"Wow. You really let this place go." Party observed, standing in front of the old diner.
"I haven't been here in years." I admited apologetically. He was right, I hadn't been taking care of the place at all. Most of the posters had fallen to the ground, and were caked with dirt. The door was falling at the hinges, and the classic sign had fallen to the ground.
"Eh, it's alright. We can fix it up." Party reassured me, plastering a smile onto his face.
"Are the others mad at me?" I asked, referring to the incident with Val that had happened previously.
"No, they're not mad at you." He responded, shrugging his shoulders.
"I know that they think he's terrible, but they don't know him like I do. He's really not that bad." I explained.
"I understand." Party replied, digging the tip of his boot into the sand. I hopped up on the hood of the Trans AM, my feet dangling off the edge.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Party let out a hollow chuckle.
"I don't think you want to know the answer to that."
I tilted my head.
"Go ahead. Tell me." I urged him on. He spun around to face me, his hands in his pockets.
"You." He told me quietly.
"Oh." I looked down at my feet. After a few seconds, I lifted my head to look at Party. He was standing a few feet away from me, a bit awkwardly. He clearly regretted telling me his thoughts, but felt my heart flutter, just a little.
"If it makes you feel any better, I've been thinking about you too." I smiled. Party's regretful expression dropped, turning into a face of sheer relief.
"Glad to see I've made a lasting impact." He smirked, finding the courage to stop standing so far away from me.
"No shit." I giggled, rolling my eyes at him.
I sat there for another few seconds, not really saying anything. I just looked at him, a stupid smile on my face.
"Let's go." I brought myself out of my daze, jumping off the hood of the car. Party followed me, taking the passenger side of the Trans AM.
As we drove back to the nest, I felt a bit more sure of myself and where I belonged.
---
I returned to the Nest, a new attitude washing over me as I stepped out of the car. Unfortunately, my good spirits had to be cut short when Vamos and Vaya sprinted up to me.
"Atomic! Our special gal! Our one and only!" Vaya stuck out their arms towards me as if I was a trophy.
"What do you want?" I bit my cheek impatiently.
"We need you to drive us to Electra's shop." Vamos told me.
"How about driving yourself?" I retorted.
"Well, Val's being a whiney bitch again and he's no fun to drive with. Please?" Vaya begged.
"No, sorry. Maybe some other time." I shrugged. Vamos let out a humungous sigh of disappointment.
"I feel betrayed." The taller twin clutched their heart. Moments later, they ran off back towards the center of the nest.
"Val! Val! Our best friend! Our favourite Killjoy!" Vaya cried, continuing the hunt for a ride.
"I'm gonna go find Sugar. She hasn't been leaving her house much, but I think she's just on her period or something." I told Party.
"Uh, I'll stay here if you don't mind." He responded, smiling awkwardly.
'Phft, looser.'
"Suit yourself." I shrugged, turning towards the direction of my friend's house.
---
Vamos was leaning over the front desk of Electra's store, examining a black cloth mask that they had tied around their eyes.
"I don't know, I think it makes me look fat." The pink haired Killjoy pouted, resting their chin on the palm of their hand.
"No way!" Vaya retorted, rolling their eyes at the other twin.
"Vaya, are you kidding me? I look like I actually ate a Draculoid!" Vamos whined, continuing to stare into the small round mirror.
"Will you two quit it already? I have paying customers here." Electra hissed, glaring at the twins in annoyance.
Missile Kid was examining a shelf, examining a can of dog food. She wouldn't be eating that stuff again for a very long time, but maybe the cat would like it. Instead, she traveled to the front of the store, where Tommy Chow Mein had left a pile of neatly boxed food. She pulled her black hood over her head as she placed the can and the box on the counter in front of the cash register.
"Is that all?" Electra asked, not even bothering to look at the girl in front of her.
"Yeah, just the food." Missile pulled out a few shiny coins, sliding them across the glass counter.
All the while, Vamos and Vaya stared at the little girl, their jaws practically dropping to the floor.
"Is that...?" Vamos narrowed their eyes, making sure that their eyes weren't deceiving them.
"Can't be." They scoffed, turning away.
"No, Vamos, I think it is." Vaya tilted their head. Missile took notice of the two Killjoys eyeing her down, and new that it was time to leave.
"We'll find somewhere else to eat, I promise." She whispered to the cat who had jumped up into her arms. Quickly, she strode out of the shop. Vaya and Vamos broke into a slight jog, chasing after the girl.
"Hey! Wait up!" Vaya called, only causing Missile to hurry her pace.
"Vinyl! Stop her!" Vamos yelled to the insanely strong man, who was waiting by a familiar black car.
'Shit.' Missile cursed in her head as the massive man stepped in front of her.
"Jeez... Couldn't you have just stopped? I'm all sweaty now." Vamos wheezed.
"Turn around. Let's have a look." Vaya was desperately trying to catch their breath as well. Missile balled her hands into a fist as she tentatively spun herself around to face her old friends.
Well, friends may be a strong word.
"It is you! I knew it!" Vaya pointed a slender finger at the child.
"Missile Kid! Long time no see!" Vamos cackled, still trying to fill their lungs with air.
