord, Tunnel Rat, Scarlett, Breaker, Wild Bill, and Heavy Duty were having a meeting with General Hawk as a hologram.

"Wait a minute, Scarlett. You mean to tell me that Snake Eyes fought against four large lizards?" Tunnel Rat asked.

Scarlett answered, "No Tunnel Rat, four mutant turtles and they were ninjas!"

Tunnel Rat, Breaker, and Ripcord were quite shocked of the discovery except the rest of the Joes. 

Ripcord commented, "You gotta be kidding me. That sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon or a comic book if you ask me."

Breaker commented, "Fascinating. I’ve read reports about mutants similar to what Scarlett just said."

"Could they have been Cobra mutations?" Duke asked.

Snake Eyes shook his head and showed them the footage of their fight and showed them old footage of the Hamato Clan.

Tunnel Rat asked, "Ooh, what are we watching?"

"Snake Eyes’s fight with the so-called, “Ninja Turtles”. Plus, some old history footage of the Hamato Clan." Scarlett answered.

"Well what do you know. They do exist." Wild Bill stated.

Duke asked the ninja, "Do you know anything else of the Hamoto clan?"

Snake Eyes nodded.

Heavy Duty suggested, "I take it Jinx, Kamakura, or Tiger Claw have never heard of this clan as much as you do Snake."

Snake Eyes waved his hand saying, "Sort of."

General Hawk responded.



General Hawk: Cobra has had a record of mutations, but it didn’t say anything about four mutant ninja turtles.



Duke informed the Joes, "Well, whoever they are, they shouldn’t stick their nose into our business. If we find them, we want to know if they’re secretly working with Cobra or not. And we want answers."

General Hawk ordered.



General Hawk: We get it Duke. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let me handle this mutant problem and deter if they’re enemy or not. Is that clear?



Duke nodded, "Yes sir."

General Hawk also stated. 



General Hawk: If they're one of Minderbender’s, we’ll deal with them. Right now, Duke, I want you and your team to head back to the TCRI building. Hawk out.



Snake Eyes nodded while the rest of the Joes saluted, "Yes sir."





Later in the evening, Leo and his brothers arrived and sneaked into the TCRI Building. After surpassing the upper floors, they arrived in the loading docks and found Karai along with her friends, Shini and the Dazzlings with their hands cuffed. However, there were Red Fang ninjas and Cobra troopers surrounding the area led by the white ninja, Storm Shadow, as they were moving crates full of mutagen cases inside to their pickup trucks.

"What would they want with those mutagen?" Donnie whispered.

Leo whispered back, "Mission first. Ask questions later."

The ninja turtles silently took out his guards and robots while Karai and her friends were starting to wake up.

Karai woke up and saw what was happening. Aria shouted, "Hey! Let us go! Why are you doing this?"

"That is none of your concern." Storm Shadow replied.

Karai said, "I knew you would say that. And umm," She took a look at the logo on his swords, "That logo. I’ve seen it before. It’s Arashikage isn’t it?"

"I was a part of that clan." Storm Shadow sighed. 

"I thought they were disbanded many years ago." Shini said.

Karai commented, "I’ve read about that too, but I don’t understand. Why are you resurrecting your clan? Why are you doing this?"

Storm Shadow chuckled, "The answer is simple, child. The Arashikage is no more. Now tell me, how do you know so much about the Arashikage Clan?"

Karai looked at him straight in the eye and never bothered to answer his question.

"On second thought, don't bother answering that. I know the symbol of the Foot Clan when I see it. But your face, you look familiar." Storm Shadow noticed.

Adagio yelled, "Hey! Leave her alone!"

Storm Shadow looked at Adagio like a hyena looking at its next meal. He said, "Such loyalty. My brother and his acolytes could learn a lot from you."

He then threw ninja stars at the turtles, but they dodged them, knowing that Storm Shadow figured that they would come in to rescue their friends.

"Ah, I see that you’re ninjas too even though you’re part turtle. Plus, you took out my men and robots. Interesting." Storm Shadow commented.

Mikey thanked him, "Aww, really? Thanks," However, his brothers gave him the dry looks, "Uh, I mean, step away from the girls or else we’ll have to kick your sorry butts. Ninja dude."

Storm Shadow questioned their tactics, "Heh, you speak like a child and yet you act like a fool too. What makes you think you can take me on?"

"Let’s just say, we got the strength in numbers." Leo answered.

Then, a rainbow streak zoomed in and took out his operatives and her allies while the Ninja Turtles cut Karai and her clan loose from Cobra’s clutches. The Dazzlings, Shini, and Karai joined forces and stood side-by-side with the Ninja Turtles as the Rainbooms arrived along with April, Casey, Bebop, and Rocksteady.

"Thanks for the save back there guys." Aria thanked her friends.

Storm Shadow stretched his neck and said, "Impressive, but not impressive enough." Then, a bunch of B.A.T.s, red ninjas, and Cobra troopers stormed into the loading docks and surrounded the teenage heroes. "Did you really think that I’ve ran out of Cobra operatives lately?"

While the heroes were surrounded, a falcon with visors was observing the scene and found Storm Shadow and his Cobra forces. It flew away and went back to its owner who was also spying from them from a safe distance. 

The unknown spy contacted Duke.



????: Sir, I found Storm Shadow and his operatives. They’re at the loading docks of the TCRI building.



In one of the three G.I. Joe vehicles known as the R.H.I.N.O.s, Duke responded. 



Duke: Good work, Spirit. We’ll be right over.



While Leo and his allies were surrounded by Cobra, a loud engine sound roared into the skies and they all looked up to see G.I. Joe’s jet, the Howler, arriving right above them.

Storm Shadow looked up and said, "He’s here."

As the Howler kept hovering, Snake Eyes with a rope attached to him, jumped out of the jet and grabbed his katana from his arsenal to swing into action. Storm Shadow took the briefcase with the mutagen inside and fled the scene without detection and the fight broke out as Snake Eyes slashed a couple of B.A.T.s while the Ninja Turtles, Rainbooms, and their allies started taking down Cobra’s B.A.T.s, red ninjas, and troopers. Then, the three R.H.I.N.O.s arrived and the G.I. Joe team stepped out of the vehicles to help Snake Eyes and the other teenage heroes. 

"Alright Joes, move out!" Duke ordered as the rest of his team set their weapons to stun mode. 

The G.I. Joe operatives started shooting at every Cobra operative that they see on the battlefield. With their help, the Ninja Turtles and their allies had the advantage and defeated any Cobra operatives that were on their path. 

Applejack commented, "This is crazy, even for us."

"Agreed. Right now, we take care of him and his goons." Sunset stated as she pointed her kunai at Storm Shadow.

Leo and his allies started fighting against Cobra forces with the unexpected help from G.I. Joe while avoiding gunshots. The falcon continued monitoring the battle while Spirit joined his fellow operatives and started shooting arrows at a couple of B.A.Ts along with some Black Viper Commandos. Duke saw him and said, “Glad you could join us Spirit. What took you so long?”

"Billy and I went do some sightseeing. Sorry about that." Spirit answered as he noticed a group of B.A.T.s marching towards Leo’s allies with their weapons ready to fire. While the B.A.T.s were heading towards the three girls, a sniper shot some B.A.T.s to save them while the girls took their time to release their friends.

Wild Bill spoke the sniper through his comms. 



Wild Bill: YEEHAW! Now that was nice shooting, Long Range.



"Gracias, mi amigo." Long Range replied as he continued sniping some more B.A.T.s in the battlefield.

Rarity put up a diamond while Rocksteady provided covering fire, but her powers didn't go unnoticed by Storm Shadow or the Joes. Storm Shadow continued to run from the battlefield until Snake Eyes stopped him in his tracks.

"So we meet again, brother. I knew you and your Joes were coming." Storm Shadow said.

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow clashed with their swords while Storm Shadow held on to the briefcase with his left hand. 

"Hey Snake, help is on the way!" Mikey shouted as he spotted the pair clashing and rushed in to help. However, something hit Mikey and it kept hitting him until he fell down on the floor.

Mikey looked at Bebop and asked, "Ow! Was that you, Bebop?"

Bebop replied, “Don’t look at me. I’m not the one hitting you dude.”

“Well if it wasn’t you, then who did?” Mikey asked again.

A lady with a Russian accent answered, "I did."

The culprit who hit Mikey out of nowhere revealed to be the Baroness who used her invisibility cloak.

"Who in the world are you, pretty lady?" Mikey asked while being attracted by her wicked looks. 

The Baroness introduced herself, "They call me the Baroness."

Rocksteady saw who the voice belong to and was shocked. He said, "Yadovityy negodyay! You'll pay for what you did to my brother!"

Baroness responded, "I don't know who you are, but I don’t remember messing with rhinos."

Rocksteady growled, "Boltaçk Steranko! My brother!"

After hearing that name, Baroness realized who she was talking to and a nasty smile crept across her face, "Ah, yes. I remembered you now. Ivan Steranko. The failure brother has finally showed his face. So tell me Ivan, is your brother still lying comatose on a hospital bed?"

Just hearing her say that without remorse caused Rocksteady to tighten his grip on his hammer. Rocksteady charged forward and Baroness got of his way and escaped by using Mikey as a shield and he took the hit.

"OW!" Mikey yelled who was bruised up after taking the hit from Rocksteady.

Rocksteady apologized, "Sorry, my comrade." 

Before Rocksteady could warn Mikey, another group of B.A.Ts started shooting at Rocksteady, but fought them off one by one with his hammer as his response while the Baroness started beating the snot out of Mikey and no one could get to him without a B.A.T firing at them. However, Snake Eyes saw Mikey in trouble and rushed to help, only for Storm Shadow to fire a warning shot up in the sky.

Storm Shadow questioned his former brother’s motives, "You would dishonor yourself by helping that mockery of our once great ally than finishing this fight?"

As much as Storm Shadow aggravated him, Snake Eyes knew he couldn't turn his back on someone who needed help. Snake Eyes knocked the briefcase out of Storm Shadow’s hands with a roundhouse kick.

"No!" Storm Shadow shouted as he ran after the briefcase.

However, it was too late and Leo grabbed it first. 

Storm Shadow drew his sword and pointed at the ninja turtle, "Hand over that briefcase now or suffer the consequences."

"If you insist." Leo answered as he dropped it, only for Rainbow Dash to grab it and zoom out of the building.

Storm Shadow tried to chase her, but Snake Eyes to blocked his path. He said, "You'd let a freak fight with you. Much less dishonor the Hamato Clan."

Leo started getting mad, but Snake Eyes contained Leo and shook his head, most likely saying "Don't let him bait you."

"I say you and I take this ninja down, Snake Eyes. He is really starting to get on my nerves now." Leo stated.

As Snake Eyes and Leo tag teamed Storm Shadow, Rainbow Dash rushed out of the crossfire, but she accidentally bumped into Tunnel Rat.

Tunnel Rat said while trying to stretch his back, "Hey, watch where you’re...  Rainbow Dash?!"

Rainbow Dash responded while feeling surprised, "Nicky Lee?!"

"What are you doing here?!" They both asked in confusion until more B.A.T.s surrounded Rainbow Dash and Tunnel Rat. 

Tunnel Rat suggested, "Let’s fight first. Talk later."

"Agreed." Rainbow Dash replied.

The pair worked together in sync, fighting the B.A.T.s like a pair of tango dancers.

"Hey Dash, coming your way." Tunnel Rat said as he tossed an active grenade at her.

"FORE!" Rainbow Dash yelled and used her weapon to swat the grenade into the B.A.T.’s weapon, which exploded.

Rainbow cheered, "Nice work, dude!" 

"Right back at ya, Rainbow!" Tunnel Rat replied as they both high-five to each other and continued to fight together against Cobra forces.

"I got your back, Duke!" Ripcord shouted as he shot down three Cobra B.A.T.s cornering him.

Duke said as he grabbed his hand to pull himself up, "Thanks for the save, Rip."

Ripcord told him, "No problem. Hey Duke, I don't think those mutants are-"

Duke interrupted him and ordered, "Not now, Rip! Focus!"

"Alright." Ripcord shrugged and returned to shooting rounds at other Cobra operatives.

The Baroness knocked the briefcase out of Rainbow’s hands and dropped it right in the middle of the battlefield. She went after it only to be stopped by Heavy Duty who kept shooting her path with his gatling gun while riding on the Howler.

"Don’t make me shoot a woman, yo!" Heavy Duty shouted.

The Baroness made a run for it and the Cobra gunship arrived on time, only to shoot the Howler with missiles.

"Incoming!" Heavy Duty yelled and alerted Wild Bill as he continued piloting the aircraft and tilted right to avoid impact. 

"Woah!" Heavy Duty shouted.

The Baroness witnessed the number of Cobra operatives being defeated by the hands of their enemies and she then received a transmission from their boss, Cobra Commander. 

She listened and confirmed his orders, "Yes sir. I understood." The Baroness retreated and informed her comrade.



Baroness: Storm Shadow, retreat! Cobra Commander’s orders.



“Another day, Snake Eyes.” Storm Shadow said as he threw a smoke bomb at them and retreated with the Baroness to enter the Cobra gunship. Leo attempted to pursue them, only for Snake Eyes to stop him. However, he ran after the briefcase and grabbed it. After that, he and his fellow allies looked up in the sky and watched the Cobra gunship leave. While they continued watching, the G.I. Joe operatives surrounded the Turtles and their allies as they reloaded and locked their weapons on to them except Snake Eyes and Spirit. The teenage heroes defended themselves as their response to the Joes.

"Stand down. Stand the shell down!" Raph yelled.

Heavy Duty said, "Put your weapons down, kids."

"We’re not the enemy." Scarlett added.

