Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > The (Not So) True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys (And Their Cool Friends)
Chapter 8: Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back (Part 1)
0 reviews(So, I thought I could do this part in one chapter - turns out I was wrong :P)As the Killjoys prepare to leave the base, what secrets will be revealed?
0Unrated
Party Poison stood by my bunk, peering at me through the darkness of the room. I had opened my eyes very reluctantly only minutes before and this bitch was still nagging me to get my ass out of bed?
“Come on, don’t give me anymore of that ‘I’m tired’ bullshit, we got stuff to do,” I managed to weave my hand out of the blanket I was wrapped in and raised my middle finger in his general direction. I heard him sigh dramatically and the next thing I knew, my blanket was gone and Poison was smirking at me triumphantly. I glared at him as I struggled to find my boots in the darkness.
“Remind me why I have to be up?”
“Because we’re rolling out today,” and with that he left the room. I sighed to myself and strapped on my ray gun. We had been warned by Dr D that the Drac’s were on another one of their raids through the Zones and that there had been reports that Korse had been spotted with them. Jet had brushed these off as simply rumours.
“If every sighting of Korse was accurate, they must have at least ten of him running around the desert,” had been his exact words. Either way, we decided to get an early start before the Drac’s caught up to us. I pushed open the door into the diner, wincing as the harsh sunlight hit my face. How the fuck was it so bright this early? I made my way to the corner of the diner where Ghoul, Jet, Poison and Grace were all devouring Power Pup – well, inhaling it in Ghouls case.
“So what’s the plan of action this morning? I asked sliding in next to Grace.
“We pack up and leave?” I glared at Ghoul and turned to Poison for a more serious answer. So I was surprised when he simply nodded and said casually, “Yeah that’s basically it,”
I was a little shocked that it wasn’t more complicated than that, so I went back to my Power Pup.
“Where’s Kobra?” Grace asked beside me, chewing around a mouthful of food.
“Outside with Raven,” this answer from Jet made us all groan in unison. Over the past month that the other crew had been with us, Blood Red Raven and Kobra had grown . . . close. They hadn’t exactly announced it, but the little love sick glances across the room had been enough (and Grace catching them making out in the back of the Trans Am had pretty much sealed the deal). Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them and I had never seen Kobra this cheerful – but it was still a little sickening at times. Ah well, maybe I’m just bitter.
The other two Killjoys, Lithium Genocide and Vexed Vampxie, had also proved to be worthwhile keeping around. It turned out they had both worked directly under Korse before a few raiders had busted them out. They had given us an extreme advantage, as we now had the basic layout of the building, including whose office was where and even where the cameras were placed.
I glanced over at the two Killjoys, sitting in the other booth with their own cans of Power Pup. They all seemed to be a very tight knit unit and I had discovered that, despite being the youngest of the three, Lithium Genocide was actually their leader. This was pretty impressive, especially out here, considering she was only a month older than me.
Everyone’s head turned as the door of the diner opened to reveal Blood Red Raven and Kobra Kid, both looking slightly flushed from what had obviously happened outside. We all rolled our eyes and stood from our respective booths. It had been agreed that a Killjoy car and a DracMobile travelling together without shooting at each other would look too suspicious, so we were splitting up for now. Or forever, said a cruel little voice in my head. I politely told it to shut the fuck up.
A few minutes later, we were all gathered in the small garage next to the diner, suiting up and arming our ray guns. Someone had switched on the radio, but Dr D’s end was coming up blank. The static was there though, a quiet hum in the background, matching the charged atmosphere in the garage.
“Right, we’d better get going if we’re gonna beat the Drac’s to Zone 4,” Lithium Genocide announced, breaking the tense silence. We had already agreed to leave separately, but it had only just occurred to me that we might never see these guys again. It was nice having the girls around, people close to my age. I was really going to miss them.
As Vampxie and Genocide climbed into the Drac Mobile, we all turned to see Blood Red Raven and Kobra Kid –
“Eurgh, get a room,” whispered Ghoul as Kobra and Raven continued attempting to suck each other’s faces off. Eventually they pulled apart and Raven climbed into the car with an embarrassed smile on her face. Kobra Kid watched the car pull out of the garage and into the desert with a stupid smile I had never seen before. He eventually noticed us all staring at him and the scowl returned.
