CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA

Battery City was a sordid place this time of year… well… then again, it was a sordid place nearly every time, all the time, every year. The buildings stuck out like a sharp jagged mass of sores across the otherwise flat landscape around it. The black marble towers and skyscrapers jutted out of nowhere, the only focal point for miles around. Battery City looked like a sickness; a disease that was slowly growing across the Californian desert, spreading into the multitude of sections that fanned out around it.

The sun was setting, ducking behind a heavy mass of clouds that sailed across the darkening sky. It was almost as if nature itself knew its place to play and did its best to set the scene for the upcoming storming of the castle. It was quiet at eight already, the streets clearing for the curfew coming at nine o'clock. Only search light vehicles roamed the cities, barking reminders at a few stray citizens to hurry on towards their homes like good little well programmed machines. A woman with two kids in tow ran across the street hurriedly, a search light vehicle barely missing her.

"9pm curfew, ma'am," The speaker on the side of the tank like vehicle said mechanically.

The street lamps flicked on, lighting up the empty stage that was the clean, sanitized and smooth edged capitalist city. The curfew alarm blared out over the emptiness, echoing against the tall glass castles of Battery City. Billboards everywhere advertised something Better Living endorsed; food, cars, homes and home ware, even health care and education. Some of the monstrous signs just read slogans to live by. "Stock up in case! Better Living products never expire!" and "We only listen to Better Living approve radio stations, because we love America" were a few of the more popular phrases sprinkled around the city in cheesy cursive font.

Whatever happened to good old fashioned Comic Sans?

The curfew alarm finally stopped and the surveying search light vehicles drew back towards the sections on the outskirts of the city, making sure that order was kept there too. The silence was deafening, and it found a place to lurk, harbour and multiply in all of Better Living's dark and uninhabited places. It became an ominous creature that roamed the streets; one that the children had begun to believe in.

You can't hear it, you can't see it… but it'll eat you up if you believe in it…

But deep inside the underpasses of the city, where the entrance tunnels were, something else was moving in for the kill. The Trans-Am packed full of Killjoys drove through, the neon lights overhead casting a glorious gleam on the paint work of the car. In the dark light, for the first time in what would've been forever, the Trans-Am shone like the Bethlehem Star in the darkness.

"The City curfew is nine o'clock, on entry please check in to a Battery City official for further instruction," A robotic voice echoed along the tunnel.

Party Poison glanced up into the rear view mirror and saw that Kobra Kid and Jet Star were charging up their laser pistols and fitting their holsters with grenades and switchblades. Next to him, Fun Ghoul raised his star spangled bandana and flexed his fists as he breathed in a sharp breath to brace himself.

They approached the guarded border patrol booth.

"Stop your vehicle and await further instruction from the guards," A feminine robotic voice spoke. "Stop your vehicle and await further instruction-"

The voice stopped short when the Trans-Am finally pulled back to a stop. Two guards in white Better Living suits that covered their faces with the logo's black smiley face stepped out, laser rifles in their hands. "Will the driver please step out," The first guard said, his voice filtered through a radio transmitter that he held up to his unseen mouth.

"So what do you think guys?" Party Poison asked quietly, his voice low and dangerous. He picked up his yellow mask and strapped it over his face.

"This is an order- please step out of your vehicle," The guard repeated, his second in command pointing the rifle at the car suspiciously.

You could say that they didn't see a car like the old Trans-Am everyday…

"Border patrol reserves the right to check you on arrival… please adhere to the guards' instructions or you will not be granted access to Battery City." The robotic voice chimed in.

"Step out of your vehicle or we will get you out!" The guard said, sounding a little angry.

"Should we say a little hello to the natives?" Party Poison said, a small devious smile appearing on his lips.

"Better Living brand toasters- the toasters of America proudly sponsor this connection tunnel." The robotic voice said.

What won't they try to sell you during a life or death situation nowadays?