Casey questioned their tactics, "Pointing your weapons at us doesn’t make you our friends now, does it?"

"Please hand over the case." Breaker demanded.

Leo confronted the Joes, "Look, we don’t know you, and we sure don’t know who they are, and until we find out, we’re not lowering anything and not handing anything over."

"If it weren’t for us, you would’ve been dead with the rest of your friends." Duke stated.

Scarlett demanded, "Now please hand over the case."

"What’s your unit?" Sunset asked as she and the Rainbooms armed their ninja weapons ready at the Joes.

Ripcord replied, "That’s classified."

"Someone would like to have a word with you." Breaker said as he planted a device on the ground and activated it, bringing up a hologram of General Hawk. 

General Hawk ordered. 



General Hawk: State your name and rank.



Leo answered, "You first."



General Hawk: My team just save your life son. This is the part where you get to say thank you.



Leo replied again, "Those aren’t the words that come to mind right now. We weren’t told anything about any more support for this mission, so why don’t you tell your team to stand down?"

"Or we can turn this into one big turkey shoot." Bebop suggested.

Leo agreed, "Yep."

Snake Eyes put his sword close to Bebop’s neck and the rest of his allies glanced at the ninja.

Bebop had some second thoughts and replied in a strained voice, "Or not."

General Hawk calmed Bebop down.



General Hawk: Easy, Anton.



Bebop became curious and wondered how he knew his real name, "Woah. How do you know me?"

General Hawk looked through his file and answered.



General Hawk: We manage to cross reference your voice with some footage of you when you broke into Joe headquarters a few years ago.



"I thought those robots looked familiar. Cobra hired me to steal some equipment from G.I. Joe headquarters." Bebop explained as the Joes and Leo’s party looked at him with hostility, which made him nervous.

Tunnel Rat stopped and suggested everyone, "Hold up. There is gotta be a good explanation why they are here. Speaking of which, great work you ninjas."

Rainbow Dash replied, "Thank you TR. Same goes for your team."

General Hawk rolled his eyes while the opposing sides were disappointed at Tunnel Rat and Rainbow Dash, making them nervous too.

"Guys, can we all just settle down, chat, and have a nice slice of pizza?" Mikey suggested. 

"Or tacos?" Sonata also suggested.

Rocksteady answered, "Not a good time, comrades."

General Hawk remembered Rocksteady’s voice and said.



General Hawk: Steranko. I thought I recognize that voice from somewhere before.



Rocksteady asked, "Wait, you know me too?"

General Hawk responded.



General Hawk: We also found footage of you when you were exchanging some of your weapons to M.A.R.S. Industries a few years back.



Sunset asked, "M.A.R.S. Industries? What’s that?"

"A highly, advanced weapons company that I used to do business with. Until..." Rocksteady answered until he felt upset.

General Hawk knew the truth, but he knew that he had no place to share it, but he answered on Rocksteady’s behalf. So, General Hawk informed Leo’s gang.



General Hawk: Official reports indicate it was a business deal gone bad.



Adagio asked, "Was it that bad?"

Rocksteady answered, "No, it’s much worse."

Donnie remembered something and said, "Hold on a second, I’ve seen you somewhere on the news before. You’re General Hawk. Afghanistan, NATO forward command."

General Hawk responded.



General Hawk: Yeah, that was my last job. I’m in a whole new outfit now.



Leo noticed Breaker walking towards him and shook his head with his katana in hand pointing towards him, "Uh-uh."

"Hey, I just need to scan if anything’s damaged inside." Breaker said as he approached slowly and started scanning the briefcase.

General Hawk ordered Leo.



General Hawk: Put down that briefcase and let us deliver these mutagen containers.



"No way, this stays back in TCRI. We’re not going to let any of this mutagen fall into the wrong hands by the likes of our enemies, especially you guys." Leo vowed.

Breaker finished scanning the briefcase and walked back as General Hawk responded. 



General Hawk: I’m afraid you’re too late for that. Few weeks ago, Cobra has already stolen amounts of mutagen.



The Ninja Turtles, Rainbooms, and their allies replied in unison, "WHAT?!"

General Hawk continued his explanation.



General Hawk: It appears that Cobra is planning to use the mutagen for something. Plus, Cobra is partnering up with some unknown operatives outside of their organization and kidnapped a scientist who knows about mutagen. He goes by the name of Baxter Stockman.



Leo's party all groaned out of annoyance, much to the Joes’ confusion.

Leo informed Genreal Hawk, "Stockman is an enemy of ours that we have a history with."

"Some of us more than others." Karai said as she looked at Rocksteady and Bebop, only for them to nod in agreement.

Leo continued, "Listen, we have experience with mutagen. Donnie even knows the formula for the antidote."

"And as much of a headache as Stockman is, he's our headache." Raph said.

April stated to General Hawk and the Joes, "We might not be soldiers, but we can put up a good fight as much as you guys. So don’t underestimate us."

General Hawk agreed with April.



General Hawk: Alright. I understand.



"Good, now back to our subject. What does Baxter Stockman have to do with all of this?" Karai questioned.

General Hawk answered to Karai.



General Hawk: We’re continuing to monitor the situation as we speak.



Leo suggested, "Well, I’m starting to think that if our enemies have partnered up with Cobra, this can go really bad for the entire world as we know it. So, I guess we have no choice but to work together with your military forces, General Hawk. We got no other options left."

General Hawk responded to Leo’s suggestion.



General Hawk: Well that’s just fine, but we can discuss more about our little coalition when we head back to base.



"And where exactly is your base, sir?" Leo asked.

In the control center of the Pit, General Hawk answered, "Come see for yourself."
> The Briefings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------








Egypt








The cargo plane flew to Egypt and headed towards their base. Inside the jet, the Joe’s newest allies were sitting around while the Joes packed their gear and took off their armor to change while music started playing on a radio inside. 


(Portis)


Inside the plane, Twilight was petting Spike and noticed Snake Eyes staring at Karai. She nudged her friend and whispered, “Leo, look at Snake Eyes.”

Leo then looked at Snake Eyes staring at Karai. “So?” He asked.

“He hasn't taken his sight off Karai for the entire trip.” Twilight explained.

“Yeah. That does sound unusual.” Leo nodded.

“I gotta admit, you kids are tough.” Scarlett commented while giving some band-aids to the Ninjas.

Mikey replied, “Thanks, but we're also sensitive.” 

“Oh man, you guys got some sweet tech stuff here.” Rainbow said. “Hey, bro, what you been up to these days?” She asked Tunnel Rat.

Tunnel Rat explained, “Oh you know, taking down Cobra goons and blowing up Cobra tech with my pal, Heavy Duty. You still Little Flutter's bodyguard?”

Fluttershy hid in her hair in embarrassment over her childhood nickname.

Rainbow boasted, “She's learned how to handle herself. Plus, she sent these two running just by staring at them.”

Bebop activated his stealth suit while Rocksteady buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.

“She seems to get along well with Billy.” Spirit noted as he noticed Fluttershy communicating with his pet falcon.

Also, Fugitoid was invited by his ninja friends and thanked them, “Thank you for inviting me into this field trip, you guys.”

“You're very welcome, Fugitoid.” Sunset beamed.

Leo asked the Joes, “So, is it just all of you?”

Duke answered, “No, we've got plenty of more guys like us you'll want to meet.”

Donnie asked the Joes, “So, what kind of outfits are you wearing, anyway? It's not regular Army, based on all the accents,” Donnie then looked at Long Range, “You're Spanish,” He then asked Breaker, “What are you, French North African?”

“Morocco. Where were you born?” Breaker asked.

Donnie answered, “It's complicated.”

“What about him?” Pinkie asked the Joes about Snake Eyes.

“He doesn't speak.” Scarlett answered.

“Really?” Rainbow asked.

“He doesn't say.” Breaker responded.

“He doesn't say. So, somehow you're all in the same unit, but one you can't tell me the name of, right?” Sunset questioned.

“We get tossed for telling.” Scarlett answered.

“Well whoever you guys are or whatever this unit is. We want in on this mission.” Leo stated.

Then, as the Joes were surprised by Leo’s statement, Wild Bill announced over the intercom, “Attention passengers, we're arriving at our final destination. Please put your seatbelts on and tray tables in their right positions.”





Wild Bill took off his helmet and said, “Ladies, Gentlemen, Others. Welcome to the Pit.”

Everyone got off as Heavy Duty exited the Howler first and greeted General Hawk before saluting, “General.”

“What's up, Flint and Lady Jaye?” Heavy Duty greeted Flint and Lady Jaye.

“Heavy Duty.” Flint replied, saluting the troops back.

“Nice work, you guys.” Lady Jaye said, saluting them back.

“Good job, Joes. Outstanding.” General Hawk congratulated his troops as they exited from the plane.

The Ninjas and Allies exited from the plane and looked around the hangar bay area of the base.

“Wow. This place is so big.” Rainbow commented.

“That's why it's called a military base for a reason.” Twilight explained.

The ninjas approached General Hawk and he greeted them, “Welcome Ninja Turtles, Rainbooms, and friends. Welcome to the Pit, The Joes, ninjas, and allies followed General Hawk towards the elevator as he continued, “I suppose that we'll be working together for the time being. But for now, we should start with a tour of the base. Afterwards, we'll begin a briefing of our enemies, then assign bunks and...”

Then, Mikey's stomach gurgled and raised his hand, “Uh General sir, is there a cafeteria here? Cause I'm kinda hungry.”

General Hawk could only smile, knowing that troops with empty stomachs don't fight well.

“There is. We'll get there.” General Hawk answered.

“Yeah, my cousin works at the cafeteria. He's the head chef.” Heavy Duty mentioned.

“Your cousin works here? That's awesome.” April cheered.

Everyone hopped on to the platform and descended down while they watched what was on the lower floor levels. The ninjas and allies were impressed that it’s got training courses with ships firing targets above sea level and SHARCs below sea level. While they continued watching, Leo informed General Hawk, “My friends and I infiltrated enemy bases in the past, but we've never seen a tac operation like this.”

General Hawk nodded, “All right, you trusted me, I guess I'll trust you guys. Technically, G.I. Joe does not exist, but if it did, it'd be compromised of the top men and women from the best military units around the world, the alpha dogs. When all else fails, we don't. Ten nations signed on in our first year, working together, sharing intel. Now we have 23.” 

“That's pretty cool, yo.” Casey commented until April elbowed him on the arm, correcting his words. “I-I mean, sir.”

As the elevator reached to the lower main floor, the group walked towards the cafeteria. However, the ninjas found an open door leading to a dojo with two ninjas and a kunoichi sparring. Snake Eye walked in and stomped his foot, causing the trio to stop sparring.

“Sensei.” The ninja trio stood at attention and bowed to Snake Eyes.

Mikey widened his eyes, “Whoa! More ninjas?! Sweet!”

The ninja trio reached for their weapons at the sight of the unfamiliar faces, but Snake Eyes signaled them to stand down. 

The first ninja had short brown hair and caramel eyes. He wore a yellow, green, and black ninja armor, a headband, neck gaiter, and a dog tag with his katana mounted on his suit.





The second ninja had long, braided, black hair and brown eyes. She wore a yellow and red ninja armor with sais and her katana mounted on her suit. 





The third was a kunoichi who wore an orange mask, green ninja armor, a dog tag, and a katana mounted on his suit.





“Sensei, you sure about them?” The yellow ninja asked as Snake Eyes nodded.

Kamakura answered, “Well, that's enough for us. I'm Kamakura.”

“Glad to see we got some more girls here. I'm Jinx.” Jinx introduced.

The orange ninja introduced himself. “Tiger Claw. I'm new here since two weeks ago. Nice to meet you all.”

The ninjas and their allies tensed up at the sound of his name.

Tiger Claw questioned everyone, “What?”

“Um, did you say your name was… Tiger Claw?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. Why?” Tiger Claw questioned her.

The ninjas and allies saw it clearly that it wasn't their old enemy and sighed.

Leo explained, “We just had a bad experience with your namesake.”

Tiger Claw understood him, “Oh, well I can assure you all, I'm a friend.”

Pinkie whispered to her friends, “I like him.”

“Hold up. What's she doing her?” Jinx pointed her finger at Karai.

“You know her?” General Hawk asked.

“Know her? More like her clan. The Foot to be exact. Run by the Shredder himself.” Jinx explained.

Karai motioned her arms and assured Jinx, “That's not me anymore.”

“Yeah, right. I bet she's a Cobra spy,” Jinx bluffed as she reached for her weapon, but Kamakura stopped her.

Kamakura said, “Take it easy, Jinx. Sensei wouldn't be with a Foot clan member without a good reason.”

Leo informed them, “Believe us when we say we're not your enemies.”

Jinx responded, “I'm listening.”

“At ease, let's hear what Karai has to say.” General Hawk ordered as Jinx stood down.

Karai took a deep breath and explained to the Joes, “My Foot Clan is one of honor and protection. I have rebuilt the Clan that Saki poisoned with Shinigami as my second-in-command and the Dazzlings as my lieutenants.”

“That's right.” Shinigami added.

While Karai continued to explain herself, Snake Eyes still couldn't figure out why her face was so familiar, but heard the truth in heard in her voice. Then, Kamakura looked at the others and spotted the symbol of the Hamato Clan on April's Tanto blade.

Kamakura blurted out, “I've seen that symbol before. Is that the Symbol of the Hamato Clan?”

“Huh?” Jinx wondered, confused.

“Wait, you know the Hamato Clan?” Sunset asked. 

Kamakura explained, “Yeah, I read the reports. They had a bitter feud with the Hamato Clan. Kinda weird to see ninjas and kunoichis of the Hamato Clan with two Foot Clan members.”

