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Unsung Heroes: Mission Two	By : RavenLadies Category: +G through L > G.I. Joe Views: 1326 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoon(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Thirteen

The trip down the corridor was far too quiet for Kenya Strong's tastes, but she was grateful for it. It wasn't that she was afraid, at least, no more afraid than she had been all along. She just wanted to get the others to safety. Hopper had died protecting her, dammit, and she planned on protecting the others now, as a way of paying forward his bravery. Behind her, Nina Hutchinson walked, equally pensive. Although she had never met the others before this day, she felt comfortable among them, and found herself wishing they might all have met under better circumstances.

As the group moved, Scarlett had dropped back a bit to walk alongside Duke, the two of them speaking in hushed tones, with the red-head continuing her tale of their trek through Lakeview, including the loss of Raphael Hopper. Scarlett listened quietly, while Duke told her of his team discovering the pilot's body and their own small battle with the infected spiders. Knowing the red-head as well as he did, Duke could tell from Scarlett's manner that the Hopper's death had affected her a great deal and he reached out to give her a light momentary squeeze on her shoulder. The blue-eyed woman glanced up at Duke before turning her gaze to Kenya Strong's back.

# # #

Finishing the sequence that the Baroness had given her, Zarana turned the key card clockwise, locking it into place. “Time to say nighty night, G.I. Joe,” she said with a small smile as she rose from the console. “Hope you enjoy hell.” With a laugh she punched a button just above the key card, setting the sequence into motion.

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED. PLEASE PROCEED TO ALL EMERGENCY EXITS. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED--"

# # #

Strong nearly jumped out of her skin when the light overhead suddenly flashed red, and an eerily calm voice came over speakers that crackled. "Jesus Fucking Christ!" She swore.

"I think it's time to pick up the pace," Hutchinson said urgently. "They drilled on this once or twice. We don't have much time.”

“What's going on?” Edwin asked, also startled by the sudden alarm.

“Zarana!” Scarlett all but snarled out the mercenary's name.

Rebecca's heart sank. "We have to hurry," she said quickly. "In my experience, they usually don't leave much time before the explosion."

“Alright people, move it!” Duke's voiced boomed out, the tone firm and authoritative. No one needed to be told twice, and what started as a hustle turned into an all-out run.

As the group hustled down the hallway, Edwin would occasionally glance at Nina Hutchinson, checking on the former captive, ready to jump to her assistance if needed. Beside him, Rebecca did the same, mentally timing how long it had been since the alerts began, trying to guess how long they had. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. Heedless of Lifeline or Rebecca's concern for Hutchinson, Duke urged the group on pushing them to go faster.

Still, adrenaline could only carry a person so far, and when Hutchinson began to slow, Rebecca fell into step next to her, her gun drawn. As the other end of their exit came into view, Rebecca felt a brief burst of relief, right before something lashed out at her, knocking her down and starting to drag her backwards.

Rebecca shrieked, turning onto her back and freezing as her eyes fell on her attacker. It was a young woman, glassy eyes staring straight forwards, her movements jerky, hesitant, and all too familiar. Even if the movements hadn't stirred up bad memories, the whipping, snapping cords of muscles snaking out from a bloody wound in the woman's back certainly did. "Oh god..." she breathed.

“Rebecca!” Edwin called out the young woman's name. Slipping the med kit from his back, he took it by the straps, preparing to lash out with it when he saw her attacker. Unconsciously, the medic hesitated when he saw that it was a woman.

The woman's eyes stared at him without seeing, as several of the long tentacles lashed out, wrapping around Rebecca's ankles and starting to drag her along the floor, back down the corridor and away from the exit. Rebecca shrieked again, her gun abandoned in a sudden, frantic need to just get away. Hutchinson looked back at the sound of the shriek. "Shit!"

At the young sergeant's exclamation, Duke and others, who were already at the the door turned, catching a glimpse of Rebecca as she was dragged away.

