Jessie's team had been busy helping Cobra and his minions. Alaric was absolutely over the moon that he had the chance to work side by side with the man who had developed the nanomites, and Cobra appreciated having another person who was able to recognize the genius of his inventions. And the rest of the team was thrilled with the wide variety of toys that were now available to them. Jessie had made they had what they needed but with Cobra they had access to whatever they wanted. However they didn't just get to spend their days goofing off, they were sent out on missions regularly and were required to spend at four hours at the gym every day when they were at the base.

Their most recent mission was to gather intel on the Joes that had survived the bombing in the desert. They had gathered through the grapevine that one of the Joes code named "Lady Jaye" was going to be attending one of the president's upcoming events and they decided it was time to figure out just what the Joes were up to. And so Alannah found herself dressed to kill and seated at a discreet table off to the side where she could monitor the room without seeming suspicious.

"I have eyes on the target, she's approaching the president."

Alannah stood up swiftly moving herself to a new position where she could hear their conversation without drawing anyone's attention.

"Mr. President, Amy Vandervoort, Fox News."

"Fox, of course. That's why you looks so "fair and balanced."

"Very cute. But I was actually hoping to have a…"

"Dance?"

"I was going to say quote."

"Okay here's a quote, the world will change after my nuclear summit. How about we dance?"

"I really I don't dance."

Alannah sighed as she watched Zartan, as masterful as he was at mimicking other people he always seemed to push his luck. It was obvious that "Amy" was unconfutable and as amusing as it was to watch her struggle, Alannah feared Zartan was going to push too far and slip up.

"Thank you, Mr. President. You gave me what I need, but I really have to make my deadline. It's been a pleasure."

"Thank you."

As the Joe walked away Alannah slowly inched her way closer to Zartan, she knew it was only a matter of minutes until security got a match in codas and she had to make sure that she would be with him when the secret service rushed him away from the "hostile situation". Unfortunately for her it would seem that Zartan was feeling especially daring and she could only watch as he walked back over to Jaye and drag her onto the dance floor. She quietly groaned, her job was about to get ten times harder and she wasn't looking forward to cleaning up his mess.

She watched as the secret service rushed in and whisked "the president" away just barley managing to slip in behind them before the doors closed. She pulled the gun from the holster that she had around her thigh, knowing the Joes others wouldn't be far away and they might just have to fight their way out of the area. Luckily for her they had planned for others, and she could here Firefly fighting with someone over their com-links. She guessed that whatever he was doing was enough to mess up the Joe's plans because they made it to the limo without a hitch. Once they were seated inside she couldn't help but go off at Zartan.

"Are you fucking crazy?! You knew she was a Joe and you blatantly toyed with her. What if she finds out that you aren't who you say you are, huh, then what?!"

"Calm yourself, girl. I know what I'm doing; I've been playing this game since before you were born. Besides even if she doesn't find out that I'm not the president it's not like she can do anything about it. She's been labeled a war criminal, who's going to believe her over me?"

"I don't know what she would do with the knowledge but even one person knowing could mess up Cobra's plans and I don't think you want to be the one to piss him off."

Zartan scowled but didn't argue with her, she did have a point. There was no telling how many Joes had survived and if they caught wind of what Cobra was up too, than the people who screwed up were going to find out just how nasty the Cobra Commander could be.

- Tokyo, Japan-

Storm Shadow stood quietly before the Blind Master his mind silently reeling after seeing Jessie again. He had known she had survived the attack on McCullen's base and had even kept tabs on her while she was in the military prison however once she was released into James's care he left her to her own devices. He had hoped that she was done with her life of crime and would spend the rest of her days leading a normal life with her new partner. He was loath to think of her in the arms of another man but he had figured it would be safer for her that way. The massive amount of scarring on her arm had horrified him; the fact that he had not been able to prevent McCullen from injuring her had hurt. Storm Shadow had figured that James would do what he could not and help her to lead a safe and comfortable life, but it would seem he was wrong.

"If Cobra and Zartan are in the White House, then the world is at stake. Storm Shadow, you will tell us Cobra's endgame, or die by the same sword you once used to kill our master. Your sword, given to you by our beloved Hard Master. Do you deny that your envy and hatred drove you to shed the Hard Master's blood?"

"It's possible to feel so much hate, you stop feeling at all. Like a fish not knowing it's in water. But my path was chosen for me, by my enemy, who framed me for killing the Hard Master. And my friends, who believed it, why defend yourself to men to blind to see?"

Storm Shadow felt tears gathering in his eyes but couldn't find him to be bothered by them. No matter how much time had passed the pain of betrayal still stung. Looking at the sword the Blind Master had set before him, he prepared to defend himself one last time.

