Chapter Three

Let This World Explode

Poison stared out the window, aggravated. He really wished they had a working clock around. It wasn't something that usually bothered him, and even now it wasn't the only thing on his mind. But after Missile had asked before, he had been irritated at the fact he didn't know the time.

He, along with the rest of them, had long since lost track of what day it was, let alone what month. It was burning hot—literally—all year round; there wasn't really a need to know. But they knew the year…it was 2019. They were certain of that. They always managed to be aware of that bit of information. He hoped this would be the year they would finally take down BLI—they all did. But they'd been trying all these years, of course, and well…here they were, sitting in an old diner and practically melting from the heat.

But we won't give up; not ever. Not until we win.

"Party?"

He blinked and turned as Missile Kid came out of the back room, beaming. She almost looked no different, besides the fact she now had a cap on, one they had accidentally taken while trying to find clothes for themselves a month or two ago, and it fit her perfectly. "Can I keep this?" she asked hopefully.

Poison smiled. "Sure, Kid."

"Thanks!" Her grin increased, and Poison chuckled, shaking his head.

Her gaze went to the old boom box type stereo on the counter, and she stared at it for a moment. "Is that a radio?"

"A really old one, yeah," Poison replied, standing up and walking over to it, gesturing at the little phone attached to it. "We use it to talk to the Doc—ah, Dr. Death Defying."

She lifted herself up to sit on one of the taller chairs, looking like she was trying to figure out who that was without asking.

"He's the guy who runs the radio station we all listen to."

"Oh! Oh yeah, I heard him on that before," she said. "But our radio broke a long time ago."

Party sighed sympathetically. "Sorry. This one's broke a couple times, too. Ghoul's managed to fix it, though." He caught sight of his boyfriend coming out of the other room and, almost unknowingly, added a playful, "He's good with his hands."

Ghoul glanced at him mischievously, leaned over as he passed him, and blew a raspberry against his neck. Poison jumped and then hissed out a giggle, watching him go out of the corners of his eyes and then blushing and straightening up when he remembered Missile was still there, hoping it all had blown over her head.

It seemed to have, and she smiled merely because he was, and then looked back at the radio for a moment more. "It's plain," she said finally, and Poison frowned, not entirely sure what she meant. "What?"

Without answering, she gently turned it towards her, taking several colored pencils out of her pocket.

"Where'd you find those?"

"In the back," she replied without looking up, seeming very intent on drawing whatever she was on the front of it. "You've got some cool stuff there!"

Poison smiled, and then his gaze went to his brother and Jet as they came over to them.

"Oh, hey! Nice hat," Jet said, and Missile giggled softly. "Thank you." She at last set the pencils down on the table and turned the radio to face them. It now had the word 'BOOM' on it with colorful squiggles around it.

Jet nodded approvingly. "'Least it's not plain anymore," he said, and Missile shrugged. "I hate when things don't have color."

"Us too, Kid." Poison said, paused, and then continued. "I got something else you might like; hold on." He walked past them and into the back room, rummaging through some of the pretty much useless stuff before he found what he was looking for.

It was a decorative belt, covered in bright pins. They'd found it a while ago, and it was small enough that it would fit her. It was definitely colorful enough that she would appreciate it, and they had no reason to keep it otherwise. He turned and took a step towards the door, only to have it slammed in his face.

Startled, he jerked back, staring at the man that stepped out of the shadows, smirking.

"Hello, Party Poison."

Poison scowled at the BLI agent. "Oh. You again."

Korse's grin only increased, and he took another step towards him, ready for the next move he was all too aware the Killjoy was going to make.

As he'd suspected, Poison grabbed for his ray gun, but the man had reached out and grabbed both of his wrists before he could, his strength surprisingly containing the red head's struggles.

"Fight as much as you want, boy, but this place is surrounded. You're not getting away from me this time."

"Kobra!" Party screamed, trying to warn them, and Korse roughly grabbed the sides of his head, forcing him to look into his eyes, shaking him.