“Rebecca!” Edwin called out once again, pulling himself back together as he started after her and the shuffling creature. Rebecca's green eyes were frantic as she looked at Edwin and the others, pleading and frightened. She clawed desperately at the floor, trying to find some kind of purchase on the smooth concrete floor, but could find none.

The moment Strong saw it, she shook her head. "Aw no," She whispered, her heart clenching. "Not again..." As she spoke she started heading toward them.

“Scarlett! You and the others go on ahead. I'll go with Strong after Lifeline and Doctor Chambers,” Duke said hurriedly as he started after the young sharpshooter.

“Duke...” the red-head started to protest.

“That's an order,” the blonde man shot back, the self destruct warning still issuing from the speaker system in the hallway.

Standing next to Scarlett, Lady Jaye put her hand on the other woman's arm. “We don't have much time,” she said. “We've got to go.”

Mutely, Scarlett nodded her head, her blue gaze following Duke's big frame as he ran back down the corridor. “Low Light! Gung Ho! Hutchinson!” she called out after a moment, “Let's go!”

As the others turned to go, Rebecca felt herself hauled bodily up off the floor, two more tentacles wrapping around her upper arms, halting her dead in her tracks. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't even bring herself to scream again. The only thought that kept running through her mind made her shake. I'm going to die...

“Rebecca!” Once again Edwin called out the young woman's name, the medic only few yards away as she was leveled up off the floor. The med kit still clutched tight in his hands, he skidded to a halt and swung it with all his strength, hurling it at the creature holding Rebecca captive.

With a growl, the woman's arm came up and batted the med kit to the side. There was the sickening crunch of grinding bone, but the hold on Rebecca didn't loosen. Seemingly pleased with its captive, the woman-creature began shuffling back down the hallway into the installation. "Oh, god, no," Rebecca said, her voice growing louder and more frantic with each word. "Please, no!"

Edwin swore to himself, a string of words that would have made Billy Coen proud had he been present to hear them, as he took off after Rebecca and the retreating creature, the young woman's cries going right to the heart of him. He had promised Billy that he would look out for the former S.T.A.R.S. medic, giving his word to the Marine that he would do everything he could to keep her safe and he had meant it. As he ran, his arm brushed against the holster on his hip that held Billy's coveted Magnum.

The creature became aware of its pursuers and turned slowly, several more of the deadly ropes of muscle lashing out at Lifeline, trying to discourage him from getting any closer. Rebecca screamed as she was jerked to the side suddenly by the creature's turn, still struggling to free herself.

“Lifeline!” Duke's voice called out to the medic as he watched the creature bat away the med kit.

"What...what the fuck is that thing?" Strong asked as the med kit bounced to the side and came to a halt.

“Rebecca! Hold on!” Edwin yelled as he jumped to avoid being hit by one of the lashing muscled cords. Unlike Billy, the creature infecting the woman in front of him held no reservations about attacking him.

Running alongside Kenya Strong, Duke's mouth compressed into a tight line, Rebecca Chambers' and Lifeline's descriptions of the creature that had manifested from Billy Coen in the forefront of his mind, but he remained silent.

The lack of reply didn't settle Strong's mind any, but she brushed the thought aside and kept running. Rebecca, swinging perilously in the air, looked at Lifeline. Time was getting precious and they were losing ground. "You don't have time for this!" she screamed, her heart sinking as she did. "You've got to get out of here!"

“I can't leave you here!” the medic yelled back, dancing around to avoid the creature's whipping tentacles once again.

"You're not going to be able to get close enough!" Rebecca felt tears in her eyes and fought against them as she tried to struggle out of her own pack. She still had the info they had come here to find, and be damned if she was going to let it disappear with her.

Unstrapping his helmet, Lifeline pulled it off and lobbed it at the creature. “I'm not leaving here without you!” Again, the hurled item was batted out of the way, and the creature hissed at the medic, lashing out at him again.