"Step out!" The guard barked, raising his rifle too.

"Alright, alright!" Party Poison shouted back. "Let me just get my…" He bent over for a moment, disappearing behind the dashboard. The guards watched for awhile in a terribly tense few seconds of silence. They glanced at each other.

Suddenly, Party Poison snapped back up into his seat and threw something out onto the road. It hit the asphalt and rolled over to where the guards stood about five meters away, and the border patrol officers looked down at it.

Clink.

A grenade minus one pin rolled over onto its side, a Killjoy arachnid symbol printed on one side.

The guards looked up at the Trans-Am.

The Trans-Am backed up suddenly, quickly speeding away backwards.

"Better Living brand Ritalin," The robotic voice said. "The Ritalin of America invites you to Battery City-"

Bang!

A great fireball of orange and yellow consumed the border patrol booth and its guards. The reverb of the blast made the glass on the Trans-Am shiver, and the Killjoys flinched for a moment as bits of laser rifles and chunks of Better Living border patrol officers flew past. A splatter of blood hit the windscreen, followed by a rain of metal and plastic shards.

Party Poison switched gears and turned on the windshield wipers. "Killjoys," He said, "Let's make some noise,"

The Trans-Am bolted forwards into the thick black smoke and flames before them.

A fair distance from all the chaos that the Killjoys were creating, Korse lay flat upon an antique white marble dining table with golden fixtures. He stared quietly, and almost sadly up at his gold and crystal chandelier that reflected his eerie image in repetition of hundreds. In the background, soft, instrumental music played and a dreary sound of a violin howled amidst long piano notes. He fidgeted with a button on his embellished velvet waistcoat.

In distant thoughts, he dreamed up a vision of Bloodshot, his Crimson Dahlia, twirling in a dress the way he had programmed her electronic doppelganger to do… twirling in a way that she had done a few years ago.

"Sir," A woman's voice broke his train of thought. "Your tea is ready."

At the door, a thin woman in a grey power suit and pearls stood holding a golden tray with a tea pot and a floral patterned tea cup. Her eyes watched him in a blank, emotionless way; the way a computer screen would stare back at the worker who tapped away on its keyboard. She was human, but spine chillingly not so, for all life and expression within her had flitted away years ago. It showed in the strange even tone in her quiet but commanding voice.

"Hmm…" Korse responded, pulling up a knee as he shifted his posture on the table a little. He continued to stare upwards, and only made a momentary glance towards the woman at the door. "Thanks Miss Ophelia," He said. "How is the girl?" He added after a thought.

"She's fine sir," She replied in her dead and vapid tone of voice. "She's been very well behaved. Penelope is keeping watch and I have ensured the Boss does not find out,"

Elsewhere in the building, a Japanese woman with kinder, more human eyes than Ophelia smiled down at Grace who sat patiently and quietly on the ground of an all gray room. Innocently, she smiled back up at her, a hand on a small toy truck they had given her to play with. It was the only source of colour in the dull and soul sucking room. Penelope cocked her head and silently continued to watch Grace from her desk as she busied herself with the red and yellow toy truck; her eyes followed her in a way a mother bird would watch its young attempt its first venture out into the skies.

Back in the room, Korse nodded with a faint smile; "Very good, Miss Ophelia,"

"What will you have us do with her sir?" Ophelia asked, and Korse smirked, looking amused at her question

"What do you mean?" He asked, even though he didn't need to. He just felt like hearing her answer.

"We can't house her here forever," She said. "At your command, we will exterminate her,"

In the room, Penelope's hand fastened around a small white laser pistol that she kept hidden in the space between her lap and the desk.

"Hmm," Korse responded, a grin growing on his face as he lifted a gloved hand to stroke his bottom lip in thought. "Good to hear, Miss Ophelia," He said, "But I sadly doubt it will come to that…" He smiled a little wider, "These things have a way of working themselves out,"

Just as he completed his sentence, a siren rang out as a burst of muffled radio transmitted voices shouted in a panic outside Korse's building; "Back away! Back away! Step out of the vehicle or you will be fired upon!"

