Running was getting hard. I was exhausted, we all were exhausted, but we couldn’t stop until we made it to the van.506Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgaAfPdYIg
I saw it parked only a few meters ahead, the bright orange and red stripes popping out against the California desert. We were almost to there, but I could hear the pounding of dracs close behind us.
“Ex!” I yelled, “What do we do?”
Alteration Extermination, my best friend and fellow Killjoy, turned back to look at the dracs, looked at us, and motioned for Static, Mech, and Play to keep going.
“Get the van started!” she yelled, “We’ll be right behind you!”506Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRglu0ypCW
She pulled out her two laser guns and motioned for me to do the same. We took down a few dracs, ignoring our usual policy of pulling their masks off to see if they were worth saving. We found ourselves back-to-back; shooting for our lives. Static revved up the engine and drove over to us. Before the van even stopped, Play and Mech had slid open the door and were yelling for the two of us to get in. I turned to jump into the van and felt a sharp pain hit my ankle. I stumbled and Mech caught me, pulling me inside while Ex jumped in the passenger seat.
“Dammit Ex!” Static yelled, “That was too close!”
“I had it under control!” Ex countered, “Em, you alright?”
“Roger,” I replied, “A little bit of laser never hurt anyone.”
Mech snorted at my morbid joke, and she and Play bound my ankle, propping it up on a box. Static was a normally careful driver, so we didn’t bang around in the back as much as we did when Mech drove.
“Where are we?” Static asked, “Let me rephrase that; which direction to home?”
“East,” Ex said, “Let’s just hope that Dr. D doesn’t murder us for not finding anything.”
We were sent to that particular base to find some supplies, including a serum that turned the effects of the brain-wiping pills that were given to the citizens to keep their minds blank. I also think that Dr. D was secretly thinking that we would find some evidence of Party Poison still being alive.
Hold on, let me back this up.
There were fourteen Killjoys, or outlaws, after Better Living Industries took over the world and wiped everyone’s minds of color and imagination. Us Killjoys were the colorful, imaginative people that made Korse, (the leader of BLi), very angry. He tried to kill us essentially. The leaders of the Killjoys were called the Fabulous Killjoys, there were four of them; Party Poison, Jet Star, Kobra Kid, and Fun Ghoul. A few months ago, Korse killed them all when they went to go rescue a captured Killjoy. Party’s body was the only one that wasn’t recovered, so Dr. Death Defying had this theory that he was still alive.506Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYZVyZJ2Zx
Within the ten Killjoys left, the five of us were the closest group; both friendship-wise, and the amount of money that was offered on our heads.
Alteration Extermination, whose real name was Erin, was our sort-of-leader. She took responsibility for most of the situations we were in, so we gave her the leader role. Her dyed-red and brown hair was just visible from my position in the back, and her hands were clutched tightly on the handle of her red and black ray-gun. In the driver’s seat sat Adrenaline Static, who couldn’t remember his real name when we found him. He was the only boy on the team, but I think he handled it well. He was blonde, with spikes on his leather jacket to rival the ones one Erin’s. Mech and I had an ongoing theory that Ex and Static had a thing for each other, but it hadn’t been proven…yet.
Mech, or Mechanical Girl, was my little sister Louise. When the world first started changing, she was injured in an explosion. Her eye, shoulder, and lower leg were all replaced with metal parts. It was creepy, but came in handy sometimes. She was a real whiz with the tools, and her fingers were permanently stained with engine grease. Next to her, Contemplation Disorder sat…contemplating. Her real name was Jocelyn, and she was usually the brains of the whole operation. She was calm and level-headed, and she fought like a demon. And then there was me, with my bleeding ankle propped up on a box to reduce swelling.
Screaming Sunshine was my name, and fighting dracs was usually my game. Before the world ended I went by Emily, but I chose my name because of my happy, and often loud, personality. Erin and I had been best friends for eighteen years before BLi took over, and the two of us had been great friends with Jocelyn for eight years. Erin had known Static before, but when we found him she refused to tell us his name.
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When we pulled into the gas station that Dr. Death Defying lived, and operated a radio station, Mech and Play supported me as I limped inside. Show Pony and Missile Kid, two other Killjoys, sat me on a table and began cleaning the wound while the others went to talk to Dr. Death.
“Sunshine!” Dr. D yelled from the other room a few minutes later, “Pony, Missile, please come in here!”
I limped into the adjoining room, the other two Killjoys behind me. Static stood up and offered me his chair, and I tried to decline but I think he wanted to stand up so I sat down.
“Thank you for making it home alive,” Dr. D said, “I do believe that Static has found some useful information for us?”
“I don’t know what it is,” Static said, reaching into his pocket, “But I brought it anyway.”
He set a small, white package on the table. Dr. Death began opening it with shaking fingers, and when he pulled the wrapping away, he gasped.506Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUKqe6V0gf
Inside the package was a yellow mask with blue spots and black arrows around the eyes. Pony and Missile gasped when they saw it, and Missile started to cry. Dr. D picked it up and started inspecting every bit of it until he found a white slip of paper taped to the inside. He detached it and read it aloud.
“I’m Alive –GW” he read in a shaking voice.
“Who’s ‘G’?” Mech said quietly,
“Gerard Way,” Show Pony said in a choked voice, “Gerard Way was Party Poison’s name before BLi took over.”
“Party Poison?” I asked, “So he’s still alive?”
“He may be,” Missile said, “Let’s just hope he stays that way.”
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