Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

Na Na Na

When they rolled into Battery City, Gerard, Mikey, and Ray were met with a ghost town. Gerard just smiled; he had timed it perfectly so that they would arrive in the city during the hour that everyone was supposed to be in their dwellings. Since the Helium Wars, many people had been struck by what the leaders of Battery City liked to call 'Zone Sickness.' Gerard knew it as it really was. In the early evening, in the hottest part of the day, prolonged exposure to the sun caused radiation poisoning, and even the mighty leaders of Batter City hadn't found a cure yet.

They stuck to the outskirts of the city, where even the most diligent cleanup crews could not keep the children off the streets or the garbage from blowing down the gutters in the stifling breeze. Their first stop was at the Juvenile detention center, where they always visited with food, water, and little gifts for the kids who had been locked away and forgotten. Mikey especially always insisted that they stop there, since they had once liberated a kid that they had nicknamed Destroya, and who hung around with the other kids when she wasn't wreaking havoc deeper into the city.

Destroya and Show Pony, Dr. Death Defying's right hand man and information collector, together roamed the outskirts of town most days, scavenging for food and lighting little fires to piss off the Exterminators. They always got out of conflicts easily because one day, while out searching for news and new boots, Show Pony found an abandoned pair of roller skates and hadn't worn shoes since. Destroya was small enough for Show Pony to easily carry her, and they always managed to avoid serious trouble.

They were an interesting pair to see; Destroya wore a leather jacket two sizes two big with a pilot helmet, her filthy face peeking out from the large hat. Show Pony was quite a sight as well; he wore a tiny with 'NOISE' written on it, showing off half of his pale torso. He also wore blue polka dot tights and a space helmet that hid his face. When Gerard had first met him during a meeting with Dr. Death, he had assumed that Show Pony was a woman, and had not been corrected until a few months later, when Ray hit on the skater and Show Pony whipped off his helmet, winking at all of them and then skating away. Ray, of course, denied all accusations.

Destroya was a special child. At just over four feet tall, she was a scrawny thing; they guessed she was about ten or eleven. Always a blur of activity, she was one of the last kids with an old affliction, what they used to call ADHD. She was the reason that every kid in the cities stuck in the Juvenile Halls was forced to take Ritalin every day. Because of her 'affliction,' she was considered dangerous; people with ADHD, tests had showed, used a significant percentage more of their brains than regular people. Because of this, the condition had been all but eradicated to ensure the simple, uniform society Battery City stood for.

When they showed up to the detention center, Destroya and Show Pony were racing in the street out front. The kids still inside the deteriorating building were hanging their heads and arms out the barred windows, cheering them on. Gerard pulled to the side of the road, and the three boys got out of the car and joined the few kids on the curb. Show Pony easily won, although Destroya had given him a run for his money. As soon as she saw Mikey, however, she abandoned the race and ran over, jumping into his arms and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid!" he said, hugging her close. When they had accidentally rammed into the Juvenile hall while attempting to escape from Exterminators, they had busted a hole right through the walls of Destroya's solitary cell. Mikey had been driving, and he was the one who came back later that day on the motor bike. He had found her playing among the rubble, and he gave her the nickname. They had been fond of each other ever since.

Gerard and Ray walked over to the open windows, handing out bread and little canteens of water to the outstretched, dirty hands reaching out for them. Once everyone had gotten a bit of food, they spent the next half hour telling them stories about life out on the Zones and playing games with the kids.

At almost noon, they headed out again. Mikey gave Destroya another long hug, clapped Show Pony on the shoulder, and then joined his brother and his friend at the car. They drove off, honking back at the building, and Mikey watched as Destroya got smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. She waved as long as Mikey could see.

Now they were on their true mission: to raise some hell. They headed a little farther into Battery City, towards the industrial area. They were set to do the usual damage; usually they came into the city to set fires in the warehouses and distribution plants of Dead Pegasus Oil Company and Better Living Industries, or BLI as they were more commonly called. Ray held a large gas can in his lap in the back seat, flipping a lighter through his fingers. They had taken off their helmets to talk to the children, but now they were on again.

Halfway through their sabotage, things went south. Ray had just finished pouring out the last of the gas on a pile of merchandise and Gerard was striking his last match (a habit he had; he liked the symbolism of striking a match against the 'enemy') when a team of Exterminators came tearing down the street in a big white van. Gerard just laughed when he saw them, throwing down the flame and watching it billow away from him, but Mikey grabbed his arm and began tugging him away, back towards the car.

On the side of the van was a logo: a green figure with the words 'Scarecrow Unit' stamped around it.

When Gerard noticed, he grabbed Ray and they began to sprint.

A/N: whoo! Chapter two is up and ready to roll. It was so much fun doing research and listening to Danger Days over and over again for this story, and I really hope you're enjoying it. Please vote and comment if you like what you're seeing! Also, here's a cool link: http://www.cassiethevenomous.com/2010/11/frequently-asked-danger-days-questions.html. I got a lot of information from it and it was super helpful. Cool to just look at if you love MCR as well :)