"There isn't time!" Rebecca shrieked again as another tentacle wrapped itself around her throat and she reached up, gripping at it, trying to keep it from cutting off her air.

“Rebecca!” Edwin screamed as the tentacle tightened around the young woman's neck. “NO!” Before he realized what he was doing, Billy's Magnum was in his hand, the weight of the gun heavy and unfamiliar as he raised it at the creature.

Rebecca's eyes widened a little. She had never seen the business end of Billy's Magnum. Truth be told, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to again. The creature seemed to realize the danger it was now in, and it dropped Rebecca, sending several of the tentacles whipping forward for Edwin.

With both hands now gripping the handle of the gun, Lifeline trained it on the creature, his whole body trembling as it turned towards him. Watching the creature as it began to slowly moved towards him, all the medic could see was Billy, the Marine's face contorted in pain while his body shuffled forward, whipping tentacles snapping in the air around him.

“Lifeline!” Duke yelled out the medic's name as the red-clad form seemed to freeze before the oncoming creature.

"Lifeline!" Rebecca screamed, trying to scramble out of the way, one of the whipping tentacles knocking her hard into a wall, knocking the breath from her.

The young woman's voice broke through whatever spell had fallen over the medic, pulling him back to reality and he cried out Rebecca's name once again as she slumped against the wall. With shaking hands, Edwin's finger tightened on the trigger of the gun as he squeezed his eyes shut. The recoil from the shot was more than he had been prepared for, the Magnum much more powerful than the Joe-issued Baretta that he was required to test with yearly and he stumbled back a few steps, almost tangling up his feet as his boots slid on the concrete floor of the corridor.

His staggering pulled the shot up higher than it should have been, and instead of striking the center of mass, the creature's head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter. Rebecca scrambled out of the way, pale and shaking as she half ran, half crawled her way over to Edwin again. Lifeline's body began to tremble even more as his dark gaze fell on the remains of the creature, some of which were now splattering the front of his red and white uniform as well as his face and hair. The Magnum fell from nerveless shaking hands as the medic slid to his knees, his eyes riveted on the body several feet away. Rebecca skidded to a stop on her knees beside him, picking up the Magnum and tucking it in her own holster. "Lifeline," she said, her tone soft but urgent. "Come on...we have to get out of here..." Wordlessly, the medic looked up at the young woman, his face pale, his expression shell shocked. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, reaching down and taking his hands in hers. She was still pale, her hands shaking as she gripped his. "And I know... but we've gotta go..." She was barely aware as Strong and Duke reached them, her attention fully on the shell-shocked medic in front of her.

Duke swore as he skidded to a halt next to the kneeling pair, having seen the medic go down after firing off the shot that had killed the creature.

Edwin's dark eyes locked on Rebecca's green gaze, it was several long moments before he seemed to get himself under some semblance of control, the trembling easing somewhat as he swallowed. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath before opening them back up. Wordlessly, he nodded his dark head at the young woman. "C'mon," she urged softly, rising to her feet and giving his hands a gentle tug, her gaze flicking momentarily to Duke and Strong.

“Lifeline,” Duke said, his tone once again taking on that tone of authority that would brook no argument. “On your feet, we've got to move out before this place blows.”

Glancing up at the big blonde man, Edwin nodded his head. “Y-Yes S-Sir...” he managed to get out as he pulled his hands from Rebecca's hold and rose to his feet.

With a nod, Duke looked at Strong and Rebecca. “Let's move it.”

Wordlessly, the four of them ran, already beginning to hear explosions from deeper within the facility. Rebecca's heart skipped a beat at the sound, and she pressed herself harder, fear and adrenaline feeding her a kind of energy even Duke's tone could not have produced. Strong kept to the rear of the group, keeping her gun tightly in hand and prepared to blow the shit out of anything else that tried to stop them. Running alongside Rebecca, Edwin did so as an automaton, putting one foot in front of the other without any thought. The realization of what he had just done was the only thing on his mind.

