"Jet Star, you're back?" The voice of Doctor Death Defying greeted Jet's ears as he helped carry his friend inside.
"I don't want to be. Our friend is dying, he needs help. Shot by a Drac out in Zone Five off Route Guano," Jet told the man in the wheelchair. Dark and thick black hair met heavily tanned skin from being in the sun. Doctor D was supposedly a veteran of the Helium Wars. God knows when those took place... Jet assumed before he'd been born.
"Bring him to the back. Sunshine'll take care of him," Doctor Death told the two.
"Sunshine?" Jet asked as they started moving.
"Yes, Sunshine Gunner."
Jet shrugged it off. He hadn't heard that name in a long time. His sister spoke of Sunshine Gunner once, a long time ago. Party was eager to get his brother to the much needed medical attention, and moved a bit faster than Jet thought he would have. A tall, skinny blonde woman stood in front of them when they entered. Sunshine.
"Oh dear Lord... Put him on the table." She instantly swept the mess to the side, going to grab something from a cabinet. "Please, go. I'll take care of this." Her voice was a sickly sweet, but Jet knew damn well how venom-laced it could be.
Party had to be pulled out by Jet. Electric Revenge walked by, his messy green hair nearly blinding the two. Ghoul was waiting outside the door. Jet was terrified- he knew all these people because of his sister. They only way to recognize them was their hair colors and choice of clothing. American Beauty and American Psycho passed the two; Beauty's hair was red with white while Psycho's was a brown blonde. They still looked so much alike...
"Jet!" Party snapped, moving to stand in front of his face. Instantly snapped out of his memories, he looked at the leader with an emotionless expression.
"What."
"The Dracs saw us out there and one got away. I was just saying that we're gonna need to be careful when we go close to Battery City," Party explained again.
"If we get to Battery City."
"Whadaya mean, if? You're the one who said we could do it and should do it," Ghoul interjected. Jet stayed quiet, shifting his gaze to the ground. If Kobra doesn't make it...
"Don't even think that the 'Kid can't pull through this, Jet." Party's words were laced with poison, just as his name seemed to suggest.
"You're right. Let's get food," Jet said. His words came quick, before anyone could question his sudden discussion change. The eldest of the four walked back to the front of the diner, grabbing a muffin off one of the shelves. He helped himself, thanking whatever god there was that it wasn't Power Pup. Poison sat across from him, leaning back and staring at the ceiling with a blank expression.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Jet," Ghoul commented. The frizzy-haired Killjoy turned to look at the youngest.
"Last time I saw these people, I was maybe seven."
"Do they recognize you?"
For some odd reason, it hurt Jet to answer. "No." He couldn't remember particularly liking these people, but he didn't want to go unnoticed.
"Oh."
Jet offered Party the rest of the muffin first. He shook his head, which led Jet to give the muffin to Ghoul. The black haired Killjoy smiled, eating it quickly. Jet Star stood, walking outside to breathe the air out there. Inside it was hot, really sweaty. Out here it wasn't much different, however he could see the car they had fixed up for Poison's birthday. In all honesty, they were going to need to fix it up again, or get a new one. The engine wasn't the purr it was supposed to be when he pushed 120 miles an hour like it used to, instead it had been complaining. The tires were visibly beginning to wear, though it was also a bit beat up from Ghoul driving it the one time.
Still, it was memories of good times. The four were a family, no matter how much they argued or complained about each other. None of them would say otherwise, and Jet knew that. Partially, this made him feel terrible for not knowing what to say to Party Poison about Kobra. He wasn't sure that Party's little brother would make it, especially after having bled for so long. He could only pray to a god he didn't believe in to save their baby brother.
Jet found it constantly odd that they all (even Ghoul) saw Kobra as a baby brother while Ghoul himself was the youngest.
"Are you okay out here? D'ya need anything?"
Jet turned to face the blue-haired girl. His expression immediately slackened, and he was incredibly thankful for his sunglasses. It was her. It was Reckless Vengeance. She was alive! How is this possible?! Is she really here?! Jet's mind bursted with questions as he stood frozen staring at her. Obviously, she didn't recognize him; however Jet couldn't blame her. He changed a lot.
"R-Reckless Vengeance?" he stuttered, attempting to run slick fingers through a tangled mess of afro. Not a smart idea.
