One In The Chamber

A Girl Named Knives {The Fabulous Killjoys}

"Yo, Missile Kid, catch!" I yell, and she looks up suddenly, reflexes going into overdrive to catch the candy bar I threw at her. As soon as she caught it, her eyes went wide with both curiosity and the burning desire to try and eat the candy bar whole. We can't find these things out here in the Zones.

"Knives, how'd you get this? Did you at least save some for yourself?" she asks, and I shrug.

"Did you know that there's a lot more of what used to be California then the Zones? There's a ton of uncharted terrain, with all sorts of ruins to look through. One of them was a busted gas station. So much different from what we have, that's for sure," I explain, and she raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, so that's where you were for the last week. I was getting worried. Dr. Death Defying told me you where going on a mission, but he wouldn't tell me where or what you were doing. Only that you'd be back today," Missile Kid tells me.

"Ugh, that man. But where would all of us be without him?" I ask. I hear a mewing sound, and Missile Kid's cat starts rubbing up in my legs, obviously glad to see me. To be honest, I missed the damn thing too, but I would never admit it. The cat jumped into Missile Kid's lap, and as she started in on another conversation, I began to think about how to tell her my news. What I found out, what I might be able to do. What I might be able to fix.

As a couple of fifteen-year-olds, Missile Kid and Knives don't seem like much, but the fact of the matter is, Better Living Industries fears both of us, especially when we're together. They fear me for my deadly accuracy with a throwing knife, which is where my Killjoy name came from, and they fear her for her intelligence and deadly desire for revenge. The Fabulous Four were her best friends, and she wants to get payback for their deaths all those years ago. Sometimes she blames herself, but I always manage to redirect all that pain and anger towards the man who is truly at fault. Korse. How I'd like to throw a knife into his brain. But I don't focus on that. I instead focus on memorizing her, just in case I never see her again. Her wild curls, completely full of "fro power" as her and Jet Star used to say. Her dark brown eyes and her dark skin that's peeling a little on her neck. She got sunburnt again.

"Missile Kid, along with searching outside the Zones, I had another mission. Show Pony brought back a report that said Better Living Industries had found a device and they were testing it to find out what it was," I say, and she looks up from her cat, subconsciously petting it to where the damn thing was purring like an engine.

"Did you find out what it was?" she asks, and I nod.

"It was built fifteen years ago. It was technology way ahead of its time, still ahead of the times. The scientists who created it were absolute geniuses, and they were willing to die to keep the device from falling into the wrong hands. They made every precaution to keep it in the hands of the good guys. And everyone of them paid for it with their life," I explain, and she slowly nods.

"So what was it?"

"A time travel device."

"T-Time travel? What will Better Living Industries do with it?" Missile Kid asks.

"Well that's the thing. They can't use it. The scientists' plan to keep it out of their hands was foolproof. There's only one way to unlock it. Blood. Only the blood of the scientists and one other person can unlock it," I  tell her. 

"Who's that one person?" she asks, and I look down, pushing my blonde side-bangs out of my face for a second. I look up, and brown and hazel eyes meet, and her face falls into shock. "No..."

"Mhmm."

"You? You...but you said it was made fifteen years ago, you would have only been a baby, if you were even born. Unless..."

"My parents were two of the scientists. A few months after I was born, Better Living Industries was closing in on them, and so they took a few drops of my blood and programmed it into the device so that I would be the only one who could ever use it if it was found. And then, the night before the raid, my parents gave me to Show Pony, who raised me after my parents were gone. The next day, Draculoids and Guards raided the lab, only to find all of the scientists dead, the device gone. And now it's up to me to get it back," I say, and she nods.

"So that's your next mission? When do you leave?" she asks.

"Tomorrow. And if I get the device, I'm to unlock it and use it as soon as possible. I'm going back to fix what shouldn't have happened."

"What's that?"

"The death of the Fabulous Four. My mission is to save their lives." Missile Kid nods, knowing that I could bring her friends back. She could be raised by them instead of growing up on the streets of Battery City.

"If you save them, will I ever know you?" she asks, and I smile.

"The Fabulous Four died years after my parents. I was being raised by Show Pony at the time. No matter what, you'll always be my best friend," I tell her.

"Just don't die, okay?"

"I promise that I will not die."

"Who knew we'd be relying on a girl named Knives to save the day?"

***************

I dodge a bullet as I climb onto my motorbike and speed out of Better Living Industries headquarters, leaving skid marks in my wake. But I have it. I got the device. I travel as far as necessary to be safe, and I slow the motorbike to a stop, putting down the kickstand and looking at the little device. Sighing, I pull out one of my knives, and make a slight cut on my palm, gasping at the pain. I squeeze the blood into the device, which begins to glow in my palm. I smile as it greets me, using my birth name. Jenny. I put in the date I was going back to, and press the button. I feel a slight squeezing, and then it's gone. I open my eyes when I feel rain drops. It was raining that night.

I look at the device, amazed it actually worked, before noticing that it had stopped glowing. So I have to put in my blood every single time. That's not even cool. I look up, and see the headlights of the Trans Am in the distance, and I turn to see that my motorbike didn't come with my. Okay. Show Pony helped me out with this. I pull the skates out of my bag, slipped them over my boots, and tied them tight. I was close enough to skate and get there before the Fabulous Four. I walk over to the road, and begin skating. In five minutes, I'm rolling into the Scarecrow Unit, having stunned the two Guards that were there. They'll wake up in time to be shot by the Fabulous Four. I take my skates off, put them back into my bag, and sneak off. The Fabulous Four died in the lobby of Better Living Industries, so that's where I'm going to go.

The lobby is empty when I finally get there, but I know the Fabulous Four and little Missile Kid are close. I look around, and I find my hiding place up in the roof. I can hide up there and still throw knives efficiently.  Only moments after I climb up and get settled do I see the five Killjoys coming into the lobby. A few steps behind them, Korse and his minions pull out their guns, and the fight ensues. Eventually, Korse corners Party Poison, backs him up against a wall, and puts his gun under his jaw. I make my move. I throw a knife straight into the hand holding the gun, and Korse drops the gun. Party Poison pushes him away, and the fight continues, and I watch as the Fabulous Four make it out alive. Once the lobby is empty enough, I put on my skates and skate out of the building. The device in my hand slowly disappears as the future changes itself, and I see a light. I skate into it, going back to live a different life. A better life where the Fabulous Four lived. The bright light surrounds me, and that's the last thing I remember.