There was a ear-splitting explosion, and the chandelier above him shook, swaying back and forth as some plaster from the ceiling chipped away and rained down on him. Ophelia snapped her gaze up to the large windows just beyond Korse who continued to lie calmly on the dining table. He chuckled a little, then in a creepy sing-song voice, he muttered: "They're here…"

Twenty floors down, the Killjoys were under attack from more faceless Better Living officers. Armed with laser rifles, the few that survived the explosion snaked through the bodies of their fallen colleagues and took aim upon the masked vigilantes. Fun Ghoul rolled over the hood of the Trans-Am and raised his laser gun to shoot a hole right through an officer's face; the man falling backwards onto another Better Living officer who just tossed him aside like expired goods.

With his yellow motorcycle helmet on, Kobra Kid charged forwards and delivered an upper cut to a soldier, barely missing a shot to his shoulder. The laser clipped the side of his helmet and ricocheted towards Jet Star who ducked out of the way just in time. Inside his dark blue helmet, Jet Star's mind battled to stay focused on shooting down as many operatives as possible… but it was a tough tug of war between heart and head as he tried constantly to keep from just charging into the building to look for Grace.

Party Poison raced forwards, shooting down a couple more operatives as they moved towards the entrance into the Better Living: squad control division building. "Ready or not!" He yelled out as another faceless officer fell backwards into a pile of ash and dismembered bodies. "Here we come!"

Grace looked up at Penelope again, oblivious to the chaos happening below as she sat on the floor of his soundproof cell. She smiled and Penelope smiled back. She held out the truck towards her and a look of confusion flashed upon her captor's face. She relaxed into another smile. "You have to play by yourself, little girl," Penelope said.

She hung her head sadly, and then made a glance towards the door. "I'm hungry," She said.

"Hungry?" Penelope repeated like she was hard of hearing, and Grace nodded.

"I haven't eaten all day," She replied miserably, rubbing her tired eyes that were framed with dark circles.

Penelope looked around for a moment, searching for a solution to their dilemma. "Okay," She said and stood up, moving the laser gun around her back to hide it from Grace. "I'll get you something to eat," She decided and moved towards the door, her eyes fixed on Grace. "You play here by yourself," She said, "Be good, little girl," She smiled.

Grace smiled back and turned around again as Penelope keyed in a number on the panel beside the door. The electronic door slid open and Penelope stepped out, her high heels making loud clacking noises on the slick tiled floors in the quiet hallway outside.

Elsewhere in the building, Korse was very calmly leading a group of fifteen Dracula boys through the wide hallway of the Better Living build facility. "Charge your pistols, boys," he said. "And don't miss a single shot," He grinned. He pulled out his own gun and checked it. "We'll end this pathetic little charade before the Price is Right tonight."

Party Poison ran up to a metallic silver door in the empty building lobby, pressing his back to the wall beside it with his gun held low. "Ghoul!" He called out in a hushed voice. Fun Ghoul ran forwards, Kobra Kid and Jet Star following closely behind as they aimed their guns and checked to make sure the coast was clear.

Fun Ghoul stopped in front of the door's key card panel and pushed a flat device into its slot. He jammed on a few keys hurriedly, making the panel beep loudly. "Access denied: security and staff only." A robotic voice said. Fun Ghoul tried again, glancing to Party Poison who watched him and panted in exhaustion.

"Ghoul!"

"I'm trying!" Fun Ghoul snapped, trying another number combination. The panel spoke up again;

"Access denied: security and staff only."

"Fuck you!" Fun Ghoul grumbled and punched his fist into the keypad. A chirpy little musical beep sounded.

"Access granted. Welcome."

The metallic door slid open.

"Well, that's one way to skin an enterprise," Party Poison shrugged as they ran through the opened doors together.