Mikey assured the Joes, “Relax bro, we're all friends here.”

General Hawk nodded, “I expect it'll be a very interesting debriefing. But first, everyone gets some chow down,” He then turned his attention to Leo, “Except you Leonardo, I'd like to have a word with you and Duke about something in private.”

Duke and Leo replied in unison, “Yes sir.”





While everyone was at the cafeteria, Leo and Duke entered General Hawk’s office with the said general.

General Hawk explained, “Leonardo, I understand that you want to help, but compared to the rest of your friends, Pinkie Pie, and your brother, Michelangelo, they are technically the youngest of your groups.”

Leo nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“And Duke, Tiger Claw has been with us for two weeks.” 

Duke answered, “He's one of our best recruits, sir.” 

General Hawk promised the two men, “I don't like sending these three into this situation where they get themselves killed. But we're low on options. So, I want you two to promise these three that they will be safe. You got it?”

“Yes sir.” Duke and Leo answered in unison. 

The pair looked at each other and Duke promised Leo, “I give you my word and I'll make sure you and your brothers and friends will get home safely when this is done.”

Duke offered his hand as Leo informed Duke, “And I'll make sure your Joes will get the cover they need.”

As a result, Leo shook Duke's hand to promise them to look after their friends.

General Hawk said, “Alright, now with that's settled, you two can go to the cafeteria and get some chow now.”

“Yes, sir.” The two leaders answered and walked off, exiting from General Hawk’s office.





Minutes later, Duke and Leo entered the cafeteria and smiled as they saw their respective teammates getting along with each other while Snake Eyes stood still and continued to stare at Karai.

“So Little Flutters has a mutant turtle who's twice the size as your turtle friends?” Tunnel Rat asked.

Rainbow placed her hand on Tunnel Rat’s shoulder, “Believe me, Slash is trustworthy.”

Snake Eyes still continued to stared at Karai, but his gaze broke when Fluttershy placed a water bottle next to the lone apple on his lunch tray.

Fluttershy said, “Even if you're not that hungry doesn't mean you have to be thirsty.”

Snake Eyes nodded as he went to sit down with his Joes while Kamakura, Jinx, and Tiger Claw were listening to Mikey’s story about Kavaxas.

Mikey motioned his arms, “Hot Head tried to keep himself from returning to the Underworld, but Shredder grabbed him saying 'We do not belong here, Demon' and the two went back.”

The ninja trio were surprised

“I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to summon a Demodragon.” Kamakura surprisingly stated.

Jinx said in disbelief, “I can't believe the Shredder did something good in his life.”

Tiger Claw added in disbelief, “I can't believe there was a way to control a Demodragon.”

“Yeah, and most importantly, Mikey was the one who saved the day!” Pinkie cheered.

Tiger Claw nodded, “Well, something tells me we're going to get along very well.”

Snake Eye watched his students making some new friends. Under his mask, Snake Eyes smiled. Meanwhile, Sunset was looking for a place to sit, when she spotted someone wearing an emergency responder suit.

“Hi, is this seat taken?” Sunset asked.

The medical officer answered, “No.”

Sunset sat down next to the medical officer and introduced herself, “I'm Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you.” 

He shook her hand introduced himself, “Lifeline. Nice to meet you, Sunset. I'm G.I. Joe's chief medical officer. I'll be doing a psychical on you and your friends later today.”

Sunset could tell he was nervous and asked, “Are you alright Lifeline?” 

“Yeah, it's just... I'm a little out of my element.” Lifeline answered.

Sunset replied, “Leo and the others.”

“Yes. My job is to make sure everyone is in fighting shape, which is ironic because I'm a pacifist. What if I make a mistake that cost your friends' life. That's the same as me killing them myself. I can't have that on my conscious.” Lifeline explained, feeling worried.

Sunset told him, “I understand what you're saying, but if it makes you feel any better, Donnie and my pal, Fugitoid, would be willing to help you.”

Lifeline asked, “A doctor asking his patient for help?”

Sunset smiled, “Yes doc.” 

“You're right. I'll go talk to your friends and ask them immediately. Thanks Sunset.” Lifeline thanked her and sat towards Donnie to talk about his help.

As for Leo, he was discussing something with General Hawk.

General Hawk asked, “And your friends can back-up this recommendation?”

Leo explained, “General, our friend Mona might not be human. But she is part of the Salamandrian military and one of the most honor bound warriors we've fought along side with.”

General Hawk thought hard about this until he asked, “What's her rank?”

“Lieutenant. sir. Oh, by the way, Sunset informed me that Fugitoid wants to help out. He's more into the science field like my brother, Donnie. So, will you allow him to help us out?” Leo answered.

“Hmm…” General Hawk thought about it and answered, “Alright, make the necessary arrangements with her superiors. I'll have Lift Ticket pick her up and I want her in this base in half an hour.” General Hawk requested.

“Will do.” Leo nodded.

General Hawk turned his attention to everyone and announced, “I want everyone in the briefing room in ten minutes.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Everyone answered in unison.





Ten minutes later, “As everyone walked towards the briefing room, Snake Eyes continued to stare at Karai again until she had enough. 

Karai cut her attention to Snake Eyes and questioned him, “Alright, why are you staring at me? Because it's starting to creep me out! Not because you're a ninja anyway.”

Snake Eyes grabbed Karai's face and looked at her closely. Then, Snake Eyes realized something like a two-ton anvil hit him and he rushed away, leaving everyone confused.

Ripcord asked as the Arashikage ninja commando ran passed him, “What's up with him lately?”

Tunnel Rat shrugged as the Joes, ninjas, and friends entered the briefing room.

Scarlett answered, “He's been acting like this since he saw Karai.”

Duke assured his comrades, “Never mind him. We'll bring him up to speed after the debriefing. The rest of you, get ready to meet our tech expert.”

The group entered the briefing room and were amazed at the equipment.

Donnie gasped in awe, “It's beautiful.”

“Soak it in. But we have a strict store policy on breaking and buying.”

Everyone turned their attention and saw a new face in the room.

Hi-Tech introduced himself, “What's up everyone. I'm Hi-Tech. The inventor and genius behind G.I. Joe's amazing tech.”

Rainbow complimented, “Cool name. It suits you very well.”

“Thanks.” Hi-Tech replied as General Hawk entered the room. The Joes except the Ninja Turtles, Rainbooms, and their allies stood up to salute him.

General Hawk informed everyone, “At ease everyone.” Everyone relaxed as General Hawk resumed his speech, “Alright, let's begin the debriefing. Our first priority is to bring our guests up to speed on Cobra's key players.”

Hi-Tech used his laptop and brought up several mugshots on screen.

General Hawk asked, “Alright, who's first?”

Leo selected the mugshot of a man who looked like his head was made of iron and a soldier with a helmet.

“Destro.” General Hawk said, looking at Destro’s file.

Mikey whispered, “In my opinion, I would've named him 'Steelhead'.”

General Hawk said, “His real name is James McCullen Destro XXIV. The founder of M.A.R.S Industries. He supplies Cobra with advanced weaponry and his Iron Grenadiers, lead by his second-in-command, Sergeant Scrap-Iron, handles the heavy artillery of Cobra forces.”

Sunset whispered to Rocksteady, “That's the company you did business with, Rocksteady?”

Rocksteady whispered, “Da, but I had no idea I was supplying terrorists with weapons.”

“Who's the lady next to Destro?” Rarity raise her hand and asked, looking at the woman next to Destro’s mugshot.

General Hawk explained, “The woman in black clothing next to Destro is Anastasia DeCobray a.k.a. Baroness. She is extremely intelligent and skilled in hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons as well as all-ranged firearms.”

Rocksteady angrily blow air from his nose as Bebop noticed him.

Bebop asked, “Rocky, you okay bud?”

“I'm fine,” Rocksteady answered, but lied.

Then, the next mugshot Leo selected was Storm Shadow.

General Hawk said, “Ah yes, Storm Shadow. Former member of the Arashikage clan and Cobra's elite ninja.” 

“Yeah, yeah, we already know about Storm Shadow, so can we skip all the details about him please?” Raph rudely requested, crossing his arms.

“Raph, where are your manners?! That was very rude of you!” Rarity exclaimed.

General Hawk sighed, “Then we'll jump to his two lackeys: Slice and Slash. These two follow his orders to the letter. They're not as skilled as Storm Shadow, but still dangerous.”

Fluttershy raised her hand and asked, “Hold up. Did you say one of his men is named Slash?” 

General Hawk answered, “Yes. You know him?”

Fluttershy answered, “Well… It's just that, a good friend of ours has that name.”

Tunnel Rat added, “They're telling the truth, sir. RD told me about their pal.”

General Hawk understood their concern. “I understand your hesitation, but this Slash isn't the same as your friend.”

Fluttershy sighed in relief, “Oh, thank you, sir.”

General Hawk continued his briefing, “Next we have the twins from Corsica, Tomax and Xamot. These two are co-leaders of Cobra's elite troops, the Crimson Guard.” 

“Hey, I know them. Those are the guys that hired me to break in here. Although, they creeped the heck out of me.” Bebop commented while the rest of the Joes agreed to Bebop’s claim.

Bebop rubbed the back of his head and apologized, “Eh, sorry about that theft.”

General Hawk assured Bebop, “Relax, you didn't steal anything that couldn't be replace.”

Up next, the next mugshot of the Cobra operative was a man wearing an interesting outfit. Black face paint covered that looked like a mask, and body armor with a hoodie on. 

General Hawk continued, “This is Zartan, Cobra's master of disguise. His suit allows him to copy anyone's appearance. He's also capable of perfectly mimicking anyone's voice. And before anyone does anything they'll regret, we have confirmation he's currently at Cobra Capital.”

Everyone had their weapons pointed at each other in fear that anyone of them could be Zartan.

General Hawk assured everyone, “Hold up everyone. Zartan's not in the building. I repeat, Zartan is not in the building.”

Everyone slowly lowered their weapons and calmed themselves down.

“Plus, Zartan also has his own motorcycle gang who are also affiliated with Cobra. The Dreadnoks. Buzzer, Torch, Machete, Monkey Wrench, Zanya, Zarana, Copperhead, and a whole lot more members that I couldn't think of.” General Hawk said.

Rainbow informed the general, “We've got experience with gangs. Mainly beating the tar out of the Purple Dragons.”

General Hawk smiled, “Then I'm glad we'll be expanding your gang thrashing experience.”

The next mugshot was a unique individual that nobody was sure what he was.

“This right here is Overkill. Don't let his face fool you. He's actually a cyborg. He hates organics more than anything, even if they're on his side.” General Hawk explained.

Then, General Hawk noticed Fugitoid’s shameful expression as well as Fugitoid’s friends.

“What's wrong, Fugitoid?” Sunset asked.

Fugitoid stuttered, “It's just... his class of cyborgs gives us a bad name.”

General Hawk assured the robot, “Don't let this discourage you, Professor. You stand for the good ones.”

Fugitoid sighed in relief, “Oh, thank you, General Hawk.”

The next mugshot came a man wearing body armor and a ski mask.

General Hawk continued, “This is Firefly. We don't know who he is... Actually, not even Cobra knows who he really is. But he's their chief saboteur and a professional arsonist.”

Bebop commented, “Speaking as a former criminal... That's consider more of a sign of insanity than a crime.”

The next mugshot was a man who wore an eyepatch, body armor, a hunter’s hat, and a mechanical arm.

“Next is Cobra's Australian mercenary, Major Bludd.” General Hawk explained.

Bebop gasped in terror and spoke in Russian, “Spawn of the devil!”

Karai wondered, “Why Major Bludd?”

Leo asked, “Who's Major Bludd?”

General Hawk answered, “Major Bludd is an infantry commander with extensive combat experience, master tactician, and an expert in all-known weapons. A mercenary who has a nasty reputation as your companions clearly show.”

Leo noted, “I see.”

The last mugshot was a young man with a lab coat.

General Hawk announced, “Lastly is Dr. Mindbender, Cobra's personal Dr. Frankenstein. He's got more crimes against humanity and nature as long as a Boa Constrictor.”

Donnie whistled in impression.

Hi-Tech added, “Don't be too impressed. Mindmelter couldn't find a decent power supply with a kite and a key.”

Twilight and Donnie laughed at the science joke.

“Good one, Hi-Tech.” Twilight laughed.

General Hawk informed the teens, “I'm grateful you're all getting along well.”

On screen came a picture of Cobra Commander.

General Hawk announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Devil himself. This is Cobra Commander, leader of the Cobra organization. His list of crimes are so great, that if publicly revealed, would make him America's most wanted man.”

Leo asked, “Any info on who he really is under that mask?”

General Hawk answered, “None. But that doesn't make him any less dangerous.”

“If anything, I would like to take a personal crack at that man.” Duke said, wrapping his fist around with his other hand.

“Sounds mysterious, Ah believe,” Applejack said. “What do ya know of Cobra dat we don't know of?”

General Hawk replied, “We've been fighting them for a long time. They've done all sort of underhanded and evil things... Including kidnapping my son.”

Everyone in Leo's group were either shocked or furious.

Leo asked again, “So where does Stockman come into this?”

General Hawk pulled up a file footage that showed Slice and Slash kidnapping Stockman.

“A few weeks ago, Cobra kidnapped Baxter Stockman. At the time, we've had no leads on why. But if you claim he knows how to experiment with mutagen, now we know why.”

Leo requested, “Sir, permission to take over this briefing?”

“Permission granted.” General Hawk answered and stepped aside as Leo went up to the podium to take over the briefing.

Before Leo could start, Snake Eyes came in holding two pictures.

Karai asked, “What do you want?”

Snake Eyes showed her the picture of Master Splinter as a human with Tang Shen and Karai as a baby. Karai was stunned that Snake Eyes had that.