"Fool—stop trying to avoid me—"

Poison gasped for breath, his vision distorted; it felt as if the agent was attempting to squeeze the life out of him, and he couldn't do one Goddamn thing about it except scrabble at the hands holding him like an idiot.

"Poison!" one of them shouted from outside, and a ray blast shot a hole through the door, missing the two of them by hardly an inch. Korse did not release the Killjoy, although his eyes darted to the door as another blast hit it, and Jet kicked it open, followed in by the others, shooting at him.

Korse growled in anger and let Poison go as his arm was grazed by a blast, both of them staggering back from each other.

Poison recovered first and retrieved his gun from the holster on the side of his jeans. "Where's Missile?" he shouted at the three, and not a second after the words had left his lips, a loud cry came from outside the room.

"Damn—" Poison muttered, and then exclaimed as Korse struck him from behind, trying to stop him from fighting, but the Killjoy did no such thing. He whipped around, unfazed, and hit the agent with the side of his ray gun, stunning him for a moment and then following the others, more concerned about the girl than him.

"Missile!" Poison called as they rushed outside and then spotted her on the ground next to their car, scooting away from the two Dracs in front of her.

"Get the fuck away from her!" Ghoul shouted, aiming his ray gun at them and firing, killing them instantly.

Missile stared up at them shakily as they approached, and Kobra held out a hand to help her to her feet. "We have to go, now!" he said, gesturing quickly to the car, and the five got in, with Poison in the driver's seat. He slammed the car into reverse, nearly hitting one of the Dracs, and then placed his foot down hard on the accelerator.

"You okay?" Poison finally asked, glancing back at the girl.

"Y-yeah, but…" She suddenly smiled despite how scared she still looked. "I really want a gun."

Giving the best smile he could at the moment, the red head moved his gaze to the broken rear view mirror, the slight grin fading. "Hey, Jet?" he said, almost calmly. "Might be a good time for you to show her how to use that launcher…"

"Launcher?" Missile's smile increased.

"Uh, yeah." Jet glanced behind them to the three cars following them, along with two motorcycles. Definitely a good time, Jet silently agreed, lifting himself up and reaching back into the trunk, grabbing the missile launcher they'd carefully tucked away there. They'd found it, loaded with only one shot, in a warehouse; no food like they'd been hoping, but look how helpful it was being now!

Jet set it on top of the Trans-Am, aimed at the cars behind them, and then placed Missile's finger on the trigger. "Go ahead, I'll hold it."

Missile hesitated. As of now, it would take out only one of the vehicles, but… "Does this thing explode?"

"The missile? Yeah, but—"

Missile Kid did not allow him to finish, having heard all she needed. She jerked the launcher down a bit and then shot it, completely missing a single car—and instead throwing all of them off course and off the road as they drove straight into the forming fireball they hadn't been able to avoid.

"Holy shit!" Jet gawked, first at the now empty road behind them, and then at Missile, who was laughing as if she'd never done anything more entertaining.

"That was awesome," Ghoul grinned as Jet lowered the weapon back into the trunk and they settled down again, and the others nodded in agreement, practically speechless in respect and awe.

"How'd you know it was going to do that?" Jet questioned at last, and she shrugged. "I, um…I saw it a long time ago…on a movie."

Poison gave a nervous and relieved laugh. "Nice job. Really."

"Thanks," she replied, looking like she was very much enjoying the compliments. Poison then frowned, shaking his head after a moment and giving a sigh. "Damn. We don't have any way to contact Dr. D."

"We don't?" Missile asked, bending over to grab something none of them had noticed, holding up the stereo.

"How did you…?" Kobra murmured.

"When the Dracs chased me outside, I grabbed it. And I put it in the back before you came out."

"Kid," Jet chuckled. "You're pretty amazing."

She beamed joyfully.

"Yeah," Poison agreed. "You've been with us for a day you've already saved our asses twice. You're on a roll."

She blushed and let out a cute giggle.

