A/N: Yay! Two in one day? The world must be ending.

Boomer got about a half mile away from the house before she made her first turn. All the old roads to the Killjoy Stations were worn out and rough.

"How you holding up back there?" Boomer called.

"Good." Ghost said a little confused. "How can I hear you so well?"

Boomer smiled to herself.

"I installed a microphone set in each helmet. I hated shouting over the engine."

"So this is your bike I take it?"

"Yup." Boomer said proudly. "Built it myself."

"Damn." Ghost said impressed. Boomer hit another bump causing him to quickly wrap his arms around her.

"It goes pretty fast. We'll be there soon." She said turning off down another dirt road. Before he knew it Ghost found himself in the middle of the dessert. If it weren't for the giant radio tower it would seem like a wasteland.

They pulled up to the station and Boomer killed the engine. She and Ghost got off and placed the helmets on the bike.

"So what is this place?" Ghost asked eyeing the large tower and remains of the dinner. Boomer looked over the building nostalgically.

"It used to be home. During the war this was where we stayed. Gerard and the others found me in the deep part of Better Living Industries when I was just a baby. Korse…well Robot Korse was planning on making an evil army or something and they rescued me and raised me as family." Her eyes followed to the back where the grave sat.

"A DJ named Dr. Death Defying sorta took care of all of us. He was like a dad to us." She paused and looked at Ghost. "I'm sorry you probably don't want to hear war stories." She said shaking her head and heading for the door. Ghost was close behind.

"I don't mind." He smiled shyly. He held the door open for her and headed in behind her. "You guys are sort of a legend. Your adventures were bedtime stories for us growing up. The Fabulous Killjoys gave us hope when we had none."

Boomer lifted the tipped over chair trying to hide her smile. Ghost continued.

"We always loved to tell stories about Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Jet Star, Kobra Kid and Boom Boy." Boomer turned quickly at the last name.

"Good to see that name stuck." She said sarcastically. She continued out of the studio and into a dark hall off to the side. She could hear Ghost behind her.

"Well…" He paused. "You can imagine my surprise to find you're a girl." He paused again. "You…are a girl right?"

Boomer let out a heavy sigh and pulled a flashlight from her pocket. She flicked it on aggressively.

"Yes I'm a girl! I didn't talk til I was ten. They thought I was a boy….." She said pursing her lips a little as she headed down the hall. She knelt down on the floor and felt around the tile with her fingers.

"I suppose that's why I dress so over the top. No one can confuse you for a boy when you got these bad boys popping out all the time." She said looking down at her chest. "Then again it's not conventional I suppose…..." She went back to looking at the tiled floor. She ran her fingers along the seem.

"What about you." She turned the flashlight on him quickly. "What's your story….seeings how you know so much about me. It's only fair I learn a little about you."

Ghost shrugged and leaned back on one of the walls.

"Not much to tell. I was a kid during the war. I saw a little action. Once the war was over I joined the Killjoy Military. Tonic Revolt picked me up after a Ritalin Rat raid. He said I was good with a gun and a med-kit. He put me on his team. After he went missing Turnstile chose me to go with him. We both knew Tonic pretty well." He shrugged. Boomer could hear the worry in his voice as he spoke.

"The purple cloth on your arm." Boomer said with out looking at him. Ghost looked down at it. "You're whole uniform is green, yet you have a bright purple cloth on your arm. Why?"

It was a long time before he answered.

"It's to remember." He said clearing his throat. "There….there was a girl."

Boomer turned to face him. His smile had faded and his eyes were fixed on the floor.

"A little after the war we still were having trouble with a few Ritalin Rats trying to invade the city for drugs and weapons. My squad was sent out to an apartment building. In my squad was a girl. I never knew her real name but they called her Winchester. She was really good with guns. I called her Winny for short." Ghost smiled lightly. "She had the…brightest red hair I've ever seen, and eyes like violets…..Well…She went with us on the raid. When we got there the whole building was empty. As it turns out they lined the whole place to blow. Somehow I fell through the floor into a bathroom. The tub protected me from the explosion but when I came to my team was everywhere. I looked for Winny but when I found her…." Ghost had to stop and clear his throat. "Part of a wall fell on her. I did everything I could but I couldn't save her. She wore a lot of purple…So I wear this to remind me why I still fight."

"And why is that?" Boomer asked quietly.

"Peace. More than anything Winny and I fought for peace. The war might be over but there are still people out there who want to start it up again. Some people liked being controlled by BL/ind. It was their whole lives. They'd do anything to try to get it back up and running. It's our job to keep them from doing that." Ghost brushed a hand across his cheek. Boomer wasn't sure but it looked like he was crying.

"I'm so sorry." Boomer said. It was the only thing she could think to say. Ghost cleared his throat again but louder this time.

"Remind me why we're in here again?' He faked a smile and tilted his head.

"Oh right." Boomer said turning and running her fingers along the floor. "The others don't know this but Show Pony liked to keep secret videos of reports on the zones. He was such a gossip but only so many things can be put on the radio. He records them in the studio and they play back here where the world can't know."

