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The Commander stood in his operations bay, staring out over the subterranean base he had built with the sheer force of will only he could have mustered up. The Springfield compound would be viewed as a world wonder if its existence ever was discovered. But he had made sure that would never happen. Layers of lead and dense bedrock were layered on top of the massive underground base keeping it sage from all satellite detection. Even the Joes didn't have the technology to penetrate the veil he had pulled over their eyes. The Commander was quite safe here. His army grew, they were trained, and provisioned.

But he couldn't win a war from underground, and the Joes were making it increasingly difficult to win the war above.

The door to the operations room slid open, and in sauntered Firefly. The fly had been the Commander's most trusted ally since his days in the war. He was the only one in his army that had ever seen his real face. Even Destro and Bludd had never gazed up his true form. Firefly was dedicated to the cause to the point of fanaticism, which didn't always make him the best counsel. On the other hand, he was the only once he felt comfortable talking to in a normal matter.

"So, you've been up here for a while," the demolitions expert mused as he sliced an apple with his trusty hunting knife. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I don't have time or the patience to deal with sarcasm, Firefly," the Commander snapped at his lieutenant. "The Joes have been weighing on my mind."

"Figured as much," he replied, biting into the fruit. "You haven't been above ground since they stopped you from getting the bioweapon."

The Commander clenched his fist at the mention of his last, failed attempt at shifting the balance of power in his favor. The bioweapon being developed by a secret think tank could kill millions at a whim, and the Joes destroyed it and the research facility where it was being developed. It was the latest in a long line of setbacks that were driving the Commander mad. The Joes only had him to worry about. They spent day and night worrying about his movements and his plans. He had started planning a way to distract them, but it was still in its infancy. For now he had to deal with them.

"I think it's time to change that," the Commander said after a long pause. "It's time to remind the world, and the Joes, why they fear Cobra. Ready the Crimson guard."

"I thought you'd never say that," Firefly smiled, tossing the core of the apple aside.