FicWad

Written by me.

Amara opened her eyes. She looked around, confused about her surroundings. It was dark, and the air was cold. It must be very late, she told herself. She remembered telling Aeon goodbye, and feeling sad that she may not see her again. She didn't remember anything past that. Amara had her chin resting on Ray's shoulder, who was holding her. He was talking to someone in a muted voice, probably trying not to wake her. She was careful to stay silent and still, because she didn't want him knowing she was awake.

"I hope she's gonna be okay," Gerard was saying.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Gee," Ray answered.

"Okay," Gerard answered, unconvinced. "Now come on. We gotta find..." he trailed off.
Amara sat there in Ray's arms, curious and impatient. Why didn't he say who they were looking for? By the sound of his voice, it seemed as if he didn't even know who it was. She needed to know, because the less she knew, the less she could trust them. Amara hated to think like that, but she had learned to be wary of people. Matt and Jamie had taught her well.

"Yeah, do we actually know who we're meeting? The message just said to come here," Mikey said.

"How do we know we can trust this person," asked Frank, surprisingly somber.

"We don't know," sighed Gerard. "They gave us a password, and only Killjoys have access to the site we were on."

"The password could have been intercepted," Frank pointed out.

"Yes, but what other choice do we have? I don't like it any more than you do. We're just gonna have to be on our guard." Gerard submitted.

The men were quiet for a while, and Amara felt herself starting to cramp in Ray's arms. She knew she would get no more information, so she decided to make her consciousness known. She stirred, yawning. Ray turned his head towards her, and put her down.

"Hey, Amara. Now's a good time to wake up. Our...friend...will be here any minute." He murmured to her. She looked up at him with a worried look.

"Would...would I be able to go with you?" Amara asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She had gotten used to being on her own, but she felt connected to Mad Gear. She wanted nothing more at this moment to stay with them.

"We were gonna ask you that," answered Gerard. "We really don't want to send you out on your own, but that's you decision, not ours." Amara was relieved.

"I've never been to Battery City. It'd be nice to have someone I know showing me around, help me get on my feet," Amara told them vaguely.

"Sweetie, the truth of the matter is, we don't feel comfortable leaving you in a strange city all by yourself. You're only ten," Mikey reasoned.

"I know how to take care of myself, Mikey," Amara told him, her feelings hurt.

"Yes, I'm sure. But if anything happened to you, something beyond your control, we wouldn't be able to live with the guilt," Gerard told her.

"Plus, I need someone to beat at checkers. I'm the worst of us four," Frank smiled.

"Okay. I guess I'll go with you," Amara shrugged, admiring her technique. She was the one to make the request, and had turned it so she was the one being persuaded.

Out of the darkness, a slight scraping noise pierced the silence. What was that sound? It sounded like wheels of some sort. A figure became rapidly illuminated in the lights that bordered the train station. Gerard reflexively moved in front of Amara, protecting her. A person came gliding into view, and Amara was shocked. This person was wearing the weirdest garb, and Amara couldn't tell whether they were male or female. The stranger was wearing polka-dot leggings, and a white half-shirt. The word NOISE blared at Amara from the half-shirt. The person was also sporting a thong over the leggings, and wearing a helmet. Amara looked down, and saw the reason the stranger was wearing a helmet, and seemingly glided. This person was wearing roller skates. Amara looked around and saw that the four men looked just as awestruck as she was.

The figure pulled to a halt in front of them and pulled off the helmet. It was a man. He faced Gerard, and looked at him for a long minute, a huge grin on his face.

"Gerard! Aw, man it's been forever!" He pulled a bewildered Gerard into a tight hug. Gerard pulled away, and looked into the man's eyes curiously. His face lit up with recognition, and he patted the man on the back.

"You're right, it has been forever. You haven't changed a bit, um..." Gerard trailed off, searching for a name.

"Show Pony. Well, that's my name now, anyway. It's been so long since I've used my old name, I've forgotten what it is."

"Ah, your Killjoy name, eh? I was never with any of you long enough to get one, myself," Gerard said, his spirits lifted.

"Well, come on, let's not talk about that here," said Show Pony. He looked at Gerard's companions quizzically.

"Oh, this is my band," Gerard answered Show Pony's unasked question. As he introduced all the adults, Amara's eyes wandered. She looked out into the darkness, letting her mind wander. She
snapped out of her trance when Ray said her name.

"What?" She asked, looking up.

"Amara, this is Show Pony. He's an old friend of mine from-" Gerard cut himself off. "From a while back," he recovered. Show Pony and Amara shook hands.

"You can call me Show," he told her, smiling sweetly. "Come on, you lot. We shouldn't be standing around this late. The van's over here, I'll help you with your luggage." He picked up Gerard's suitcase and skated into the darkness. The group followed him, and before they knew it, the were standing next to an old, shabby van. Amara yawned as they loaded their gear into the van. When they finished, she was lifted into the back seat by Ray. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the headrest.

Amara woke up for what felt like the hundredth time that night, to her shoulder being shaken. Show's reassuring face was the first thing she saw.

"Come on, little Amara. Time to go in." Amara stepped out of the van, and saw a tiny diner. She walked into the small door, and stood in the dusty diner, waiting for the men to join her. She entered a room on the side of the dining room, and came to a bedroom. She sat on the bed, and picked at a frayed thread in the blanket. She yawned loudly, and fell asleep, dropping onto the bed.

