The Sound Of My Vendetta (A Killjoy Stori/Fanfiction)

Sonik Soundwave

     "Korse is the top exterminator, and leader of the Dracs," Party explained, "You never go at him alone."
     "Got it."
     A laser flashed past my window. I turned around. There was a car behind us. Where it had come from, I had no idea, but I knew it was full of exterminators.
     "Speaking of!" I shrieked.
     "I know, I'm working on it," Party Poison assured me. He turned on the radio and the wake up song came on. "Na na na na na na na na na na na na na..." it began. I'd learned it from the radio years ago. We all sang along. Suddenly the chorus began, and Party Poison hit the gas.
     "Na na na na na na na!" Jet sang.
     "From mall security!" Party replied.
     "Na na na na na na na!" Jet countered.
     "To every enemy!" Party answered.
     "Na na na na na na na!" the radio blasted.
     I sang, "We're on your property! Standing in V formation!"
     Jet turned around. "You know it! Great! Shout it!"
     We were caught up in a high speed chase. Jet opened the sunroof and propped himself up in the seat, facing the rear, so that he could stick out of the sunroof and shoot at the Dracs. Party pulled an action-movie turn and pulled the car to a stop. He opened his door and fired the raygun he'd drawn from his belt as he stood.
     Eight Dracs appeared from the car and fired at Jet and Party. I looked out the window, confused. One of the Dracs didn't look like a Drac at all. This odd-looking one had a hemp sack over his head where a Draculoid mask would usually be. An ominous smile was stitched into the front of the sack and two holes were cut where the eyes should be. Now that I think of it, though, I didn't see any eyes through those eye holes. Something told me to be wary of that one, but I ignored it and shrugged, watching the Dracs drop like flies. Between the two Killjoys, three Dracs fell.
     I sprung. Barrel rolling out of the car, I landed in a kneeling position and fired once, bringing down a Drac that was tageting Jet Star.
      "Toxic!" Party exclaimed, waving me back and shooting down another one, "Closer!"
      I crouched and ran back to the car. One of the remaining Dracs, the one with the sack instead of the mask, grabbed my arm as I tried to slip past him. Where he touched me, it burned. Literally. My clothes were fine, but I could feel my skin boiling under his touch. It took me a moment to realize that I was screaming.
     "Well, well, who is this?" he hissed. He reached for my mask and tore it off. Part of it ignited and began to burn. He ripped off the bandana Party had given me as well but it didn't react as my mask had.
     Party Poison whipped past us, only visible out of the corner of my eye. He rescued the mask, leaving the bandana to blow off in the wind, and stomped the flames out. He threw it into the car.
     Jet Star killed the two other Dracs during all this, and turned his attention to my dancing partner and me. Party Poison kept his distance from us, helplessly, trying to figure out how to get me out of the situation. It was useless. I was the only one who could get me out of this.
     "How about a hug deary?" the Drac taunted, "You look scared."
     "No!" Party cried, as if it would help. The Drac threw his head back in laughter. I slipped my raygun out of its holster as he did so. As he brought his head back down, I shot up, praying I didn't hit myself. The laser went straight up through the base of the mask where his chin should have been. He recoiled, letting me go. Ignoring the pain, I brought my raygun up in both hands and fired four shots into his chest.
     Needless to say, he was dead. Party Poison and Jet Star rushed over to me to make sure I was alright.
     "Jacket. Off," Party ordered. Slowly, I struggled out of my jacket and let it drop into the sand. The bright red patch of burnt skin was exposed to the arid desert atmosphere and I gasped. Jet grimaced. Party let out a sigh of relief. "Its not as bad as it could be."
     "We forgot to tell her about Scarecrows," Jet Star groaned in aggravation. I didn't know why, but he blamed himself that I was hurt. It was my fault. I was the one who irresponibly barrel rolled out of the car.
     "We need to get on the with patrol," I reminded them nonchalantly, picking up my jacket and pretending not to wince at the pain in my arm.
     "Oh no we don't! We're taking you back to the diner to get that treated," Party argued, "If you stay on patrol, that burn could get infected and you could die." He stalked back towards the car without another word.
     "But--"
     "No buts," Jet agreed, "You can't go any further out here without a mask anyway. Too dangerous." He helped me back into the car as I grumbled about having to go back. I fell silent when I set eyes on the remains of my mother's mask. Jet turned off the radio. I picked up the mask and looked down at it sadly as Party turned the car around and began back to the diner in silence.
     "I knew it was special to you," Party said gently, breaking the quiet, "I knew you wouldn't want the only thing you have left of your parents to be charcoal." He didn't take his eyes away from the windsheild as he said these things, though even  if he had I would not have been able to look at him.
     I swallowed back the tears that attempted to come, and nodded mutely. "Thank you," I replied weakly.
     Jet Star turned around to face me. "Let me see your arm." I moved my arm so he could see the deeper-growing redness of the burn. It looked like the skin would break at any moment to expose boiled-over blood and blistered flesh.
     "Keep everything off of it. That includes bandages," Party instructed, "We have to get to the diner before we can wrap it, alright?"