“Yes, that's me. How'd you get this photo?!” Karai questioned him.

Snake Eyes showed a picture of himself with Splinter with the pair acting as pals.

Karai asked, “You were good friends with my father?”

Snake Eyes nodded.

Tunnel Rat said, “Uh, rewind. I thought she was Little Miss Foot Clan.”

Leo and everyone else explained to the Joes, which stunned and saddened many.

“And that's the whole story.” Leo explained.

Snake Eyes’s heart broke upon hearing his good friend was dead.

“We're sorry, Snake Eyes.” Sunset apologized as Snake Eyes placed his hand on Sunset’s shoulder, saying that it was alright.

“Anything else you want to share with us, Leo?” General Hawk asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Yes, Slash said he can spare Mona.” Leo answered as his group cheered that their friend will be joining them.

General Hawk nodded, “Perfect. Now I want you all to report to the med bay with Lifeline for physicals.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Everyone answered in unison.

Lifeline replied. “Alright, if everyone will follow me, I, along with my assistants, will make sure everyone is ready for work.”

After the briefing was over, the Ninjas and Allies went to the med bay for their physicals.












Arctic Circle








Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman was held prisoner at Dr. Mindbender’s lab with Destro watching him at Cobra’s underwater base in the Arctic Circle.

Destro questioned the scientist, “How much longer till this stuff is ready?”

Stockman answered, “If I had more to work with, it would be!”

Destro reminded him with anger, “I don't think I need to remind you about your restraint, do I?”

Stockman nervously looked at the collar around his neck, filled with explosives. Then, Cobra Commander announced over the intercom, “Attention all Cobra Lieutenants, report to the throne room immediately!”

Destro demanded, “You're coming with me.” 

“Oh boy.” Baxter frightfully said as Destro dragged Baxter out of Dr. Mindbender’s lab to the throne room.

In the throne room, Cobra’s top lieutenants arrived as Baroness and Cobra Commander were in there talking.

Cobra Commander shouted, “Baroness! When I said I wanted the report, I DIDN'T WANT SOMETHING FROM A SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON!”

Baroness assured her leader, “Cobra Commander, I assure you this footage is real.”

Overkill appeared onscreen from his stasis pod and covered for Baroness, “I can verify the authenticity.”

Destro threw Stockman in front of Cobra Commander’s throne. He apologized, “Apologies for the delay, Cobra Commander. I had to bring in our guest.”

Cobra Commander angrily reminded him, “You know I hate apologies, Destro.”

Stockman spotted the footage Cobra Commander was watching and was stunned at the sight of his enemies.

“U-Uh… h-hi there. M-my name is Baxter Stockman.” Baxter stuttered, introducing himself to Cobra Commander.

Cobra Commander noted, “We know who you are Mr. Stockman.” 

“Uh, right. Well, it seems like you've got a bit of a new problem lately.”

“Get to the point or Buzzer will sharpen his saw with your skull.” Cobra Commander demanded.

Dr. Minbender observed and smirked, “Ooh, I like where this is going.”

Buzzer prepared his chainsaw to run, causing Stockman to gulp. “T-Those are my enemies you're fighting with and I can help you defeat them.” Stockman quickly pleaded.

Zartan huffed, “Ah smell a rat. Buzzer, go to town on him.”

Buzzer moved towards Stockman, but Cobra Commander signaled him to stand down.

Cobra Commander requested, “Make me an offer.”

“Okay. Um, have you ever heard of mutagen?” Baxter asked.

Cobra Commander answered, “Of course.”

“Well, I've hidden a large supply of it. If you allow me to work as a free agent, the mutagen along with my Stockmanbots are yours.”

Cobra Commander thought about it. “Tempting. How much are we talking?”

Stockman answered, “Two warheads worth. I also know where to find some additional muscles. Would anyone know the name of Xever Montes?”

After hearing that name, the Dreadnoks caught their attention.

Machete asked, “Hey, how do you know Switchblade?”

“He and I along with our former associates worked alongside with the Shredder for a number of occasions.” Stockman explained.

Cobra Commander asked, “And you're sure he'll fight for Cobra?”

Stockman answered, “You, no. For the chance at revenge, absolutely.”

Cobra Commander said, “Alright, Stockman. You've got yourself a deal. Destro, get that collar off of him. Overkill, get your workshop ready for upgrades. Zartan, you and the Dreadnoks prepare for the new arrival.”

“Yes, Cobra Commander.” Cobra’s top lieutenants answered.

After the debriefing, everyone left as Baroness caught up with Destro.

Baroness informed him, “I almost forgot to tell you. I ran into our old playmate, Steranko.”

Destro became puzzled with her information, “I thought he was in the hospital, love.”

“The other one, Ivan.” Baroness reminded her boyfriend.

Destro realized who she was talking about, “Oh, that guy. I'd have thought he'd have stayed hidden.”

“Well, it appears that he's back, but in a different form. I wonder if he'll ever want this back?” Baroness said as she brought out a gold wedding ring decorated with the hammer/sickle insignia on a chain.

Destro answered, “Honestly, you're as bad as Zartan with your trophies.”

Baroness chuckled, “Why thank you, my love.”





Back in Dr. Mindbender’s lab, Dr. Mindbender approached Baxter as he was working on his Stockmanbots. “Mr. Stockman, it seems like you saved your own skin. I'm impressed. So, I was wondering if you got the chance to work with me. Think about it. Two scientists working together for global domination. So, what do you think? It's got a nice ring to it.” He said.

“Hmm… sounds interesting. It pretty beats my previous employers. You know what, fine. I'll even show you how the mutagen works.”

“That sounds great, Mr. Stockman. I look forward to working with you.” Dr. Mindbender answered with a wicked smile on his face, feeling like he’s got something planned on his mind for Stockman.





In the lower levels of the base, Overkill was in his stasis pod and griped when he was sure he was alone.

“Worthless organics. My mechanical genius wasted on modifying shoddy robots like a simple mechanic.” Overkill vented until he saw Fugitoid in the security footage from The Pit. 

Overkill was fixated by Fugitoid, “Hmmm, perhaps I've found myself an accomplice.”





As for Cobra Commander, he watched the rest of the footage in the throne room, staring at his nemesis, Duke.

“Mark my words, Duke. If these new headaches have any attachments to you or any of your flunkies, I'll make sure you all watch as I kill your precious friends. Because what better torture is the knowledge they died for following all of you.” Cobra Commander vowed, sinisterly laughed at his statement. 

Suddenly, a lone Viper Commando was sneaking around while Cobra Commander continued to laugh in his throne room.
> New Mutant Recruits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out in the Egyptian desert, a lone G.I Joe helicopter flew towards the Pit.

“So, is this the first time teaming with a Black Ops group?” The pilot asked.

Mona sat in the passenger section and answered, “Yes, but I hope to provide excellent support.”

“Ah, my friends will be happy to hear that. My name's Lift Ticket, I'll be providing you and your friends aerial support.”

“A valuable support, indeed.” Mona nodded.

“Thanks,” Lift Ticket said as he started contacting the Joes. “General Hawk, this is Lift Ticket. I have the new arrival and request permission to land.”

General Hawk answered, “Permission granted.”

As Lift Ticket started landing, Mona was impressed by the structure and vehicles she saw.

Mona grinned, “Not bad for Earth Technology.”

Lift Ticket noted, “You can thank Hi-Tech for that.”

As Mona exited out of the helicopter, her friends’ voices shouted, “Mona!”

Mona smiled as she spotted her friends. The Turtles, Rainbooms, and Allies ran up to Mona and greeted their longtime friend.

“It's good to see everyone again.”

Sunset beamed, “Great to see you too, Mona.”

“Lieutenant.” General Hawk walked up to Mona as she saluted. “At ease, I'm General Hawk. Leader of G. I. Joe. By your friend's recommendation, you're now acting Commanding Officer.”

“Understood, sir. Thank you for this opportunity to work with your unit.” Mona said and shook hands with General Hawk.

“You should be thanking Leonardo. He's the one who gave me the recommendation.”

Mona looked at a smiling Leo, who just shrugged his shoulders.  

“Wow, an actual alien!” Tunnel Rat exclaimed, popping out a vent from underneath.

Rainbow corrected him, “An alien salamander to be specific.”

“Either way, I hope you actually come in peace.”

Mona chuckled, “Rapheal showed me the movie. I do come in peace.”

Heavy Duty came by carrying a crate. “Sorry about Tunnel Rat's lame joke. He has bugs for a brain.”

“It's fine. Let me help you with that.”

Heavy Duty smiled, “Great, cause this right here is for your pals.”

Mona grabbed the other end and helped Heavy Duty drop it in front of Leo's party.

“Boys and girls... Merry Christmas.” Heavy Duty announced as he ripped it open and inside were G.I Joe standardized versions of their respective weapons and armor.

Raph cheered, holding up his upgraded sais. “HO-OH YEAH!”

Donnie observed his weapon until he smiled. He commented, “Very impressive.”

Leo grabbed two katanas with the Hamato symbol carved into them.

General Hawk told Leo and his allies, “If you're going to be fighting with us, you'll need our gear. I'll also be asking you to wear some special communication devices in case of the need for medical evacuation.”

“Understood sir.” Leo confirmed.

Everyone was grabbing their respective weapons, except for Fluttershy, who was glaring at a Dreadnok’s profile from Tunnel Rat’s phone.

Tunnel Rat noticed her and asked, “Hey Flutters, you oh... Uh-oh.”

Fluttershy angrily asked, “You knew about him, Tunnel Rat?”

Tunnel Rat was terrified of Fluttershy when she got like that around her one trigger word. “Uh, yeah. The Joes and I met them a couple of years ago back at a small town when we were on the run.”

Applejack said, “Ah hate bullies as much as you, pal. But that doesn't sound like something Fluttershy would get mad at.”

Tunnel Rat noted, “She's referring to Gnawgahyde.”

Shini asked, “Who?”

“A member of the Dreadnoks. A poac...” General Hawk began.

Tunnel Rat interrupted him, “Sir, please. I beg you not to finish that word!”

Everyone else was confused, but Rainbow Dash was just as terrified as Tunnel Rat.”

General Hawk raised his eyebrow and looked at Tunnel Rat. “Something you want to share with the class, Tunnel Rat?”

Tunnel Rat answered, “Uh, Fluttershy. Why don't you kindly escort your dear friend, Mona, to Lifeline for the routine physical while RD and I explain to the General and the rest of your friends about your... Sensitive word, please.”

Fluttershy took Mona out of the hanger bay, leaving a relieved Tunnel Rat and Rainbow Dash with their comrades.

Tunnel Rat sighed, “Well that was close.”

Rainbow nodded, “Agreed.”

Mikey asked everyone, “Dudes, what was that all about?”

Tunnel Rat questioned his friend, “You never told them, Rainbow?”

“Didn't want the risk of setting her off.”

Karai asked, “You two are afraid of Fluttershy?”

“Only when she hears the word... Poacher.” Tunnel Rat answered.

Karai understood them, “Well that makes sense.”

Everyone murmured in agreement.

Heavy Duty told Tunnel Rat, “She must really hate that word if it scares you two.”

“Trust me, pal. That's one bomb I never want to set off again.” He answered.

Before anyone else could ask, Scarlet rushed in.

“General, our spy in Cobra got some information for us. Says it's important.”

Leo questioned, “Spy?”

“One of yours?” Sunset asked.

General Hawk answered, “We've planted a Spy in Cobra ranks for intelligent purposes. Normally, I'd tell everyone the identity of this spy. But because of the severity of this situation, Leo and Sunset will be the only one to know.”

Leo nodded, “We understand. So, what's the information?”





Back in Cobra HQ, Stockman entered Cobra Commander’s throne room.

“You better not be wasting my time, Stockman.”

“Don't you worry, sir. I brought in an old acquaintance who I've worked with will help us.” Stockman said as two B.A.Ts escorted Fishface to Cobra Commander.

“This is your recommendation? A WALKING FISH?!”

Fishface kneeled down in respect, “Cobra Commander. It is an honor to meet you. My resumé will help you change your mind.”

One of the B.A.T.s walked up to Cobra Commander with the resumé in the robot’s hand. He snatched the paper and read it.

Cobra Commander was pleased with the resumé and answered, “On second thought, he might be useful.”

“Oy, is that really you, Switchblade?”

Fishface turned and saw his Dreadnok friends.

“Zartan? Dreadnoks?” Fishface questioned with shock and awe.

Torch blurted, “No way, it is you, Xev. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.”

Fishface could help but smile at his old friends.

Buzzer said in amazement, “Crikey mate, we knew you were into exotic foods.”

Machete added, “But this is ridiculous. What happened to you?”

Fishface sighed, “Si, mi amigos. I would love nothing more than to be human again.”

“Well, today's your lucky day, Switchblade. Mindbender and Stockman can fix you right up.” Zartan announced.

Stockman said, “I might be able to use my de-mutated DNA to synthesize Retro Mutagen.”

Fishface was surprised by the news. “Really? You can really turn me back into human?”

Mindbender answered, “Of course. Step into my lab and we'll get started.”

“Sounds more like a spider welcoming his meal.”

Storm Shadow stepped out of the shadows.

Cobra Commander yelled at the ninja, “STORM SHADOW, I DEMAND TO KNOW WHERE YOU DISAPPEARED TO!”

Storm Shadow answered, “I was getting MY recommendation.”

And to Fishface and Stockman’s surprise, out stepped Takeshi a.k.a. Tiger Claw.

“Oooooh, him I like. What's your name?” Cobra Commander questioned.

“My name is Tiger Claw.” 

Cobra Commander nodded, “Hmm, interesting.”

