Calibrations

California 2010

They landed in the desert, and the first thing Youngblood noticed was that it was boiling hot. He considered taking off his leather jacket, something that he never did, just to get some relief from the scorching heat. He looked around, but Billie wasn't there. They were alone, or so he thought.

"We did it," Pepper said as he looked around. "We escaped the Watch."

"We still have to be careful," Figment reminded everyone. "I think Billie gave up on us, but there could be someone else from the Watch."

"Who else could there be?" Youngblood asked. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

Figment pointed to a spot in the distance, and that was when Youngblood saw them. They were riding around in a Trans Am with a giant spider painted on the hood, and they were firing brightly colored ray guns into the distance. He recognized everyone in the car, but they all looked a little bit different. Mikey had dyed his hair again, Ray was wearing the same jacket that he'd worn at the album release party, and Frank had gotten even more tattoos, but the Gerard from this era had undergone the most startling transformation. He'd dyed his hair bright red, and he was wearing a blue jacket and white jeans. There were a few other people here too, and most of them were busy filming the Trans Am.

"I have so many questions," Pepper said. "Like, what happened to Bob?"

"He left the band earlier this year," Figment said.

"That sucks," Pepper complained.

Figment shrugged and said, "It all worked out in the end. Jarrod's awesome."

"Who's Jarrod?"

"Our new drummer," Figment said. "Although if I remember correctly, he doesn't start touring with us for another year or two."

"So who's our drummer right now?"

"Mike Pedicone," Figment said, as if his name was some nasty disease.

"What's wrong with Mike Pedicone?" Pepper asked, but Figment didn't respond.

Youngblood didn't particularly care about their conversation. He still missed Matt, and he still couldn't quite believe that he would leave My Chemical Romance after only a few years. As he thought of his friends back in 2002, he turned back toward the music video set. He was fairly sure that was what it was, anyways. He couldn't think of any other reason for the cameras. It seemed like they were wrapping up, and he heard the band members bantering with each other, although he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

All of a sudden, 2010 Gerard said goodbye to the others, got into the driver's seat of the Trans Am, and drove off. "I can't believe this," Revenge said.

"Yeah, we kind of lost our chance to talk to him," Pepper said.

"No, that's not what I meant," Revenge said. "Why don't I look like a vampire anymore?"

"I was wondering about that too," Youngblood said.

"There are some things that you have yet to learn, Revenge," Figment said. "True art is a weapon. A bright, shiny, slaughtermatic, ridiculously fun weapon."

All of a sudden, the Trans Am pulled over right in front of the four Gerards. As Youngblood admired the decorations on the car, 2010 Gerard rolled down the window. "Need a ride?" he asked.

Figment got into the passenger seat, while Youngblood, Revenge, and Pepper squeezed in the back. It was tight, but they all fit inside. "It's been a while," 2010 Gerard said to Figment. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

"It's nice to see you too, Poison," Figment said.

"Poison?" Pepper said. "Is that a reference to something?"