The climactic battle with G.I. Joe had left Cobra La utterly crippled. Their hidden sanctum in the Himalayas had been destroyed resulting in massive casualties, among them the Serpent King Golobulus. In their state of utter ruin, those who survived where forced into hiding, left to rally their forces and rebuild what they could. While the treacherous Dr. Mindbender conspired with Pythona in resurrecting their fallen king, factions of the hierarchy were left to their own devices. The Bio-mechanical priests wasted little of this time.

During their defeat, Cobra La had lost the bulk of their stock of Mutagenic spores, the instrument they had refined over millennia to re-conquer the world. Those that had been launched had been overloaded by the Broadcast Energy Transmitter, with the remainder burning up in the upper atmosphere. The fraction that could be salvaged after the fall could not be utilized in their intended capacity of a full scale bombardment. Instead, the remaining bio-mechanical priests began to explore alternative routes. Rather than focus solely on the degenerative factors, they began to study the mutagenic effects, specifically how they could be used to manipulate the mutations to fit their ultimate design.


By the time that Golobulus took his place as Earth's new Emperor, they were more than ready to begin their work in re-shaping the world, despite not fully replenishing their stockpile. This would begin with the release of a strain on pollen that had been modified by exposure to the spores that would target key points across the globe, then they'd simply sit back to let nature take its course in its new stage of evolution. Initial points of contact would begin to mutate nigh-instantaneously, while wildlife and prevailing winds would carry the excess into other areas, slowly perpetuating Earth's rebirth. With the primary targets being the plant life of these areas, a secondary bonus was any additional life living in these areas, Animal or Human.

Dedicated to long-term operations deep within enemy territory, Range Vipers were noted for an unusually high tolerance for discomfort, a knack for self sufficiency, and a perchance to attack with little to no provocation. Standard practice would be to drop them in the wilderness and left to fend for themselves; foraging to keep fed, building their shelters from indigenous materials, and acquiring armaments by way of hit-and-run missions against local weapons depots. Their ‘cost effective’ nature made them a personal favorite of Cobra’s bean-counters. Unfortunately, their lack of communications with Cobra left any units operating in the field completely unaware of Cobra-La’s invasion, not that there was any way they could have prepared themselves for the nightmare to come.

At least 3 dozen squads where stationed in the Amazon basin at the point of the infection and as with all other living things at ground zero, the sheer concentration of the pollen caused them to immediately mutate. With their continued lack of communication with outside forces, it can only be speculated the physical horrors endured upon these soldiers having their genetic code brutally restructured. While it can be assumed that their mutations mirror that of the local populations of affected areas, but any lack of definitive observation has ensured their actual status remain a mystery. What is known is that their behavior differs little than it did beforehand. They go on raids for supplies and attack anyone they feel are intruding in their territory. But as the renewed nature began to overtake the ruins of society, their activity began to expand as well, eventually bringing these 'hunters' into direct conflict with the Cobra-La’s expansionist forces.


"Be it in haste, arrogance, or a mixture of the two, Cobra La failed to account for certain outside variables in the planning stages. Could be they doubted that Range Vipers could pose any form of threat based on whatever intel they received, or merely assumed that the concentrated exposure would devolve them to the point where they could easily fall under the sway of the world’s new masters. It wouldn't be the first time their opinions on humans would cloud their judgment. As Range Vipers they were selected for endurance and ingenuity, then dropped into unfamiliar territory to dig in. They had already familiarized themselves with their territory long before the fall, learning every nook and cranny until they knew the layout like the back of their hand. Even now, after the world itself has been remolded in Golobulus's twisted image, these 'Cazadors' are still dug in, still holding on to the territory that mutated around them, and still using it to their advantage. Cobra-la are fools if they think clearing them out will be easy."


"Those...things are like an angry, heavily armed Bigfoot. The lucky ones have only managed to report fleeting glimpses, cicada-like screeching coming from the brush, or red eyes glaring back from the darkness. We haven't heard anything back from the unlucky ones."

At first I didn't know if I would actually participate, but upon doing some thinking ideas clicked and I started planning. Chose the head since it was one of the most insectoid looking heads available, but honestly I did not know how he’d actually fit-in to the universe until work started. Mutated Range Viper. Took cues from the 'Raid on Cobra Island' version, but took some artistic liberties. From the general vibe of all the bio's, I figured that they'd have to scavenge themselves some 'fresh' uniforms at some point.


What took the most time and effort was my work on the hands and arms. It was a learning experience to say the least, specifically that the process I used for washing was wrong. Got the arms nice and washed to emphasize the gnarled effect, then spent an afternoon tagging all of the boils with a Citadel technical to make them look extra squishy. Had thought of using a wash to make his pants look filthy, but ran out of time. Instead I opted to use a quick wash to darken up the blue.