Killer Laser Rays Part 4: Alabama

“Mom, huh?” I got a good look at the Killjoy in front of us after Disco and Mighty Mouse had mostly detached themselves from her. She was about 5’3, with the same unruly brown hair as Mighty Mouse and the same clear, blue eyes all three of them shared. A neon green mask was pushed up off her face and onto a yellow bandana that she wore on her head, keeping said hair out of her face.

“This is crazy. You’re so big now.” The woman held Disco’s face in her hands and hugged him again. She put an arm around Mighty Mouse, hugging both of them to her sides. And then they realized there were other people in the room.

“Warzone Wasp, nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, which we all shook. She looked down and spotted G.I., who was still lying on the floor. “Woah, who’s this?” She bent down, checking his pulse.

“He got ghosted while we were helping you guys.” Babydoll pulled on my shirt, so I lifted her onto one hip. “His name was G.I. Geronimo, our commander-in-chief.” I bit my lip, studying him.

“I see.” She closed G.I.’s eyes. “We’ll help y’all bury him in the desert, if you want.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I nodded. “We’d appreciate if you and your Killjoys didn’t take any of the supplies we found here first, too. We walked a long way for it, and now that you’re taking two of our own back with you, it’ll be even harder to move it all.” I nodded, all business.

“Wait, we’re not leaving you guys.” Disco looked panicked.

“Disco, that’s how these things work. You go on back with your mom, we’ll be fine.” I nodded. “They can’t take all of us, that’s seven,” I stopped, observing G.I.’s body, “Six extra mouths to feed.”

“No!” Mighty Mouse ran from her mother’s side to bury her face in Lightning’s. “You’re my family, and I’m not leaving without all of you.”

“Honey, you have to go with your mom. She’ll take care of you.” He rubbed her back as tears ran down Mighty Mouse’s face, leaving a wet spot on his shirt. I’d miss them terribly too, they were my family for Pete’s sake, but out in the Zones, finding a parent wasn’t something that happened too often. They had to go, I knew it as well as they did.

“No.” I looked up to see Disco reluctantly tearing himself from his mother’s side and coming to stand next to me. He took Babydoll from me and settled her on his hip, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “They’ve been my family for 7 years out here, and they need me most right now, with G.I.hosted. I can’t just ditch them for a better offer.”

“Woah. Hold your horses, all of you, and let me get a damn word in edgewise.” Wasp tossed her hair back out of her face. “I wanted to take all of you in the first place. How could I justify leaving a bunch of kids out in Zone 2 all alone, their leader ghosted and a target painted on their backs?” Wasp grinned as Mighty Mouse’s face lit up. She ran to her mother, who hugged her tightly. I looked at Disco, whose face was also shining.

“Besides, just from looking at what you’d found, you’re practically impossible to pass up, with scavenging skills like this.” Wasp scanned the place, looking at all the stuff.

“Wasp, we hid the Dracs’ bodies, when are we-“ A darkly tanned Hispanic kid walked in the hole in the wall, a plastic monkey mask from pack in the day pushed up onto his black curls. He was wearing an orange shirt with the words, “Mucho Loco,” printed on it in white lettering and tan cargo shorts that fell just below the knee. “Did you make friends there, Wasp?” He asked slowly, looking from Wasp to Mighty Mouse to Disco and back again, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, man, crazy for wearing that shirt.” Rage muttered to his brother in Spanish, prompting Lightning to snort.

“Looked in the mirror lately, muchacho, or how about showered, because I can smell you from here and it ain’t a good thing.” The kid in the orange t-shirt responded in just as rapid Spanish. A moment of shock and excitement passed between the twins and the Killjoy kid, and they quickly began yelling things to each other in rapid Spanish, using hand gestures excitedly. I ducked quickly out of the way as one of Rage’s hands flew wide, almost hitting me in the head.

“Hey, watch it, doofus.” I smacked him upside the head, but he and his brother kept talking regardless. I exchanged looks with Disco and Wasp, snickering at the excited teenage boys’ exchange.

“Hey Wasp, what’s taking so long?” A girl with dark red hair tied back low on her neck and a yellow shirt over a black and white plaid skirt and black pants walked in, a zombie mask hanging from her neck. Upon spotting her, I knew we weren’t going to get along.

Rage gave a low whistle, saying “Damn, dude, who is she?” in Spanish. The new kid responded, “That’s Solar Crash, and I know she’s fine, but she’ll break your arm if you look at her the wrong way. Trust me, I’d know.” The kid instinctively rubbed his shoulder, as if remembering.

“I’ll take my chances for somebody like her.” Rage rubbed his knuckles and sauntered up to this new girl. Two tall figures stepped out of the bright sunlight right behind her, causing Rage to hold up his hands and back up the way he came.

“Or maybe not.” The two figures stood behind Wasp and the new girl, seeming just a tad menacing. “Yo, Solar...” The large black kid pulled the blue bandanna down from over his nose and mouth, looking at the girl, seemingly questioning whether or not he should kick Rage’s face in.

Wasp saw this and threw him a look. “Chill, Zebra, these are my kids.” She rubbed Mighty Mouse’s shoulders.

“All of them?” Zebra questioned slowly, looking concerned. We all looked at each other and started busting a gut.

“No, we’re the gang that picked them up - what - seven years ago?” I looked at Disco, shaking my head.

