Activation code echo niner on all G.I. Joe remote storage sites.
- Prep for action. - Communication is reacquired.
All games end today.
Yeah, you were right to call me in for an lD.
Major Sebastian Bludd himself.
Senior staff to Cobra. Or was.
- Everything in the armory? - Every vehicle, device and gun, Duke.
Shaped charges designed to do maximum damage.
lf the Flagg hadnīt been built to G.l. Joe specs,
weīd be on the bottom of the Pacific now.
Thatīs not a big comfort to me right now, Stalker.
Who was running security detail this shift?
- Bazooka. - l want him here now.
l want to know how someone kicked out our teeth without him noticing.
We found him.
Not a mark on him. Killed and hidden before the charges were planted.
We have a new situation. Satellite communications are down. All of them.
Anything involving a satellite isnīt working... anywhere.
And somethingīs happening in New York.
Good morning.
I use the name Cobra Commander,
and I am the founder of Cobra,
an organization you great and glorious people
tend to dismiss as criminals.
I have always believed that money brings power.
This was an error that has cost me a lot of pain.
It recently occurred to me, however,
that if I had all the power,
then everyone would bring me all the money.
I therefore make the following proposition.
You have 2 4 hours to turn control of your nations over to me,
or I begin killing nations until such time as you hand over the keys.
Now, obviously, no oneīs going to believe me,
and all of you will attempt to mobilize against me.
And so I illustrate my point.
What is that?
You have 2 4 hours.
- Scarlett? - That symbol.
ltīs the mark of the Arashikage, isnīt it?
- The ninja clan that trained you. - And Storm Shadow.
Storm Shadow killed Bazooka, sabotaged the armory
and now heīs calling you out.
l know what happens next, and līm not arguing.
līll signal for a hypersonic transport.
But you be ready when we need you. Clear?
Good. Now, go.
You can go with him or stay with me.
- Your call. Make it now. - You mean stay with the unit.
- You heard what l said. - Just like that?
- Just like that. - Then l stay.
Get him down.
Wait. Whereīs his grenade belt?
Satellite communications are down worldwide.
We have enough intel to know Cobra has done something...
...unimaginable. This is UAV footage from over Moscow.
Weīre looking at a fatality count of around ten million.
Cobra did that? How, a nuke?
Not a nuke. But we donīt know what it was. Yet.
What we do know is that this is the greatest threat
Cobra has yet perpetrated. This was planned extensively:
Knocking out satellite comms, decapitating a superpower
and attempting to cripple the only team
that could possibly mobilize against them.
- Killing Bazooka. - Yeah, killing Bazooka.
Giving the world less than 24 hours to hand over all control to Cobra.
But weīre more than one good soldier.
And weīre more than a bunch of guns and vehicles on the armory deck.
Theyīve underestimated us, the way they always do.
Weīve got less than a day to make that work for us.
Go down there, work with the support staff.
l want some answers.
This hereīs Wild Bill calling Brussels Hub, do you copy?
Iīm issuing activation code echo niner on all G.I. Joe remote storage sites.
I want all those lovely vehicles dusted off and prepped for action.
First, we look at how satellite communications can be killed,
but regular radio can work.
The interesting thing is regular radio was also clearly interrupted
- for a brief period. - OK. What does that indicate?
We need to run through the possibilities right now.
Boys and girls, talk to me about weapons.
How do you incinerate a city without using a nuke?
ln theory, l can think of five ways to do that.
- How much time do you have? - You are my new favorite Joe.
Talk fast.
- What do we know? - The ionosphereīs been superheated.
That means radio signals bounce off it.
Satellites canīt send down to us, we canīt send up to them.
At the peak of the superheating, nothing worked.
When it settled, long-range radio began behaving properly,
skipping off the ionosphere. That bitīs real important,
because thatīs how Moscow was destroyed.
Those kids down there have collected enough data
to confirm Cobra used a particle cannon.
They fire it skyward, where particles are dispersed by the ionosphere.
The particles are then recollected over a target of Cobraīs choice
anywhere in the world. And boom, death from above.
- Like a laser beam? - Supercharged particles.
This is a whole new thing, but the kids have worked out where the cannon is.
One of the abandoned Russian missile silos, would you believe?
Donīt seem right, does it?
To set up something like that, they must have been there a long time.
Thereīs gonna be major counter-intrusion technology on site.
l know. Theyīll spot a strike team from ten miles off.
Breaching that place is gonna be a one-man job.
Or a two-person unit. Have we got more hypersonic transports on the way?
