Death-iNation thankfully had an uneventful trip back to his apartment after he'd finished up his business at the airstrip. He'd spied the plane leaving without any problems as he had walked down the sidewalk and felt relieved. As long as Zeppelin Rocket could get back to the Killjoy camp before Better Living Industries decided to strike then there was hope for the oncoming battle. Feeling optimistic, at least about Zeppelin Rocket's ability to reach the Killjoys, he opened the door to the apartment and found the main room empty. He was glad that Marilyn had been smart enough to hide in the secret room rather than linger in the living area. Ever since he'd become a wanted man amongst the Dracs he'd been worried about a raid on his apartment, since his apartment had been listed when he'd gone to work for Better Living Industries.
Fire Frenzy and Marilyn Deathrow were pouring over the schematics and blueprints he'd stolen from Better Living Industries on his last day at work while sitting on the bed, coffee cups in hand. Neither girl was talking, but they both looked like they were concentrating incredibly hard on the task at hand; whatever that was. Frenzy had gotten back into her normal clothing and had left the reddish-orange nightgown on the nightstand.
"How'd it go?" Marilyn got up from the bed and greeted Death-iNation with a kiss on the cheek. It'd been quite a few hours since they'd parted ways and she couldn't help but worry that he'd gotten captured along his voyage. She'd turned on the radio occasionally while he'd been gone to listen for any information on captured Killjoys or fugitives in the City but had heard nothing. In fact, the radio had gone suspiciously quiet with the occasional electronic hiss or click coming through its speakers, as though they'd been found out so the Dracs had cleared the channel altogether.
"Rocky got out of here just fine, don't worry. It took a bit longer than I anticipated because there were some things I had to help him with at the airstrip. The Dracs are sweeping the streets like crazy now. I know they're planning some kind of an attack on the Killjoys but… they're acting like something else is going on too." Death-iNation had his suspicions but he wasn't going to speak them aloud, not yet at least. They had other things to think about outside of what chaos could be going on within Better Living Industries. No matter what it was that was going on, it was working to further aid them in their goal of breaking into headquarters. If Better Living was too caught up with their own internal problems to be looking for intruders then they were going to last longer in Central Command without being caught.
"Do you think they're onto what Fire Frenzy's planning?" Marilyn still wasn't exactly sure what Frenzy was planning but the woman definitely had some sort of plan in her mind. She'd been pouring over Nation's blueprints of Central Command for the last hour and memorizing the halls, it seemed. The problem was she wasn't sure what she was looking for within Central Command. Marilyn had insisted that if they waited for Nation to get back then they could ask him if he knew anything since he'd worked there for quite a long time and Fire Frenzy had agreed.
"No, I don't think they have any idea what she's doing. I know they realize she's still in the City but they were looking for another distraction, another scapegoat, not thinking she was trying to take them out. They don't think she's important enough to worry about right now so they were hoping posting a warrant for her arrest would put her into hiding." Death-iNation was proud to report that fact. He was sure that it was one of Better Living Industries' biggest mistakes in the history of their company. They'd started to underestimate the Killjoys, particularly ever since the rebellion with how long they'd been quiet and biding their time. Arrogance always seemed to be the downfall of the mighty empire, at least history proved it to be.
"Well, that's their mistake then." Frenzy finally spoke up.
"I agree entirely, Frenzy." Death-iNation sat down on the bed where Marilyn had once been seated. Patting his lap, Marilyn casually sat down on it and they looked over the blueprints Frenzy was now studying. "Sorry it took me longer than I anticipated to get back. The Dracs were a lot thicker in patrol on the way back and the weather has taken a nasty turn." Death-iNation apologized for the delay again, upon realizing how late into the night it had become.
"Nasty?" Marilyn grimaced. She absolutely hated the bad weather in the zones. It wasn't like the weather in the stories she'd read but it'd been all she'd ever known. Before she'd met Nation that fateful night in the bar she'd have to find places to hide during the acid storms and torrential downpours the City suffered on occasion. When nasty weather struck Battery City it did so with a hellish vengeance. She'd been burned one too many times by an acid storm to have any positive feelings toward the weather.
"It could work to our advantage but you should see the clouds in the west and the lightning… It's insane. I haven't seen anything like it before."
"How could it possibly work to our advantage?" Marilyn was still making a face of disapproval and snuggling closely in Nation's lap, as though he could protect her from Mother Nature's fierce wrath.
"Well, you know how the Dracs hate the fucking rain." Death-iNation couldn't help but laugh a little at the way Marilyn so hated the darker weather. He found it quirky. The nasty weather had never bothered him. He'd always found it comforting to know that the world was still trying to fight for some normalcy and that there were still a few things that Better Living Industries had no control over. Unless Better Living had some crazy doomsday weather machine outside of the zones, that is and was actually controlling the weather without any of them realizing it. The thought had crossed his mind several times but he'd decided to ignore it, thinking it was ludicrous. "But yeah, that's why it took awhile."
While Frenzy didn't seem to give a shit that he'd been late and continued memorizing the blueprints and trying to figure out what her course of action was, Marilyn decided to fill in the blanks for Death-iNation since Frenzy didn't seem to have any desire to.
"It's okay, I've been needing some girl talk anyway and Fire Frenzy got a chance to clean those nasty wounds. Oh and get some clean clothing on. I think she feels much better." Marilyn chuckled softly under her breath as Frenzy glanced up at her and gave her a look that clearly told her she did not care about the clean clothing or the girl talk and it had done nothing for her mood.
"Girl talk, huh?" Death-iNation laughed and then cleared his throat upon seeing the look Frenzy was giving them. Frenzy looked back at the papers and stood from the bed, straightening her skirt before picking up her gun. I can't linger here any longer. Not with that woman plotting the seeds of doubt in my mind. Maybe you deserve a normal life. Maybe you deserve to be happy and go after Party Poison instead of going through with the plans you've had since you were a little girl with no common sense. No, stay on track Frenzy. You've done well for all of these years, just a little bit longer and you'll finally be free of it all.
"It's been nice and all, but I've got to get going. I've lingered here long enough and while Marilyn was kind enough to help me get cleaned up and share some coffee with me, I have things I need to return to. I don't have time for a coffee break anymore. If Better Living Industries is going after the Killjoys in full force and we've got some nasty weather on our hands then I think it's time for me to do what I came here to do. I've got to go find Grace."
"I still don't know who Grace is. Unless you mean it like… the adjective." Marilyn smiled. "And in that case I think you're already cryptically graceful and should lay off of that hunt! Mission accomplished Frenzy!" Marilyn threw her hand to the side out of excitement, even if she knew it was a pretty poor joke. Life is one bad joke if you ask me, so I might as well make them.