“Yeah, it’s been awhile, that’s for sure.” He chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Sorry to break up the love-fest, but Wasp, we gotta get moving.” The kid with green hair finally spoke. He had on black goggles with silver spikes coming out of them, a dark read t-shirt with Anarchy printed in black Gothic type and tight black jeans on. His green hair flopped casually over one side of his face, him not bothering to move it although he probably couldn’t see very well. Killjoys were all about a statement, though, and the old clothes certainly made one.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll take the little kids and any supplies we can pack in the Dracs’ van. Zebra, you’re with me. The rest of you are guarding all of this. Feel free to use whatever, just watch out for the BLI stuff, if there’s any in here. Only eat the dog food if so, ‘cuz you wouldn’t believe the crap they put in people food. That’s how they got people to start taking pills in the first place.” She nodded and walked over to Disco, motioning for him to give her Babydoll. Baby, being difficult, of course, buried her head in Disco’s neck, hanging onto him for dear life.

“Come on sweetie, go with Wasp.” Disco motioned, prying Baby off of him. She started crying silently, tears running her face until Wasp finally put her down. She ran over to G.I.’s cold body, which was still splattered with blood, and hugged him gently, planting a kiss on his forehead before wiping away her tears and walking calmly back over to Wasp, putting her small hand in the older woman’s.

“That’s right, we need to give him a proper burial.” Wasp remembered suddenly, gazing at G.I. A dam was barely holding inside of me, feeling ready to burst any second.I bit my lip and quickly blinked back the tears threatening to overflow onto my cheeks.

“Don’t worry, honey, we’ll take him back with us, clean him up and bury him with a proper Killjoy service.” Wasp walked over and folded me into an embrace. I hadn’t been touched in a motherly way like this since Mother Mayeye, an old gang member who’d helped raise me had gotten dusted out when I was 12. Her younger sister was who I’d stolen my Wolverine claws, jacket and tank top from. I shook my head, clearing it of those thoughts as Wasp released me.

“Now you take care of my son and them, all right?” She wiped away the solitary tear that had run down my face before lifting up Babydoll and taking Mighty Mouse by the hand.

“Hey Zebra, we’re rolling out with our fallen comrade here, can y’all load him in the BLI van with some supplies and get ready to move?” Zebra nodded from across the room, where he had migrated with that other girl and the Hispanic kid. Green hair dude was off patrolling the store after getting filled in about what exactly went down here. People started moving quickly, but I stopped Zebra and disco before they moved G.I.

“Gimme a sec, would you?” The guys nodded, leaving G.I.’s body where it was. I knelt down next to him and pulled his head onto my lap, wiping the dirt from his face.

“What did I do this time, eh G.I.?” I chuckled, tears now running down my face quickly. “I really got us in trouble, I guess.” I sniffed, wiping my tears on the sleeve of my jacket. “You were the last of the original gang. But don’t worry, the Killjoys we met, they’re gonna take care of us, and even if that fails, I’ll watch out for everybody, I promise.” My voice cracked at the end, the lump in my throat feeling like it was expanding until it would make my head explode. I breathed in and out a few times, calming myself down. I wiped my nose of most of the fluids on my face, trying to keep calm. I couldn’t let the kids see me cry, much less any of the gang or the Killjoys. I calmed down enough after a few seconds to plant a kiss on G.I’s cheek.

“Have fun, G.I., wherever you’re at. We’ll be here for now. We’ll be okay.” I hugged the corpse that was once my closest thing to a parent and set him down gently, moving so that the guys could load him into the Drac’s van. This was goodbye, at least for now.

I turned and faced the rest of the room, hoping my face wasn’t too red. I was the leader now, at least under Wasp, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone else get dusted. Not while I was around. Not ever.

Killer Laser Rays Part 5: Arizona

Arizona was driving the van that they had taken from the Dracs and loaded to near bursting with supplies from the beat down store. Next to him sleeping in the passenger seat was the little girl known as Blastzone Babydoll. She was apparently deaf and therefore she couldn’t speak. She was cute, and looked almost familiar but Ari quickly dismissed having met her at all, that maybe she just reminded him of the little sister he had back before they ran, leaving their Draculiod father behind. But a bomb had gone off killing his mother and baby sister. There was no way it could be her.