Poison frowned as something brushed against his leg, and he glanced down, shaking his head slightly in a bit of disbelief. Somehow, in the rush to get out of the diner, he had managed to somehow get the belt hooked onto his gun holster, never once knocking it loose despite how much sudden movement there had been. He smiled and grabbed it, lifting it up for Missile to see. "Here."

She smiled and gently took it. "Really? Thanks!" she said, leaning back and wrapping it around her waist, giggling again, truthfully feeling like a Killjoy now that they had made her look like one. And...she was a Killjoy, wasn't she? After what she had just done, finally helping out like she'd always wished she could, she certainly felt like one. And from what they had told her, believeing she was one was all she needed to do.

She looked up at them gleefully at that realization, almost forgetting whatever danger they were most likely still in.

Almost.

"Get up, idiots!" Korse shouted, getting out of the only vehicle that had not flipped over. The three that had been in the car with him did so, along with two more from the other cars. The motorcycles were as totaled as their former riders were, however, and no one else joined them, leaving only the six of them left.

They had started out the hopeful capture with seventeen.

They're going to pay for this, he silently vowed, furious, and then bent into the car to be assured it still worked. The engine rumbled to life, and he glanced at the Dracs. If they turned back now to get more fighters, they'd merely be risking their only lead. Right now, they knew the direction they were heading; and that was something he refused to allow to slip away.

He scowled; the four were aware he was following them, and wherever they were going, he'd make it impossible for the Killjoys to get away again.

Eventually, he thought, gesturing to the others to get in, we will get you.

And he was about to make certain that "eventually" was unquestionably tonight.

"Thanks for letting us stay here," Kobra said as Dr. Death Defying handed them a blanket from the small closet of his place. Not that it was cold, (in fact, it was quite the opposite), but they wanted to be sure Missile was comfortable, having just gotten over her illness and all.

"Sure, Kid," the Doc nodded, closing the door. "That little girl shouldn't be outside all night."

"I'm Missile Kid," she politely introduced herself, coming to stand beside the blonde, and Dr. D smiled. "Is that so? Well, nice to meet you, Missile!"

She grinned and then ran a hand across her forehead, smudging some of the dirt she hadn't realized was there. She grimaced and brushed it off on her jeans.

Dr. D looked at her for a moment, then at the others, who were even dirtier than her. "I got a couple containers of water in the bathroom, if you guys wanna wash up. You look like you need it," he added, his tone as far as it could possibly be from joking.

"Are you sure?" Ghoul asked, frowning. The four had originally done that as much as they could, but as water had become more difficult to acquire, they'd realized they would have to get used to the dirt and sand and grime that caked onto them. Even then, they'd aimed for every week, but that had turned into every two, and then, finally, just whenever they could manage it. It wasn't like any of them or the others even noticed anymore; getting anything more than your hands clean had become more like that luxury everyone wanted but moved on from because they were well aware they couldn't have it.

"Yeah," Dr. D shrugged. "We got enough."

Missile, along with the others, smiled gratefully.

"You can go first," Jet said, gesturing at her, and she sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course, go 'head," Poison nodded tiredly, and she grinned. "Thank you," she said, and Dr. D pointed at the small hallway beside them. "All the way down and to the left."

She thanked them again and hurried to the room.

"It's a little dark in there," Dr. D called. "The light's broken; we've only got the flashlight by the door."

"Got it!" came the reply a moment later.

"She's a sweet kid," Dr D said, wheeling over to his desk.

"Yeah," Jet agreed. "Her brother got captured by Dracs."

"I figured." Dr. D frowned. "Glad you found her when you did."

Jet nodded, hesitated, then spoke again. "They're trying to get her, too. Her dad works for BLI."

Dr. D slowly turned to him, frowning like he was deep in thought.

"What is it?" Ghoul asked.

"Nothing." Dr. D shook his head, facing his desk again and then repeating himself, quieter. "Nothing."

"Party?"