"Ugh…" Fire Frenzy hung her head. As much as she had appreciated Marilyn's conversation and helping to sort out her thoughts, she'd had enough of it for the day. There was only so much therapy Frenzy could take. Though it's nice right? That someone actually took the time to deal with you? Listen, I'm not depressed, stop pushing that shit on me. I keep to myself on purpose. Yeah but now you don't know how to stop do you?
"Sorry." Marilyn laughed.
"What's your plan anyway Frenzy? I used to work in Central Command. I could help you." Death-iNation had smiled at Marilyn's bad joke and given her a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze at her side. Zeppelin Rocket had made some important points. If I die, I'll never see her again. But there are some risks that need to be taken, despite our own selfish needs for companionship. Maybe I have more in common with Fire Frenzy than I think I do.
"The computers are on the third floor right? At least that's what the blueprints say… I'm going to break in, I'm going to find Grace and get her out of there safely. Then I'm going to blow the computers and burn the place to the ground." Frenzy shrugged her shoulder as if it was a simple thing to be done. "The only thing you could possibly help me with is if you have some C4 on you that I could borrow. Of course, I could rig something together with the wiring of the computers when I get there but C4 would be much faster. Plus, if I plant some on the supports of the building, it'll help when I set it on fire. I don't want there to be any chance of Better Living getting anything out of that building ever again." Frenzy took a deep breath. Death-iNation was impressed she'd managed to figure out the computer locations on her own.
If she's that clever all the time then maybe we really do stand a pretty good chance of taking them out. Nation contemplated what to do from there.
"Still, what or who is Grace and why is she so important?" Marilyn didn't plan on letting Fire Frenzy go out there alone. She'd become rather fond of the quirky girl since they'd met and didn't want to see her get in over her head. While she wasn't the best shot, Marilyn was sneaky as hell. Getting around Battery City at night without being caught by the Dracs and the Exterminators was a skill very few had, but Marilyn had become a professional over the years. When Fire Frenzy didn't respond, Death-iNation tried to fill in the gaps.
"Frenzy feels responsible that the little girl got taken by the Dracs after she was attacked at the movie theater."
"I don't just feel responsible." Frenzy turned away from them both, starting to search Death-iNation's apartment for explosives. She had a feeling that he had some hiding in there somewhere. Any good Killjoy would have a getaway plan and she had a feeling that during a raid he would've rigged this place to blow. "I am returning a favor to the little girl." While Frenzy felt riddled with guilt about the fact that Grace was likely suffering at the hands of Better Living Industries s they spoke, she didn't feel any more responsible for the girl than she did for the kids who had lost their lives in the theater to Destroyer. At least Grace was still alive. She hoped.
"A favor? To a little girl?" Marilyn didn't think it was silly, she was merely curious. The more she spoke with Frenzy, the more she thought the woman was like a knight from a storybook. We should be the Knights of the Round Table. She'd be Lancelot I think. I'd be Sir Robin if this was the Monty Python version.
"When I was stuck with one of Better Living's experiments in the lobby of the movie theater, she'd taken my flame thrower from my bike and set the fucker on fire. I'd sent her and her little friends away to get to safety when I'd helped them escape just before that. She'd known I was in trouble and she came back for me. I wasn't able to get her out of there. I blacked out and your boyfriend here saved me before I got a chance." Frenzy continued to speak, not looking at either one of them. Eye contact leads to weakness, and I don't have energy for it. "She came for me, stupidly, when she shouldn't have. The kid knew she could die and she came for me anyway. That's more than I'd say for most adults in the City." Speaking quietly she continued on. "So even if it messes up all the plans I have for taking Better Living Industries out, I'm going after her and I'm going to save her."
"So you're going to risk your life to save a little girl that you're not even sure is alive, or in that building?" Marilyn Deathrow wasn't trying to sound discouraging, she just wanted to get the facts right.
"Oh, she's in that building." Frenzy scoffed. "If that's where they're keeping IOD then she's there too. She's become leverage. It's likely she's alive and untouched. Look, they may be smart and powerful but they're fucking predictable. I think they underestimate Grace. And I definitely think they underestimate me."
"Well, they definitely underestimate you if they left you alive." Marilyn shook her head, blinking away the mist in her eyes. She'd decided now, she had to help Frenzy. She'd seen too many people on the streets disappear into those buildings and never come back out to stand back and watch it happen again. If Frenzy was strong enough to do it, then so was she.
"You shouldn't just blow the computers." Nation took a deep breath after he'd realized Frenzy didn't have anything left to say on the matter. It was tough to hear about the little girl he'd left behind but there had been no other way to get Fire Frenzy out of there. He'd done what he could at the time and now he'd help her with this.
Patting Marilyn's behind, she got up off of Nation's leg and sat down on the bed. Death-iNation got up and hunched over. He pushed the bed over to the side and pried up a few floorboards beneath the bed. Hidden beneath was the stash of weaponry he had remaining from the years he'd spent in the City. Reaching into the compartment he pulled out several bricks of C4 and offered them to Frenzy along with some detonators and rounds of ammunition for older weapons. When Frenzy and Marilyn both went to speak, he held up a finger to quiet them.
Leaving the room, he headed into the kitchen. Digging in the cabinet next to the stove, he pulled out a case filled with bottles of lighter fluid. He'd been collecting objects he could use to blow the place and had strategically placed them next to the stove so that when he'd leave the gas on and the bomb went off in his bedroom, the whole place would blow with the added accelerant of the lighter fluid aiding it.
"It's a damn shame you're taken, Death-iNation." Frenzy said with a small smile as he came back in with the lighter fluid. Marilyn looked proud to be with the man at that moment.
"I had no idea you were so well prepared."
"Oh come on, I'm much smarter than I look, don't you think?" Death-iNation couldn't hide his smile.
"You are." Marilyn kissed his cheek. Frenzy looked around the room in search of something else.
"Now if you have a bag to carry that all in, that would be great."
"At your service." Nation went to his closet and pulled out an old gym bag. He'd used it to bring in illegal items to work hidden in his gym clothing.
"You were saying something before you went to get this." Frenzy started packing up the ammunition, detonators, lighter fluid, and bricks of C4 as safely as she could do so with such a volatile array of substances. "That I shouldn't just blow the computers… What is it you think I should be doing with them instead?" Now that Frenzy had realized just how clever Death-iNation was, she was willing to listen to any advice that he may have had for her.
