AN: So I originally wrote another version of this, but my flash-drive was being a MORON, and it got erased. This is the 2nd version. Enjoy! I don't think it's as good, but keeps to the same basic thing that happened in the other version. Has a little bit of sad, just Jinx's past…

Party Poison POV

I figured one of my group would win, because we knew the land best. What I didn't expect was that as soon as we called 'go', there was a curse and Ghoul stalked back towards the diner. After that, all was still. Taking a chance, I scooted across an open space to a spot behind a boulder. No one had noticed me, or so I hoped, as Kobra dashed in my direction. He ended up in my old spot, not noticing the pattern of footprints in the sand. Silently, I crept up behind him.

"FUCK!" my brother exclaimed as I zapped the back of his head.

I grinned. "Sorry."

"Sure you are."

He walked away, a frown on his face. A few moments passed. I was getting bored, so I took a chance to get closer to Jinx or Riot. I ran across the open space, dodging a few shots; two different colours, blue and orange, so they must've come from Riot and Jinx. I got caught up in a skirmish with Jet on the way to get to the top players. He had me cornered between a boulder and a tree but I ducked out of the way, and shot him in the back. With a shrug, he jogged over to the diner, where I saw Ghoul and Kobra making bets. The odds were apparently not in my favour. I tried to get close to Jinx (without her, getting Riot wouldn't be a problem) but a slight zap hit my chest. Riot was the culprit, grinning widely. "Sorry, Poison. She's mine."

I figured he meant that in more ways than one. I walked away, and stood with the others. Jinx finally walked out of hiding, smirking. "You and me, sweetie."

"Like usual," was his casual reply.

When they stopped and faced each other, Jinx's right side was to us, and Riot was directly in front of her. He lifted his gun and shot. I waited for the telltale signs that she was shot, but the tiny girl whirled out of the way more gracefully than any dancer. She lithely leapt and fell, twisting and turning. She had us all captivated. Suddenly she was behind Riot, her arms around his neck. I heard Kobra snigger. Apparently Jinx had caught him that way. She zapped Riot in the side. "I win!"

He laughed. Jinx let him go and pecked his cheek gently. Then she loped towards us, punching her fist towards the sky. Ghoul went to give her a hug, but was suddenly on the ground, twitching, again. I didn't bother to check his pulse again. Jinx smiled grimly. "I have this thing about people touching me."

Then she walked away, and I swore I saw a tear rolling down her face as she walked into the diner. I followed her inside, and heard the heartbroken sobs before I saw her collapsed against a booth. Silently, I sat beside her. She hadn't noticed me. I took my chances at being stunned, and hugged her gently. At first she stiffened, and a strange noise pulled out of her chest. Then she wrapped her arms around my torso, crying into my chest. We stayed that way for a while, and I patted her back, mumbling, "It's okay. Let it out."

She shook her head eventually, pulling away. "Sorry I ruined your shirt."

I glanced down, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What matters is why you were crying."

Jinx met my eyes, and then sighed.

"When I was little, my dad died. My mom remarried to this loser named Jack. He drank and was a huge pig. He beat my mom, and called her terrible names. He beat me, too, whenever Mom wasn't home. I started acting out at school, which brought me more trouble at home, with Mom. She would get drunk and hit me, too, even though she never had before. Sober, she was the only reason I existed. Drunk, she was the reason I wanted to kill myself. I slit my wrists, I tried to OD… Nothing worked. I came in from school one day, and saw that Mom was home. She was lying on the couch. I tried to wake her up.

"She was dead, of course. She'd overdosed on sleeping pills. I was stuck with Jack for a while longer, and he tried to abuse me in other ways. So I stole a first generation ray gun from Riot's house, and shot him in the head. I don't regret it. Riot ran away with me—he was adopted, and hated his guardians anyway. The only things I have to remind me of that life are my wrists—" here she showed me the scars on both wrists "—and Riot."

I decided I would tell her my story, too. "I was in New York when the bombs dropped, with Jet, Ghoul, and Kobra. Our wives and kids were out at a park, goofing off. We were at home, playing video games and goofing off, just in a different way. We felt something like an earthquake, and turned on the news. The only thing on any of the channels was that God damned smiley face. It kept saying, Everything's okay. The aftermath is secondary. Keep smiling.

"So of course, none of us trusted it. We went to get the girls, but they weren't there. By that point BL/Ind was taking over the city. They were gassing people and kidnapping them in vans. We ran like cowards, and didn't stop. Well, until we got to Battery City, anyway. We stayed there for a night, stocking up on supplies and medicine and everything. Then we took off down Route Guano, in this same old Trans Am. We've been here ever since. Dr. D's the original first Killjoy, but we're the first ones he got to train and tell what Killjoys actually are. So… Yeah."

Jinx decided to ask me a question. "What were your family's names?"

"My daughter was Bandit and my wife was Lindsey," I replied.

She looked like she was deliberating something. "I'm Cassie."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Cassie—Cassie Hills," she said quietly.

I was amazed. She trusted me that much… "I'm Gerard Way."

"From My Chemical Romance?" she was suddenly excited. "Oh my goodness, I'm friends with an epic person!"

I laughed. "Well, I could say the same about you!"

Her pale face flushed pink, and she was laughing, too. The guys walked in, with Riot in the lead. "Is it safe yet?"

Jinx flashed them a dirty look and a rude gesture, and then went to grab a can of Power Pup.

I stood up, and walked over to the group, all of which were staring at me oddly.

"She let you touch her?" Ghoul asked incredulously. "What the fuck's wrong with this world?"

I shrugged. "Nothing more than usual."

When my friends went to go get a booth, Riot held me back. "She's got a reason to be so messed up."

"I know. She told me."

"But did she tell you that she's actually certifiable?"

"What do you mean?"

He peeked around and, finding Jinx completely absorbed in a conversation with the others. "She's been diagnosed with psychosis. I tried to get her to go to Battery City to get help, but she won't. So whenever I can, I'll steal some for her. She'll get better for a while, then crash and freak out. She sees spiders a lot. She's deathly afraid of spiders, and won't admit it."

"Like Ghoul," I told him. "He runs screaming from an itty bitty daddy-long-legs, but will run to a whole army of Dracs."

That made Riot grin. "Yeah, like that, except Jinx can't run from hers. She hallucinates them. When she crashes, you'll know. She ends up crying and almost hurting herself trying to get away."

Suddenly, Jinx let out a shriek. "HOLY FUCK IT'S RAINING!"

She went running outside, the BOOMbox (named for the colourful BOOM on the side) held tightly under her arm. By the time we were outside, she had set up the BOOMbox and was dancing in the pouring rain. Her hair was stuck down to her forehead and face, and she was spinning.

Jet snickered, saying, "You look like an idiot!"

"You're a foopie!" Jinx yelled at him, and then fell over. "FUCK!"

Riot had to explain that. "She just called Jet a pussy. A friend of ours rubbed off on her, especially the language."

"I don't appreciate that!" Jet yelled back.

"I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S FUZZY ASS!" Jinx retorted.

We all started laughing, and stayed out there, acting crazy until the rain stopped. Ghoul turned off the radio. "Maybe it'll rain again."

"In ten years," Kobra joked.

Quietly, we went back inside. We settled down in the dining area, and one by one, drifted off to sleep. My final conscious thought was:

God, I make some screwed up friends.