Killjoys 22 Vampires Don't...

Disco hadn't bothered returning to the camp that night after her walk. As the sun began to rise in the east she had no intentions of turning around. She had nothing new to say to Tiger Beatdown and she was sure that all anyone would do when she got back was pry into her business. As much as she loved Rainbow Riot and the bond they'd formed in the last few days, she didn't really want her optimistic opinion on the matter.

Tiger hadn't been able to answer the most important question she'd asked him and though she knew that it hadn't been a fair question exactly, it still made her question his motives. The last thing she wanted was to return to the camp and hear him babble over an apology. The worst part was that Disco Bitch knew if she listened to him begging for forgiveness she'd give into him. An apology was what she wanted to hear from him. If he could just make it all seem okay for a few seconds she would give in. She knew an apology was like putting a band-aid on something that needed a tourniquet. Maybe the fact that I want him to make it right for us so badly is enough. If I want this that much then why am I fighting it so hard? God I'm an idiot.

Disco kicked at the dirt in front of her aimlessly and decided to turn back around and head home. She'd traveled far enough into the east that she was going to start breathing dangerous air soon if she wasn't careful about it. She gazed back toward the camp, which had faded from view the night before. It would be half a day's walk to get back there if she kept at her slow pace. She could cut it down to a few hours if she hurried.

Instead of hurrying, Disco Bitch chose to take a break, and sat down in the dirt. She adjusted the mask on her face, which she'd put there during the night, and took a drink of the bottle of water she had taken with her on her trek. Thinking had actually done her some good for once. Usually when she sat and thought about her situation, her mind would sabotage itself and she'd end up making a thousand bad decisions.

"If I'm going to get through this stupid thing, I need to tell Tiger Beatdown what's really going on in my head." Disco laid back in the sand and looked up at the hazy California sun. She was still struggling with alcohol abuse many years after she'd given it up. How pathetic am I? Shame flooded through her and settled in her stomach as hard as a rock. She'd never wanted to give up the alcohol in the first place; she'd only done so because she was forced to. Maybe now that she really didn't want to be dependent on it anymore, the habit would be gone for good.

A smile eventually found its way contently to her lips. Maybe that's why the situation with Tiger had been so stressful. She'd told him the story of how she'd become a Killjoy but she hadn't shared how the temptation to drink still overcame her nearly every single night. True recovery from addiction would mean she wouldn't be tempted to fall back into her old life. Though it was uncommon for true recovery to come for anyone suffering from some kind of addiction, she was hoping that with Tiger's help she could find it.

When she got back to the camp, she would get herself cleaned up, clear her thoughts for a little and then she'd find Tiger and tell him what she needed from him. He had been right about a few things he'd brought up during their fight in the bar. She was afraid to let herself be happy. For once she had something more than a fight on her hands and she was terrified of letting herself find some romance and happiness. The bottom line was: she was afraid to fall in love and not have it end up in flames. She'd created a ton of conflict in her mind to keep herself from being happy and she refused to let it get the best of her this time.

It had never occurred to her that despite Tiger Beatdown's wish for normalcy and his dream of hope and a future with a family, maybe he had also been afraid of letting her in too. She had never considered that this was just as hard for him as it was for her. They had both spent so much time fighting against the Dracs and Better Living that falling in love and getting used to a life that was more than fighting and killing was as terrifying as the fight itself. In some ways it was even scarier than fighting the Dracs.

If she could share her fears with Tiger and just tell him what seemed so easy to admit out here in the desert then perhaps there was hope for them yet. When they'd taken back the camp and the awkwardness had settled into their relationship, she had realized how scared she was to become the woman he wanted her to be. But who was to say that was the case at all? Sitting here alone in the sun, lying on the sand and staring into the sky, she realized she didn't have to become anyone else for him; she was already the woman he wanted. Being in a relationship didn't mean she had to change her whole world.

Perhaps writing her thoughts down would be easier on her. If anyone would understand how hard it was for her to share these very personal things, it would be Tiger Beatdown. She could picture it now. He'd probably even find the fact that she'd taken the time to write it down romantic. It was possible he'd even find it endearing that she so struggled with the conflict.

