Chapter 1 – Sun, Sand and Boys.
Just a little bit further, Riot, it's not far now, it can't be.
Worn purple sneakers scrambled across endless stretches of hot white sand, occasionally miss stepping and sending their owner to her knees, only for her to scramble back to her feet and continue on.
The endless sand stretched out as far as the eye could see, the sun's rays harsh scar against the once fertile land, radiation and chemicals had long ago stripped it of all natural life, leaving behind a empty waste land.
Riot tugged down the stripped bandanna that covered the bottom half of her flushed face, her ragged breathes and the soft padding of her blistered feet creating a odd symphony, one that spoke of fear and cowardice. She's been running for what felt like a life time, every fibre in her body ached, from the cherry red helmet on her head right down to the scuffed and stained white caps of her shoes. But she couldn't stop, mustn't stop. She had to find them, the ones that she had grown up hearing valiant tales of ray guns and muscle cars, of course these stories had been told to her as horror stories, of the feral lunatics that lived in the desert, but she could always feel that there had to be more.
Spotting a cavernous dip in the sand up ahead, Riot crouched low to the searing grains bellow her, carefully approaching the lip of the decent. The tinkle of voices filtered up and around the dip, though too far away to understand Riot knew better then to barrel on down, instead she sprawled herself out over the hot dust and inched closer.
"... Nobody's out here Jet, let's just go back! We can tell Party we'll search more tomorrow!"
Like a dog hearing it's name, Riot's ears prickled, Party? Jet? Could it really be the ones she had been searching for? Blood rushing behind her eyes, a concoction of relief and anxiety pumped through her veins.
"Don't be stupid Kid, you know he'll just rave on about the importance of being secure and all that jazz, just keep looking, whatever it is Party thinks is out here, it has to be of some God damn importance..."
Giddy with anticipation, Riot swiped her sun bleached hair from her sticky face, and with a final minor adjustment of the purple eye mask that perched above her nose, she scrabbled to her feet and waved her arms above her head.
"Hey! You there!"
Bellow her, two men, dressed in the signature bright colours of the killjoys, spun towards her, their well used ray guns cocked up towards her. The two exchanged looks of confusion at the strange girl, waving her arms light a sundial, they were hundreds of miles deep into the desert and it was rare to see a stranger wandering about.
The man dressed in a red leather jacket with blonde fair hear stepped forward.
"State your business here, Killjoy. It's not often a new face is seen around these Zones."
Tugging at the straps of her helmet, Riot began to slide her self down the sand bank, her long hair tumbling in the warm breeze behind her.
As she approached the two substantially taller men, they kept their guns trained on her, knowing better then to trust a friendly face. It had happened before, a sun-baked Killjoy gone off their rocker would lurch into a killing frenzy at the slightest niggle.
"Please! I'm a friend, or rather, a hopeless being begging for your sanctuary. I've come so far to find you people, I haven't slept or stopped to rest for days. Please, I have heard stories of your bravery and admiration, I need help desperately and you people were all I could think of to come to. That is, you are The Fabulous, aren't you?"
Confusion spread across the men's faces, and for a few painful seconds Riot felt the spark of hope inside of her dampen, finally the man with a thick head of curls lowered his weapon, placing his hand atop of his companion's to encourage him to do the same.
"My name is Jet Star, this is the Kobra Kid and yes, we are members of The Fabulous, the question on my mind and I can assume my friend's here, is who are you, and why did you come to us? But I think it would be better to discuss these matters in front of the whole of The Fabulous, so, if you wouldn't mind a bit of a schlep back to our base, we'd be happy to hear you."
Grinning from ear to ear, Riot felt as if she'd burst with happiness, her agonising journey was about to be paid off and she couldn't help but feel as if she had finally accomplished something of importance and goodness in her short life.
The man known as Kobra Kid shot his companion a look of daggers, but didn't question him, he simply turned away from the other two and stomped away, presumably in the direction of their destination.
The fro bearing Jest Star chuckled under his breathe, patting Riot on her sun burned shoulders as he watched him walk away.
"Oh, don't mind Kid, he's always like this, but his stubbornness does grow on you... eventually."
Giggling, Riot pulled back up her bandanna, then sprinted forward after her new found quirky company.
