Chapter Text
It’s been one year since the Fabulous Four Killjoys got together as a team. In that one year, their fight against Better Living Industries became a well known story throughout the desert. It was hard to meet a Killjoy that hadn’t at least heard about the crew that burned Battery City’s research centre to the ground in an attempt to put an end to the war on powered Killjoys. Young ‘Joys and new undergrads looked up to the Fab Four. Those four Killjoys inspired everyone to fight harder for what was theirs.
Fun Ghoul was the Fab Four’s fists, and a protector of the desert. His unexplained enhanced strength gave him the upper hand in any fight he got himself into. He fought like a killer and still won everyone over with his heart of gold. No one really realised just how young Ghoul was. That boy grew up fast. He had to. Underneath his tattooed skin, unbeknownst to most, Ghoul still carried with him what the city had done to him. A constant reminder that he will never back down from a fight if it meant protecting the ones he loved from ever being treated the way he once was.
The Kobra Kid was a well known name at the Crashtrack. The youngest member of the Fab Four was quiet and unassuming, but he was fast on his feet. At only fifteen, Kobra was a fighter. No one could see Kobra coming in a firefight before he attacked. If you threatened his family, you’d have to get through Kobra first. His stone-faced, angry exterior shielded his sensitive and passionate personality from others. Only those closest to the Kid ever got to see the goofy, childish side of him.
Jet Star represented the desert born Killjoys. Those who were bred and born in the sand, and had only bled under the desert sun. Jet was one of the few desert borns to ever see the inside of the city and make it out to tell the tale. Because of that, she found herself to be a bit of a living legend. Her spirituality connected her body and soul to the desert and the Killjoys who inhabited it. She was tough and sometimes too aggressive, but that didn’t stop fans of the Fab Four from loving every last bit of her. Twenty years in the desert taught her well, and Jet was a skilled caregiver, fighter, and survivor.
Party Poison, the leader of the Fab Four, was forever a ‘Joy who could make a statement. Their face and name was seen and heard all over Battery City, and Poison prided themself in being an enemy. Day by day, the Fab Four chipped away at BL/Ind’s armour. Poison was determined to bring the entire organisation to its knees. The Fab Four was nothing without Poison keeping them together. They were a controversial Killjoy. Some saw Poison as a hero in the desert, while others thought their antics would one day get everyone killed. Party Poison knew that their work was important, however. They’d put their life on the line again and again to protect the ones they loved.
The powered Killjoys in the Zones were always under attack. The Fab Four did everything they could and more to keep those with special abilities safe. With Jet’s necromancy, Ghoul’s rapid healing factor, and Poison’s ability to reach into people’s minds with one touch, they were three of BL/Ind’s biggest targets themselves. More and more weapons were constructed in Battery City to be used against powered Killjoys. In a year’s time, Poison’s team was able to create an operation that would allow them to take down as many BL/Ind agents targeting powered ‘Joys as possible.
“Where we headin, Cola?”
Ghoul had his arm leaning out the window of the Trans Am as he radioed Dr. Death-Defying’s station. Wind whipped through his hair as Poison stomped on the gas pedal, tearing up the dirt roads beneath them.
Cherri Cola—a desert born Killjoy, who was quite a few years older than the Fab Four, and a long-time friend of Dr. D—was heard on the other end of the transmission.
“I gotta signal in the south end of Zone 4, ‘bout three miles east of the Dead Pegasus,” Cherri reported promptly.
Back at Doc’s station, where the team housed a dated old computer, Cherri Cola had managed to hack into the city’s mainframe and access the tracking codes that were linked to every last Spark Extractor that BL/Ind sent out into the desert.
With a low-quality radar system, Cherri could pinpoint almost exactly where each attack would take place. With any luck, the Fab Four would get to the scene fast enough to save a powered Killjoy from losing their sparks that day.
“Only one Extractor, but I ain’t gon’ promise y’all that there ain’t more bodies out there as backup.”
“Don’t you worry ‘bout that,” Ghoul chuckled. “We got ‘em under control.”
Cherri sighed. “Y’all always do.”
As Poison drove, Kobra kicked their seat from behind and hummed. Ghoul quickly spun around and realised that Kobra had spotted the firefight happening in the distance. The Kid frantically signed words to Ghoul, who translated to Poison while they kept their eyes on the road.
“Red, turn left now,” he barked, holding onto the car door as the vehicle suddenly jerked and started heading in the other direction. “Jet?”
“Way ahead of ya,” Jet nodded as she adjusted the protective gear she wore under her clothing. With one foot planted firmly on the back seat and the other on Ghoul’s headrest, Jet climbed up through the Trans Am’s sunroof with a raygun in each hand. She started firing the moment Poison got the car close enough.
The three BL/Ind agents on the scene took to the Fab Four’s distraction, giving the other Killjoys a chance to regroup. Before the car stopped, Ghoul threw open his door and rolled out into the sand. He made a run for the two Killjoys he intended on protecting and threw himself in front of them. One Scarecrow followed his lead, turning all her attention to Ghoul instead of her previous victims. He let her shoot at him, feeling the lasers vibrate against his android parts.
Ghoul knew that these Crows didn’t shoot to kill. They needed their victims alive in order to maintain the sparks inside of them. You couldn’t harvest a power out of a dead Killjoy.
Soon enough, all four ‘Joys were on the ground, surrounding the three Scarecrows. Kobra had one pinned down in the sand with his hands around the agent’s throat. As he squeezed the air right out of the agent’s lungs, Poison swooped in with their gun and blasted the Crow right through his chest.
Jet took on the Scarecrow that wielded the weapon that the Killjoys were tracking; the Spark Extractor. It was a dangerous machine. Get caught under it at the wrong time, and your powers are gone. Jet moved swiftly when she attacked and aimed for the Extractor. However, over the past few months, the city’s weapons had gotten stronger. They were nearly impossible to destroy with just a raygun now.
Luckily for Jet, the Killjoys had gotten stronger, too.
She found herself stuck on the ground, lying underneath the Scarecrow as he pressed the Spark Extractor firmly against her chest. Jet grabbed at it aimlessly, struggling to get herself free to no avail.
“Kiss those sweet sparks goodbye,” the Crow laughed as he pulled the trigger that activated the machine. Jet winced, but she knew that the Crow hadn’t won. The Fab Four ensured their victory long before the firefight had even begun.
The Spark Extractor fired up. Jet could feel the heat through her jacket. As fast as it activated, the device started to sputter out and die. Jet smirked up at the Crow, who faltered. With a quick kick upwards, Jet pushed the startled agent back and quickly jumped to her feet.
In addition to the radar system, Cherri and Ghoul had spent a full month constructing a set of protective vests for Ghoul, Jet, and Poison. After researching what types of metals could withstand the energy blasts from Spark Extractors, they stitched a protective plate into three bulletproof vests made of fire resistant fibres. As long as the Killjoys were wearing that gear, a Crow with a Spark Extractor could never hurt them.
“Jet!” Poison called out and tossed Jet one of the blasters that she dropped in the middle of the fight. She winked at Poison as she caught the weapon, immediately aiming straight ahead and shooting the Scarecrow right between his eyes.
“Witch,” Poison exhaled exasperatedly, watching the body hit the ground unceremoniously. “Quick an’ easy.”
“No kiddin’,” Ghoul smirked and turned to the two young Killjoys that cowered together, breathing heavily with relief. “Y’all okay?” Ghoul asked.
The taller one—tan with wide, brown eyes and a green streak in his hair, nodded keenly. “Yeah—Yeah, we’re okay,” he stuttered, his eyes darting between the Fab Four. “You’re the—” He trailed off and just stared at the Fab Four in awe. “Thank you,” he finally whispered, hugging the little girl with him closely.
“Y’all be safe, ‘kay?” Poison smiled softly. The young boy lifted the little girl—his sister, Poison assumed—up to get situated on his dirtbike. He turned around quickly and caught Poison’s eye again.
This boy had the same look in his eyes that a fiery young Party Poison had. It was that protective instinct for the little ones that he loved. Killjoys like him were what kept the desert alive. Poison would be nothing if it wasn’t for their passion for keeping Kobra safe, and later the protectiveness that they felt for their little Bug.
“What’s your name, kid?” Poison asked.
The boy’s eyebrows raised. “Jack Knife,” he said, wincing slightly, as if Poison was the first person to ever hear his Killjoy name.
Poison grinned and glanced over to the girl waiting on the bike. “You keep her safe, Jack.”
Jack nodded again. “I will. Thank you.”
Poison watched the two kids tear off into the sunset with a smile on their face. There was always a sense of pride in Poison’s heart when they could help young ‘Joys. Kids like Jack would one day become the beating heart of the Zones. Poison would know, because they were one of those kids.
They turned around just in time to catch the end of Ghoul and Jet’s conversation.
“There ain’t no way this fuckin’ Batt,” Ghoul kicked the dead body of the Scarecrow. “Was able to knock ya down that fast, Jetty. You totally let him think he was gonna win!”
Jet chuckled and grinned. “Maybe I did,” she shrugged. “I can have fun sometimes, y’know.”
“Y’all ready to roll?” Poison asked, raising one brow at the bickering ‘Joys. Both Ghoul and Jet nodded, so Poison redirected their attention to their brother. “Kobes?”
“ Hm— What?” Kobra looked up from where he was crouched over a dead Crow, looting the body for everything it was worth. Kobra held up one finger to his sibling before he grabbed a handful of carbons from one Crow’s pocket.
“Oh, sweet!” Ghoul exclaimed. “That’ll get us some shiny new gear for sure!”
“Right on, Kobes,” Poison grinned. “Now let’s go!”
Poison dropped into their seat with a content sigh, smiling softly as Ghoul slid in next to them. They rested their head on his shoulder and let their eyes slip shut as they waited for Show Pony to inevitably skate over to take their orders.
Show Pony—an old friend of Doc’s and an ally to the Fab Four—ran the most popular kitchen in Zone 2. The Pony Express was built by a team of brave city raiders who always brought back rare ingredients stolen straight out of Battery City. The food there was expensive, but so worth it. Besides, Show Pony always gave the Fab Four a special discount in addition to their reserved designated booth.
“Good afternoon, Fabulous Four,” Pony’s cheerful, gravelly voice piped up as they stopped the wheels on their skates right in front of the Fab Four’s table. “There’s a hot n’ fresh soup in the back, or can I get y’all somethin’ else?”
Poison looked up at Pony and grinned. “Sounds good to me,” they nodded.
“Right on, I’ll get that for y’all,” Pony tucked their notepad into their apron without writing anything down. It really was just for show, Pony always remembered the orders. “Now, where’s that pretty lil’ girl of yours?” They asked. Their eyes darted between the four Killjoys in search of little Ladybug.
“Bug’s at Doc’s tonight,” Ghoul replied easily. “We all gonna be headin’ down to Hyperthrust, an’ that ain’t a place for kiddos like her.”
Pony’s eyes brightened at the mention of a party. “You don’t say? Tell me, is it true?”
“Mm—” Kobra’s head tilted to the side. “Is what true?” He asked quietly.
Pony smirked. “Word on the street is that everyone’s favourite couple is gettin’ back together,” they winked, and everyone’s eyes immediately landed on Jet, who groaned.
“No. S’ not true,” she rolled her eye as soon as Poison and Ghoul started laughing at her. “It ain’t happenin’, so shut it.”
“Aw man,” Pony pouted. “I liked Mad Gear.”
Ghoul bit his lip mischievously as he grinned at Jet. “Y’all were attached at the lips all fuckin’ night at New Years,” he chuckled, and Poison slapped their hand over their mouth to stop themself from laughing again.
Jet’s good eye was practically glowing red as she glared at Ghoul. “Uh-huh, an’ that was months ago. It meant nothin’.”
Ghoul tilted his chin up, leaning his head against the back of the booth. “I’m sure it meant nothin’ when y’all disappeared for two hours,” he said as he made a circle with his right index and thumb and stuck his left finger through it.
“Ugh!” Jet gagged. “Yer so gross!” She reached out diagonally across the table to slap Ghoul’s hands. Meanwhile next to her, Kobra covered his eyes with his twitching hands and giggled.
“Witch, calm down!” Poison scolded, pulling Ghoul back and forcing him to sink deeper into the booth. “So,” Poison leaned over Ghoul to smile up at Show Pony. “Are ya comin’ with us to Hyperthrust?”
Pony’s mouth twisted to the side. “No can do, friends,” they shook their head, causing Poison’s smile to diminish. “I gots my own kiddo to look after, y’know.”
All four Killjoys at the table glanced at each other, sharing the same confused look. Certainly, they hadn’t been naive enough to be unaware of some kid Pony was taking care of, right? Finally, Ghoul said what everyone else was thinking.
“What kid?”
Pony looked confused. “My daughter?” They said like it was obvious.
“Wait, like a biological kid?” Poison blinked rapidly as Pony nodded in confirmation. “Since when!?”
Pony chuckled awkwardly. “Since fifteen years ago, dude. I know I look young,” Pony emphasised their words with a soft hair toss. “But I’m a hell of a lot older than you kids.”
“Hmm—fuck,” Kobra’s head dropped as he stared down at the table with wide eyes, realising that Pony had a child as old as he was. “Hmm.”
“I kept her pretty damn hidden for a lotta that time,” Pony continued. “Y’know how dangerous it is havin’ kids around here with BL/Ind on your ass.”
“Yeah,” Poison muttered, nodding slightly. “Totally.”
“Well then!” Pony’s customer service smile appeared back on their face. “I’ll be right back with y’all’s food,” they winked and skated away.
As soon as Pony rolled back into the kitchen, Poison’s eyes darted back to their team. “Should we be more careful hiding Bug from BL/Ind?” They asked frantically.
“Pssht,” Ghoul shrugged. “Don’t sweat it, we been doin’ great wit’ her. She’s happy and healthy, what more do ya want?”
Poison shrugged. “I dunno, I just—” they sighed. “She’s almost as famous as us now, y’know. Maybe that ain’t such a good thing?”
“S’ fine,” Jet assured them. “Desert born kids’re tough. An’ I seen Bug fight. We got nothin’ to worry ‘bout.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Poison sighed.
“Alrighty!” The sounds of Pony’s wheels rolling across the floor approached once more. They stopped gracefully as they lowered the tray in their hands that balanced two bowls of soup without spilling anything. “Here they are!”
Poison eyed them carefully, undoubtedly noticing that there were only two bowls for four people. The redhead opened their mouth to speak, but quickly stopped themself as they noticed a young girl dressed in pink and white slowly skating towards them.
“Thatta girl,” Pony smiled proudly. The girl looked terrified. Her eyes were focused on the two bowls of soup on a tray that she carried shakily. “S’ harder on skates, ain’t it?” Pony chuckled softly.
As Pony helped her, Ghoul smiled up at the kid. “This her?” He asked, causing the kid to take a cautious step backwards.
“The one and only,” Pony grinned as the young girl started to almost cower behind Pony. “Gang, meet my daughter, miss Uni Verse.”
“Hi,” Poison smiled brightly. “I love your hair!”
Uni sported short brown hair—the same colour as Pony’s—with bright purple raccoon tail bangs. Her eyes widened at the compliment, but her lips remained sealed. Her hands grabbed onto Pony’s shirt as she hid.
“S’ cute,” Jet nodded in agreement. “She has yer eyes,” she glanced up at Pony.
“Folks are always tellin’ me that,” Pony sighed as they gently pushed Uni’s bangs out of her eyes that nervously stared back at the other Killjoys. The Fab Four were notoriously chatty, and it seemed to scare her. That is, until she locked eyes with Kobra, who just offered her a small wave.
The corners of Uni’s lips stretched into a soft smile as she gently waved back at him.
She eventually tugged her parent away from the table, leaving the Fab Four to their dinner before Poison’s eventual shift and the Hyperthrust party. They fell into comfortable and familiar chatter about their missions, supply runs, and of course, Bug. After taking in that little girl almost a year ago, she became the centre of everyone’s attention at the diner.
As Ghoul was excitedly telling his friends about the latest imaginary adventure that Bug had taken him on, Poison glanced across the table and noticed Kobra idly stabbing at his soup with his spoon without eating anything.
“Kid,” Poison tapped their hand against the table to get Kobra’s attention. His head snapped up like he’d just been pulled from a trance and his shoulders jerked slightly. “You okay?”
Kobra nodded stiffly, blushing red once Ghoul and Jet also turned to focus on him. “Aye—” Kobra’s nose scrunched up and his eyes fell back to staring at the almost full bowl in front of him.
“Don’t ya be wastin’ this, now,” Jet commented. She meant no harm, but Kobra’s stomach still twisted with guilt.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
“Hey,” Ghoul motioned towards himself. “Kid, if ya won’t eat it, I will,” he grinned. “I gotta big fight comin’ up tonight, I’ll need it.”
Kobra gratefully slid his serving across to Ghoul and sunk further into his seat with relief. “Fuck,” he hummed, hands seizing up. Ghoul dived back into talking with his mouth full and Kobra successfully remained ignored for the rest of the meal. He felt sick. It was too hot inside this restaurant, and he wished time would move faster and he could fast forward to the end of the night.
Hyperthrust was packed with Killjoys. Friday nights got wild—with cage fights and live music later in the night, it was the hottest place in the Zones—and the Fab Four could barely push their way through the sea of people to get inside.
Jet and Kobra ended up just a few feet away from the cage, where Ghoul cracked his knuckles and waited for his opponent to enter the scene. A cacophony of whistles and hollers sounded as Ghoul pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it behind him.
Everyone knew Ghoul could fight. It wasn’t long before a metallic rattling rang out through the club as Ghoul pinned his opponent to the side of the cage. Not often did Ghoul lose a fight, which is why he had the crowd gasping as he took a heavy kick to the gut that left him stumbling backwards.
Jet and Kobra glanced at each other quickly with concern painted on their faces. Not only did Ghoul seem to falter more than usual, but he let his opponent take three free hits against the side of his head, each more painful looking than the last. He tripped and caught himself on the edge of the cage, looking dazed.
“Ya got this, Ghoulie!” Jet shouted, clapping her hands together in support. “C’mon dude!”
Ghoul quickly shook his head, letting his long dark hair fall into his face as he glared across the ring at the other fighter. Shaking himself out of the pain, Ghoul pounced, knocking the other man over in seconds.
“For a moment there, we thought he’d given up his winning streak,” the killjoy dressed in black and white stripes who stood perched on the edge of the cage spoke loud and clear into the microphone in his hands. “But the undefeated Fun Ghoul wins again!”
Jet and Kobra waited at the bar with Poison as Ghoul cleaned himself up and collected his winnings. The team was ready to brush off Ghoul’s slip up in the cage as a fluke, but as Ghoul sat down on a bar stool with a huff, they couldn’t ignore how pale he was.
“Hey, you alright?” Poison asked, concerned. They reached over the bar and grabbed Ghoul’s hand, getting him to meet their eyes.
“Yeah,” Ghoul blinked. “M’ fine.”
Someone on the other end of the bar whistled to get Poison’s attention. With a groan, the redhead ran over to attend to a couple more customers before they hurried back to their team.
“You sure?” Poison asked Ghoul, who sighed.
“I just…” He breathed in heavily, almost looking nauseous. “I dunno, I just feel weird.”
“Weird?” Jet echoed. “What’s weird? The tech?” She kept her voice down. The team kept what was underneath Ghoul’s skin between them.
Ghoul rolled his shoulders back. “I don’t think I need repairs,” he shook his head. “I ‘prolly just got hit in the head too hard, y’know? I’ll get over it.” He shrugged it off.
Poison frowned. “Ya let us know if it gets worse, ‘kay?” They said, and Kobra nodded in agreement.
‘’Kay,” Ghoul nodded, just to put an end to the conversation.
With rapid healing abilities, Ghoul was pretty good at avoiding the team’s constant concern for his own safety and well being. Still, the Fab Four had nearly lost Ghoul for good eight months ago. And no one just forgets that sort of thing. So Ghoul just had to get used to Poison’s constant worrying and let Jet do medical check-ups every now and then. He knew it was only because they loved him and never wanted to risk losing him again.
Moments later, the band got set up on stage and began rocking out for the club. Kobra and Ghoul turned around in their seats, leaning their backs against the bar to watch their friends, Mad Gear and Missile Kid, perform. Jet, on the other hand, kept her back to the stage with her elbows propped up on the bar.
It wasn’t that she was still avoiding Mads. They’d gotten over that awkward era months ago. If you asked Jet, she’d tell you that her and Mads were just friends. Still, she made quite the effort to keep herself from making eye contact with him while he was on stage.
“Hmm—fuck,” Kobra’s hand lightly smacked Ghoul’s arm, grabbing Ghoul’s attention. The older boy glanced at Kobra, who pointed at the back doors of the club behind the bar.
“What?” Ghoul asked, and Kobra just pointed to his ears, telling Ghoul to listen closely. Now that he was paying attention, Ghoul could pick up the undeniable sounds of rayguns being fired outside.
