She was stuffed in Joe's car, sitting in the back against her will, her hands tied behind her and Joe's personal guardians sitting on either side. Miss Giddy was in front of her, refusing to speak, and Rictus was riding outside. The drums were pounding, Doof was wailing, there were cars and fire everywhere—but Warbird was more terrified than she ever thought she would be on the Fury Road. It was where she always wished she could be and always tried to go, but half the time, she couldn't move enough to drive. Now she was there, but never how she wanted to be.
They were surrounded by her friends—her family—and she was straining to see them through the window. "Don't even try," the guardian next to her growled.
"I'm just looking," she snapped. She leaned over him and he made a noise of surprise, grabbing her around the middle and trying to pull her back to her seat.
"NO!" she screamed at him as she strained to look.
"Keep her quiet!" Joe snarled as he drove.
"I'm trying!" Gunk yelled, wrestling with her.
Everything hurt, but she was past caring, and when a car came into view right next to them, she realized that it was worth it. There was a blood bag strapped to the front, the one with the muzzle, and a chain with a line running back to the driver. He turned to look at them, trying to catch Joe's attention, and she screamed at him.
"NUX!"
He didn't hear her, or he was too excited when Joe turned his head slightly to glance at them. "He looked at me!" she heard him shout.
"He was looking at your blood bag!" Slit yelled from the back of their car.
"SLIT!" Warbird screamed, still struggling with Gunk. She smashed her head against the window, mostly on accident, but she was glad that she had cracked the glass when the lancer turned to look at her, a very confused look on his scarred face.
"What…? Hey!" he banged on the roof of the car. "It's—"
If he had said her name, Warbird didn't hear it as Nux gunned it and they sped forward. She jumped back across Gunk in the opposite direction now, straining to reach the front of the cab to see ahead of them. There were buzzards on the rig, lancers and drivers catching up quickly, Nux and Slit at their head.
Gunk grabbed Warbird again and pulled her back. "You need to sit!"
She finally stopped struggling, her breathing heavier than ever. Now that she was sitting still, she could feel all of the pain rushing back, and now she could feel it in her skull.
"You're bleeding, you fucking idiot!" Gunk snapped.
"So what?" she started getting ready to spit at him but choked halfway through. She was gasping too hard to even manage to insult someone.
"Just stop." He said, his voice full of irritation.
"Shut up!" Joe shouted from the driver's seat. "Both of you!"
Warbird scowled and Gunk rolled his eyes at her.
"What do you care if I'm bleeding?" she grumbled.
He looked at her. "What do you care if Nux and Slit are out there?"
"I…don't." she lied.
"Then I don't care about you either."
She hadn't seen Gunk in a long time. Ever since he started guarding Joe and Corpus, he didn't spend much time with the others. He was different, like the elevator guardians were. They didn't go out driving as much, but while they were just as skilled as the other boys, they weren't treated quite the same way. Their job descriptions were different, and that made them stay somewhat separated.
They were both silent for a while. Joe didn't seem very eager to catch up and get involved in what was happening with the rig—not that his car was even as fast as the smaller ones anyway—and all they could do was watch from a distance. Warbird's vision was beginning to blur, but she thought she could make out the dark blob that was Nux's car as it reached the buzzards attacking Furiosa.
"I—can't-" her chest was heaving as she began slumping down. The pounding in her head was getting worse, but through it, she could just barely feel what seemed like blood running down her face.
Gunk made a frustrated sound. "This is what happens when you don't listen."
The car was a blur as she began dipping in and out of consciousness. She occasionally recognized the touch of a rag against her head, but as soon as she figured out what it was, she passed out again. When her eyes were open, the world spun, and when they were closed, there was absolutely nothing. She had no idea how much time was passing or what was even happening around her. She had no way of telling how the rig was doing or if they were even fighting right now, but by the time she could finally feel Gunk slapping the side of her face, what she saw before her was much worse than whatever had been going on with the buzzards and the rig.
"Y-you have to stop," she said groggily, trying to sit up slightly more. "The storm…sh-she won't—"
"Hush." Gunk said simply.
And then, suddenly, it was dark. Light flashed to the side. Wind whipped against the car, pushing and pulling it back and forth jerkily. Sand flew through the windows and it stung, bringing tears to her eyes even as she and Gunk ducked down and flattened themselves against the seats. Warbird had no idea how long they were in the storm, but judging by the metallic screechings and how many war boy screams she heard, it was a while. The lightning struck all around them, and the wind was so strong at points that she was afraid the car was going to flip.
Joe was an idiot for doing this. He had seen how massive the cloud was. Why did he care this much? Because of Splendid's pregnancy? The baby probably wasn't perfect anyways. No babies were perfect. Even if they looked like they were, there was always something inside or something that came along later, and that was just how things were. Warbird had known he would do a lot to get his breeders back, and she had known Furiosa would go through the storm without a second thought, but she had really hoped that Joe would give up before they reached it. They must have been losing war boys left and right in the wind, and that wasn't exactly something that was unforeseen. Storms like these were massive and destructive forces, and Joe knew that not everyone was going to make it through.