     "Got it."
     When we arrived at the diner, Fun Ghoul had just stepped out to see who was approaching. He ran inside and returned with Kobra Kid. Party shut off the engines as they both ran up to the car to see what was awry.
     "What happened Party?" Kobra inquired, "Why are you back so soon?"
     "Yeah, that was the shortest three days of my life," Fun Ghoul agreed. Jet jumped out of the passenger side as I grabbed my effects. He ran around the car and helped me out and into the diner. I plopped down into one of the booths and looked out the window at the interactions outside.
     "Well, smart ass," Party Poison retorted as he tossed the keys to Fun Ghoul, "Your three days aren't up. Jet's in charge of patrol, you're going with him."
     "Yes!" Fun cheered.
     Jet came out of the diner with a canister of coolant cream. He gave Party a look and took the keys from Fun, getting into the driver's side of the car. Party knocked on the window and Jet rolled it down. I didn't hear what Party asked him, but Jet shook his head and said something back.
     Party nodded and backed away from the window as Jet rolled it up. Fun ran around the car and got in. As Jet started up the car, Kobra asked what happened. The car sped off, leaving the brothers in the flying dust. Once it settled and they could see each other clearly, Party Poison spoke.
     "We ran into trouble. Seven Dracs," Party accounted.
     "That's not--"
     "And a Scarecrow."
     Kobra Kid fell silent. I've learned since then that one Scarecrow could dust several people. One hug and the victim would burn to death. In addition, they are supposedly extremely difficult to kill. Kobra turned to follow his brother as Party stepped into the diner.
     I watched as Party looked for something in the cabinets. Kobra Kid came and sat in front of me, on the other side of the table. He took my wrist and moved it so that my burn was a little more examinable. I twisted my arm to make it more accessible to him.
     "Okay," Kobra sighed as Party set a canister of coolant cream  and a bandage on the table, "This is going to hurt. It will sting..and burn, but once the cream is completely covering it, it will feel better and begin to cool."
     Party knelt down beside the table and held my arm down. I looked at him with a quizzical expression.
     "I don't think you understand how much this is going to hurt," Party stated. I looked between the two of them, closed my eyes, and nodded. I felt my fists clench and my eyes flew open at the sudden pain. Party restrained me as Kobra applied the cream. I bit my lip to hold back a scream as the burn flared to life.
     Heat spread through my arm. The pain subsided as he pulled his hand away to wipe the cream that remained on his hand onto the bandage. Kobra glanced at me to make sure I was alright, and then continued with his process, wrapping the bandage tenderly but securely around my arm.
     Once his brother was finished, Party let go of my arm and stood up. I watched as Kobra looked at Party, who raised an eyebrow back. Kobra's expression fell into an unamused glare and Kobra got up, stalking outside without a word. I had the slightest idea that they'd just had a mental conversation. Party watched him go with a grimace and then turned back to me.
     "Can you move your arm?" he asked, replacing the lid on the coolant cream and putting the canister back where it went. I exercised my arm, moving it around; left; right; up; down. I stretched. Pain shot through the entire limb.
     "Well, I know not to stretch, but other than that, yes," I replied, "That doesn't help my face though."
     "Oh, I think your face looks fine," Party chuckled, turning back to me with a slight grin. I looked down at the half-burnt remains of my mum's mask. I obviously couldn't wear the mask anymore.
     "I need a new mask," I whispered.
     "Oh, you meant that?" Party chortled again, "That's easy. Follow me." He motioned me over as I got up and stumbled after him, trailing him into Fun Ghoul's messy room.
     "What in the..?" I marveled, glancing around at the items strewn all over the small space. At the desk were small vials of a pastey looking substance with various natural materials taped to the outside of the vial. I assumed there were paints made from scratch. A piece of dead grass was taped to one vial filled with a paint of the same color. Another had a piece of paper with a cranberry drawn on it. Where he got a cranberry to make that, I may never know. There were homemade brushes and paper was allowed to fall free everywhere.
     "Ghoul's an art buff. Loves photography, even though his only camera is pre-apocalyptic. He paints pretty well," Party explained. He took one of my hands and pulled me over to Fun Ghoul's closet and yanked the doors open. One of the hangers in the closet had nothing but masks hanging off of it. Party Poison retrieved that hanger and presented it to me. Rummaging through the multitude of masks, I picked out a green one with thin black triangles under and above the eyes and orange circles where the cheeks would be.
     "You like that one?" he asked. I nodded. "Any adjustments?" he added.
     I thought about it for a moment. Just as I was about to say no, the idea came to me to write all those phrases that had been on my mother's mask. I was so relieved that I'd written them down. "I'll fix it up then come back to you, alright?" I answered. He nodded and motioned for me to follow him once more. We entered his room, and he pulled a bandana out of his desk drawer. The cloth was similar to my the one he had given me before; blue with white stars and red stitching. Party smirked at my obvious joy.