"Oh right, that." Nation dug into his nightstand drawer and pulled out a small USB thumb drive. "Better Living is smarter than you think they are. While their computers and file system may be out in the open, I'm sure they have thought about the possibility of people coming in and planting bombs. Plus, if any bit of the hard drive makes it out of the explosion they'll be able to extract the information from it. The best thing you can do is electronically destroy the information. Now, I don't want to brag but I'm a bit of a computer whiz."
"Don't want to brag? He should brag." Marilyn smiled from ear to ear.
"Oh come on, Marilyn…"
"You remember that black out last year? Better Living Industries announced it was caused by the storm that night…" Frenzy nodded to acknowledge that she had, in fact, recalled such a blackout. "That was Nation. He did it from his phone! From his phone!" Marilyn repeated to get the point across. "He'd done it in the bar one of the first nights we'd hung out together, I think to impress me probably."
"It was nothing." Nation shrugged his shoulders. "A parlor trick, really."
"Killing the lights for the entire City for sixteen hours is a parlor trick?" Frenzy looked impressed, which was not a look she often shared with anyone.
"Look, it was an easy trick, but also an easy fix for Better Living Industries. All I did was overload a circuit." Nation shrugged once again as if it was nothing. "The only reason it took Better Living Industries more than ten minutes to fix the problem was because they were confused it'd happened at all." Though he was insisting the girls shouldn't be impressed, he couldn't help but smile proudly at what he'd done just to fuck with Better Living Industries. "And it wasn't only to impress you, Marilyn. It'd also been a bad day at work so it was to let off some steam too…"
"Sure, it wasn't just for me." Marilyn leaned her head on Nation's broad shoulder and mouthed, "It was for me," to Frenzy so he couldn't see. Frenzy couldn't help but smile a little bit. Marilyn and Nation made her feel normal which was both confusing and sort of nice. It was like having a conversation with friends which was not something Frenzy had ever really done outside of some drunken conversations with Rainbow Riot in the past.
"As I was saying." Nation laughed, holding up the thumb drive once again. "I've been working on a virus for the last week or so. When I stopped hearing from the Killjoys I was prepared to go out with a big bang. I figured if I could disable Better Living Industries smaller computers, the ones that were easier accessed then I could get out, and get everyone I care about out of here too." Fire Frenzy took the thumb drive, feeling truly in awe of such a thing. "You plug that into the mainframe, put in the password when the prompt asks you too and select all of the drives available then… all the files will be destroyed. Not just destroyed but so scrambled and corrupted that if Better Living Industries even tried to access them it'd fry the motherboard."
"Whoa." Frenzy slipped the thumb drive inside the hidden pocket of her corset. "Thank you… You guys have been very helpful when I know you didn't have to be."
"I want them to go down as much as you do." Nation cleared his throat. "The password is…" Nation cleared his throat once again, slightly embarrassed. "Happy Birthday Mister President." Marilyn laughed under her breath and swatted at Nation's arm, telling him he was sweet underneath his breath. Clearly the Marilyn Monroe reference had been because of the woman on his arm.
"I'm going to go then. I don't want to waste anymore time." Frenzy started toward the door, picking up her flamethrower as she did.
"No, no…" Marilyn started after the girl before Death-iNation had gotten a chance to. "I'm going with you."
"You're what?" Nation opened his eyes wide, partially nervous that she was willing to throw herself into harm's way and also partially proud because he was planning on doing the same thing.
"I'm going with her."
"No one's going with me." Frenzy argued. She wasn't going to let them get killed because she had insane plans.
"Look, you can 't do all of this on your own Frenzy!" Nation argued, much to Marilyn's surprise. "I'm coming too and you can't change our minds. If you try to go without us we'll just follow you. You might as well work with us instead of against us."
"Plus, who is going to take that little girl to safety when you find her? You have a lot to do inside that building and if she's as stubborn and strong as you say she is, then she's not going to leave you alone in there." Marilyn had many other reasons to toss out at Frenzy if she argued much further about it. Plus, Marilyn knew how much Frenzy loved how she could babble about any topic for endless amounts of time. She was hoping if she talked enough, Frenzy would agree to let them join her just to get her to shut up.
"You could get killed." Fire Frenzy sighed, defeated. If they were going to follow her, Nation was right, she might as well use their help. "I don't want to responsible for anyone else's lives. I know what I'm getting myself into."
"You won't be. If we die in the line of duty we'll die doing what we needed to do. I'm not afraid of death." Death-iNation knew that the possibility of dying outweighed the possibility of getting out alive but knew that it took a lot more than a physical wound to kill a person. If they took out Better Living Industries as they planned they'd live forever in that legacy.
"He's right. I'm prepared to die for what we need to do. We can see you're prepared to die too Frenzy. If we can help in anyway then it would've been a life well spent." Marilyn added. "We believe in you." Marilyn and Nation stood awkwardly, waiting for Fire Frenzy's response. Clearly she was internalizing again. If you end up feeling guilty when they die, then you're going to fuck up. But if they're willing to fight by your side even at the risk of death, then why should you say no? You could last longer in the building with two other people to back you up. Not to mention, Nation worked there for so long. He could be a valuable asset in this fight. Alright, you've convinced us all. Now get the hell out of here!
"Fine, let's go flirt with suicide." Frenzy nodded toward the door. You're in over your head. These people are dangerous even if they'll be helpful. Keep up your guard, keep your eyes peeled and don't look back.
"Now that's more like it!" Death-iNation was terrified but also thrilled. Biding their time during these dangerous nights was more agonizing than the thought of death. Marilyn Deathrow and Death-iNation grabbed their guns then started toward the front door of the apartment. Frenzy handed the gym bag off to Nation as he walked out the door and locked the lock on the doorknob of the apartment, unsure if any of them would see it again. As Marilyn Deathrow passed her to walk out into the hallway she stopped and spoke.
"Think about what I said." Marilyn gave the girl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before following Death-iNation out into the hallway. Frenzy stared at the woman as she walked toward the stairwell of the building and thought about the things they'd discussed.
"I can't." She said after she was sure no one could hear then closed the door behind her. Hurrying down the hall to catch up with her two new companions, Fire Frenzy felt her determination for her goal renewed.
The wind was whipping sand all around the truck Kobra Kid, Tiger Beatdown and Agent Alpaca had driven out into the desert. It'd been an hour and while they'd joked and caught up for most of it now they were driving in concentrated silence. Searching for this underground facility seemed hopeless to Tiger Beatdown but he was willing to go on even the most hopeless of missions to find Disco Bitch in hopes of returning her to his arms. Kobra seemed just as determined to see that his friend wasn't turned into the mess he'd become.