“What the hell—” Ghoul started, but the doors flew open before he could finish his sentence.
“Firefight in the parking lot!” Someone shouted over the music that blasted from the amps. Only a portion of the club was able to hear the commotion, but the Fab Four were on their feet in seconds.
Ghoul kicked through the doors and found himself in the middle of a swarm of draculoids. Several unlucky Killjoys who were enjoying a smoke break got stuck in the clap, fighting off dracs left and right. Kobra was two steps behind Ghoul and wasted no time before he jumped for the closest drac and beat it to the ground.
“Where’d they come from?” Poison called over the commotion of the fight as they ran out to join Ghoul. Dracs never showed up in this large of a group unless there was an exterminator around.
Ghoul huffed. “We about to find out,” he pointed at the sleek grey car that had stopped in a cloud of dust just twenty feet away from the Killjoys.
Poison glared at the vehicle as the dust began to settle. “Cover me,” they barked, and Ghoul nodded quickly, raising his gun. Poison bolted towards the car.
“Ayo, Jet!” Ghoul shouted as he narrowly dodged one of the dracs’ shots. His hair smacked him in his face as he whipped around, searching for his teammate. He found Jet on her knees, gripping a knife that was stabbed into a drac’s chest. Her other hand was outstretched towards an oncoming draculoid, which she shot square in the centre of its mask.
“What!?” Jet screamed back without looking up. She retracted the knife, splattering blood over herself and the dead drac below her. “A little fuckin’ busy, Ghoul!”
Another white clad drac pounced onto Jet’s back, wrapping its arm around her neck. She winced, failing to wrestle the agent back. Before she could readjust her grip on the knife in her left hand, she felt a heavy force nearly land on her, but instead it pushed the draculoid off.
Kobra landed on top of it with a grunt, driving the barrel of a bright red blaster into the drac’s chest, killing it in one blow.
“Jet!” Ghoul shouted again before Jet could thank Kobra for the assist. Jet panted as she stood up, finally spotting Ghoul standing with his feet planted firmly in the sand, gripping his blaster with both hands. He was trying to keep a safe distance between himself and the oncoming dracs, as he was acting like a human shield for a young, bleeding Killjoy that lay in the sand.
“Oh, fuck,” Jet spat and ran towards her. “Witch, fuck me.”
The girl’s leg was badly burnt, having taken multiple raygun shots. The sand around her turned a dark red under the dim lighting that came from the club. Her hands were just as soaked in her own blood as she struggled to breathe. Jet barely caught her head before her eyes rolled back and she nearly passed out.
“Let’s getcha outta here,” Jet didn’t think twice before she scooped the young girl up in her arms, ignoring the painful scream that came from the Killjoy. “Ghoul?” Jet shouted. “Y’all okay out here?”
“We’re fine, just get her inside!” Ghoul yelled as he rapidly fired at the dracs that tried to attack him and Jet. In a brief moment of rest, Ghoul spun around and stared at Jet through the hair in his eyes.
“Nobody dies tonight,” he said. Jet nodded and ran inside to get the young girl out of the crossfire.
Meanwhile, Poison shot blast after blast at the exterminator’s car, beckoning the man inside to come out and fight. They could just barely see the car door open in the dark as the exterminator hid behind his vehicle, shielding himself from Poison’s attacks.
“What made ya think ya could win against all these ‘Joys?” Poison asked the cowering exterminator. Attacks on Killjoy parties weren’t unheard of, but it was never anything like this. It was never just one Scarecrow against a hundred Killjoys.
Poison stopped shooting. Over the distant noises of Ghoul and Kobra’s fight behind them, Poison finally heard the Crow’s response.
“You have something I want, Party Poison,” he said confidently as he stood up, revealing himself from behind the car.
Poison disguised the way they faltered. Nearly all of BL/Ind knew the name Party Poison by now. This wasn’t new. Still, this man spat their name out like a curse. Like Poison was an obstacle, rather than a target.
Clenching their jaw, Poison raised their gun again, aiming for the centre of the exterminator’s chest.
“And what’s that?” Poison scoffed.
The man’s bald head tilted to the side as he smirked. “You’re hiding that little girl of yours somewhere. I will find her, and you will be dead before you can stop me.”
Poison froze. The exterminator saw the way the blaster in their hands shook with hesitation and he chuckled wickedly.
That little girl of yours.
Poison’s breath hitched. What did he want with Bug? What did Better Living want with Poison’s girl? For years, Poison had always been a target, running from the ones who wanted them dead. Poison had a reason to be hunted. Poison had enough Batt blood on their hands to warrant BL/Ind’s pursuits.
But Bug? She was just a kid! A sweet, innocent little kid. BL/Ind was trying to take Poison’s kid away from them. Why? What did she do!?
“Red?”
A strong hand gripped Poison’s shoulder tightly and they jumped, suddenly coming out of their internal panic. Over the ringing in their ears, Poison could hear a loud engine tearing off towards the city.
Blinking, Poison watched the Crow drive away in his car, leaving Poison in the dust. They glanced to their left, meeting Ghoul’s eyes.
“Red?” Ghoul repeated, shaking Poison. “What happened?”
Poison opened their mouth, but no words could come out. They just stared at the tire tracks in the sand and shook their head. They felt Kobra come up on their right.
“Who was that?” He asked softly.
“I…” Poison started. “I don’t know.”
Battery City - Ten Months Ago.
The Director walked a small group of young, bright-eyed students through the halls of the basement level of the Mulero Tech centre. The recent graduates were about to begin their training with the newest Scarecrow units, and the ones who showed true potential would be placed in the powers training program.
“You’re standing in the birthplace of some of Better Living Industry’s best technology to date,” the Director continued her speech as she marched down the hall, expecting the graduates to keep up. “Technology that you will soon be trained with yourselves.”
The group walked through the halls, passing glass windows into the training rooms. Inside each room, Scarecrows practiced controlling their recently received powers and abilities. Mind control, flight, and even a Scarecrow with the ability to create ice out of thin air were a few powers among the team of agents that trained in the basement facility.
“Mulero’s Spark Extractor is a machine that is able to harvest sparks from unworthy desert rebels quickly and efficiently,” the Director explained. “Those spark particles enable their host to do great things.”
She opened a heavy metal door and welcomed the junior agents into a large training room, where a Scarecrow in a pair of white sweatpants and a t-shirt just finished working out. He ran his hands through his curly, sweat-soaked hair and smiled at the group.
“Take Agent Idris here, for example,” the Director motioned towards the Scarecrow. “He harnesses the ability to duplicate his physical form. Why don’t you demonstrate, agent?”
Idris nodded and clenched his fists. Nothing happened.
“Agent Idris, I said demonstrate,” the Director’s tone turned harsh, creating tension among the waiting graduates. “Now.”
“I-I’m sorry, ma’am,” Idris shook his head. “I don’t know what’s happening. I was able to do it less than an hour ago.”
The Director shook her head. “Take him back to the lab and figure out what’s wrong with him!” She snapped, and her assistants rushed into the room—seemingly out of nowhere—and escorted Agent Idris away.
The Director turned back to the startled graduates. “I apologise, everyone. But this is a perfect opportunity for a lesson to be learned; never disobey orders, graduates.”
A chorus of nodding heads looked back at her. All but one graduate stood tall, awaiting further instructions from the Director. In the back of the group, a man with sleek dark hair let his eyes wander in the direction that Idris was taken.
“You,” the Director pointed directly at the young man. “What is your name, Junior Agent?”
The man’s eyes snapped up to the Director. His jaw quivered as he spoke hesitantly. “Korse,” he said softly.
“Hm,” the Director nodded her head. “Well, then. Off to the next part of the tour, shall we?”
The Director kept a close eye on Junior Agent Korse throughout the next couple of weeks. And as she did so, incidents continued to happen in the training facility. Idris was the first of many agents to suddenly lose their power, only for it to return moments later. And every time it happened, Korse was in the room.
Korse was taken from his basic training and brought in for testing. The Director’s top doctors and specialists ran multiple tests on the junior agent, and discovered something that the Director never dreamed she would ever see again.
“Good morning, Junior Agent,” the Director started to speak the moment Korse’s eyes blinked open as he lay on the table in the lab. “Congratulations, Korse. You’ve been selected for the upcoming Scarecrow Unit 13.”
“Wh-What?” Korse winced as the fluorescent lights assaulted his eyes. He brought his hands up to his face, shielding himself from the light. “What happened?” He asked as he dragged his hands up, feeling the bald scalp where his hair had been buzzed off in the testing process.
“You have a fascinating power, Korse, did you know that?” The Director asked, and Korse shook his head. “It appears that you have some sort of power negation. The presence of your sparks can temporarily kill the powers of anyone who comes near you,” the Director explained in awe. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
Korse’s brows furrowed. “But…But I wasn’t given sparks…” he said nervously before glancing around at the lab he was in. “Did you give me sparks?”
“No, Agent,” the Director shook her head. “Your sparks are naturally occurring. Like a Killjoy.”
Korse’s eyes went wide. “I’m not—”
“I’m aware of your loyalty to Better Living Industries, Korse,” the Director held her hand up to silence the agent. “You are a special case. It’s quite uncommon for a citizen to develop sparks naturally. In fact, it’s only ever happened once before,” the Director pressed her lips together tightly and sighed. “But he’s useless to me now.”
She stood up from her chair and gazed down at Korse, who was still weak and disoriented from the tests. “We will need to run more tests in order to figure out exactly how your sparks work,” she said, holding out a hand for Korse to grab. She hauled him to his feet and watched him wobble slightly. He took a moment to balance himself before he lifted his head and met the Director at eye level.
“For now, Agent Korse. You are an asset to me. And I have a very specific mission for you.”
Notes:
HEY HEY HEY !!!!
MAJOR shoutouts to my lovely besties !! they give me inspiration to keep writing my powers AU !!
their super cool and totally awesome Killjoy OCs will have many appearances in Devil's Own Luck, and i am freaking honoured to get to put these amazing characters in my stories.so shout out to my lovely friend H and her oc; Uni Verse <3
Chapter 2: New Rules
Chapter Text
Kobra spun around in the passenger seat of the Trans Am to check on Poison as Jet parked in front of Doc's radio station. They sat eerily still in the backseat as Ghoul held their hand in his lap, staring at them with worry in his eyes. After the clap outside the bar, whatever that exterminator said to Poison had really shaken them up. Ghoul and Kobra couldn't get any information out of Poison. They just stood there, shaking, and asking for their child.
With Ghoul's arm around their lower back, Poison was brought into the station ahead of Kobra and Jet. Doc was awake, sitting in the middle of the station with Cherri as a pre-war movie played on the staticy television.
"Who's hurt?" Doc asked, eyeing the red stains on Jet's hands.
"None of us," she shook her head as she let herself into Doc's kitchen to wash the stranger's blood off.
"A nasty clap outside of Hyperthrust," Ghoul explained. "Say, Doc, where's Bug?" He asked for Poison's sake. He gently lowered himself and the redhead onto the vacant sofa.
"Asleep in Cher's room," Doc answered easily. "Safe. If that's what yer askin'."
"Hmm—shit—" Kobra took the spot next to Cherri and raised his eyebrows expectantly at Ghoul.
"I don't say this often, but wake that kid up," Ghoul said rather aggressively, shaking Poison slightly. Doc muttered some snarky comment under his breath, but wheeled himself out of the room regardlessly. Ghoul could hear him knocking on Cherri's bedroom door and telling Bug that her family was here to see her.
Despite the fact that she was just awoken from her slumber in the middle of the night, Bug ran as fast as she could into the main room of the station and jumped into Poison's lap with an excited squeal.
"You're early!" She exclaimed as Poison threw their arms around her and hugged her tightly. Everyone could hear the relieved sigh Poison let out when they buried their face into the girl's hair, as if they were making sure that she was real.
Jet emerged from the kitchen, wiping her wet hands off on her jeans, and smiled at the sight. The colour came back to Poison's previously pale face, and the way they laughed with Bug and rocked her back and forth was clear indication that Poison was back in their body.
"Wanna let us in on what that bald fuck told ya now?" Jet asked from where she sat on the armrest next to Kobra, balancing with one boot up on the couch cushions.
Poison lifted their head up slowly. Ghoul reached out to swipe the red hair out of their eyes as they let out a heavy sigh.
"He, uh," Poison nervously readjusted Bug in their lap, refusing to let go of her. "He wasn't targeting us," they explained shakily. "He was after Bug."
"What the fuck does BL/Ind want with a fuckin' kid?" Ghoul shouted before he could think. Bug whimpered quietly in Poison's arms, and Ghoul's heart hurt with guilt. He reached out and grabbed her little hand, whispering a soft apology to the kid.
"I don't know," Poison muttered fearfully.
"Y'know, with us I get it," Ghoul motioned between himself and Poison, and Jet and Kobra across from them. "Let's be real, we a fuckin' pain in BL/Ind's ass! F'course we targets!"
"Huh—" Kobra's nose twitched as he signed; That was the goal, before his neck jerked back. "Fuck!"
"We gotta fuckin' reason to be wanted by Batts," Ghoul nodded at Kobra in agreement. "But Bug? She's just a kid! What does BL/Ind want with some innocent lil' desert born?"
Cherri made a face at Ghoul's last comment and glanced up at Doc.
"What?" Ghoul snapped.
Doc slowly raised an eyebrow at him. "Your girlie ain't desert born."
A hush washed over the group as the Fab Four stared at each other in shock. Bug squirmed, hating that everyone was talking about her as if she wasn't in the room.
"But you said—" Poison started.
"I never said shit," Doc interrupted Poison before they could accuse him of lying. "I told y'all that she's been a 'Joy for years. Her mama ran out here when she was still a wee lil' thing, but Bug was still born in the city."
"Huh," Poison hummed. They glanced down at the girl sitting in their lap, who glared up at them. "Sorry 'bout that, baby," Poison kissed the top of her head. "Guess we were wrong."
Ghoul shrugged. "It don't change nothin'. Most of us were born there, too. You're still our kid," he smiled at Bug. Kobra hummed and nodded in agreement.
Jet, on the other hand, wasn't too sure how to handle this new information. What Ghoul said was right; it shouldn't have changed anything. Bug was still Bug. And yet, Jet couldn't stop herself from feeling disappointed to find out that she was born in Batt City.
Jet had always believed that there was a certain connection between her and Bug. It was something that the other three crew members didn't have. It was beyond words, only a feeling that Jet had in her heart. She felt a sense of understanding between herself and Bug, as the only two desert borns in the diner.
Where the girl was born didn't matter. Jet knew that. Still, her heart was broken, and she hated herself for it. She tuned the rest of the crew's conversation out. Over and over again, Jet couldn't stop thinking about how Bug had a Batt City citizenship. She had a legal name. She was just like Poison, Kobra, and Ghoul. Jet, once again, was the odd one out.
"Uh, Jet?" Ghoul's voice broke through Jet's spiralling thoughts. "You good?"
"Yeah, why?" Jet forced herself to make eye contact with Ghoul, pretending that she had been paying attention to the conversation.
"'Cause the room's filled with fuckin' ghosts again," Ghoul explained bluntly.
Looking down, Jet realised her hands were glowing. At least ten dead spirits wandered aimlessly through the station, glowing bright blue that indicated to Jet that she had made them visible and possibly even tangible.
As Jet developed a stronger control over her gift in the past few months, she was learning to blend the land of the living with the afterlife and allow ghosts to interact with the real world, and it came with some side effects. Those side effects, of course, being that whenever Jet got upset or stressed out, she brought out the ghosts without even knowing it.
"Oh," Jet blushed. "Sorry," she shook out her hands, willing the ghosts back into their usual state; invisible to the average person. Still, fully there for Jet.
The team brushed it off, which Jet was grateful for. Poison suggested that they start heading home. For the entire drive back to the diner, Jet was still "in a mood", as Ghoul so kindly put it. Jet just couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment off, as much as she tried. She really thought that there was something special between her and Bug.
Kobra was tearing up the Crashtrack the next day, coming in first place in the final race of the day. He dismounted from his bike with ease, waving at the rowdy stands who clapped and cheered for him and his win. The Kobra Kid wasn't the type that loved attention, but here at the Crashtrack? It was the best feeling in the world.
He walked his bike back from the track to collect his winnings. Removing his helmet, he squinted in the bright sunlight as he blindly searched for the sunglasses in his pocket. After he covered up his eyes with the tinted lenses and pulled his earplugs out, he finally recognised the person that was walking towards him.
"Kobra! Hey! Congrats, dude!"
A tall, thin girl in beat up sneakers and a denim jacket waved excitedly at him. Nova Cane, she was one of the kids that Doc took in a while back and got her back on her feet. She was one quarter of the Nitemare crew. While they were all still kids, Nova was the same age as Kobra. The two of them had grown close over the last year. Kobra would go as far as calling her his best friend, and that doesn't happen for him often.
Kobra wanted to thank Nova for the congratulations, but his lips only parted as he stared at Nova with wide eyes under the sunglasses.
"What?" Nova asked as Kobra just stood there like an idiot with his hands ticcing awkwardly.
" Hm— You— fuck!— You changed your hair," Kobra muttered softly. Nova had the shiniest, naturally blonde hair that Kobra had ever seen. It fell down past her shoulders, always a mess, knotted from the wind and stuck to her face. But Nova had cropped it down to chin length and shaved half of her head, leaving the tattoo under her ear in full display.
"Oh," Nova chuckled. "Yeah I did. Ya like it?" She asked, glancing at Kobra through the bangs that covered her right eye.
Kobra nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah— hmm!" His head jerked forwards as he rocked slightly. "S' cool. Shit— I like it a lot."
"Thanks," Nova smiled at him. "You hungry? Lunch's on me."
"Hm—F-Fuck—" the heel of Kobra's hand pushed against his chin. "Huh! M'good," he shook his head. "But thanks— hmm."
"You sure?" Nova looked a little heart broken. Kobra's stomach twisted with guilt. "Can I least getchya juice or somethin'?" She asked, and Kobra couldn't say no to the offer.
There was a little concession stand next to the audience bleachers, in a fenced off area behind the racetrack. Kobra followed his friend to a cracked wooden picnic table and graciously accepted the bottle of juice that Nova handed him.
"Ya better drink that whole thing, it's hot as fuck out here," Nova commented as she sat down across from Kobra.
Kobra's lips stretched into a shy smile. "You're not— hm— my mom," he teased.
Nova's jaw dropped. "Hey, m' allowed to worry 'bout my friends!" She argued. "Plus, if ya get dehydrated an' die on me, Poison will fuckin' murder me," she laughed, and Kobra shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't argue with that.
The distant sounds of an argument interrupted Kobra and Nova's conversation. They both quieted down, turning their attention towards the nearby gates. Kobra immediately recognised Full Throttle, who was attempting to kick out two other Killjoys.
"What the fuck, man?" A soft voice exclaimed angrily. Squinting under the sun, Kobra identified a fellow racer, Jump Start, who was trying to push past Throttle. "Just let us in!"
"New rules, can't ya read?" Throttle spat at Jump and pointed at a metal sign beside the gates. "Folks like you can get lost, Jump."
"What's your fuckin' problem?" Jump's friend stepped in. Kobra tilted his head to the side, trying to remember the tall, dark skinned mechanic's name. "It's hot as fuck an' we're hungry. We just want some food."
"You can, Dusty," Throttle crossed his arms. That's right, Kobra thought, his name was Dust Devil. "But Jump here better turn an' leave before we got a problem on our hands."
"Sure as hell sounds like we already do," Jump mirrored Throttle and crossed his arms, too.
"You think I don't know 'bout your lil' party trick?" Throttle reached out and jabbed his finger against Jump's forehead. "You'll get into all our heads an' play wit' our thoughts."
Jump bared his teeth, looking seconds away from biting Throttle's finger off. "Ya think I jus' do that shit for fun? C'mon, dude," he rolled his eyes.
Kobra glanced back at Nova, who had a scowl on her face. "There's a fuckin' stick up Throttle's ass, y'know that?" She growled.
"What's— huh! Fuck— " Kobra rocked forwards, shaking his hands out. "What's happening?"
"They banned powered 'Joys outta this area," Nova explained with a sour look on her face. "Cowards like Throttle are scared of 'em. Wit' all the powered Crows around, they don't know who to trust anymore."
Kobra's nose scrunched up. "So they kick out anyone with— hmm— with powers?"
"Yep," Nova sighed. "It's fucking bullshit! My brothers at home couldn't come today. They ain't hurtin' no one with their powers! S' not their fault they got that raw deal with the Witch."
Kobra looked back up to see Jump and Dusty giving up. Dusty put his arm around Jump's shoulders and walked him back towards their cars, flipping off Throttle in the process. Throttle had a proud smirk on his face as he smugly walked back to the concession counter.
"By next week, I think they'll make the whole damn Crashtrack power-free," Nova said sadly.
