It's Like Having Been Born Again.

Author Chick's notes:  Okay admit it, you know that you have probably at least thought in passing whatever happened to Steeler, Clutch, and Grunt after "Worlds Without End."  You know you have. ^^  Well so have I, so much so, I am finally writing it down!  At least a little bit of it at any rate.  Yup, this sucker's gonna be a multi parter, how many parts I don't know but we'll find out when I type 'the end' won't we?  And! Get this, I'm going to be serious this time!  Hell, I could even be accused of being a bit mushy here. (I know for a fact I will but I plead near lethal doses of 'Journey' and 'Brian Adams' mushy love songs.)  As usual, none of it is mine, if it was the movie would have been a damn sight different, hell it would be right up there with Rocky Horror in cult status! Okay now I'm just being bad, here read!

It's Like Having Been Born Again.  Pt 1.

The light faded, then as if it was never there, it disappeared forever.  That was it, no chance of going home.  Home where you knew who your enemies were and where you knew whom your friends were.  Home where you knew everything.  Instead you're stuck in a place that seems like home, but only on the surface, all the colours and patterns you knew have changed, shifted, and rearranged themselves into a completely new picture that you had to figure out.

Grunt sighed deeply and looked to his comrades.  He knew all of them by name, one however he knew nothing about.  The woman.  Where he was from she would have filled the men with hot lead before even thinking of helping them.  Here however, they needed her, she was an ally.  Grunt watched her as she looked to the sky, then turned to address them.

"We'll need to go.  I have a safe house nearby that neither of those maniacs know of." The Baroness said.  The maniacs she referred to were in the middle of a civil war, a civil war she created using the combatant's jealousy of each other against them.  Both Destro and Cobra Commander were tearing up the streets of DC to gain ultimate control of the world, the flames of that war could be seen on the horizon to the south of them.

As they climbed back into the HISS Steeler stumbled a bit, still weak from the recently defeated infection.  Clutch and Grunt both marveled at the tenderness the Baroness showed toward their leader.  A short while later they stopped in the middle of nowhere, at least that's what they thought until their guide punched a code into a remote.  Suddenly the ground opened before them and the Baroness drove forward.

What was devastated forest above them became a large open hanger.  There were several dozen soldiers milling around, all of them in a heightened state of alert.  The blonde assistant Grunt remembered from the mansion stepped up to greet them.  "I thought you were all going back to your world?" Leila asked as she saw that three of them remained, including much to Leila's relief, Steeler.

Clutch looked at her, no emotion on his face really as the sheer size of their new situation settled on his broad shoulders.  "You need our help." He stated quietly.  Leila muttered a quiet thanks before awaiting her mistress' orders.  For the moment the wisest choice was to lay low until the smoke cleared from the battle raging above ground to the west of them.  Once they knew what was left to deal with, they would do so accordingly.  Until then however, it was best to stay hidden and learn all they could.

The hideout was huge, the hanger being only a small portion of a much larger facility.  It was like the Pit, only underground, or so it seemed to the three Joes.  The Baroness escorted her new charges to a large luxuriously appointed library so they could discuss amongst themselves what they needed to do.  After explaining how to contact her if they needed to, she left them to their privacy.

"First thing we need is knowledge." Steeler spoke up.  Being the ranking officer among the three he was in charge.  Everything he ever learned in officer school clicked into place and he began without hesitation.  "We need to learn history as it happened here.  How did COBRA win? What happened that gave them the edge?"  Grunt and Clutch both nodded, it made sense to start at the beginning and work their way up. 

Steeler continued, "After that, then we need to track down any of the Joes who went underground, rebuild the team."  Steeler paused as he considered something.  "Grunt?  Remember how Destro didn't even blink an eye at yer act about switching sides?" 

"Yeah? So?" Grunt answered, wondering where Steeler was going with his train of thought.

