Chapter Text
Creeeeak. Kobra Kid opened his bedroom door achingly slow, backpack slung over one shoulder and boots gripped tight in his left hand. He peeked down the hall; no light shone from under his parents’ bedroom door. Kobra slipped out and ever so gently closed the door behind him. He paused for a moment to consider the faded wooden sign that read “Jenny” hanging from the doorknob. ‘Fuck you,’ he mouthed at it with a sideways grin. Kobra quietly flipped the sign over.
Treading carefully along the wall, Kobra inched down the hall and around the corner until he came to his sibling’s room. No light could be seen under Party Poison’s door, but Kobra could hear them shuffling around. He barely tapped at the door with the back of his knuckles, and he heard Poison go quiet.
“‘S me,” Kobra whispered.
“Come in!” came the hushed reply. Kobra gingerly opened the door, flipping over Poison’s matching “Johnny” sign for good measure on his way in. When he closed the door behind him, he leaned his back against it with a little sigh. Poison’s room looked like a tornado had gone through it. Their white canvas bag sat open on their unmade bed, clothes hanging out like tongues. Kobra gave a little smirk at the sight of his older sibling still rooting through their closet.
“How much d’you still need to pack? Where d’you think we’re goin’?” Kobra teased, leaning his back against the door to pull on his boots. Poison raised a hand to give Kobra the finger over their shoulder.
“Just got one more thing I needed…” When Poison turned around, they were clutching something tightly in both hands. They quickly grabbed a sweatshirt off the floor and draped it over the object, wrapping it up loosely. Kobra only saw a glint of white plastic reflecting the sickly streetlight coming through Poison’s window. He suddenly felt cold.
“Poison...was...is that a raygun? I thought a pocket knife would be okay...I even grabbed my extra one for you.” Poison met Kobra’s eyes, their mouth set into a grim line.
“Got it from one ‘a the vending machines down in the Lobby. It was only, like, 100 carbons, plus some to get a pornodroid to get it for me. I figured, we might...y’know...in case…” they trailed off and turned to carefully place the now concealed raygun in their bag. They kept their back turned to Kobra as they carefully pushed the rest of their clothes in and zipped it closed. “You got everythin’ you need? Your T?” Kobra swallowed hard, but he nodded.
“Yeah...I only had a few needles left, but I’ll figure somethin’ out, I guess,” he said. Poison slung their backpack over their shoulder. They let out a deep breath.
“We’ll getcha what you need,” they said matter-of-factly. Both siblings’ eyes met in the dark. Poison gave their brother a small, nervous smile, which Kobra couldn’t help but mirror. “Let’s go?” Kobra just nodded.
Poison turned and opened their bedroom window, deftly hopping up and swinging their long legs out. They stepped out onto the slight overhang beneath the window and waited by the edge. Kobra crossed the room and easily stepped out after them, closing the window behind him. As soon as Kobra’s legs cleared the windowsill, Poison sat themself down with their legs hanging over the edge of the overhang and swung one, two, three times before pushing off and dropping to the ground. They landed hard on their feet and took a few running steps to catch their balance, but ultimately stood on the lawn unharmed. Kobra followed suit, choosing to hang off the edge by his hands and landing easily on his feet. The two silently crossed their verdant backyard lawn and hopped the shoulder-high chainlink fence surrounding the property. Neither of them spared a glance behind as they cleared the fence and took off running between the silent, identical houses.
“Wait…” Poison whispered, holding an arm out to stop Kobra. The two pressed against the side of a house, trying to silently meld into the shadows. A bus drove by noisily, coughing plumes of exhaust smoke into the otherwise clean night air. Poison gave a quiet count of 10 and then peeked back out from behind the house. “That should be one of the last ones.” They looked both ways down the illuminated street for good measure. When they didn’t see any more movement, they gave Kobra’s shoulder a quick pat and slunk out towards the road. Kobra deftly followed behind.
“Where’s Fun Ghoul? Didn’t he say he would meet us here?” Kobra asked quietly as he followed his sibling across the street. He ducked behind a bus stop and looked around. Poison looked as well. After a good minute or so with no sign of their friend, Poison slumped down on the bus stop bench with a sigh and unzipped their bag.