"What?" Kobra's eyes widened. "They can't do that— fuck!" He exclaimed. His hands ticced, slamming his fists into the table. Poison, Ghoul, Jet, and Bug were all powered. If they couldn't come cheer Kobra on at the biggest race of the year next month, then Kobra didn't even want to do it anymore.
"They can do whatever they want," Nova said, sounding defeated. "If our families fight back, then they just become the bad guys that everyone says they are."
Kobra's jaw clenched. "Not fair," he shook his head angrily. He couldn't let this happen. Not at his Crashtrack.
"I swear to Destroya, one of y'all better pick up in five seconds," Cherri Cola's staticky voice crackled through Poison's radio.
The redhead sprinted through the diner, all but diving for the radio that rested on the counter and pressed talk.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Poison frantically answered. "What's up?"
"Y'all ain't home at the diner, are ya?" Cherri asked urgently. "'Cause I got a signal headed straight for ya. S' in Zone 2 right now, but it won't be for long."
"Fuck," Poison cursed and bolted back to their bedroom to grab their gear with the radio still in their hand. "Me an' Jet are here, we're on it. Thanks, Cher."
Behind them, wandering into the room, Bug looked up at Poison expectantly with a fistful of crayons.
"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," Poison said as they were on the move again. They scooped Bug up in their arms and carried her to the storage room where Ghoul slept. "We're gonna be back right away, 'kay Bug? Jus' hide out in here 'til then."
"But—"
"No!" Poison snapped and immediately kicked themself for doing so. "S' real dangerous right now. Ya gonna have to be alone for a bit," they dropped to their knees in front of her. "Put a brave face on, 'kay? S' all I need from you, Bug."
The girl tilted her chin up and tried to smile at Poison.
"Good girl," Poison kissed her forehead. "Now hang out on Ghoulie's bed. Don't leave this room 'til I come back, and then we can draw together, got it?"
"Got it."
"Good. I love you."
Poison grabbed Jet and they were off, speeding down the dirt roads with every intention of stopping the BL/Ind agents before they got anywhere near the diner. When the Killjoys reached the edge of Zone 3, they nearly crashed into the silver car that was speeding down Route Guano in the opposite direction. Poison swerved, spinning the Trans Am around. Jet reached out through the open window and fired a couple of warning shots, beckoning the exterminator behind the wheel and his dracs into the fight.
Three motorcycles accompanied the BL/Ind car, a draculoid on each one. They leapt off of their vehicles and ran for the Killjoys just as Poison and Jet climbed out of the Trans Am.
"It's like you're begging for it!" A deep voice laughed. The exterminator exited his own car, wielding a Spark Extractor that was already fired up and ready to go. Jet and Poison both knew that the device couldn't hurt them through their protective vests, but it didn't stop the hair on their necks from standing up.
Jet had four draculoids running at her. She stood her ground and clenched her fists, feeling a familiar energy pulse through her. In a bright blue flash, three dead Killjoys appeared in their ghostly forms. The dracs faltered, giving the ghosts a chance to attack. Their blue figures tore through the draculoids' bodies, leaving them in a bloody mess in the sand.
With only one drac left for her, Jet easily put three holes in its chest with her rayguns. She caught the exterminator's gaze from across the fight and smirked. With one swift hand movement, a new ghost appeared behind the Crow and began to scream.
"Augh!" The Scarecrow flinched at the sudden noise that assaulted his ears. In his moment of weakness, Poison pounced and knocked the Spark Extractor right out of his hands. "Hey!" The exterminator shouted when he realised that the Killjoy was right in front of him and swung his fist at Poison's face.
Poison ducked and drove their boot into his gut. He doubled over and grabbed at Poison, who hit him again in the back of his head. With the Crow on his knees, Poison reached for their gun to finish the job. Suddenly, the man attempted to intercept Poison and grabbed at their hand.
The skin to skin contact wasn't something that Poison was expecting. There was a sharp jolt of energy in their fingertips as the Scarecrow began to scream and Poison was transported elsewhere.
"She was our property to begin with," Poison heard a woman's voice inside of the Scarecrow's memory. They could feel the man struggling against them, but they held on and mentally reached further into his head.
"Bring her back to me," Poison came face to face with the Director and their heart sank. "We aren't finished with that little girl yet."
"Pois!" Jet's voice broke through Poison's trance. They gasped heavily and pulled their hand away from the Crow, who used Poison's dizziness to his advantage and swept them right off their feet.
Poison screamed and landed on their back on the road, knocking the wind out of them. The exterminator loomed over them ominously, smirking at the sight of their struggle. Disoriented, Poison scrambled to retrieve their gun. The exterminator stomped on their arm, pinning it in place and stopping them from getting their weapon.
"Pois!" Jet shouted again. Lasers flew over Poison's head, hitting the Scarecrow in the face, right between his eyes. Hot blood rained down onto Poison, who rolled away just in time before the man's body collapsed on top of them.
"Witch, fuck me," Poison exclaimed, staggering to their feet. Jet grabbed onto their arm to steady them. "We in the clear?" They asked.
"Far from it," Jet groaned as the rumbling of engines grew louder and louder. "He brought backup."
More draculoids stormed in before Poison and Jet could catch their breaths. Jet tilted her head down and glared straight ahead at the oncoming bikes. Poison stood back as her hands began to glow blue once more and the spirits of past Killjoys began charging towards the dracs.
"Round two, I guess," Poison shrugged and started running back into the fight with their gun gripped tightly in their right hand. As they dodged the shots fired at them by the dracs, Poison spotted a second car speeding down the road towards them.
"Shit," they muttered under their breath. This fight wouldn't be over as quickly as they thought.
Jet had the barrel of her gun pressed to a drac's chest when she noticed the car herself. Quickly pulling the trigger and watching the body fall, Jet tried to run to Poison but it was too late. The silver vehicle screeched to a stop between the two Killjoys. The same bald Scarecrow from Hyperthrust jumped out.
The second his feet hit the ground, Jet gasped. She could feel her gift slipping away between her fingers as every last ghost surrounding her flickered out of existence.
"What?" Jet panicked and tried to pull the spirits back, but it was like they were never there to begin with. All of the draculoids that were once held off by the ghosts were freed and started running. Jet screamed when they all jumped, dogpiling on top of her.
"Jet!" Poison shouted as they pushed through the fight. The Scarecrow stepped in their path, grabbing them by the shoulders and throwing them hard onto their back.
"The girl," he barked. "Where is the girl, Party Poison?"
"You'll never find her!" Poison screamed at him as they scrambled backwards on all fours across the rough gravel. The Crow pulled out his white raygun and shot at Poison, grazing their left shoulder, but the adrenaline and anger pumping through their veins caused Poison to barely feel it.
The Crow's boots landed heavily with each stomp as he chased after Poison, towering over the Killjoy. They couldn't hear Jet anymore, and they needed to get to her. Poison rolled out of the way, narrowly missing another shot from the Crow. When Poison jumped to their feet, they would've been knocked down again if it wasn't for the high pitched sound of Kobra's bike zipping onto the scene.
As Kobra sped towards the fight, swerving around the stray draculoids, the exterminator ran towards the blonde and grabbed at his arm. With an impressive amount of strength, the Crow pulled Kobra out of his seat. He hit the ground hard, cracking his helmet, as the bike crashed on the side of the road.
"Kobes!" Poison screamed and ran for their brother. They hauled him to his feet, unaware of the Crow that stood behind them.
"Look out!" Kobra's reflexes were fast enough to whip out his own blaster and save Poison from getting shot in the back by the exterminator. Kobra's gun fired twice. The Crow groaned loudly as both shots hit him in the gut. Blood began to seep through his uniform, staining the fabric red.
"Get Jet, go!" Poison pointed at the swarm of draculoids that Jet had been fighting on her own. As the exterminator painfully stumbled back to his car, the siblings bolted towards Jet.
"This isn't over!" The Crow choked out as he weakly climbed back into his car to make his escape. The engine roared, but he couldn't even step on the gas before a truck crashed into his rear. "Fucking Killjoys!" The Crow cursed and floored the gas pedal.
Ghoul leapt out of his truck and chased after the car on foot, firing again and again at the sputtering car, breaking a few of the windows. "Get the fuck outta here!" He spat as the Crow fled the scene like a coward.
"What the fuck happened!?" Ghoul frantically looked around at the bloody mess of dead draculoids and jumped when he heard Jet scream.
The bright blue glow returned as a new wave of ghosts appeared, chasing the dracs away from Jet. The dracs scattered in all different directions, getting attacked and taken down one by one by the spirits.
"Fuck," Jet coughed, rolling onto her side to spit up a mouthful of blood. "Thanks for the help, guys," she groaned.
Poison dropped to their knees next to her, pushing her hair back to reveal Jet's bruised and bloody face. "Shit, Jetty, m' so sorry," they pulled her jacket off and found the burnt holes in the front of her shirt. Poison was grateful for their protective vests, but still, Jet got a few good shots on her arms and hips. "You're bleeding."
"So are you," Jet replied, reaching up to point at Poison's injured shoulder.
"So is Kobes," Ghoul's voice chimed in as he dragged the younger boy towards the group. Kobra had a huge gash across his back and left arm from when he fell off the bike. "S' this what happens when I leave y'all to fend for yourselves?" Ghoul asked.
"No," Jet shook her head, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "My gift stopped workin' when he showed."
"What?" Poison asked. "That was 'cause of him?"
"What, ya think I wanted to be at the bottom of a fuckin' drac meatpile?" Jet snapped. "Yeah, it was him! 'Cause the ghosts came back the second he ran."
"Shit," Ghoul grumbled and covered his face with the hand that wasn't holding onto Kobra. "Y'all think s' some new tech again? To kill our powers?" He asked, watching a new anger settle in with his teammates.
"S' possible," Poison muttered, sounding defeated. "He came lookin' for Bug again, y'know."
"Pois," Ghoul sighed.
"It's the Director," Poison added, and Ghoul froze. "She's the one after Bug. I saw it in the first guy's head."
"Hmm— we should get off the road," Kobra said quietly.
"Yer right," Ghoul nodded. "Whatever the fuck happened, we can worry 'bout it back at the diner. Bug's waitin', ain't she?"
"Yeah. Let's go home," Poison agreed, helping Jet up. "Bug needs us."
Notes:
shout out to my super cool friends who let me use their OCs <3
my bestie H, who owns Dust Devil !
my love R, who owns Jump Start !
and Nova Cane is my own creation :)if youre someone who's into Killjoy OCs and all things Danger Days, there's a link to our discord server (18+) pinned on my tumblr page: @/myheadphonesareneverloudenough
Chapter 3: She's my...
Notes:
its been a MONTH since my last update...ive been in the wrong headspace for writing lately but i have finally locked the fuck in to pump out this chapter.
i missed these messy killjoys <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Poison's scream was heard everywhere throughout the diner, waking Jet and Ghoul with a start. Both Killjoys leapt from their own beds and ran to Poison's room. The redhead had pulled out the switchblade that they kept hidden under their pillow and held it up to Kobra's throat, who looked terrified.
"Pois?" Ghoul asked, wearily, and took a step forward. Jet quickly grabbed his shoulder, keeping him in place by the door. She shook her head at him, afraid of what Poison might do if they were startled again.
Kobra held his hands up defenselessly. "Party— fuck— look at me," he whispered, cautiously taking a step back from his older sibling. The movement must've snapped Poison out of their nightmare-addled thoughts, because they were gasping instantly.
"Shit," they muttered under their breath as they dropped the knife apologetically. Their hands quickly covered their face in embarrassment as they sat back down on their mattress. "Fuck, sorry Kobes."
"I know," Kobra sighed and slowly sat down next to Poison.
For the third time that week, Poison had woken Kobra and the rest of the diner up with their screaming. There was no trying to hide it anymore; Poison was terrified of what BL/Ind had intended to do to their little girl. The team had been targeted and attacked by that bald exterminator who was after Bug again and again, and they weren't anywhere closer to finding out exactly why Bug was being pursued.
Poison couldn't take it anymore. They couldn't keep scaring themself awake with dreams of losing their Ladybug. So, after the Fab Four had decided that they weren't falling back asleep, they devised a plan for the next time they found themself in a clap with a certain Scarecrow.
Unfortunately, the next time the nameless bald man attacked, the Fab Four were attempting to speed away in the Trans Am down the road because Bug was in the car.
"We can't outrun 'em, Pois," Ghoul shouted with his head hanging out the back window as he shot at the car hot on their tail. "We fight 'em or we die."
The Scarecrow was gaining on them, and Poison had no other choice. They slammed on the brakes without warning, eliciting a frightened shriek from the girl sitting between Ghoul and Kobra. The BL/Ind car zipped past the Trans Am. Its tires screeched on the dusty concrete as the exterminator jerked the steering wheel around, coming face to face with the Killjoys.
"Remember the plan," Poison said, pulling their bright yellow domino mask over their eyes. They turned around in their seat to see Kobra unzipping his jacket to cover Bug, who was crawling underneath the backseats.
Stay quiet, Kobra signed to her before holding his finger to his lips. The girl nodded hesitantly with fear in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to grab onto someone. She felt safer in her family's arms. But Bug was smart, and she knew better than to put the others at risk for her own fears. So, hugging her arms around herself, Bug balled up as small as possible and tucked herself underneath Kobra's seat.
Poison glanced over at Jet, noticing the bandages that stuck out from under the collar of her jacket. She'd taken the most damage after their last clap, and while Jet would never admit it herself, Poison knew it was too risky to have Jet on the frontlines this time around.
"You cover Bug," Poison told her with no room for an argument. "Kobes, you're with me. Ghoul?"
"On it," Ghoul nodded his head and all four Killjoys jumped out of the car. Kobra sprinted ahead to catch up with Poison. The two of them would keep the Scarecrow distracted, along with as many draculoids as they could manage.
The Scarecrow stood back and let his dracs handle round one. Bright lights emitted from the dracs' blasters as they fired at the oncoming Killjoys. Kobra dove straight for the closest drac, knocking it onto its back in the sand. With one boot planted firmly on the drac's chest, Kobra whipped out his own raygun and shot two more dracs running at him.
Poison had a draculoid beneath their knees as they swung a few punches at its face for the hell of it before they shot a hole through its chest. They jumped up from the dead drac just in time to see Ghoul take three shots to the chest. He was protected by the handcrafted gear and the bulletproof shield under his skin, but Poison still felt a sense of panic rush through their veins that had them running towards Ghoul.
"Hey," Poison grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close. Over the high pitched sounds of blasters going off, Poison muttered into Ghoul's ear, "Don't forget that our powers don't work 'round this guy."
"I know," Ghoul shrugged and threw his arm over Poison's shoulder to fire at a drac running up behind the redhead.
Poison huffed. "I swear to the Witch, if ya hurt yourself…"
"Red. I got this," Ghoul smirked, emphasising his words with a quick peck on Poison's cheek. "Don't be stressin' 'bout me, worry 'bout the others."
"Kay, then go!" Poison said quickly the moment they spotted the Scarecrow watching them from afar. They patted Ghoul on the back and let him run one way while Poison ran for the Crow.
He stood still, guarding the front of his new car after Ghoul wrecked the old one. He was just staring at Poison. He wasn't going for his gun or trying to make a move. He just stood there, eyeing Poison up and down.
"How many times do we gotta do this whole dance before y'all give it up?" Poison asked him, desperate for any information on this man's mission at this point. "Y'all ain't gonna lay one finger on my lil' girl."
At that, the bald man laughed quietly. "Oh, she'll be ours," he said as Poison slowly reached for their blaster. "Once I kill every last one of you… Fabulous Four," he spat out their title like he hated the taste in his mouth.
Poison seethed at him and drew their gun, aiming at the centre of the Crow's forehead, when suddenly arms grabbed them from behind, restraining them.
"Hey!" Poison squirmed in the drac's arms, watching the Scarecrow march towards them with his own raygun heating up. Poison jumped, leaning back on the draculoid, and kicked up at the Crow. With a harsh crack, the toe of their boot collided with the exterminator's chin, sending him staggering backwards.
The force of Poison's kick knocked the draculoid back, freeing the Killjoy from its grasp. Poison stepped a few paces backwards, beckoning the Scarecrow to follow them. They needed to keep the Crow's attention completely on them for Ghoul's sake.
Ghoul crept around the idling silver car, evading every last draculoid's line of sight until he could make it to the back door of the vehicle. He could hear the quips coming from Poison and the exterminator as they faced off in the middle of the road. Quietly, Ghoul pulled open the door and crawled into the backseat of the car.
"Aight, if I was a mission file, where'd I be hidin'?" Ghoul asked himself in a hushed tone. He ducked his head under the seats to find a hidden stash of spare rayguns. "Oh, sweet," he chuckled, grabbing two blasters and tucking them inside his jacket.
A sudden thump on the roof of the car startled Ghoul. He jumped, whipping around to see a draculoid crouching in the open doorway, glaring at him through the white mask.
"Oh, fuck," Ghoul panicked and squeezed the trigger of one of his stolen rayguns, shooting the drac square in the chest. "Shh," he cringed, lying in the backseat as still as possible, praying that no one had heard the shot or the body hitting the ground.
After a few deep breaths, Ghoul decided that the coast was clear and he sat up, glancing into the front seats. His eyes landed on the glovebox.
"Well, duh," he shook his head and climbed into the front seat. Popping open the glovebox, Ghoul found a thick stack of file folders that were neatly bound together, stamped with the BLi logo, and labeled clearly;
Agent 1306 - Korse - Assignment 1
"Agent Korse, huh?" Ghoul chuckled to himself as he began to flip through the files. "Stupid name for a—"
A body collided against the hood of the car. Ghoul yelped at the sight of Kobra sprawled out in front of him with two draculoids looming over the Kid. Hiding the files under his arm, Ghoul jumped out of the car and began firing rapidly at the agents.
"We got what we need, let's go!" Ghoul shouted and grabbed Kobra, pulling him back to his feet. The two of them bolted towards the Trans Am, attempting to dodge every last shot coming their way.
Jet was waiting by the Trans Am, where she was protecting an six foot radius around the car. She wouldn't let anyone get near Bug. When the boys approached the car, Jet glanced back at them and smiled at the files Ghoul carried. They got what they came for. She almost had a chance to shout a quick praise to Ghoul before she felt the knife in her hand get snatched right out of her grip.
She whipped around to see the Scarecrow—Korse, as Ghoul now knew—standing above her with her own weapon in his hands. He had somehow escaped his fight against Poison and went after Jet. His attention was focused on the painted up Trans Am. He must've known there was something, or someone, important in there.
Jet tried to stop him by reaching up and restraining his wrists, but she wasn't fast enough and the blade slashed along her side, cutting through her gear and drawing blood immediately.
She winced but she didn't cry out in pain. She kept fighting with Korse, wrestling for the knife. Jet grabbed his elbow and drove her knee into his stomach. He would've slashed at her again if it wasn't for the sudden shot from Poison's gun that burnt into his shoulder.
"Get in the 'Am!" Poison yelled at their team while running at Korse. They pushed him off of Jet and watched him stumble backwards painfully. He signalled to the draculoids, who all fell in line. They shielded Korse from Poison's next attacks, allowing Korse to get to his getaway vehicle safely.
Poison tore off their mask and gaped at the sight of a Scarecrow fleeing the scene. For the second time, Korse was running away from the Killjoys as soon as he was injured. Poison knew how the city worked, and they knew that agents in the Scarecrow unit were expendable. Their missions were simple; kill until you get killed. Korse, however, was trying to stay alive. Poison wanted to know why.
"Red," Ghoul called. "Let's go."
"I can do it, Pois!" Jet argued as the team bursted into Doc's station unannounced. "Ya dunno how many times I stitched myself up, s' fine!"
"For fuck's sake, Jet, let someone help ya for a change," Poison bickered with her as they marched into the kitchen space and swiped a medkit off of the counter. "I'm borrowin' this," they said to Doc as they passed by, dragging Jet to the bathroom with them.
"I'm great, thanks for askin'," Doc rolled his eyes at them.
"Hi, Doc!" Ghoul yelled from where he was raiding the older man's icebox for a soda. "What's good?"
"I was discussin' matters wit' our dear friend Show Pony before we were interrupted," Doc deadpanned, causing Pony to chuckle softly.
"No biggie," Pony shrugged. "Ain't nothin' I love more than a surprise visit from the Fab Four," they smiled as Ghoul sat down on the filthy rug in the middle of the station. "And, of course, their stunnin' lil' girl," they winked at Bug, who sat comfortably in Kobra's lap on the couch.
"Sorry 'bout all this," Ghoul sighed. "Jet was bleedin' a lot an' Pois didn't wanna risk tryna get all the way home."
"S' alright," Doc assured him. "I'll add the supplies to yer tab."
There was another body in the room, standing so quietly in the corner that the others didn't even notice her until she came up behind Pony and tugged on their shirt. Ghoul and Kobra exchanged startled glances with each other, recognising Pony's daughter from the Pony Express a while ago.
Uni Verse grabbed her Papa's attention and lifted her hands to sign the words, Can we go home now?
