Swimming for the Surface
The house she pulled up to was a total mess. A rotting deck, a bare lawn with a skeletal tree, what was once a tiled roof before being stripped bare… as a hideout she could respect it, but as a home? It proved the man she came to talk with was in dire straits indeed. She walked across the pathway, noting the lack of footprints- if she hadn't known better, she would have assumed nobody had been here for weeks.
She reached the rotting wood of the deck and slowed down, stepping carefully to avoid collapsing through. A quick knock on the once grand oak door revealed nothing- there was no sound, even to her trained ears. Suddenly, it swung open- a hulking figure stood in the doorway, the total darkness behind him lending an almost supernatural menace.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" he rumbled out, as the man leaned forward, allowing the sun to illuminate his bald head and prominent sunglasses. "I wasn't expecting any… visitors."
"Cobra Bubbles. My name is Agent K, and I'm here on the behalf of the US government to ask you to come back to your old line of business."
"Really? A washed up has been like me? After my screw ups in Hawaii, I figured you lot would just forget about me if you didn't blame me for what happened. I don't even work for Social Services any more- I've been getting by on my unemployment checks and government stipend."
Agent K sighed, sounding briefly irritated. "Things have changed. The GalFed's transmissions have gotten unreliable, and we haven't been able to contact anyone in charge, even on a local level. It seems things were really shaken up over there, possibly by one of our local Megacorps, possibly not. We need someone with your experience in alien diplomacy to keep things from boiling over."
Cobra's expression shifted slightly, but he gave no other reaction. "Seems like my past is catching up with me. Still, this might be a chance to make up for some… old mistakes. I hope you don't mind if I get started immediately- there isn't much for me here."
Agent K nodded. "CARTER won't mind too much if you sit in the back seat. Let's get going, then."
She smoothly turned and began walking away, clearly expecting him to follow, but he stopped for a moment to look back at the old wreck of a house he had been living in for years. The suffocating weight of his mistakes was a familiar presence by now, but maybe… he didn't have to feel that way forever.
Cobra Bubbles moved on, not with a lighter heart, but maybe with just a little bit of hope to hold on to.
A/N: Actions have consequences.