"Then how do you know about it?" Ghost asked.

"Give Show Pony enough apple martinis and he'll even tell you where his 'secret tattoo' is." She shuddered. Something under her fingers clicked. "Ah ha!" She said pressing the tile into the floor. It rose up slowly. She reached her hand inside and pulled out a small box. Ghost knelt down next to her as she opened it.

Inside was a small screen and several buttons. Boomer pressed play and the screen lit up. The figure of a younger thinner Show Pony popped up. He seemed to be in his old "NOISE" shirt and skates. He also was doing a strange dance number. Boomer looked at Ghost awkwardly.

"Um….let's just check the most recent update." She half smiled and skipped to the end. Another video came on. Show Pony was sitting in front of his studio desk.

"Hey ladies and gents." He said with a smirk. "Or whoever the hell finds this. So I've been doing some research on the zones and found something strange. I'd put this in the radio news but I don't want to alarm the public. According to the leader of Outer Zone 15 there's been some strange activity from the animals. They keep finding caucuses of farm animals. Killjoy Leader Ramboo Starr says she's seen smoke coming from the old BL/ind warehouse. She's sent three soldiers already. None have returned.. She fears it might be Astro Zombies, but who knows. Last I heard those plastic surgery whores died out when Korse did."

Boomer turned to Ghost. There was that word again.

"Astro Zombies?" Ghost just shrugged.

The video cut to another date.

"I got some bad news. It's been over a week since my last word with Ramboo. I worry she's been ghosted. I've been checking in with other areas. Many leaders have gone missing. I'm going to have a word with Sunshine and Party Poison. Sunshine is stopping by this afternoon to pick up a demo disk. I hope they can figure out what's….." Show Pony turned away from the camera. "What the hell?" He quickly jumped from his chair flipping it over. He seemed to be struggling with someone. There was a loud bang like a gun and then breaking glass. The camera quickly spun around to Show Pony. He was leaning through the window. His hand was pressed hard into the broken glass as he held himself in front of the camera.

"The Astro Zombies are real! They're fucking real! Please anyone watching run NOW! They're coming!" A pale white hand came into view and stuck a needle into the base of Show Pony's neck. His body went limp. Boomer cold make out the same thin figures as in Victory's transmission. The video went fuzzy and then black completely.

The room suddenly felt quiet. Ghost turned to Boomer. His face had lost all color.

"What the hell are we dealing with?" He whispered.

"I don't know." She whispered back biting her lip. A loud crash caused them both to jump. The screen on the small box lit back up. It showed several people emerging from outside.

"Damn it!" Boomer shouted in panic. "They're already here. They waited for us! The video must have triggered something. We need to move out now!"

She got up quickly and grabbed for her gun. It buzzed as it charged.

"We're surrounded! How do we escape?" Ghost asked grabbing his gun.

"We shoot our way out." She shouted and kicked the door to the studio open. Several figures waited for her on the other side. She fired her first shot into the center figure. It looked like a tall thin man but it was hard to tell. They all looked the same and equally disfigured. Instead of falling back or crying in pain the creature simply looked down at it's smoking chest. It's masked head twitched mechanically.

"It didn't even mark him!" Boomer shouted. Ghost aimed his gun.

"Then we hit them again!" He shouted and opened fire. The blows of the guns didn't harm the creatures but it did knock them back a little. This allowed an opening for them to run for the door. Boomer was the first out. They were only a few hundred yards from the bike. Boomer ran as hard as she could. Behind her she heard a thwack sound and Ghost grunt. Turning back she saw he was on the ground. A ball and thin chain wrapped around his ankles.

"KEEP GOING!" He shouted at her. She looked at the bike and then back to him. Shaking her head she grunted and ran to his side.

"What are you doing? Run!" He ordered her.

"I won't leave you behind!" She argued trying to untie his feet. The chain sent a shock to her hands causing her to jump back. It was only a matter of seconds before she felt something hard hit her on the back of the head. She toppled backwards in a daze. A tall creature loomed over her. It held a large flail looking object in it's hands.

"You are not on our recordsss." The creature hissed behind it's mask. "However, you are of age to be a Killjoy leader….the queen will wissh to ssee you."

Boomer weakly looked up. Her vision was blurred but she could make out the images of several people lifting ghost into a large van. They lifted her as well and carelessly dropped her into the back beside him. The creature that attacked her shut the door with a bang. Boomer quickly reached for her communicator and pressed several buttons.

"What are you doing?" Ghost asked. His body seemed to be going limp.

"Sending…a message to…Helena…" It was getting hard to speak. They both were overwhelmed with a groggy sensation. Her wrist beeped again.

"It's….a pass…out…gas…" Boomer said reading her wrist band. She slowly fell to the floor.

"You didn't…..have….to…save me." Ghost said weakly. Boomer forced herself to stay awake, but she could feel herself slowly slipping. She saved her last bit of energy to quickly spit out her words.

"Yes I did."

A/N: I rather liked this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews