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

"I Can't"

I slipped into the garage and looked around at all the stuff everywhere. Some of it I could imagine being treasures. Some just seemed like stuff. I stepped over to a work desk. Someone had been working on the radio I'd acquired yesterday. The outside had been cleaned and the inside had been opened up. I didn't hear the door open or close behind me.
"Party was working on it most of the night," Kobra said in my ear. I jumped, not expecting him to be there. He grinned. I laughed. "Where did it come from?" he asked me, examining one of the broken pieces.
"We hit it with your bike yesterday evening trying to outrun that storm. I picked it up when I flew off the bike and landed right next to it," I explained. He gasped.
"You hit it with my bike!? Is the bike alright?" He inquired, hurrying over to where it stood and kneeling down to examine the front. He ran his hand along the frame, checking for any scratches. I smiled.
"I think your bike is fine," I chuckled. He nodded and stood, turning to me again.
"How about you. You said you flew, are you alright?"
I laughed, "Oh now you ask if I'm alright. Check the bike first, the human isn't as important!" He grinned and nodded. I mimicked him and added, "Yeah, I'm fine. We made it back in time, so everything's alright."
"Good," he commented, "I'm going back inside. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing."
"I will," I assured him. We turned back to the boom box and smiled at the mess of radio parts all over the counter. When the door opened a second time, I heard it. I ignored the sound up until the door closed. Party stepped toward me as I peeked over my shoulder.
"I was fixing it for you last night," he informed me. I nodded.
"So I was told."
Party shook his head and joined me at the desk. "Kobra really did set yesterday up. I apologize on his behalf," he muttered. I smirked.
"Something tells me Kobra wouldn't apologize for that," I replied in just as low a tone. He glanced at me momentarily, and then returned his attention to the device.
"I think I'm going to finish it now," he said, sitting down in the chair and picking up one of the pieces. I smiled and sighed, wishing my inner thoughts were not so persistent. We were silent for a few minutes as I watched him work. Then he paused. He looked slightly in my direction, but not at me.
"What?" I asked, hoping I wasn't invading his space.
"Sonik, what happened yesterday.." he started. I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear him apologize for that too. "It was a nice day out. I don't think I've enjoyed myself that much in a long time.." he stated, resuming his work. I opened one eye. He hadn't apologized.
I pulled up a chair and sat next to him. "Party, why do you apologize for things?" I whispered. He stopped again, his eyes closed, and then he looked at me.
"I apologize because I'm selfish," he sighed, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I could tell he meant selfish in the best way. "I can't risk falling again when everything out there is fighting against me." He shrugged. "I'm an individual being with individual thoughts and feelings. Which is why I don't get too upset about the way I am. I'd rather be this way than conform to BL/Ind."
I nodded and looked at the floor. "You're afraid," I suggested, "Of losing someone else."
He frowned and glared at me. "I don't like that idea, so I don't use it, but I guess that's one way to look at it," he admitted begrudgingly. I smiled lightly at the defensive growl in his voice.
I leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear. "I don't ever think of you as afraid. You're the strongest individual I know, Party Poison." With that, I stood and smiled. He looked up at me, probably unsure of how to respond. I stepped back awkwardly and turned to leave. He grabbed my hand before I could take another step.
As he stood, he pulled me toward him and kissed me again. My arms, once again, snaked around his neck as his hand found my waist. It was shorter than the last one, but just like before there was a surge of energy. Part of me wondered if he noticed it too or if it was just me. When he pulled away, it felt wrong, like it wasn't supposed to end so soon.
He didn't move away from me. Instead, we just stood there. His forehead leaned against mine and he bit his lip. I stared up at him, hoping he'd kiss me again, but too afraid to make the move myself. He closed his eyes and shook his head, moving mine with it.
"I can't.." he mumbled, finally letting go of me and stepping away. My arms fell back down by my side. Without him standing so close I felt like I'd lost part of me. I closed my eyes, let out a shuddering breath and turned away again. Nether of us spoke as I headed towards the door. I could tell my face was red with embarrassment. I reached for the handle and glanced over my shoulder. He was sitting at his desk, staring at the tools, but not working.
"Then don't," I said simply, not angrily. He lifted his head to look at me. I gave him a small smile and then left the garage. I went out into the diner and sat with Kobra.
"Wake up call in three..two.." he started. A car pulled up outside just as the wake up call sounded overhead. Jet Star stepped out of the driver's seat and Fun Ghoul hopped out of the passenger side. I opened the door for them with a smile.
"Water!" Fun Ghoul exclaimed as he darted inside. Jet Star followed in less enthusiastically, though amused.
"Thank you," Jet chuckled. He dropped his pack on one of the tables, "Where is Party?" he asked. I motioned toward the garage, heading back toward where Fun Ghoul disappeared: the kitchen. When I got there, he was downing a bottle of water.
"Anything interesting happen on patrol?" I asked, wanting someone to talk to. He finished his water and shook his head.
"A couple run ins, but nothing serious," he replied, "It was a fairly light patrol, except for that rain storm. Did that get to you guys?"
