Fire Kitty woke with a pounding headache and a weight on her chest. She blinked her eyes a couple of times before they focused and she was able to check out her surroundings. She was inside now. How was it that she kept on showing up in random places with no memory of getting there? She looked down at her chest to see what was restricting her breathing and almost screamed when she saw that it was a man.

He had blonde hair that reached the top of his jawline and he was settled on his back with his head on her stomach. She froze and held her breath as he began to stir before quieting back down. She had to escape. She had been kidnapped. That was the only explanation for what had happened.

Fire Kitty very slowly reached a hand down and gently lifted the man's head. The next three minutes involved a lot of slow wriggling, turning, and what probably could have been interpretive dance to remove her body while not waking the man up. When she was finally clear, she gave a light sigh of relief and got to her feet. Her tall, brown boots were standing by the door. She quietly walked over and slipped them on before cracking the door open and inch and checking for guards.

To her relief, the hallway was empty and she quickly walked out and closed the door behind her. There was the sound of a radio coming from behind one of the other doors so she hurried the other way and arrived at the end of the hallway where a window was placed.

She hurriedly examined it and gave a small hiss of celebration when she found a latch on it. Opening it however, was not as easy as she had thought it might be. She struggled with it for a few minutes but after changing her position a couple times, she was able to pry it up a couple of inches. She was about to lodge a piece of wood that had been lying in the hallway under it to use as a lever when she was startled by a voice directly behind her.

"Going somewhere?"

She jumped and turned her body in a failed attempt to hide he escape plan. The blond haired man was leaning casually outside the door of the bedroom she had come from with his arms crossed, but the words she had heard came from the man who was standing maybe four feet away from her.

He had a shock of bright dyed red hair and stood about 5'9". He was standing with his hands tucked lazily into his pockets, but Fire Kitty saw the bright yellow blaster hanging from his hip. His message was clear. She wasn't going to go anywhere.

Kitty analyzed the situation with speed, rocked back on her heels, and decided to play dumb.

"Of course not. I only wanted some fresh air."

"Are you sure? Because it sure looked like you were trying to escape for a minute there. Although where you'd go, I'm not sure."

Fire Kitty just stared at him with wide eyes. Party sighed when he saw that all he was doing was scaring the girl. He didn't know what he had really expected. He hadn't offered a single word or reassurance and she probably didn't remember how he and Kobra had saved her.

"Look," he started. "My name is Party Poison. This is my brother, Kobra Kid. We haven't, nor do we plan to, hurt you. We found you wandering delirious by the side of the road. This is Safehouse Delta."

Fire Kitty looked him up and down for a few seconds gauging the truth of his words before deeming him honest and relaxing a little.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well," Party puffed out his cheeks and released a breath. "I was hoping that we could make introductions, eat something, and discuss what to do after that."

Fire Kitty turned her attention to Kobra Kid and called out, "What do you have to say about this?"

"I for one, have no problem getting something to eat. You probably need something to eat and drink too."

That was true. Kitty first became aware of the stabbing pain in her stomach that she interpreted as hunger. Her throat was also raw and begging for some attention. She mulled over her situation. She could run, but they would either catch her, or if they didn't chase her, she would starve. She could also go with them and get food and water as well as a general idea of where she was. And it was true that they hadn't hurt her.

"Okay. Let's get some food." she hesitantly said.

Party and Kobra smiled and Party reached out an arm towards her. She took his silent invitation and stepped forward. Kobra led the way to what looked like an old kitchen with Fire Kitty following and Party Poison close behind. Kitty sat down on one of the stools set up around the table in the middle of the room.

Party walked over to a cupboard and pulled out three nondescript cans. He threw them one at a time to Kobra who pulled out a startlingly large knife and started opening them. Party walked over and pulled out the chair to the right of Kitty and leaned it back, placing his boots on the table. Kobra slid a can towards Kitty and Party and passed out spoons.

"Power Pup?" Kitty asked. "I didn't know that this was even made anymore."

"It isn't really. This is technically expired," responded Party. "But it is what we have so you'd better not be picky."

Kitty slipped her spoon into the brown mush and curiously put a small bit in her mouth. The texture was unpleasant but the flavor wasn't god awful. All in all, she viewed it as a blessing and the entire can was gone in less than two minutes.

"Jesus...," said Kobra. "How long has it been since you've eaten?"

"Well," Kitty started, "I ate a lizard while I was walking. But I was hungry when I woke up, so...aside from the lizard I would say five days or so."

Party Poison sat up suddenly.