“Oh give me a break!” he sighed dramatically and turned away to find his helmet. I grinned down at Grace, who beamed back at me. She handed me my purple ray gun and I strapped it into my holster, smiling gratefully.
Just then, a large burst of static came from the radio, followed quickly by Dr Death Defying,
“Look alive, sunshine . . .”
We all exchanged a look. It was time to go. We all clambered into the Trans Am – Poison was driving again, because he never let ANYONE drive “his baby” – and Grace had to sit on my lap again due to limited space in the back.
“I’ll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter . . .”
As Dr D continued his morning greeting, Poison slammed on the gas, propelling the Trans Am forward. As we sped out into the desert, I could barely hear D’s voice over the wind in my ears, but as Kobra cranked up the volume, I heard him declare,
“It’s time to do it now and do it loud. Killjoys, make some noise!”
Hell yeah.
*
“Now then Killjoys, you better open up your eardrums, ‘cos I have got the sound for you. It appears that Show Pony has gone above and beyond the call of duty to deliver the sweetest tuneage to your bitter little minds. He has retrieved one of the very rarest of LP’s from some of the greatest times in our history, way back when BL/ind was just a little bottle in the next state’s pharmacy. We know a lot of their supporters are out there in the desert, so motorbabies, this one is for you. With their legendary single, Na Na Na, this is My Chemical Romance.”
“HOLY SHIT! Turn it up, turn it up!” I stared at Grace in shock as she bounced up and down in excitement.
“Melody!” she turned to stare at me, realising what she had said.
“Oh come on, Rebel! It’s My Chemical Romance! And besides, you guys swear all the time, so why can’t I?” she smiled sweetly as Ghoul and Poison struggled to contain their laughter. I stared at Grace blankly as reasons why she couldn’t swear floated around my head. Because you’re nine years old. Because I told you not to. Because . . . because . . .
“Oh fuck it, it’s My Chem,” I sighed, giving in to the puppy dog eyes once again. She beamed at me and continued to sing along to the “Na’s” pouring out of the radio.
Poison smiled at us in the rear-view mirror. “So you guys like MCR, huh?”
“Hell yeah! Dr Death should really play them more often, they’re probably our favourite band ever.” I smiled as Grace nodded enthusiastically, not interrupting her sing-a-long.
“They are good,” Jet added from my right, a little smirk on his face. “I think the solo in this song is pretty great, you can just tell that the guy must be really amazing at what he does.”
At this, Ghoul snorted loudly and the others all chuckled with him. I looked around the car confused.
“What’s so funny? The guy is great, nothing to laugh at.” This only made Jet grin widely and the others laugh louder. Grace was still caught up in the song.
“I wonder what happened to them. Do you think they made it out to the desert?” Grace turned to face me with a quizzical expression. Truthfully, I had no idea what had ever become of My Chemical Romance. I could only hope they were still alive.
“Well, I heard that they made it out alright,” smirked Kobra from the front seat.
“Yeah, I think they were like, some of the first Killjoys ever, or something,” Poison was quick to jump in to this story.
“Oh yeah, and didn’t they buy a Trans Am from a dude in Zone 6, kill a shitload of Drac’s and become Public Enemy No. 1?” continued Ghoul.
“That’s right. And they managed to get more people out of the city and helped Dr Death Defying set up his station, remember?” Jet carried on.
“And then one day, Dr D told them to go pick up two kids called Grace and Jess Brown from Battery City cause they were ‘special’,” Poison was grinning widely now, staring out into the desert.
“Last I heard, they were cruising across Zone 4 with said kids and are sat in the car with you right now,” Kobra turned to face us from the front seat, smiling wider when he took in mine and Grace’s shocked expressions. “So, yeah, I think they’re doing alright,”
I looked around the car in awe as my brain went into overload. So, wait, the guys you’ve always admired, for like, ever, as Killjoys, are actually in fact, the same guys, in your favourite . . .