Pony smiled softly. "In a bit, love," they promised, reaching out to tuck some of Uni's hair behind her ear. She sighed heavily and nervously glanced at the other Killjoys in the room. When she locked eyes with Kobra, he raised an eyebrow at her and signed,
Are we really that boring?
Uni's eyes widened as she flushed a deep shade of pink. Kobra couldn't help but chuckle a bit under his breath at her reaction; she clearly didn't expect anyone else to understand what she was saying in ZSL.
Sorry, Uni signed back. Kobra shrugged and patted the empty spot next to him. Uni seemed hesitant, but she accepted his offer regardless and joined him on the couch.
So, you know sign? She asked sheepishly.
Kobra nodded his head. I learned last year.
Cool, Uni cracked a small smile. My Papa taught me when I was little. Speaking isn't always the easiest.
"Hmm—" Kobra shifted, adjusting Bug in his lap as he got more comfortable. I know how that feels. My sibling calls it… he bit his lip as he attempted to finger spell; n-o-n-v-e-r-b-a-l.
Uni's lips parted slightly. That makes sense. She shrugged. I'm different, though.
Tilting his head to the side, Kobra eyed her carefully. Different? He asked. How?
Unsure of herself, Uni started to fidget with her skirt before answering, My power is my voice. It get's… she swallowed, pulling at strands of her hair to cover half of her face. Dangerous.
Kobra exhaled heavily, his nose twitching slightly. He was suddenly seeing Uni in a whole new light. She was like him. Or, at least she was like the old him.
I know a thing or two about that, Kobra nodded understandingly. Trust me. I know how hard it is.
Uni didn't pester Kobra for any more answers about his abilities or lack thereof, which Kobra was grateful for. Instead, she asked him, Who taught you ZSL?
I did, Kobra shrugged. I had some help from friends at the Crashtrack. Now I'm trying to teach my crew, he signed with a roll of his eyes. "Hmm—"
Uni giggled. Are they any good?
Poison is alright, Kobra nodded slowly. The other two are still learning. Ghoul probably doesn't understand anything we're saying right now.
The two of them laughed and glanced over at Ghoul sitting on the floor. He shot them a dirty look.
"Hey, y'all talkin' shit 'bout me?" He exclaimed, flipping Kobra off. That got Kobra, Uni, and Bug giggling like crazy. Bug started to squirm until she successfully climbed out of Kobra's lap and hurried over to sit with Ghoul.
What is she to you? Uni asked Kobra curiously as she glanced at Bug. Sister? Niece? Daughter?
Kobra shrugged. All of the above?
They chatted until Poison and Jet came back. Jet, with fresh stitches in her side, and Poison, wiping blood off of their hands. Pony had finished up their work with Doc and took Uni's hand in theirs. She waved goodbye to Kobra, who waved back before Poison snapped their fingers and ordered him to pay attention.
Ghoul sat cross-legged on the floor with the mission files spread out in front of him. The rest of the team sat around him, staring at the pages as if it were rocket science. Ghoul skimmed through them easily, having been experienced with BL/Ind missions already.
"Useless bullshit," Ghoul rolled his eyes as he chucked some papers in Poison's direction. "C'mon! I need the good shit! Stuff we can actually use!"
"Huh—" Kobra's head jerked back as he picked up a file that read 'Assignment Details'.
"Bingo," Ghoul snatched it out of Kobra's hands with a grin. "This is what we want!" He dropped the file right in front of him and threw it open, scanning over the fineprint text.
"Agent 1306, Korse, blah blah blah," Ghoul muttered under his breath. "Aha! Here it is! Four desert rebels under the aliases; Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Kobra Kid, and Jet Star, to be killed or brought into custody of Better Living Industries," Ghoul read out loud, earning a soft groan from Jet.
"What else is new?" She muttered.
"The desert rebels' mimic child is to be brought to Madam Director immediately," Ghoul continued, cringing slightly.
"Mimic," Poison muttered while combing their hands through their hair. "So they're after her for her powers." They glanced up at the little girl who stood next to Doc, listening to the conversation wearily, and Poison winced.
"Why don't ya go find somethin' to do in Cherri's room, huh?" Doc asked Bug in a fatherly tone. "S' more fun than this."
Bug nodded and ran off to find Cherri's bedroom, which Poison was grateful for. She didn't need to know the specifics of BLi's pursuit. All that mattered to her was that she was kept safe by her family.
Ghoul flipped the page and immediately scoffed. "Ugh, f'course they have this in 'ere!" He shook his head as he stared down at a file clearly labeled Target: Rio Iglesias in bold letters. Clipped to the pages were a series of x-rays and photographs of Ghoul from his days in Battery City, along with a lengthy description of every technological enhancement in his body.
"They obsessed wit' me," Ghoul joked, making Poison cringe. The city knew everything about Ghoul inside and out. They had every last piece of information they could possibly need to use against him, and yet Ghoul seemed unbothered.
Poison leaned their head onto Ghoul's shoulder. "Keep goin', we don't need to see this shit," they muttered softly, forcing Ghoul to flip open the next file.
There was a lot less information in the next file, and only one black and white image; a stone-faced young girl with long, dark hair weaved into two neat braids. Above it read; Target: Abigail Shiro .
Kobra loudly yelped and snatched up the file, tearing it in the process, and hugged it close to his chest. His breathing picked up instantly, causing his hands to seize up and shake erratically.
"Woah, hey, Kid," Ghoul's eyes widened. "What's wrong? Who was that?"
"Huh—fuck!" Kobra's body rocked forwards, shaking his head. "Hmm—"
"How did they…" Poison trailed off before grabbing at the next one; Target: Kai Shiro.
"Oh," Ghoul exhaled. "I get it now."
"Kobes," Jet's hand rested on Kobra's knee. "S' aight. We ain't gon' think of ya any different."
"Exactly," Poison reached out and swiped Kobra's hair out of his eyes. "That ain't you anymore. Jus' like how this, " they motioned towards their own file. "Ain't me. Well, 'cept maybe that part," they chuckled, pointing at the list of arrests on their criminal record.
"Bad ass," Ghoul smirked, and Poison shoved him slightly.
Kobra suddenly balled up the papers in his hands and chucked in across the room. I want to burn it, he signed, his face scrunching up. "Fuck—fuck!"
"Oh we will. We'll burn all of this junk," Poison nodded eagerly, tossing the files to the side. "What's next?" They asked, opening a page that made Jet nearly puke from just reading the label.
Target: Star Mulero
"As if I'd ever take his name," Jet gagged, glaring down at the pages with disgust painted across her face. "I'm wit' Kobes, let's burn this shit."
"Hold on! There's more here," Ghoul chucked Jet's file at her and she immediately tore it in half with another gag. When she glanced back at the files in Ghoul's hands, she saw grainy photos that were clearly taken on some sort of security camera.
"S' that Bug?" She asked, but her words trailed off into nothing when she read the name plastered at the top.
Target: Carmen Mulero
"That's a crazy coincidence," Ghoul chuckled, but Jet's blood was running cold. "Right?" Ghoul asked, catching Jet's blank gaze.
"Surely," Poison leaned over Ghoul's shoulder and dragged their finger down the file until they found Bug's birth information. "Mother, Jasmine Lewis. Father…" they exhaled shakily.
"...Alexander Mulero," Ghoul finished.
Poison glanced up at the Killjoy across from them who was staring down at the files as if she could burn a hole through them with her eye. "Jet," Poison said so quietly, it was almost a whisper. "Jet, she's your half sister."
Jet wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. She stared straight down at the floor as her hands began to shake and glow softly. One by one, wandering ghosts appeared in every corner of the room, but no one cared about them at that moment.
"Huh—" Kobra reached out for Jet, but she promptly slapped his hand away. Her head shot up to stare at Doc, who had been so uncharacteristically quiet this whole time.
"You knew," she accused him through gritted teeth.
Doc wouldn't look her in the eye. "Well—"
"You knew," Jet said louder, demanding Doc's attention.
He sighed heavily. "I didn't know when y'all took her in," he tried to explain, but Jet wasn't pleased with his excuses.
"But ya found out, an' ya didn't tell us," Jet exclaimed, hauling herself to her feet. "Ya didn't tell me."
Doc pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I didn't think it was important—"
"Of course it's important!" Jet screamed at him. "She's my fucking sister!"
She faltered. Her knees almost gave out the moment the words left her lips. She's my sister. Panic grew tight in her chest until she couldn't breathe. She's my sister.
"Jet?" Poison slowly stood up and cautiously approached her. "Breathe, girl. The ghosts…"
"I don't give a fuck about the ghosts, Poison!" Jet glared at them before focusing back on Dr. D. "You fuckin' lied to me!"
"Look, I get that yer upset," Doc tried, but he shut up quickly when a certain little girl wandered back into the room with wide, curious eyes.
"Jetty?" She asked softly.
Jet could only stare at her. For the first time, Jet was noticing every little thing about Bug that reminded her of herself. Everything they shared, it was all because of him.
Before anyone could say more, Jet turned on her heel and bolted. She heard her teammates calling out her name, but no footsteps. No one was running after her. Of course, nobody knew how to handle her. Jet was a wreck, always.
She booked it down the road as fast as she could, running into a crowded area of Zone 2 until she located the back doors of Hyperthrust. The second she pushed through the doors and inhaled the thick, weed-filled air inside the club, she felt a minor sense of relief. She stumbled into the crowd and found the first stranger that could give her a hit before she found herself in front of the bar.
She's my sister. It was repeating in Jet's head over and over again, drowning out everything else. Jet didn't even realise that Mad Gear and Missile Kid were on the Hyperthrust stage until she downed her first drink and her hazy, anxiety riddled mind began to clear.
Someone across the club let out a high pitched shriek, followed by two more terrified shouts. Jet's heart dropped when she saw a handful of strangers gawking at one of Jet's ghosts. Her hands gripped the edge of the bar tighter as more spirits filled up the club, startling the majority of the crowd.
On stage, Mads faltered with the lyrics. He stumbled over his words and tried to keep up with the song, but his eyes were locked on Jet. She recognised that look in his eyes instantly; it was pity. Jet swallowed the lump in her throat and tore her gaze away from the stage. She didn't want his pity. She didn't need anyone's pity, she was fine.
"Jet?" Someone appeared beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"What?" She barked, glaring at Cherri Cola.
"You okay?" Cherri asked, glancing nervously at the scene she was causing. "Are you…" he picked up the empty glass that sat in front of Jet. "Fuck, okay. C'mon, Jet, I'll take ya home."
"I don't need—" Jet gasped, choking on her words.
"Yer freakin' the fuck out," Cherri grabbed Jet's hand, squeezing hard. "Walk wit' me, I'm parked out front. Yer okay. Yer okay."
He helped Jet into his truck, avoiding the ghosts in their path. She wouldn't look at Cherri anymore and just kept her head down, trying to ground herself.
"I won't ask what happened," Cherri offered as he drove Jet away from the crowded club and towards the Fab Four's diner.
With her head in her hands, Jet muttered quietly, "She's my sister."
Bug woke up in the middle of the night, curled up at the foot of Ghoul's mattress. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and stared at Ghoul for a moment. He lay on his stomach, snoring away. Bug giggled quietly before she got up and crept out of Ghoul's storage room.
Poison and Kobra slept less deeply, so Bug was extra careful when tiptoeing past their bedroom on her way to the kitchen. She heard the truck pull up earlier that night. She knew that Jet was home.
Quietly, Bug snuck into Jet's room with her hands behind her back. Jet had dim lights on, illuminating the room with a soft orange glow. On the mattress in the corner of the room, Jet sat with her head against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. She was very much not asleep.
"Jetty?" Bug whispered, watching Jet's eye blink open.
"Hey," Jet whispered back without looking at Bug. She sounded tired.
Carefully, Bug walked all the way through Jet's room, right up to her bed.
"They telled me," Bug said.
Jet's gaze flitted towards Bug. "Yeah?" She asked, and Bug nodded. "And whatcha think?"
Rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, Bug shrugged. "I dunno. I think s' cool that we have the same daddy," she replied. "Does that mean you my big sister?"
Jet sighed heavily. "Somethin' like that, yeah."
Bug frowned. "You sound sad."
"M' not," Jet promised. "I just think I been a pretty shit big sister so far."
Eagerly, Bug shook her head. "No," she pouted and jumped onto the bed next to Jet. "I think you the best big sister ever," she said, wrapping her arms around Jet's middle in a tight hug.
Jet shuddered slightly before returning the hug. Tears pricked at the corner of her eye.
"Thanks, babygirl," she kissed the top of Bug's head. "Yer a pretty cool lil' sis, too."
Notes:
ive been sitting on this reveal for, i shit you not, like six months now.
AS PER USUAL I HAVE SUPER COOL FRIENDS WHO LET ME USE THEIR OCS FOR MY FICS
so shout out to my lovely friend H, who owns Uni Verse <3
Chapter 4: Phantasm
Notes:
heyo :3 i have nothing to say here this time.... ehehehehe....
Chapter Text
Seeing Ghoul sitting in a diner booth with a jar of black ink and a needle wasn't anything new to Jet. However, seeing him press that needle into Poison's skin while the redhead was blindfolded . That was certainly new.
"The fuck are y'all doin'?" Jet asked, biting back a laugh at the scene in front of her.
Poison's head snapped up to smile in Jet's general direction. Ghoul remained focused on the ink-smeared area of Poison's right arm. "Tattoo," he answered easily, and Jet rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I got that part," she quipped. "What's up with the bandana over yer eyes, Pois?"
"S' a surprise," Ghoul answered again, finally looking up to wink at Jet. "They get ta see it when m' done."
From where she sat on the other side of the booth, doodling away on some random scrapped magazines, Bug leaned over the table to peer at the half-finished tattoo.
"It looks wicked," she giggled, throwing out her new favourite word that she had learned from Ghoul a few days ago.
"Shh!" Ghoul scolded playfully. "Don't spoil anythin'!"
"No, no, I need your opinion, babygirl," Poison laughed. "Ghoulie's not a trustworthy artist."
Ghoul gasped dramatically and placed a hand over his heart. "Oh, fuck you!" He teased. "Ya 'prolly got yer first one from some sketchy dude in a weird as fuck shed on the edge of Zone Six, an' m' way better than that!"
Poison laughed so hard that Ghoul had to stop what he was doing because Poison just kept moving. "Y'know what? That ain't that far off."
Jet sauntered over to lean over Ghoul's shoulder and inspect Poison's new ink. "Ya picked a good spot, Pois," Jet hummed. The tattoo was positioned on the inside of Poison's bicep, just above their elbow. "S' easy to hide if Ghoul fucks up," she chuckled, earning a gentle smack from Ghoul as he told her to fuck off.
It was a quiet afternoon in the diner. A rare lull in the stressful lives they all lived. Agent Korse hadn't been spotted in the desert for days—Ghoul attributed that to the injuries he sustained in their last fight—and the drama within the Fab Four had quieted down, too. For the first time in a long time, the team was able to peacefully enjoy each other's company, just like they used to. Although, Poison secretly believed that Jet was still struggling with the idea of her and Bug being sisters, but they wouldn't confront her about it. Not yet.
"Aight," Ghoul tugged at the bandana tied around Poison's head. "Whaddya think?" He asked an hour later, after Jet and Bug had both wandered away and Poison had almost fallen asleep.
Poison ripped off their blindfold with their free hand and glanced down at their arm with a gleeful gasp. Staring back up at them was a goofy looking zombie character, covered in stitches and peeling flesh, with ooze dripping from his mouth. It was absolutely disgusting, and Poison fucking loved it.
"Is this s'posed to be you?" Poison smiled, watching Ghoul's eyes widened.
"Uh, no," Ghoul shrugged. "Maybe? I dunno. I jus' thought it looked cool," he ducked his head down in embarrassment, which Poison thought was pretty cute.
"It's very cool," Poison stared at Ghoul's nervous expression with adoring eyes. "I love it. Thank you," they said softly, reaching out to hold the side of Ghoul's face as they leaned in to kiss him.
They didn't recognise the tingling sensation in their fingertips until it was too late. Before Poison could pull away, the touch of their hand on Ghoul's cheek sent a shock to his core that had him crying out instantly, doubling over in pain as he tried to rip Poison's hand from his face. His head throbbed, the feeling of his brain splitting open pulsed behind his eyes until he toppled over out of the booth and landed on the ground with a loud thud.
"Fuck!" Poison yanked their hand away as fast as they could, but their power worked fast and the damage had already been done. Ghoul sat on the floor, blinking rapidly as he waited for his vision to return and the pulsating sharp pain to disappear.
"M' so sorry!" Poison reached out to help Ghoul, but they quickly retracted their hand out of fear of it happening again. Ghoul rubbed at his temples as he gazed up at Poison, and he smiled sadly at their fearful expression.
"Hey," he said softly, swallowing the hurt. "S' fine, I promise. M' okay."
Poison didn't seem to believe them with the way their head hung low as they stared down at their fidgeting hands. Ghoul sat up onto his knees and shuffled over to sit below Poison, carefully placing his hands on top of theirs. Poison tensed up, their eyes growing wide, but the tension in their body eased just slightly when the touch didn't trigger their powers for a second time.
"See? S' okay," Ghoul tried to reassure Poison.
"This time," Poison huffed under their breath. "What 'bout next time? I never know when s' gonna happen. I can't…" they shook their head. "I can't get the fuckin' thing under control."
"Ya can learn to," Ghoul squeezed Poison's hands and offered a soft smile to the redhead that was avoiding his gaze. "Shit like this takes a while to master, y'know?"
"Hmm," Poison grumbled noncommittedly and pretended to pay attention to whatever they could see out of the diner's windows. Still, they never let go of Ghoul's hands, so Ghoul decided to ask the question that had been on his mind the past few minutes.
"What'd ya see?"
Poison didn't respond at first. They just chewed on their lip, and their eyebrows knitted together the way they always did when Poison was deep in thought.
"A little girl," they muttered eventually, tilting their head to the side. "I think she's…your sister?" They locked eyes with Ghoul again. "Jade?" They asked, rather confused.
Ghoul's lips parted as he stuttered for a moment before he finally muttered, "Huh?" And he pulled back, separating his hands from Poison's. "Why are ya diggin' so far back, Red?" He forced an awkward laugh. "I ain't seen Jade in ten years."
"I wasn't," Poison corrected as they watched Ghoul pick himself up off the floor. "I don't pick the memories I see, dude."
Ghoul crossed his arms defensively. "Then yer power picked a stupid memory."
"Actually," Poison stood up slowly, eyeing Ghoul carefully. "S' usually memories that you been thinkin' 'bout recently." They saw the way Ghoul stiffened up, as if he was scrambling for an excuse as to why he'd been thinking about his little sister lately.
"How do ya know that?" He asked.
"What?"
"Ya said it yerself," Ghoul shrugged, taking a few steps back from Poison. "Ya can't control yer power. How would ya know that that's how it works every time?"
A sharp pang hit Poison's chest at Ghoul's comment. "I just…know…" they shrugged.
"No, you don't, Poison," Ghoul snapped. "Ya can't control when yer power kicks in, and ya can't control what memories ya see."
Poison blinked, wondering if this was the same Fun Ghoul that was blushing over them no less than five minutes ago. Now, he was standing there, burning holes into Poison's stomach with his glare and pulling out everything Poison hated about themself and their power.
"Yeah," Poison muttered quietly, hugging their arms around themself. "I guess you're right."
Ghoul visibly regretted his choice of words instantly. He opened his mouth to apologise when the front door of the diner swung open, welcoming a shaking, cursing Kobra Kid.
"Haha—ugh! Fuck off—" Kobra's racing helmet clattered on the floor loudly as he dropped it next to the rest of gear before his hands seized up and shook as he shouted, "Huh! Mmm—shit!"
"Kobes?" Poison turned their back to Ghoul and ran for their brother, who had his head tipped back with his shoulders shrugged.
"F-Fuck!" Kobra forced his head back down to look at Poison. "Hmm!" He whistled sharply.
Poison's eyes widened at the sight of a nasty bruise that was growing on the side of Kobra's face. "What happened?" They asked.
Their question was quickly answered when Kobra's left hand shot up, hitting himself in the face and eliciting a small whimper. "Fuck you!"
"Oh, fuck, Kobes," Poison cringed as their brother's hands beat against his own face and chest again and again between grunts and curses. He was weak on his feet. His knees were shaking and would give out at any moment. Poison briefly wondered how Kobra was able to drive home, but shoved that thought aside in favour of helping Kobra to the couch.
"Agh! Aye—aye—aye!" Kobra's voice was hoarse and overused. His shouts sounded strained and tired. "Get outta here, freak!" His head snapped back, bashing into the cushions behind him.
"Breathe, Kid," Poison frowned, brushing the hair out of Kobra's eyes as he blinked rapidly. The heel of the Kid's hand thumped into his brow bone, and Poison had enough. They reached out and grabbed Kobra's wrists, pinning them down and preventing Kobra from hitting himself again. "Breathe."