Penelope returned to the cell with a flat silver tray that sported a plate of unappetising looking cardboard coloured Better Living brand fish flavoured wafers and a glass of milk. Dreamily, she propelled herself towards the room where Grace was and pulled out her staff card for the security panel on the door. But when she looked up, she suddenly gasped and dropped the tray, sending it crashing to the floor. The sound echoed throughout the chillingly quiet hallway.

She stared in shocked horror at the door that was open just slightly, the key panel beside it blinking with a red screen that read: "door left open". Her eyes drifted to the foot of the door where she saw Grace's red and yellow truck was jammed between the metal sliding door and the wall, propping the cell door open. When she stepped forwards quickly to look inside, she saw that Grace was gone.

Neon lights flickered on in the black painted room that the Killjoys raced into. The structure of the large space was reminiscent of a bowl; with an immensely high ceiling and walls that swooped down towards the ground in a curve near the bottom. Pillars in sets of three marked four corners of a circle in the middle where a once neat waiting room stood.

Some Scarecrow operatives waiting inside took shots from behind overturned desks and chairs immediately- there was no room for a breath, a gasp or a split second moment to recalculate their decision to storm the castle… they just had to keep shooting.

"How many out there?" Fun Ghoul yelled out to Kobra Kid as they ducked behind a pillar together.

"Three!" Kobra Kid yelled back, then paused between shots. "Wait, I think there's more,"

Fun Ghoul groaned and ran across the room to the next set of pillars, screaming and firing furiously as he went.

There were definitely more than three officers…

Jet Star manoeuvred around the room, dropping officers and dodging gunfire as he did so. "Move back!" He heard an operative yell out. "You're out numbered!"

"Get bent," Jet Star spat and whirled around a pillar to shoot two operatives down in quick succession.

Suddenly, a small voice shouted out to him. Somehow, it was loud enough for his ears to hear it above the screams and flying laser beams of the gunfight he was caught in. "Poppa!" The voice called. Jet Star turned swiftly and felt his heart lurch. Grace stared back at him from an open glass door, looking horrified as her big brown eyes stared at him full of wanting. "Poppa!" She shouted.

"Grace!" Jet Star yelled out as he dodged gunfire to race towards his daughter. "Stay back!" he said, "Stay back!"

Suddenly, all three of the elevator doors in the centre of the large room drew open. The Killjoys looked up, panting and gasping for breath, their trigger fingers feeling numb. Party Poison threw off his mask that was covered in the blood of another man, the crimson red liquid dripping down his face. He looked up, his lips parted as he drew in shallow breaths. Dracula boys charged out of the elevator, guns raised and firing.

Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid drew back behind columns and fired a few shots. Jet Star scooped Grace up into his arms and with one free hand, dealt some damage to an approaching Dracula boy.

Party Poison stared at his nemesis amidst the room that was descending into its own interpretation of the Inferno.

Korse grinned back.

The doors behind them drew open and more faceless operatives stormed in.

A flash of panic streaked across Party Poison's bloodstained face as he turned and saw more Better Living enforcements running towards them with heavier artillery in tow. Fun Ghoul swore, dodging and ducking tirelessly to deal with fire coming from both sides. Kobra Kid fell under the force of an operative hitting him across the face with the butt of his laser rifle. Forced to put Grace down, Jet Star ducked with his daughter behind a pillar and took as many clean shots as he could. "No matter what happens, Grace," Jet Star spoke urgently to his kid who cowered for shelter, "Make sure you run away from this place as fast as you can,"

Grace only looked at her father with sad eyes, "I'm scared poppa,"

"I know," Jet Star cooed, ducking behind the column for a moment to take a moment's breath. "Everything will be alright," He said, holding Grace's face in his hands as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "All you gotta do is believe."

