G.I. Joe: Doomsday Protocol

Chapter 13: One B.A.T. Was Enough

Steve and Larry found Ana hidden away in the Terror Drome's stairwell. She wiped away her tears once she heard them approaching, hoping they hadn't noticed.

"What's our plan, Ana?" asked Steve.

"You're going to follow a crying girl?" she replied.

"You've always been loyal to me, sis. It's always been the two of us."

This was why she always loved her brother. "And what is your excuse?" She asked Larry.

"Me? I never wanted to work with the Joes."

She stood up and took a moment to look them over. They were her Vipers now. "So, here's the plan," she said. "We stick with the Joes, but once that B.A.T. is gone, we take them out, and we hunker down until the next cargo ship comes close enough for us to signal it." She looked them both in the eyes. They were on board.

That's when they heard the loud sounds of metal moving about, echoing from the sub-level. Ana was the first to put it together. She looked to Larry and Steve to make sure they were thinking what she was thinking. They were. She brought her finger to her lips, gesturing for them to be silent. Then she cautiously moved down the stairs toward the sub-level, her fingers dancing along the cold concrete wall, giving her a small amount of balance while keeping most of her weight centered. She stopped and kneeled, leaning forward near the bottom of the stairs to get an unobstructed look.

Battle Android Troopers littered the room, their patented transparent chest plates emanating various colored lights that not only gave away their numbers but also faintly illuminated the dark room and the bodies of the dead Vipers sprawled about the floor.

While Ana had descended the stairs quietly, someone behind her had not; the sound of a boot shifting slowly and slightly on concrete as it settled into position. It had to be Steve or Larry. The Battle Androids all turned their attention to the direction of the sound.

Before being seen, Ana slipped back into the stairwell. She wanted to kill both Larry and Steve since she couldn't determine which of the two was responsible. But the sounds of boots heavily marching along the floor, heading toward Ana, gave her reason to stifle that urge.

"B.A.T.s!" Ana yelled as she, Steve, and Larry ran from the stairwell, along the short corridor, and back into the enormous first-floor room. That brought Chuckles, Beach Head, and Stalker to attention.

"Did she say B.A.T.s? As in plural?" Beach Head yelled to Chuckles.

"I think she did," he replied.

"One was enough," said Stalker, slamming down on the Stinger's clutch, and slipping its stick out of gear. Not an easy task for a man with a broken leg. He bit down on the pain, seething it through his teeth with grunts. "We're leaving, now!"

Beach Head helped Chuckles disconnect the jumper cables from his Stinger before shutting the hood and jumping into the A.S.P. Stalker was towing.

"Ready!" Beach Head yelled to Stalker, pounding on the A.S.P.'s canopy.

Chuckles got his Stinger revving and ready, just waiting for Ana, Larry, and Steve to cover the distance to him. They were navigating through Ferret A.T.V.s and H.I.S.S. Tanks, which partially obstructed their way while also serving as good cover once the Battle Androids started shooting.

Ana was leading the way, stopping behind an H.I.S.S. to return fire as Steve and Larry caught up. "Go! Go! Go!" she yelled to them as she tossed a grenade under a Ferret.

The impending explosion pogoed the Ferret ten feet off the ground, giving Ana and her two Vipers the cover they needed to get to Chuckles' Stinger. Steve went straight for the A.S.P. that Chuckles was towing, and Larry went to the Stinger's passenger door, all while Ana continued giving them cover fire.

The Androids had cleared the shadows of the stairwell corridor and were now flooding into the large room, firing.

From the A.S.P. Beach Head could already counted fifteen B.A.T.s and growing. Stalker floored it, pulling them toward the outside.

Several bullets from the B.A.T.s stayed true, hitting Larry square in the back as he opened the Stinger door. The impact forced him forward against the Stinger, then bounced him back to the floor.

Ana watched him fall. She didn't even try to yell his name, knowing it was futile. As he dropped, Ana saw Chuckles sitting just past him in the Stinger's driver's seat, watching with as much horror.

"Get in!" Chuckles yelled to her.

Ana did just that. She ran, bullets slipping right past her, teasing her with death, as she jumped into the passenger seat of the Stinger.

By the time Ana's back hit the seat, Chuckles had the Stinger in motion, pulling Steve in the A.S.P. along as they followed Stalker and Beach Head out of the chaos.

As they fled the Terror Drome, Beach Head fired a few rounds from the A.S.P.'s dual cannons, dealing catastrophic damage to the first wave of five or so Battle Androids.

Steve followed suit but fired more freely. So much so that by the time both Stingers had towed their A.S.P.s from the Terror Drome, the first floor was erupting with small explosions and pockets of fire from the vehicles still inside.

Stalker and Beach Head kept the lead as both Stingers took off into the jungle, staying on the only road they could still discern, willing to go wherever it took them.

Inside the Terror Drome, the fifteen or so remaining, fully functional Battle Androids went directly to the rows of Ferret A.T.V.s; one-man four-wheelers with side-mounted rockets and a small, front-mounted machine gun. Many of the Ferrets were unaffected by the cannon fire explosion, making them perfect for the B.A.T.s.

Without showing any sign of verbal communication, the B.A.T.s each found an A.T.V. They each pulled back the seats and removed a panel that allowed them access to the Ferrets' battery. Retractable power cables extended from their chest plates like snakes, attaching to the Ferret's battery. They committed half of their power to their Ferrets.

Within minutes the sounds of several A.T.V.s coming to life resonated through the room. They took off, rocketing from the burning Terror Drome. They weren't traveling in any formation that looked organized from a God-view, but their weaving around one another was poetic and almost beautiful to watch as they darted off in the direction they knew the Joes had gone.