"Shit—fuck y—huh!" Kobra winced when his head thrashed to the side, stretching his neck in the wrong direction. "Hmm!" He tried to focus on Poison's slow, consistent breaths, attempting to match them, but his tics got the best of him and he was rocking forwards, cursing again.
Kobra usually didn't get like this unless something set him off. Poison needed to figure out what happened while the Kid was out, but they had to get him calmed down first.
"Do you—" Poison started, but they were briefly interrupted by Kobra shouting in their face. "Ah, fuck it," Poison stood up and marched over to the diner windows, pulling their handmade curtains shut until it was nearly pitch black inside the diner. They heard Kobra release a shuddering breath; a small sign of relief.
"You're okay," Poison whispered as they slowly sat back down, pulling Kobra into a hug with enough pressure to not set him off again. "Breathe, an' then tell me what happened."
"Hmm—" Kobra leaned into Poison's embrace, punching them slightly. "S-Sorry," he choked out. "Huh—mm— They, uh— fuck! They banned— hm— banned p-powered 'Joys— aye!" Kobra's head jerked back, nearly hitting Poison's face.
"Banned from where?" Poison tried not to let the panic they were feeling show in their voice. It would've only worked Kobra up again.
"The— hmm!" Kobra's hand squeezed Poison's wrist as he tried to stop himself from hitting something again. "Crashtrack," he finally muttered.
"What?"
Poison and Kobra's heads shot up in unison when Jet finally spoke up from the other side of the room.
"Sorry," she cringed, tip-toeing over to Kobra through the dark. "I saw the lights go out and I thought…" she handed Kobra one of the diner's only sealed water bottles, which he took without protest.
"Fuck off, freak," Kobra spat with a shake of his head. "Thanks."
"How the fuck could they do that?" Poison asked, quickly turning the conversation back on its head. Jet quietly sat down on the floor by Kobra's feet. She and Poison both looked at Kobra, waiting for an explanation.
He sipped at the water slowly, staring at his shaky hands. "F-Fuck—hmm— get rid of the— huh— freaks," he mumbled angrily.
"That's rich," Poison scoffed. "We're Killjoys . We're all freaks."
Kobra squirmed in Poison's arms. "M' not—" he whistled. "Shit— M' not telling you s' right— hmm— m' telling you it fucking happened," his voice cracked slightly, just enough for the others to notice.
"S' okay," Jet put her hand firmly on Kobra's knee. "We can figure this out."
Kobra shook his head wildly. "M' not going back," he said with more certainty. His shaking hands sloshed the water bottle, spilling it onto himself and Poison. "Fuck off, freak!"
"Kobes, you're not powered anymore," Poison reminded their brother as they helped him steady his hands. They didn't care about the liquid soaking into their jeans. "You could still race."
"No," Kobra said quickly, rocking forwards. "No. Not— fuck off— not without you— freak!"
Poison was still in their head about things long after Kobra had fallen asleep and they had left with Ghoul to Hyperthrust. The drive to the club was awkward and silent. Neither Poison nor Ghoul even tried to start a conversation. Poison just couldn't stop thinking about what Kobra had told them earlier.
Powered Killjoys. Banned from somewhere as Zone-famous as the Crashtrack. Poison's grip tightened on the steering wheel until their knuckles turned white. Life in the desert was dangerous enough on its own. And now powered Killjoys had less and less to protect themselves with. The Crashtrack would be the first of many to kick out the 'Joys with powers. Soon enough, nowhere would be safe for Poison, especially if they got caught. It only took one wrong touch for the curtains to be pulled back and everyone would know that Poison was some out of control telepathic and—
"Dude, you missed our turn," Ghoul said suddenly.
"Shit," Poison jerked the wheel, turning the car around. "Sorry."
Walking into Hyperthrust, Poison was on high alert. Ghoul placed his hand on their lower back, guiding them through the back doors, the crowd, and the door that was spray painted with 'employees only'. Poison was more focused on the strangers around them, drinking and singing along to the DJ's remixes. They were hyper aware of everyone who bumped into them on their way in. Poison was terrified of making any accidental skin to skin contact and creating a scene. With their arms hugged closely to their own body, Poison let Ghoul push them into the back room, just as Star Lyte was coming out.
"Where ya goin'?" Ghoul asked. "The night ain't even started yet!"
Lyte stopped dead in her tracks in front of the two Killjoys with a glare that could cut like a knife.
"I was fired," she spat. She kept walking, but Ghoul side stepped into her path, forcing her to stay.
"What?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"I said I was fired," Lyte crossed her arms and scowled, but she wasn't fooling anyone with her watery, bloodshot eyes.
"They can't do that!" Poison exclaimed. "Girl, you know this place better than anyone. Hyperthrust isn't Hyperthrust without you!"
Lyte sniffled softly. "Tell that to our boss," she blinked back tears, keeping her jaw clenched angrily. "He won't believe you. He only believes that I'm gon' kill everyone here just because I'm powered."
Poison's heart dropped through their stomach. "No," they whispered, shaking their head. "Not here, too."
Lyte nodded sadly. "My brother was kicked out of the Crashtrack. We're, uh," she tucked her bright blue hair behind her ear. "We're jumpin' ship. Gon' find work in the outer Zones."
"And if ya can't?" Ghoul asked quietly.
Lyte shrugged. "Then we're fucked."
Poison pulled her in, throwing their arms around her in a sympathetic hug. "M' so sorry," they muttered before they let Lyte go, feeling the guilt that weighed them down. Lyte didn't deserve this. No one did. Poison's boss was a monster for firing Lyte, but at the same time, he was the man that gave them carbons at the end of the night, and Poison needed those carbons.
Before their shift started, Poison dug through their bag and retrieved a pair of brown leather gloves that belonged to Kobra. With their boss firing anyone with a power, Poison couldn't risk getting caught. And minimising that risk meant making sure no one touched them all night.
"Really?" Ghoul's voice startled Poison as they got settled behind the bar, causing them to nearly jump out of their own skin when Ghoul asked, "Are ya serious?" while staring at Poison's hands.
"Yeah, m' serious," Poison stared at Ghoul like the answer should've been obvious. "Ghoul if we get caught, we're done. You saw what happened to Lyte."
Ghoul let out a long, slow sigh. He stepped forwards just as Poison stepped back, keeping space between them.
"We ain't gonna get caught, Red," Ghoul said.
" You won't!" Poison scoffed. "It'd take someone rippin' your pants off to see that your legs ain't real. An' even then, they jus' look like prosthetics. So actually, someone would need to stab you to figure you out."
Poison continued to rant while Ghoul kept his mouth shut. "But if I jus' touch someone at the wrong time, I'm fucked," they threw up their hands for emphasis, showing off the leather gloves that were already getting their hands sweaty. "So yeah, m' serious about this shit."
Ghoul stared up at Poison silently for a moment, listening to Poison's frustrated huffs.
"Are ya mad at me?" He asked eventually, keeping his voice down so none of the partygoers could overhear.
Poison sighed and leaned forwards, resting their hands on the bar. Without even looking at him, they told Ghoul, "We're out of zonebrew up here, go get a new barrel from the back."
As they served customers, Poison could feel their jaw aching from how hard they clenched it shut. They hardly said anything throughout their entire shift. Just simple head nods and half smiles, which was completely out of character for the usually chatty bartender. But Poison was terrified. Every time their sleeve rolled up slightly, they'd panic internally as they rushed to cover the exposed skin of their wrist. They couldn't let anyone even brush past them, fearing that there would be some accidental skin to skin contact.
Because Ghoul was right; Poison was out of control. They weren't mad at Ghoul, they just hated that all he said was the truth.
A familiar buzzing sound pulled Poison away from their work as they ran to check their portable radio that sat on the back shelf. Pulling out the antenna, Poison quickly recognised Cherri's frantic voice on the other end of the frequency.
"Ya got somethin' for us?" Poison asked, ignoring the impatient Killjoys that were hitting the top of the bar, demanding service.
Cherri growled frustratedly. "S' too late, this one got away," he reported, and Poison cursed under their breath. "But they a far ways from the city still. Y'all need to stop 'em before they get those sparks to some fuckin' lab."
"Copy that," said a voice that wasn't Cherri Cola's. Poison smiled to themself hearing that Kobra was awake and well. "Poison, Jet an' me can catch up if— fuck— you an' Ghoul go now."
"Headin' straight down Route Guano," Cherri stated. "They comin' to you, Pois."
"I feel so special," Poison quipped before dropping their radio and running out of the bar. In the back of their mind, they thought about getting someone to cover the rest of their shift, but their boss would figure it out eventually. Poison was the leader of the Fabulous Four, after all.
At the back doors where Ghoul stood guard, Poison sprinted through and grabbed him by his elbow, pulling him to the Trans Am. Ghoul understood an emergency when he saw one and asked no questions before climbing into the passenger seat and letting Poison tear off into the night without a word.
They travelled at full speed for a couple of miles before Poison veered off the road and put the Trans Am in park. There, sitting a few yards away from Route Guano, Poison shut the headlights off to hide themself and Ghoul in the dark.
Ghoul knew they were waiting for something, and he had a pretty good guess that Cherri clued Poison in on the location. The redhead sat in silence, leaning over the steering wheel and squinting into the distance.
"What are we lookin' for?" Ghoul asked. His voice sat just above a whisper, but Poison acted as though he hadn't said anything at all.
With a sigh, Ghoul shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Look, whatever I did—or said—m' sorry, 'kay?" I just—"
"Shh," Poison interrupted, to which Ghoul frowned slightly. "I think I see headlights."
Ghoul perked up at the distant sound of a roaring engine. He slipped his blaster out of its holster, feeling it heat up in his hands. Poison shifted, gripping the steering wheel tightly and hovering their foot over the gas pedal. Ghoul didn't know who they were about to be facing, or just how many agents they'd be up against, but he was ready the moment a sleek, black BL/Ind car zipped past and Poison chased after it.
Climbing on the seats the best he could on the rough road, Ghoul popped up through the sunroof and immediately started shooting at the tires of the BLi vehicle, hoping to chase it off the road. Seconds later, two agents in white jackets began retaliating through the backseat windows. Ghoul narrowly dodged a few stray shots as the two cars swerved left and right. Still, he managed to hit one of the agents right between the eyebrows, painting the side of the black car red.
Ghoul's blood ran cold when he heard multiple engines coming up behind him. "Oh, shit," he winced, spinning around to see two dirtbikes ripping down the road and trying to catch up with the Trans Am. Ghoul nearly shot at them, except he knew those two helmets anywhere.
Jet waved at him before speeding up ahead, driving parallel with the BL/Ind car. She aimed at the windows, firing again and again, trying to break the glass. Shot after shot ricocheted off of the bulletproof glass before she pulled back.
Ghoul dropped back into his seat just in time to see Kobra on the opposite side successfully take out the other armed agent. If Ghoul could guess, he'd say they only had two Crows left in the front seats. He was proud of his team, until he realised that they had travelled a good distance into Zone 1.
"Red," Ghoul shouted over the Trans Am's engine and the sounds of Jet and Kobra's blasters. "Red!"
"What?" Poison snapped.
"This road," Ghoul pointed ahead. "S' gonna take us straight into neutral territory, Pois, we gotta turn around."
Poison let out a frustrated noise. "We can't turn around! We're too close, we almost got 'em!"
"Poison, it's a trap!" Ghoul yelled, and the anger in his voice must've made something in Poison's brain click, because suddenly they were slowing down and letting the BLi car get further and further away.
Poison signalled out the window, sending Jet and Kobra off in one direction while Poison and Ghoul went the other. They took the long way around Zone 1, losing all sight of the BLi agents, and hopefully convincing BL/Ind that they had given up. Poison drove into a deep valley hidden behind a tall rock formation on the edge of the neutral zone, which is where they elected to leave the Trans Am for the time being.
They met up with Jet and Kobra again. The four Killjoys were crouched behind the Scarecrow's now-abandoned car, watching a team of BL/Ind agents load equipment into a nearby building.
"They got labs out here now?" Jet asked, disgusted. "So they jus' took this whole Zone for 'emselves?"
"What are they doin' with sparks here?" Kobra whispered with his hands over his mouth to keep himself silent as he hummed, "Shit—mm."
Poison glared straight ahead at the agents, eyeing up the draculoids that stood guard around the lab. "I don't wanna wait to find out," they muttered. "C'mon," they motioned for the team to begin an ambush. But before Poison could even stand, a hand was on their shoulder holding them back.
"Poison, wait," Ghoul whisper-shouted, pulling the redhead back behind the car before they were caught. "We can't."
Jet, Kobra, and Poison all turned their heads to stare at Ghoul with matching complexed looks. Ghoul was usually the last of the Fab Four to ever turn away from a fight. But this time was different. This time, Ghoul couldn't take his eyes off of a certain Scarecrow.
A tall, threatening woman with thin eyes and straight black hair gave orders to the other agents moving into the lab. She stood a few inches above the rest, in thigh-high black boots and a white coat stamped with the BL/Ind logo. The other Killjoys didn't recognise her, but Ghoul seemed to be lost in his own memories when he looked at her.
"What?" Poison asked after a few beats of silence. "Ghoul? Who is that?"
Without taking his eyes off of her, Ghoul muttered, "Agent Avalon."
"Who?" Jet asked.
"She's bad news," Ghoul shook his head, meeting his teammates eyes with uncharacteristic fear. "Ya don't wanna fuck wit' her, 'kay?"
"Ghoul, she has a 'Joy's sparks," Poison argued. "We can't let her get away with 'em and do Destroya knows what with 'em."
"Poison's right, we gotta stop her," Jet leaned forwards to add. "S' what Cherri sent us here to do."
"I dunno," Ghoul shook his head again. His hands started to fidget with his jacket, rubbing his finger tips over his metal sternum. "S' too risky."
"Ghoul—" Poison opened their mouth, but they shut themself up when a white truck across the lot started up, and a handful of the agents climbed in. It was headed back into the city, leaving a few draculoids, two Scarecrows, and Agent Avalon behind.
"S' now or never," Kobra pointed out, pulling his helmet back on.
"We're movin' in," Poison decided, glancing over at Ghoul. "You comin' with?"
With a heavy sigh, Ghoul gave in. "Fine," he muttered, knowing that he couldn't change Poison's mind now. "But y'all see that gun on her leg?"
Strapped to her tall boots, Avalon had a gold and silver weapon attached to a vial of neon blue and a long needle at the tip.
"That ain't a normal blaster," Jet commented, and Kobra shivered.
"Do not let it get close to you," Ghoul demanded, his voice a mix of anger and fear. "Y'all hear me?"
All three Killjoys nodded.
"Let's fuckin' go," Poison signalled their hand forwards and they all jumped out from behind the car at once, guns blazing. They charged towards the lab as fast as they could to catch the agents off guard. Avalon was the first to spot them coming.
"Killjoys!" She yelled, sicking her mind controlled draculoids on the four rebels like a pack of dogs. Kobra and Poison took on two dracs each, holding them back so Jet and Ghoul could get to the Crows.
Jet swung an uppercut at one of the Scarecrows, driving her dagger into his stomach. He faltered, but his left fist didn't dare drop the glass container he held onto. The glass was half full of a substance so green it nearly glowed. Jet knew it was the sparks they'd stolen; sparks that belonged to an innocent Killjoy.
Her knife was quickly tucked into her boot while the Crow threw punches with his free hand. Jet swiftly whipped out both of her blasters, shooting matching holes into the man's hips. She watched him stumble back and grabbed onto his left wrist, forcing the sparks out of his grip.
With a sudden second wave of adrenaline, the Crow pushed back, shoving Jet to the ground and knocking the sparks right out of her hand. The glass hit the ground and shattered. Green sparks seeped into the dirt and disappeared.
"Fuck," Jet mumbled to herself as she shot at the Crow above her, hitting his heart and taking him out instantly. She thought she was in the clear, but the sharp tip of Avalon's heel was suddenly piercing the flesh of Jet's stomach.
"Now look what you've done," Avalon sighed as she kicked Jet hard, forcing her to roll over into the broken glass. Jet felt the shards cutting into her hands and face as she scrambled back to her feet. Avalon had a tight grip on the collar of Jet's jacket by the time she got up again.
In Jet's blindspot, Avalon pulled her gun on the Killjoy, aiming the sharp needle at the side of Jet's neck. Jet gasped as she turned around, unable to run from Avalon's hold. Her finger hovered over the trigger threatening to inject Jet with whatever was in that gun.
"Get away from her!" Ghoul yelled suddenly, kicking Avalon back with all the power in his mechanical legs. Ghoul grabbed Jet by the shoulders, checking her over with wide, panicked eyes.
"Hey," Jet placed her hand on the side of Ghoul's face. "I'm good."
"Good," Ghoul nodded. "Now let me handle her."
Avalon slowly walked back over to the Killjoys, beckoning Ghoul over with a smirk on her face. "You've gotten stronger over the years," she told him. Her voice made Ghoul's skin crawl. "It's unfortunate your brain was so useless to us. You would've been such an asset to keep around."
"I thought you'd be fired by now," Ghoul growled.
Avalon shrugged. "I thought you'd be dead," she swung her fist at the side of Ghoul's head, but his reflexes acted quickly, catching her by the wrist. He twisted her arm to the side, watching the way Avalon's smirk contorted into a full evil grin.
Ghoul looked down at Avalon's hand and found a metal cuff around her wrist that was attached to the rings around each of her fingers. Her fingers moved rhythmically. High pitched electronic sounds buzzed as she manoeuvred her hand around, as if she was controlling something remotely.
"What the fuck…" Ghoul muttered.
On the other side of the fight, Poison was blasting holes through the masks of every draculoid that came their way. More dracs spilled out of the labs, keeping the Venom siblings busy and distracted.
Poison had their hand on a draculoid's throat when a massive bug landed on their shoulder. They didn't flinch. After six years in the desert, Poison was used to the freaky insects that roamed the Zones as a result of the radiation.
Unfortunately, Poison failed to realise that this was no mutated insect. The bug was made of metal, and its bulbous body was actually a glass vial carrying the same neon liquid that was inside Avalon's gun.
Its pincers dug into Poison's skin. They didn't hear their team's shouts before they started screaming.
Poison's gun fell into the sand. Their hands shot up to grab at the sides of their head as they stumbled. They couldn't figure out where the pain was coming from, they just knew it was there .
"Red!" Ghoul sprinted towards them, holding his hands out as if he expected Poison to fall. Their vision was going blurry and their head was spinning. Behind Ghoul, two other fuzzy figures approached Poison, terrified.
"Are you okay?" Jet asked urgently, out of breath. Poison was so disoriented, they didn't even realise that Avalon and her dracs must've made their escapes.
"Mmm," Poison groaned, reaching out blindly until they felt Ghoul's hands in theirs. "Ghoulie, what's wrong with me?" They whimpered before their legs gave out. They fell to their knees and screamed, ducking their head down as if they were hiding.
"No!" Poison sobbed, rocking back and forth. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Please, stop it!" They begged. Jet and Kobra stared in shock, and Ghoul's heart dropped.
"Shit," he shook his head. "Fuck! How the fuck did she get you?" Ghoul cried, putting his hands on Poison and shaking them. "Poison?"
Poison shrieked at the sudden contact and scrambled back on their hands to get away from Ghoul. "No!" They sobbed again, tears streaming down their pale face. "Let him go!" They screamed at Ghoul. "Please!"
"What the fuck happened?" Jet shouted over Poison's sobbing. Kobra was pressed into her side, staring at his screaming older sibling and shaking.
Ghoul's hands clenched into fists. "I told you she was bad news!" He yelled at Jet. "We gotta get Poison home before it gets worse."
He bent down and picked Poison up, throwing their body over his shoulder as they kicked and let out a blood curdling scream, as if Ghoul's touch alone was killing them. But Ghoul persisted and hauled the redhead back to the Trans Am, dropping them into the backseat.
Ghoul drove home as fast as he could. Jet and Kobra followed the Trans Am closely, their hearts racing. They thought they could make it home in time, but halfway through Zone 2, the Trans Am's wheels screeched across the pavement as the car spun off the road.
Jet and Kobra hopped off of their bikes just as they saw Ghoul jumping out of the Trans Am with a quick shout. Kobra ran to his side a few seconds before Poison climbed out of the backseat with their gun drawn, aiming at their teammates.
"I told you to leave him alone," Poison barked and pulled the trigger. They shot at Ghoul a few times, burning the shoulder of his army green jacket. Kobra leapt forwards, trying to stop his sibling, but ended up taking a shot to the stomach.
"Kid!" Jet shouted as Kobra muscled through the pain and kicked the gun out of Poison's hands. Jet dove in and grabbed Poison to hold them back from hurting their own little brother again. They viciously began scratching at Jet. Their sharp nails dug into Jet's face hard enough to draw blood before their boot crashed into Jet's stomach, knocking the wind right out of her.