The explosions were getting louder and closer as they neared the door the others had exited through earlier, and they passed through the door and found themselves in one of Lakeview's dilapidated rooms, the broken windows admitting a cool breeze, the pale of dawn breaking. Rebecca didn't give them a chance to even consider relaxing. "We need to be airborne, Duke, and fast," She said quickly.

The blonde nodded his head, the grim expression that he had been wearing throughout most of the trek through Lakeview still on his face. “I'm sure Scarlett and the others are on it already,” he said as another explosion rocked the facility.

Rebecca only nodded and said nothing more, letting the whole of her concentration go toward keeping her on her feet and moving. Luckily, the rest of their retreating team had already left a path for them so to speak, with several discarded gurneys piled up against the wall underneath one of the broken windows, a makeshift ladder of sorts. “Strong, you and the doctor go first. Lifeline and I will follow you. Once you hit the ground, don't stop running for anything, you got that?” Duke looked at each of the women in turn as he spoke. “We landed right next to the other chopper at the front of the building, so make your way there.”

"Understood, Sir," Strong said, and looked at Rebecca. "C'mon, Doc."

Rebecca gave a slight nod, and the two women began scrambling up the makeshift ladder. Duke and Lifeline watched the pair as they made their way and out through the broken window. As the two men started to move to follow them, another explosion rocked the floor underneath their feet, causing them to sway a bit and fight to keep their balance. “C'mon,” Duke said as he hurried over and began to climb. “I don't think there's much time left before this place blows.” Silently, Edwin nodded waiting until the big blonde had reached the window before beginning to climb.

The women were already a decent distance ahead of the two men, and Rebecca decided that there were few sights as beautiful to her as the sight of the chopper that meant freedom. Seeing it was what gave her the last push of energy she needed, and she and Strong reached it with no further delay.

“Doctor!” Scarlett hailed Rebecca and Kenya Strong as they reached the choppers. “Where are Duke and Lifeline?” she immediately asked, her blue eyes scanning the area that the two women had come from.

"They're coming," Rebecca panted softly. "They should be right behind us."

"Duke told us to come on ahead," Strong chimed in.

Lady Jaye, meanwhile, was in the pilot's seat of the second chopper, already running through the preflight checklist, Gung Ho strapped into the seat next to her. Scarlett nodded her head. “Get in and strap down. We're airborne as soon as they get here,” she ordered while her eyes once again strayed towards Lakeview, the sound of an explosion ringing out from the building.

At almost the same time, the figures of Duke and Lifeline emerged from around the side of the former institution, the two men running for all they were worth towards the waiting choppers.

By the time all of them were inside and strapped down, and the choppers began to lift up into the air, the ground was rocked by several more explosions, with the largest of them turning Lakeview's namesake into a massive geyser. Rebecca, watching from the chopper, slumped wearily in her seat.

Sitting next to Rebecca, Edwin's dark eyes were fixed on his lap, the medic saying not a word since he had climbed into the helicopter after Duke and strapped himself in. Taking over Hopper's place in the pilot's seat, Scarlett flew alongside the other chopper carrying Lady Jaye, Gung Ho, Low Light and Nina Hutchinson. As the copters turned a bit to the west, there was another bright explosion, the building that had once been the Lakeview Institution for the Criminally Insane crumbling in on itself in it's aftermath.

Rebecca looked over at Edwin after a time and reached out, touching his arm gently. "Thank you," she whispered. Lifeline slowly raised his head, his dark eyes glancing at the young woman soundlessly for a few moments before dropping away. Rebecca gave Lifeline's arm a gentle squeeze, before dropping her hand away and staring out the window again. Not for the first time since their mission began, she wondered if one man was really worth everything they had just gone through.
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Unsung Heroes: Mission Two