      I smiled at him as he handed me the bandana, and then I scampered out of the room with thanks. I ran into my room and shut the door behind me. I hung my mother's mask on my billboard next to my raygun. For about the next hour, I worked out how to fit all those little phrases onto the mask. It took forever, but I still feel it was worth the time. I found space for each of my mother's phrases inside the long quote that was my brother's last words, which I wound around the edge, speaking them as I wrote.
     "You only live forever in the lights you make. When we were young we used to say that you only hear the music when your heart begins to break. We are the kids from yesterday." I placed it on my face and glanced in the mirror. The colors mocked me. I didn't feel strong enough to wear them. I didn't feel like the love I had was toxic. I felt like closing my eyes and just riding the sound waves.
     When I woke up, I still had my mask on. I'd fallen asleep at my desk and had the most peculiar dream. There was a woman I'd never seen before, and she was pregnant, though it didn't show. And I know that the baby she had was important, and thus she was important. But I didn't know anything about what that meant.
     I got up and stepped out of my room with a stretch. Pain seared my arm, reminding me of the burn I'd nearly forgotten. Not expecting him to be there, I waltzed into Party's room to find a different jacket. He dropped something when I entered his room.
     "You took long enough," he joked.
     Turning with a start, I watched as he picked up the book he'd probably been reading. I grinned. "I fell asleep. How long was I out?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
     "About three hours."
     I blushed a bit from embarrassment. "Well it's all fixed and stuff," I commented, taking the mask off my face and holding it out to him, "What did you want to do with it?" He took the mask from my hands and examined it to see what I'd done with it. Smiling at some of the phrases he read, he reached for a can I hadn't noticed sitting on his desk and shook it. He held the mask away from both himself and me, spraying a clear coat of whatever it was on both sides and creating a misty cloud that accompanies any aerosol spray.
     "Fire repellant," he explained, noticing my curious expression, "You got your bandana?" I handed him the bandana he gave me, and he sprayed that too. He set the spray down and whipped the bandana in the air to relieve the stiffness. I giggled as he handed my things back to me.
     "I have a better jacket for you," he muttered after studying my attire for a moment. He pulled out a green jacket with orange stitching. A sewn-on patch read "Jack-O-Lantern" in black letters and had the classic Halloween decoration on it. Tugging off my old jacket, I traded him for the new one, pulling it on tentatively over my burn. I turned to look in the mirror. Party was right; it looked awesome.
     "Toxic--" Party began.
     "I can't use that name anymore."
     "What?"
     "I need to change my name," I clarified, "I just feel like its wrong to use that name anymore."
     "Change it to what?"
     I paused for a moment, contemplating. I looked at the various posters he'd collected over the years, and all the things he kept on his walls. I looked at him for a moment. I looked at my boots. Finally, I returned my eyes to my own reflection in the mirror. I could see something in me I hadn't ever seen before; passion. I was a Killjoy. I smiled slightly, hearing my proper name ringing in my ears.
     "Sonik Soundwave."
     Thinking it over, he smirked. "That's pretty bad ass," he approved. I smiled back.
     "Party! Transmission! I need you on the line!" Kobra called from another room. Party's smirk disappeared as he sauntered out of the room toward his brother's voice. I followed, unsure of what to do. Party stepped into the kitchen area. It was dimly lit and dingy. There was an ice box, though I was unsure if it worked, and a stove that I was fairly certain did not. On the opposite end of the kitchen, there was a communication link set up. A radio with back and forth communication along the airwaves, much like the one Dr. D had used.
     "Party Poison. Party Poison," the voice repeated, filling the room. I recognized it as Dr. Death Defying's. Party Poison pressed a button and a static sound rang out. As it cleared up, Dr. D's voice could be heard relaying the transmission. "Better Living Industries created a curfew for all citizens and has released a new line of headphones, requiring that the public wears them. Any civilian of Battery City caught outdoors without their headphones, before or after curfew, they will be 'dealt with.' In further events, one more Sympathizer has surfaced. She's a teen in Battery City High School. Dr. D over and out."
     Party looked at his brother, and then at me. We all knew that those headphones were bad news, whatever they were. And a curfew, what was up with that? Party pressed another button and began to speak.
     "Thanks for the info, Dr. Death. As for that new Sympathizer, tell her to keep up with current news. With all that crap BLI has stirred up, it would be best to figure out what's going on," he stated, glancing at me, "We're never going to get all the info in the desert. When Destroya returns, we'll call in. Party Poison, over and out." He pressed the button again and was about to turn away when he repeated the action. "PT, Sonik Soundwave is working out well here, I'm glad you brought her. She's killed a Scarecrow. Best behavior. Party, over and out."
     With that, he pressed the button and then pressed another, turning away from the console and giving me a polite, yet frustrated smile as he passed me out the door. Kobra rolled his eyes a little and smiled a little more apologetically as he followed his brother.
     Once I was alone in the room and the door had stopped swinging behind me, I pondered to myself what all this could mean. Finally, I gave up and decided if I wanted answers, I'd have to talk to the professionals. As I was about to step out the door, the last bit of Party's transmission popped into my mind. "Best behavior..?" I wondered, pushing open the door and exiting the kitchen.