That was all she needed to convince herself to start the trek back to the eastern camp. Her courage may start to wane after a few hours of walking through the sand, but if nothing else, she knew she'd be able to build it back up with some time to herself. She was strong enough to realize it out in the desert; she was certainly strong enough to do it again in a place she actually felt comfortable in.

Getting to her feet, Disco wiped the sand from her hands and her legs. Shaking out her jacket to rid herself of sand, she turned around to face the camp and started to trudge her way through the desert. After a few moments of walking her feet struck something metallic and hard beneath the sand unexpectedly. She stepped again and heard the sound a second time, echoing beneath her feet. Disco froze, looked confused by the sound. She looked all around her for the source. Perhaps she'd kick some kind of scrap metal; that wasn't uncommon in the desert. There was no scrap metal anywhere around her and the sound had echoed like it was hollow, scrap metal wouldn't sound like that.

She leaned closer down to the ground to get a better look, eventually crouching and searching for the source. Whatever she'd hit sounded big and empty. She adjusted her footing and heard the metallic echoing again beneath her feet. She got on her knees and quickly started to push the sand to the side. There was some kind of door beneath her feet, or a hatch; or so it appeared. She wasn't sure which. Continuing to push the dirt out of the way, she uncovered a bit of yellow paint on the door. She brushed her fingers over the mark and saw that it was the letter "A" written in yellow spray paint.

"What the fuck?" Disco Bitch muttered, confused. She continued to push the sand away, searching for more of the lettering. She found the left seam of the hatch and continued to the right. It took her ten minutes to uncover the entire door but as she did she was astonished at what she found. On the ground in front of her was the entrance to some kind of underground facility, or at least that was her best guess. She couldn't exactly be sure by sight alone.

She remembered the Dracs she and Agent Alpaca had encountered in the desert a few days prior when they had been searching for reinforcements and how Korse had headed further out into the zones rather than back toward Battery City. Was it possible that this was where they were hiding? Was there a secret Better Living Industries facility hiding beneath their feet this whole time? If that were the case then why hadn't they taken action when they heard the takeover of the eastern camp?

"A-WEB." She read the lettering on the doors and scowled. What did it mean? Did it stand for something or was there a web of facilities underneath that none of them knew about? She couldn't help but be reminded of an old video game that had an underground facility owned by an evil corporation who had been secretly manufacturing a virus to reanimate corpses. What if there was some facility like that beneath there? As highly unlikely as it was, she couldn't risk going into some Raccoon City Hive-like facility on her own. She knew that leaving it now could mean she'd lose the location in the sand, but she had to go and tell Party Poison what she'd discovered.

Walking around the door to avoid making any more noise on top of it, she hurried toward the eastern Killjoy camp. The sickening sound of creaking metal was the last thing she heard before a dull pain in her head short circuited her vision. The world around her began to spin and as she felt her coordination failing her. Everything started to fade in front of her like a scene from a movie and as the nausea flooded through her, her vision went black.


Rainbow Riot rolled onto her back, waking up after a night of tossing and turning and nightmares. She'd had so much on her mind that her rest had been riddled with the conflicting thoughts from the arguments she'd had with Vengeful Venom. She rolled over to confide her worries in him and found he wasn't there. The place where he had been laying when she'd fallen asleep the night before was empty and cold. She patted down the blankets as if to see if maybe he had just disguised himself, even though the idea was absurd. She lifted his blankets and found nothing there beneath them.

Her heart was racing and her pulse was pounding in her ears. Maybe he's just gone out to get something to eat. Or maybe he's gone to have a cigarette. He probably just didn't want to disturb me. Then why am I panicking like this? She got up carefully and got dressed in a hurry. As she slipped on her shirt and straightened it out something caught her eye. Lying on the pillow that she had just gotten up from was a piece of paper. She must have missed it or had been lying on it so she hadn't noticed that it was there. It was slightly crunched up from how she'd been squishing it during her slumber, but she could clearly see her name written on the cover.

Riot hesitated to pick up the letter, knowing it only contained bad news. If it had been something easy for Vengeful Venom to tell her, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of writing a letter at all. He would've just woken her up and told her what was troubling him as he often did after a night of contemplation.

"He promised me…" She whispered, knowing that whatever he'd said to her the night before had been a lie to appease her. He had just wanted to get her to stop crying as he always had. She thought for once things were finally different. It had been hard for her to lay it all on the line like she'd done. She'd risked losing him in that conversation the night before, only to find out that him finally making some progress was all another lie.