Yes, maīam. We got one 30 minutes away.
And then l guess līm flying the pair of you to Siberia.
And this is how l win the world.
This juncture, of course, is usually where the wheels come off.
But not this time.
Cutting the traitor, Major Bluddīs, heart in half right in front of you,
right here, in this room, should have gotten the point across.
lt suited me, once, to appear weak and cowardly,
because it motivated you people to think.
But today is a new day.
There will be no moves to take over my command.
There will be no mistakes.
There will be none of your crap! None of it!
Work with me, and l will give you the world
in less than 24 hours.
Work against me,
and l will gut you like a fish,
right here.
Put me through to the New Mexico radar station.
Yeah, this is Dial Tone on the U.S.S Flagg.
līm looking at the latest data you sent over,
and thereīs a string of anomalies mid-stratosphere.
Duke and Scarlett are prepping for pickup. So what now?
So we have to start putting the rest of the pieces together.
This is gonna take the whole crew, Roadblock.
What l donīt get is how Cobra is holding the whole operation together.
- How do you mean? - Theyīve been ahead of us
every step of the way so far.
We even have confirmation that there was a kill team waiting
for Snake Eyes in Japan. Theyīre squirting a lot of information around
- at very high speed without detection. - l know how.
These things are barely in prototype, we thought. Theyīre called stratellites.
The core is a helium balloon,
made out of incredibly tough stuff called thermoplastics.
līm guessing Cobra has a constellation of them floating 20 miles up.
- Hundreds of them. - And these can still work
with the ionosphere thing thatīs blocking our sats?
Theyīre way below the ionosphere. Theyīve been working this whole time.
Tunnel Rat, l know itīs a little out of your field...
l do two things for this team: defuse things and blow things up.
- Twenty miles up, you say? No problem. - We put a UAV up there.
Something on the stratellite locked onto its engine and burned it out of the sky.
We have to assume itīs an anti-missile system.
This is different. Gimme an hour to put this together.
- But it doesnīt solve the real problem. - Which is?
lf we take out their stratellite net, we kill their communications system.
lt donīt give us satellite coverage back.
We just got that piece of the puzzle.
This is H.A.A.R.P., an installation up north
designed to superheat the local ionosphere for experimental science.
Their phone lines were cut a few hours ago.
Theyīve been taken over.
Thereīs a research station a hundred miles away.
They say they can see the glow of those antennae for the first time.
Put together strike teams for H.A.A.R.P. and the stratellites.
ltīs gonna be one of those days, man. Everyoneīs up on deck today.
Time to go to work.
Remember, the first one to speak
gets to see two of their friends killed right in front of them.
l want lots of peace while this machine weīve supercharged does its work.
After all, itīs not that often
we get to spend this much time together.
Uncle, may we speak?
You should call me sensei in front of the other students, Storm Shadow.
You know that.
l do not speak to you now as a student.
Very well.
Youīve been tutoring my friend privately.
You have been training since you could walk.
Your friend came to us as an older child, an orphan.
He needs a little help to keep up with you.
He is your best friend.
Do you deny him aid?
No, no, itīs just you havenīt taught me the Seventh Step yet.
- l do not understand. - The Seven Steps to the Sun.
The martial arts form you created,
upon which the reputation of this school is founded.
l understand the Seven Steps very well.
l do not understand your question.
l am the greatest student in this school.
l am your own nephew.
Yet you have not taught me the Seventh Step to the Sun,
the final strike form. Why?
- You are not ready. - How much readier can l be?
Do you understand why l have not passed the Seventh Step on?
l mean, do you have any inkling?
None. lt makes no sense to me.
You should still be grappling with the implications of the Sixth Step.
This, you can already do, and it is a terrible thing.
The Seventh Step is death.
Passing that knowledge on to anyone, even my own blood,
is a huge and treacherous step.
You do not understand that to be able to deal utter destruction
with only seven blows is a responsibility like no other.
Uncle, you will not live forever.
Who will pass on the soul of your school to new generations
if you do not teach me the Seventh Step?
This is not the soul of my school.
Do you really comprehend so little?
Do you really believe
l have nothing to teach but death?
Your friend is more ready than you.
Violence is a burden to him.
To you, it is less than air.
l ask you one more time.
Will you teach me the Seventh Step?
No. l believe l will not.
- Master! - Master!
lt had to be done.
We were meant to be ninja, my friend,
but Uncle wanted us to stay schoolboys to his will.
Now, we can make this place into what it should be.
lf you strike another Arashikage, itīs vendetta.
