Chapter 3

Excessive Exposition (Jenny's Story)

"I used to work for BL/ind," Jenny began. "Okay, that doesn't say much; everyone in Battery City works for BL/ind in one way or another. No matter what you do, sooner or later it traces back to them. But I guess that's not really important, is it?

What I meant is that I worked for the actual company. I'm a psychiatrist. I worked in the R&D department doing stuff related to what they call Public Psychological Security – which means I was responsible for helping them make better drugs for the citizens. You know, emotion inhibitors, pleasure pills, that kind of thing. I never really questioned what I was doing. I guess that was mainly because of my own drugs. It's not like employees get a special deal; everyone in Battery City is on medication every day. I never questioned that either, which was also because of the drugs. It's ingenious really, the way we did that: there isn't any one drug that makes you stop questioning things. It's the combination of all of them. The emotion inhibitors stop you from caring enough to question anything, and if that fails, you're too addicted to the pleasure pills, and you won't question anything. You're too scared they'll stop selling them to you. The really freaky thing, though, is that no one has to take the meds. Everyone chooses to of their own free will, just because everyone else is doing it. I...I helped them exploit that. I gave them the idea to step up advertising. Even though everyone would take the meds regardless, they're happier to do it if they think they have a choice."

"That's fucked up," Danger muttered. Memory shot him a look. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna lie. That is royally fucked up in so many ways."

"Yeah," Jenny agreed. "But I never thought what I was doing was wrong. It was just...it was my job."

"You don't have to justify yourself to us," Desert told her, almost disinterestedly, which earned him a look from Memory as well.

"Sorry," Jenny continued. "But...never mind. Where was I? Right, sorry. Um...yeah, so that was my job.

Recently, the higher-ups had been creating more and more initiatives that required the psych people and the tech people to work side by side. I'd been working alongside a woman from tech for a while, since we were both considered the best in our fields, and we'd almost become something like friends...and that's rare in Battery City. At first, I thought she was kind of strange, but after a while, I realized that she wasn't being strange at all...she was being emotional! She was off her meds!

We never talked about it, but I'm sure she knew I knew. Maybe she was too scared to bring it up. I know I was; we were surrounded by security all the time. Everything we were working on was top-secret, but it wasn't the citizens they were scared of. It was you."

"Us?" Memory said quizzically. "You mean Killjoys?"

"Yeah. The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit sees Killjoys everywhere. They're terrified of people they can't control. But the citizens...we're like sheep to them. We're just consumers, workers, slaves. We're nothing to them.

Anyways, this next part is a little hard to explain. Remember, I never talked to Po...I never talked to my friend about going off the meds. I never talked to anyone like that, no one ever does. But...one morning, I just woke up and thought 'I don't want to take my meds today.' It was so weird...it wasn't like a normal thought at all, if that makes sense. It just came into my head exactly like that, like someone else had said it to me. But once the idea was in my head, I couldn't stop thinking it. And in the end, I went to work that day...without my meds, for the first time in my life.

I was terrified. I spent the whole day looking over my shoulder, totally convinced that everyone knew what I was doing. I felt...embarrassed. I felt ashamed. But what really scared me was when I got to work that morning, and my friend wasn't there. I asked about it...which I think was the first time I'd ever questioned anything in years...and they told me that she'd been transferred to another project. No matter who I asked, that was the only answer I ever got. That was a month ago, and I haven't seen her since then.

The second day was just as bad. It wasn't until I'd spent at over a week off the meds that I started to feel comfortable with it. But once I was off, everything changed. It was like a whole new world...and it scared the crap out of me.

I was seeing all kinds of things I'd never seen before. Like...I'd never thought that there was anything wrong with the City before, I mean in terms of architecture, but if you really look at it, it's all the same. Every building looks like every other building like it. The apartments all look alike, and so do all the office buildings, the stores...and all the clothes are the same too! I swear there isn't a single bright colour in the entire city!

And it's the people too! No one smiles in Battery City! And I never had a problem with it! My God...I honestly don't know if I've ever smiled since I was a child, not even once!" Jenny's voice was beginning to shake, and she dropped her eyes. The room seemed to spin around her. How could I have gone all these years without smiling? How could I not know that something was wrong with me? With everyone?

It was a few moments before she could speak again.

"I realized soon afterwards that they were on to me. I'm sure they knew something was off. They assigned a man to keep an eye on me, pretending he was my new co-worker. But...they wanted to know what I was doing twenty-four seven, so they had him act like...like he was trying to be my boyfriend or something."

"You've got those in Battery City?" Desert asked, a look of surprise on his face. "I thought you'd all had your emotions medicated into atrophy."

"They're phasing them out," Jenny told him. "Getting rid of interpersonal relationships is harder than you'd think. Trust me," she said darkly, "I've been trying for years." Her trained eyes couldn't help but note Memory's slight twitch at the mention of 'boyfriend.' Interesting...

