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

Come Angels

     "We waited and waited for you and Ghoul to get back. When you were gone longer than expected, we started to wonder. Kobra and I went out looking for you guys. We found Fun Ghoul half buried in sand and unconscious. And we didn't see you anywhere. I almost left for Battery City right there, but Ghoul was just waking up and he tried to explain what happened," Party told me as we drove back to the Diner.
     "Well I'm glad you didn't try. They would have been on high alert waiting for you after a capture like that," I sighed, struggling between the excitement of Party wanting to chase after me that moment, and the worry of Ghoul have buried in the sand, probably choking on it.
     As if reading my mind, Party announced, "Ghoul's fine. He had to get all the sand out of his lungs. It was a long week of hacking and coughing, but he's breathing easier now." Party smiled, and then he frowned. "I shouldn't have sent you and the youngest Killjoy on that pick-up.."
     I glared at him. He was being irrational. He couldn't have possibly known that we would be ambushed after the pick-up. It wasn't something that usually happened, I assumed, so it was alright to believe that the task was fairly safe. I told him so with a sympathetic smile. He smiled back.
     "Does the baby have a name?" he asked out of the blue. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.
     "No, I didn't really think to name her. She was only a few months old when she got to you."
     There was a brief silence and then Party spoke again, not looking at me. "Is she yours?"
     The question caught me off guard and made me laugh unexpectedly. I squirmed in my seat, bringing one hand to my face and the other to my side as I laughed at the question. I just couldn't stop. I'm not sure why the idea seemed so absurd, it just did. When I glanced over at Party, he wore a cautious grin.
     "Is that a no?" he asked.
     "Oh course she's not!" I guffawed, "She's the girl in my dream! Her mother was the woman from my dream that.." I trailed off, remembering my failure to help her. "BL/Ind Draculoidized her before I got a chance to get her out. But the baby remained and grew. She was born and immediately handed off to me until they could decide what would happen to her."
      "Well, at least you saved The Girl," he paused, "What's so important about her again?"
     I looked at him seriously, wanting to gage his expression when I told him. "She's going to end Better Living Industries." He glanced at me, not disbelievingly, but rather as if he hadn't heard me.
     "She is?" he repeated. I nodded. He mimicked me and returned his gaze toward the desert. We were just entering Zone 6. The diner was about half way in. There was silence for a few long minutes. It was almost unbearable.
      "Kobra is not comfortable with this. He doesn't trust you. He thinks you've been brainwashed and you're just acting," Party whispered, confiding in me, "I've been talking to him about it, but I'm worried he may never trust you again."
     "If he never trusts me again, that's not something I can control. If I lose his friendship, I won't be happy with that outcome, but there's nothing I can do about it," I said with a sigh, not wanting to think about Kobra and how he would react to me. I knew my main priority was The Girl, but I didn't dare say that to him.
     We pulled up to the diner and sat there for a moment. I glanced over at him, but he didn't look back. I could tell he was thinking about something important. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again before he said anything. As he looked over at me, he smiled his amazing sideways smile. I blushed and looked away, opening the door and ignoring what has just happened.
     Party laughed as the wind nearly blew me away once more. I found myself braced against him on our three-second trip to the Diner door. We were both giggling as we stumbled in, hair strewn across our eyes and at all sorts of angles.
     "For a moment I thought something had happened," Kobra grumbled from one of the booths. He had a can of something in one hand and a spoon in the other. Party shook his hair out of his face and glared at his brother. Kobra frowned back, but did not look away.
     "Why?" I asked, pretending I didn't know why he disapproved of me so much.
     "You," he replied coolly and bluntly. I didn't let any hurt show in my face.
     "There was a dust storm, Kobra, calm down," Party growled, stepping over to the counter and sitting down. I took a deep breath and followed the familiar trail back to my room. I could hear Jet and Ghoul laughing in Jet's room. A female voice followed the laughter. Assuming that was the Sympathizer Party had mentioned, I retreated to my room.
     To my surprise, it was just as I'd left it. The drawings I'd made of my dream were still on the desk, though I could tell someone had been looking at them. I smiled at the thought of one of the guys trying to determine what the drawings meant. I plopped down on my bed and let my eyes fall closed. Just as I was about to drift off, a sound interrupted me.
     Her crying brought me to attention immediately. The Girl. Some unintentional maternal instinct arose in me as I burst through my door. I had to comfort her. I had an overwhelming need. As I neared Jet's room, I could hear the Sympathizer trying to calm The Girl down. I entered the room and held my arms out to her.
      "She knows me, let me try," I suggested, pleading for her to put The Girl in my arms again. This child wasn't even mine, and yet I was so protective of her. The moment The Girl was in my arms, I began to cradle her back and forth.
     "Saints, protect her now," I sang in a soft tone, smiling as The Girl's crying quieted, "Come angels of the lord. Come angels of the lord." By the time I had finished the small, slow song, The Girl had stopped crying and was resuming sleep. I cradled her myself a while longer as the others in the room stared at me.
     "That was incredible, how did you learn to get a baby quiet so fast?" the Sympathizer asked, gawking at me like I was a magical being. I grinned and gave her a slight shrug. This Sympathizer was younger than David's wife, and I guessed that it might be their daughter. She had David's face.
     "Not sure, it just always worked before," I returned, holding The Girl out to her gently. The exchange was brief, but the moment The Girl left my arms, I had no idea what to do with them. I shoved my hands into my pockets and smiled. "I'll always come running when she cries," I laughed as I backed away back into the hall.
     I made my way out into the dining area. The only person in there now was Kobra, who sat gazing out the window. He was no doubt still fuming about the argument he's had with Party Poison. I didn't want to bring it up.
     "Where did you learn that song?" Kobra asked me just as I was about to step back down the hall. He turned to look, sadness still showing in his eyes. Sadness and anger, and now something else, but I couldn't tell what.
     I shrugged. "I don't remember where I learned it. I just remember it from my childhood. I think the Fallout took away my memories of where I'd heard it.." I shrugged again, not sure what to say to him. A moment of silence passed between us. He studied the floor as if the tiles contained some hidden message.
     "My grandma," he said suddenly, "she used to sing that to us when we were little, Party and me. I'm not sure how you would know it. She died shortly before the apocalypse. Party used to sing it in the shelter whenever I didn't want to admit I was scared."
     At that moment, I could name the third emotion in his eyes. Home sickness. As if the thought of the words were enough, a pang of loss and distress weeded its way in. I missed my family, just like Kobra. I blinked back tears and offered a sympathetic smile.
     "I wish I had known her," I muttered, "She sounds like a lovely, wonderful woman."
     "She would have loved you," Kobra sighed, relenting and allowing a small smile as he stared into space.
     "I'm glad," I replied. He was open and vulnerable. I remained silent and still, allowing him him to realize that he was an easy target and regain his walls. I tried so hard not to frown when he glared at me from his seat. Surely he saw that I meant him, or any of the others, no harm. He closed his eyes, but I could tell he was battling with himself over my trustworthiness. He turned away from me, and that was the end of our conversation.
     I retreated back to my room once more, peaking into Party's to see if maybe he was in there. When I determined that he wasn't I skipped past it and disappeared behind my door. I've been writing since then. There've been a few interruptions, like meals, but I've always brought this journal with me to continue.
     I've noticed the way Kobra watches what I'm doing. I think he's worried that I'm taking notes to give back to BL/Ind. It makes me sort of sad to think that he may never trust me again. One day he might see the truth and learn to be my friend again. I hope so. I don't know. I just wanna