Poison frowned, along with the others, as Missile Kid's small voice called out to him, and he glanced at them before he cautiously made his way towards the back room, tapping on the door with a knuckle. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I—I just…" she trailed off.

"The flashlight works, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm…can you just stand there?"

"Um, sure," Poison replied, frowning in confusion but leaning back against the wall. "You sure you're okay?"

A pause, then; "I'm scared of the dark."

Poison was taken aback for a brief second. Coming from the girl who'd just shot a missile launcher professionally, it was almost surprising. But coming from a ten-year-old…

"We're safe, okay?" he tried. "There's nothing to be worried about right now."

"I know, but still…can you stay?"

"Of course, I'll be right here."

"Thank you," she answered, sounding relieved, and Poison smiled.

"I'm sorry," Missile began again after a few minutes, "about making you wait there and all."

"I don't mind." Poison replied, resisting the urge to close his eyes. He could've fallen asleep on his feet, and he'd done it before, too, but he knew he wasn't too exhausted to function, and anyway, they had to be as alert as possible in case they needed to run again.

"It's just…" she continued, sounding almost as if she were feeling guilty. "I don't want my dad to find me. I don't know what he'd do, and I don't wanna find out."

Poison frowned sadly. "I won't let anything happen to you," he said. "I promise."

"Thanks," Missile said slowly and truthfully, and for just a minute or so, as she finished up, it really did feel like she was safer than she had been alone before, despite the almost total darkness she was surrounded in.

When the five had more or less gotten all the grime and such off of them and were back in their dusty clothes, they sat at Dr. D's couch, listening to the song he was now playing on the pirate radio station, something that may have been contentment edging at them.

"…and hit the party with a gas can—kiss me you animal! …"

Poison glanced at Ghoul beside him and smiled, placing a hand on his. Ghoul glanced at him tiredly through half-lidded eyes and murmured a funny sounding, "Lu'you..."

The red head chuckled, reaching out to pull him closer, loosely putting an arm around him as he rested his head on the older's chest.

"So…" the man who had almost casually roller-skated into the room holding the record now playing, Show Pony, looked them over. "You guys still being chased?"

Kobra scoffed. "Always…but I don't think Korse knows which way we went this time."

"Yeah," Jet chuckled. "Thanks to Missile here. She gave 'em a little distraction."

Missile grinned and nodded, cheerfully humming along with the song.

"Nice job, Kid." Dr. D said, and Missile giggled. "It was actually fun…it's nice to fight back for once."

"Yeah. You're damn good at it, too." Kobra said.

Dr. D leaned back in his scooter and sighed. "Guess you guys'll be staying here tonight, yeah?" he murmured after a long moment, and while Jet politely nodded, Poison turned around to look at the darkened window, startled it was already night.

"…it's death or victory…"

Something white flashed outside the glass, and Party tensed, frowning; was he seeing things? No way they could have found them…right?

"…drop like a bulletshell…"

Poison reached for his ray gun, murmured, "Ghoul," to get the twenty-year-old awake and off of him. The younger blinked, looked around, and then pulled away to follow his gaze out the window, along with the others, though none of them saw anything.

"…I'd rather go to Hell!…"

"What is it?" Missile asked curiously.

"Not sure," Poison replied, going over to the window to get a better view of outside.

"…let this world explode."

And almost instantly after the song ended, the world did explode—at least in Poison's point of view. For the others, they simply saw several shots from ray guns hit the window, shattering it inwards and onto the Killjoy, who exclaimed and staggered back, hands up to shield his face.

"Shit!" Kobra shouted, and the three began shooting at the obvious yet still unseen enemy.

Missile gasped and jumped off the couch, crying out as someone grabbed her wrist.

"Hey!" Poison whispered, and she felt an awful pang of fear jolt through her as she saw he had blood running down his cheek from a gash below his eye. "Listen—go hide in the bathroom, okay? And lock the door!"

She hesitated, almost asked if she could help them, and then shrieked as a blast nearly caught her. Poison desperately pushed her towards the hallway. "And don't open it for anyone—I'll get you in a minute, when it's safe!"