While driving, Agent Alpaca had noticed something about Kobra Kid. He was pale, which wasn't really odd considering his lineage, but every so often his hands twitched in the oddest of ways. Over the last hour the pale color of his face had faded into something closer to a yellowish tint. Wondering if it was the setting sun shining through the clouds rolling in from the west, Alpaca hadn't mentioned it to any of them but as the day continued and crept into night, even in the dim light he could tell that the man was distinctly a shadow of yellow. He's clearly not fit to be out on some mission in the middle of the desert. We shouldn't have brought him out here with us. It was irresponsible. We should've just had him draw us a map to go here on our own. We could've brought Black Cherrybomb instead. Even with his head wound he'd be easier to cart around than Kobra.
"Stop! Stop the truck!" Kobra bounced in his seat, suddenly alert. He'd stopped trying to make conversation some time ago so he could pay attention to the surrounding desert. Of course, it looked all the same no matter where one went to most people. Kobra wasn't most people though, he'd grown up in these sands with Party Poison, the two of them constantly getting into fights and trouble and through it all he'd memorized the eastern zones, at least up until the sixth zone. There'd been a time when he'd been pissed off at Poison and he'd run into the zones to get away from him and he'd run too far into the sixth zone. Poison had gone looking for him and had come and found him, wearing that mouse-cat gas mask he'd rigged up for the occasion. That thing gave him nightmares ever since. It'd taken him three months to get over the poison in his lungs and properly recover.
Ever since that time in his life, when his brother had taken such good care of him, Kobra Kid had been more understanding of his brother's vices and personal struggles. He'd dragged him home drunk and half naked more times than he'd like to admit. I wish I could've been there for him this last week. He needed me and I betrayed him. It's not an excuse, being brainwashed by Better Living Industries. All I can do is try to make up for what I've done.
And that's what Kobra Kid was going to do. Smacking Tiger Beatdown, who was driving, on his arm he yelled again. "Stop the truck! This is it, stop here!" Tiger looked confused but did as he was told, stopping the truck in the sand. It all looked the same to him but his sense of direction had never been very good. Even if he'd lived out in the eastern sands he probably wouldn't be able to find this place a second time. He felt grateful for Kobra Kid and more confident than ever that he was no longer under whatever mind control Better Living Industries had over him. They'd reminisced too many times in the last hour and had conversations that even Better Living Industries couldn't fake.
"Are you sure?" Agent Alpaca asked after a moment of peering through the window at the sand. There was nothing out there, that much was clear. The sand was blowing into a dusty nightmare around them. Whatever storm was building in the west was only getting worse and worse. It was bound to rain hell upon them before the morning came. Kobra pushed past Agent Alpaca, not patient enough to wait for the man to get out of the car. He tripped over his own feet as he walked and stumbled through the sand.
"It's here, I know it's here! Just come and help me! All this wind has kicked the sand up over the door." Kobra fell to his knees and started brushing sand off of the ground. Agent Alpaca and Tiger Beatdown left the truck and watched Kobra Kid like he was out of his mind. They exchanged knowing glances and Tiger warily approached Kobra, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Are you sure? Kobra they really messed with your head… Is it possible that you don't exactly remember where it is?" Tiger Beatdown would hate for that to be true. This was his only chance to find and save Disco Bitch when she most needed him. But he'd noticed the steady decline in the physical state of Kobra Kid while they'd been driving as well and now Tiger wasn't so sure it had been the best idea to let the man come with them out into the desert. He could die out there leading them to nothing at all and it'd be a terrible waste.
"Don't comfort me like I'm some stupid kid, Tiger! It's out here. I came out here to get some air. Party Poison had done something stupid again and I had to clean up the mess he made so I came out here to have a smoke and get away before I yelled at him like an idiot and… and then I found these big doors… When I finally uncovered them I heard a voice and got knocked out. But I know it was here, they can't take that memory away from me." Kobra kept crawling on his knees, searching for the metallic door beneath the sand.
"Kobra Kid…" Agent Alpaca was ready to tell the man he was probably out of his mind. The memory could be falsely planted by Better Living Industries as another distraction to the Killjoys to keep them away from camp. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? Now they were miles from the camp and everyone could be in danger left in the hands of that green haired fuck, Phoenix Fury, who surely wouldn't be able to handle an ambush.
Tiger Beatdown crouched and started helping Kobra Kid with the sand. Alpaca's shoulders slumped in frustration. "Come on guys, there's nothing here except for sand!" Alpaca walked around them both to face them and stopped as his footsteps against the sand changed. There was something beneath his feet that was metallic, making an echoed sound even against the howl of the sand around them. The three of them exchanged glances and Alpaca dropped to his knees to help and move the sand from beneath where he stood.
Soon enough the three of them had uncovered a large metallic door. Standing up the three Killjoys walked to the front of it and stared. Agent Alpaca was in complete disbelief. He'd been convinced that Kobra Kid had been out of his mind but it turned out he wasn't. There was clearly a big metallic door on the ground with large letters reading A-WEB spray painted across the front of it.
"What the hell is it?"
"This is it." Kobra answered Alpaca's inquiry simply. "This is where they took me. This is where they changed me. If you think Disco Bitch was taken by them then this is where she'll be."
"It makes sense. Black Cherrybomb said that he'd found her out in the desert somewhere around here." Tiger Beatdown was terrified to open the door but Kobra Kid seemed thirsty for vengeance. Hurrying forward, Kobra pulled and grabbed at the door but it wouldn't budge. Tiger and Alpaca were soon enough helping to try and open the door but it still held fast despite the combined strength of the three men.
"Fuck." Alpaca stood up after his arms grew tired of pulling. "It's probably locked or bolted from the other side, how the hell are we supposed to get in now?"
"Did you bring any explosives? We'll blow our way in if we have to." Kobra Kid seemed determined. He was the only one still pulling on the door to try and get it open. Agent Alpaca and Tiger Beatdown were trying to think of a better approach than tugging. They were going to waste all of their effort and energy opening the damn door only to be ambushed by Dracs and killed at this rate.
"I guess we could blow the door, but that'd be letting them know we're here without any other plan of attack." Tiger started back toward the truck to see what sorts of supplies they had on them. He knew they'd packed a bag of guns and such but he wasn't sure about the explosives. Kobra Kid stopped tugging on the door and ran to catch up with them at the truck.
