"What the hell were you guys thinking?" I stood in between Jet Star and Party Poison back at their abandoned diner. As of right now, my hero, Dr. Death, was yelling at my saviors for bringing me here, insisting that I was only going to be trouble. Dr. D's assistant, Show Pony, was staring at me, I was sure, from behind the black shield of a motorcycle helmet. I know I've had much more terrifying, life endangering, and devastating moments in the past, but I couldn't remember one if my life depended on it.

"You can't keep this kid here! We've already got enough Dracs and Ex-Men on our tails as it is. We don't need to be harboring a snot nosed brat with a bounty on her head!" I never felt closer to crying; his words hit me like a ton of bricks. The worst part was that he was probably right. I wouldn't be much more than a burden to The Killjoys, and would likely get them caught. And if they were ghosted, who would be left that even stood a chance against BL/ind?

"Come on, Doctor D. She could have serious potential. When we found her, she had killed six Exterminators with only a zapped ankle as a battle scar. That's not a liability; that's an asset." I looked up at Party, and felt better knowing that he wanted me around. Dr. Death dropped his face into his hand and sighed, obviously irritated.

"You know what, ladies? I'll let you babysit for awhile. She starts ghosting tomorrow. Now get out of here, before I change my mind. I've got a show to broadcast." Dr. D spun around in his chair, flipped a switch, and started talking into his mic. Show Pony hopped off of the table where the radio equipment was set up and took my hand, rollerskating to the empty booths and tables in the front.

Pony wiped the dust from a booth and gestured for us to take a seat. I slid in first on one end, followed by Jet and Kobra. Across from us were Party and Ghoul. As soon as he had gone, Pony was back with five freshly opened cans of BL/ind food products and a box of plastic spoons. Everyone dug in, eating with voracious appetites.

I hesitantly submerged my spoon into the brown mixture. Since it was concocted by Better Living's scientists, I felt I had the right to be suspicious. Lifting the goop out of the can, I stared at it questioningly. I guess Ghoul noticed my unease.

"Hey kid. It tastes better than you'd think. Just, imagine whatever food you'd want to eat most, close your eyes, and eat it." He flashed me a quick smile before digging back in. I gave the mixture one last glance before closing my eyes. Locking on to my last memory of red velvet cake, I pushed the spoon into my mouth, sliding the food on my tongue.

Amazingly, it tasted as sweet and rich and creamy as the real thing! I opened my eyes and started shoveling as much food in my mouth as I could. I scraped the aluminum clean and sighed with satisfaction. Party, who had also finished his meal, turned to me with interest.

"So Missile, I know Dr. D is kind of a jerk, but he does have a point. We've got a lot of BL/ind goons after us, and apparently you do too. What do you know about your bounty?" I looked up, puzzled.

"Well, I know that they listed me as a bounty target after I stole from their machines and killed a few Draculoids and Exterminators. Other than that though, I don't know a thing."

"The thing about your bounty is, its worth a life of luxury in Battery City. Now there are two reasons you're such a high prize; number one is because they feel anyone going after you is going to be risking their lives. Let's face it, you're pretty tough." I felt my face heat up and suppressed an embarrassed smile. "Secondly, the objective isn't to kill you; it's to capture you and take you back to Battery City." I felt my jaw drop.

"Why wouldn't they kill me? They'd never want any possible threat left alive." Party's eyes glanced around at Kobra and Jet, searching for an answer to my question. Kobra, serious and quiet, turned towards me.

"We think BL/ind wants to turn you into one of their minions while your mind is still malleable. You have potential as a fighter, and they've noticed. That's one of the reasons we brought you with us; we couldn't let them do something like that to a kid." I sank back in my seat, unable to speak. What could I say though?

Jet put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me, concerned. "Don't worry, Missile. Like Kobra said, we're not going to let them get you. We'll help you defend yourself. Okay?" I quickly shut my mouth and gave a small nod. He grinned at me. "Good. Besides, we're all in the same boat. You should see the bounty on our heads."

Show Pony came back after a few minutes, not speaking, and gestured for The Killjoys to go back into the radio room. They scooted out of their seats and went to the back. I went to follow them, but Pony put up his hand in front of me."I can't go back with them, can I? Not yet." Pony nodded and took my hand again. I sighed and he skated me out of the dining room.

He stopped in the doorway of another room, although this one didn't seem like it was part of the original diner. The annex was a dark, cozy room with four bunk beds, one in each corner. There were posters of old bands and people plastering the walls, dimly lit by the colorful Christmas lights stapled to the ceiling. Above each bed in the bunks was a small shelf on the wall beside it where personal belongings were kept, six already being filled.

Pony led me to one of the empty bunks, moving his hand from the top to the bottom bunk. I smiled shyly at him. He snapped his fingers, as if he remembered something, and skated to a table on the other side of the room. Rummaging through the clutter, he soon found what he was looking for, and hid it behind his back as he skated towards me again.

With a free hand, he placed it over the shield on his helmet. I understood and shut my eyes tight. I felt him lift up my hands, and then placed a small, thick strap of what felt like leather between my fingers. I opened my eyes and saw a belt with the words "Killjoy" written in alternating Red, yellow, blue, and green colors. On the right side of it, there was a scabbard, perfectly shaped for the ray guns BL/ind made. I grinned widely and looked up at him. I couldn't see his face, but I had a feeling he was smiling back at me.

I leaned in to give him a quick hug. "Thank you." I whispered. He patted my shoulder, and skated out of the annex room, closing the door on the way out. I sighed and smiled brightly to myself. Living this way would be hard. If I died here, it would be hard too. But I will be happy. Hell, I'm thrilled right now; after all, I'm living with my heroes! Its like a wonderfully twisted nightmare. I climbed in the bottom empty bunk, laying my gift from Pony carefully on the small wooden shelf. I took my boots off and dropped them beside my bed, slipping under the covers, and quickly drifting off to sleep.