"Red, stop it!" Ghoul pleaded as he approached, but Poison stared at him like he was a different person. Their hand gripped Ghoul's throat, triggering a response inside Ghoul that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Before he could even realise what he was doing, Ghoul threw a panic induced punch at Poison's face with all of the strength in his mechanically enhanced arm, successfully knocking Poison out. Their body collapsed in the sand with a hard thud, and Ghoul winced.
"Fuck! Poison," Ghoul dropped to his knees, lifting Poison's head out of the sand and into his lap. "Shit, m' sorry," he apologised pathetically.
"Ghoul," Jet panted, resting her hands on her knees. "What the fuck is happening?"
"I warned y'all 'bout Avalon!" Ghoul yelled at her. "I told y'all that it was a bad idea, but ya wanted to fight her anyway! Now her drug's in Poison's system and it's our fucking fault!" Ghoul ranted as he picked Poison back up to put them back in the Trans Am.
Kobra and Jet both flinched at the word 'drug'.
"Are they gon' keep tryna kill us?" Jet exclaimed, watching Kobra weakly limp back to his bike.
"Yes!" Ghoul shouted. "So we gotta get 'em home now!"
After a painstaking drive home, Kobra finally kicked through the front door of the diner, holding it open for Ghoul with one hand wrapped around his bleeding midsection. Jet ran in and grabbed one of the few diner chairs that didn't have a broken leg and set it in the middle of the main room.
Ghoul dropped Poison into the chair and began tying their wrists behind their back, and then their ankles to the front chair legs. It hurt Ghoul to do this to the person he loved, but Kobra was doubled over in pain in a booth because of Poison, and the team couldn't risk Poison waking up and attacking them again.
A soft gasp came from the back of the diner and Ghoul's blood ran cold. He had forgotten who was on babysitting duty. He looked up sheepishly and spotted Show Pony staring at the scene in front of them. Their eyes were nearly popping out of their skull at the sight of Ghoul and Jet tying Poison to a chair and Kobra wrapping bandages around himself.
Hugging Pony's leg, little Ladybug peeked out from behind them and burst into tears.
"Don't come any closer," Jet ordered as she helped Ghoul tighten the ropes around Poison's limbs. Pony nodded, albeit confused, and picked Bug up, hugging the girl close to their chest.
Poison's eyes slowly blinked open. A low, pained groan escaped their lips as they groggily woke up. Jet and Ghoul both backed up carefully, waiting for the aggression to return. Sure enough, once Poison realised that their arms and legs were bound, they started to scream again.
"Let me go!" They squirmed, pulling against their restraints. "Fucking let me go!"
"Poison!" Bug shrieked, pushing both of her hands against Pony's chest until she was able to jump out of their arms and run towards the redhead. Her little arms hugged Poison's leg as she cried.
"Get off!" Poison screamed. A glob of spit landed in Bug's hair. "Don't fucking touch me, creep!"
Jet swooped in and pulled Bug away from Poison as they continued to thrash under the ropes. Bug shrieked and sobbed, clinging to Jet's jacket.
"Shh, they didn't mean it," Jet whispered, hugging Bug against her chest and covering the girl's face so she didn't have to look at Poison anymore.
"Okay," Show Pony crossed their arms. "What the fuck is going on?" They demanded an explanation. Kobra and Jet both looked to Ghoul for answers, ignoring the way Poison was screaming, "I'm gonna kill you all!"
Ghoul closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Phantasm," he said.
"What?"
"Phantasm," he repeated. "S' the drug that Avalon uses to weaken her targets. It traps you inside violent hallucinations."
Kobra got up out of the booth slowly, creeping towards Poison and sitting down on the floor in front of the redhead, just out of reach.
Jet stared at Ghoul as he explained. "Hallucinations?" She asked.
"They're flashbacks. Your worst memories," Ghoul looked up at Poison, who glared back at him. "Pois doesn't see us," he winced when Poison cursed at him. "Or hear us. To them, we somebody else."
"How long does it last?" Pony asked quietly.
Ghoul shrugged. "Not sure."
Jet's arms tightened around her crying little sister. "And what if it never wears off?"
"It will," Ghoul assured her.
"How would you know?" Jet asked defensively, and Ghoul's shoulders hunched over.
"Because Avalon tested it on me," Ghoul spat, creating a hush over the room save for Poison's efforts of escaping. Kobra and Pony both stared at the floor. Jet stared at Ghoul sympathetically, and Ghoul just wanted to disappear.
"I told you we shouldn't have fucked wit' her."
Three hours went by. Poison switched between screaming, crying, fighting, and swearing at anyone who got too close. Show Pony had gone home after forcing Ghoul to call them as soon as the Phantasm wore off. Jet took Bug to bed after she cried herself to sleep in Jet's arms. Ghoul had wandered off, seeming to have something else on his mind.
Kobra sat on the floor right in front of Poison with his knees pulled up to his chest for the entire rest of the night.
He couldn't stop thinking about what Ghoul had said about the Phantasm. They're flashbacks, your worst memories. Kobra and Poison hadn't spent more than a few days in their whole lives apart from each other, and yet Kobra had no clue what memory Poison was trapped inside. Fear had Kobra's heart gripped in an iron fist. What didn't he know? What did Kobra miss?
By the time the sun had started to peek out over the horizon early the next morning, Kobra found himself still staring up at his older sibling and listening to their desperate pleas.
"I'm sorry…" Poison sobbed. "Please…don't…don't hurt him…" Their whole body shook. The skin of their wrists were rubbed raw, bleeding beneath the rope. "Don't hurt him. Take me instead…please…"
"Hmm—shit—" Kobra's stomach churned. He didn't know why, but Kobra had a nauseating feeling that he was the "him" that Poison spoke about.
"Don't hurt him," Poison begged. "Take me. Take me!"
Kobra had enough of this. He crawled over to Poison and untied their legs, letting their numb feet hit the floor as a gasp left their lips. Carefully, Kobra placed his hands on Poison's shoulders and whispered quietly.
"Poison? Pois, s' me— hm— s' me."
Poison blinked, mumbling pleas under their breath.
Slowly, Kobra reached around and freed Poison's wrists, taking their blood stained hands in his. "Party?"
Poison's hands suddenly held on tightly to Kobra's. "Kobes?" They whispered, their voice cracking.
"Yeah, yeah s' me," Kobra cautiously pulled Poison out of the chair and let their exhausted body fall into his lap, hugging them close.
Poison clung onto their brother as they started to shake. "M' sorry," they whimpered, their tears soaking through Kobra's bandages.
"S' okay," Kobra promised, rocking himself and Poison until exhaustion took over Poison's body and they fell asleep right there on the floor. Kobra, however, stayed wide awake. His sibling's words echoed in their head until morning.
Please don't hurt him. Take me instead.
Chapter 5: Freaks
Notes:
i wrote this partially on the plane returning home from seeing MCR on the LLTBP tour. i am a shell of a human, but here have a new chapter hehe :3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was four in the morning, and Korse stumbled through the dark hallway of an apartment complex on the East side of the city. He dragged his feet as though his boots were made of cement, getting heavier with each step, until he finally reached the right door.
His hands fumbled with the keys as he unlocked his apartment. The door swung open to reveal a thin but muscular man waiting on the other side, as if he knew Korse would be there. He stood just a few inches shorter than Korse, in bare feet and a large navy t-shirt. His ink black hair was a stark contrast to his pale skin, flushed slightly pink as he beamed up at the bald man standing in the doorway.
His arms flung themselves around Korse’s neck and Korse’s lips were suddenly attacked with another, much softer set of lips. He froze for half a second before his large hands pressed against the other man’s shoulders and shoved him inside the apartment, slamming the door behind them.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” Korse exclaimed. “You know they have cameras in these halls!”
“And you know that they don’t check them.”
Hands returned to Korse’s midsection, pulling him back in. Korse sighed heavily, letting out a breath he’d been holding in all day.
“Daniel,” he muttered.
“Shh,” the shorter man shushed him. “This is still Korse-at-work speaking to me,” Daniel reasoned. “Where’s my Korse, hm? Come back to me, baby.”
As Daniel began pulling the heavy grey jacket off of Korse’s shoulders, Korse shuddered and dropped his head low to rest on top of Daniel’s, breathing in a familiar scent. He could feel the hurt behind Daniel's words, and guilt seeped into his gut.
"I'm sorry," Korse said quietly. His hands hovered over Daniel's body, unsure if he should even try to touch him. His silent questions were answered, however, by Daniel leaning into him, welcoming Korse's embrace.
"I know you are," Daniel whispered. "Come sit," he pulled gently on Korse's wrist, guiding him towards the couch in the living area of their cramped apartment. Korse let his jacket fall carelessly to the floor and joined Daniel on the soft cushions, feeling Daniel's careful hands begin to push at his shirt collar.
"What happened?" Daniel asks, inspecting a fresh new injury that stretched from Korse's collar bone and down his shoulder. Daniel's fingertips brushed gently over the new stitches. Korse sighed under the touch.
Daniel was a nurse at Battery City's general hospital. He was far smarter than Korse ever could be, and his heart was twice the size of anyone else inside this god forsaken city. He put his whole soul into his work, and he still had enough to give late at night when Korse came home, broken and bitter. Because Daniel could see beyond Scarecrow Agent 1306. He was the only person who was able to patiently peel back the layers of Korse's training to get to his heart. He was the only person Korse truly loved.
"Did they do this to you?" Daniel whispered, and both men knew who 'they' were.
"No," Korse shook his head stiffly. "That happened on the job," Korse reached for his own shoulder, placing his hand on top of Daniel's. "Rebels."
A quiet sigh of relief escaped Daniel's lips. "Are they sending you back tomorrow?"
"Probably," Korse muttered, and Daniel suddenly pulled away.
He got up silently and padded off to the kitchen, opening the white cabinets in search of his favourite wine glasses. In passing, Daniel tried not to pay attention to the row of pill bottles that decorated the kitchen counters; eight different prescriptions that the city kept Korse on to 'maximise his performances on the job', whatever that meant.
Daniel returned with two full glasses of red and sat back down. This time, he settled himself on Korse's good side to avoid hurting him more than he already was. Korse glanced down as he accepted the drink from Daniel and caught a glimpse of the shiny wet look in Daniel's eyes. He blinked away the tears, but failed to conceal a quiet sniffle.
"Why…" Korse quickly set his glass on the coffee table and wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Why are you crying?"
Daniel curled into Korse's side, shaking as he swallowed back sobs.
"Because you can't."
Korse woke up to the sound of fists pounding on the apartment door. He sat up abruptly in bed, glancing around the master bedroom while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The banging continued. Next to Korse, Daniel snored softly, their legs were tangled together.
Korse dragged himself out of bed, pulling on the first shirt he found on the floor of the terribly messy bedroom. Daniel rolled over and groaned, so Korse quickly pulled the blankets up over his body, tucking Daniel in right up to his chin. Tip-toeing out of the room, Korse locked the bedroom door before he approached the front of the apartment.
Sometimes, Korse forgot about the tracking chip that was conveniently hidden under the skin of his neck. But at times like this, with the Director and her men standing in the doorway of his apartment, Korse couldn't help but remember.
"It's my night off, Boss," Korse grumbled before the Director could open her mouth. "You can't put me on desert patrol again."
The Director chuckled. Her dark lips pulled into a smirk that made Korse feel smaller immediately.
"I don't need you on night patrol, Agent Korse," she informed him. "Rather, I need your assistance with a…new recruit…"
Korse blinked. "What? Who?" He asked, but he was pulled out of his apartment by the other agents before he could even tell Daniel where he was headed.
Rio spat a glob of blood into the bathroom sink, watching the red get washed down the drain. Lifting his head to face the mirror, Rio inspected the hole where his front tooth used to be. It didn't fall out like it was supposed to. Instead, his older brother, Dante, had ripped the tooth out the moment that Rio had mentioned that it was a little loose.
The throbbing in his gums was already starting to fade. It felt like every other bruise that Dante left on Rio's body, which was something that Rio was very familiar with by now. He only cried for a moment, but that was mostly because Dante didn't even let him keep the tooth. Now, Rio just stood over the sink and waited for the blood to stop.
Watching from the doorway, his little sister, Jade, waddled into the room with a wad of tissues in her little hand. Rio took them from her and wiped the blood from his chin.
"Thank you," he said, but his front tooth was missing now, which meant it sounded a lot more like, "Sank you."
Jade burst into a fit of giggles at Rio's new lisp. He pouted at her with his bloody lips.
"Sthop it!" He exclaimed, but Jade only laughed harder.
"But you sound funny!"
"I do not—"
Jet had to wrap her arms around Ghoul's torso and physically pull him away from Poison as he screamed in pain. The redhead stood as still as a statue with a far away look in their eyes, watching whatever memory their powers had dug out of Ghoul's head this time.
Ghoul gripped Jet's jacket with white knuckles as he recovered from the searing pain that split inside his head. Poison gasped sharply when they came back to reality, staring at Ghoul and Jet with wide eyes before promptly storming out of the diner.
"Wait, Pois!" Ghoul pushed away from Jet and stumbled after them. He nearly tripped as he pushed through the front doors and followed Poison out into the desert. "Poison, s' okay!"
"Stop saying that!" Poison shouted, stomping their boots in the sand. "That was the fourth time today!"
Ghoul bit his lip and cringed. He didn't know what to say, because Poison was right; they had already slipped up with their powers four times since sunrise. Kobra had tried to wake Poison up early by putting his hands on their bare shoulders, triggering the first incident. Then, Poison had tried helping Jet replace a tire on the Trans Am, but their hands accidentally touched and it had put Jet in a mood for the next hour. Finally, Kobra was leaving to visit his friends and Poison just wanted to tell him to be safe, but they stupidly touched their forehead to his and found themself stuck in yet another one of Kobra's memories.
Now, Ghoul stood in front of them shakily after Poison had just invaded his privacy again, accidentally reliving another memory with his little sister.
"Ugh! That fucking—" Poison pressed the heels of their hands into their eyes and groaned loudly. "Phantasm shit! It fucked up my brain, Ghoul! An' now my powers are goin' haywire!"
"Hey, I know how bad that shit is," Ghoul attempted to reassure them. "It's gon' take more than a day or two to wear off, y'know," he reached out for the redhead, who flinched away violently.
"Don't fuckin' touch me!" They yelped, and Ghoul recoiled faster than he could think. His fear filled eyes were like a punch to Poison's gut, but they couldn't stay there any longer. "I just gotta be alone for a while," they muttered, turning on their heel and running the rest of the way towards the Trans Am.
Ghoul felt like shit standing there while he watched Poison tear off down the road, leaving him in a cloud of dust. With a heavy sigh, Ghoul slowly dragged his feet back to the diner, the door feeling heavier than it did before. He kicked off his boots, ready to collapse into a booth for a power nap. But a small force wrapping herself around his leg stopped him.
"Is you okay?" Bug asked, hugging Ghoul's thigh and smiling up at him. "I heared you screaming. Also Poison. Where's Poison? Did they drive away? An' do you wanna play robots with me?"
Ghoul placed his hand on the girl's head, messing up her hair and making her giggle. She was clearly starved for attention, but Ghoul really wanted that fucking nap.
"Buggy, why don't ya hang wit' Jet for a bit, 'kay?" He smiled weakly and tried to pull away from the kid, but she hugged him tighter and kept him in place.
"But m' not allowed in Jetty's room," she stuck out her bottom lip.
"What?" Ghoul cocked his head. "Why the fuck not?"
"I dunno," Bug shrugged. "Can I play wit' Poison's paints?"
"Yeah, kid, go wild," Ghoul nodded, barely registering what Bug had asked him. As the little girl squealed and skipped towards Poison's room, Ghoul made a one-eighty and marched straight through the kitchen and into Jet's room.
She was seated on the floor in the middle of the room in a pink leather jacket that Ghoul recognised immediately. With her eye closed, all of her attention was focused on the string of beads wrapped around her blue glowing fingers. Ghoul bit his tongue as he watched curiously. Jet's power was a miraculous thing, but Ghoul knew that no matter what Jet tried, there was one ghost she could never find; her mother's.
Ghoul considered that he should maybe let Jet have some privacy. But as he shifted, the floorboards creaked and Jet's eye cracked open. She glared up at him and shoved the beads aside.
"What?" She mumbled, lifting herself off the floor to hang Acid's jacket on a hook on the wall.
Ghoul shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "Wanna tell me why ya kicked Bug out?" He asked accusingly.
Jet huffed and shook her head. "Jus' needed space," she replied without meeting Ghoul's eyes. She kept her head down while she rooted through her belongings, trying to find a safe space for her mother's prayer beads.
Although he tried to stifle it, Ghoul let out a soft chuckle. "Space ain't somethin' ya get a lot of in here, y'know. 'Specially not from ya own lil' sis."
Jet stopped moving for a moment. Ghoul noticed the way she froze and cleared his throat, hoping to get some kind of explanation out of her. Jet swallowed as her eye darted around the room and she muttered, "Ain't that just it. I don't fuckin' know what to do as the big sister."
Ghoul shrugged. "S' not like anythin' changed," he reasoned. "S' still just Bug."
"It changed what I know," Jet said, dropping down onto her mattress and pulling one leg up on the bed. "I can't—" she shook her head. "I can't look at her without seein' him."
"Oh," Ghoul whispered and very quickly made his way across the room to sit down next to Jet. He landed on the bed, rocking Jet slightly, but she couldn't pull her gaze up from the floor.
"I always knew there was somethin' connectin' us," Jet sighed. "Turns out it's jus' our shitty father."
Ghoul shook his head. "No," he denied. "Nuh-uh, y'all got way more in common than some fuckin' bio dad. He's dead, Jet, he don't matter anymore," Ghoul placed a firm hand on Jet, who involuntarily leaned into the touch.
"Until I fuck her up the same way he fucked me up," Jet muttered, defeated.
"That won't happen," Ghoul promised. "Look, I dunno yer parents but I know you," he bumped Jet with his shoulder. "An' I know that everythin' that makes you good came from yer ma. Who cares if Acid ain't Bug's real mom? You can still teach her everythin' that Acid taught you."
Jet lifted her head just enough for Ghoul to see her good eye peeking out from behind her mop of curls. She looked terrified, but Ghoul knew it was nonsense.
"You got this, Jetty," Ghoul threw his arms around her and pulled her in for a real hug. "Yer already great at bein' Bug's sis, you ain't gotta change nothin'."
He felt Jet's hands ball up the fabric of his shirt over his back. Her hair tickled his nose as he kissed the side of her face, grinning softly.
"You gots plenty of us," Ghoul reminded her. "But ya only got one lil' sister, an' I can't let ya lose that, 'cause yer blessed by the Witch herself by gettin' Bug."
Feet dangled over the edge of the roof. Cigarette smoke clouded around Kobra Kid and Nova Cane as they sat under the orange light of the sunset. The Nitemare Motel had the best view in all of the Zones, in Kobra's opinion. He was pretty jealous that Nova got to live here and see this all the time.
"I think…" Kobra's head snapped back with a sudden yelp. His hand seized up and flipped the bird at Nova, who giggled. "I think Pois is— huh— is hiding somethin' from me."
Nova took a long, slow drag from her cigarette and stared at the horizon. Kobra hummed and whistled, looking down at the still full can of Power Pup in his hands. Nova had long since finished hers. Kobra poked at the brown mush a few more times before he placed the can behind him, hoping that Nova hadn't noticed that he hadn't even taken a single bite out of it.
"How so?" She asked, exhaling another puff of smoke. Kobra found the scent oddly comforting.
"Their— hm, shit— Their hallucinations were about me," Kobra muttered, throwing his head back again. "I know it."
Nova nodded her head. Kobra had explained the whole Phantasm incident to her earlier, and it scared the shit out of her. She couldn't imagine seeing one of her siblings go through all that, and she knew it was still eating at Kobra more than anyone else in the Fab Four.
"Why don't ya ask them?" She tried.
Kobra shook his head immediately. "No," he whistled. "They're so shaken up still, I— fuck off— I don't wanna freak them out— fuck!"
Ghoul had warned Jet and Kobra about Phantasm aftershocks, where Poison could be briefly but suddenly thrown back into the hallucinations, and Kobra would rather die than put Poison through that again.
"But by not askin' them, yer the one that's freakin' out," Nova pointed out, much to Kobra's annoyance. She was so damn smart and level headed all of the time. Kobra didn't know how she did it.
"I can't—" Kobra's head jerked back again, straining the muscles in his neck this time. "Ow. I can't risk it," he sighed. "They're— hmm— Poison's all I have."
Nova's head tilted to the side. "Did somethin' go down wit' Jet an' Ghoul?" She asked, concerned, and carefully leaned into Kobra to offer some support. When he didn't move, Nova pulled back.
"No," Kobra shook his head, tensing up at the sudden physical contact. "Fuck! They're great, that's the problem."
Nova forced out a dry chuckle. "Okay, ya lost me."
Kobra sighed and hung his head shyly. "Nothing feels…permanent," he admitted, turning his head away from Nova.