She shifted slightly, looking positively adorable. Ari smiled to himself, which was an odd occurrence. Ahead of him, Wasp was driving with Mighty Mouse and more supplies. They looked to be having a deep discussion, that or catching up. He assumed the latter. He focused on the road or rather desert area ahead of him. By now the sun was beginning to dip into the sky, and they still had another fifteen minutes to drive.
Arizona felt a pat on his arm ,so he glanced down to see Babydoll looking up at him with a sweet smile. He offered her a small smile before his eyes darted back to the area in front of him, then he glanced back at her to see her pointing at his goggles. He turned back to the road and held the wheel with one hand one while he used his other to pull off the goggles. He glanced down at her and handed them to her, smiling a near full-blown smile. He liked her. She was adorable and didn’t require talking to.
She smiled and started to examine them, placing them over her eyes before pulling them off and placing a finger on one of the many spikes that protruded from them. For the next fifteen minutes, the little girl seemed to be engrossed in both the goggles and sitting in Ari’s lap, playing with the zipper on his leather jacket. He, of course, didn’t mind, as she wasn’t making any noise or being a nuisance.
They finally arrived at the Basket where they pulled around the back and close to the small loading dock that the old restaurant had. Ari got out, holding Babydoll on his hip with his goggles hanging around her neck. He could see everything when wearing them, since they were one-way glass, but he still felt odd without them. As he turned to face Wasp she gave him an odd but approving look before she took Mighty inside. The young girl looked a lot like her mother, the same unruly hair, and she looked tired. Almost as tired as Arizona felt.
They stepped inside and the onslaught of sound erupted around them. The place was as loud as it had been that morning and almost immediately Babydoll buried her face in Arizona’s neck her little arms hugging him tight. Wasp led Mighty away to get cleaned up while Arizona continued in to where the eating and sleeping area was. He was gonna have everyone unload things. He stepped in and after a few moments everyone quieted down. For three reasons. Arizona was not wearing goggles, he had a small girl in his arms, and he was about to speak.
Ari’s eyes instinctively fell to his feet before he sighed and opened his mouth to speak. “Alright, we had a good day, and have a Drac van and half a Impala of new supplies, you know what to do with them, they will be distributed equally among families after tomorrow when we get back from getting the rest of it.” He told them, his voice deep and very masculine. The faces of everyone lit up in the room and they all made a dash for the loading dock while Arizona walked further in and sat down at a table, sitting Babydoll on it then sat down. She smiled at him and grabbed his hair.
He chuckled and poked her cheek invoking a silent giggle from her when she poked him back. He smiled and ruffled her hair, again invoking a silent giggle. “She is mighty cute, where’d you get her? And how come only you and and Wasp showed up?” Came the words of Bird Song, Solar’s illegitimate boyfriend.
“This is Blastzone Babydoll, the other girl is Mighty Mouse, Wasp’s daughter, her son is back at the store with Solar, and the others along with the rest of the gang. Wasp made them stay back to guard everything.” He told Bird. Bird gave a nod then turned around to walk off. He and Arizona didn’t get along to well, Solar and Bird had a thing, and Bird could see how jealous Arizona was of that, even if Arizona didn’t realize it.
Arizona smiled a tiny smile, this was the first time he had seen the dining area completely empty. Babydoll reached forward and tugged on a lock of his green hair. He shook his head and grabbed her hand lightly. His hand was massive compared to her tiny one. He shook his head. “That’s my hair, I know its colored funny, but it’s no toy.” He told her then remember she could hear him. He stood and picked her up and walked her back into the bathroom to get her cleaned up. They had running water, which B.L.ind supplied without realizing it. He set her on the sink counter and turned on the sink, he took a cloth and held it under the water before he rung out most of the water and ran it over her face.
“Look at you, you poor thing, so dirty..” He said frowning as years of dirt and grime rubbed off onto his cloth. He rinsed it again then took his goggles from her then took off her clothing and set it to the side to be washed. The next thing he did was take a cup and fill it with water then pour it over her head. She frowned and tried to pull away but he assured her it was ok and after a while she sat there, drenched. Then he pulled out some soap. Usually they werent allowed but he had seen loads of soap and shampoo in the store so he figured it would be ok, and even if it wasn’t he was making a special use of it for the dirty little girl. He put some soap in her hair and massaged it around, suds quickly forming and turning a dark dirt color.
After he had a good lather worked up he closed his eyes hoping she would understand. She didn’t so he touched her eyes and she closed them then reopened them when he pulled away. He sighed and laid her down, placing her head in the sink and turned the water on so that it flowed down over her hair, then he began rinsing the soap out. She looked up at him as if confused by this new ritual, her pretty blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. After he had her hair rinsed out and the rest of her clean he started drying her off when Mighty mouse stepped in quietly, just in time to hear Arizona say, “So you’re a little blonde huh?” Mighty’s eyes widened and she pushed him away, and in his surprise he fell over.
“Don’t touch her you pedophile freak!.” She shouted, scooping Babydoll up.
“What? No, she was dirty, so I cleaned her up, nothing wrong with that.” He said standing up. He looked down at her his eyes showing all truth and after a moment of intense stare down Mighty nodded and set a scared looking Babydoll down.
“Sorry. I’m just protective of her.” She said averting her eyes and stepping around him towards one of the stalls. “Do the toilets work?” She asked nervously. Arizona nodded then turned back to Babydoll where she was wrapped in a green towel. He blocked the sink drain and filled it with water then submerged her clothing in the water then set to washing it clean with the rest of the soap while Babydoll once again engrossed herself in his silly looking goggles.
Shortly after he heard the distant flush of a toilet then Mighty Mouse walked out. “I didn’t catch your name..” She said looking down at her hands as she ran water over them at another sink.
“Toxic Arizona, you could call me Arizona if you want.” Was his short response as he rung out the little clothes and set them out on the counter to dry. By now Babydoll was dry so he took off his leather jacket and then his red Anarchy shirt. He set his jacket down next to the little girl then took the towel and finished drying her blonde locks. Next to him at the other sink Mighty was watching, her cheeks slightly flushed. Arizona took no notice as he took his shirt and slipped it onto Babydoll, turning it into an overly large dress.
“You got a name or did your voice stop working?” He asked finally facing Mighty full on. By now her face was more then just flushed. “What? Never seen a guy without a shirt?” He said tilting his head a fraction, making fun of her. He didn’t usually do such a thing, but he found her nerves to be cute.
“It’s uhh, M-mighty Mouse..” She finally responded before she made her way out careful not to dash nor look at him. After the door closed Arizona chuckled to himself then looked over to Babydoll who was holding her arms out waiting to be picked up. Arizona obliged but only after he put his goggles back on and slipped out, leaving his jacket and the girl’s clothes.
Back out in the dining area Arizona could tell by the sound of the dying noise of conversation that it was late at night. Many of the Killjoys were already asleep though there was a few who were still awake and talking quietly. Namely the ones belonging to Bird’s group. They were chatting when one of the girls saw him and broke away. She sauntered up to him and looked up at him, cocking out a hip.
“Don’t you look mighty sexy with a baby on your hip and no shirt exposing all that muscle.” She said her southern accent thick on her tongue. Arizona rolled his eyes which she couldn’t see.
“Shut up Cyanide.” he said tartly and stepped around her. That girl was not only queen bitch, but queen whore and it ticked her off that she still hadn’t been able to get into Arizona’s pants. She followed him closely to where he usually slept. He sat down, Babydoll immediately snuggled up to him in his lap closing her blue eyes. Moments later she was asleep. Cyanide sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder her hand on his upper thigh rubbing slowly and seductively.
“Cyanide, do you remember what I did to Solar this morning when she ticked me off?” Arizona started, speaking slowly and maliciously. “Because if you do, I want you to understand that if you don’t leave me alone to sleep then it will happen to you, only I will not let go, I will let you die at my grip.” He said to her, which caused her to pout then got up and walked back over to her Killjoy family swaying her hips a little extra though Arizona wasn’t even looking.