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” The Killjoys only laughed gleefully as Grace and I gawped at them in appreciation.
“Wait, so you guys were, are, My Chemical Romance?” Grace stared at each of the men in the car, still in awe of her musical heroes.
“The very same,” chirped Ghoul next to us. “God, those were the days, huh?” the others all nodded simultaneously, obviously reminiscing.
“Whoa. So, who played what? I’m gonna guess, from the way he was talking himself up, that Jet played lead?” I stared accusingly at Jet, who only chuckled and nodded.
“You’d guess right. Ghoul used to back me up on rhythm, Kobra played bass, and Poison would sing. We used to have a drummer called Bob, but . . .” everyone instantly sobered. Apparently, “Bob” was a touchy subject.
“What happened to Bob?” asked Grace, always the curious one. Jet shifted uncomfortably in his seat before answering.
“Taken in by BL/ind. Never saw him again.” He hung his head in sorrow as the others all stayed
silent. As the song ended, Dr D’s voice filled the Trans Am, breaking the silence.
“That was the electrifying My Chemical Romance with Na Na Na, much love and respect goes out to you boys if you’re listening. Now we are getting heaps of requests out here at WKIL, but the most asked for is yet another one of My Chem’s records. I’m gonna take this as a hint that you all wanna hear more from these guys in the not so distant future, so although I can’t make any promises, I can promise you this. When you’re afraid to keep on living, this track will give you that zesty lemon of life all over again. Here is Famous Last Words.”
As the track began to play, we were all still lost in our own separate worlds, the guys remembering the days when everything made sense and me and Grace imagining what those times were like. We had only ever heard stories from the waves, so had a very limited knowledge of what life was like before Battery City. It was strange really, because I was only 8 when BL/ind took over, so I should have some memories of life of before. But I don’t. It’s all blank. I’ve always assumed that it was some memory wipe thing BL/ind carried out after Battery City was successfully completed and started to accept citizens. Now however, I wondered if it was something more. If their drugs didn’t work on me, then how did they manage to wipe my memory?
It was probably because we were all caught up in our inner monologues that we didn’t see the Drac Mobile’s pulling up behind us. In fact, it wasn’t until the first shot had been fired that we realised something was going on.
“Come on, don’t give me anymore of that ‘I’m tired’ bullshit, we got stuff to do,” I managed to weave my hand out of the blanket I was wrapped in and raised my middle finger in his general direction. I heard him sigh dramatically and the next thing I knew, my blanket was gone and Poison was smirking at me triumphantly. I glared at him as I struggled to find my boots in the darkness.
“Remind me why I have to be up?”
“Because we’re rolling out today,” and with that he left the room. I sighed to myself and strapped on my ray gun. We had been warned by Dr D that the Drac’s were on another one of their raids through the Zones and that there had been reports that Korse had been spotted with them. Jet had brushed these off as simply rumours.
“If every sighting of Korse was accurate, they must have at least ten of him running around the desert,” had been his exact words. Either way, we decided to get an early start before the Drac’s caught up to us. I pushed open the door into the diner, wincing as the harsh sunlight hit my face. How the fuck was it so bright this early? I made my way to the corner of the diner where Ghoul, Jet, Poison and Grace were all devouring Power Pup – well, inhaling it in Ghouls case.
“So what’s the plan of action this morning? I asked sliding in next to Grace.
“We pack up and leave?” I glared at Ghoul and turned to Poison for a more serious answer. So I was surprised when he simply nodded and said casually, “Yeah that’s basically it,”
I was a little shocked that it wasn’t more complicated than that, so I went back to my Power Pup.
“Where’s Kobra?” Grace asked beside me, chewing around a mouthful of food.
“Outside with Raven,” this answer from Jet made us all groan in unison. Over the past month that the other crew had been with us, Blood Red Raven and Kobra had grown . . . close. They hadn’t exactly announced it, but the little love sick glances across the room had been enough (and Grace catching them making out in the back of the Trans Am had pretty much sealed the deal). Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them and I had never seen Kobra this cheerful – but it was still a little sickening at times. Ah well, maybe I’m just bitter.