"Now that's bullshit," Nova blurted out, catching Kobra by surprise. He whipped back around to stare at her with wide eyes. "I've seen the Fab Four at work, dude. Y'all are stuck together like glue. Jet an' Ghoul ain't ever gonna leave you behind, Kobra."
"I know that," Kobra mumbled, shaking his head. "I just can't believe it."
His body rocked forwards slightly as a string of curses left his lips. Nova watched him patiently, waiting for a quiet moment to ask, "Do I feel permanent?"
Kobra looked down at his lap and saw Nova hovering her hand there, silently asking for permission to touch him. Kobra hesitated, but eventually accepted her offer and clasped his hand with hers, intertwining their fingers. Nova smiled softly and squeezed.
"Yeah," Kobra hummed. "You feel permanent."
"Ugh, fuckin' finally!" Poison's voice yelled over the loud Hyperthrust crowd as Ghoul pushed through the back doors. "'Bout time ya showed up, everything is goin' wrong!"
"I'm great! Thanks for askin'," Ghoul quipped. "An' sorry m' late, someone took the car."
Poison rolled their eyes. "Shut up, you have a truck," they said as they grabbed Ghoul's wrist with their gloved hand and dragged him further into the club. Ghoul couldn't help but notice the hostility of the crowd. Almost everyone was gathered at the bar yelling at the poor kid working there.
"Nobody showed up for work 'cept the new guy," Poison explained as they walked past. "The DJ got fired 'cause the boss found out they was powered, an' the back room is flooding an' everything is ruined."
Ghoul blinked, processing all this information. "Okay," he nodded and immediately grabbed the tool kit that he kept stashed behind the bar. "I can fix one of those things," he winked, pulling out a wrench with a flourish.
"Thank the Witch," Poison deadpanned and kicked open the door to the back room. Their boots splashed in the two inches of dirty water that covered the floor, collecting more liquid from the constant leak in the overhead pipes.
"What a fuckin' waste," Ghoul frowned at the water under his boots. "The good news is that the leak is super easy to fix," he said as he hopped up onto a nearby shelf like it was a stepstool.
"Y'know if boss didn't fire literally everyone but us, someone woulda caught this shit sooner," Poison crossed their arms and stood beneath the pipe, watching Ghoul's actions carefully. "Knowin' him, he's gonna make me mop all this up by the end of the night."
"Yeah, but now ya got me," Ghoul shrugged. "I'll always help ya, Red, and—FUCK!"
The wrench slipped, and before Poison could hear Ghoul's shouted expletives, they were suddenly hit with a wave of high pressure water that shot out from the pipe, soaking them thoroughly from head to toe and making them shriek.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Ghoul cursed as he quickly stopped the leak—correctly this time—and Poison bolted to the other side of the room, dripping. "Sorry!"
"Today can't get any fucking worse!" Poison screamed, and Ghoul was certain that all of Zone 2 could hear them. "I hate this!"
"Woah, okay, c'mon," Ghoul jumped down from the shelf, splashing water everywhere. "I got extra clothes in my truck, s' okay," he tried to keep his voice calm and steady to balance out Poison's frustration, but it didn't stop them from grumbling under their breath the whole walk back to Ghoul's truck.
Hiding between the truck and the wall of the club, Poison stripped themself of their soaking wet clothes and pulled on the t-shirt and jeans that Ghoul had given them. They insisted on keeping their gloves on, since they were leather and dried quickly. They sat in the passenger seat of Ghoul's truck, staring down at their bare arms that were exposed by the short sleeves of the t-shirt.
"Fuck," they gasped, trying to swallow down their panic. How were they supposed to make it through the night's shift with their arms completely exposed like this? The club was packed. Someone was bound to brush up against them, or touch them at the wrong moment. Poison would be outed and—
"Red! Listen to me!" Ghoul stood next to the open passenger side door and put his hands on Poison's knees. "Breathe, please breathe," he begged softly, pulling Poison away from the very edge of a panic attack.
"I can't do this," Poison shook their head.
"Red, please. It's gonna be okay, I promise," Ghoul said for the hundredth time that day.
He leaned forwards suddenly and Poison flinched, but Ghoul connected their lips before they could push him away. He kissed them softly, cupping the left side of Poison's jaw in his hand.
"See?" He muttered quietly when he pulled back. Poison stared at him with wide eyes, placing their hand on top of his. "It's okay," Ghoul confirmed with another kiss, which Poison melted into this time around.
"How—" Poison whispered.
"'Cause yer not outta control, Pois," Ghoul smiled. His eyes were practically heart shaped as he said it. "Now, c'mon, I gotta fight tonight."
"Wait," Poison leapt out of the truck and ran after him.
"What?" Ghoul turned around, and Poison suddenly cupped both sides of Ghoul's face in their hands and kissed him one last time. Ghoul couldn't help but smile at the way Poison's eyes lit up when they realised that they touched Ghoul again without triggering their powers.
"Just checkin'," they winked.
Poison let themself relax for the first time in days. When Ghoul wandered off to get ready for his cage match, Poison situated themself behind the bar and kicked out the young newbie, letting him do all the mopping. Poison was in their element at work, managing an average of three orders at a time, controlling the chaos of the crowd like they did best. In a matter of twenty minutes, Poison had calmed down the angry partygoers, which allowed them to focus on Ghoul's highly anticipated match against a new competitor.
This man was massive. Nearly twice the size of Ghoul and made of pure muscle. But he had no idea what he was setting himself up for. Ghoul's hidden talents were what made him the perfect opponent for men like this. He was small, unsuspecting, and packed a supercharged mechanical punch that left every last one of his opponents squirming in pain beneath him.
"Another win for the books!" Poison bounced on their toes as Ghoul came jogging back over to them with a smile and a layer of sweat on his face. The other guy was still being helped out of the cage, and he'd have to be nursing some of those injuries for the next couple of days.
Poison threw their arms over Ghoul's shoulders and hugged them tightly without even a glimmer of hesitation and Ghoul's heart swelled. He lifted them up by their hips and carried them back to the bar for their traditional victory shots of vile Zone vodka.
"My favourite cheerleader," Ghoul planted a kiss on their cheek as they blushed in front of the other Killjoys in the club.
"Can ya at least wait until yer not so sweaty?" Poison teased, but they kept their arms around Ghoul in his damp shirt.
"I'd change but yer wearin' my clothes," Ghoul reminded them. "Imma go take a leak, anyways. So get back to work, Red!"
Poison giggled to themself as they watched Ghoul leave, the two of them feeling better than they had in a long time. Poison was so wrapped up in the euphoria of it all that they didn't see the three other 'Joys stalking towards Ghoul until one of them shoved him into the wall.
"The fuck!?" Ghoul winced as his shoulder collided with the hard brick behind him.
"Shut up," the man who pushed him spat. "We lost a lotta money on the bets thanks to you, ya lil' shit."
Ghoul raised his eyebrows at him. "Sounds like ya betted on the wrong guy, my friend," he smirked, never the guy to back down from an altercation. When the man's hand slapped across Ghoul's face, he only laughed. "Ya really wanna do this, big guy? Ya saw what happened to the last one."
"Ya fuckin' cheated," he spat, throwing a punch at Ghoul's shoulder. "I know ya did! So fess up, unless ya wanna take us all on?" He motioned to the two other 'Joys behind him, who both cracked their knuckles.
"Hey! Get outta his face!" Poison suddenly ran onto the scene, putting themself between Ghoul and the three other men. Ghoul's eyes widened with panic when the redhead appeared. He reached out to pull them back and protect them, but not before Poison was grabbed by one of the strangers.
"This yer boyfriend?" The man laughed, pulling Poison closer to him by the elbow. "Aw, he's so cute! He's—" he was cut off by his own painful wail.
"Red, no!" Ghoul screamed, watching his love's eyes go blank. The man squirmed underneath them, crying out as Poison's mind reading powers tore through his head, splitting his brain open for Poison to see.
"You brought a freak in here!?" The other guy asked Ghoul as he desperately tried to pull his friend away. Ghoul grabbed Poison's hips and yanked them back, detaching the man's grip from their elbow.
A crowd had gathered around to see what was causing a man to scream bloody murder in the middle of the party. Ghoul turned his back to them all, trying to shield Poison from their judgemental eyes as they came out of their trance.
"Fucking freaks!"
"Get 'em outta here!"
"Aight, wrap it up!" The boss' booming voice echoed through the building. "Nobody fights unless they in the cage!" He yelled at the three strangers, booting them out onto the street. "So, get out!"
Poison steadied themself on their feet, breathing heavily and holding onto Ghoul like their life depended on it. Sheepishly, they glanced up at their boss and forced a weak smile.
"Thanks for that," they muttered.
"Don't be countin' yer blessin's," he snapped. "Yer fired. I don't wanna see your face 'round here ever again, freak."
"S' not your fault!" Jet exclaimed, sitting on top of a table in the diner and swinging her legs angrily beneath her. "They fuckin' attacked you!"
Poison and Ghoul got home far too early to not receive questioning looks from Jet and Kobra that night. Poison had buried their face into Ghoul's shoulder, holding back sobs while Ghoul explained that Poison was out of a job, and Ghoul didn't know how much longer he had left himself.
"It is ," Poison shook their head. "I shoulda been more careful."
"No, yer boss has a fuckin' stick up his ass," Jet spat. "Fuck!" She dragged her hands down her face, shaking her head. "Callin' us freaks when the real problem s' still behind those fuckin' city walls!"
"They ruined Hyperthrust," Ghoul sighed. "An' the Crashtrack," he added, glancing over to Kobra who stood at an awkward distance away from the others with his arms hugged around himself and his shoulders hunched as he listened to the conversation.
"Maybe I should go back to Doc," Poison contemplated. "We gon' need money soon, I can't jus' not work anymore. An' Doc treated me good, even if the hours sucked."
"You could come help me at the med stop," Jet offered with a shrug.
As the others debated ways to get more carbons, Kobra began to shuffle out of the room inch by inch. No one was paying attention to him. No one saw the dazed look in his eyes, the way he swayed on his feet, or the way his skin turned paler than usual.
The team only noticed when Kobra's knees went weak and he suddenly crashed to the ground with a hard thud.
"Kobra!?" Poison shrieked.
Notes:
sorry for inserting Nova Cane into literally everything, but shes all i can think about most days so...
Chapter 6: Kids Ain't Alright
Notes:
sheesh this one took me forever and i think its the longest chapter yet!
pleaseeeeee look at the tags for warnings!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kobra woke up with a nauseating twist in his stomach, which wasn't anything new to him. As he rolled over weakly and tangled himself up with his one measly blanket, a painful sensation pulsed through his head. It made him dizzy and he wasn't even upright yet. Kobra groaned quietly, just wishing to fall back asleep, but he risked cracking his eyes open.
There, sitting above him, was Poison. They were perched on the edge of his mattress, holding one hand to their mouth as they nervously chewed on their nails. They watched Kobra's movements carefully, an expression of concern painted all of their features.
"Mm," Kobra mumbled, shoving his face into his thin pillow. "What happened?" He asked. The little amount of effort it took to speak was already making him sicker than he was just seconds earlier.
Poison nearly choked. "Kid, you fuckin' collapsed," they said. Their voice was laced with heartbreak. Kobra felt his heart clench with guilt, and he buried his face deeper into the pillow. "But I don't know if it was the bandages you had 'round your chest way too tight, or the fact that you ain't eaten in fuckin' days, Kobra!"
At the mention of the bandages, Kobra inhaled deeply and immediately recognised the lack of restriction around his chest. He brought his arms up over his shirt, realising that the bandages that had once bound his breasts against his body were cut off. Kobra winced violently. A sharp grunt escaped his lips as he curled in on himself, pulling his knees in.
"Kobra, please, jus' talk to me," Poison begged, scooting closer to Kobra despite how he recoiled. "M' not mad at ya, Kid, m' jus' scared."
Kobra squeezed his eyes shut, covering his face with his hands and grunting again. Poison could hear small curses coming from his mouth as his legs twitched and kicked.
"Yer gonna kill yourself if you keep doin' this," Poison tried to keep the anger at bay, but it was hard to hide it when their little brother had been starving himself for days. "Tell me why, Kobes. Y'know m' here for ya, I jus' wanna help."
Kobra's fingers had slipped between his teeth. He bit down harshly, swallowing the pained whimper he let out in favour of pushing his teeth harder against his digits. Poison mumbled quietly as they grabbed their brother's wrists a little too aggressively and yanked them out of his mouth, wincing at the blood that Kobra had already drawn.
"Mmm—" Kobra whined as Poison pulled him up, forcing him to sit next to them. His head was pounding, making him shut his eyes the moment Poison moved him. He could feel Poison's hand pushing his sleep-matted hair out of his face. The contact made him groan and flinch back.
"Okay, okay," Poison retreated. "I won't touch ya. Just take this."
Something touched Kobra's lips. He immediately bit down on the familiar leather tag; the scrap piece that Poison let him bite so he wouldn't hurt himself. The moment that Kobra felt his teeth sink into the leather, his body melted into the mattress below him.
"There ya go," Kobra could hear the soft smile in Poison's voice. "Ready to talk yet?"
"Hmm—" Kobra's head twitched to the side. He cracked one eye open, keeping his gaze on the floor, to see Poison's knee almost touching his with how close they were sitting.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?" Poison asked him. It wasn't malicious. It was their over-protective-big-sibling voice, which Kobra found strangely comforting this time around. "No one out here eats enough as it is. We real lucky we can feed everyone in this diner. So why starve, Kobes?"
Kobra nearly doubled over when he wrapped his arms around himself protectively. With his head bowed, avoiding all eye contact with Poison, Kobra whimpered, "M' too big— mm."
"What?" Poison said softly in disbelief. "Kobes, no yer not. If anythin', yer too small," Poison's eyes raked over Kobra's curled up form. His height had shot up like a rocket in the past year, he stood taller than Poison by now, but he was still just skin and bones. Sometimes, Poison found themself quite jealous of it. But when Kobra's shirt would accidentally rise up and Poison could see the distinct outline of his ribcage under his skin, it scared them.
"Mm," Kobra's head shook. "Hips too big," he mumbled around the leather in between his teeth. Poison braved a comforting arm around Kobra's shoulders, and he didn't flinch this time. "Thighs fat," he continued, staring down at the way the flesh of his thighs spread as he sat on the bed. "And— hmm! Shit— And my chest— mm —keeps getting bigger," his voice cracked, and he was unable to hold in his sobs anymore.
Despite the fact that the mere thought of his own body made him sick, Kobra let himself fall into Poison's lap until their arms engulfed him in a warm embrace. Their hands immediately moved up and down his back in a comforting motion. They shushed him as he cried into their shoulder.
"Yer fifteen," Poison whispered. "S' gonna happen, Kobes, there's no stoppin' it."
Kobra's nails dug into Poison's sides, but they didn't mind. He whimpered softly into Poison's shirt, twitching beneath Poison's arms.
"Sometimes, I wish we could trade," Poison sighed. They carded their fingers into Kobra's faded bleached hair gently. "Kid, there's ways to help it but ya can't be hurtin' yourself, 'kay?"
After the Witch knows how long the two siblings sat there, Kobra finally detached himself from Poison. He let his older sibling help him walk to a diner booth, where Poison brought him a pre-packaged BLi meal. Kobra felt sick with guilt again; those packages were saved for emergencies only. Poison had decided that this qualified as an emergency.
"I'm not lettin' you leave 'til all that's finished," Poison said sternly, yet softly. They sat across from Kobra at the booth table, watching him intently. He curled forwards, keeping his head down as he stared at the food.
"Hmm—fuck—"
"You got this, Kid," Poison said reassuringly. "We can go joyridin' when yer done."
Kobra's hand flew out from where he was awkwardly sitting on it and he quickly grabbed the thin sandwich out of its package. It took a lot of willpower to take the first bite, but he couldn't lie and say that he wasn't proud of himself when he did so.
Across from him, Poison giggled softly. "I knew that'd get ya goin'," they smiled.
Bug's legs swung from the passenger seat of the Trans Am. She hummed to herself happily as she sat up straight to peek out the window. Jet was driving her out to a part of Zone 3 that she had never seen before. Granted, most of the desert looked the same to Bug; brown, sand, a cactus here and there. But Jet promised that Bug would have fun on this trip, so she was excited nonetheless.
Jet tried not to get too distracted by the bubbly little kid sitting next to her. Her eye was trained on the dirt road ahead of her as she drove down a route she knew by heart. It had been well over eight years since Jet had been this way, but she remembered it like it was yesterday. The closer they got to their destination, the more Jet felt as though she was a little kid again, being driven in by her mother.
Candy Acid had a different outlook on life than your average Killjoy, especially with her desert born baby. Kids like Jet didn't get to go to a real school—not that any Killjoy would want to go to a BL/Ind school—but Acid believed that desert borns still deserved a chance at an education. That's when she introduced Jet to the Society of Yesterday and the Zone libraries.
The Society of Yesterday wasn't necessarily Jet's second home—that would be the backseat of her mama's car—but for a few good years, the Killjoys at the Society raised Jet alongside Acid. Jet may have been a little bit of a late bloomer, but she learned how to read and write better than most other desert borns could.
As Jet drove, Bug asked why this was so important to her.
"My mama believed that readin' an' writin' was a lost art in the Zones," Jet explained with a soft but prominent smile on her face. "'Joys love to tell stories, but when ya don't write 'em down, folks'll twist yer words. It takes one 'Joy gettin' drunk enough an' then the story's all wrong," she chuckled to herself.
"What?"
Jet glanced over at Bug, who stared up at her with her mouth open, utterly confused. Jet shook her head.
"Don't matter," she brushed it off. "Point is, I ain't lettin' ya get any older without knowin' how ta read."
Bug crossed her arms. "I can read," she pouted defensively.
"You look at picture books an' Pois reads to ya," Jet corrected with a smirk, laughing as Bug pretended to pout even more.
The libraries were sacred in the Zones. They were an archive of everything that the rebels managed to save before the wars, as well as a collection of stories passed down through Killjoys. The Book Buzzards dedicated their lives to keeping these archives safe. They were hardly seen outside of the libraries, and Jet missed seeing those crews every week.
Jet held Bug's hand tightly as they walked into the Society of Yesterday together. The smell of the old and dusty pages of the pre-war books immediately pulled Jet back in time. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming.
"Now, tell me that ain't little Star!"
A greying old woman with a hunch hobbled over to the two girls standing awkwardly near the doors. Every step was supported by a bright pink cane that matched the hand stitched patterns on her sweater. Bug looked up at her with wide, mildly frightened eyes. Jet, however, nearly fainted in disbelief.
She used to be a lot younger, and a lot steadier on her feet, but otherwise the Killjoy known only as 'Teach' was exactly as Jet remembered her. Her toothy, welcoming grin, and her gravelly voice from all those cigarettes. Her affinity for the colour pink and her love of storytelling. As she limped closer, Jet put her arms out, unsure of what to do. Teach answered her unspoken questions right away, however, and pulled Jet into a shockingly tight hug.
"How many years has it been?" Teach asked, pulling back and holding one of Jet's hands in hers. "Look at you, you're so tall," she gasped softly. "Oh, Star, look at you, you look just like her!"
Jet opened and closed her mouth, at a loss for words. As Teach fussed over every little detail of Jet that reminded her of Acid, Jet finally stuttered out, "I-I didn't know yer still kickin'."
Teach froze for a split second before a heavy, full chested laugh bubbled out of her. "They can't get rid of me that easily, Star!" She cackled. "Of course I'm still kickin', kiddo. Now, tell me about the little one!" She turned her attention to the curious little girl who had hidden herself behind Jet's leg.
"Right," Jet chuckled. "Yeah, Teach this is Bug," Jet put her hand on Bug's head, stroking her hair carefully. "My, uh. My sister."
Teach put her hand over her heart. Her smile faltered slightly as she looked back up at Jet. "Sister?" She asked in almost a whisper.
Jet swallowed hard. "Dad's side," she muttered.
Nodding understandingly, Teach seemed to accept this information easily, which Jet was grateful for. "And how on earth did you two find each other?" She asked.
Jet shrugged. "The Witch."
Teach sighed and pressed her lips together in a tight smile. "And thank the stars for Her," she reached up, placing her hand gently on the side of Jet's face. "I always knew you would take after your mother."
The Society of Yesterday had hardly changed at all since Jet had seen it last. Sure, there had been some repairs to the old building, and things had been moved around, but it felt as though Jet had never left.
"Come with me, loves," Teach said as she led the girls through the library. "I want you to meet the perfect tutor for the lil' Bug. He's a child of the Book Buzzards, y'know. He's gifted when it comes to literature."
A wooden table in the middle of the library was occupied by one little boy, no older than thirteen years old, with his nose buried in a book. He hardly glanced up at the two new strangers in the room. Not until Teach said his name.
"This here is Paper Boy," Teach smiled, pulling a chair up next to him. "Paper Boy, this is Star, and this here is her sister, miss Bug."