Killer Laser Rays Part 3: Alabama

We’d been walking for a few hours. Judging from the position of the sun, it was about 11:30 in the morning, Battery City time. I’d gotten really good at guesstimating time from the sun ever since that fateful day back in the outskirts of the city, when the men I’d later come to know as Draculoids had broken into my house and killed my mother. Ghosted, I mean. Or dusted. We never said killed, or murdered, just because that was the propaganda BL/ind had always used against its enemies. We made our own slang quickly, wanting to distinguish ourselves from those pill-popping rats as much as possible.

“Hey look, over here!” Mighty Mouse moved towards a crumbling building with a broken sign hanging by a nail dangling over the pile of rubble that had once been the entrance. The rubble was piled high into a steep mound, but it looked as if no one was around, so we walked closer, observing.

“A grocery store. Talk about dumb luck.” G.I. shook his head in amazement.

“A what?” Mighty Mouse looked at him, confused.

“Oh my God, you’re too young to remember these, aren’t you?” G.I. shook his head in amazement. Mighty mouse was only about 12, so she barely remembered life before the company took over. “Well, back in the day, you’d go into one of these to buy anything and everything you’d ever need. Food, cleaners, pills, (before they controlled your mind, that is) anything. I bet you we could find you some new books and things here.”

“Really?” Mighty Mouse’s face lit up. G.I. had educated all of us to the best of his ability, teaching us how to read and write late at night when it was too late to be out scavenging.

“Let me go in first.” I sized up the rubble pile before deftly starting to climb up and over the rubble pile, sliding carefully down the other side. I drew one of my white rayguns to ward off potential attackers and surveyed the place. From what I could see, it was huge, with rows and rows of food extending about a hundred feet in front of me and 200 feet to my left. Part of the back of the building was collapsed, but the food section seemed unscathed. The place was dead silent. I patrolled a few rows carefully, looking up and down and seeing no one, listening carefully for the smallest noise. After checking out the place completely, I returned to the place I started, feeling relaxed. And then I breathed. The smell of rotting fruit and meat permeated the air, so bad it made me want to blow chunks. Whether it had been the adrenaline of scouting or some glitch in my brain, I hadn’t smelled the horrid smell of death and decay that filled the place until now.

“Guys!”  I called outside, breathing through my mouth, “It’s clear, but it smells like the outhouse after Rage uses it.” I coughed, putting my hand over my mouth. I took the bandana I had tied around my thigh and retied it tightly over my nose and mouth, much preferring my own BO to the rotting smell any day.

“Hey, don’t go blaming that on me, chica, we eat the same things.” Rage teased over the pile. “Yours smells just as bad as mine.” One by one they climbed over the rubble pile, G.I. helping Babydoll.

“What IS that?” Disco held his nose, all of them making faces.

“Rotting meat and fruit. It’s been in here for 7 years, just festering.” G.I. observed. He seemed almost immune to the smell.

“Which is why we head to the canned foods aisle.” Lightning turned to head down the rows.

“Hey, hold on. Alabama, Disco, go scout the rest of the store. The rest of you, go get those carts,” G.I. pointed in the direction of the bright red vehicles on wheels, “and we’ll go get food. Ready, go.” We split up, heading in opposite directions with the knowledge that we’d landed on a gold mine. Things were about to get interesting.

“I can’t believe people once couldn’t survive without all this stuff.” Disco and I walked through the aisles, looking at all the things we could use. We’d stumbled upon mattresses and real sheets, along with fresh clothes and piles and piles of blankets. I touched the soft, furry, pink fabric blanket, feeling like I’d never felt something so soft before.