"They probably already know we're here." Kobra explained. "They must have known I was out here when I was walking around and initially caught a couple of weeks back. I'm guessing they have some kind of surveillance set up."
"But with this sandstorm blowing around and only getting worse it's possible that their surveillance is compromised. We could still have the element of surprise if we can just get in that door without blowing it up." Tiger contemplated. As Agent Alpaca went to respond all three of them froze, hearing a horrible creaking sound from behind them. Silence, minus the wind and sand whirling around them, followed. The three turned to see the door behind them open, nothing but darkness staring back at them from within.
Just as Tiger Beatdown went to comment on the suspicious circumstances, Kobra Kid hushed him. There was a sound carrying on the wind other than the sand being whirled around them. It sounded like a hiss, the sound of steam escaping and it was familiar to the blond and sickly looking Killjoy.
"Oh no…" Kobra furrowed his brow in recognition. It was painful to hear so he covered his ears and turned away from the door. "Oh no, oh no…" Repeating it over and over Kobra couldn't face what was coming. Alpaca and Tiger stepped forward, both defensively, with their hands on their guns waiting to see what was coming out of the doors. Whatever it was terrified Kobra Kid into some kind of fit. He was muttering nonsensically behind them about spiders and strings. The hissing grew louder and was accompanied by the clanking of metal against metal.
"Holy shit…" Agent Alpaca stared slack jawed as a long metallic arm emerged from the open door in the ground. A second followed and soon six more were joining them, supporting a corpse like woman with elongated limbs and a pale face stitched together poorly. Long black hair caught in the wind, making the hybrid creature look even more haunting. Without warning or any kind of introduction the metallic spider started at them. "Run!" Alpaca shouted and rolled to the side in the sand just in time to escape the spider woman's claws digging into the ground behind him. Widow swiped at him with her sharp metallic leg and though his hood tore from the contact he sustained no damage.
Tiger ran around the side of the truck and ducked onto the ground, aiming his gun and shooting at the woman. The bolts hit her body but all she did was tremble from the impact. She hadn't even immediately bled, but after a moment of watching, coagulated chunks of blood and fluid poured from the wounds. The corpse controlling the metallic spider seemed unaffected by the blows. Cursing under his breath, Tiger hurried to his feet and narrowly dodged the metallic feet as they shot at him, repeatedly stabbing the spot in the sand where he'd once laid.
"Stand still!" The woman hissed but turned to face Kobra Kid who was still muttering about her. Kobra turned to face her and leaned against the back of the truck, staring in terror at his tormentor. She was in my head, she was in my head, can she still get in there? Kobra couldn't move. He was transfixed by the woman and the hell she'd put him through. "Little puppet…" Widow saw his fear and grinned wickedly, the split in her skin lengthening at the stretching of her skin. Raising her two front legs the ends separated into three separate claw-like fingers. Something shuddered on her back, and Kobra yelled for help.
"Oh god! Don't let her do it again! Don't let her!" Kobra screamed and sprang into action, shoving at the woman but his body was too weak to fight very hard and his pushes merely nudged her only slightly.
Agent Alpaca shot at the joints of the woman's elongated legs in hopes of knocking them apart but the laser from his gun merely reflected off of the metal and bounced back at him. Not giving up, Alpaca put his gun back in its holster, grabbed a handful of sand and jumped in front of Kobra Kid as the woman's claws came down. Alpaca shouted in pain but in the same moment threw the sand in the face of the Widow. She howled in misery and her corpse like arms reached up in an attempt to wipe the painful substance from her eyes. Something white and awful was dripping onto Alpaca's arms from Widow's claws, burning at his skin. He was bleeding from one shoulder but luckily the second claw had merely grazed his other arm.
Tiger Beatdown had seen what Agent Alpaca had been planning and had slipped behind Widow and when she'd lurched back from Alpaca's surprise attack with the sand he'd jumped onto her back in an attempt to throw her off. He grabbed at her arms to keep her from wiping her eyes and the machine lurched further backwards, bucking like a horse to try and throw Tiger off of her. Shrieking in misery and annoyance, Widow began trying to stab at the man on her back blindly with her front legs. Tiger did his best to avoid the blows, but would have bailed if any of them had come too close for comfort.
Alpaca turned to face Kobra Kid who was as pale as he'd ever seen. "Kobra! Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Grabbing onto the taller man's face he forced him to look at him. "Kobra! You don't have to listen to her anymore, get it together! We need you!" Whatever Alpaca had said had seemed to do the trick. Kobra Kid snapped out of his terrified stupor and nodded his head.
"You're bleeding!" Kobra cursed and immediately put his hands over the bloodied wound on Agent Alpaca's shoulder in an attempt to get it to stop. Alpaca winced from the contact of Kobra's sweaty hands on his wound.
"It's nothing I can't handle! Get your gun! Any ideas on how to stop her? You've clearly me this bitch before!"
"You can't stop her! She's already dead!" Kobra cursed and peeked around Agent Alpaca for a glance at Widow who had finally managed to get her claws on Tiger Beatdown. Tiger aimed his gun at the woman and kept firing repeatedly at the joint of the arm that held him, despite the fact that he knew the lasers would merely reflect off of it. He hoped if he kept shooting that eventually the joint would weaken and give. Thrashing he refused to stay still which was pissing Widow off to no end.
"Well when you kill zombies you aim for the head right?" Alpaca shouted, afraid for his friend in the Widow's clutches. He aimed his gun, saw that Kobra was too and they both aimed for the woman's head. The machine fell back quiet for a moment after the blow, dropping Tiger Beatdown in the process who landed with a puff of dirt and sand in the desert. They thought for a fleeting moment that the Widow had died.
Kobra and Alpaca hurried to assist Tiger off of the ground but as they reached him the machine hissed back to life despite the gaping holes in the head of the woman controlling the metallic body.
"What the hell? That works in every zombie movie! I feel lied to!" Agent Alpaca yelled in frustration. Kobra Kid was weak in the knees and not because of the fear of the metallic woman in front of him. Alpaca had helped him come to terms with that. He had to keep fighting no matter the circumstances but something within his body was changing. Falling to his knees Tiger and Alpaca immediately reached to help Kobra Kid off of the ground.
"Are you okay?" Tiger yelled over the sandstorm as the Widow gained her bearings and seemed to contemplate whether it was worth coming after them or not.
"Leave me!" Kobra shoved at Tiger and Alpaca, much to their surprise. He crawled away from them, back toward the truck. "I'm just a distraction!" Kobra coughed and gagged, leaning over the sand as the world spun around him. His heart seemed not to be beating fast enough and he became light headed. The two men from the west had no choice but to listen to Kobra Kid and face the Widow.