"Yeah. Who are you, again? You...seem familiar."
"It's me, Ven. It's Jet Star."
He was tackled in a tight hug, her head buried in his shoulder as she nearly began crying upon the discovery of her own baby brother. Jet was hugging her back tightly, smiling through the silent tears he could feel forming.
"I-I'm sorry! I went looking for you after I escaped Battery City but I couldn't track you down!" Vengeance sobbed, clutching him as if she'd never let go. "Why are you here, anyways?"
"Kobra was shot, and I had no other idea of where to go," Jet explained, "I knew that if I brought him here he'd be safe and get the best treatment he can outside Battery City-"
"Kobra was shot?!"
"Yeah. He probably saved our lives, when I think about it. We had a fire going, stupid of us but we were in Zone Five. There are hardly any Dracs out there-"
"Is he okay?!"
"I don't know. Sunshine's taking care of him."
"Good," Vengeance mumbled to herself. Her skin had become tanner over the years, though her hair didn't seem to have changed colors at all. It was still the same blue that it had been when she was taken from them.
"He'll pull through. After all, we are the Fabulous Killjoys, right?" Jet said, laughing quietly. He remembered her calling the four of them that when they were little.
"Yeah, yeah you are. Come on, you need to get cleaned up. Doctor D'll give y'all a mention on WKIL, let the other Killjoys know you're alive." Jet offered his sister a genuine smile and followed her back inside.
- X -
Kobra, however, was not smiling. He had woken up to his own surprise, though he couldn't feel anything below his chest. Just pain. "Wh-where am I?" His voice was quiet, mainly because it was hard for him to even speak at the moment. Looking around the strange room, he had no idea of how he got here. Was this where the Dracs had taken him?
Reaching instinctually for his gun, he found it wasn't there. Dammit! Then again, they had to be smarter than to leave a gun on him. Kobra nearly screamed at the pain as he forced himself off the table and into a standing position. Both his shirt and jacket were gone, replaced with a tight bandage wrapped several times around his torso.
He grabbed the first sharp thing he found, which happened to be a scalpel. Better than going unarmed. "Is anyone there?" Kobra called, gripping the scalpel tightly. No response came. Going to the door, the blonde nearly cried out at every step only to find that it was locked. Now he was for sure feeling threatened.
Kobra would have looked for pain killers if he was sure he wasn't in the hands of Better Living Industries. The room began to seem smaller and smaller, each pace he took in an attempt to find a way out just limited his possibilities more. There was a window, but it was too small for him to fit through. The second door was hidden by a curtain, but locked as well. Unsure of what else he could do, the Killjoy began searching through the drawers in an attempt to find anything better than this piece of crap scalpel to use as a weapon.
The sounds of a key unlocking a drawer pulled him away to crouch down behind the table, gripping his scalpel tightly. Listening closely, he heard it open and two pairs of shoes walking. One, heavy boots. The other, lightweight slip ons, most likely. Kobra crawled slowly around the table until he was behind the closest one. Before taking the chance to observe either of them, the blonde stood up quickly, holding the blade to the neck of the closest. A female with golden hair that was already stuck in his mouth.
"One wrong-" move. Kobra didn't get to finish, as the familiar voice of Jet Star cut him off.
"Kobra!"
"Jet?!" The younger Killjoy was unsure whether to be ecstatic, terrified, or calm.
"Put the knife down... She just saved your life," Jet Star told him a hand reached out. Kobra did, in fact, discover himself to be absolutely terrified. However, he did as Jet asked and took a painful step back.
"Wh-where am I?" he stuttered, not allowing the scalpel to leave his grip.
"We're in Zone Six safe house. Or...Diner, really. It's alright, we're all fine. You are the reason we're all fine, Kobra." The words of Jet seemed to convince the younger to finally put down the knife.
"Where's Party?"
Jet saw this question coming. "Outside," he said. Tossing the 'Kid a clean shirt, he pulled it on and followed Jet out into the diner. He picked his jacket up off a table, holding it close as if it were a safety blanket while stopping with the afro man in front of Ghoul.
"You're awake," was all Ghoul could say. He hugged Kobra tightly; which even though it hurt, Kobra didn't care.