Riot opened the letter and stared at the familiar chicken scratch handwriting.


My dearest Rainbow Riot,

I know you're going to be incredibly mad at me when you find out that I've left you. As I lay here and watch you sleeping so restlessly, I know that you deserve more than what I can give you. I know you tell me all the time that you want me just the way that I am but it's something I can't live with. I respect that about you though; that you could love someone like me despite the things I've done with my past. You've continued to be the only person I've ever been able to trust and you always will be no matter what happens from here.

That's the reason I can't keep lying to you about what I've seen. When I was running from those labs all those years ago, I found these people lying in test tubes. There were three of them, two boys and a girl. They were half-maimed and hooked up to thousands of wires. I was curious and thought I had some time so I tried to find out what they were. Their tubes read: Instigate Obliterate and Destroy. They're monsters, super weapons created by Better Living to replace the Scarecrow Unit. I stood there and did nothing about them even though I knew I could pull the plugs and kill them before the experiment was completed. I knew they'd come to kill us all eventually but I was too scared to let Better Living know where I was in the building so I let them live. Pulling the wires meant painting a target on my back.

I relive that moment every night of my life. I heard Party Poison and Fire Frenzy talking about the IOD Project being tested in the City. I know where the tests had taken place back then and though I doubt it's in the same place. I have to try. So I'm going back there to do what I should've done all those years ago.

I'll come back to you when I'm a man worthy of your love. Don't follow me, don't mourn for me just take care of yourself.

I know you've been dying to hear it, but I hope this will do. I'm sorry I'm not man enough to say it out loud.

I love you.


Vengeful Venom


Riot held the letter close to her chest and cried. There wasn't much else she could do but hold onto this little bit of Vengeful Venom she had left. He was running headfirst toward the barrel of a gun and if he came back to her, she'd be lucky. It was more likely that the last time she'd see him was the night before and she'd never gotten to tell him what she was hiding from him.

"I can't let him do this." Rainbow Riot got to her feet, folded up the letter and ran out of the tent, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She didn't care if anyone saw her crying. She had to find someone and tell them what was going on and try to decide how to save the man she loved. Venom was a Killjoy now. Surely they'd want to send someone after him to keep him from doing something stupid.

"Whoa! Whoa, Rainbow Riot! What's wrong?" Black Cherrybomb stopped the girl who was in tears. There was nothing that Cherrybomb hated more than seeing a beautiful woman in tears. She nearly tripped because of how quickly she stopped running. He jumped back in surprise as she grabbed his arms, still in tears.

"You have to help him!"

"What? Help who?" Cherrybomb looked alarmed and quickly looked around to see if there was anyone else around who could hear her plea. He didn't have much sway with the Killjoys at this point since he was still a mercenary, plus he had no idea what was going on.

"Vengeful Venom!"

"The Drac?"

"Ex-Drac! He's a Killjoy! Is that really that important right now?" Riot shouted in annoyance, shoving Cherrybomb away from her. "Where is Party Poison? He'll help me. Poison! Where are you?" She yelled through the camp, walking a bit away from Black Cherrybomb and surveying the people meandering past.

"Calm down, let's find him together! I didn't mean to offend you okay? What's wrong with Venom? Is he sick or something?"

"No!" Riot narrowed her eyes at Black Cherrybomb then took a deep breath and hung her head. "I'm sorry." She hadn't meant to take her frustrations out on the man in the black cat suit but he'd unfortunately been the victim of her anger and worry. "I didn't mean to sound so nasty."

"What's going on?" Tiger Beatdown approached, having heard the yelling. What could be happening now? These past few days have been too fucking dramatic.

"Tiger, have you seen Poison around? Something's going on with Vengeful Venom. He's in some kind of trouble." Black Cherrybomb spoke for Rainbow Riot who was sobbing against a piece of paper she'd crumbled in her hand.

"I'm right here." Party Poison approached the group. He looked like hadn't slept in days and held a cup of coffee in his right hand. He'd been walking around for hours, just talking to the Killjoys left in the camp and straightening out the confusion from the days prior. "What's wrong Riot?"

"I woke up… and Vengeful Venom was gone!" Riot managed to speak through her sobbing.