"Well, look who it is." An eerily mundane voice derided behind Missile.
"Hello, Val." She glowered.
"Everyone thought you were dead." He put a hand on his hips, amused at the reappearance of the little girl.
"Oh well." She shrugged, not wanting to hear another word out of his stupid mouth.
"You realize you're going to have to come back with us now." Val arched his eyebrow.
"Eat shit." Missile spat. Val sighed in frustration.
"Hate me all you want, but there are people who have been worried sick about you for the past five years." He informed her.
"Oh yeah? Who." She crossed her arms.
"You're kidding, right?" He snickered coldly.
"Humor me." Missile narrowed her eyes.
"Atomic, for one, Ghost Shot, Neon Blast, Charismatic Volume, Sugar Bomb, Smoke Bomb, Toxic Rift... Mad Gear."
Missile's heart began to weigh her down with every name that rolled out of Val's mouth.
"Party Poison." He finished, the corners of his mouth folding up into an entertained grin.
"What did you just say?" Missile bit the inside of her cheek.
"Oh, you know, just your old Killjoy buddies." Val smirked.
"Don't talk about them." Missile growled. She hated to think of the four men who took her in when she had nobody. They died trying to save her, and she never really forgave herself for not doing anything, even though she was only six.
"Alright, but just saying, they're back." Val shrugged, leaving Missile to stand in the parking lot alone, her eyes wide.
"Wait! I'm coming!" She called, running after Val and his group.
Val paused, waiting for the little girl to catch up.
"Good idea." He patted her head condescendingly.
"Oh no..." Vamos whispered, turning their head to find the distant figure of a human, running like a maniac down the road.
"Not this again." Vaya groaned.
"Four Dracs- No Scarecrow chaperones- With two civilians! Outer Zone 3! Let's go!" A man with a purple Mohawk sprinted towards the five Killjoys, waving his arms in the air frantically.
"I'll give the orders around here, Velvet." Val told the panicked man coldly.
"Let's go, kid. I bet you'll be able to kill 'em all." The white haired man teased, hurrying towards the car.
---
"These two were found with their headphones at an unreasonable volume." A Drac exclaimed, talking to his comrade next to him. They had two young adults surrounded, tied down with ropes on the rocky terrain.
"Who does that?" The second Drac gasped.
"I just said. These two." The first one pointed to the couple, ignoring the fact that they were both crying.
"We can't have that behavior in Battery City." A third Drac spoke up.
"We couldn't possibly." The fourth shook his head at their duo captives. The first Drac knelt down in front of a terrified girl, holding out an unoccupied Drac mask.
"What will it be? A mask, or death?" He asked. The girl shook her head frantically, and was met by a gunshot to the head.
"No!" Her male counterpart sobbed.
"Did you see her face? Drac number one commented, pulling the mask over the fallen girl's head.
"I did." Number two nodded.
"She thought she had something to prove." Number three scoffed.
"Doesn't matter. One of us now." Four simply shrugged.
"Now, what's it gonna be?" The Drac that had shot the first civilian turned to the dusty blond boy.
"I..." He choked, but was cut short when the first Drac fell to the ground, very much dead.
"GO!" Val cried out, firing another bullet into the cluster of Dracs.
"Got your gun out, girl?" Vamos called to Missile, who was rushing to keep up with the group as they ran into battle.
"I- I don't have a gun!" Missile shouted back.
A beam of light shot through the air, barely missing Vaya's head.
"Hah! I hope this doesn't mess up my hair." They commented, pulling the trigger on their green gun.
Missile stood a few feet away from where the battle took place, far too scared to try and help. It was only when a bullet lodged itself into Velvet's abdomen that she moved, the older Killjoy's body stumbling back into hers. She let out a groan of pain as her back hit the ground, Velvet's weak corpse falling on top of the girl.
"It's okay, I'm tired of hiding." He smiled at her weakly, a tear falling from his vibrant green eyes. Velvet used the last of his energy to roll himself off of the girl, her eyes wide in terror.
The girl with the Drac mask, had begun to wake up. The blond boy crawled over, his cheeks wet from crying. He grabbed onto the girl's shoulders.
"Honey? It's me. Listen, take the mask..."
The girl let out a horrifying screech, clawing at the man's neck. He let out a choking noise as his true love tried to slowly crush his throat.
"Happy fucking Birthday." Val aimed his gun at the girl.
"Wait!-" The man yelled, but it was too late. Val fired a shot into the girl's back, then another, and another...
"Stop!" Vamos cried out.
"Val, stop it!" Vaya shouted over the gunfire. Val dropped his gun onto the ground, staring down at it in sheer horror. He looked around him. Four Dracs were sprawled around the area. Amongst them, Velvet lay in a pool of his own blood.
"No..." The boy from the city choked, crouching over his dead girlfriend.
Val had killed people before, but this one time hit him hard. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the fact that he just killed an innocent girl in front of the man she loved. Whatever it was, the sight of the lifeless bodies made him nauseous.
"Wrap Velvet up. Let's get him home." Val ordered, turning away from the murder scene.
He finally understood why most people hated him.