Steeler thought for a moment how to say what he was thinking.  It was hard enough for him to digest but it made sense in this strange new shadow world they were in.  "We're going to have to be ready in case…in case we encounter anyone who really did defect."  Grunt and Clutch both sat bolt upright at Steeler's statement but said nothing.  "Remember when we all thought Dusty had defected?" Steeler asked, referring to the incident that shook the entire team to the core a while back.  "Yeah it was really all some scheme he and Duke had cooked up, but it was still hard to swallow." Steeler said reminding his comrades that this reality wasn't what they knew. 

"All I'm saying is cross yer fingers and hope for the best, but be prepared to get the worst."  Steeler said before pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning forward. A moment later the dizziness passed and he continued.  "I'm ready to believe this Baroness is as she says she is." He said, "We need that now." He added.

"Yeah but how do we know she isn't just part of some grand plan COBRA has to flush the whole lot of us out and kill us?" Clutch asked, not as ready as his partners to trust their hostess.

Grunt spoke up before Steeler could.  "If he weren't dead now," He started, jerking a thumb at Steeler who was still hunched over in his seat a bit. "He would be by morning.  I got a chance to read up on that bacterial whatever that he was sick from."  Grunt continued.  "It is lethal if left untreated, if she hadn't given him the antidote, he'd be a corpse now, or pretty damn close."  Steeler kept his eyes closed, the light bothering him a bit but listened as Grunt continued filling in Clutch.  "She didn't have to save him if her ultimate goal was to destroy us.  Hell she could have blown us all to shit instead of getting us to the Proving Grounds and giving us the chance to go home." 

Before Clutch could argue that point Grunt argued back.  "And she could have done it after the others did go back."  Clutch thought about all he'd heard and looked back at Grunt.  "I'm not saying I'm gonna let my guard down but I'm ready to give her the benefit of the doubt.  If only because right now she's all we have." Grunt concluded.

Clutch nodded, telling Grunt that he was right then looked over at Steeler.  "You sure you're gonna be alright?" He asked, not liking how his boss looked.

Steeler looked up.  "Yeah.  It's gonna be a few days before I'm back to normal, but I'll be good."  Steeler answered, hoping his answer would ease both of his friends.  In truth he felt like hell, but he had been told it would take a while to completely recover from the infection that had nearly taken his life.  "I just need to rest and let the meds do their thing." He added he then took Clutch's wrist into his hand.  "We all do." He added getting an idea of the time from the mechanic's watch.  "We'll take two days to get rested.  Do whatever you need to do to get back up to par." Steeler stated, planning how they would begin the immense task they'd all agreed to take on.  "It'll give me a chance to sleep the rest of this bug off, and you guys the chance to absorb everything.  We'll start in two days, first thing 08:00" He winked. 

Grunt laughed.  "Yeah and then restart after he's taken another three hours to wake up." He said to Clutch, referring to the blonde lieutenant.  All three shared a laugh before summoning their hostess and letting them know their plans.  A few moments later, the Baroness and Leila entered the library.  After briefing the pair, Steeler let them know that they were going to take a few days to rest and gain their strength.

Leila nodded curtly when her mistress asked her to escort Clutch and Grunt to private rooms after showing them around.  Alone with the man who in a way was her beloved, the Baroness smiled softly.  "You need rest.  I can show you around when you've rested." Steeler wasn't about to argue as he followed her.  No words were spoken as she led him to gorgeous suite of rooms.  Steeler's eyes bulged a bit at the rich fabrics and tapestries used in the décor and marveled that he was in reality, underground in a bunker. 

He followed her as she led him to the master suite and he could almost feel his body screaming at him to just fall into the massive bed and it's inviting looking sheets.  His sense of decency however won out and he asked instead which door led to the bathroom, so he could shower.  The Baroness showed him where the bathroom was and left him in privacy as he set about getting clean.  Steeler could hear her doing something out in the kitchen area of the suite.  Stripping his clothes, he thought for a moment then lay them neatly on an ottoman near the bathroom door. 