You know that, Snake Eyes.
All games end today.
līm gonna say it again, Duke,
these packs havenīt been cleared for HALO ops.
l heard you the first time, Ripcord. How long till we drop?
- Forty seconds. Youīre all set. - You know the drill?
Yeah. Circle the area and listen for your beacon on channel 23.
lf we hear nothing in 30 minutes, we consider you dead
- and report to the Flagg. - You donīt have to like it.
- Good, because l donīt. - Live with it. Helmets on.
What the hell?!
Alley Vipers!
- We need some cover! - On it!
They never decommissioned the missiles.
Follow the cables.
- Talk to me. - Donīt ask me how they did it
because l donīt know where Cobra gets its tech from.
But if l had to guess,
līd say they turned the warheads into a nuclear reactor pile.
Zartan.
So hereīs my cunning plan.
Cobraīs static stratospheric satellite constellation
has anti-missile technology that locks onto engine signatures.
Getting up there is something of a trick.
Luckily, insane stunts are part of the job description.
Project Manhigh, in 1 955, put a pilot 20 miles up
in a high-altitude balloon. Weīre gonna do the same thing.
No engines, see?
ltīs gonna take pressure suits, some tight flying and a buttload of luck.
ldentify the communications gear. Donīt cut anything.
We donīt know what traps or fail-safes Cobra built into this.
Yeah, thatīs it. l want to bypass that.
Get the cover off it. Carefully.
OK, this wasnīt in my cunning plan.
Switching to thermal.
There. līm gonna guess that thatīs the Baroness and Destro,
- and lots of hostages. - Element of surprise gets us nowhere.
Theyīre in an open area. We canīt get to them without them seeing us.
- So how do you want to play this? - l figure we get more traction
by letting them know weīre here.
- Outstanding. - Wait. l got an idea.
- What the hell? - G.l. Joe. Got to be.
OK, letīs do this.
Some idiots are going to break in.
lf we donīt like what they say, weīre going to start killing you.
So start crying now. Make it good.
A little honest victimīs fear always rattles these people.
There goes the Viper Team.
What? You think līm gonna knock?
- What are they doing?! - Killing themselves.
So many years, so many fights,
so much hate.
l used to tell you that l blamed you for my uncleīs death.
l only said that because l hoped it might hurt.
l used to tell you that it was a matter of honor.
That you struck me and vendetta must be observed.
But thatīs a lie.
l hate you because he was going to teach you
all Seven Steps of his most secret martial form instead of me!
l hate you because he chose you. Thatīs all.
l had him killed by a Cobra sniper.
But you... All līve wanted for years
is to kill you myself.
l donīt need swords to kill you!
līll kill you with my hands!
The Fifth Step to the Sun, just like he taught you.
But thatīs all he taught you, isnīt it?
He didnīt teach me the Seventh but he didnīt teach you the Sixth.
He didnīt...
l want my work to survive, but l want it to live well.
l teach the Seventh Step only to you,
knowing that you will use it when nothing else can save you.
Knowing you will pass it on, as l do,
to a worthy student.
He taught you...
...the Seventh...
- Well, now. - Walk away, Zartan.
You were only ever a mercenary.
You can walk away now and live to get paid another day.
l was a mercenary a long time ago.
l still remember the first job l ever did for Cobra.
But l like the idea of living in a world
where l can kill anyone l like, any time l like.
l donīt need the money. l just need the killing.
l took a bullet off a rib.
lgnore it. Disable the damn particle cannon.
- Has that stopped it? - No, thatīs just cleared it.
Any idiot can reengage it. ln fact...
Yeah, itīll automatically reengage on remote activation.
The way l see it, thereīs only one way to break it.
Whatīs that?
l can set the reactor pile to detonate.
Thereīs a six-minute cycle in the original warhead systems.
Do it. Then bring in the hypersonic transport.
- Get yourself out. - Me?
Look at me. ltīs gonna take me six minutes to stand up.
Set it and get moving.
The transportīll get you out of range before the place goes up.
līm not gonna get out of here in time. Do as l say.
There. Done.
- Now go. Thatīs an order. - The hell with your orders!
ltīs taken me years to sort out in my head what l want, who l want.
And today, l did. līm staying with you, for all the time l have left.
lf thatīs six minutes, damn it, līm spending my last six minutes with you.
Yeah, I know Iīm breaking radio silence,
but we just picked up signs of activated nuclear warheads.
- Anything you want to tell us up here? - Oh, for...
Ripcord, would you get out of here? The pileīs set to detonate,
and līm wounded enough to make climbing out of here a pipe dream.