“Sure he’ll be here in a minute, maybe he got caught up trying to get to us…” they said, distracted, while they double checked their things. Kobra sat down next to them with a sigh. He quietly watched Poison go through the bag: clothes, medicine satchel, wad of carbons, white ray gun folded up carefully in a sweatshirt-
“Heya, Cherrybomb.” Both teens’ heads snapped up; Poison almost knocked their forehead against Fun Ghoul’s, who seemed to appear out of thin air. Ghoul wore a wide grin and dark clothes, and his usually greasy hair was pulled back in a tight bun.
“Hiya, Ghoulie,” Poison breathed, a shy smile playing on their lips. Kobra rolled his eyes.
“Hiya, Ghoulie,” he said, perfectly mocking his sibling. Poison didn’t break eye contact as they sent a kick to Kobra’s shin. “Ow, fuck you!” he hissed. Ghoul just laughed.
“Glad t’ see ya made it. Thought ya mighta backed out or somethin’,” he said, straightening up and holding a hand out. Poison took his hand and Ghoul pulled them up. He gave Poison’s hand a little squeeze before holding it out to Kobra and hefting him to his feet as well.
“‘Course we made it, we ain’t backin’ out for nothin’,” Kobra said with a nod. Poison zipped their backpack back up and slung it over one shoulder.
“Yeah, you’re the one who was late. What gives?” they asked. Fun Ghoul shrugged, already turning to head down the street.
“Had some last minute things t’ iron out, don’t worry about it.” Poison and Kobra exchanged a look, and Poison just shrugged. The two jogged up to follow Ghoul. "Once we get out, we’re gonna meet up with the guy I’ve been talkin’ to, he said he would help us get someplace safe to spend the night.”
“Who’s this guy?” Poison asked as casually as they could. They could see Kobra rolling his eyes again in their periphery, so they stepped up to walk next to Ghoul instead. Ghoul took a little step closer to Poison, who was suddenly grateful that the sidewalk was dark enough to cover their blushing.
“Their name is Jet Star, I’ve been talkin’ to him through droids and some other killjoys while we plan. They seem pretty cool, but y’know, my bar’s pretty high already for cool folks,” Ghoul said, casting a sideways glance at Poison. When Ghoul saw Poison bite their lip to hold back a smile, he broke into a full grin. Kobra wanted to run in the opposite direction.
“If you guys wanted to make out or somethin’, just let me know and I’ll meet you outside the city when yer done,” he said, a little too loudly. The look Poison threw over their shoulder would have chilled anyone else to the bone, but Kobra returned it with a sweet fake smile. Ghoul just laughed.
“Don’t worry, bud, you’ll be the first to know,” he teased, turning to walk backwards. Kobra rolled his eyes.
“I’d rather be the last to know.” Now it was Poison’s turn to wish they were anywhere else. They marched straight forward, pretending they were just paying really close attention to the illuminated street signs pointing their way to the Lobby.
“I would hope I was the first to know,” they thought to themself.
“So what’re we gonna do when we get out to the desert?” Kobra asked, desperately trying to change the subject. Ghoul shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking for a moment.
“Well, first thing’s first, Jet Star said they were gonna take us somewhere safe to spend the night, then I figured we could head out in search of our own place to stay. ‘Course, that’s assuming you guys wanted to uh...stick around with me.” Ghoul’s eyes didn’t meet Kobra’s; he pretended to notice a crack in the sidewalk. “Which, hey, I’d totally get if you guys wanted to just do your own sibling thing or whatever-”
“Ghoul. Don’t be a dumbass. Of course we’re gonna stick together,” Kobra cut in, absently kicking at Ghoul’s shoe. “Right, Pois’?”
“Yeah, Ghoulie, you ain’t getting rid of me, er, us that easy,” Poison replied. When Ghoul let his eyes drift back up, both siblings had matching soft smiles. Ghoul felt himself smiling back.