“You people dare drag me into this place?”

Baxter assured him, “Easy, Tiger Claw. They have pretty good offer.”

Fishface noticed Tiger Claw had his tail. “I see you have your tail back.”

Takeshi scoffed, “Don't waste my time.”

“Then I'll cut to the chase. Help Cobra take over the world and you'll be rewarded. I just need you to deal with them.” Cobra Commander offered and pointed his staff to the screen with Leo and company.

“No.” Takeshi answered.

Everyone was taken off guard and Cobra Commander shouted, “What?!”

Takeshi swore his oath, “I'm honoring my truce with my former enemies. Get someone else to do your dirty work.”

Cobra Commander replied, “Unfortunately, I chose Mindbender as my scientist for a reason. SEIZE HIM!” 

Tiger Claw armed himself with his laser pistol on his left hand and his metal arm on his right as he turned it into a laser gun as the Dreadnoks armed their weapons for a fight.

As the Dreadnoks closed in, Storm Shadow readied himself.

Takeshi said, “I've fought enemies tougher than all of you. You really think you could beat me?”

“Of course not. NOW!” Zartan answered.

Storm Shadow came at Tiger Claw from behind and threw a few quick jabs at Tiger Claw. Storm Shadow then knocked Tiger Claw over, unable to move.

Zartan laughed, “Stupid Tiger. Didn't even realize a fake-out when he saw it in front of him.”

Everyone laughed at Tiger Claw's misfortune, including Cobra Commander.

Cobra Commander sighed, “Alright, haul him to Mindbender's laboratory. We'll collar him later.”

Zartan bowed, “Right away, boss.” 

Just as the Dreadnoks dragged the unconscious tiger out of the throne and the rest of the goons exited, a Viper Trooper rushed in.

“Sir, Baroness is asking for you.”

Cobra Commander answered, “Bring her in.”

The Viper Trooper bowed, “Yes sir.”

As the Baroness walked in, the Viper Trooper, who was secretly the G.I Joe spy, secretly recorded their conversation.





Back in the Pit, Lifeline was in the medical room checking the Ninjas’ condition while Donnie helped.

Lifeline told Mona, “Okay, as far as my medical knowledge goes, your in fighting condition, ma'am.”

Mona nodded, “Thank you.”

Then, the intercom announced, “Attention! Attention! All combat personnel report to the briefing room for an important announcement.”

As Fluttershy and Mona walked towards the briefing room, Mona noticed her friend's thoughtful expression. “Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy turned her attention to Mona. “Hmm?”

“Something troubling you?”

Fluttershy didn't want to say her hated word, but she needed to talk to someone about it. “Do know the concept of "Illegally Hunting Animals"?”

“Yes, my people call them 'Nik'hals'. It means hunters without honor. Why?” Mona answered.

“Cobra has one.” 

Mona assured her, “Fluttershy, I know your love for animals is great and I can only imagine how strong your hatred is towards these kind of hunters. But if you strike down an enemy who has done evil, you become just as bad as them.” 





While Mona and Fluttershy continued discussing, the Joes and Ninjas were at the briefing room.

General Hawk announced, “Alright, now that we have our 5 leaders, our spy has sent us an audio feed from Cobra.”

Hi-Tech played the audio from Cobra HQ. From Baroness’s voice, “My fortress in the Russian mountains is complete and ready to begin our operation.”

“Excellent. Prepare to send out our new mind control signal all throughout Russia. Take Major Bludd with you as additional support.” Cobra Commander said.

“Right away, Commander. Oh, and Destro was willing to give me Sergeant Scrap-Iron. I hope you don't mind.”

Cobra Commander replied, “Fine. But don't you fail me Baroness with your mission. Is that clear?”

Hi-Tech turned off the recording and General Hawk said, “Alright everyone, we have a location in Bear Paw's Canyon.” 

Rocksteady said, “I know that region of Russia. My brother and I used to scout there when we were teens.”

“Then you'll be accompanying the group. Scarlet?”

Scarlet answered, “Right here, sir.”

General Hawk told her, “You'll be in charge of this operation.”

Rarity raised her hand and announced, “I'll join too, sir.”

Longshot added, “I volunteer as well.”

Mikey cheered, “Sign me up.”

Casey spoke up and raised his hand, “Yeah, me too!”

Tunnel Rat answered, “I’ll go too.”

Tiger Claw raised his hand, “I'll go, sir. I'm ready for action.”

“Easy, rookie. You got a long career ahead of you.” General Hawk informed him

Rainbow then noticed Tunnel Rat feeling nervous. “Why the long face, Tunnel Rat?”

“Well, it's a funny story, Rainbow,” Tunnel Rat sheepishly said. “You see…”
> Operation: Arctic Arsenal - Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks ago, every Joe operative gathered around the cafeteria to witness a food eating battle between Roadblock and Tunnel Rat with a pile of hamburgers on the middle of their table. 

Lady Jaye informed the two contestants, “Okay, you two. You both know the rules.”

Flint stated while bringing out the scoreboard, “That's right. You stop and you lose.”

“Ha! The little man is going down,” Roadblock said.

Tunnel Rat replied, “The bigger they are, the tougher they fall.”

“You gonna talk more trash or are you going to eat?” Roadblock asked him.

“Not so fast, my big amigo. The winner of this contest should get more than just full. Now let's make this more interesting.” Tunnel Rat offered.

Roadblock paused for a moment, “Hold on. Let me get this straight. First, I get to take you down. And now I get to take your money, too?” 

Tunnel Rat replied, “We'll see.” 

“Name your terms.”

As the contest was about to start, Duke, Scarlett, and Hi-Tech entered the cafeteria.

Hi-Tech showed them, “You see.”

“Uh, well now this should be fun,” Duke smiled.

Scarlett replied, “Yeah, in a really gross way.”

“Hey you guys, is money really that cool?” Kamakura asked. “I know, maybe the loser should do something as punishment.”

The two contestants heard Kamakura’s suggestion and Roadblock got an idea, snapping his finger. 

“A great idea. Now what would be the worst thing that I could do?” 

Tunnel Rat answered, “Nah, it's probably the worst thing that I can make you do.”

“Alright, lemme think.”

“Okay, here it is. I got it,” Tunnel Rat suggested. The loser…”

“Yeah.”

Tunnel Rat continued, looking at Snake Eye’s crew. “Will train with these guys and become a ninja.”

“What?!” Snake Eyes’s students exclaimed, thinking of the perilous scenarios that either of those two contestants would be in if they lose.

The two contestants laughed it off as Duke, Scarlett, and Hi-Tech exited the cafeteria.

Duke said, “Welp, I've seem enough.” 

“Me too,” Scarlett agreed.

“You said it, road ninja,” Tunnel Rat cackled.

Roadblock got that determined look om his face. “Well I'm ready, ninja rat.”

“Alright then, good luck you two,” Heavy Duty said and blew the whistle.

The hamburger eating contest was off to a good start and the two Joes started eating. Roadblock ate up to more than 10 while Tunnel Rat hurried and eat his burgers. The scores were up to more than 40 just minutes later and the crowd was stunned. The contestants’ stomachs were about to be full as they reached for their last burger. They were nervous, sweating as ever.

Roadblock offered, “Go ahead, bro.” 

“After you,” Tunnel Rat replied.

At the last second, Roadblock gobbled up his last burger. “Ha, that's it!”

As fir Tunnel Rat, he was fading and looked at the scoreboard. He was one point away to tie up the score, Roadblock with 78 while Tunnel Rat at 77. While Tunnel Rat was about to eat his last burger, Heavy Duty entered and brought out more hamburgers on a silver platter.

“Here's Round 2 if y'all are finished,” Heavy Duty informed the two.

Tunnel Rat’s stomach couldn’t take it and Tunnel Rat fell in defeat, making Roadblock smile.

“I'm the winner! Looks like you got yourself a new ninja rat,” Roadblock cheered as Snake Eyes’s students aheepishly smiled.

“Yeah, ninja rat. With a humongous, super-sized stomach ache,” Tunnel Rat groaned in pain.

Roadblock offered him his hand, “Come on.”

“Okay, help me.”

He lifted Tunnel Rat up and told him, “You know you almost had me, bro. You did good.”

Tunnel Rat replied, “Thanks, Roadblock. You got the heart of a champion and the stomach power to go along with it too.”

“Are you really gonna do this?” Roadblock asked.

“Yep.”

Roadblock chuckled, “Heh heh, you a ninja. It's going to be pretty hard work when you get back into top physical shape.”





Back in the present, the Joes, Ninjas, and allies were on route via jet to their location, Bear’s Paw Canyon. 

General Hawk appeared onscreen and everyone turned their attention to him. 



General Hawk: Welcome to Bear Paw's Canyon, team. The M.A.R.S. facility, codenamed Genesis, is about twenty klicks to your north. Based on the intel that Breaker collected, the research facility has been working with microscopic tech called Nanomites. The remote location is a failsafe so that any accidents involving the metal-eating nanomites would only destroy the facility and not…



Casey interrupted him, “With all due respect, Hawk, sir. This history lesson of yours is starting to bore me.”



General Hawk: Stow it, Casey.



Scarlett chimed in, “Sir, I believe what Casey is saying is that we should be tracking Baroness. The M.A.R.S. facilities can wait.”



General Hawk: Fair enough, but watch that attitude, Casey Jones! Now go track down the Baroness and figure out what they're planning while you're at it. Hawk out.



As their jet was almost heading towards their location, Scarlett informed everyone, “Alright everyone, we're going to touchdown a few miles away from the facility close to a Cobra barricade. Expect heavy resistance. If anyone uncovers any intelligence on them is considered Priority 1 information. Do I make myself clear?”

Her squad responded, “Yes ma'am!”





After they reached down to their location, everyone exited their jet and General Hawk contacted Scarlett’s team again.

“Yo Joe! Before you begin the rescue op, let's check in with Sgt. Stalker. Stalker, any intel on your end?”



Sgt. Stalker: We're in luck! We intercepted a transmission indicating that they are holding three prisoners at a small outpost on the other side of this ridge.”



“So, find the outpost, find the prisoners,” Tiger Claw said.



Sgt. Stalker: Looks that way. Better double-time it before they move our comrades to another location.



“Thanks, Stalker. Ready to move out, team?” Scarlett asked.

“You bet, vamanos!” Long Range added.

Mikey, Rarity, and Tiger Claw took to the treetops while everyone else walked through the snowy forest on ground.

“So what’s my first lesson for my ninja training?” Tunnel Rat asked.

Mikey called, “Well for starters, always be vigilant to your surroundings. You'll never know what to expect.”

“And also,” Rarity shouted, “Stop eating bugs! It's disgusting!”

Tunnel Rat heard her as he was approaching towards a cockroach and was about to eat it. He listened and walked away to catch up with his comrades.

Scarlett asked, “Rocksteady, how does our pace look from the path?”

“It looks clear, no sign of traps around here.” Rocksteady answered.

As they continued trekking through the snowy forest, turrets began to pop up and fired lasers at Scarlett’s squad.

Scarlett alerted everyone, “Look out, turrets!” 

Everyone got to cover as Casey told her, “Don't worry, Scarlett. We've handled these things before and we turn 'em into scrap metal.”

“I can't get a clear shot.” Long Range spoke up, struggling to find an open line of fire on the turret. 

“Let me help,” Rarity threw up a diamond shield that Long Range got behind, blocking the turrets’ lasers.

“Gracias, amigo.” Long Range said and shot one while Casey swung his hockey stick and fired his explosive pucks at the other turret.

“Goongala!” Casey yelled.

Tiger Claw rushed forwarded and sliced a few turrets to ribbons with his scythe. “Goongala?”

Mikey answered, “It’s a catchphrase, dude.”

Tiger Claw nodded, “You guys are a whole lot different from our sensei.”

A turret suddenly popped out in front of him, but Tiger Claw shot it with his sawed-off shotgun blaster.

“Says the ninja using a blaster,” Mikey noted.

After dealing with some turrets, they came across a big log, blocking their path. 

Scarlett informed everyone, “Looks like they’re trying to block the road.” 

“Da, looks like I'll have to make one!” Rocksteady shouted and charged right through the big log, breaking it in half.



Sgt. Stalker: Nice one, Steranko. I'll give you a 9.8 for that.



Rocksteady replied, “Can the colorful commentary, comrade. I'm trying to work over here.”

I hear that. We got some Joes to rescue. Heads up, there's movement ahead. 

Sgt. Stalker was indeed correct as the scanners in the communications room picked up four Cobra troopers rushing in and firing their laser rifles at their enemies. 

“Vipers, up ahead!” Long Range yelled.

“We can handle it,” Mikey said as he, Rarity, and Tiger Claw rushed at them.

“Let me make it fair.” Scarlett fired her plasma bow and nailed the Cobra Viper weapons out of their hands.

The Ninjas took the Vipers down with their ninja punches and kicks. After that, the Vipers were dissolved.

Rarity covered her mouth and gasped, terrified of seeing a person dissolved. “Oh dear.”

Tunnel Rat said, “Man, it's so weird the way they just… dissolve when they go down.”

Scarlett replied, “That's what happens when you're pumped full of performance enhancing, mind-controlling nanomites.”

“I'm just grateful we freed Mercer from it,” Long Range said.

Mikey asked, “Who?”

“Uh, who are you talking about?” Casey asked.

Scarlett answered, “We have a former Cobra Viper among our ranks. He turned traitor to Cobra and joined us.”

“Okay, that sounds cool. At least he's on our side.” Mikey said as the rest of the team trekked through the snowy forest.

While they continued walking, a hidden security camera was monitoring them.





Scrap-Iron watched the footage from the prison facility. “Looks like I get to personally take them out myself.”