"What? Maybe he's just gone out for a smoke or something." Tiger suggested. He'd remembered seeing the man go for a smoke with Agent Alpaca a few days prior.

"No! God, do you think I'd be crying over that? I would've checked first before coming to you anyway!" Riot shot him an angry glance.

"Calm down, Riot… We're just trying to help you. Snapping at us is just going to piss us off." Poison offered her a comforting hand on her shoulder then took a long drink out of the cardboard coffee cup he held.

"Look! Just… Just read it! I'm a mess and I'll just fuck it up if I try to explain!" Riot shoved the piece of paper toward Party Poison who carefully opened it out of the crumpled mess that she's crushed it into.

His eyes skimmed the paper as he read over the note. Black Cherrybomb and Tiger Beatdown read along as well over Poison's shoulder. Poison could see why she was upset and worried but he wasn't sure what he could do for her. If Vengeful Venom was going to run to the Dracs, he couldn't exactly stop him. Half his men were injured and sending them into danger was a stupid and careless idea. He'd decided not to send someone after Fire Frenzy the night before and he'd decide the same for Venom. This whole information about the IOD project worried him, but he knew that Vengeful Venom had made the best decision he could've when running away. Who was to say that any one of them would've done anything different? If Venom had destroyed IOD he would've died.

"You really think he's gone to the City on his own?" Tiger Beatdown asked after having finished reading the letter.

"Of course he did!" Riot shouted out of frustration. "He's been talking about redeeming himself for years! He's finally doing it! Or at least he's going to get himself killed trying to do it! I can't let him do this!" Riot felt cold very suddenly and folded her arms over her chest to try and warm herself. The relief of warmth would never come to her. The chill flooding through her was no more physical than her fear was.

"Look, let's give him a day. We're injured and falling apart here. I can't trust these Killjoys to go out on a mission yet and I'm not sending you out there hysterical. If he's really running to the Dracs then sending anyone after him is suicide. Give him a chance to find that out for himself." Poison spoke, choosing his words wisely in hopes of not further upsetting this woman.

"I'm not a Killjoy, you can't tell me what to do." Rainbow Riot whispered under her breath.

"Like hell I can't." Poison furrowed his brow. "You're as much of a Killjoy as the rest of us. God, you people and standing on your own. You fight against Better Living? That makes you a Killjoy as far as I'm concerned. Hell, you're probably more of a Killjoy than the rest of the people here who sign up for the glory of it. I'm not going to let you get yourself killed running after someone who made a stupid decision. You need to take a step back and gain some perspective on the situation. Vengeful Venom has been trying to get this through to you for years, it seems. He wants to go and redeem himself so you have to let him go and take his chance. Yeah, it's fucking stupid, but he has to realize that on his own. You can't make people change because you want them to. If you go stop him now, he'll resent you for it."

"But Poison…" Riot objected.

"He's right." Black Cherrybomb shrugged his shoulders, surprised by Party Poison's logical argument. "Look, I'll personally go with you to look for him if he's not back in a couple of days. I know that you're worried, but he's obviously worried for you too. I know you want to run to his rescue, but give him a chance to prove himself. This is what he wants." Riot hung her head after snatching the letter back from Party Poison. It was the last thing she had from him and she didn't want to forget it. Maybe they were right after all. No matter what she'd said to Vengeful Venom over the years he'd never been able to see any truth in it for himself. Maybe it was time for her to let him figure it out on his own.

"You promise that you'll come with me if he doesn't come back in a few days?" Rainbow Riot whispered after a moment of quiet contemplation. Her tears were finally drying up even if she felt like she could cry an entire river. She had to keep living her life, even with the man she loved gone.

"I promise." Cherrybomb offered her a gentle and reassuring smile. Usually he wouldn't help a pretty woman like her find a man to distract her from what they could be, but he didn't like to interfere with real love either. He'd found himself living to a far higher moral standard in the last few days, so this didn't surprise him all that much.

"Thank you so much." Riot felt exhausted, emotionally and physically.

"Look, why don't you go get something to eat in the mess hall? Have some food then take it easy for the rest of the day. Tiger Beatdown and Agent Alpaca still need to talk to you about the western zone… and soon. I don't want this to go on for days. The longer we wait the more trouble it's going to be." Party Poison felt uncomfortable trying to be comforting toward this woman. Sometime between the night before and this morning he'd hit a wall of apathy toward everyone else's problems.