“Good. Because no offence, you two won’t last a minute out there without me,” he laughed. Poison laughed too, lightly tapping the side of Ghoul’s chin with their knuckles.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be our knight in shitty armour,” they teased. Ghoul ducked his head and caught Kobra’s eye, who looked back with one eyebrow raised. Ghoul cleared his throat and turned back around to walk straight ahead. “I just wanna see a real sunrise. I’ve heard they’re real pretty, but I gotta see it to believe it,” Poison mused. “Just...seeing the real sun must be fuckin’ amazing.”
“I’m gonna learn to ride a motorbike,” Kobra announced unceremoniously. Poison rolled their eyes and Ghoul laughed.
“You better give me a ride once you get one,” Ghoul said. Kobra nodded sagely.
“‘Course I will. I’ll even give Poison a ride, for free too, ‘cause I’m nice like that,” he said.
“Oh gosh, thanks so much,” Poison deadpanned.
Soon enough, the identical, two-story black and white houses gave way to smaller, more yellowed homes. Some had cracks in the siding, one had a whole section of the standard chain-link fence crushed and lying on the front lawn. The three had grown quiet, walking close together just outside of the sickly glow of the streetlamps. They all jumped when the overhead lights shut off. Poison grabbed the other two by the arms and pushed them back against the nearest fence, placing themself between the road and the boys. No sound could be heard along the desolate street except the quiet rattling of the chain link. After a tense minute, Ghoul put a hand on Poison’s waist.
“I think they just turned the street lights off for the night...it’s gotta be after midnight by now,” he whispered. Poison nodded slowly, letting out the breath they didn’t realize they had been holding.
“Sorry,” they said, taking a step back. “Jus’ jumpy, I guess.” Kobra shuddered, suddenly feeling the same nerves crawling up his back.
“Maybe it’s a good thing...ya left that raygun in your bag,” he joked weakly. Ghoul’s eyebrows went up to his hairline.
“Shit, Pois’, didn’t realize you were strapped,” he said. After a second, he let out a short laugh. “Well, I thought about it, but a raygun isn’t exactly what I meant.” Kobra gagged and Poison finally cracked a little smile.
“Maybe turning myself in would be less painful,” Kobra mused out loud. Ghoul gave Kobra’s shoulder a light shove with his own, who returned it with full force. Poison ignored the two and their quiet sparring match, slinging their backpack over one shoulder. Everyone went quiet again as Poison slowly pulled the shiny gun out from its careful hiding place in their bag.
“Better be ready,” was all they said as they tucked the gun’s muzzle into the side of their waistband. The immaculate plastic casing was warm from the tight packed clothes, but it made Poison shiver when it touched their bare waist. They pulled their outer shirt down over it in an attempt to obscure the handle somewhat. When they looked back up at Kobra and Ghoul, the boys wore matching grim looks. They all nodded in turn and picked up a slightly hurried pace back down the road.
They could hear the Lobby entrance before they could see it. The clack of dozens of pairs of metal shoes against the metal stairs, the faint hum of the flickering neon lights, and a general murmur of overlapping voices. The three peeked around the corner of a seemingly abandoned house and were greeted by the harsh red and blue neon lights filtering up through the wide staircase. The reflection from the few visible black metal stairs made them squint. A large sign, simply labeled, “The Lobby” stood solemnly next to the staircase. A droid with a short red bob leaned casually against one of the signposts, looking bored as a man wearing a Scarecrow uniform drunkenly leaned against her, mumbling into her hair. People and droids walked up and down the stairs, paying no one else any mind. Poison looked back between Kobra and Ghoul.
“Got a plan for gettin’ in?” they asked.
“I was just plannin’ on walkin’ right in, no one’s gonna notice if we just act like we’re s’posed to be there,” Ghoul said with a shrug.
“Maybe me an’ Poison, but no one’s gonna let you in, you look like a 10 year old,” Kobra replied. Ghoul huffed, straightening his back and puffing his chest out a bit.
“I do not! Go fuck yourself, Kobra!” Poison stepped between them and quickly wrapped a tight arm around each of their necks.