Party Poison dodged a few stray shots as he made his way to the centre of the room, taking down as many Dracula boys as he could manage. But it wasn't enough. With operatives and Korse's henchman everywhere, the four killjoys were losing the fight… and fast. "Christ," He murmured to himself, panting for breath. A white clad Dracula boy ran up towards him and Party Poison quickly jabbed him in the ribs and pulled off his mask. A man's face underneath stared back at him; expression twisted in shock and inconceivable pain as Cyanide coursed through his veins. He fell onto the floor, lifeless. Party Poison stared down at the corpse, feeling his body begin to cry out from the sheer shock and exhaustion of fighting.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and before he knew it, Party Poison was shoved against a wall. He dropped his gun and looked up to see Korse staring back at him with a menacing grin. "What a crazy race it's been," He said quietly, raising his gun with a chuckle that added insult to injury. "But I made a promise, and I'm a man of my word, Party Poison," His hand tightened around Poison's neck and the Killjoy struggled to move against the wall. He tried as hard as he could to keep from showing his mounting fear. "Or should I say Johnny Kennedy Jett?" Poison's expression dropped and his eyes grew wide.

"What?" He murmured, so quiet Korse would've strained to hear if he cared for an answer.

"Poison!" Fun Ghoul called out to him as he battled with Dracula boys who eventually threw him backwards.

"Fate's a funny thing, isn't it?" Korse grinned. "We all just move in circles…" He said.

A gritty flashback of a blood smeared memory flooded back into Party Poison's tormented head. Suddenly, fragments of a puzzle reeled back into his conscious and he saw it play out in second separated images across his vision. It was in colour. It was vivid. It felt so close… and yet so far away.

Party Poison remembered sitting on the floor of a backroom somewhere, cowering with his hands to his ears as he shook in fear. He was only thirteen; weedy; dark haired; sick looking. Behind him, his parents stood up against the wall, their backs towards him as they cried- a paralyzing fear taking over their bodies. A pair of white alligator skin shoes stepped into Poison's vision as he stayed as still as he could; gazing at the ground.

Then he heard two gunshots. And he heard two bodies fall, crumbling to the ground with horrible cracks as skulls hit the hard concrete.

He knew they were dead.

"What will we do with the boy?" A vapid feminine voice asked.

"What do you mean, Miss Ophelia?" A low, smarmy, recognizable voice asked. It was Korse… years ago but so much the same.

"Well, sir," Ophelia replied. "We can't keep him here forever…"

"Yes," Dr Death said his hand still holding on to Party Poison's neck firmly. "We all just move in circles…" He said. "And then out of nowhere… we reach the end."

"Poison!" Kobra Kid screamed out, but the Killjoy leader couldn't see him. His eyes were transfixed on Korse as the man raised a laser gun to rest the end of the barrel under Poison's chin.

"Doesn't it depress you?" Korse snarled. He pulled the trigger.

Bang.

"No!" Kobra Kid screamed and took a few wayward shots. He watched Party Poison crumple to the ground, black smoke billowing out of a hole in the side of his neck. Crimson red seeped out onto his pale skin and his body shook and gasped for breath.

Kobra Kid tried to get to his friend, but it was too late. He felt a laser beam sear into the flesh of his shoulder. Kobra Kid hit the ground too.

"Grace! Run!" Jet Star yelled, and Grace quickly got to his feet. Jet Star yanked him towards the door.

Fun Ghoul screamed furiously, shooting wildly. He was taken down with the end of a rifle slamming into the back of his head.

Jet Star only made it five steps before he fell down too. At least Grace kept running. She made it out the door… but when she got outside, she realized she was all alone.

"Grace…" Jet Star murmured from the ground as he felt his life force leave him. "Keep… running…"

Party Poison's eyes fluttered shut. All pain left his once aching body. All sound faded out to a pin drop silence. He considered, in his last moments, the name he heard Korse call him.

Johnny Kennedy Jett… isn't fate a funny thing?

Sometimes you can find yourself just to lose it all again.