"What? You think I'm gonna leave all the ass kicking to you guys?" Kobra's smirk was returning, which when one truly thought about it was one of the only expressions he every truly used on a regular basis.
Ghoul laughed quietly, joining them on their way out to find Party. The red haired Killjoy was sitting on the hood of their car, reading through Murder magazine with absolutely zero interest. When he glanced up at his approaching family, Poison had to do a double-take. Off the car in seconds, the elder brother of Kobra was holding him close as if he would never let go. Reckless Vengeance stepped out of the diner, dust covering her boots already.
"Now are you gonna stand there and hug all day, or can we get talkin'? You boys have a lot of explaining to do." Reckless Vengeance, in all her blue-haired glory, was twenty five. Kobra was still cautious as he stood and looked from her to Jet leaving them. He followed only after his brother and Ghoul walked after them.
"Now, how long are you staying for?" Vengeance swung herself into a chair, watching as Ghoul, Party, and Kobra sat across from her. Only Jet slid into the seat beside her.
"We're leaving as soon as possible," Jet said. "Kobra's healing up pretty fast. We should be gone by the end of the week."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. How long was I out for?"
Ghoul shifted uncomfortably, but since no-one was answering, he may as well. "Two days," the youngest mumbled, looking down. Kobra sat, speechless.
"Either way, we're leaving as soon as we can and heading for Battery City. I don't care what you say, but you can't stop us from leaving."
It was Ven's turn to be speechless. "B-but you just got here," she stuttered, "why would you leave?"
"We have work to do," Party answered.
"It isn't safe! And there's news of a new Better Living branch rising up!"
"We can deal with it."
"No, you can't! You can't go back! I will slash the tires on your car if I have to, but-"
"We'll just walk." Jet met his sister's gaze, fiery yet passionate fear and rage versus complete growing anger.
"You won't go. End of story."
Jet snapped. The Killjoy hardly ever got mad, but this was the second time within a week. "You disappeared from our lives for ten years! After promising to care for us always, keep us safe and out of harm's way, you fuckin' left us! Don't act like you know what's better for me. Don't act like you know what's better for any of us! Your ability to have a say is long gone!"
Vengeance stood up, standing at the end of the table. "I have every right to have a say in my little brother's future! Mom said-"
"Don't even start about mom. She's dead, and nothing's gonna bring her back no matter how hard you still wish." Jet's gaze was icy and piercing as Vengeance slammed her cup down on the table and stormed off. It cracked, just enough to let it leak all over the table. That was when Jet moved, just sitting down in the middle of the floor cross-legged. He stared off into the distance, ignoring his friends calling his name.
Party exchanged glances with both Kobra and Ghoul. "We should leave as soon as possible," he said, suddenly agreeing with the frizzy-haired Killjoy. "Head for Battery City."
"Or just stir up some shit in Zone One," Ghoul added with a wide grin.
Kobra frowned, keeping a fairly serious face. "If you're looking for android women, they're normally in the city." On the inside, he was dying laughing.
"Shuddup, Kobra," Party said with a quiet snicker while Ghoul just turned red.
"What about android men?" the younger brother suggested to Ghoul.
The youngest Killjoy turned an even brighter shade of red, averting his gaze. It was a sensitive subject, but that didn't mean that Kobra couldn't use it for playful banter. "Shut up, Kobra," he mumbled.
"What?"
"I swear, if you don't I'm gonna-"
"Whoa, whoa-" Party interrupted, only to be interrupted.
"You're gonna what?" Ghoul knew that the blonde had just woken up from nearly being dead, but that didn't mean he couldn't have the urge to punch the damned kid. It nearly killed the greasy black-haired Killjoy to hold himself back.
"Don't make me answer that, Kobra..."
"Well..."
"Both of you, stop it!" Party's voice was commanding as he looked down at the two. The redhead was standing, glaring down at the two. Kobra immediately bowed his head, shutting his eyes in submission.
Ghoul frowned. "He started it," he mutters.
"I don't give a shit who started it, but all you should care about is the fact that I just ended it." Poison shook his head with finality, sitting on the windowsill. "We leave for the city tomorrow. It'll take a few days to get there, and Kobra can fully heal."
After the leader of the four stalked to Jet to try and get through to him of their plans, Kobra shot a glance towards Ghoul. "Sorry, man," he apologized, frowning as he did.
"Whatever."