"Oh, it got to us," I laughed, "Party and I were almost caught out in it."
Fun Ghoul gaped at me. "Good thing you didn't! That was acid rain! We parked inside a cave to stay out of it!" he cried.
"How did you know it was acidic?"
"Acid test. We have test materials to determine whether the rain is acidic. One of us tosses it into the rain. If it dissolves away, the rain is acid. If not, it's safe to take a shower," he explained. I laughed at that, and he smiled back.
"So you and Party hit it off?" he joked. My smile vanished and I looked away. I then realized that he had been gone, there way no way he could know about that.
"What are you talking about?" I muttered.
"You zipped right past our camp on Kobra's bike. At first we thought it was you and Kobra, but then Jet remembered that Kobra hates people clinging to him," Fun snickered, "So we knew it had to be Party."
"Oh," I sighed, "Yeah, we're alright." I didn't say anymore, and he didn't push it. I was glad he didn't. I didn't really want to talk about it.
"Where is that girl?" I heard Jet's voice ask. I smiled, shook my head, and pushed open the kitchen door. He turned and held out a hand. "Let me see your arm," he ordered. I went over to him and held my arm out for him to see.
"It feels much better," I told him as he examined the hand-shaped burn scar.
"It looks gruesome," he admitted, grimacing. I chuckled and shrugged. Jet let go of my arm as Fun Ghoul passed me and handed him a bottle of water. "So Party told me that you changed your name," he said, unscrewing his bottle of water and plopping down in a booth opposite Fun Ghoul.
I sat in the chair opposite Kobra, who was still reading. "I'm Sonik Soundwave now," I introduced myself, "It seemed more right than the other name."
"Well, it's pretty badass," Fun Ghoul complimented. Jet agreed.
"That's what I said," Kobra commented from behind his book, "And apparently, so did Party." Everyone laughed as Party re-entered the room, wiping off his hands.
"What's so funny?" he inquired, looking around at everyone.
"Sonik's name is badass," Jet Star answered with a giggle. Party smiled and sat down.
We all sat for a while, talking. Party finally got up and went into the kitchen. "Anyone else hungry?" he called through the kitchen pick-up window. He put some cans up in the window and some spoons. Kobra and I got up and helped him.
"What is this?" I questioned, examining the cans.
"Beans," Kobra replied, "It's all we've got right now."
"Cool," I chuckled.
"We've got plenty of beans for a while, but we'll have to send out for supplies sooner than later," Party reasoned. We all agreed and the can opener was passed around.
The next two weeks passed in a flash. I got to know everyone well. I became comfortable with them, and they became comfortable with me. I felt like part of the family. We were on our last few rounds of beans and decided it was time to send the transmission to Battery City. We all congregated in the kitchen.
"Party to Kids, are we clear?" Party spoke into the speaker.
After a few minutes, a voice crackled back. "Sleep-over approved. Mum and Dad aren't home," the voice answered, "We read you loud and clear Party Poison, go on."
"We're nearly out. Is anything ready? We can last maybe four days more. With the trouble last month, I understand the hesitation. Party over."
"There has been no collection recently. Mum and Dad have been strict. I know what to do, though it may take all four of those days. Kids over," the radio croaked.
"However long. Thank You. Party over and out." He turned to the rest of us. He pointed to Fun Ghoul and me. "You two will meet the Sympathizers at the city limit in four days," he informed us. He then nodded and stepped past me. We all exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Whoo hoo!" Fun cheered quietly, "Assigned together!" He held his hand out for a fist bump as we all exited the kitchen. I smiled and returned the gesture. Kobra clapped his hand on my shoulder and chuckled.
"Good luck," he snickered.
When the four days had passed, Fun Ghoul and I made our way out toward Battery City to meet up with the Sympathizers. We chatted and laughed merrily the whole way there. We could see the city limit, but not the Sympathizers. We slowed down and turned the lights off, hiding.
A dim green reflector shone off the moonlight. Fun Ghoul nodded for us to get out. I opened my door quietly, and closed it even more quietly. The Sympathizers showed themselves as Fun Ghoul opened the trunk.
"You're the new one! I was hoping they'd send you! I was so excited to meet you! I'm Skylar Boee. This is my husband Edmund," the woman explained as her male companion brought out sack after sack and handed them to Fun Ghoul. I nodded with a smile and took the sack she handed out to me.
"I'm Sonik Soundwave," I told her, looking between the two of them, "It's nice to meet you both."
Fun Ghoul and I finished up our packing and thanked Edmund and Skylar. Quietly, we got back into the car and began off as the Sympathizers disappeared within the city. We had only been driving for two minutes or so when I glanced in the side mirror.
"We've got company," I muttered.
"Good or bad," Fun replied sharply. I glanced over at him and shook my head. "I hope you're ready for a firefight Sonik."
I grinned and pulled out my raygun and mask. The car was so obviously BL/Ind. The smiley face on the hood of the car followed us like a horrible memory. I glared through the back window at the driver of the other car.