"What is it doing?" Agent Alpaca decided to listen to Kobra Kid. His shoulder was throbbing and Tiger Beatdown was scuffed up and looked flustered. The white material on Alpaca's arms was burning but there was little he could do about it at this point so he ignored the uncomfortable sensation. He tried once more to wipe it off with his glove but it stuck fast like glue to his skin.
"It's thinking about if it should come after us or not." Tiger whispered and watched as the Widow disappeared in the sand, descending back within the facility hidden beneath the door which she left open behind her.
"You know it's a trap to follow it in there right?" Alpaca coughed spitting out a mouthful of sand from the storm, which had become more violent during the fight.
"We're going after her anyway." Tiger whispered then turned around to let Kobra Kid know what they were doing next. "Shit! Kobra!" Tiger ran over to the truck at the sight of his friend lying on his stomach, having some sort of shaking fit on the ground. Agent Alpaca turned and ran after him. Kobra's skin was more yellow than it had been before and on a hunch, Alpaca lifted Kobra Kid's shirt after Tiger had turned him onto his back. "Wake up! Kobra snap out of it! Stop it! Alpaca, what's happening to him?" Tiger looked desperately to his friend, trying to hold Kobra still on the ground and keep him from thrashing too much and hurting himself on accident.
"Tiger, look." Alpaca acknowledged the purple and brown bruise spreading across Kobra's abdomen. Tiger stopped trying to hold Kobra still upon seeing the marking on his skin. Something had failed inside of Kobra Kid's body, the bruise was the tell tale sign of some kind of sepsis.
"Shit…" Tiger Beatdown pushed his sweaty and filthy hair out of his face and stared as Kobra's fit seemed to end. The man looked barely alive but blinked his eyes open and stared at his two comrades.
"You have to go inside and find her." Kobra whispered, coughing and gagging on something that was caught in his throat. "Go after her…" Shaking his head desperately he felt his fingers going numb, the tingling followed by nothingness.
"No, we can't let you die out here, we have to get you back to camp! Jet-Star can save you!" Alpaca shouted, looking over at Tiger who seemed to be contemplating listening to Kobra Kid. "No man left behind Tiger, no man! You're out of your mind if you think we're just going to leave him here!"
"And what about Disco?" Tiger whispered. "We came out here to save her, all of us and now we're going to back down? I would want you to continue even if the tables were turned! Even if it was me lying on the ground like this, I would want you to keep going!"
"He's right Alpaca!" Kobra coughed and sputtered blood over his lips in the process. The something caught in his throat had finally escaped and poured from his lips afterward. Blood mixed with the white substance similar to that on Alpaca's arm were pouring from his lips. Alpaca winced at the idea of this corrosive sticky material having been eating away at Kobra's insides this whole time until finally there was nothing left keeping him alive.
"But Kobra…" Agent Alpaca knew there was nothing they could do. Kobra weakly lifted his arms and put one on each of his friends' shoulders, looking at them seriously. There was so much he wanted to say, but he had very little strength left to say it.
"Thank you both." Kobra Kid knew they'd helped him redeem himself before this moment. Something inside of him had known that this moment was coming after he'd woken up in the infirmary days prior. He hadn't felt right in weeks and he'd noticed the bruising and managed to hide it from Jet-Star since he knew the man would have kept closer tabs on him if he had known about it.
"Don't waste your energy." Tiger Beatdown helped Alpaca move Kobra Kid's arms back to his side since the man didn't seem to have the willpower or the strength to do it himself. His breathing was shallow and slow and only getting slower as time passed. Tiger felt for his pulse, fingers at the side of his neck and felt it skipping, slowing down. It was clear what was going to happen next.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do, asshole…" Kobra smiled despite the pain he felt riddling his insides. The darkness was creeping in on his vision but he had one more thing to say before he let go. "…do me one favor, will you?"
"Anything." Alpaca answered, crouched on the opposite side of Kobra Kid's long lanky body now.
"Kill those fuckers."
"I promise." Alpaca nodded, vision obscured by what he would never admit was tears.
"We promise." Tiger assured the man on the ground. Kobra smiled and closed his eyes. Silence followed, minus the wind howling behind them and a fierce growl of thunder in the distance. Staring at the pale lifeless body of the man that had once been their friend, neither Alpaca nor Tiger knew what to say because they both knew there were no words to express the sorrow they both felt. Without a word Tiger and Alpaca got to their feet and slowly picked up the body of Kobra Kid. Laying it in the back of the truck, they covered the body with a blanket and pulled his dog tags off of him.
Tiger handed the dog tags to Agent Alpaca who stared down at them sadly. He wondered why he would be the one to carry them but didn't ask questions. Instead he put the necklace around his own neck and nodded toward the open door likely containing their death. Tiger nodded his own head to agree and walked over to the edge of the door. There were no stairs to help them descend.
"You should turn back. Bring Kobra back to camp so they could bury him properly and Poison can get to say goodbye." Tiger didn't look back up at Agent Alpaca as he spoke darkly, intending on ending this on his own.
"No way." Alpaca offered a sad but reassuring smile. "You think that you're going to walk to the edge of death without me?" Shaking his head he pointed to the darkness below. "You'd get yourself killed in ten minutes." Without letting Tiger Beatdown argue, Agent Alpaca jumped down into the darkness below, landing with a thud on the metallic ground beneath him. "Ouch." Tiger couldn't help but laugh at the sound of his friend hurting himself on the way down. While his eyes were still burning with tears from watching Kobra Kid depart, he knew the best way to honor his friend's death was to celebrate the life he still had. So with a deep breath, one last glance at the truck that contained the body of his fallen comrade, Tiger Beatdown jumped into the darkness to join Agent Alpaca.
When he'd landed, he stumbled on his feet and dropped to his knees so his ankles wouldn't have to absorb all of the shock from the impact. Alpaca was pulling apart a flare so they could see.
"What, no lights in this place?" Tiger asked as he rose to his full height.
"Not that I can see. Come on." Alpaca started down a set of stairs. For a Draculoid facility in the middle of the desert it seemed completely devoid of Dracs in general. Tiger and Alpaca felt the tension rise at the idea that perhaps something was terribly wrong within the facility other than the fact that there was a horrific monster in a spider suit running around.
As they descended further into the facility Alpaca let go of the flare, finding that the halls were covered in some kind of substance resembling spider web. Alpaca had a feeling it was the same corrosive material on his arm and the same that had burst out of Kobra Kid's throat during his dying moments. Shuddering Alpaca closed his eyes. It was an image he would never forget, the writhing body of his friend in pain on the ground.