“This could help so much. Look at this place! It’s a gold mine for at least stuff to trade, not to mention food and other resources.” Disco and I wandered through the bedding section, seeing actual bedframes with actual mattresses on them. I flopped down on one, feeling like I was lying on a cloud.

“How in the name of BLI are we going to get it all back to the apartment, though?” I questioned.

“We could move in here.” He suggested, hopping up on the mattress next to me as I rolled over onto my stomach.

“It’s awfully hard to defend if we do. Think about it; some gang finds us, outnumbers us by hiding in the rows and we’re done for.” I shrugged. “We need a better-“

BOOM! A sound like the world was imploding on us cut me off, and we looked over to see a hole blown in the side of the building, spraying dust and debris everywhere. We instinctively dropped to the ground and pulled our rayguns. The guns were scattered all over the Zones from Drac attacks, so everyone had at least one, besides Babydoll. I was the best shot and could shoot with both hands, so I had two. I heard feet running towards us and looked over to see the rest of the gang approaching.

“What the hell happened over here?” G.I. said in a harsh whisper.

“What’d you do this time, A?” Rage snickered at me.

“Shut up doofus, this is serious. We were scouting when the wall blew up for no apparent reason.” I heard yelling and war cries from outside and suddenly, I realized just what was going on.

“Holy shit, it’s the Killjoys out there.” My eyes were wide. The Killjoys were an organization more than a gang, spanning the known world that wasn’t still burning from the nuking of 2012, who banded together right after BL/ind first emerged. They were led by four heads that were wanted in all six zones as well as Battery City. The flyers were plastered everywhere, offering astounding figures for them, dead or alive. The entire organization was based on more than staying alive, which set them lightyears away from the rest of us out in the Zones, besides the fact that they didn’t mind if they died. Taking down the company that was keeping the masses enslaved was their mission, and they were damn good at killing Dracs and slipping right through the fingertips of everybody else. We could hear the raygun exchanges right past the wall, and I heard a high=pitched scream, like that of a child. I could tell from the yelling that the Dracs were winning, and there was no way in hell that was happening on my watch. I stood and moved stealthily towards the end of the aisle.

“What the hell are you doing, A?” G.I. hissed at me.

“I can’t let the bad guys win again, G.I. I have to help them.”

“Alabama Napalm, get back here! You’ll get yourself ghosted!”

“Then at least I’ll have done something, instead of just sitting here like a pansy!” I turned and strode sneakily towards the hole in the wall, my eyes adjusting to the harsh sunlight of the outdoors. I looked back to see the rest of them grudgingly following, rayguns drawn.

“We’re not letting you get yourself dusted, A.” Lightning put one hand on my shoulder. I grinned confidently. G.I. and I always butted heads over stuff like this, but I knew they’d want to do the right thing in the end.

We took up positions around the hole. Turns out we were in perfect position, considering we were behind the Dracs and could see the Killjoys, who were outnumbered. It still amazed me the amount of color they had on them. One kid firing from behind the wall of some building had bright green hair, while the others all wore colorful, printed clothing, standing out against the sedated background like Batman at a Klu Klux Klan meeting.

G.I. gave the signal, all of us firing quickly, but not fast enough to catch all of them by surprise. Two of the five Dracs dropped to the ground, but the others whirled around to face us, letting off a ton of shots. We all clamored away from the hole, but G.I. wasn’t fast enough. I stared in shock as G.I. was hit twice in the chest, dropping to the ground with a thump so loud it seemed to echo and reverberate off the walls. The Killjoys finished off the Dracs as the fire ceased, cheers coming from across the urban battlefield. I screamed in horror, rushing to G.I.’s side and clutching his hand. His face was frozen in shock, his body lying limply on the dirty, dust-covered floor. I did this, I thought in horror, slapping G.I.’s face to wake him up, screaming at him to wake up. He was the closest thing to a father I could remember having, he couldn’t dust out on me now, although I could see in his dull, lifeless eyes that he already had. The tears didn’t come immediately. I kept it together for the time being, too in shock to register anything else. I sat back on my heels after my outburst, taking his pulse to confirm our greatest fear; our fearless leader was ghosted.

“Hey, are you the good guys, or do y’all want to kill us too?” I heard someone approach us and stood, shading my eyes to see who it was. “Because if you do, you better jump in while the gettin’s goo-“ The woman froze in place as she neared us enough to see our faces, stopping abruptly and staring from Disco to Mighty Mouse and back again, a mixture of elation and pure shook on her face. Disco made a strangled sound before rushing forward and scooping the 40-something woman up into a bear hug. Mighty Mouse wasn’t far behind her brother, clinging to this woman we didn’t know. And then I heard the word that made all the difference.

“Mom.”

How to Survive Zone 1, Chapter 3: How to Keep an Enraged Father-Figure at Bay

Once I was done with Party, I dragged Jet and Kobra out to see my new car. Ghoul had stayed behind to talk to Party, just like he'd promised. We neared the end of the warehouse to see the Mustang, dusty, but still beautiful, where I’d parked her the day before.

“Wo-ow, haven’t seen one of these in literally a lifetime.” Jet looked at her appreciatively. “How, exactly, did you get this car again?” He asked bemusedly, one eyebrow raised.