"Jesus." He exclaimed as he saw the large bathroom.  Separate bath and shower, both of which were massive in size, and a smaller separate toilet area and an expansive vanity area.  As tempting as the bath looked, he figured a shower would be safer.  As exhausted as he felt he figured he'd drown if he fell asleep in the tub.  Turning on the water and letting it heat up he relieved himself then came back and got in the shower.  He took a moment to let the hot stream soak him and groaned. The water felt so good to his worn body.  He was surprised for a moment that his usual toiletries were all set out on the shelf in the shower, along with what he assumed were the Baroness' personal favorites. Then he remembered that she had loved this world's Steeler. 

Odds were that the man whose corpse he'd found on the Proving Grounds was very much like he was, seeing as they were the same man in a sense.  Steeler looked down at the intricate tattoo on his left arm, the thing that had proven their story to this Baroness, when she doubted their sanity.  He thought of the disturbing image of having found his own remains wasting away on the ground along side those of his friends who had stayed behind with him.  It was like they had been reborn.  Steeler shrugged as the thoughts began going off on a tangent he wasn't ready to handle.

Having scrubbed the last few days off, Steeler turned the water off and reached for one of the towels hanging near the shower door. He grabbed a second one to wrap around himself as he stepped out of the shower and over towards the vanity. Marveling at how the shower had made him feel so much better, he noticed that there was a clean pair of pajamas sitting on the marble counter, no doubt left there by the Baroness as he showered.  He looked back at the shower and noticed then that the doors were frosted, smirking he pulled the pants on and left the shirt where it was.  Hanging both towels up to dry off he went back into the bedroom. 

The Baroness had also changed while he was showering.  She was wearing her bathrobe again and sipping tea from a large plush chair next to the bed.  She looked defenseless curled there, reading a book and drinking her tea.  Steeler thought about it for a moment then decided that it was a discussion for another time.  He noticed that she had also pulled the sheets back on the bed while he was getting clean too.  'Man, she thought of everything.' He thought to himself before speaking up to announce himself.  "I'm uh safe in assuming, that things were pretty serious between you and the other me?" He asked.  Her soft 'yes' pulled at him as he thought about it more.  'Lucky bastard' Steeler mused about the Steeler this Baroness had known.

"Thanks.  For everything." Steeler said as he crawled up onto the bed.  Getting comfortable in a cross-legged position, he faced her, taking in the sight of her against the soft light of the room.

"You are most welcome." She replied softly, her lilting accent thicker with the barely contained emotion.   "I brought you some coffee.  I know you like it before bedtime." She said as she handed him the large mug.  Steeler purred as he drank, it was just how he liked it.  He looked up at her and thanked her again.  "It is…difficult.  I know you are not the man I loved yet you are.  It's hard for me to remember that." She said as she faced him, tears in her eyes.  "I see you sitting there, just as he did, and…" She couldn't continue, emotion choking any further response out of her. 

Steeler quickly put his coffee aside and reached over to her.  She didn't fight him as he pulled her into his arms and let her weep against his chest.  He held her like that for a long time.  Regaining a bit of composure, she looked up at him, not pulling out of his embrace.  "You need rest, you are still fighting off the D-Bacteria." She said as she finally did pull away.  Steeler, realizing he was too tired to argue, just slipped under the covers.  He was asleep before his head ever touched the pillow.  The Baroness smiled as she finished tucking him in, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair off his forehead before placing a gentle kiss there.

The Baroness removed her robe to expose a simple nightgown.  Getting into the other side of the bed, she turned the lamp off on the nightstand.  The following morning Steeler awoke feeling warm and safe.  Something soft was under his chin and he glanced down to see long raven black hair spilling all over the pillow.  He had his arm around her waist as she slept against his chest.  Deciding he liked this he went back to sleep. 

Knowing that when he awoke the following morning, life would be deadly serious.  For now he could relax, he'd need it as the days grew into weeks and so forth.  He'd agreed along with Clutch and Grunt that they'd rebuilt GI Joe and save this world from COBRA.  Even if it did kill them…again.

To be continued…