Then, Baroness came on screen. “Scrap-Iron, status report.” 

Scrap-Iron answered. “Everything's going according to plan, ma'am. The signal is being prepared and Major Bludd took the prisoners to the outpost.”

“Excellent. Deal with the intruders as you wish, but the rhino, I want him alive.” 

“Understood.” Scrap-Iron nodded as Baroness signed off from communication.





Back in the tundra, Scarlett’s team encountered more Cobra troopers, but with special armor.

Breaker chimed in and informed Scarlett’s team through the comms.



Breaker: Careful, these M.A.R.S. Troopers have shields that can deflect ranged attacks. Get up close and personal. Those shields won't do squat against good old fashioned fisticuffs! 



Mikey then got an idea in his mind, “I got an idea. Tiger Claw, Rarity, you two come with me and rush at him in a triangle. Scarlett, can the rest of you give us covering fire?”

Scarlett nodded as the M.A.R.S. troopers activated their shields. The rest of Scarlett’s team drew their fire away from the Ninjas as they attacked in a triangle.

Tiger Claw thought to himself, “Sensei would be impressed by their creativity.”

The shields didn’t work for the M.A.R.S. troopers as they were getting beaten up close and personal by the Ninjas until the troopers were dissolved.

“All right everyone, let's move out.” Scarlett ordered as everyone proceeded forward until they were confronted by more M.A.R.S. troopers and turrets guarding the big gate led by Scrap-Iron.

Scrap-Iron ordered, “OPEN FIRE!” 

“Take cover!” Scarlett yelled and everyone took cover as the M.A.R.S. troopers and turrets opened fired.

Rocksteady asked, “Comrade Scarlett, what is the plan?”

Scarlett then spotted a sniper’s spot on a cliff nearby the trees leading to the wall.

“I have an idea,” Scarlett said.

Rocksteady replied, “You have?”

“Tiger Claw, Mikey, you two get to the wall via the treetops and plant the explosives.” Scarlett ordered and tossed them the satchel with C-4. The two ninjas nodded as Scarlett continued, “Long Range, take up a sniping position and cover them. Take Rarity and Casey with for support.”

“Sí! Vamanos amigos,” Long Range said as Casey and Rarity followed.

Tiger Claw held on to the satchel. “Alright, let's do this.”

Scarlett and Rocksteady drew fire away from the two teams. While the two heroes were busy with the Cobra troopers, Tiger Claw and Mikey climbed up to the treetops and reached towards the wall to plant some C4 while Long Range, Casey, and Rarity were dealing with the turrets. However, Long Range grimaced, feeling a bit of pain on his leg earlier as he took cover for a sniping position.

Casey alerted Rarity, “Hey Rares, looks like we got company.”

Rarity threw up a diamond shield as a few Cobra troops tried to ambush them.

Long Range asked, “Need any help?”

Rarity answered, “Just help Mikey and Tiger Claw. We'll handle them.”

“On it,” Long Range replied as he shot some turrets from his sniping position to cover Mikey and Tiger Claw.

The two ninjas jumped from branch to branch until they reached the wall.

“Grab hold,” Tiger Claw said as Mikey grabbed his scythe. As Tiger Claw was being pulled up, a Winter Viper Trooper came from behind.

Mikey shouted, “Look out!”

Tiger Claw turned around to see a Winter Viper Trooper getting ready to attack him. However, Long Range nailed the Viper just in time.

Long Range called, “You two can thank me later.”

The pair rushed up to the command seat and found Scrap-Iron focusing on Scarlett and Rocksteady.

Scarlett told Scrap-Iron, “Looks like you're all alone, Scrappy. What are you going to do now?”

“Da, you want as they say, the easy way or the hard way?” Rocksteady questioned him.

“How about a third option?” Scrap-Iron answered.

“Huh?” Scarlett and Rocksteady said.

Scrap-Iron threw a smoke pellet and escaped from the two heroes. 

Scarlett growled, “Dang it, he got away.”

Mikey and Tiger Claw rushed up to Scarlett and Rocksteady. “Charges are set,” Mikey said.

Tiger Claw added, “And ready to blow.”

“Excellent. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Scarlett announced.

As for the rest of Scarlett’s team, they were almost done dealing with the last round of turrets and M.A.R.S. troopers.

Casey informed everyone, “I think that's the last one.”

“Alright everyone, stand back!” Tunnel Rat signaled as everyone moved away from the gate until he activated the detonator.

Everyone took cover as the gate exploded. After the smoke was cleared, everyone moved out. Scarlett said, “Nice work. Move out, team!”

While Scarlett’s team went through the gate and continued going through the forest, Breaker alerted everyone from the comms, “Heads up, I picked up a burst transmission of data indicating a prisoner transfer to a location just ahead of you.”

“That's got to be one of ours! Thanks, Breaker. My team and I will secure the area,” Scarlett told him as everyone continued exploring through the snowy forest until they saw a gate blocking their path to their right. Then, Donnie chimed in via comms. 



Donnie: Donnie here, check this out! A functioning M.A.R.S. force field! I thought those were just prototypes.



“Hmm, how do we access this gate, darling?” Rarity asked.



Donnie: Those force fields eat up a lot of juice, so there should be a power supply nearby.



Scarlett’s team went to find the power supply for the gate until they were stopped by a big, unmanned laser turret guarding the blockade and behind it were more Cobra troopers guarding the generators. Then, Twilight chimed in through comms.



Twilight Sparkle: There's a couple of generators up ahead. Take them out and the shield will go down.



While everyone went to deal with more of Cobra’s forces, Long Range looked through his scope and spotted a fuel canister right next to one of the generators.

“Boo-yah!” Long Range fired his sniper rifle and the fuel canister exploded right next to the generator, but it wasn’t enough. Scarlett, Rarity, and Tunnel Rat helped out too and destroyed the first generator with their weapons.

“Khoroshiy. One more generator to go,” Rocksteady told everyone as Tiger Claw informed his team through comms. 

“Me and Mikey are handling this one. Head back to the gate, we'll meet up with you guys there.”

Mikey and Tiger Claw head to the right to find the second generator while the rest of the team head back to the M.A.R.S. gate. Then, two more Cobra troopers entered the fray and guarded the second generator.

“It's funny how they think a bunch of grunts can defeat two highly trained ninjas. Right, Mikey?” Tiger Claw asked, getting ready to use his scythe.

“Yeah. I mean, they don't do ninja training. That's for sure, dude,” Mikey replied, getting ready to use his nunchuks as the two Cobra grunts open fired at them.

The pair dodged with ease and attacked hard. As they dissolved, Mikey felt sorry for them.

Mikey said, “That ain't right.”

Tiger Claw alerted him, “Mikey, I found the second generator!”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Mikey ran up to Tiger Claw, which he found a grenade launcher from one of the Cobra Vipers.

“Fire in the hole!” Tiger Claw shouted as he fired the grenade launcher at the second generator.

Hi-Tech chimed in through comms, “Excellent! That tactic should work for just about anything with an external power source.” 

“Power's off. Nice work.” Scarlett said.

“Uh, Scarlett. We got incoming,” Rarity called.

Scarlett replied, “Well that woke them up.”

“Hang on Scarlett! We're on our way!” Mikey answered as the rest of Scarlett’s team entered the gate to fight a few more Cobra troops while the two ninjas followed. 





Meanwhile, Baroness watched the battle from the surveillance room in her fortress with interest.

“Hmm, perhaps Storm Shadow was wrong about these ninjas.”





After dealing with the Cobra troops, they continued moving forward.

Casey called Donnie via comms, “Hey Donnie, you and your tech friends have any more clues where their kidnapped Joe is?”



Donnie: Dial Tone is analyzing the transmission we intercepted. She should have something for us soon.



“Just make it snappy. I don't want to have to double back to find him or her,” Casey said.  

After going through the forest, they were stopped by a big door to the facility where the prisoner was kept. 

Mikey and Tiger Claw joined in and Mikey joked, “That is one big door. Keep an eye out for a gigantic doorbell.”



Sgt. Stalker: No need for that - M.A.R.S.' gating technology is usually controlled by computer access panels. Look around, there should be one nearby…



“Found it!” Scarlett called as she saw the computer panel across from her.



Sgt. Stalker: Okay then, never mind.



Scarlett went to hack the computer panel to access the entrance. “Alright team, let's move!” Scarlett called and the rest of the team followed her to the next area.





Meanwhile at the facility, Major Bludd got a transmission from Baroness and appeared onscreen. 

“Howdy Baroness, what's going on?” Major Bludd asked.

Baroness answered, “We got a rat infestation that needs to be taken care of in your area. Take care of it.”

“Yes ma'am.” Major Bludd nodded as Baroness signed off from transmission and Bludd knew what she was talking about. He armed himself ready to hunt some Joes and their friends. 

Suddenly, Cobra Commander came onscreen, “BARONESS!”

Baroness saluted to her leader, “Cobra Commander. I was just dealing with...”

Cobra Commander interrupted her, “NEVER MIND THAT! Do you know where Storm Shadow disappeared to?!”

Baroness answered, “I don't know. But why should I care? He's a ninja.” 

“DON'T GET SNIPPY WITH ME! He left the base half an hour ago. A Viper reported to me that he was heading in your direction.”

“Hmph. I assure you that I didn't summon him here.” Baroness answered.

Cobra Commander replied, “I don't know what's going on with him. Ever since he got back with Tiger Claw, he's been acting strange.”

Baroness gave Cobra Commander a strange look, raising her eyebrow. Cobra Commander backtracked his words, “Okay, poor choice of words. But my point is he's acting more independent than I prefer.”

“Why? Is it because of those ninja brats?” Baroness asked.

“I'm not sure. But I don't like this one bit. If you see him, tell him to report back to base.” Cobra Commander ordered and hung up.

Then, Storm Shadow dropped down from the shadows which Baroness knew he was in her fortress. “Much appreciation for your discretion on my arrival, Baroness.”

Baroness turned around to see Storm Shadow, “Storm Shadow. What a pleasant surprise to see you. You know, I had a little chat with Cobra Commander and he wants me to tell you to report back to base immediately.”

“I will... After I deal with those mockeries of the Hamato Clan.” Storm Shadow answered.

Baroness sighed, “Fine. Deal with these vermin. But leave the rhino to me,” She said while admiring her trophy ring. “I want to have some fun with him.”

Storm Shadow walked away, rolling his eyes and whispered in a disgusted tone. “Faithless witch.”





Meanwhile, Scarlett’s team entered the next area until they got an incoming call from Breaker.



Breaker: We've narrowed down your target's location.

Dial Tone: What do you mean "we"? My new friends and I have been doing all the work.

Breaker: Stow it, Dial Tone.

Dial Tone: In spite of Breaker's constant nagging, Donnie and I have managed to pinpoint the prisoner's location. He's somewhere beyond that gate.



Dial Tone then suddenly became alarmed and alerted Scarlett’s team. 



Dial Tone: Hold on, I've got enemies inbound. They must know you're coming.



Major Bludd and more of his Cobra troops guarded the entrance gate of the facility where the prisoner was being held. 

Long Range replied, “Looks like they're trying to prevent a reunion.”

“How about we disappoint them?!” Scarlett suggested.

Scarlett’s team approached their enemies as Major Bludd fired a warning shot. The heroes dodged his attack before Major Bludd introduced himself, “G'day, mates. Allow me to introduce myself to the newbies. I'm Major Bludd.”

Tiger Claw said, “I can take him easily.”

Mikey restrained him, “Take it easy, TC.”

Scarlett ordered, “Stand down, recruit.”

“You ain't getting your comrades back in your arms anytime soon, Joes. Baroness has some big plans in store for them.” Major Bludd informed his old and new enemies. “Come on now. Don't be shy newbies. I ain't gonna bite.”

“We ain't afraid of you, you New Zealand loser!” Mikey yelled, insulting him.

“I'm AUSTRALIAN, you freak! Cobra units, open fire!” Major Bludd and his men opened fire on Scarlett’s team as they scattered to find cover. 

Then, Dial Tone contacted Tunnel Rat, “Tunnel Rat, how about you patch me into their terminals so I can open that gate?”

“Okay, I'm on it…” Tunnel Rat answered. “Yo! Can somebody cover me while I patch into their terminals please?”  

Scarlett turned to Rarity and informed her, “Rarity, hang back and bring up a shield. Everyone else with me.”

Rarity nodded in determination, “Yes ma'am.”

Scarlett’s team brought the fight to Bludd’s forces while Tunnel Rat was working on the terminals. Rocksteady threw Tiger Claw straight to Major Bludd, only for some of his subordinates to take the beating for him.

Tiger Claw said, “Let's dance, boys!”

While the rest were busy, Tunnel Rat was done patching through the terminals.

“Okay, Dial Tone. You're patched in.”

Dial Tone informed the heroes via comms. 



Dial Tone: Looks like there's a firewall in place. I can't open the gate from here. Team, see if you can find and activate the transmission terminal. Once activated, I should be able to hack the system and open up the gate.

Donnie: Don't you mean "we" Dial Tone?

Twilight Sparkle: You can't do this alone, you know.

Hi-Tech: They do have a point right there.



“Long Range, take Rocksteady and find the terminal.” Scarlett informed her teammate.

“Sí señora,” Long Range nodded as Rocksteady followed him to find the terminal. 

The two found a path to their left where the terminal is located connected to a huge satellite dish. 

Rocksteady confirmed, “That's gotta be it.”

Long Range nodded, “Sí, mi amigo.”

“Don't let them get to the satellite!” Major Bludd ordered as more Cobra Vipers parachuted down to the area to guard the terminal and more turrets popped up.