"Actually…" Tiger cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. "Disco Bitch is gone too."

"What?" Party Poison was starting to think he was losing his mind. Why the hell is everyone just wandering off? Venom I get, he's got issues and well… Frenzy... He stopped himself before he thought about her further. He had nothing but angry things to say about the situation but couldn't help but worry. Maybe Disco Bitch had gone after Fire Frenzy though, it could be helpful to bring her up. No, she wanted to leave so she can fucking leave and be on her own now. Poison decided not to say anything about her leaving and instead waited for Tiger to explain further.

"She and I fought and she walked off to clear her head sometime yesterday afternoon. We were watching you play with Fun Ghoul and she marched off." Tiger Beatdown was beginning to worry now that she hadn't shown up. Agent Alpaca walked toward the group and was shushed by Black Cherrybomb as he was about to ask what was going on. Cherrybomb whispered to him and caught him up on the conversation going on so they wouldn't have to repeat themselves.

"You think she's just really upset? Maybe she came back and you didn't notice her. She doesn't seem like the type to want to be bothered when she's angry or hurt" Rainbow Riot mused. She didn't want to think about anything except for what was going on with Vengeful Venom but perhaps distraction was the best medicine for the ache in her chest.

"No, no way…" Tiger shook his head. "I would've seen her. I've been looking for her all morning."

"Well, maybe we should look around for her a bit more." Agent Alpaca suggested, trying not to act completely disinterested. He had decided to make a genuine effort with this Disco Bitch situation for Tiger's sake. He'd been wrong about Party Poison so who was to say he couldn't be wrong about Disco's intentions as well. He owed it to Tiger to at least try.

"She's not here, I'm telling you." Tiger sighed heavily. "She didn't bring any water with her out in the zones. She left angry. She should've been back by morning at the very latest."

"You're right." Party Poison sighed. "Unfortunately, you're right. We should send a few people out there to find her."

"What? You're sending someone after her but not after Venom?" Riot seemed outraged, but could understand the logic before she'd even complained.

"Yes, I'm sending someone after her because she left to clear her head without supplies of any kind. She could've passed out in the desert because she was too stubborn to head back. I'm not going to leave her to the Dracs and carrion birds out there." Poison looked to Tiger Beatdown and Agent Alpaca for guidance on the matter. "I've got too much to do, or I'd go myself."

"It's okay, we've got this." Agent Alpaca nodded his head. Tiger looked surprised by his friend's offer but didn't complain.

"I'll work on the plans for the west while you're gone and you can look them over after you get back with Disco." Rainbow Riot didn't look up at any of them again. She was resisting the urge to go running after Vengeful Venom. She had to give him the chance to come back on his own. He knew where to go to find her. Perhaps throwing herself into her work would be enough to distract her from the aching and longing she felt. Poison could tell what Rainbow Riot was thinking about. He would have to pair her with another Killjoy to make sure that she didn't run off on her own.

"Then it's decided." Poison nodded his head. He had other matters to attend to that day and couldn't head into the desert after Disco. He'd have to make some new rules after this. If people wanted to wander out of the camp in a time of crisis then they would be on their own or required to signal for help when they needed it. He couldn't keep sparing men to go on searches for strays when he needed to send someone to look for Captain Phantom as well as to the West to take back Tiger Beatdown's camp.

The group nodded and parted ways upon coming to terms with their decision. Poison walked away without looking back. He'd fallen back into the role of leader of the Killjoys, any emotional issues he was having would have to be dealt with later. He couldn't help but wonder if Disco Bitch had met up with Fire Frenzy though on her way out. It was something he'd look into if Tiger and Alpaca's search didn't turn up any results. He wanted to avoid running after the pyromaniac if he could help it.


Fire Frenzy drove her motorcycle through the tunnel that led into Battery City. She paid the standard toll that the Better Living guards asked of her. These guards didn't wear vampire masks, but rather full face masks with the smiling logo on the front. They had been designed to bring comfort to the citizens of the City, but they only filled Frenzy with annoyance. It was another step made by Better Living to erase individuality from the world. The true test to whether or not she'd been made known to Better Living had come when she'd passed through the toll. If she'd been added to the Killjoys wanted list then they would've stopped her and she would've had to high tail it back into the zones. She could've gone through the outer gates but she wanted to seem as benign as possible.