“Well, I uh...” I stammered, at a loss for words.

“All right, I’ve got an idea.” Jet rolled his eyes and walked around the car, checking out the interior.

“Nice, ain’t she?” I grinned at Kobra. He nodded, smiling shyly.

“I’ve got to paint over that soon, though...” I examined the smiling logo  chuckling with Kobra before turning around and leaning on the car door. “You wouldn’t believe where the keys were.”

“In the visor?! Seriously?!” Kobra burst out laughing, as did I.

“One of the many things I’ve learned from Terminator 2.” I nodded, calming myself down.

“Oh man, I remember watching that with you! How old were you, 11 maybe?” Kobra grinned at me, seeming much more comfortable than before.

“So, how have y’all been, anyway?” I threw a glance over my shoulder to Jet, who was looking under the hood.

“It’s been pretty bad lately, especially around the inner Zones.” Jet stood, shutting the hood and walking over to where we were standing. "We think it's because of that, ahem, thing we were telling you about. They're turning up the heat to throw us off."

"Well, be careful, alright?" I chewed my lip, concerned. "You wouldn't believe who's been getting ghosted these days.”

"Who?" Jet's eyebrows knitted.

"You remember the Kung Fu Krew? It was that doofus Bird Song's Clan." Jet and Kobra nodded.

"Not my favorite clan, but whatever." Jet shrugged.

"They all got dusted out in the same battle somewhere out in Zone 4. His girlfriend, what's her name, Solar Crash, I think, she's just about lost her mind. He'd made he stay behind with her real clan. I heard he had something on the side with some girl in his clan, and that's why." I shrugged. "Either  way, they're all dusted out. Nobody even knows where they're buried."

"Damnit, the oldest wasn't more than 19." Jet paced, angry, before spinning and facing us. "How can they just kill kids like that? KIDS!" He sat on the hood of the car and smoothed the lines in his forehead.

"Hey man, watch the paint." I made a face at him, to which he responded with a prominently raised middle finger.

"Oh shove it, Jet." I rolled his eyes. "Always so dramatic."

"Um, guys? Get over here!" Party called from the kitchen doorway.

"Well, duty calls." Kobra slapped his hands on Jet's shoulders. "See ya later, Terror."

"Bye Kobe." I nodded. "And just turn that frown upside down, Jet!" I called after them, chuckling. I stood up off the car and wiped my hands, seeing just how gross they were. My baby needed a bath, and she needed it bad.

In the spirit of boredom, I went on a makeshift scavenger hunt, finding water too acidic to drink, some ancient soap and an old rag before proceeding to clean her off. Before I started, I stripped off my jacket, shoes and t-shirt, wanting to keep them dry and not really caring, considering mos others were out Drac hunting and this part of the warehouse was rarely visited anyway. I was just finishing cleaning off the last of the soap when I heard a voice behind me.

"Having fun, Terror?" I jumped about a mile in the air, turning to see Pathogen Pollution, a lone Zone runner we'd picked up about a week ago. His whole clan had been dusted out three days before, and all he could do was wander, dehydrated and out of his mind wih grief. He couldn't even tell us his name when we found him. Luckily, he'd made a recovery and was getting more stable, although Ma still would't let him go Drac hunting.

"Dude, don't sneak up on me like that." I turned around, leaning against the car.

"Sorry, I just heard someone down here and wondered what was up." I was suddenly painfully aware of my partially naked form, considering I was standing there in merely my bra and jeans, and I was wet from washing the car. Po's eye's roamed my body, causing me to quickly cross my arms over my chest.

"Y'know, Terror, you're really beautiful." Po said quietly. "Like most girls just don't have the same hair, or the same body." Po stepped towards me, a strange look in his eyes. "You were the only one who visited me when I was sick. You're not like them."

"Po, what are you doing?" My eyes widened as he put his hands on my hips. I shoved them off. "Look man, you're not feeling okay..."

He replaced his hands, making me nervous. I tried to shove him off, but he pressed me up against the car. "I love you." His mouth collided with mine, his tongue going straight into my mouth. I beat his chest and tried to scream, but he held me down, giving me nowhere to go. He pulled back to let his hands travel upwards towards my bra clasp, giving me oppourtunity to bring my knee up where the sun don't shine, screaming all the while. Po doubled over, letting me bring an elbow down on the back of his neck. I heard noise as he fell and felt myself being pulled backwards into Party's protective hug, the guys having run out when they heard the ruckus.

"Did this fucker hurt you?! Huh?!" Jet and Kobra were having a hard time holding Ghoul back as he lunged towards the injured Po. I burrowed into Party's hug as he shielded me from the escalating scene.

"What happened, sweetheart?" Party asked me as I stood there, quivering and wet.

"I was washing down the car and he just came out of nowhere." I stammered, shocked. "He pressed me up against the car and kissed me-"

"I'm gonna kill you!!" Ghoul lunged with renewed vigor.

"Okay, let's all just calm the fuck down, alright?!" Party demanded, causing Ghoul to relax some. "Somebody toss me her shirt." Jet snatched it off the nearby picnic table I'd left it on and tossed it to me. I shakily put it on, still nervous and shaken.

"What happened, you scumbag?" Party glared at Po.

"She loves me and she knows it!" Po yelled, pointing at me. "She nursed me when I was sick, every day she visited me. Every day she looks at me and sends me messages with her eyes." He stared longingly at me.