She was starting to realize more and more that Immortan Joe was a huge asshole.
When the wind finally stopped after what felt like hours, Warbird finally started trying to push herself up into a sitting position. Everything was covered in sand, and by the sound of things—or lack of sound—the engines were included. Furiosa was somewhere up ahead in the distance, hopefully making a comforting amount of headway while Joe's army was stuck trying to regroup and recover.
Joe himself was irritated beyond compare. "Get out." He hissed roughly. Gunk began moving immediately, throwing the door open and dragging Warbird with him. The way down from the Gigahorse was long, but unlike what Rictus probably would have done, Gunk was thoughtful enough to not just drop Warbird during the jump, and she only landed slightly painfully with him.
Speaking of the wasteland prince, Rictus had already hopped down and was standing extremely still, watching something on the horizon. Gunk went to stand next to him, letting Warbird go once he decided she couldn't get very far on her own. He was right, and she didn't have the energy nor motivation to even stray from their current position, so she stuck where she was and turned to squint at the dark shapes coming toward them. They looked like cars, but that would mean….
"People Eater?" Rictus asked suddenly.
"Probably," Gunk answered. "Comin' to help."
Warbird wrinkled her nose. People Eater. He was shrewd, more disgusting than the other leaders, and constantly looking for business opportunities. She had never liked him, and she never would. There had only been a handful of times that she had had run ins with him, and she tried to avoid him at all costs, and for good reason; hell, she could still remember the first time she had the misfortune of meeting him. It had been a long time ago, when she was first named Imperator. She had been standing next to Corpus, Rictus lurking near them. War pups were smearing black grease across her eyes and in her hair. She had worn it proudly then, and much more often than she did now. It had been new and special. She had been new and special.
Joe made a loud "Ahhh!" sound as People Eater appeared, his arms spread open for the mayor of Gas Town. They were supposed to be meeting to speak about trades, for guzzoline and the fresh produce from the Citadel's irrigation chambers. People Eater grunted in reply to Joe as he looked around, inspecting the milk mothers as they sat with their babies, or the cloth stand-ins for babies that had died already, in their arms.
The Immortan was eager to see his "friend," and they each took a few steps forward to clap each other's shoulders. People Eater wasn't paying much attention to Joe, though; instead, he was staring past him, straight at Warbird as the pups began dusting off her clothing.
"And who's this?" he asked curiously, a dark hint to his already gritty voice. Joe moved aside for him and he took a few more slow steps forward. He had been able to walk on his own back then, just barely, but his polecats were right behind him, hanging back but ready to grab him if he collapsed. Their eyes were also trained directly on Warbird.
"Warbird is full life," Joe said, somewhat proudly. That had been back when Warbird still believed that becoming Imperator extended her life, but she eventually learned better. The half life never really went away. Being a leader didn't change any of that.
"Ain't a war boy, that's for sure!" People Eater boomed. The polecats laughed.
Warbird's nostrils flared and Corpus gave her a warning glance. Rictus moved his head slightly to look, finally deciding to pay attention. She had been in good standing with them back then, although she and Rictus had never quite managed to get along. They tolerated each other in the beginning, though, and Corpus, well…the only way he could fight was with his words, and there wasn't much point in fighting with someone who had little to do with him. She had always felt that the two of them had shared something in common, too.
"Warbird is an Imperator," Joe said, his eyes narrowed. War boys were his property, just like his wives were, and while he occasionally traded and sold them, Imperators were never on the market. They were too valuable.
"Imperator?" People Eater asked, scoffing.
The air was tense.
"How much do you want for her?"
Warbird bristled.
Joe's beady eyes were narrowed as far as they would go. "She is not for sale."
"Oh, come on! Why bother?" People Eater asked. "She's better use if I take her. What do you want? Guzzoline? Flamers?"
"She is not for sale." Joe growled.
"Well, you're not using her, obviously. Why hang on to her?"
Joe's personal guards began moving toward him as the polecat's grinned. They were still fixed on Warbird, though. She didn't know which would be worse—being a plaything for foreign polecats, or becoming People Eater's doomed wife.
The mayor of Gas Town continued. "You've got me here for business. I know a good opportunity when I see it. You've got your breeders, and I need more. You can always use more guzzoline, eh? It's a simple trade."
"Do not trifle with me," Joe hissed. "Warbird is an Imperator. She is not for breeding."
"And why not? Looks perfect enough to me."
Warbird had known that her hip and bashed up face were the reasons she hadn't become a wife. She didn't want to be. She was preparing herself for Joe to reveal those flaws in front of everyone—she only minded a little bit at this point—but, to her surprise, he didn't.
It took him a moment to think about it before he finally lied. "There are no flaws. Imperators can be however I want them to be. Are you going to discuss the real point of this visit or not, now?"
People Eater rolled his eyes after a moment and turned away, following Joe to the table in the corner where he made business transactions. The polecats stayed where they had been, though, facing Warbird. They weren't like her boys, and they were watching her much, much too closely. When People Eater left again that day, he gave Warbird one last look, and she was beginning to wonder if he actually wanted her as a wife or as a meal.
To this day, he bothered her. No one had ever tried to buy her again.