“Cut that shit out,” they hissed. “We’re all gonna have to sneak in real carefully...Ghoul, you know where we’re meeting that Jet Star guy?” Ghoul nodded as well as he could with Poison’s arm around him. “Then you gotta lead the way.” With a stern look in each of their eyes, Poison let the two go. Ghoul busied himself straightening out his shirt and willing the blush to fade from his cheeks.
“Let’s just go, I’m gettin’ antsy,” Kobra said. He barely waited for the other two before rounding the corner of the house. Ghoul and Poison followed close behind. They made a long arc crossing the road, trying to keep out of the neon light spilling forth from the stairway entrance. They pressed up in a line against the barrier opposite the sign. Ghoul peeked around the corner and waited almost a full tense minute for a break in the trickle of people moving in and out.
“Now!” he whispered harshly, and with no other warning, slipped around the corner and began rushing down the stairs. Kobra followed behind, slithering around the corner and slinking down after him. But just as Poison’s head cleared the corner, they locked eyes with the red-haired droid across the way. They froze. She looked at them with wide eyes, still leaning stock-still against the signpost with a Scarecrow pressed up against her. What felt like ages passed, when the ‘Crow noticed her lack of response and started to straighten up. Poison’s hand involuntarily twitched over their hip, but before they could reach for the raygun, the droid quickly wrapped her leg around the ‘Crow’s waist and grabbed his face with both hands, kissing him soundly. Poison couldn’t hear what they were saying as she broke the kiss to hold his head against her neck, but they saw her eyes flicker down the stairs and back to them. Poison just nodded in thanks and dashed down the stairs to catch up with their friends.
Ghoul and Kobra were waiting for them against the side of a vending machine just outside of the stairs’ entryway. Both of them relaxed immediately upon seeing the shock of red hair clearing the steps two at a time. Poison bounded across the small open space and crashed into Kobra, breathless. Their nerves alight, they barely registered Ghoul’s hands placed firmly on the back of their shoulders.
“We good to go, Cherrybomb?” he asked. Poison turned their head to look at Ghoul over their shoulder.
“Yeah. We’re good. Let’s go, boys.” Kobra caught Poison’s eye as they stepped back and shook themselves out. He thought, for a second, he saw a spark of excitement hiding behind the anxiety. But he just gripped the straps of his backpack tighter and followed Ghoul out into the thin crowd.
Chapter 2
Summary:
Down in the Lobby, it's not just an easy road to the strange and dangerous desert outside...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Neither Poison nor Kobra had ever been to the Lobby before, but they’d been told plenty of stories. Cautionary stories, mainly, by their parents to keep curious teens away. Or horror stories by the other kids in their classes, of kids just in the grade below them being dragged down to the Lobby and replaced with identical machines. Sometimes the Lobby was a seedy, neon underbelly littered with pornodroids and Juvie Halls, ready to rob you at knifepoint for looking too out of place. Others described it as a sort of purgatory, a place where the Exterminators would throw you when you weren’t worth the energy to re-educate but had to stay where someone could keep an eye on you.
The sight that greeted the three teens was mainly just...sad. Unlike in the city proper, there was no artificial greenery and no cookie-cutter white houses to be seen. The air smelled stale, with a lingering scent of gasoline. The brightest lights came from the occasional lit BL-ind branded vending machine that stood on corners like soldiers, mirroring the Scarecrows with their cold black-and-white faces. The group breezed past two androids propped up against each other on the curb. Ghoul didn’t seem too phased by the sights, but Poison and Kobra couldn’t help but let their eyes wander as they jogged after him. One of the dilapidated droids tilted her cracked face up and met Poison’s eyes with her remaining eye. Poison held her sad stare for so long that they didn’t notice Ghoul quickly darting out of their path and around a corner. A surprised “hey!” from Kobra snapped them back to the present. Poison’s heart sank to their feet. Three Draculoids were making a beeline for the pair of droids. None of them seemed to notice the teens, but Poison could feel Kobra freeze.