"What, my knee in your groin wasn't enough of a 'fuck off' signal?" I glared at him, horrified but coming out of the shock.

"You just didn't want them to see us together." Po answered promptly. Jet and Kobra let go of Ghoul and walked forward, picking Po up by his arms and leading him away.

"Come on, creep, let's go see what Ma want's to do with you." Jet said, hauling Po to his feet.

"No! You love me, Terror! We're meant to be!" He screamed as Jet and Kobra dragged him out of sight.

"Are you okay? Did he touch you anywhere else? Did he hurt you?" Ghoul took my shoulders, his eyes a mix if rage and concern. "I swear, if that little creep so much as breathes on you the wrong way again-"

"Ghoul!" I stopped him. "I'm fine, okay?" I said softly, still a little freaked out.

"Are you sure?" He looked at me, concerned.

"Yeah." I nodded, my eyes narrowing. "I never saw it coming, y'know?"

"What a fucking creep. I swear to God, I'll kill him-"

"Please don't." I hugged him. "Just let this go. I can take care of myself." Ghoul didn't reply, merely hugged me back.

"I don't want her here with that bastard." Ghoul shifted me to his side, keeping one arm around me protectively. "She wants to come with us anyway. Let's take her with on this next run."

"Can we talk about this later, Ghoul?" Party tried to say before Ghoul cut him off.

"There's nothing to talk about. Either she comes or I stay back. Take your pick." Ghoul raised his chin defiantly. They stared at each other for a few moments in a silent standoff, eyes locked, before Party sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"She's your fault, that I'm-not-taking-orders streak." Party pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index fingers. "Do either of you realize what we're risking here? She's one of our biggest assets."

"That's the problem, I don't want him touching her assets and he's fucking crazy." I snorted at Ghoul's overbearing instincts.

"Here, I'll make you a deal;" Party looked at me. "you can ride with us IF you take a team in with you to do the job."

"Oh come on, you already said I could go in by myself!" I whined, but Party merely held up a hand.

"That's the deal, take it or leave it." He nodded. "Are you coming or what?"

I looked from Ghoul to Party carefully, trying to find a way out of this. "But-"

"No 'buts.'" Party cut me off. "That's the deal."

"You know I can't turn that down." I glared at him. "Fine." Ghoul's face broke into a grin as he and Party looked at each other mischievously.

"You guys suck. Way to jeopardize the mission." I shook Ghoul off me, irritated.

"Come on, whiny, we got some details on the tower we need to go over." Ghoul propelled me by the shoulders to the kitchen.

"Kiss my ass." I chuckled as I followed Party into the kitchen, just happy to be with the guys again.

Killer Laser Rays Part 2: Arizona

Toxic Arizona blinked his eyes open. Sunlight streamed onto his face warming it. He looked around to see the area of Chicken Basket, where he and many many more Killjoys either resided or passed through. It was basically a large stronghold that was run by the thickly accented southern woman and mother figure Warzone Wasp. Known to all as Wasp. She had dark brown unruly hair that she kept held back and out of her face with a yellow faded bandanna while using another once bright neon green one for her mask. Her choice of clothing also reflected her southern ways. She wore a blue and white cotton plaid button-up and pair of faded jeans complete with a western style holster for her raygun and dark brown cowgirl boots.

At that moment she was exchanging words over the Transmitter with a very serious look, which meant she was talking with the Big Four. They were the Killjoys that had basically started the whole Killjoy Organization, and the ones who told the rest of us where to go, who to kill and what to take. Party Poison was the leader, his haircut almost identical to Arizona’s besides the fact that Arizona’s was bright green and shaved on on one side and Party Poison’s was a firetruck red. Fun Ghoul was another, along with Jet Star and lastly Kobra Kid. They were big names in both B.L.Ind terms and even bigger in Killjoy terms. Why wouldn’t they be? They were the Four Fathers of Killjoys.

Arizona sat up and ran a hand though his hair as the sleep faded. The place was loud and bustling with life as always. It never seemed to slow or quiet. Not even at night when most everyone was sleeping. His eyes slipped over to where Bird Song was leaning over a flushed and giggly Solar Crash. A burst of anger and jealousy rose in his chest but as usual he pushed it down and headed to the bathroom to relieve himself. Minutes later he left to find Zebra Kiss’ illegitimate little sister Pink Venom crying by the door. He knew almost with out thinking what had happened, but he asked anyway.

“Pink, what happened?” He asked looking down at the tiny and overly skinny Asian girl.

“Solar. She teased me again.” She said through both tears and her thick accent. Arizona sighed and gave her a hug before he left her to look for Solar. He found her being all close and snuggly with Bird again and once again it got his blood boiling, especially when the douchebag put his hands on her little ass. He walked up to them and nudged Bird out of the way.

“Why are you so rude to Pink?” He asked bending low to get in her face. She rolled her deep green eyes at him.

“What’s it to you?” She shot back.

“She was crying, that’s what.” He replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh please, she cries about everything.” She said sneering.

“No, she only cries when you or that sleazebag your throw yourself all over tease her.” He told her his muscles tensing as his jaw clenched.

“Do not call Bird a sleazebag you jack ass. Why can’t you stay out of this?” She hissed obviously angry.