Missile nodded and rushed off, slamming the bathroom door just as two Dracs broke the back window. Poison dodged several shots and jerked back, grabbing his gun from where it had fallen and aiming it at them.

"Poison!" Dr. D exclaimed, suddenly beside him, also shooting. "Get out of here—all of you!"

"What? But—"

"Go! Now!" the Doc demanded, not giving him a chance to argue. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."

Poison made eye contact with his brother, nodded ever so slightly, and then turned to get Missile. "Hey!" He pounded on the door, shooting a Drac as it tried to hit him.

She opened it, holding the flashlight close.

"Change of plans—" he said, grabbing her wrist once more and leading her out of the room.

"Let's go!" Jet hissed, hurrying past him and towards the broken back window. The three ducked out, and Poison stayed behind briefly to make sure the others got out as Missile and Jet ran towards the car, dodging and shooting.

"Ghoul!" he shouted. "Kobra!" He turned his head and spat out the blood dripping into his mouth, stepping back as the two scrambled out, and they ran towards the car, jumping in. Poison grabbed the wheel and once again floored it, speeding out onto the road, shaken and guilty they had left Dr. D and Show Pony there, despite the fact he'd told them to.

"Are they following us?" Poison mumbled, and Jet peered back. "No…" he breathed. "I think those two are keepin' 'em busy."

Poison coughed and tilted his head to spit out the window, unable to wipe the blood away, afraid that if he were to let go for even a second he would lose control of the car; it was currently going one hundred and ten miles an hour. One slip up and BLI wouldn't need to worry about them anymore. "'s everyone okay?"

"I think so," Kobra replied, muffled, a hand over his busted lip, but thankfully that seemed to be the worst injury.

"Y-yeah." Missile said, then looked at them. "I'm so sorry…this is all my fault."

"What, Korse?" Jet snickered. "Nah, he's been chasing us for years; it's not you."

"But it is…they want me—my father wants me, and they're not going to leave you alone!"

"Kid, they're never gonna leave us alone," Kobra frowned, looking back at her.

Poison nodded. "We won't let them get you, okay?"

Missile hesitated, and then nodded, letting out a shaky sigh. "Then I—I want a gun. To help, I mean. I feel bad I couldn't before."

Poison glanced at the others and then smiled slightly. Every gas station around did have a ray gun dispenser, and who would be there now, in the middle of the night, to stop them? Plus, the kid had pretty earned the right to have one; she wasn't anywhere near immature, like who they might have said no to.

"All right, Kid," he said.

"We'll get you a gun."

"Dr. D!" Poison tried, the stereo's phone against his ear. "Hello?"

Nothing. Just like the last twenty times they'd tried. He slammed it back against the radio, angered, and then leaned back slightly. "Damn," he murmured, shaking his head.

The group had decided to camp for the night, built a fire, and taken out the last remaining cans of food they had in the car. It had to have been close to morning already; they were short of sleep and feeling the effects.

"He's gotta be okay," Poison continued, though to no one in particular. "It's the radio…it's broken or something." Although it had been working the same day, there had to be a reason he wasn't answering. Bad connection, he'd left, gotten away—anything.

He glanced back at Missile, who had finally fallen asleep, her new ray gun cradled in her arms as if she'd somehow need it while sleeping, and he gave a small smile.

"I'm scared," she had previously told him, when they'd first settled down. "What if they find us?"

"They won't," Poison had tried to reassure her, though he hadn't been certain. "I'll keep you safe tonight, okay? We all will."

It was a relief to know his words had at least given her enough comfort to be able to rest. What saddened him most, though, was the fact that, not only had she, at the gas station, taken out the colored pencils she'd had from before and written up a letter, but she had insisted that she put it in the decorated mailbox they had passed, though she knew it most likely would never reach who she desperately wished it would.