“Go!” they hissed, giving Kobra a little too hard of a shove. Kobra stumbled forward a step, which seemed to reset him. He took off after Ghoul, Poison following close behind. The three dodged around corners and ducked behind vending machines. Poison chanced a look over their shoulder before passing behind a dilapidated magazine stand. No one seemed to be following them; only the occasional droid spared them a glance as they passed. Ghoul kept running for another minute though before he finally stopped in a tiny space between a banged-up dumpster and the wall of a nearby Pornodroid Rental. Kobra crammed in tight beside Ghoul, and Poison looked around quickly one more time before squeezing themself in next to their brother.
“Anyone see us?” Ghoul asked, breathless. Poison just shook their head.
“I don’ think so...well no Dracs or anything,” they replied.
“Good...we’re almost to where Jet Star said the exit was. He said to look out for the old Motel, and then there should be a service exit near the outer walls there. We just gotta sneak out that way and Jet will meet us outside,” Ghoul explained. Kobra, being the only one tall enough to see over the dumpster, stood up to his full height and peeked his eyes over. He looked as far as he could in either direction before squatting back down.
“I don’t see a motel around...do you actually know where it is?” he asked.
“Sure I do! It’s uh...well, it’s near the outer wall…by the service exit...” Ghoul trailed off, leaning around the side of the dumpster to take his own look around. Kobra turned to Poison with one eyebrow raised.
“What the fuck do you see in this guy?” he whispered. Poison sighed.
“He knows more about the Lobby than we do. Stop looking at me.” Kobra kept the deadpan stare until Poison shoved his face away.
“Ok! I see the sign for it waaaaay over there. It looks like a pretty straight shot, we’ll get there easy,” Ghoul said, ducking back next to Kobra. “We’ll just stick to the shadows and be out in a tick. Stay close to me.” Poison pointedly did not look at Kobra, they just nodded. Kobra eventually nodded as well. With one final look, Ghoul led the way out from around the building.
The motel was farther away than Poison had pictured, but the way did seem pretty clear. They all crept as tightly as they could through alleyways and side streets, slinking around the flickering street lamps that felt like searchlights trained on them. Any curbs that sheltered barely animating droids were avoided, as well. Mostly to remain unseen, but Poison knew they would get distracted again by their sad, hollow stares. Popping around the back of a BL-ind Pharmacy, they were finally just a block away from the Motel with its Party-Poison-red sign shining like a beacon above the streets. Ghoul led the way, Poison jogged after him, and finally Kobra followed behind. But Kobra stopped short with a wheeze when something grabbed him by the backpack.
“What are you kids doing here?” said a scratchy voice. Kobra whirled around as best he could just to see the distorted black and white face of a Draculoid staring down at him.
“Let go ‘a me,” he choked out, pulling on his bag with all of his might. The Drac grabbed Kobra’s arm roughly with their other hand. “I said, let GO!”
“Kobra!” Poison had screeched to a halt the moment they heard Kobra’s shout. Without taking a second to think, they sprinted back and kicked the Drac in the knee as hard as they could. The Drac dropped Kobra in shock to clutch at their knee. Ghoul caught up just in time to grab both siblings by their arms and tug them in the other direction. No longer caring about stealth, the teens booked it straight down the street as fast as their legs could carry them. A loud clatter behind them alerted them, and glancing over their shoulders, two more Dracs had joined the first in the chase. One had collided with a wandering droid, successfully raising enough noise to alert the teens.
“Ghoul! Where’s that fucking exit?” Poison hissed. Ghoul faltered for a moment to look around wildly.
“There!” He pointed at a spot along the outer wall a few yards ahead stacked with monochromatic construction equipment. They all sped up again, making a beeline for the boarded over entrance. As soon as they cleared the side of the old Motel, a masked Scarecrow stepped out from behind the heavy sheet of plywood covering the entrance. Poison could see Kobra and Ghoul faltering in their periphery.
“Keep running!” they shouted. Poison could see it in what felt like slow motion. The Crow reached for the holster on their hip, and started to draw their raygun at the three. Before they could let themself think, Poison yanked their own raygun out from their waistband, pointed it with a cold and steady hand, and fired. The first bolt went right past the Crow’s head, but when they turned, Poison’s second bolt burst clear into the Crow’s temple. Ghoul and Kobra watched in horror as the Scarecrow crumpled to the ground, taking out a few traffic cones with them. Kobra glanced at Poison, who now wore a grim expression he’s only seen once or twice before. Poison didn’t meet his eyes. Instead, they shoved the boys ahead of them towards the exit.