The other two Killjoys, Lithium Genocide and Vexed Vampxie, had also proved to be worthwhile keeping around. It turned out they had both worked directly under Korse before a few raiders had busted them out. They had given us an extreme advantage, as we now had the basic layout of the building, including whose office was where and even where the cameras were placed.
I glanced over at the two Killjoys, sitting in the other booth with their own cans of Power Pup. They all seemed to be a very tight knit unit and I had discovered that, despite being the youngest of the three, Lithium Genocide was actually their leader. This was pretty impressive, especially out here, considering she was only a month older than me.
Everyone’s head turned as the door of the diner opened to reveal Blood Red Raven and Kobra Kid, both looking slightly flushed from what had obviously happened outside. We all rolled our eyes and stood from our respective booths. It had been agreed that a Killjoy car and a DracMobile travelling together without shooting at each other would look too suspicious, so we were splitting up for now. Or forever, said a cruel little voice in my head. I politely told it to shut the fuck up.
A few minutes later, we were all gathered in the small garage next to the diner, suiting up and arming our ray guns. Someone had switched on the radio, but Dr D’s end was coming up blank. The static was there though, a quiet hum in the background, matching the charged atmosphere in the garage.
“Right, we’d better get going if we’re gonna beat the Drac’s to Zone 4,” Lithium Genocide announced, breaking the tense silence. We had already agreed to leave separately, but it had only just occurred to me that we might never see these guys again. It was nice having the girls around, people close to my age. I was really going to miss them.
As Vampxie and Genocide climbed into the Drac Mobile, we all turned to see Blood Red Raven and Kobra Kid –
“Eurgh, get a room,” whispered Ghoul as Kobra and Raven continued attempting to suck each other’s faces off. Eventually they pulled apart and Raven climbed into the car with an embarrassed smile on her face. Kobra Kid watched the car pull out of the garage and into the desert with a stupid smile I had never seen before. He eventually noticed us all staring at him and the scowl returned.
“Oh give me a break!” he sighed dramatically and turned away to find his helmet. I grinned down at Grace, who beamed back at me. She handed me my purple ray gun and I strapped it into my holster, smiling gratefully.
Just then, a large burst of static came from the radio, followed quickly by Dr Death Defying,
“Look alive, sunshine . . .”
We all exchanged a look. It was time to go. We all clambered into the Trans Am – Poison was driving again, because he never let ANYONE drive “his baby” – and Grace had to sit on my lap again due to limited space in the back.
“I’ll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter . . .”
As Dr D continued his morning greeting, Poison slammed on the gas, propelling the Trans Am forward. As we sped out into the desert, I could barely hear D’s voice over the wind in my ears, but as Kobra cranked up the volume, I heard him declare,
“It’s time to do it now and do it loud. Killjoys, make some noise!”
Hell yeah.
*
“Now then Killjoys, you better open up your eardrums, ‘cos I have got the sound for you. It appears that Show Pony has gone above and beyond the call of duty to deliver the sweetest tuneage to your bitter little minds. He has retrieved one of the very rarest of LP’s from some of the greatest times in our history, way back when BL/ind was just a little bottle in the next state’s pharmacy. We know a lot of their supporters are out there in the desert, so motorbabies, this one is for you. With their legendary single, Na Na Na, this is My Chemical Romance.”
“HOLY SHIT! Turn it up, turn it up!” I stared at Grace in shock as she bounced up and down in excitement.
“Melody!” she turned to stare at me, realising what she had said.
“Oh come on, Rebel! It’s My Chemical Romance! And besides, you guys swear all the time, so why can’t I?” she smiled sweetly as Ghoul and Poison struggled to contain their laughter. I stared at Grace blankly as reasons why she couldn’t swear floated around my head. Because you’re nine years old. Because I told you not to. Because . . . because . . .
“Oh fuck it, it’s My Chem,” I sighed, giving in to the puppy dog eyes once again. She beamed at me and continued to sing along to the “Na’s” pouring out of the radio.