And not one of them had had the heart to tell her no one ever picked up or sent the mail that Killjoys put in there; it was merely for hope, that one day someone would get the letters out to whom they were supposed to be delivered to. It was too dangerous to really try and get something to the postal service, because BLI managed and read every piece of mail that was sent out before it continued on its way. Anything from a suspected Killjoy, or one that was going to the family of a known Killjoy, BLI instantly attempted to track where it had been sent from, and by whom. Whether they found the person or not, the paper was then burned without a second thought.

"Here," Kobra said, shaking Party out of his thoughts to see his brother was holding out a cloth he'd dripped the small amount of water they could spare onto. He frowned and then took it, having forgotten all about the cut the glass had caused him. He wiped the rag gently over it and around his cheek, getting all the dried blood but under his chin, which he was unaware and uncaring of. "Thanks."

Kobra nodded solemnly, and then Ghoul glanced up, flicking a piece of hard, inedible food away. "What're we gonna do now?"

Poison did not reply, unwilling to admit he didn't have an idea.

"Well," Jet spoke instead, "we've obviously got Dracs after us, and—"

"Fuck the Dracs," Ghoul interrupted austerely. "I'm worried about Korse."

Jet fell silent in agreement, glancing down at the map Poison had put under the radio, his foot firmly on the edge of it. The red head had marked all the places they knew of that were hideouts of Killjoys on it, and he was sure never to let it leave his sight. It could've been considered a weapon, really—if BLI found it…

Jet did not want to finish the thought; the three of them were the only ones aware he had such a thing, and they very well knew the dangers that came with it. "We could stay with your plan, Poison; search for other Killjoys and storm BLI's headquarters."

"Then what?" Kobra demanded, shaking his head. "You think there're enough allies around here to take down that entire building? Or that're willing to try?"

"What the hell's your problem?" Jet scowled. "You're acting like we haven't got a chance."

"So crazy, right?" Kobra snapped, and then lowered his head. "Sorry. I'm just…I'm tired."

Jet shrugged. "Same for all of us. We should get some—"

The sharp crack of a twig cut him off, and they all looked at up, at first at each other and then around, standing slowly. Poison stepped towards the fire, leaning to see around it.

The white outfit of a Drac slowly came into view.

"Son of a bitch!" Ghoul breathed. "How do they keep finding us?"

Poison didn't answer, grabbing his gun and shooting at it, missing as it stepped to the side and blasted at them.

He heard a muffled shriek from behind, and they turned to see Missile pointing her weapon at another Drac, and as it grabbed for her, she shot it in the shoulder.

Poison shoved the Drac away as he went over to her, firing his gun at it, not quite sure whether he had killed it or not before he turned around anyway, helping Missile up, and then he ducked as another blast shot past them. They looked to see more Dracs appearing, unfortunately from the direction their vehicle was parked, and then glanced at Missile, not going to risk her getting hurt, and called at them to run, which they all did without hesitation.

"Shit—" Kobra cursed as he tripped slightly, and Poison steadied him, glancing back as finally they could not continue, staggering to a halt and gasping for breath. "Missile, are you—" he stopped abruptly, realizing the ten-year-old was not behind them. "Missile!"

"Where'd she—?" Jet frowned, and then they heard the blast of a gun come from over the hill, followed by a shriek.

Missile Kid fell to the ground, unable to keep running and desperately scooting away from a Drac. She no longer had a weapon—she'd dropped it while running, tried to find it, and had ended up the target of the pursuing enemy. It loomed over her, its emotionless eyes locking with her own. She winced, and then gasped as it suddenly dropped to the ground, and she turned her head to see—"Party!"

Now masked, the Killjoy brought his ray gun to his mouth and blew the smoke trailing from the end of it away, leaning down to take her hand and help her up. The other three caught up, and then froze as a voice suddenly spoke up.

"Finally."

Four figures had lined up behind them, the sun just now rising into the sky above them, and the Killjoys turned, almost directly across from the Dracs and…

Korse smirked. "You've nowhere to go now."