*

Amara woke to the sun blinding her. She was sweating; it was hot already. She groaned, knowing it was gonna be like this from this point on. This was the consequence of coming to Battery City. Or the surrounding zones, anyway. Amara sat up and looked around. The bedroom was very small and smelled of musty fabric. She got out of the bed, and opened the door to the diner. Frank, Gerard, Mikey, and Ray were all sitting at a booth, laughing and chatting.

"Hey," Amara said, and they all looked up. Frank smiled at her, and moved over in the booth, patting the seat beside him. Amara sat next to him and looked around the table. There were a multitude of white cans sprawled on the table, and they had the notorious Better Living Industry logos on the labels. The men were shoveling the food into their mouths hungrily, looking disgusted by the taste. Amara looked closer at the cans, and saw a picture of a pointy-eared dog. They were eating dog food.

"Ew. What are you eating?" Inquired Amara as she picked up a can.

"It's all we've got. It doesn't taste so bad once you get used to it," answered Ray. Mikey choked and gagged, making Ray's statement seem less viable. Amara shrugged, and dipped her finger in the can anyway. She hesitantly brought the goop to her tongue.

"Bleckkk!" She retched. She glanced at the men, who were looking at her expectantly. She continued eating slowly, trying not to choke.

"Look alive, sunshine!" Came a voice out of the early morning silence. Amara turned to see a man in a motorized wheelchair. He had long, stringy black hair, a mustache, and thick sideburns. His eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses, and wore a bandana. He had addressed Show, who was sitting in a nearby chair, fiddling with his skates.

"Oh," the man said, surprised. "Look alive, sunshines, I guess. I forgot we had guests. Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Death Defying. Just call me Dr. D," he extended his hand to Gerard, who shook it heartily.

"Thanks for taking us in, man. It's really kind of you."

"No problem. Now, who are the rest of you?" He inquired, looking at the group.

They each introduced themselves, shaking hands. There's a lot of that going on around here, Amara thought to herself. She smiled at Dr. D when he shook her hand, but inwardly cringed, because he had a very firm grip. He aimed his little vehicle to the end of the table that wasn't a booth and opened a can of Power Pup. He started talking as he ate.

"All right. First of all, you guys can stay here as long as you want. I have two requirements." The group listened with intent ears.

"The first requirement is that you help with anything around here that needs to be done. I'm old and can't do much, and all I got is LadyBoy here." Amara assumed LadyBoy was Show Pony, being that he wore such...interesting clothes.

"I have a car that you men can have, but it needs to be fixed up. If you can't manage that, there's a mechanic in town, but I'd rather not go to him unless it's imperative. I'm not made of money." The group nodded, and Frank looked up in surprise. Amara knew that it had to be because they were being given a car.

"The second requirement is that you DON'T give up my position. I need to lay low, being an important DJ and all." He paused, looking at Amara, who was confused. "I'm the one and only DJ for the killjoy pirate radio station, doll. Pretty cool, huh?" She nodded.
"So anyway, like I said," he continued, "I'm sure BL/ind has a list of names, and I can't have any of yours come back to me. So, I propose we all take on Killjoy names." The men looked at each other, then Gerard addressed the doctor.

"We already came up with our killjoy names," he explained. "I'm Party Poison."

"I'm Jet Star," Ray added.

"The name's Kobra Kid, with a K," said Mikey.

"Fun Ghoul at your service," Frank grinned. Show and Dr. D did double takes at his alias. They looked at him for a moment, then turned their eyes to Amara.

"So, little lady, what's yours?" Amara looked at all the men in turn, a little frightened. She didn't know how to get a killjoy name. Was there some special ceremony? Frank saw her face, and patted her on the back.

"It's okay, we'll think of something. What are you good at?"

"Um...I dunno," she answered shyly. She never thought she had any talents.

"Well you're fast," offered Mikey.

"Am I?" She was surprised.

"Of course you are! Back when we were trying to catch the train, you ran seriously fast. I'd never seen someone that quick." Gerard told her in an awed voice.

"Oh. Matt raced me a lot. Made me faster."

"Really? Well running fast is always a good skill. Being able to outrun the enemy."

"What enemy?"

"Never mind. Anyway, you were as fast as a missile."

"Nope. Faster." She stuck out her tongue.

"We should call you Missile Kid."

"I like it! Mad Gear and the Missile Kid," she mused.

"So what, are you one of us now?" He teased.

"Every band needs a fuzzy haired girl to be complete."

"Yeah, that's what we have Ray for," he chuckled. She snorted loudly.

"Mad Gear and the Missile Kid," he repeated. "I like the sound of that." They all smiled down at her, and she blushed. She felt like one of them now that she had her very own killjoy name.

Missile Kid, she thought to herself, turning the words over in her mind.

"Now," said Dr. D, interrupting her thoughts. "To keep safe, you all must use your killjoy names and nothing else. Those are your names now. They'll be Party, Kobra, Jet, Ghoul and Missile for short. You got that?"

Missile nodded, and the men followed suit. She felt an enormous sense of power flow through her veins as she accepted her new name.

"Come on," said Ghoul, jumping up eagerly. "Let's go explore."

Party, Kobra, Jet and Missile rose, following him out of the diner.