"Wait, wait, wait...What do you mean when you woke up? Why were you that far out anyways?"

"I...I'm not exactly sure," Kitty confessed, "about three days ago, I woke up by the side of the road. I can't remember how I got there or anything else from the past two weeks. It's like there is a big hole in my memories. Or maybe a brick wall. I don't know. But I started running and...ate a lizard and then...well, I assume that you found me."

Party had no idea how to handle this. There was a girl sitting in front of him who was in desperate need of fluids, hadn't eaten in five days, and was claiming amnesia. He and Kobra just sat there staring at her. Kitty kept glancing nervously at each of them and then at the floor. Finally it was Kobra who spoke up.

"I think I would like to talk to my brother for a minute Kitty. Would you mind excusing us?"

Kitty bit her lip and nodded her head. She stood and walked back into the hallway. A sudden wave of nausea passed over her as she came to the full realization that her life and future was in the hands of two men that she didn't know. That snapped her back into survival mode, and she pulled her small knife out of her pocket in preparation. She didn't know what they would do, but she wanted to be prepared for anything. The knife wouldn't so much damage, especially as she had zero skills in the fighting department, but it might distract them enough for her to make a break for it. So with these thoughts on her brain, she paced the short end of the hallway while waiting for the verdict to arrive.

"So what are you thinking Party? Do you believe her?" was the first thing Kobra said when the door shut behind Kitty.

He was leaning against the counter and Party Poison was sitting at the table running his fingers through his hair.

"To be quite honest, I have no clue what I think. She could be trying to pull a sob story on us, but then again, there are plenty of things out here that could cause memory loss. I think that ultimately though, none of that will affect what we do with her."

Kobra glanced up. "So we're taking her to Dr. D?"

"Yes. If she isn't telling the truth, we need to know why. If she is...then I can't think of anyone better to take her to than Dr. D."

"So it's settled?"

"Yes."

Both of the boys stood up and walked over to the door. Kobra pulled it open to reveal Fire Kitty at the end of the hallway. She spun around and angled her body so that they couldn't see anything behind her. She really wasn't that sneaky.

"What do you have in your hand?" Kobra asked.

"Nothing," she said, smoothing her words over. Party and Kobra tensed up and stood a bit taller.

"Then show us your hands," Party retaliated, "if you really aren't hiding anything."

Fire Kitty slowly brought her hands in front of her to reveal...nothing. Party remained unconvinced. He didn't become the leader of the most dangerous band of Killjoys by being stupid.

"Now show us your waistband." he said as he squinted his eyes a bit.

Fire Kitty's shoulders seemed to crumble as she gave a defeated sigh. She turned her back to them to reveal a small knife sticking out of her maroon pants. Party Poison took three long strides and snatched the knife. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her back around to face him. He bent over a little to look her directly in the eyes before saying,

"You are not allowed to have weapons. You need to understand that we are just trying to help you."

Kitty avoided eye contact and after a few seconds Party stood back up and tossed the knife to Kobra who caught it in one swift movement. He turned back to Kitty with a gentler expression and flicked one of the cat ears on her headband.

"We are taking you to Dr. Death Defying. The trip will take about a week. Be ready to leave in five minutes. And make sure you drink something. You're still dehydrated."

Fire Kitty continued to stare at the floor until both of them left. She was actually feeling guilty. Party Poison's reassurance had shown her how ungrateful she was being. They had saved her life, given her a place to stay, and now they were going to take her to Dr. Death Defying. THE man in charge. And she had been ready to stab them not moments before. To be fair, she was looking after her best interests. She just hadn't realized that for right now, they were her best interest.

She lifted her head and set her shoulders in a more determined stance. She was going to get her memories. And maybe stop being such a brat. She walked back through the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. She was able to get a few sips in with a slight shudder and cough. She tightened her crop top just a bit so that it wouldn't fall down and walked out the side door.

It was only nine o'clock but the sun's rays were already reflecting blindingly off the sand. Kitty shaded her eyes with her hands and walked around to the front just in time to see Party Poison and Kobra Kid finish packing the nice Trans Am that sat in front of them. Party glanced up at her and handed her a pair of aviators without a word. She put them on and a shudder went down her back at the shaded relief.

"Come on. It's time to go."

Kobra Kid's words snapped her out of thought and she walked towards them and slid into the backseat. Her eyes snapped up when Kobra Kid slid into the seat beside her though. Party was clearly driving, but why had Kobra not taken the passenger seat? This was a deliberate attempt to be close to her.