Poison pushed Missile back, and the girl stepped to the side of the group, frightened.

"Who said we were going to run?" Jet retorted, and Korse slowly raised his gun, revealing the X on his sleeve.

Time literally stood still; and then the eight of them aimed their guns at each other at the exact same time, and there were suddenly shots coming from every direction.

The battle lasted less than a minute. Korse had fired at the little girl, not even trying to hit her, but it had done exactly what he'd wanted. All four were distracted for a brief moment, but it'd been long enough for the Dracs to quickly take them out, leaving them motionless on the ground before the agent.

Missile exclaimed, horrified, and then felt herself grabbed from behind and dragged over to stand beside Korse and another Drac. Korse stared at her unblinkingly, then back at the Killjoys. They weren't dead—but that was exactly how they had planned it. None of them would be any use to them if so. And he would have loved to take them back right now, to get the information they needed as quickly as possible.

But with the other cars not here, and the six already crowded into the last vehicle—there simply wasn't a way.

And he was pretty sure the girl was the answer to all of this. If he took her, they would come right to him.

Korse raised his gun as the red-haired Killjoy took a sudden, uneven breath, his eyes fluttering open, though it was obvious he was not going to cause trouble, let alone move. His disoriented gaze immediately went to the girl, and Korse saw it. The boy clearly cared far too much about her for him not to try and rescue her.

Mind made up, Korse stared him down. "Keep running." he growled, smirking, and the girl cried out, struggling against the Drac holding her to no avail.

Like he was going to try something anyway, the Killjoy weakly twitched his fingers towards the ray gun a foot or so away from his hand, and, amused, Korse extended his foot, nudging the thing further away. Unable to do anything, Poison's eyes stayed on Missile for a moment longer before he gave a soft sigh and helplessly drifted back into unconsciousness.

He lowered his weapon. "Let's go," he ordered, and the three Dracs followed him, forcing the little girl to as well.

"Let—me—go!" she screamed. "Party! Jet! Help!" She knew it was useless, unsure if any of them would even live, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes.

"They'll come for you," Korse chuckled as they reached the car. "Soon enough, they will." He smirked evilly. "And we'll be sure to give them a warm welcome."

"Fuck you!" Missile suddenly shouted, cursing for the first time in her life, and Korse laughed at the brief surprised look on her face. "Oh, such language for a young girl," he said, clicking his tongue. "I'm afraid you've been around far too many bad influences lately."

Missile scowled, yanking an arm free and turning, scrabbling at the Drac still holding her and accidentally ripping off his mask at the same time.

Instantly, she froze, her eyes wide in disbelief as she saw the face underneath. Not only was the face human, but it was also…

"Neo?" Missile gaped, staring at her brother directly in his eyes and yet seeing nothing but lifeless, blue globes looking back at her. "Wh—what did you—?"

Overwhelmed with a sudden onset of intense emotions—fear, anger, and confusion—combined with lack of sleep and the fact that her brother was now a BLI agent…it was simply too much for the moment, especially after what had just happened, and with a soft sigh, Missile Kid slumped in her brother's arms.

Korse eyed the girl as the now unmasked Drac hauled her limp body into the car. She knew him? But how?

Then he smirked, finally recognizing her from a picture he'd briefly been showed of the girl a while back, whom he had also been told to look out for.

So that's who she was! That Party Poison and the others must have taken her in after she'd run off from the Dracs who'd gotten her brother.

Two problems to be solved in one day—he nodded in approval as he got in the driver's seat, shutting the door as he thought. He could return the girl to her father, and very soon after that could finally eliminate the Killjoys so intent on taking BLI out; every last one. And it would be all thanks to the red-haired boy, whom he would make sure watched as his friends lives were ended. He wasn't sure how he would get him to talk, but he would; he was more sure of that than he had been of anything else in his entire life.

Korse smiled longingly, driving off.

And then, of course, he would have the honor—and the pure joy—of killing Party Poison and the rest of the Fabulous Killjoys himself.