Dracs. Nothing too special it seemed. I watched as the passenger Drac rolled down his window, brought out his raygun, and attempted to shoot out our back tires.
Fun Ghoul swirved with skill, voiding the shots fired. After about twenty minutes of skidding and speeding about the desert, the Drac hit his target, bringing our chase to an end. Fun Ghoul jumped out of the car and shot at the Dracs. I stepped out of the car, dropping my mask in the seat, and fired away as well.
We were ambushed. Three other cars came out of nowhere and attacked us. A man stepped out and both of us came to a halt in our shooting. The Dracs all stopped and turned to look at the man. I recognized him from years ago. He was tall with no hair and fancy clothes. Korse.
"Well, well, I seem to have found myself some Killjoys," Korse sneered. Fun and I glared. As Korse spoke, his words meaningless, a Drac snuck up on Fun Ghoul and knocked him over the head. As I realized what had happened, two Dracs grabbed me. Naturally, I struggled, trying to help my unconscious friend. One Drac approached Fun Ghoul and kicked him in the stomach, bringing back memories of that one day at band practice. As I attempted to fight off the Dracs and help Fun, four more Dracs grabbed me and held on, making it impossible to fight back.
One of the Dracs zip-tied my wrists. Kicking and screaming, I was dragged over to the BL/Ind car. Korse opened the door for me and one of the Dracs pushed me in. I growled at them, about to sit back up and get out. As I struggled to do so with my hands tied, Korse leaned into door opening and chuckled at me. He closed the door and said something I couldn't hear to one of the Dracs outside. The Drac nodded and they all dispersed.
When they got into the car, one of the Dracs turned around and knocked me over the head with something. I blacked out. I had another weird dream about the woman with the baby. When I came to, I was in a white room with six other people. I recognized two of them to be Edmund and Skylar. Skylar was sitting next to me, making sure I was alright. Edmund was talking quietly to two other men and one woman. The last woman sat in the corner, holding her stomach.
"You're real!" I exclaimed, sitting up and ignoring the rush of pain in my head. It was the woman from my dream. She was pregnant, but she wasn't showing. I'm not sure how I knew.
She gave me a look. "Of course I'm real," she scoffed, sitting up more. She groaned slightly, holding her stomach. Her brown hair held limp, natural curls that she had obviously tried to brush down all her life. Her eyes shone like fire despite her discomfort at the moment.
"You're pregnant," I told her. She glared at me.
"And how would you know that?" she growled. I shook my head slowly.
"I'm not sure. You've been in my dreams. You and your baby. And I don't know why. It's driving me insane," I muttered, leaning back. My head hurt.
"Calm down now," Skylar cooed. I could feel the woman's eyes on me, but she said nothing else. I glanced around the room. The walls were all white, but there was one barred window. A video camera in the corner watched us.
"Sonik," Edmund said, wanting my attention, "This is Cole Fink." He motioned to one of the two men he was talking to. The man was blonde and his hair hung in his eyes. I couldn't imagine where he worked with a haircut like that and BL/Ind running the place. "This is Sven Nikota," Edmund continued, motioning to the other man. Sven was also blond, but a deeper shade of it. His eyes were bright blue and his smile was welcoming. "And Evangeline," he finished, waving towards the woman he was talking to. Her hair was red with dyed black tips. She couldn't be much older than me if at all. I smiled at them and nodded, still holding my head.
"Sonik Soundwave. Pleased to meet you," I mumbled, leaning back once more.
"You're the girl the Killjoys accepted," the woman stated quietly, "What are they like? They're my inspiration," she added, staring at me.
"They're awesome. I'm sorry I'm not really in the position to divulge much about them at the moment," I apologized as I sat up, nodding towards the camera in the corner above her head. She looked straight up and then back at me with a nod.
I got up slowly and made my way to the window. Taking a deep whiff of the air outside, I grimaced and tested the bars discreetly. They were irresponsibly loose. I could kick them out easily. I stepped back to the rest of them and smiled.
"What's your name?" I asked the woman as I began towards her. She looked up at me and opened her mouth to speak when the door opened and a couple of pigs stepped in. They marched right over to me and each one grabbed one arm. They tugged me out before the woman got a chance to answer me.
The pigs shoved me through the halls. They took me up some stairs and twisted through the corridors until we reached a specific door. The man on my right opened the door and pushed me in. I heard the door close behind me as I stumbled into the room.
"There you are, Sonik Soundwave, is it?" Korse greeted me as I righted myself, "You look a lot like a girl I encountered four years ago, but she wasn't a Killjoy....then." He was meticulously arranging some tools and weapons on a table.
"What do you want?" I growled. There was nothing I could do. He had the home field advantage. I stepped to the left, keeping a safe distance along the wall.
"To train you. To make you an agent of Better Living Industries. You would be very useful," Korse answered calmly. He did not react to my uneasy edging along the wall. "You're going to have to settle down in we're going to get anything done."
"You think I intend to cooperate with you?" I spat.
Korse grinned, looking up at me. "Of course not. That's what makes it so much fun."