"What the hell happened down here…?" Tiger whispered what they were both thinking, not expecting any real answer.
"Fuck, I don't know but I'm guessing this was not a part of Better Living Industries' plan." Agent Alpaca nudged open a web covered door with his foot and turned immediately away from the sight he found to cough and gag in disgust. Spitting out what had come up in his gagging, he leaned upward. Tiger stared at him, and Alpaca shook his head to tell him not to look. Of course, curiosity got the better of Tiger Beatdown and he pushed the door open further. Inside were a number of operating tables, all soaked in blood. The walls were covered in the same webbing as the hallway. It looked like it had once been some kind of experimental operating room but now it was some kind of feeding chamber for the Widow. At least that's what it looked like to Tiger.
Hanging in the middle of the room in a mass of web were the tattered remains of multiple Dracs, torn to pieces and sucked dry of the little blood they had left. Tiger covered his mouth and turned away, closing the door. They didn't need to look at that. Clearly something had gone very wrong within the facility and with the Widow. Pulling his gun from its holster again, Tiger started down the hallway. Agent Alpaca followed along in silence, both peeking reluctantly within each room they passed to find similar sights to what they'd found in the first room though they'd found several bodies of people who looked like they might have once been Killjoys as they moved further and further within the facility.
"Wait." Tiger stopped as they turned a corner and held his arm out to the side to signal Agent Alpaca to stop as well. Alpaca was about to ask why they'd stopped when he saw the shadow at the end of the hall, standing above a staircase. There was someone there, watching them and listening. Slowly the figure moved forward and though Alpaca was relieved that it wasn't the Widow coming after them he couldn't help but reminded of any number of George Romero flicks. He waited for a horde of zombies to emerge from the darkness.
As the figure moved closer into the flickering lights overhead, Tiger audibly gasped at what he saw.
"Disco!" Without a second thought Tiger put his gun back in the holster and ran down the hall to the woman at the end. Agent Alpaca wasn't as relieved as his friend was and kept his gun out. Something didn't seem right. "Disco! I thought you were dead! I came for you regardless!" Tiger ran to the end of the hall and threw his arms around the woman, practically lifting her off of the ground. She looked worse for wear and distant. He didn't care, he'd found her and she was living still. Burying his head against the side of her neck he planted a kiss against her skin and furrowed his brow. "Disco…"
"Tiger, maybe you should back off…" Agent Alpaca didn't want to offend his friend but he couldn't get the sinking feeling that something was amiss out of the pit of his stomach. Besides that, Disco Bitch looked stiff and awkward as though she didn't know how to respond to being hugged.
Ignoring his friend he still held Disco Bitch tightly until he felt her return his embrace. She slipped her arms around his shoulders and held him close and it felt damn good to finally have her arms back around him.
When the stabbing pain of a knife in the back of his shoulder hit him he was completely thrown off.
"Tiger!" Alpaca ran after his friend at the end of the hall, holding his gun aimed at Disco Bitch. Tiger shoved the woman off of him and stumbled backward, seeing her face in the light for the first time. Her eyes were empty and her head twitched to the side. Agent Alpaca grabbed Tiger Beatdown and tugged him further from the woman, aiming his gun at her head. "Don't fucking move!"
Party Poison knew that dying his hair back to black was for a good cause but he couldn't stop dwelling on it either. He missed it being red, he missed standing out and being loud and obnoxious. Having to be responsible was so damn boring but with any luck, soon enough, he could be back to pushing limits and getting himself into stupidly dangerous situations. Granted this was a stupidly dangerous situation but he wasn't having much fun anymore. In fact, he was just downright worried. Nerves shot from lack of sleep and the sound of gunshots over the last few days, Poison had become paranoid.
The feeling only increased as he went into the City with Rainbow Riot. They'd spent an hour sneaking past the gate, almost getting caught. Poison had to shoot a Drac between the eyes and though his moral compass was still nagging at him with guilt he couldn't help but get a cheap thrill at the act of taking a life. Sometimes he thought he was more fucked up than he let on, and that was saying something. There were moments where he even felt he could be a pretty damn good serial killer if his life had taken a different course.
Leading the way to Death-iNation's apartment in the City was far easier than he'd expected. For some reason it was easier to sneak around without the red hair and though he knew the obvious answer was that he no longer stood out he doubted that with his bright blue jacket on and Rainbow Riot's still bright red hair. They were clearly Killjoys which were frowned upon in the City regardless of their status. There was something huge that was distracting Better Living Industries from the hunt for Killjoys. He wasn't sure what it was but he was grateful for it and annoyed by it at the same time. There was still that blood lust in his mind and he'd partially hoped to run into some trouble.
Something felt off to Party Poison and while he wasn't sure what that something was, he knew he had to be on his guard. But surprisingly, to both him and Riot there had been nothing to fear upon their journey to the sleeper cell's apartment. Poison checked the back door stair well before letting Rainbow Riot join him. If there was any sign of danger she could fall back while he took the brunt of it. At least if he died there he would've protected someone in all of this and not felt like a total ass. Though I'd sure hate to die with my hair still this stupid boring color. It was trivial but he just didn't feel like himself without his red hair.
"This is where your sleeper cell lived?" Rainbow Riot followed Party Poison up the stairs of the apartment complex, scrutinizing the building as she did and not seeming very impressed by his choice of hiding places.
"There are several secret entrances and exits to this building. I did my homework before I sent him in here you know. We rigged the apartment he purchased with multiple hidden rooms and an exit to the floors above and below. We also hid equipment on the roof and in the basement for a speedy escape in case he was found out by Dracs and needed to get away. His living quarters are decorated just like any other underpaid Better Living employee. If he had to invite people from the company over he could still do so without arousing suspicion." Party Poison sounded bored as he explained. He was incredibly tired of defending his intelligence and decisions.
"Wow you really thought this out didn't you?"
"After all this you still think I'm a big fucking idiot right? Well, I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm some dumb fuck with a gun. I'm not. I'm fucking smarter than I am strong so stop fucking assuming I'm not and trust me alright?" Party Poison opened the door onto the floor of Death-iNation's apartment and held it for Riot after being sure no one was in the hallway and it was safe to continue onward.
"I wasn't assuming you were an idiot I was just impressed this was as thought out as it was. I wouldn't have thought of a roof exit or a secret way out of the apartment itself. I would've just thought out different plans of attack."