Poison smiled at us in the rear-view mirror. “So you guys like MCR, huh?”
“Hell yeah! Dr Death should really play them more often, they’re probably our favourite band ever.” I smiled as Grace nodded enthusiastically, not interrupting her sing-a-long.
“They are good,” Jet added from my right, a little smirk on his face. “I think the solo in this song is pretty great, you can just tell that the guy must be really amazing at what he does.”
At this, Ghoul snorted loudly and the others all chuckled with him. I looked around the car confused.
“What’s so funny? The guy is great, nothing to laugh at.” This only made Jet grin widely and the others laugh louder. Grace was still caught up in the song.
“I wonder what happened to them. Do you think they made it out to the desert?” Grace turned to face me with a quizzical expression. Truthfully, I had no idea what had ever become of My Chemical Romance. I could only hope they were still alive.
“Well, I heard that they made it out alright,” smirked Kobra from the front seat.
“Yeah, I think they were like, some of the first Killjoys ever, or something,” Poison was quick to jump in to this story.
“Oh yeah, and didn’t they buy a Trans Am from a dude in Zone 6, kill a shitload of Drac’s and become Public Enemy No. 1?” continued Ghoul.
“That’s right. And they managed to get more people out of the city and helped Dr Death Defying set up his station, remember?” Jet carried on.
“And then one day, Dr D told them to go pick up two kids called Grace and Jess Brown from Battery City cause they were ‘special’,” Poison was grinning widely now, staring out into the desert.
“Last I heard, they were cruising across Zone 4 with said kids and are sat in the car with you right now,” Kobra turned to face us from the front seat, smiling wider when he took in mine and Grace’s shocked expressions. “So, yeah, I think they’re doing alright,”
I looked around the car in awe as my brain went into overload. So, wait, the guys you’ve always admired, for like, ever, as Killjoys, are actually in fact, the same guys, in your favourite . . .
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” The Killjoys only laughed gleefully as Grace and I gawped at them in appreciation.
“Wait, so you guys were, are, My Chemical Romance?” Grace stared at each of the men in the car, still in awe of her musical heroes.
“The very same,” chirped Ghoul next to us. “God, those were the days, huh?” the others all nodded simultaneously, obviously reminiscing.
“Whoa. So, who played what? I’m gonna guess, from the way he was talking himself up, that Jet played lead?” I stared accusingly at Jet, who only chuckled and nodded.
“You’d guess right. Ghoul used to back me up on rhythm, Kobra played bass, and Poison would sing. We used to have a drummer called Bob, but . . .” everyone instantly sobered. Apparently, “Bob” was a touchy subject.
“What happened to Bob?” asked Grace, always the curious one. Jet shifted uncomfortably in his seat before answering.
“Taken in by BL/ind. Never saw him again.” He hung his head in sorrow as the others all stayed
silent. As the song ended, Dr D’s voice filled the Trans Am, breaking the silence.
“That was the electrifying My Chemical Romance with Na Na Na, much love and respect goes out to you boys if you’re listening. Now we are getting heaps of requests out here at WKIL, but the most asked for is yet another one of My Chem’s records. I’m gonna take this as a hint that you all wanna hear more from these guys in the not so distant future, so although I can’t make any promises, I can promise you this. When you’re afraid to keep on living, this track will give you that zesty lemon of life all over again. Here is Famous Last Words.”
As the track began to play, we were all still lost in our own separate worlds, the guys remembering the days when everything made sense and me and Grace imagining what those times were like. We had only ever heard stories from the waves, so had a very limited knowledge of what life was like before Battery City. It was strange really, because I was only 8 when BL/ind took over, so I should have some memories of life of before. But I don’t. It’s all blank. I’ve always assumed that it was some memory wipe thing BL/ind carried out after Battery City was successfully completed and started to accept citizens. Now however, I wondered if it was something more. If their drugs didn’t work on me, then how did they manage to wipe my memory?
It was probably because we were all caught up in our inner monologues that we didn’t see the Drac Mobile’s pulling up behind us. In fact, it wasn’t until the first shot had been fired that we realised something was going on.
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