The three just managed to avoid tripping over the Crow’s body as they all but slammed into the plywood cover. Kobra pushed on the side, creating a gap just big enough for them each to slip through. He looked between Poison and Ghoul.
“I’m going out last. Just go,” Poison said. They flinched when they felt a hand grab theirs, but it was only Ghoul looking up at them with big eyes.
“Nice shot, ace,” was all he said before pressing a quick kiss to the back of Poison’s free hand and taking off down the service tunnel. Kobra paused for a second as well.
“I’m not gonna kiss you, too,” he said. Poison almost laughed as Kobra took off at a mad dash behind Ghoul. They just extended their arm with the raygun and trained it on the three Dracs who were finally catching up. They fired one, two, three warning shots wildly in the Dracs’ direction. One dropped as a blast caught their shoulder, another clutched at the plastic hair of their Drac mask as it melted from the blast’s heat, the last jumped back to avoid the bolt surging for their feet. Poison finally drew the raygun closer to their chest and ducked behind the plywood, leaving Battery City behind.
For how late at night it was, a surprising amount of light poured from the end of the pitch dark service tunnel. It almost made each of the teens squint as they finally cleared the exit on the other side and found themselves standing in the well packed sand in the moonlight. The full, bright, real moonlight, unfiltered over their heads. Ghoul shielded his eyes and looked out across the cold desert. A crumbling highway road stretched out to their right a while away, leading to one of the official entrances to and from the city. A huge sign stood guard next to the road, welcoming vehicles back to the safety of the city.
The sudden sound of an engine revving made them all start. Poison’s raygun flew up on impulse. From just around the corner towards their left, a van pulled out from behind another road sign. But they sighed in relief when the clunker of an old van rattled towards them, with a person who definitely wasn’t from the city leaning out the window to wave. The van came to an idling stop a little ways away, and Ghoul approached first.
“Fun Ghoul!” the person in the passenger seat called. “Oh man, I’m so glad you guys made it! You look like you’ve seen a ghost, though,” they said. They looked up with a kind smile at Poison and Kobra. “You two must be Ghoul’s friends! C’mon, we won’t bite. Not right away, at least,” they laughed. Kobra suddenly felt very warm. The passenger, who must have been Jet Star, wore a dark and distressed leather jacket, and their long, curly hair was being kept out of their eyes with a blue and white striped bandana. Their weathered skin showed signs of living in the desert, but it made them all the more handsome.
“Thanks, Jet, you don’t know how glad I am to see you,” Ghoul said as Jet ducked back into the van. He opened the van’s sliding side door and climbed in. Poison and Kobra followed right behind.
“You guys will have to tell me all about your way out on the way to the radio station,” Jet continued easily. “Looks like there’s a story here.” Poison closed the door behind them. The person in the driver’s seat smiled at each of them in the rearview mirror, showing off the gap in their front teeth behind neon blue lipstick. They shifted the gears and turned the van out towards the highway. Ghoul sat up on his knees on the floor of the van.
“Yeah, man, it was fuckin’ crazy, like, it started out just normal, us getting down to the Lobby from the ground floor but…” Ghoul continued chattering along to Jet, who was nodding intently at Ghoul’s tale. Poison leaned their back against the rattling wall of the van and noticed Kobra, who was trying to look like he was looking out the side window, but kept stealing glances at Jet. Kobra caught Poison’s eye in the reflection of the window. Poison looked at Jet, then back at Kobra with a very small but incredibly smug grin. Kobra covered his face with both hands and prayed he wasn’t blushing. Busted. As Poison got up to crawl over to Kobra, a glint out the back window caught their eye. Then another, and another, and soon everyone in the van noticed and grew deathly quiet.
“Headlights…” Poison muttered as the roaring of distant engines grew louder.
“Ah, fuck,” Jet sighed. “You guys musta been a hot ticket, ‘cause it looks like we got company.” He rolled down the passenger window and leaned his head out to look. “Two Dracs on bikes and a car...no problem. Pony?”