"I managed to keep him at arm's length," she continued. "He didn't seem particularly dangerous, but I didn't know what he might've done if the higher-ups had told him to hurt me. And the longer I spent off my meds, the harder it became to act vapid and emotionless. I knew I had to get out sooner or later. I must've spent a week telling myself that I'd go tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...but I could never bring myself to do it. No matter how hard I willed myself to do it, I just couldn't. Battery City sucked, but at least I knew how to live there. At least I knew what I had to do to get by. Living in the Zones...it was just too much.

This morning, everyone was looking at me funny, and I mean everyone. I was so scared. And somehow I knew that this was it; if I didn't leave now, I never would. So I got back into my car, and I got the heck out of the city. Getting outside the city walls was easier than I'd thought it would be, but I had S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws coming after me before I even made it out of the slums.

I'd never seen the slums up close before. God, those people...I just couldn't believe it! I'd been living in luxury my whole life while children were fighting over food right outside the wall! It was only thanks to those people that I got away; they made it hell for the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws to get through. Once I was out, I didn't even head for the highway, I just kept going straight, even when the road ended. And...and I started driving really fast, and I turned on the radio, and he was there, Dr. Death Defying, and it was just like I'd always dreamed it would be. Then I ran into you guys," she concluded dryly.

"Yes, literally," Memory chuckled.

"So, how long are we gonna have to stay here?" Jenny inquired.

"Depends on when the Dracs leave," Danger told her. "Which depends on how much they want you back. I didn't get why they sent so many Exterminators after you at first, but if they think the stuff you were working on could be useful to us then they're not gonna leave anytime soon. We could be stuck here a while." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing irritably.

"Interesting though," Desert mused. Memory looked at him quizzically. "The stuff about the medication," he clarified. "Particularly that it only took a few days for..." He trailed off, frowning slightly, and turned to Jenny expectantly.

"Oh! Of course," Jenny said, somewhat sheepishly. "My name's Jenny."

"Won't do at all," Desert muttered, but before she could ask him what he meant, he had launched back into his previous point. "Yes, it's especially interesting that it only took a few days for Jenny's emotions to return. If more people were to go off their meds..."

"But why would they?" Memory countered. "Anyone who goes against BL/ind will just get taken out. You'd have to get a whole bunch of people to all go off their meds, and then they'd need to spread the idea to everyone else. But even still, it's more likely that BL/ind would eliminate any kind of rebellion before it could take hold."

"I didn't say it would happen overnight," Desert retorted. "But all it would take is a few more people like Jenny." It occurred to Jenny that she didn't really care for the way he talked about her as though she wasn't there.

"I'm not saying the idea doesn't have potential. I'm just saying that BL/ind would hammer down anyone who sticks out." Desert would have replied, but the conversation was cut short by an electronically distorted voice declaring "I drink juice while I'm killing 'cause it's fucking delicious!" The proclamation was followed by the sound of heavy, fast guitars and unintelligible chanting blasting out from a music player that Danger was fiddling with. Memory shot him yet another irritated look.

"What? That's Mad Gear and the Missile Kid!" Danger protested.

"Well could you turn it down a little?" Memory requested with false patience. "We were trying to have a conversation." Grumbling, Danger obliged them, and fortunately too: an audible click echoed throughout the small room. The hatch had been unlocked.

Hissing curses, Danger switched off the music player, and all three Killjoys drew their guns. Desert and Danger cautiously approached the ladder, peering up at the hatch, while Memory stayed close to Jenny, protecting her from whatever was coming. Jenny's heart kicked into overdrive again. No, no, stay away! Get away! Leave me alone! she silently begged her assailants, who were doubtless about to descend upon her like vultures. Suddenly, the desert sun spilled into the bunker as the hatch opened.

Jenny's racing heart jumped into her throat, and she couldn't help but flinch, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment and opening them again, as if the masked monsters could be dispelled like a bad dream. But no shots rang out. Instead, Danger's voice took their place.

"Well fucking finally! You took your sweet time getting here!" Memory and Jenny came in for a closer look; a painted fox mask was staring down at them. Its wearer answered in a chipper female voice.

"Nice to see you too, Danger. Charming, as always. Now come on, let's get out of here."

"What about the Draculoids?" Memory asked. The masked girl chuckled.

"What about them?"

"You know we're not exactly alone down here, right?" he went on.

"What do you mean?" the girl replied. "And can't we have this conversation up here?"

"We've got an escapee from the city with us, ex-BL/ind," Danger informed her.

"Ex-BL/ind? Nice," the girl said approvingly. "I guess your friend can come too. Now, get your asses up here! I'm your ride home tonight."