"That is the Hard Master's blood. But that is not…" He rolled forward grabbing the sword from where it was stuck in the ground and moved to strike Snake Eyes only to have him block it with his own. Everyone froze when the sword he was using broke in half "… my sword."

"Arashikage steel does not break. I've asked myself over and over who despised me enough to destroy my life?"

"I am sorry, Storm Shadow. But who would stand to gain the most by framing you for this crime? Your young adversary who chased you away? Or the man into whose arms you were chased?"

Storm Shadow found himself thinking back to when he was driven from his home. The fear and sorrow was overwhelming to him and he was grateful when the old man took him in.

"Someone who welcomed you showed you kindness."

"He needed me for who I would become a warrior of great skill and anger. The man who betrayed me was capable of great ingenuity, violence, but most of all, disguise. Zartan…"

"Yes. Tell us what he and Cobra have planned, so we can destroy our common enemy, together."

Storm wasn't sure what to make of the information he had just uncovered. He had been working with the man who had caused all of his suffering and he hadn't even known it, he had let that man near Jessie, allowed him to teach her things about disguises. What a fool he had been. And Jessie, she was still working with them, and she had no clue what they were actually capable of. Unfortunately for him he couldn't just go and collect her without being questioned. For now he would have to hope that James would keep her safe until the time came that he could save her.

-Presidential Bunker-

Jessie had returned to Cobra's base of operations with James but neither told them of Storm Shadows abduction. As livid as Jessie was with him at the moment she knew he would be punished if his slip up was discovered by their leader. Shortly after their arrival Cobra had approached her and told her to suit up, apparently he was going to visit the actual president and he wanted her to come with. She was given just enough time to clean herself up and put on fresh clothes before they set out.

They arrived at the bunker where the man was being held a little over an hour later. They could hear people talking as they approached the door but Cobra was quick to demand their attention.

"Enough! I'll take it from here. He who controls this briefcase, controls the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the fate of humanity."

Jessie watched as the briefcase one of the fake secret service members had been carrying was brought forward and opened to reveal the nuclear launch button.

"Open your eyes, Mr. Ex-President."

It was obvious that the ex-president wasn't going to do what they asked willingly however he didn't have much of a choice really, Firefly grabbed him by the chin and pulled his eyelids open so that he was forced to let the device scan his retinas.

"The eyes are the windows to the soul, open up."

"Zeus is ready; we just need one final piece of the puzzle."

Jessie felt her nerves start to grow as the briefcase and by extension the U.S.'s nuclear weapons were armed but pushed down her fears. Rex knew what he was doing and she would continue to trust him until he gave her reason not to.

"History will stand in judgment."

Zartan being the vile man he was had to rub salt into the ex-presidents wounds, "Not of me, of you."

Jessie walked back out of the bunker and took a deep breath of fresh air while leaning up against a nearby tree. She would be lying if she said that playing with nuclear weapons didn't scare her a little but she knew she couldn't back out now. At this point she could only hope that everything would go smoothly and that she and her team would come out of it alive. As she looked up at the sky she couldn't help but wish she knew where Storm Shadow was.

"I don't know where you are Storm, but please be safe. This is far from over and I'm going to need you in order to get through this."

With a sigh she stood up and walked over to the cars where Cobra and Firefly were preparing to leave, the next stage of the plan would be set in motion soon and she was going to need all the time she could get to prepare for it.

I AM SOOOO SORRY! I didn't forget about this story I promise, I have been so busy between work and college that I've barely had time to sleep let alone write. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to everyone who had been patiently waiting for me to update.

To KarmaJay: I'm glad you love this story so much, sorry it's taken me so long to update. I will try to be more consistent with my updates but I can't make any promises. Your review made me smile and I hope you continue to enjoy this story just as much as you have been.

To ShiningWingsOfTheDragon: Thanks for another great review; I always look forward to getting your input. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last ones. I do have a sort of plan for what will happen between James and Storm Shadow but I haven't worked out the details yet so feel free to tell me what you think should happen.

To ShadowPhoenix34: Haha just wait she isn't through with him yet XD glad you liked this chapter, like I've said I'll try to update more often, thanks for the review.

To Guest: Glad you liked this, as for my Draco/OC story I'm hoping to update that one next I've been trying to update as many of them as possible this weekend since I have a cold and can't do much else.

To BeautifulStrangerXX: Well here's the next chapter hope it meets your expectations

To Tiryn: Thanks so much for the great input I like that idea as well. As for Storm Shadow and Jessie all I can say is soon… very soon… haha. Thanks for the review I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

Thanks to everyone who had read the story up to this point. I am now going to be obnoxious and say REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW I am extremely prone to procrastination however when people review I am more driven to update my stories.

You all rock!
-Ambercat999