“I’m already on it,” the driver said, shifting into a higher gear. The van lurched forward, and the three in the back toppled over into the assorted equipment littering the floor. Jet leaned back in to grin at them.
“Don’t worry, I got this!” With that, they climbed up onto their seat to lean their whole torso out of the window. He pulled a bright blue raygun from a holster tucked in his jacket and opened fire. Ghoul and Kobra watched as a bolt slammed into the car’s windshield, leaving a sizable hole. The car swerved some, but didn’t lose any speed. One of the Dracs flanking on a motorbike was too busy reaching for his own blaster to notice the car start swerving. He noticed a moment too late, just in time for the car’s bumper to clip the motorbike’s front wheel and send him sprawling into the dust.
“Fuckin’ awesome!” Kobra breathed. Jet leaned just his one arm back into the car to hold it out to Kobra for a high five. Kobra eagerly returned it. But the celebration was short lived as the Drac on the other motorbike picked up speed with raygun drawn, gaining on the van fast. A blast whizzed over the top of the van.
“Shit...any of you good with a gun? I might need a little help out here,” Jet said. He fired a quick shot at the bike, but the Drac dodged it effortlessly. Jet dropped back into his seat just in time to dodge a returned fire.
“I am,” Poison said resolutely. They didn’t wait for a response, but crouched behind one of the van’s back doors and cracked open the other one.
“Wait, shit, does anyone have a spare?” Ghoul asked. The person driving the van, who Jet called Pony, just lifted their hot pink gun from off the dashboard and held it over their shoulder. Ghoul grabbed it and scrambled across the van to crouch across from Poison. Their eyes met and Ghoul grinned. “Couldn’t let you have all the glory to yourself,” he said. Poison’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement. The two looked out of the open door.
The Scarecrow’s car had straightened out, and the passenger was mirroring Jet by half leaning out of the window with his blaster raised. A warning shot made Poison flinch back behind the van door, but they poked back around the opening. Almost in sync, both Poison and Ghoul leaned out and fired wildly. Poison aimed for the passenger, while Ghoul laid into the car. A blast hit the front wheel of the Crow’s car. The tire burst, and as the car shuddered, the passenger lost his balance and toppled backwards out of the front window. The car skidded to a smoky halt, pristine white exterior littered with scorch marks, and was left in the dust in seconds. Ghoul turned to Poison with an ear-to-ear grin. What he wasn’t expecting was for Poison to surge forward from their position and kiss him soundly on the lips.
“Nice shot, ace,” Poison teased when they pulled away. Ghoul could only slump back, stunned and speechless and smiling.
“Now?! You two have to do this now?” Kobra shouted. Jet laughed from their perch on the passenger seat.
“Are they normally like that?” Kobra didn’t have time to respond, as a blast shot the rearview mirror clean off the passenger side of the van. “Fuck-” No one had noticed the last Drac making a steady approach on his motorbike, just clearing the back windows. Jet started, ducking down in their seat to avoid any other blasts. Kobra ducked too, out of the Drac’s sight. He looked around for a spare raygun, but couldn’t see one on the surface of the clutter.
“Fuck it.” Before he let himself think too hard, he swung open the side door to the van. Gripping the headrest of the front seat firmly, all he had to do was kick one long leg out and- crack! His heavy boot made contact with the Drac’s rubbery head and sent them and the bike crashing to the pavement.
“Whoa.” “Nice.” came the general murmurs of approval. Kobra slid the van door closed again. He leaned his back against it and let out a deep breath. Jet nodded, clearly impressed, and gave Kobra a thorough once over as he sat back up.
“That...was pretty fuckin’ awesome. Now that we’ve all had a pretty good taste of wasteland life, maybe I should actually introduce myself. Name’s Jet Star, he/they,” he said, reaching a hand out to Kobra with a bright grin. Kobra shook their hand and hoped his palms weren’t sweating. Jet Star’s hand lingered for just a moment before turning to Poison.
“Party Poison, they/them, and that’s my little brother, Kobra Kid,” Poison cut in, waving from their spot at the back of the van.