Paper Boy tore his eyes away from his book to stare up at Jet sheepishly. "Hi," he muttered, adjusting the cap on his head that covered his short, curly hair. "You can call me PB, if that's easier."
"Paper Boy loves the kiddos," Teach explained gleefully. "You'll have a great time with him, lil' Bug."
PB shut his book and turned to Bug. "Hi!" He smiled much easier when talking to Bug than he did with Jet. "I have some fun games, do you like games?"
Nervously, Bug glanced up at Jet, as though she had to ask her big sister for permission to speak. Jet just nodded, hoping that Bug would come out of her shell. The little girl turned back towards PB and beamed. "Yes!" She exclaimed, and plopped herself down in the empty chair.
A weight had been lifted off of Jet's shoulders at the sight. No matter how many times Ghoul had tried to reassure her, Jet was certain that she was doing something terribly wrong by bringing Bug here. Now, she followed Teach to the other side of the library feeling comfortable knowing that Bug was in good hands.
Teach had her same old large desk in the library that she had years ago. Her and Jet sat down together, watching Bug and PB play with matching smiles on their faces.
"I've known her ten minutes and I already see so much of you in that little girl," Teach said, and Jet wished her heart didn't skip a beat hearing those words. Bug came to live with the Fab Four a year ago, and at that time, Jet hadn't wanted a single thing to do with the kid. The last thing she wanted to see was Bug headed down the same path of self destruction that she took herself. Yet, here Jet was, watching her baby sister with a sense of pride she'd never felt before.
Jet was deep in thought with her eye trained on Bug. She hardly noticed when Teach spoke up again.
"I looked for you, y'know."
"What?" Jet stared back at her quizzically.
"When I heard," Teach exhaled heavily. "I looked for you after it happened. I just couldn't imagine what you were going through back then, I didn't know if you'd survive…"
"I did," Jet nodded, fighting back the urge to tell Teach everything that had happened to her since Candy Acid's death. No one else knew what happened to Jet during those long five years except Jet herself, and she wanted to keep it that way.
"You've always been a tough cookie," Teach chuckled sweetly.
Hours ticked by like minutes at the Society of Yesterday. Jet and Teach chatted about everything from the Fab Four to the price of Power Pup. Before she knew it, Jet had to go. She grabbed her jacket and said her farewells to Teach when she realised that PB and Bug were still deep into a picture book together, PB helping Bug sound out each word slowly.
"She's welcome to stay with us," Teach offered. "Go, deal with adult life, Star. I'm sure these kids are happy to spend a few more hours together."
"Sure thing!" PB smiled excitedly. Bug looked up at Jet with a sparkle in her eyes, hugging yet another book to her chest. Jet gave her a quiet look that said, Are you sure, kid? And Bug just nodded her head eagerly.
Jet wouldn't have felt safe leaving the Fab Four's girl with anyone but Teach. Still, she didn't want to be gone for too long, so she immediately jumped in the Trans Am and sped off towards the med stop in Zone 2. It was an old storage unit turned medical hub. Jet had saved a lot of lives inside those walls, and she intended on saving many more. She just needed to get her supplies restocked.
The Trans Am came to a stop right outside the shady-looking back doors. Jet hopped out and approached the three Killjoys she'd been hoping to see; Noise Jam, Trick Shot, and Neva Mind. They were Batt City raiders and the best Scarecrow hunters in the Zones. They had been working with Jet for years now, supplying Jet with the medical supplies they retrieved from inside the city walls.
Jet braced herself as she marched up to the three raiders standing in front of her. It was a mental strain to look at hunters like them, with a hundred kills each under their belts, they were constantly swarmed with souls of dead Crows. Jet couldn't count the amount of ghosts that haunted Noise Jam if she tried.
"What's this?" Jet asked, narrowing her eye at the gang in front of her. They had arrived on bikes, not their usual truck. "Where's all my shit?" She demanded, unafraid to get up close in Noise Jam's face.
"Woah, slow down there, princess," Noise chuckled condescendingly. They put their hand on Jet's chest and shoved her back. Their other hand held onto a leather leash. The sleek chocolate lab at Noise's feet growled, baring its teeth at Jet. She cautiously took a step back from the animal.
"Don't fuckin' 'princess' me," Jet spat back. The raiders were always a snarky gang, and Jet had never been overly fond of them. But the deal they had with each other did not state that they had to be friends . They only agreed that neither side would ever try to pull a fast one on the other, which is exactly what was going on here, as far as Jet was aware.
Trick Shot, who was carelessly leaning up against the brick wall of the med stop, mindlessly fiddled with a zippo lighter in his hand. "We heard all 'bout yer team leader's lil' stunt the other day," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah," Neva Mind giggled, popping a mouthful of bright pink chewing gum. "Party Poison's a freak!" She grinned, raising one eyebrow at Jet. "I bet you a freak too, ain't ya?"
Jet's jaw clenched as she stared down Neva, stopping herself from snarling like Noise's dog. "Z'at why there ain't a truckload here waitin' for me?" She asked, turning her attention back to Noise.
"I don't make deals wit' freaks," they said with a smirk, as if they were proud of themself.
"Bullshit," Jet rolled her eye. "We both know gifted 'Joys ain't the real threat here. S' the Crows out there stealin' they sparks!"
The lab let out a loud, echoing bark when Jet raised her voice at Noise. Noise's grip on the leash loosened, letting the dog get closer.
"We make a livin' huntin' Crows, don't think we don't know they a threat," Noise scoffed. "But the last year, we been takin' on powered Crows. An' that shit is real dangerous, it don't matter what kinda freak is wielding them powers."
"Yer crazy," Jet shook her head in disbelief. "Don't be holdin' this over the work that I do. All sorts a' 'Joys come to me for help, I need those supplies," she argued.
Neva Mind laughed again. "They won't be comin' to ya for long!" She mindlessly spun her raygun around her finger. "S' over when they find out the truth 'bout ya!"
Jet dropped her arms down so her hands were hovering just over the rayguns on her hips. Noise chuckled at her, crossing their arms.
"Y'know, I was gettin' sick a' the whole Fabulous Four bullshit. 'Cause y'all did, what? One city run?" Noise faked a pout, making Trick chuckle. "How cute. An' yet y'all are all that. An' what do we get? Nothin'."
"We should be the famous ones," Neva nodded, framing her face with a flourish of her hand. "City raiders to the stars!"
"Jealous?" Jet asked her, smirking.
"We jus' know what we deserve," Noise corrected her. "An' s' everythin' the Fab Four don't deserve."
"Ayo, Noise," Trick muttered, kicking off of the wall behind him and pocketing his zippo. "Check out her hands," he pointed at Jet before he quickly grabbed his own gun from the holster over his shoulders.
Jet glanced down quickly at her glowing hands. She had let her anger get the best of her. The pulsating blue light grew brighter by the second. When Jet looked back up, all three raiders had their eyes locked on her with guns in their hands.
"I knew it," Noise growled. "I knew ya were a freak."
"Whatcha gon' do?" Neva teased. "Blast us wit' the scary blue energy?"
Jet had enough. In a second, she pulled her hands into fists and let the ghosts take over. One by one, the dead Scarecrows that haunted the raiders appeared in a hazy cloud of blue, swarming the raiders. Noise's dog barked angrily at them, shielding his owner as the raiders made a run for their dirtbikes.
"Fuckin' freak!" Jet heard Noise scream as the raiders were practically swallowed up by the ghosts. Jet kept her feet planted firmly on the ground and listened to the engines of the raiders' bikes roar. By the time Jet let go, and the ghosts fizzled out into thin air, the raiders were long gone.
"Pussies," Jet spat, and walked back to the Trans Am.
Jet held the door to the diner open for Bug so she could run inside with an armful of new storybooks. She happily skipped over to a booth and dumped all of her gifts from PB onto the table. Jet let the door swing shut behind her, realising that all of the curtains had been drawn, and the two girls were suddenly in darkness.
"Hi," Ghoul's voice whispered. Jet squinted into the dark room and realised that the rest of her team were all crowded around the couch on the other side of the diner.
"Hey," Jet said quietly. Kobra was seated on the cushions with his arm over Poison's back. The redhead was doubled over their knees, covering their head with their arms. As Jet walked closer, she spotted Ghoul kneeling on the floor in front of Poison. "What's happenin'?"
"Migraine," Ghoul frowned, tearing his eyes away from his partner to look up at Jet. "Ya got anythin' for it?"
Jet's teeth worried into the inside of her cheek. Her supplies were limited, if she had any left at all. And now really didn't feel like the time to break the news about the raiders to the team.
"Sorry," she mumbled, and Ghoul just shrugged.
"It ain't been long," Ghoul explained. "Jus' an hour or so—"
"Fuck!" Poison shrieked . Kobra jumped back, nearly falling off of the couch. Poison clawed at their scalp, tugging strands of their hair between their fingers. "No, no, no, no!"
"Shit," Ghoul cursed, scrambling back away from Poison. "Aftershocks."
Poison sobbed at the sight of their own hallucinations, squirming away from something that wasn't there. "Please!" They begged. "Don't hurt him!"
Kobra's stomach lurched. Poison was back inside whatever horrific memory the Phantasm had trapped them in, and Kobra still had no idea how to help. He pulled Poison's hands away from themself, causing them to cry out again.
"Party, stop, s' me— fuck!" Kobra pleaded. "Hmm—shit— s' okay, s' me. S' Kobra."
Ghoul suddenly pulled the curtain back, letting a stream of light hit Poison's eyes. They flinched, whimpering softly, but it seemed to have done the trick. They blinked rapidly, focusing their eyes on Kobra sitting right in front of them. Their exhales were unsteady. Kobra could feel them shaking.
"S' okay," Kobra repeated.
"Fuck," Poison all but collapsed into Kobra's arms. "My head hurts."
"You mentioned that," Kobra mumbled, hugging his sibling. The front of his shirt dampened from the tears that fell from Poison's eyes. "M' sorry, Pois."
"This sucks," Poison groaned weakly. "Does it ever end?"
Ghoul sucked in a short breath. "Eventually," he sighed. It hurt him to see Poison going through this torture again and again. "I wish I could help," Ghoul muttered.
"Me— hmm— me too," Kobra nodded. "Maybe if you— fuck— you told us what it is, Pois."
Poison sat up straight, pushing themself away from Kobra. "What?" They asked, looking startled.
"The memories you keep going back to," Kobra reached out for Poison again, but they flinched back. "Party, please, you— hm— you keep having these flashbacks an' I dunno— hmm—fuck— what they are."
Poison chewed on their bottom lip and shook their head. "Maybe that's a good thing," they mumbled. They got up to leave, but Kobra grabbed them by the wrist and pulled them back down again.
"I been with you your whole life," Kobra was nearly in tears at this point. "Jus' tell me what it is —Hmm! What's haunting you? Please."
Poison couldn't look at Kobra anymore. Ghoul and Jet were both standing frozen, a safe distance away from Poison. They were scaring everyone, but Poison couldn't imagine how anyone could be more scared than themself in that moment. They dropped their gaze to the floor, feeling like they were about to throw up. When Poison closed their eyes, it was as though they were sent right back in time to the moment that's been haunting them for days. They couldn't live like this anymore, so they finally gave up.
"Our—" Poison swallowed hard. Were they really doing this? "Our first year in the desert, we almost died. We had nothing. I couldn't—I couldn't take care of me, nevermind Kobra, too. An' nobody wanted to hire a kid my age. We were so alone."
Poison's hands shook violently as they combed their fingers through their hair. "But then, we met this crew. They wanted to help us," Poison nearly smiled at the memory of how young and naive they once were. "It was a couple a' guys, they fed us an' gave us a bed to sleep on. It was nice, y'know? A roof over our heads."
Poison braved a glance up at Ghoul, who nodded his head to give them the silent encouragement to continue.
"'Bout a month in, they wanted payment," Poison sighed shakily. "I didn't have anythin', so I had to…" they heard a quiet whimper from Kobra and winced. "I let them do whatever they wanted to me."
"Fuck," Ghoul swore under his breath, looking ill. Poison couldn't stop the guilt from crashing over them, making it harder to breathe.
"It was okay for a while," Poison insisted. "I was fine. But—But then they wanted payment from Kobes, too, an' I—" their breath hitched as they swallowed back a sob. "I couldn't let that happen. I made them take more from me so they wouldn't hurt him."
The silence was deafening. Poison was moments away from throwing up when Kobra suddenly spoke up.
"No."
All eyes landed on him.
"No," he repeated, shaking his head. "That can't— fuck!" His head jerked. "That didn't happen. Why— hmm! Fuck!"
"Kobra…" Poison tried.
"Stop it," Kobra said. "Why don't I— fuck off— Why don't I remember this!?" He leaned forwards, desperate to catch Poison's gaze again.
"Kobra, calm down!" Poison cried.
"Those guys hurt you!" Kobra exclaimed, grabbing Poison's hand. "How come I don't remember this!? Hmm—fuck— I was there!"
"'Cause you were on sleeping pills!" Poison yelled over Kobra, creating a sudden hush through the diner. Kobra stared at them, dumbfounded.
"N-No I wasn't," he said shakily.
Poison could only nod their head. Squeezing their eyes shut, they whispered, "I crushed them into your food."
"What." Kobra dropped Poison's hand. Poison whimpered as if it hurt.
"It was the only way you'd fall asleep!" Poison tried to reason with him, but Kobra jumped up from his seat angrily, glaring at his sibling.
"You fuckin' drugged me?" He screamed, hands seizing.
"Kobra, please!" Poison begged.
"No!" Kobra's face flushed bright red with anger. "You drugged me! Shit— When we were s'posed to be free!"
"I didn't want you to hear anything!" Poison screamed back out of pure desperation. "I was protecting you!" They leapt up to their feet after him, standing at eye level with their brother.
"You. Drugged. Me," Kobra spat, as though he was still processing those three words. "How long?"
Poison wilted. Kobra only reiterated; "How long, Poison!?"
"T-Ten months?" Poison's voice cracked pathetically. They flinched at the frustrated growl Kobra let out.
"How could you do that to me!?" Kobra yelled, and Poison realised that in fifteen years of knowing Kobra, they'd never seen him this angry. "Hmm—fuck off."
"I was protecting you!" Poison repeated.
"Shut up!" Kobra spat with a swing of his arm.
Poison didn't remember what happened between them standing upright, and them lying on the floor, but the blood dripping from their nose and the way Kobra shook out his left hand were two pretty good indicators.
"Fuck you, Poison!"
"Kobra, please—" Poison sobbed, but Kobra had already turned his back to them.
Ghoul dropped to his knees next to Poison and pulled them into his arms. Jet hurried back with a cloth for the blood streaming down Poison's face. But Poison was only focused on the sight of their little brother storming out of the diner and speeding away on his bike.
He was in Zone 2. He didn't know where else to go, or what to do. But he knew there was only one person he wanted to see at that moment.
"Destroya, what happened to you?" Nova Cane asked, barely getting a reaction out of Kobra. "C'mon, dude, yer obviously miserable right now."
Kobra just shrugged. He didn't want to be anywhere near his team, and he especially didn't want to think about them. He needed to calm down, breathe, and hang out with his best friend.
"Aight, don't wanna talk about it, gotcha," Nova nodded, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jean jacket. "You hungry?"
Kobra shook his head. "Hmm—fuck."
"'Kay, well I'm starvin', so c'mon," Nova decided. She grabbed Kobra's hand and pulled him along the short walk to the Pony Express. She knew that Pony would give her a discount if she asked nicely, and maybe free food would make Kobra want to eat, too.
The two kids pushed open the front doors to the Pony Express and immediately stopped dead in their tracks. The place was a ghost town, leaving just two Killjoys behind. Newsie sat on top of an unoccupied table. Her face was contorted into a frown as she watched Pony nervously pacing the floor.
"What's goin' on?" Nova asked, startling Pony.
"Fuck!" They jumped, putting their hand over their heart. "Oh, hey kids. Sorry, the kitchen's closed. Try again tomorrow, yeah?" They forced a fake smile and quickly went back to fiddling with a handheld radio.
"That's not what I asked," Nova approached Pony, leaving Kobra awkwardly hanging out by the doors. "What's happenin'? Y'all okay?"
With a heavy sigh, Pony wilted. "No, nothin's okay," they shook their head. "Uni ran away, I can't getta hold a' her, an' nobody's seen her anywheres," Pony was shaking when Nova grabbed their hand.
"What?" Nova asked. Pony's daughter was almost always stuck to them like glue. The kid was sweet, shy, and loyal. Nova always thought that Uni Verse would be the last Killjoy to ever go rogue.
"Some bastards got in her head," Newsie explained. She was only slightly calmer than Pony was, but it seemed to be only out of necessity. "They told her how dangerous she was wit' her power, and she freaked! We don't gotta clue where she's hiding."
Pony's posture sagged. "She's never run before," they mumbled.
Nova squeezed Pony's hand. "Well, c'mon! We're gon' look for her," she announced. Nova turned to Kobra and raised both her eyebrows. "You in?"
"F'course," Kobra nodded his head. Although he didn't know Uni half as well as he would've liked, he knew that the kid was special.
Pony's eyes welled with tears as they smiled at the two kids. "Yer awesome," they wept. "Okay, okay, okay, yer right, let's go," they nodded eagerly. "We'll take my car. Newsie will stay here in case Uni comes back while we gone."
"Let's go," Nova agreed, leading her makeshift team out the back doors of the Pony Express. She, Pony, and Kobra piled into Pony's car. Nova took the backseat for herself, barely getting a chance to sit down before Pony's foot was pressing hard on the gas pedal.
"Y'all locked an' loaded?" Nova asked. The sun wouldn't be up for much longer, so she had to make sure that the others were prepared for any trouble they might run into on their search for Uni.
"Shit," Kobra muttered under his breath.
"No batteries?" Nova asked, eyeing the dead blaster in Kobra's hands. He nodded. "S' fine, I got lots at the motel. S' not far, we can stop there."
The Nitemare Motel sat on the edge between Zone 2 and 3. It was a massive place for just four Killjoys, but the Nitemare kids made it feel like home. Pixie Styx and H2O moved in when they were young and hopeless, looking to Dr. D just for a means to survive. It wasn't long before they met Nova, and later Freak Show, and formed the Nitemare crew. The motel became decorated with spray paint murals and shiny scrapyard finds. As Pony parked out front, they couldn't help but stare in awe at the kids' home base.
"Be right back," Nova jumped out of the car and bolted towards her motel room on the first floor. She made haste digging through her closet to find a couple of spare batteries for Kobra, and grabbing an extra knife to hide in her jacket because, well, you never know.
She was on her way out when a tall figure towered over her, blocking her doorway and keeping Nova trapped inside.
"Whatchya doin'?" Freak asked skeptically.
Nova huffed. "Really dude? Now ain't the time, I gotta run."
"What's Kobra an' Pony doin' here? An' where's yer car?" Freak asked, much to Nova's annoyance. "What are ya hidin' from me, Novs?"
"In case ya forgot, I hide from everyone," Nova rolled her eyes and tried to push past Freak. "Can ya let me go?"
"Not 'til I get a real answer. Why the fuck is Show Pony waitin' for ya?" Freak blinked for a second, and then gasped. "Is Uni okay?"
"Didn't know ya knew her, Freaky," Nova quipped, finally ducking under Freak's arm and running out the door. "Be back later!"
"Wait," Freak's long legs quickly caught up to Nova. They grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back, albeit a little too aggressively. "Is Uni okay?" Freak asked, moreso demanded.
Nova struggled in Freak's strong grasp. "We don't know, okay?"
Freak froze. "What do ya mean, ya don't know?"
"I mean that she ran, an' we gots no clue where she went," Nova huffed, still trying to shake her brother off. "We gon' go look for her, so can ya let me go!?"
"Take me with ya," Freak said. It wasn't a question, it was an order.
"What? No!" Nova exclaimed. "S' dangerous. Stay home, Freaky."
"But I think I know where she is!" Freak argued. "I can show ya!"
Nova rolled her eyes in disbelief. "What are ya, her boyfriend?" She asked, but Freak suddenly let go of her arm and stared at her. Nova's jaw dropped. "Motherfucker, yer her boyfriend!?"
"Can we talk about this later? After we find Uni?" Freak asked, already marching towards Pony's car. Nova ran after him, unable to stop him from letting himself into Pony's backseat. Pony and Kobra both turned around, staring at Nova like she was crazy for letting her brother come along.
"I know where Uni is," Freak explained before anyone could ask them questions. "So drive."
Notes:
oh my god, so many OCs lmao. not all of them are mine, so here's OC creds:
Nova Cane, Noise Jam, and Teach belong to me <3
Neva Mind and Uni Verse belong to my bestie H!
Freak Show and Trick Shot belong to my bestie R!
Paper Boy belongs to my bestie M!if youre a killjoy oc enthusiast, theres a link to a super cool 18+ discord server pinned on my tumblr: myheadphonesareneverloudenough
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