"Some strategist you are, then. Fire Frenzy should reconsider her opinion of you." Poison scoffed and brushed his hand against his nose to itch it. Rainbow Riot rolled her eyes, not offended by Party Poison's jab since she held his opinion as pretty second rate. He'd been acting like an asshole ever since he'd gotten used to his black hair again. He'd cheer up momentarily then pout again when he caught sight of his reflection. Eventually his sour mood had settled in completely. She was sure it was some kind of tantrum he was throwing about having to change it back and had decided to deal with any jabs he took at her without retaliation. Walking up to the apartment Poison knocked on the door and stood back, hand on his gun just in case. There was no response after waiting for a moment and Poison unclenched.
"I guess he's not home." Rainbow Riot shrugged her shoulders.
"Well duh." Party Poison tried the doorknob and attempted to gaze in through the peephole in the door. Unfortunately he didn't catch sight of anything through the hole. Looking around to make sure no one else was watching Poison rammed his shoulder into the door.
"Is your plan just to break through every locked door we meet?" Rainbow Riot, who had once again been pulling bobby pins out of her hair in an attempt to pick the lock, sighed in frustration as she watched Party Poison ram his shoulder into the door again. Poison urged her to stand back and kicked at the door hard. The wood splintered around the doorknob and with a second kick the door caved and flew back on its hinges.
"Yes." Party Poison decided he didn't need to answer further. The way they were bickering back and forth was making him think of things he wasn't ready to think about so he chose to answer simply to prevent further arguing. "Okay, so I didn't expect this." Poison glanced around in search of Nation but the place looked abandoned. Rainbow Riot left his side and looked around the two room apartment. Party Poison on the other hand searched for the hidden door he knew would have Nation's real bedroom and all of his Killjoy information. Maybe the man was hiding out in case of a raid and had hidden when he'd heard the knock on the door.
Or he could even be at work, but something told him that Death-iNation would have abandoned his post after not having heard from Party Poison for a week. Or the Dracs could've forced him into hiding after taking over at the camp. Who knows what information was compromised? The poor guy could be dead for all I know. A damn shame too, he's the best fucking sleeper cell we've ever had. He's probably the only Killjoy I've seen who can pass for normal. I mean he's as fucked up as the rest of us are but even the way he talks about it he's just… collected.
"It smells like someone just had coffee in here not too long ago. Maybe he just ran some errands or something?" Rainbow Riot called from the kitchen. Party Poison continued to ignore her, finding the hidden seam of the door against the wall. Pushing it hard he heard a click coming from the mechanism inside of the wall and the door unlocked and popped open. He could smell blood coming from the dark room on the other side of the doorway. Grimacing, Poison held the book light up again and surveyed the room. There was no sign of blood on the floor or on the sheets, but he could still smell it. Stepping into the room he shined the light over the plans and blueprints spread out across the bed.
"Would you stop it with that thing already?" Rainbow Riot laughed as she walked into the room behind him and flipped the light switch, flooding the room with light. Party Poison mocked a hissing sound and turned off his book light, shoving it back into the pocket of his jacket.
"You're no fun." Party Poison looked around and his eyes fell on an orange and red colored nightgown. He wasn't sure why he thought it was important, it just seemed like it might be. Walking over to where it was draped over the nightstand next to the bed, Poison picked it up, brushing his thumbs over the material. It seemed familiar, somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Poison." Rainbow Riot's voice no longer mocked him but instead sounded serious. She picked up the red jacket that she recognized as Fire Frenzy's and held it up to show him. It was torn and tattered in several places and stained with blood. Surely that and the bathroom were the sources of the smell they'd both become frightened of. Turning to face Riot, Poison froze at the sight of the jacket. What did it mean? Did Death-iNation find her dead? If so where is she now? I can't be too late! I came into the City! I'm fighting for her for some ungodly reason and she better not be dead before I get to find her damnit! Rainbow Riot seemed to share his thoughts and hung her head, holding the jacket close to her in mourning.
"Wait a minute." Poison looked at the plans spread out across the bed again and then down at the red nightgown he held in his hand. "No, no… She's not dead. Just hurt… Death-iNation must have found her before anything got too bad. Look at this stuff… Does any of it look familiar?" Poison acknowledged the blueprints on the bed. He scattered them across the sheets to try and find where the building they belonged to was located within the City. Heart skipping a beat as he realized it was Central Command, Poison knew exactly what was happening. The pieces in his mind were finally put together. It hadn't been much of a mystery, he'd just never had all of the pieces in the first place so the image he'd come up with had always been unfinished and vague.
"What are they planning? Do you think your man went with her?" Riot was still wary about the idea of Fire Frenzy possibly having checked out but was willing to listen to Party Poison's argument to the contrary. She supposed that if there was any chance of Vengeful Venom being still alive she would insist upon it as well. Matters of the heart were far more complicated than anything else.
"They're going to break into Central Command. Death-iNation must have known what Fire Frenzy has been searching for all this time. When she talked to him she connected the dots. We've got to go to this building." Party Poison finally looked up at Rainbow Riot and narrowed his eyes. "Fire Frenzy's about to do something really stupid, Riot. We've got to stop her."
"You want us to break into Central Command to chase after Fire Frenzy? We're going to get ourselves killed, you do know that right?" Rainbow Riot felt gripped by fear. She would likely lose her life and the life of her unborn child in the upcoming fight.
"If you don't want to come I understand." Party Poison wasn't sure Rainbow Riot was up to the task to begin with.
"No Poison, I'm coming with you. It's possible that's where Vengeful Venom is being held too… and if he's not, I'm sure there are records there on where we can find him. It's dangerous but we can do it if we put our minds to it and stick together." Rainbow Riot sounded more confident than she felt. She was a strategist not a warrior and she wasn't sure Party Poison was the best fighter either. She'd seen him in action and had decided he was hasty, cocky, and better with his fists than with a gun. But what other choice did they have? If she didn't go with him he'd go by himself and he'd surely get killed that way. Without someone watching his back, he wouldn't last more than five minutes in Central Command.
"I could really use you there honestly, so I'm glad you feel that way." Party Poison cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, looking determined. "Come on, we don't have any time to lose. The sun's coming up soon and the Dracs are going to be back on patrol in full force before we know it. Something tells me we're running out of time and better get moving." Party Poison started out of the room when he realized he was still holding the nightgown in his left hand. Why didn't he want to let it go? It was just a nightgown. He contemplated the reasons in his head for a moment and smiled after a moment upon realizing why. I bet you anything this was Frenzy's. It could be the last thing I get from her. Shoving it in his pocket he decided to keep it just in case he never saw her again.