She mulled over his possible motivations. He could just want to get to know her better, but that option was ruled out as soon as Party started the car and put the radio on full blast. No chance for conversation there. Kobra could just want to keep an eye on her, but they were in an enclosed space and she didn't have any weapons on her.

She was occupied in her thoughts as they pulled out of Safehouse Delta and back onto the fateful road she was found on.

With two hours though, she was bored beyond belief. There was absolutely nothing to do in the car. She couldn't talk, she didn't know any of the music that was playing, Party was busy driving, and Kobra was cleaning his blaster. With a heavy sigh she leaned back and closed her eyes. It was high time that she attacked that mental block in her head.

After around ten minutes of probing, she was able to determine the exact boundaries of the block and was almost able to visualize it. At first, she thought of it as just a hole. A place where her memories should be but weren't. Instead, she could see that it was a wall. A very tall wall. And she could feel her memories just behind it.

Fire Kitty's eyes shot open in frustration. She had gotten lost in her own head. She didn't know why, but she had expected everything to be different when she came back. She was wrong though. Party Poison was still driving, the music was still blasting, and Kobra Kid was still polishing his blaster.

She threw her head into the back of the seat and slid a bit farther down in her seat. Kobra gave her a quick glance before providing the back of Party's seat a swift kick. Party jerked forward and the car swerved causing Kitty and Kobra to end up sprawled all over the backseat. He pulled that car over, cut the music off, and spun to face the two trying to untangle themselves from one another.

Kitty's foot was laying on Kobra's lap, his knee was trapped under her arm which was under his back and both of them felt as though their personal space was being highly invaded. With muffled curses and a few grunts of pain, they managed to extract themselves from each other and back into their perspective seats before turning to look at a glowering Party.

"And what. the fuck. was that?" he hissed at Kobra.

Kobra looked away sulkily.

"She was bored. I needed you to turn down the music so I could teach her about blasters. I didn't know you would almost kill us..."

Party stared him down before huffing and pulling back onto the road. He turned the music back up, but significantly lower than what it had been. Kobra glanced over at Kitty's red face and gave her a half smile.

"You don't know a thing about blasters do you?"

She finally turned to face him and the blue blaster he was holding towards her. She gingerly grasped it by the barrel and turned it over a few times before handing it back.

"No...I don't. How'd you know?"

Kobra cracked a smile.

"You used a small pocketknife to try and protect yourself from us. My blaster was laying on the bedroom floor. If you knew how to use a blaster, you would have gone for it instead."

Kitty pursed her lips. He took that as a sign to continue talking.

"This here," he pointed at the handle, "is called a grip. It's where you hold it. This is called the hammer...this is the trigger. NO! Don't touch the trigger until you are told to..."

The rest of the car ride passed much quicker with Kobra's company and instruction. She and Kobra were on a much more comfortable level with each other. She would almost call them friends. They were both very reluctant to any physical contact, but they were able to make the other laugh and both were thoroughly entertained.

When they pulled over for lunch, it was later in the afternoon. Party found a suitable clump of boulders that offered enough shade to keep them comfortable. He got out of the Trans Am and walked to the passenger side to pull out three more cans of Power Pup. He tossed them to Kobra who opened one and handed it to Kitty. She was quickly starting to see a pattern emerging in regards to food. Party chose. Kobra opened. It was what had happened back at the safehouse and she suspected that it would happen again the next time they ate.

They sat down in a small circle and dug into their food in silence. When everyone was finished, Party pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to Kitty.

"Drink the whole thing."

"Why?"

"Because you don't fix dehydration as bad as you had in one day. You need to keep drinking fluids. We can't have you die on us just yet."

His lips quirked up a bit at the last part as he watched her expectantly. She inspected the bottle carefully before opening it up and swallowing the contents in a few large gulps. Party took the empty bottle from her in satisfaction and slowly got to his feet.

"It's time to hit the road again. Kobra, you're driving. I'm tired."

He hauled Kobra to his feet and then offered a gloved hand to Kitty. She took it and wrapped her arms around herself. Even though the sun was burning down with a vengeance, she had suddenly become cold.

When they all reached the car, Kitty slid into her previous spot but Party and Kobra switched places. Kobra was a smooth driver and the day was catching up with Kitty. She gave a quick glance to Party who was too busy staring out the window to notice her. His red hair was falling in his face a bit, but he didn't seem to mind. It was almost picturesque.

Kitty's eyelids grew heavier and heavier till, before she knew it, she fell into a dreamless sleep.