California 2019

Zone 6 – The Diner

Party, Ghoul, Jet, and Kobra were sitting in the diner at a fairly clean booth.

"I don't see why they're making us stay in here. You'd think we were criminals or something."
Ghoul muttered, and Party laughed.

"You heard Dr. D. They need to make sure there's no problem with these guys before they let them meet everyone." He said. Jet spoke up.

"Yeah, these other killjoys are probably, like, 6 feet tall and built. They've been out here for god knows how long, and Dr. D seemed to be really...I don't know...impressed by them." He laughed, and just then they heard what sounded like a car and a motorbike pull up. Everything seemed quiet for a moment, and they heard car doors slamming. Then –

"OH MY GOD, GIRL! YOU LOOK AMAZING!" Show Pony yelled, and they heard someone fall. They looked at each other, worried about what might have happened. They listened to Show Pony freak out for a moment or two, and then they heard the sound of Dr. D's scooter.

"Alright, boys, it's all clear. C'mon out and meet our new group." He turned back out the front door and left them. Then, all at once, they jumped up, and walked quickly to the front door, pausing for just a moment. Party straightened up and pushed the door open, and stepped into the sunlight.

The four men walked out together, and saw four women and a small girl pulling bags from the trunk of an old car. None of them were 6 feet tall and built, as Jet had predicted. But they did look like they'd been out of civilization for quite some time.

The first woman they noticed was the tallest, probably around 5'10, and her long hair was streaked with every possible colour. She wore black denim shorts with knee high socks, and her boots looked like they'd been through the ringer. They noticed that there was a gun sticking out of one of her socks. Her shirt was yellow and black striped, like a bumblebee, and her old vest was a bright green colour. Ghoul eyed her clothes for a moment, before noticing that they were very similar to his own.

Another woman had brown hair cut into a strange faux-hawk, and she had dyed the sides bright red. She was wearing a black jacket, black jeans, and a white and black striped top, along with a red scarf. She, too, looked very dusty, and when she removed her gloves, they noticed that her hands were covered in charcoal. Gerard couldn't help but think she was an artist, because he knew many people from art school whose hands were constantly covered in their medium of choice.

The third woman was definitely the shortest, and her short hair had been dyed red, with random black chunks in it. She wore a black leather jacket, black shirt, and purple skinny jeans, with black boots that were very worn. Mikey eyed her boots, and decided he would try and trade her for his.

The last woman, the one with the girl attached to her side, looked like she had spent the least time in the desert. Her hair was jet black, and her clothes were nowhere near as dirty as the other three women. She wore a red jacket, black jeans, and a white shirt. The girl beside her was tiny, although Party, Jet, Ghoul, and Kobra thought she looked older. She had brown hair and was wearing black jeans, a blue shirt, and a white vest, covered in random scribbles of colour. They couldn't tell what her face looked like, because she had it buried in the side of the black haired woman.

Kobra, Party, Ghoul, and Jet took in all of this in a few moments, and noticed that the red-haired woman was studying them too. She took a step towards them, and her eyes widened. Suddenly, she burst into tears, and two of the other women – the faux-hawk and the rainbow streaks – ran towards her.

She was crying too hard for them to understand her, and after a moment, they seemed to realize she was crying about them. The four men looked away uncomfortably, and wished that Dr. D would explain just what the fuck was going on.

A few moments later, the three women walked over to them, and the red-head hugged Party.

"I never thought I would meet you. Ever." She said, and wiped her face with her sleeve. Party looked shocked, and wondered how she could have known who he was. The woman looked at him, blushing, and spoke.

"You, um, you are...y'know, him, right?" she lowered her voice, "Gerard Way?" Party took a step back. He hadn't heard the name in almost a month, and hadn't even considered the fact that My Chem fans would remember him after all these years.

"How...how did you know?" He asked, as the other men stared in bewilderment.

"I-well, we loved you guys. Saw you a bunch of times before the bombs. You were my favourite band." The redhead smiled, and held out her hand. "I'm Poison Heart, Poison for short. These are my sisters," she motioned at the girl with the faux-hawk "Graffiti Valentine, or Val," the woman smiled, and gave each of the men a quick hug. Poison introduced the woman with multicoloured hair, "Static Symphony, Static for short," who ran at Ghoul and hugged him tightly.

After Poison had introduced her sisters, she introduced the other woman with them as Moonlit Malice.

"We got her and Angel from Battery City about a month ago. Pony asked us to, and we thought it couldn't be so bad, and we've been with them ever since." Malice shook each of their hands, but didn't seem to know who they were. The small girl on her hip – Threat Angel, as they had learned – was very shy around men.

"She's lived with her mom pretty much her whole life." Malice explained. "Her dad was recruited as a Drac when she was 3, so she never really knew him." Everyone grew quiet, even the newest killjoys, because they knew that she'd probably never see her father again.

"How old is she?" Kobra asked. The little girl seemed to stiffen at his voice, and before Malice could reply, Angel answered.

"I'm 7." Everyone in the group went quiet, and Angel looked up at Kobra. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Angel's eyes grew large and she smiled.

Party gasped.

"Bro, she looks like- He stopped.

Angel took a tentative step towards Kobra, and spoke.

"Daddy?"