Somehow, she knew they were heading to the main BL/Ind building, a large skyscraper ominously towering over the city. It took her a long time to get there on foot but once she saw the Trans Am parked in the front, she knew she'd found them.
There were no guards around. Well, no living guards. Masked corpses lay, unmoving, all across the ground, blood puddled around them. The smell made her stomach churn, but she continued on.
She approached the building, suddenly sure she was not going to find anything pleasant around her. She dropped her bag by the door, still holding her gun tightly.
It was then that she saw him, sprawled across the dusty car. Something had caught her eye and she had turned.
Jet Star.
He was obviously dead, he wasn't moving at all. Shock was the only thing keeping her from crying. One of her heroes lay in front of her, reduced to nothing but a corpse. She knew inside the building would be worse. Oh damn, here came the tears.
She turned away, wiping her eyes.
But then she heard a cough. Her head whipped around, gun pointed, trying to find the source of the noise.
The same cough. Weak, dusty, full of pain. Her jaw dropped. It was Jet.
He sat up, sliding off the car and into a sitting position on the ground, not noticing her. He coughed a little more, regaining strength. When he finally noticed her, gun now at her side, still staring, he smirked.
"Would you like a picture? It'll last longer." his voice was weak, but still filled with sarcasm.
"H-How are you-"
"Alive? I have no clue. Who are you?"
"I'm one of you. A Killjoy."
Another smirk, this one a bit kinder, "That's wonderful, but do you have an actual name?"
"Um...not really..." she looked at her shoes.
"No name? Well we'll have to fix that later." he sighed and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes.
In the shock of seeing a supposedly dead man springing to life, she'd almost forgotten why she was there.
"Where are the others?"
Jet Star looked up and pointed to the door. "Probably in there. Wait!" he stopped her, wincing as he got to his feet. "Don't just leave me out here."
She waited for him to catch up. He was a bit weak, but his strength was quickly returning.
She gripped the polished white handles of the glass doors, seeing bodies laying all around inside, and bracing herself for the worst.
She gasped quietly at the carnage around her. Dracs in pristine white suits stained crimson lay sprawled around. And the smell...it made her stomach twist. She heard Jet let out a curse under his breath. She turned to see him kneeling over a small man in a green jacket, his dark hair falling over his peaceful face.
Suddenly Fun Ghoul let out a startled cough, his face twisting in response to the pain hitting him. His eyes opened, instantly meeting Jet Star's. Jet smiled and Fun Ghoul, despite his pain, smiled back.
"Good to see you're in better shape than I am." Ghoul remarked.
"Looks like you took some hits in the arms and chest." Jet assessed Ghoul's wounds, burn marks showing through his ripped black tshirt.
"I wasn't about to go down without a fight. What I can't figure out is why I didn't stay down."
"That's what we're trying to come up with."
"Wait, we?" Ghoul looked around, his eyes meeting the girl's. She'd been watching the exchange silently.
"Who's that?" Ghoul asked Jet, sitting up.
"She doesn't have a name yet. But she's one of us."
"Oh. Awesome!" Ghoul looked over at the girl, smiling. "So how old are you, sixteen?"
"Nineteen," she replied.
"Woah. Pretty young. You sure this is safe for her?" Ghoul tried to stand, but Jet lightly pushed him back down.
"Nothing in this world is safe for her, but being with us is the closest to safe she's going to get at this point."
"I guess you're right."
Jet turned away, surveying some of the room. Ghoul seemed intent on pulling a loose thread off his shirt, but wasn't having much luck.
"Where's Kobra?" Jet suddenly asked.
"I'm right here."
The girl turned. A thin man in a red jacket and messy blonde hair in his face was sitting up, staring questioningly at her.
"Who the hell are you?"
"She's nameless for now, but Jet says we'll name her soon!" Ghoul replied from his side of the room, happy that he'd finally pulled off the annoying thread.
"You okay, Kobra?" Jet crossed the room, holding out a hand to pull Kobra up on his feet. The girl helped Fun Ghoul stand.
"I'm fine. Where's Party?"
"I can't find him."
"What!" Kobra immediately began searching the room desperately. "No. He can't be gone! Why would they only take him? Why not us!"
"I wish I knew. We have a lot of questions. But for now we're in BL/Ind territory, and it would probably be best for us to leave as soon as possible."
"But what about Party!"
"They've probably taken him to one of the three BLI bases." The bases were located in Zones 3, 5, and 6, the zones surrounding Battery City. They allowed better transportation and communication within the company. They also made travel for the Killjoys harder.
"Where's Missle Kid?" Ghoul asked.
"Dr. D has her. I saw his van before I blacked out." Jet Star began to head for the door. The other three quickly followed him. They were quiet.
"They're letting us get away..." Fun Ghoul muttered to himself.
"That can't mean anything good. Keep your guns at the ready." Kobra said through clenched teeth, trying to contain his rage. He slid into shotgun beside Jet. His eyes drifted up, to the windows of the tall building in front of him. They had taken Party. His brother. He would enjoy killing them.
The girl silently followed, wondering if she would be invited along with them.
Ghoul climbed into the passenger seat, sliding over and leaving the door open. "You coming?" he called to the girl.
She smiled. Remembering to grab her bag, she ran to the car, slamming the door behind her. Jet threw the car into reverse, speeding away. The BLI building loomed over the Killjoys as the drove away, a reminder of what they'd lost that day.