“Oh, uh, yeah...he/him,” Kobra replied weakly. Jet gave Ghoul a finger gun, who returned it with a little “pew” sound. The driver looked over the three of them in the rearview mirror and threw up a peace sign.
“Show Pony! She/her, or ze/hir if ya nasty,” she said. “Ghoul, you can hang onto that gun until we get to Dr. D’s radio station. Now, get comfy, kids, it’s a little while yet. Jet, darling, would you kick on some tunes?” Jet nodded and flicked on the busted van radio. All they heard was static while Jet fiddled with the knob, but suddenly a blast of guitar surged out from the tinny speakers. “Oh, fuck yes, he actually took my request! Cherri never plays Mad Gear when I ask him, he says it’s too abrasive or whatever, but sometimes a girl gets bored of all the sad music!” Show Pony said with a dismissive flick of the wrist. “I guess he knows it’s a special night.” Ze met Poison’s eyes in the rearview and winked. Poison gave a little smile in return.
After not too long, Ghoul and Kobra started to nod off, crashing hard from the adrenalin and lulled by the steady vibration of the van. Kobra propped himself up against a milk crate full of junk, and Ghoul found himself leaning against Kobra’s shoulder, watching the city grow ever smaller out of the back window. But Poison still buzzed, tuned into the loud rock music filling the back of the van. A single clear thought came through the ruckus both inside and outside of Poison’s head. They knelt behind the front seats, resting their chin on the backrest between Jet and Pony.
“Hey, uh...I know we just got out, but is there a place out here that I can get testosterone and stuff for my brother? Ghoul, too, I just made a promise that I would make sure they would both get what they needed,” Poison explained in a low voice. Jet and Pony both nodded.
“Oh, for sure! When runners go back into the city for supplies, they always bring back plenty of hormones and stuff. I can introduce you to one of the folks who always gets me my E,” Pony said. Jet turned and leaned one arm over the backrest.
“Yeah, and Tommy Chow Mein’s usually carries like needles and gauze and stuff...just stick with me and I can show you guys how to haggle with him,” Jet said with a smile. He absently tapped Poison’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “‘Guys’ is ok, right?” Poison nodded, unable to keep the genuine smile off their face.
“Definitely...and thanks. Both of you. For everything. I’ll find some way to pay you and everyone back for all your help,” they stated. Jet waved his hand, turning back towards the front.
“Getting people out of that city is thanks enough. But maybe you could let us in on your secret as to how you got so good with that raygun?” they joked. But Poison’s expression grew serious.
“I don’t know...I’ve never used one before tonight. I just…” they trailed off, looking over at Kobra and Ghoul. Ghoul was now lying down with his head in Kobra’s lap, and one of Kobra’s hands rested casually on Ghoul’s shoulder. “Keeping those two safe was the only thing I could think about. Nothing else mattered, not my safety, not a hundred Dracs, just them,” Poison finally stated softly. “They’re all I got.” Jet rested a gentle hand on Poison’s shoulder and gave it a pat.
“They’re both lucky to have someone like you,” Pony piped in. “And we are, too,” she added with a laugh. Poison looked between Jet and Pony and let themself smile again. After a moment of quiet, they propped their elbows up on the backrest.
“Hey, this song kind of rules. Who did you say it was by again?”
Notes:
Thank you everyone for reading! Please feel free to come over and say hi to me on Tumblr @ themadkidandmissilegear, I am always ready to talk about the killjoys.
mythical_marks on Chapter 1 Wed 02 Dec 2020 02:36PM UTC
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truefinches on Chapter 1 Wed 02 Dec 2020 09:10PM UTC
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mythical_marks on Chapter 1 Wed 02 Dec 2020 11:48PM UTC
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mythical_marks on Chapter 2 Sat 05 Dec 2020 07:32PM UTC
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truefinches on Chapter 2 Sat 05 Dec 2020 08:48PM UTC
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thats_they_them_to_you on Chapter 2 Wed 16 Dec 2020 04:38AM UTC
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truefinches on Chapter 2 Wed 16 Dec 2020 11:46PM UTC
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