In return, Rocksteady started firing lasers at his enemies with his laser rifle. Just as a turret popped out and was about to shoot, Tiger Claw threw his scythe and impaled it.

Rocksteady nodded, “Thanks.”

Long Range started firing a couple more turrets while Rocksteady punched and knocked down more of Bludd’s men. However, he was feeling a bit hurt and grunted.

“You all right there Long Range?” Rocksteady asked.

“I'm good. On your left.” Long Range said as Rocksteady looked to his left and saw a Cobra trooper running towards him. Rocksteady knocked the Cobra trooper out with a swing of his arm. 

Meanwhile, Mikey and Scarlett were tag teaming Major Bludd.

“Hey dude, what happened to your arm?” Mikey asked, noticing his robotic right arm.

Major Bludd answered, “An alligator ate it.”

“Ouch! And your eye?” Mikey asked again.

“You really want to know?” Major Bludd replied.

“Nope,” Mikey answered as he dodged Bludd’s dagger attack.

Scarlett threw a kick at Major Bludd's head, only for him to catch it easily.

Major Bludd bluffed, “That's all you got?”

Scarlett smirked, “Actually, no. MIKEY, NOW!”

“Huh?” Major Bludd wondered.

“Booyakasha!” Mikey rushed forward and whacked Major Bludd with his nunchucks. The impact sent Major Bludd into the imprisoned Joe's electrified, laser entrance and zapped him unconscious.

“Was that too much?” Mikey asked before bowing. “I apologize, bro.”

Scarlett checked Major Bludd's pulse and assured him, “He's alive. Just unconscious.”

Mikey sighed in relief just as Long Range was finished activating the transmission terminal.

Rocksteady said, “Nice work, comrade.”

Long Range nodded as Dial Tone contacted Scarlett’s team. She informed them, “They've got some strong data encryption. Give us a minute to hack it.”

“Stay alert while we get to work. We've got bad guys incoming.” Hi-Tech alerted them as more of Cobra’s Vipers parachuted down to their location and started firing lasers at Scarlett’s team.

Everyone ran into cover with an unconscious Major Bludd.

Rocksteady said while shooting lasers with his laser rifle, “Wish we had reinforcements.”

While Scarlett’s team were heading towards the facility, they stopped and saw Baroness in their way.

“Yo, Joe,” Baroness laughed. “I didn't expect to see you here so soon. I'm changing the rules. Watch your backs!” Baroness teleported out of the area as a gate opened behind them. Behind that gate, a H.I.S.S. Tank appeared, approaching Scarlett’s team.

“What is that?!” Rarity frightfully questioned.

Scarlett answered, “That's a H.I.S.S. tank!”

“Y'all ready to fight this, mi amigos?” Long Range asked the teens as the H.I.S.S. tank’s weapons targeted Scarlett’s team.

Scarlett and his team shouted in unison, “YO JOE!” 

The heroes took cover as the H.I.S.S. tank started firing lasers and missiles. Scarlett ordered her team, “Everyone, scatter and find a weak point on that tank or a way to hijack it.”

Everyone shouted, “Yes ma'am!”

Mikey, Rarity, and Tiger Claw rushed around the H.I.S.S. Tank while everyone else tried to destroy it. While Scarlett and her team distracted the tank, Rarity spotted an access hatch in the back.

“I think I found something right there,” Rarity informed Scarlett.

Scarlett replied, “Perfect! You, Mikey, And Tiger Claw will hijack that tank while the rest of us will draw its fire away from you.”

As the tank focused its fire on Scarlett's group, Rarity, Mikey, and Tiger Claw ran up to the hatch. Tiger Claw told everyone, “Weapons ready, everyone.”

Tiger Claw opened the hatch and the two Vipers controlling the tank grabbed their blasters. Rarity brought out a shield to protect them while Tiger Claw nailed their blasters out of their hand, giving Mikey the chance to attack the Vipers. Mikey hit one Viper with his nunchuks and spin kicked the other Viper in the face.

“No one likes a cheap shot,” Tiger Claw said.

Mikey smiled, “Thanks dude.”

Tiger Claw nodded as the two ninjas plant the C4 charges inside the H.I.S.S. Tank before getting out.

“Such a waste, but necessary,” Rarity said as Mikey and Tiger Claw exited the H.I.S.S. Tank.

Tiger Claw was about to detonate the charges, but he stopped and looked at Mikey for a moment. He asked, “You want to do it, Mikey?”

“Oh heck yeah!” Mikey cheered as he pressed detonator button and the H.I.S.S. Tank exploded. Scarlett and her team cheered at its destruction



Sgt. Stalker: Nice work, team. It's always a pleasure to watch the good guys on foot take down a tank!



Moments later, Major Bludd regained consciousness and found himself at blaster point with his robot arm severed.

“Oy! What did y'all do to my arm?!” Major Bludd yelled, becoming incensed.

“Right here,” Rocksteady answered as he purposely crushed it into a useless piece of junk. He smirked, “Whoops.”

Major Bludd gasped, “NO! That was mine!”

Scarlett called Tiger Claw, “Hey Rookie, wanna knock out your first Cobra Lieutenant?”

“It will be an honor, ma'am.” Tiger Claw bowed and threw a kick at Major Bludd's face, making him seeing stars.

After that, Scarlett’s team were contacted by their fellow Joe operatives. 



Hi-Tech:  Joes, Dial Tone here. We cracked the encryption on the terminal you activated.





Twilight Sparkle: The good news is, I think we just rescued our old pal, Iceberg. I'm opening the gate right… now.



As the gate was deactivated, Scarlett asked, “Okay, so what's the bad news?”



Dial Tone: Well… we managed to gain access to their entire network for a few seconds. It looks like they've captured Frostbite, and maybe some others.




“Are you kidding me?? Okay, now I'm mad,” Long Range vented before he grunted, feeling a bit more pain on the leg. “Anyway, let's move out!”

Tunnel Rat suddenly became shocked after hearing his name. He never thought that Frostbite was alive after the avalanche incident. “Frostbite? He's… alive?”

Scarlet requested, “Give us his location and we'll mount a rescue.”



Duke: Negative, apprehend Major Bludd first. Then get Iceberg to the evac site as well as Long Range. His suit's bio readings are showing that he's injured badly. After that, fall back to the Howler so you can regroup and rearm.



Everyone saw Long Range who was hiding an injured leg.

“What?” Tiger Claw said.

“Is there something you're not telling us, comrade?” Rocksteady questioned Long Range’s motive.

Long Range answered before sitting down, “Got nailed by one of the laser turrets. Didn't want to slow you all down.”

Scarlett told him, “You're going to that evac, Long Range.”



Duke: She's right, Long Range. Lifeline has a nice spot in the infirmary.



Rarity asked, “Duke, where's General Hawk?”



Duke: He stepped out for a bit. Said he had to do something at your high school.



“What? Why on earth would he go there?” Casey questioned.

“I was going to say the same thing, darling.” Rarity noted.





General Hawk walked through the halls of Canterlot High and asked the students, “Excuse me, can you direct me to the principal's office?”

One of the students, Micro Chips, guided General Hawk to the principal’s office. After that, General Hawk entered the room as Principal Celestial and Vice Principal Luna saw him. 

“Hello, may we help you?” Principal Celestia asked.

“I am General Abernathy of the US military. I'm here in regards to seven students of your "kunoichi" students.” General Hawk answered as both of the ladies’ faces went pale.

Principal Celestia asked as she slowly reached for her weapon, “Sir, we're a public high school, not a martial arts school.”

Vice Principal Luna did the same as her sister, “Yes, any students we have that can fight are ones who take the self-defense class in town.”

General Hawk assured them, “I'm not here for a fight. I just want to talk. Trust me.”

Just then, Snake Eyes came out of the shadows and handed General Hawk their weapons.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were surprised by Snake Eyes, but Celestia answered, “Okay, we're listening. But why should we believe your on our side?”

General Hawk answered, “Ask him.”

Snake Eyes handed Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna a picture of him and Master Splinter.

“You were friends with Hamato Yoshi?” Vice Principal Luna asked.

Snake Eyes nodded as Principal Celestia wrote something down.

“Here's the address to his grave site.” Principal Celestia gave Snake Eyes the address and looked at General Hawk.

General Hawk nodded, “Permission granted. I can handle things here.”

Snake Eyes nodded and exited through the window with the information of Splinter’s grave site. General Hawk returned their weapons to the sisters and stayed in their office.

“I take it you also know about the boys?” Principal Celestia asked.

General Hawk answered, “Leonardo and the others? Yes, I do. I can't reveal too much of the nature of our operation, but all I can say is that their service is of the utmost importance. And we're fully prepared to compensate their school absence.”

“Keep them safe,” Principal Celestia sighed as Vice Principal Luna nodded.

General Hawk also stated, “My subordinates promise to bring them home safely. One other thing... Is it alright if I temporarily transfer my son into your school district? I'm worried about his safety.”

Principal Celestia and her sister discussed it over privately about the transfer of General Hawk’s son to their school. After a minute of their private discussion, Principal Celestia told General Hawk, “If you think it's necessary, I'm sure we can allow him to be here for a while until your situation dies down.”

“Thank you ladies. I appreciate it. Pleasure doing business with you.” General Hawk thanked the two sisters, shaking their hands before he left the room.





Meanwhile, Snake Eyes visited Master Splinter's grave site and sat down to meditate. He took off his mask, not even caring if anyone will see him exposed and tears poured down on his face. He knelt and bowed down to pay his respects to the late, great Master Splinter. Then, Snake Eyes heard a voice.

“Greetings, old friend.”

Snake Eyes stood up and turned around to see the spirit of Master Splinter, face-to-face.
> Operation: Arctic Arsenal - Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snake Eyes stared at Master Splinter as he held his gun. For the first time in years, Snake Eyes was truly afraid.

Master Splinter told him, “It's okay, my friend. I'm not going to hurt you.”

Snake Eyes kept his gun ready. He wanted to say anything to Master Splinter, but he couldn't.

“Ah, good to see you, old friend.”

A voice rang out behind Master Splinter and Snake Eyes recognized his voice. Master Splinter turned to see a black, elderly man who was blind. 

Snake Eyes knelt down as Master Splinter greeted him, “Forgive me, Blind Master. The unity of our clans never came through.”

“You have nothing to apologize for Saki's evil.” Blind Master told him.





Back with Scarlet's team, Long Range was being evacuated as Ripcord joined the team.

“Don't worry, amigo. I got you.” Ripcord said, moving Long Range to the evac site.

Long Range gave Mikey his sniper rifle and told him, “Take a few Vipers out for me, soldado.”

“Yes sir.”

While Ripcord helped Long Range retreat from the fight, Mikey asked, “Yo! Who wants to use this rifle here?”

Bebop answered, “I do.”

Mikey tossed the rifle to Bebop.

Scarlet informed everyone, “Okay, after the noise we made we can assume they know we're here. Michelangelo and Tiger Claw, you two stick to the shadows and sneak inside the base. Tunnel Rat, head into the ventilation shaft and get Frostbite. The rest of us will head to the main reactor and rig it with explosives.”

“Yes ma'am,” Tunnel Rat acknowledged and everyone split up.

Mikey and Tiger Claw went to infiltrate the base where Iceberg was held while Tunnel Rat and Bebop head to the ventilation shaft. 

“Knock, knock.” Rocksteady greeted and smashed the door down as the alarm rang.

“They're here?!” Baroness growled and then she grabbed Scarp-Iron by the collar, “Deal with the others!”

Scrap-Iron was terrified and replied, “Yes, ma'am.”

Baroness ran away and thought to herself, “I don't have time to prepare, but I'll have time to escape for now.”

“Coward.” Storm Shadow said and left to prepare his trap. 





Meanwhile, Tunnel Rat and Bebop were closing in on the detention room.

Tunnel Rat contacted the rest of his team through comms, “Reactor Squad, this is Team Jailbreak. We got eyes on the prisoner. What's your status, over?”

Scarlet replied, “We got eyes on the reactor, over.”

“Copy that. Team Shadow, what's your twenty over?”

Mikey and Tiger Claw were jumping and hiding from one cover to another.

“We spotted the Baroness and we're moving to intercept, over.” Mikey answered.

“We heard ya,” Bebop acknowledged. “Do not lose sight of her.” 

The ninja duo pounced onto her but it was a hologram and the doors sealed behind them.

Storm Shadow appeared from the shadows and greeted them, “So you entered my trap. I was hoping for the Foot Girl, but I'll settle for the disgrace of the Hamato Clan!”

“Hey yo! You calling our clan a disgrace?!” Mikey questioned Storm Shadow, angering him as he brought his weapon out.

Storm Shadow drew his blades and attacked the ninja team.

“Get away from my friend!” Tiger Claw called. 

Storm Shadow drew his sword to clash with Tiger Claw’s sword. The white ninja told him, “You had a chance to join me while we were with Iron Master, now you've chosen your doom.”

Mikey asked, “Storm Shadow, why do you hate Snake Eyes so much?”

“Why you say? Because I should be next in line for the Arashikage throne, but my brother took away my birthright and he must pay!”

Mikey then charged at Storm Shadow and delivered a kick to the head.

Tiger Claw said, “Dude, try family counseling.”

Storm Shadow dodged more of his opponent’s weapon attacks. 

“What's wrong? Can't fight both of us at once?” Tiger Claw said.

“Or handle my style?” Mikey questioned.

Storm Shadow blocked their attacks and took down the two ninjas with arm drags and a couple of kicks to their heads. 

“Enough,” Storm Shadow called and threw a smoke bomb until he disappeared.

“Where did he go?” Mikey answered.

Tiger Claw answered, “He retreated. Right under our noses.”

After their little bump with Storm Shadow, Tunnel Rat contacted the two ninjas through their comms. 