“Would douche bag be better?” He asked just before Solar’s fist knocked him square in the jaw. He flinched at the pain before he pushed her against the wall with one hand around her neck and picked her up all while holding her to the wall.

Her eyes grew wide and she started flail but that quickly died down as her air was cut off. “I told you about hitting me, and I told you about being mean to Pink.” He growled at her as tears of pain spilt over her eyes and down her now colorless cheeks. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Wasp standing holding her paddle which she actually used to spank misbehaviors with. Arizona let out an angry sigh and let Solar go. She coughed and held her throat glaring at him.

“Quit bickering and get in the Impala, both of you now.” She said sternly. “And Plasma wipe that monkey grin from your face and join them. Find Zebra, he is going as well.” She said as the smile fell from the small Mexican boy’s face. He nodded and they all left to get ready to leave.

Soon after they were leaving and heading East. The sun was just barely up and over the horizon indicating that it was most likely only 7:00 Am Battery City time. Arizona knew then it was going to be a long day.

****

The sun bore down on the beat up car as they drove through Zone 2. It was nearly 10 am, judging by the sun. In one Chevy Impala, the roof missing, Warzone Wasp was driving with Toxic Arizona in the passenger seat, his spiked Cyber Goth goggles pulled down over his eyes, effectively hiding them and his current mood. In the back sat Solar directly behind Arizona; she wore her crudely made zombie mask while her dark red hair whipped slightly in the wind. In her lap sat her purple raygun which she had painted over herself. Next to her sat a curly-haired, dark-skinned Hispanic boy who wore a large grin on his face under his monkey mask as he and the even darker-skinned boy with the eraser hairstyle exchanged words about the fight that had occurred earlier that morning between Solar and Arizona.

“She was ticked....” Plasma was saying to Zebra as he reminisced on the morning’s previous events. He was explaining to Zebra what had gone down between Solar and Arizona just minutes before they had left. Zebra had missed it because his illegitimate sister Pink Venom was sick and he was with her.
“So, who threw the first punch this time?” Asked Zebra, glancing down at Plasma, who shrugged.
“I didn’t see it start, I just saw the middle and end of it... They were really gettin’ into it today though, like some loco chihuahuas.” he said with a smirk. “She clipped his jaw pretty bad, but I think she only bruised the bones in her knuckles, and you can bet he is gonna have a few pretty gnarly bruises...” Plasma explained not even caring that Solar was next to him in the back of the Impala.
“So, who won?” He asked, almost thinking it might have been Solar.
“Ari did this time. He monkey stomped her loco gringa ass.” He said and laughed at his terminology. “He had her neck in one hand and just kept squeezing while she flailed. I thought her eyes would pop out.”
“No way. Well, I guess someone needs to teach Solar where she stands...” Zebra shrugged and shook his head like he didn’t care either way.

Before long a mostly rubble building came into view, and along with it, a white van with maybe seven Draculiods standing around, as if they were waiting for them. A few words left Wasp’s mouth but were lost to the wind as everyone but her gathered their weapons and readied for the battle that would ensue. Solar pulled her mask up and over her face while Plasma slipped his on as well. It was as if they had been waiting for them to show up. And maybe in a sense, they had. A few Days ago, Wasp had been informed by the Big 4 that there would be a group of Dracs that would be in search of a small gang of young teens. Wasp of course had taken this near personal. She decided to make it her job to take in any young people she found out here; the more the merrier, she had always said.

They came closer and, long before Wasp had come to a stop, Solar, Plasma, and Zebra were firing at the congregation of Dracs. Shots flew from both sides, but not one hit its mark. The Impala finally came to a halt and everyone jumped out while dodging shots. A shot flew right by Zebra’s ear and he threw himself to the ground, shooting more while Solar lobbed a can that blew up sending two Dracs threw the air their limbs flailing, one arm was blown away, the blood spurting out in all directions.

Moments later two more Dracs collapsed leaving only three. Solar let loose another can bomb which landed near the wall of the building then exploded causing the wall to collapse and crush a Drac. When the dust cleared they stood there, well most of them. All the Draculiods were ghosted. Zebra lay on the ground while everyone else looked around to gather themselves.
“I think there was someone near the wall after it fell.” Wasp said, jogging over to the collapsed wall. Right away, Zebra and Arizona set to gathering the bodies of the ghosted Dracs. Solar stood by the Impala and watched for a little while while Plasma examined the grazed ray mark near his ankle. It wasn’t too bad at all and seemed to be the only injury they had sustained.
After a while Plasma walked over to the hole in the wall to see what was taking Wasp so long. Then after that Solar glanced over where she could hear Plasma’s loud and excited voice ring out in Spanish. She glanced over to where Ari was tossing the disembodied arm onto the pile of Dracs before jogging over to the hole. She stepped in after she pulled her mask down.

A Map of Battery City and the Surrounding Zones

I got bored, so I drew y'all a map. Check it out. :-D

(Click on the picture to see it better)

Thick black line = Zone boundaries

Pink X's inside circles = Zone Outposts

Silver = Unknown area (presumed unlivable)

Green area around Battery City = City Suburbs (surrounded by a medium-height wall)

Purple Area = Battery City (dome)

Red line = Route Guano

Dark blue line = Dixie Death Highway

Teal line = American Widow Row