Chapter Text
Brimstone sighed looking at the broken machinery in his hands, walking down the hall he knocked on Killjoy’s door.
“That roomba your girlfriend made broke.”
He paused before adding,
“Again.”
He opened the door to see said girlfriend painting his daughter’s nails.
“Ah real sorry about that, I’ll take it back to my workshop and fix it up.”
Raze turns her attention back to Killjoy.
“Hey Killjoy, do you want to do some… tinkering?”
Killjoy rolls her eyes at the suggestive waggling of her girlfriend’s eyebrows.
“We can go after our nails dry freundin.”
Brimstone places the roomba gently on the floor of the room before shutting the door. There was much to prepare before the barbecue took place this afternoon, especially since Killjoy and Raze invited almost everyone they knew from work.
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“Saaaaaage, can’t you drive any faster? I bet Phoenix 10 bucks that we’d get to Kj’s house faster than them!”
“Jett, any faster and we’ll be pulled over for speeding. I hope you understand that getting a ticket would delay our visit by much more time.”
“Yes mother,” Jett said to her girlfriend in a teasing tone.
“Aiyah Jett.”
Sage took one hand off the wheel to shove Jett’s arm, a small smile on her face.
The two drove in comfortable silence, with Jett occasionally popping her head out the open window to take in the air.
Sage checked the time, they’d be there just on time, if not a bit earlier.
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“Sova can’t you drive a little faster? Just a bit?”
Phoenix was practically vibrating in his seat.
“If you wanted to get there earlier we should have left earlier. I am not about to go over the speed limit so that you can win a bet for 10 dollars.”
Phoenix looked to Yoru in the back seat for some help convincing Sova, only to find that he was trying to contain his laughter with his arms crossed over his chest.
Phoenix groaned, throwing his head back in exasperation.
Accepting his defeat, Phoenix turned on the radio to drown out any remaining silence in the car. A synthy pop started playing, a song Phoenix seemed to recognize. Phoenix lip synced the lyrics as Sova idly tapped on the wheel to the beat and Yoru nodded his head softly to the song.
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Brimstone fired up the grill just as the guests started to arrive. Jett and Sage being the first. Brimstone let Sage and Jett in the house to place the popsicles in the freezer. Skye brought some fresh vegetables to top the burgers, along with a salad in case anyone wanted a vegetarian option.
“What a wicked green thumb Skye,” Brimstone said, eyeing the vegetables in her arms in astonishment.
“Haha, ya learn a thing or two when you get stationed out in the forest,” Skye lightheartedly replied.
When Phoenix, Yoru and Sova arrived, Jett tackled Phoenix to the ground.
“Aww, sorry pretty boy. Looks like I won this time.” Jett said in a teasing tone.
“Ay Sage, get your girlfriend off of me!”
“Don’t be like that Phoenix, you lost the bet fair and square….” Jett sat up and reached out her hand expectantly.
Phoenix dug his hand into his pocket with a sigh.
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Once Raze and Killjoy deemed that everyone was here, everyone settled down to eat, drink and bask in the sun. Brimstone recognized some of the guests, having worked with them before. However there were a few people he wasn’t familiar with, prompting Killjoy and Raze to introduce them.
“We’ve both worked with Viper before,” Killjoy says, pointing at Brimstone and then herself.
“That lady with her is Reyna, her girlfriend. I haven’t worked with Reyna myself but I’ve heard that she’s quite the strict manager-”
Raze cuts in to add, “I’ve heard that she works her branch so hard that she literally sucks the souls out of their bodies.”
Killjoy chuckles and nudges Raze to continue.
“You already know my mano Breach over there.”
Raze points at the large Swede with prosthetic arms. The man noticing her pointing flexes his arms and then waves back. “Hahaha! We used to beat up bullies in high school!”
Killjoy tries to remember who else Brimstone might not know.
“You’ve worked with Sage, Viper, Omen and Skye before and you know Sova, Phoenix, Jett and Yoru.” Killjoy states as she counts on her fingers.
“Who’s that?” Brimstone nods at the man standing next to Omen.
The man was wearing a white trench coat and bucket hat, blue reflective sunglasses and a dark blue face mask.
“Oh that’s just Cypher,” Raze says.
“The guy from surveillance and security?” Brimstone asks.
Killjoy and Raze nod.
“I heard about that guy, but I’ve never really gotten a look at him.”
Brimstone turns to look at Cypher again.
“Does he always dress so….?” Brimstone gestures up and down.
Killjoy and Raze nod again.
“From what we know, he has a tragic past,” Killjoy says solemnly.
“Something that cost him his wife and kid,” Raze adds. “Now he’s paranoid about his old identity being found out.”
“None of us know what he really looks like, not even the higher ups who hired him. We just know that he’s really good at his job, and that’s all there is to it.” Killjoy finishes.
Raze forces a half smile and continues on.
“On a lighter note, that’s Astra,” Raze says, pointing at the woman happily chatting with Skye. “She’s my fortune teller.”
Brimstone sighs. “You shouldn’t pay for those scams Raze.”
“That’s what I said before Raze insisted I get my fortune read,” Killjoy says. “She was scarily accurate.”
Killjoy waves Astra over.
Astra nods at each of them individually listing off their names in an upbeat tone. “Killjoy-o! Raze! Big man! What can I do for you my friends?”
“Brimstonezinho here is a non-believer,” Raze says as she slaps Brimstone on the back. “Tell him his fortune hmm?”
Astra’s eyes seem to light up.
“Of course, first reading on the house eh?”
She closes her eyes and waves her arms, almost as if she was placing and moving items along the floor.
“Ah no wonder you’re so buff,” she flexes to accentuate her comment. “You were a fire fighter!”
Brimstone looks at Killjoy and Raze, silently asking if they’ve said anything to her before. They both shake their heads no.
“Go on…..”
“You must be doing something good, Boomer Brim! You’re due for a promotion! Watch out for Babylon over there though,” She directs his attention towards Phoenix. “He’s gonna try and dunk the punch on you.”
Brimstone thanks her and Astra hands him her business card with a wink before walking away towards Cypher and Omen.
“Well this has been rather insightful,” Brimstone starts. “I’d better go keep an eye on those burgers… and Phoenix.”