“Team Shadow, you got the Baroness?”

Tiger Claw replied, “Negative, Tunnel Rat. It was trap set up by Storm Shadow.”

“Team Jailbreak and Shadow, fall back to the reactor. We're pinned down and need back up! I repeat, we are pinned down and need back up!” Scarlet called as she and her team were currently pinned down by Scrap-Iron and his men.

Scrap-Iron shouted, “Keep firing! That shield has to break soon!”

Then, the two teams arrived just in time to aid Scarlet’s team.

Bebop said, “Man, we were just going to save your operative, Scarlet. That’ll just give more time for Cobra to transport their prisoners to another location.”

Scarlet assured him, “We'll rescue them. Right now, let's give Team Shadow a chance to fight Scrap-Iron.”

Bebop nodded, “Yes, Scarlet.”

Scrap-Iron hopped onto his vehicle, the Snake Trax ATV, and drove away from the reactor as he saw Tiger Claw and Mikey running after him. 

“He's getting away! After him!” Tiger Claw called.

Mikey then found the same vehicle and grabbed Tiger Claw, hopping onto the Snake Trax ATV.

Scarlet ordered everyone as she placed her sports bag of C4 down, “Let's get the explosives set up.”

Everyone nodded and grabbed some C4 from the bag.





Back to Team Shadow, Tiger Claw drove the ATV with Mikey behind.

“You sure know how to drive this thing?” Mikey asked.

“Not really!” Tiger Claw struggled to keep it steady as they head outside the base and they’re closing in on Scrap-Iron. “Okay. Maybe I wasn’t paying a little attention when Snake Eyes gave me and my ninja comrades a lesson about motorcycling.” Tiger Claw admitted.

“Don't get your hopes up, dude. You got this!” Mikey cheered him up.

Tiger Claw smiled at the support. Soon, Scrap-Iron looked at the rear view mirror and saw his pursuers.

“Looks like I get swat to some flies!”

Mikey told Tiger Claw, “We're gaining on him!”

Scrap-Iron used a grappling hook and shot at the tree trunk. He drove in a U-turn and pursued after the ninja duo instead of being chased by them.

“I got you in my sights now,” Scrap-Iron pressed a button and fired lasers at the ninjas.

After dodging some lasers, Tiger Claw told his ally, “Time for a page from your book, Mikey. Grab my scythe.”

Mikey did so and Tiger Claw managed to throw him straight at Scrap-Iron with his scythe. He landed on the enemy’s vehicle and said, “Now let's see what's under mask Number #1!”

Scrap-Iron grabbed him by the leg and threw him back at Tiger Claw’s ATV. He scoffed, “Pfft. Amateurs.”

“Okay. That didn’t work as we planned.” Mikey said as Tiger Claw caught him with the ATV. “Hang on, let me try something. My brother, Raph, did this before.”

“Wait. What are you…”

“Watch and learn,” Mikey called and as Scrap-Iron drove closer, Mikey leapt off from the ATV and rolled over until he jumped up for an attack.

“That's how I…” 

Scrap-Iron clotheslined Mikey, knocking him off his game.

“…not roll.” Mikey finished after rolling over. “Man, I wish Raph can teach me that move.”

Tiger Claw came back for him and parked the ATV. “You alright?” 

“Never been better,” Mikey answered and hopped onboard. “C'mon, he's getting away!”

“Hope the others are having better luck.” Tiger Claw said.





Back with the others, Vipers were hammering them hard and fast.

“These guys just keep coming!” Rarity said.

“Rarity, set up a barrier while we set up the explosives on the reactor,” Scarlet ordered.

Rarity nodded as Rocksteady and Ripcord drew the pressure off of her. Suddenly, the Viper blasters started malfunctioning. Then, someone contacted the team through comms, “Hurry up Joes, their blasters will reboot at any moment now.”

“Um, who is this? Hello?” Scarlet answered, but no response. “Whatever. Now's our chance, guys!”

“Goongala!” Casey yelled and launched his exploding pucks.

Then, the Joes opened fire in a wave of different projectiles at the Vipers.

Rocksteady said, “Good work, comrades.”

“Yeah, thanks for the assist, Tech Support,” Ripcord told them. 

Hi-Tech answered through comms, “Uh, that wasn’t any of us. That surge came from Cobra's own mainframe.”

“Are you saying that someone contacted us from Cobra’s network?” Casey questioned.

“Yes sir.” Scarlet confirmed.

“We do have a spy on the inside. But that can wait. Set the charges and catch up with Mikey and Tiger Claw!” Duke informed everyone through comms.

Ripcord got the charges set as everyone else dealt with the Vipers.

“Charges are set! Let's get out of here!” Ripcord ordered.

Everyone evacuated the area until the reactor exploded. Tiger Claw and Mikey saw the explosion and got the same idea.

“Catch us if you can, Scrap-Iron!” Tiger Claw shouted while Mikey sticked his tongue out in front of Scrap-Iron.

“Why you little punk!” Scrap-Iron growled.

Scrap-Iron followed them right back to the others until Rocksteady knocked his ATV down with his hammer, sending Scrap-Iron flying into the snow.

“YOU'RE MINE!” Tiger Claw pounced and started fighting Scrap-Iron on his own.

Tiger Claw delivered a bunch of kicks and punches to his Cobra enemy. “Yo, Joe!” He yelled and delivered a final blow to him with an uppercut.

Scrap-Iron laid unconscious as Tiger Claw griped his injured shoulder.

Scarlet asked him through comms, “You okay, rookie?”

Tiger Claw answered, “A little banged up, ma'am.”

“Can somebody get some help over here?” Scarlet called.

Rocksteady secured Scrap-Iron as Mikey and Rarity helped Tiger Claw up.

“Ma'am, permission to collapse from exhaustion?” 

“Permission granted,” Scarlet nodded.

“Thank you ma'am,” Tiger Claw replied and closed his eyes to get some rest.

Then, Scarlet’s team received a transmission from G.I. Joe headquarters.

Sgt. Stalker said, “Good work, Joes. Not much farther now.”

Breaker apologized, “Sir. Sorry to interrupt…”

“What is it, Breaker?” Sgt. Stalker asked.

“The coin that Scarlet’s team found after the raid? Tech support and I have been poking at it--”

“We believe it's a transmitter,” Donnie answered.

“Some REALLY weird math. Lots of predictive calculations. It just doesn't make any sense,” Twilight said.

Hi-Tech added, “It's talking to some kind of relay satellite--”

Sgt. Stalker remembered, “A relay satellite? I read about that in one of the classified M.A.R.S. project files.”

Breaker understood him, “Yep, so did me and Hi-Tech. But this particular satellite has some unknown additional features. Shouldn't be long before we find something out.”

“Alright, Breaker. Let us know when you and tech support got a handle of things,” Sgt. Stalker informed him.

“Yes, sir,” Breaker acknowledged him.





Back at G.I. Joe headquarters, Donnie went up to Sgt. Stalker and informed him, “Sir, we're receiving a transmission from... Cobra headquarters?”

“I'm sorry, did you say Cobra headquarters?” Sgt. Stalker questioned him.

General Hawk entered the room and answered, “That would be an update from our undercover spy. What does he have to report?”

Donnie told him, “Cobra is making some movements somewhere in the desert region.”

“Why?” Donnie asked.

“Not sure,” General Hawk answered. “But our spy will give us an update again soon.”

Scarlet called her general, “General, Tiger Claw is banged up. Nothing too serious, but he needs some rest.”

General Hawk answered, “Alright. Let’s bring him home and give him a nice spot in the infirmary. Kamakura, you ready?”

“I'm always ready, sir.”





Back to the arctic area, Mikey and Rarity continued carrying an injured Tiger Claw until they found something.

“What's that?” Rarity said, looking at an unknown device in the snow.

Then, Breaker and Hi-Tech informed them through comms.

“Joes, we finally cracked the code on that coin we found on the captured M.A.R.S. soldier. You're not going to believe this. It's part of a teleportation device!” Breaker said.

“M.A.R.S. has been using these teleporters to move equipment, but we hacked their system so we can use 'em too. The only catch with this hack is that we have to displace approximately the same amount of mass between the P.I.T. and your location,” Hi-Tech stated.

“Um, what does that even mean?” Mikey wondered.

Donnie answered, “It means that we can deploy a new Joe to your location as long as one of you comes back here.”

Twilight explained, “Just walk up to the teleporter and the rest should be easy.”

“Copy that,” Rarity confirmed.

Tiger Claw was gently placed in the teleporter and he said in an exhausted tone, “Yo… Joe.”

After that, Tiger Claw was teleported back to base and Kamakura entered from the teleporter.

“Ready to destroy some Cobra’s Vipers?” Rocksteady asked.

Kamakura spun his Naginata staff and answered, “I’m ready.”

Scarlet looked at the map from her tablet and informed everyone, “Looks like the fastest way to the Baroness is across this bridge. But we'll have to fight our way across it.”

“We got this. Yo Joe?” Tunnel Rat asked.

Everyone else shouted, “YO JOE!”





As Scarlet’s team made it to the bridge, General Hawk contacted them, “ Alright everyone, listen up. Snow Job is behind enemy lines. He's just discovered that the prisoners are being held in a facility code named Genesis north of your position. Some are our Joe operatives and others are civilians. It's time to bring them home.”

“Yes, sir!” Everyone answered.

“Stalker here. Snow Job has marked areas where you can signal for Joe support.” He said through comms.

“Wild Bill, here. Target sighted.”

Scarlet reloaded her crossbow, “Alright everyone, let’s bring those prisoners home.”

Her team advanced through the bridge and fought off against Cobra’s B.A.T.s and turrets who were guarding the bridge.

“Mikey, take out those turrets with Kamakura and Rarity! Casey, hang back and call in an air strike! The rest of us will provide covering fire!” Scarlet ordered.

“Yes ma'am!” The rest of her team answered in unison.

Mikey and Kamakura took out a couple of Cobra’s cybernetic foot soldiers while Rarity summoned a diamond barrier to protect her friends from the turrets.

“Got a grenade, Kamakura?” Mikey asked.

Kamakura grabbed one from his bag, “Right here, pal.”

Mikey pulled the pin and ran towards a Cobra BAT. He gave it to the robot and said, “Hold this for me.” 

Then, the grenade exploded in front of Cobra’s robots. The pair swung to the next one as the other exploded.

“My turn!” Kamakura threw a Cobra Viper off and the duo started fighting against them. The Cobra Vipers retreated to the center of the bridge.

“You're cleared for weapons free, Wild Bill!” Tunnel Rat signaled.

The helicopter swooped in with Wild Bill inside, he launched missiles on the giant turrets and some more Vipers on the bridge.

“Yee haa! Yooooo Joe!” Wild Bill cheered.

Everyone ducked as the bombs fell. No one noticed Casey as he got a nasty cut on his arm from some debris.

Scarlet coughed, “Everyone in one piece?”

Mikey shouted, “Yeah, we're good!”

Everyone raced forward and found a prisoner convoy being loaded. Bebop scanned one of the prisoners and had a Red Star among them.

Bebop asked his bud, “Rocky, can you play Gatling Sniper for us?”

Rocksteady acknowledged, “Da.”

Tunnel Rat raised his hand, “I can play Shadow Bomber, too.”

“Good, I have an idea. But I need two Viper Uniforms,” Bebop informed them.

Scarlet surveyed the area with her binoculars and said, “Seems like these M.A.R.S. security troops got issued with shotguns instead of force shields.”

Bebop chuckled, “Like that’s going to matter for this small army.” He went invisible as everyone got a decent sniping position.

“Not sure how this ninja thing works, but here goes nothing.” Tunnel Rat stood still and held up a piece of branch with leaves to hide his face.

Mikey facepalmed and Kamakura shook his head.

Bebop got the uniforms and released two prisoners. He told them, “Get to the driver's seat. Drive east till you see the temporary base. My friends and I will draw their attention on us.”

The two prisoners nodded and followed Bebop’s request.

“Time to go loud,” Bebop decloaked and fired a flare gun from his pocket.

Tunnel Rat told Rocksteady, “Guess that's the signal.”

Rocksteady and Tunnel Rat then started firing at the M.A.R.S. security troopers who were guarding the base.

The convoy guards raced to the commotion, but they got ambushed Mikey and Kamakura.

Then, a voice rang out from the prisoner’s cell, “Comrades, let me out. I can help.”

“State your name please?” Mikey questioned.

“Russian Intelligence.”

“You know this guy, Scarlet?” Kamakura contacted Scarlet.

Scarlet replied through comms, “Yeah, you can trust him.”

Mikey let the prisoner out and handed him a rifle from the guards.

“Thank you. Follow me and we can soften the defenses for the others.”

“What?” Mikey asked.

“But why?” Kamakura questioned.

“The Baroness is heading back to her base of operations.” Red Star answered. “Which is her castle, by the way.”

“Scarlet, you hear that?” Mikey contacted her.

Scarlet answered through comms, “Affirmative, you three go ahead and wait. We'll draw the enemies towards us while you three attack from behind. Good luck.”

“Okay, let's do this.” Kamakura said.

The three ran off to find Baroness with Tunnel Rat following behind them.





Baroness watched the monitors from her castle as Cobra Commander came onscreen.

Cobra Commander said, “This better be important, Baroness.”

“I request permission to proceed ahead of schedule with the signal. Scrap-Iron and Bludd were captured.”

“Those fools! IDIOTS!” Cobra Commander growled, but he did notice a Viper sneaking in. Cobra Commander sighed, “Fine! Start the mind control immediately!”

The Cobra Viper hid away from him and contacted the Joes. He whispered, “Mercer to G.I. Joe, come in. Mercer to G.I. Joe, come in.”