"He is in there. But he has taken out the eagle. Tread carefully, my friends," Lone Eagle announced.
    Tread this, boy.
    "Ready, and, hup!"
    Scarlet came flying through the door above head height, launched by the other two, crossbow ready as she rolled back up onto her feet. He went for her with the bokken, a solid hit. She bounced backward, dropping her crossbow. She had a big dent in her back now, but immediately assumed a fighting stance.
    "Come on, baby doll," he invited, waiting for her.
    She gave a shout and aimed a kick at his head. He leaned back two inches and watched it go by. He had his back to the door now.
    "I've got him engaged!" she shouted at the others.
    "Hold it, I'm not ready for that level of committment!"
    "Aren't we already in the ring, little boy?"
    "Sorry, but I think we need to see other people. You won't be seeing much of anything." He popped another flare in her eyes, blinding her before he ran for the next open doorway.
    Lone Eagle and Hawk had moved in, firing, but they were too late. He seemed to be in a bedroom now. He headed for the dresser and climbed up.
    There was a light up there, providing the room's only illumination. He reached the top as GI Joe came in. The dresser had a mirror attached. He crawled into the gap between the mirror and the dresser itself and found the screws holding the former in place. Time for a plastique charge.
    "Scarlet, go over and guard that other door, make sure he doesn't get out of here. Triage, how are things going?" Indistinct murmuring. "Okay, just make sure he's okay and clear the path for the rest of the guys coming through, we think we have him cornered in here." Scarlet and Eagle moved over to guard the second door into the room.
    Phoenix Talon jumped up from his hiding place and yelled, "Hey!"
    "There he is! Fire!"
    "Wait, no, he probably has something planned!"
    Of course, they fired anyway. Some of the bolts reflected off the mirror and blew little holes in the ceiling, but they all missed him. The eagle, recovered, flew toward Phoenix Talon. The door opened further and in came three more men on a mobile artillery piece.
    He triggered the plastique and threw himself off the edge of the dresser, descending rapidly on his line. Toys yelled and tried to get out of the way, but the carrier and its three men were buried. The light had been smashed by the mirror, but he knew Scarlet was still between him and the door.
    "We really must stop meeting like this," he muttered, swinging down. Her crossbow bolt severed his swing line; he went crashing painfully into her.
    Her head came off.
    He ran for the door. It was a closet. He ran back out.
    "Get the other tank in here!" Hawk shouted. Rumble, rumble. In the darkness, Phoenix Talon ducked under the desk and moved quietly toward the door. "Get the rest of the team in here, hook those cables up and start pulling. We've got him cornered. Get the spotlights set up."
    He heard mechanical sounds; the tank was winching the door closed. They were setting up floodlights, swinging them around. He had a small window of opportunity, closing fast. Hawk continued shouting orders.
    "Keep a good watch on that door, we need to keep him closed in here! He has secrets he can't get to Cobra Commander!"
    Phoenix Talon leaped onto the tank with a Shinto Mirror Attack, blinding one of the two men. Tank Gunner evaded him, however. Phoenix Talon opened up the turret and dropped inside. The driver was surprised to see him, and quickly unconscious. Phoenix Talon could hear yelling outside.
    "Do not worry, I have salvaged this," Lone Eagle intoned.
    The controls were a mystery, but he managed to figure out a few things fairly quickly.
    "Another two degrees... fire!" someone said.
    He hit the gas as something struck the back of the tank. Looked like they'd gotten a mortar in place. The door wasn't open far enough for him to get the tank out, so he rammed the mortar instead. The front end of the tank was badly damaged, momentum carrying it some distance further. There was a lot more yelling. He got out of the tank and saw a man with a flamethrower prepared to lay down a coat of napalm. Phoenix Talon headed for the door, dodging bolts. He took two hits, not bad, but this was definitely a pretty sucky day. He took a left out the door and headed for the next room.
    A foyer, and stairs going up and down. He went up. This looked like it was some kind of fake house; the stairs didn't have the right proportions. Each one was twice his height, making the climb something of an ordeal. He reached the top, breathing hard. More hall, more doors. A hanging light. A trapdoor in the ceiling that might go to an attic. He made it up to a doorknob, then scaled up to the top of the door, thinking the attic might lead to a way out, or at least a good hiding place where he might be able to make a plan.
    There was a helicopter coming up the stairs.
    "Yes, he has definitely come this way," he heard from below. "His tracks are evident."
    It's a hardwood floor, how can he...? Phoenix Talon flattened himself on the top of the door near the hinge, giving him a perfect view of the rising chopper.
    "Don't see any sign of him up here," it reported. "The door's open, he might have gone through."
    "This is Hawk, that's not good enough. We don't know how good this guy is, switch to infra-red."
    Whoops. Phoenix Talon got out a line and swung over to the hanging lamp while they were scanning the other direction. It was really uncomfortable up there, but it hid his heat signature.
    "No sign of him here."
    "All right, move on ahead. We're following." The rest of the troop was making their way up the stair, Hawk carrying Scarlet's head. Someone said something about "the final surprise."
    The chopper went off into the next room. Phoenix Talon watched two men come up the stairs and spread out; neither one looked up. They can't get any vehicles up the stairs, at least. He lassoed the cord on the trapdoor and climbed up it. Pulled out his remaining plastique charge and rocked on the string until he was swinging back and forth, gathering momentum. He slapped the plastique on and swung away just as they spotted him. Fortunately, he was outside their effective range. The eagle came back around at him; he missed it with his flare. Then the charge went off; feathers flew, and Lone Eagle gave a distressed cry. Phoenix Talon swung up through the hole in the trap door.
    "Get the chopper back in here!"
    "Who is this guy?" one of the Joe team wondered.

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