Well, how about sliding?
l can see a big old hole in the ground that l figure l can shoot a line down.
You canīt hover these things while ten miles up like Tunnel Rat was hoping for,
down here in the nice thick atmosphere, I can stand right over the silo.
l love you.
Him, not you. Youīre a big jerk.
Get your foot on one of the teeth!
- Much pain? - Who the hell has time for pain?
Good point. Ripcord, pull!
Two minutes! Close the doors and get us way the hell out of here!
l know where you are.
The second l see your eyes, G.l. Joes, l start killing people.
So you get out of this building and bring your transport in close.
We want to leave in it.
Damn. Destro mined the entire corridor.
Heīs probably made the Baronessī undies out of plastic explosives.
- What now? - Gimme that gun.
- Are you trained on this thing? - Please.
There ainīt a gun on this planet l ainīt trained on.
Gimme a G84.
What are they gonna...
- What are they doing? - Just sitting there,
wondering what to do. līll give them another minute.
Maybe we should kill one now,
speed up their thought process a little.
- Nice. Pick one. - No. You should pick.
l hate depriving you of fun.
- The hostages are gone! - Thatīs just bloody cheating!
Give us an excuse. Go on.
Give me a break! Just one!
l donīt know if anyoneīs still on this frequency, but līll give it a shot.
līm also recording this in case... you know.
All these stratellites are connected by communications beams.
There are too many to take out one by one.
l can make them all kill each other.
l can make a massive power surge ride those communications beams:
Wireless energy transfer.
Hopefully without blowing myself up, but, hey, themīs the breaks.
Sitrep.
Tunnel Rat has disabled the stratellite network.
At this time, we consider Cobra blind and toothless. What now?
We make sure this canīt happen again.
We kill Cobra Commander.
Satellite communication is reacquired.
And līve got something really weird coming back from them.
- What? - A sudden energy signature
- that matches the cannon in Siberia. - But that shut down.
l know. This is coming from somewhere else.
Somewhere in America. Chasing it down.
- What now? - H.A.A.R.P. effect.
Weaker than before, but...
We took the H.A.A.R.P. installation out! What the hell is going on?
Secondary H.A.A.R.P. system somewhere. Must be.
Not as strong as the original, but strong enough.
Someone just took our bearings. Weīre being targeted, Flint.
All points! Emergency evacuation!
- Move, move, move! - Go, go, go!
Move it! Move it.
Thatīs everybody. The Flaggīs clear.
Flint, look at the sky.
l donīt believe it. What now?
l got a lock on the signature before we left.
ltīs in the Midwest, a town called Springfield.
l hear you. Go to staging areas A through D.
- Saddle up for a mass strike. - You sure about that?
Cobra Commander didnīt take us out first because he wanted us to watch him win.
Now heīs panicking. Now we have the edge.
Weīre going to Springfield.
Less than 1 2 hours, and itīs all gone wrong!
l mean, you know l missed some of them with the cannon shot!
You know it!
There is only one thing to do.
Ramp up the reactor output!
l want to start striking cities randomly
until they give me what l want!
That... That could take a few hours, sir.
We donīt have the dedicated output of the Siberia station...
Get rid of this garbage.
You nuked Siberia and all you got was a limp?
- Funny. Sitrep. - Sat coverage is spotty.
This new H.A.A.R.P. clone Cobraīs running isnīt as good as the main one.
Analyzing the original sat take,
we figured the Springfield particle cannon doesnīt have the same juice
as the Siberian one, either. lf we can take the site in the next two hours,
we can stop them from firing again.
This is crazy. Can we do this in under two hours?
l donīt see that weīve got a choice.
Tell me everything you can about the control systems for the cannon.
l figure thereīs an outside chance l might understand.
Just an outside one?
What?! Theyīre coming here?!
Launch the defense swarm, you morons!
They know weīre here.
Knock on the door anyway.
Wait, l think weīre OK.
Good to see you. Took care of business?
We need some cover!
You canīt stop it from firing.
Washington is going to boil away to nothing,
and itīs going to be your fault!
What have you got to say about that?
Bulletproof and bombproof.
This pod even has its own life support and power source.
- You should have just let me win. - OK.
You think killing the lock will open the door for you?
Nope. l figure itīll stop you from opening it.
- ls that it? - All points.
Everybody to a plane and out of zone, immediately!
ls that your best?
What?
īīFinal report: on our return to the site,
the shielded unit Cobra Commander used to hide in was... absent.īī