Fortunately she'd passed through their security with no issue whatsoever. She wouldn't usually take her motorcycle into the city with her but she needed to get around as fast as she possibly could while on this particular mission. Speed was going to be the key to her actions. The more time she took, the harder it'd be since she knew that her first actions would get her noticed by Better Living quickly. Once they realized she was an unsavory character she had about three hours before the City would be flashing her picture on the wanted billboards and plastering wanted posters all over the walls. The moment that happened she'd have nothing but a constant fight on her hands.

Frenzy drove around for an hour looking for the old theater that she'd read about in Death-iNation's letter to Party Poison. It was as good a place as any to start. She could run in, hopefully steal some information and then she could continue her search for the sleeper cell that Poison had so put his trust in. With any luck, she wouldn't be noticed until long after that.

The theater was in major disrepair. No wonder people thought the place was haunted and were spreading rumors of vampires and ghosts. The windows were boarded up and the front doors were covered with caution tape warning people to stay out. Frenzy checked her gun to make sure it was still there and ready. She left her flame thrower on the motorcycle; it'd draw too much attention to her.

Frenzy walked around to the side of the building in search of an entrance. Going through the front door was too obvious, plus she'd have to break the tape to get inside which would only leave evidence of her escapades. She found a side door and broke the knob off after a few tugs. Luckily even the doors were in disrepair and the handle was rusted and loose to begin with. She reached inside, disabled the lock and crept into the building, closing the door silently behind her. The room she'd gone into was dark except for the glowing bracelet she still wore that Rainbow Riot had given to her days ago for the battle.

She held her arm up and looked around at the unmarked boxes scattered on the floor. She didn't bother checking their contents since they didn't look like they'd been touched in years. It was likely this had been a storage room for the theater when it had actually functioned as such. Frenzy was prepared to find that most of the theater would appear as nothing but. What she was looking for wouldn't be obvious but she guessed it wouldn't be hard to find either. The trouble Better Living had gone through to spread vampire rumors about the theater and ghosts haunting it on top of making it look condemned were likely more than enough to keep most people out of it. As she looked around now, she could see nothing inside the building that warranted it being closed down.

The sound of her boots on the floor beneath her echoed hauntingly through the main entry hall of the theater. There was an abandoned concession stand in the center and ticket booths all along the front end and at either side near the front doors. Old faded movie posters were hanging on the wall, covered in dust and cobwebs. Frenzy looked around carefully, taking note of anything out of the ordinary. The doors to the theaters didn't look like they'd been recently used; in fact a majority of them were blocked with stacked up boxes or chairs. She decided to skip the theaters altogether and check them on her way out.

The Dracs were notorious for hiding things on different "levels", at least in Frenzy's experience. Every facility she'd ever broken into nothing of interest had ever been on the main level. She'd always had to go into the basement or the second floor to find anything good. Her guess was that the things she wanted to find were going to be downstairs rather than up in this particular place. From outside she couldn't see much of a second floor and guessed it would only house old projectors. Frenzy walked through the back hall of the theater, trying to make as little sound with her boots as she could which wasn't easy on the filthy and broken tile.

She pushed open doors that weren't boarded up cautiously and looked inside the rooms, finding each empty until she found a poorly lit staircase. Predictable, as always, aren't they? Fucking Dracs, if they don't want to get caught then don't do the same shit over and over. Isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Frenzy descended the stairs carefully and walked through the dark hallway at the bottom of it. She'd decided to start from the back and make her way forward and back to the staircase.

The first two rooms were filled with disabled computer equipment and empty beds covered in dust. Someone had been staying here and working here but it looked as though they had long gone. Maybe she'd come too late and the facility had already been closed down. It was likely that someone had noticed Death-iNation delivering letters to the Killjoys after some time. It was possible they'd even intercepted a few of the later ones what with the lack of security amongst the Killjoys organization. They'd know that the theater would be a target for the Killjoys if they'd figured out how to read Death-iNation's secret code.

The third door proved more fruitful but in a way that Frenzy had hoped it wouldn't be. Her stomach churned and she closed the door, leaning her forehead against it and swallowing the urge to vomit. She closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths to calm herself. She instantly reached for her lighter and gave it a few flicks.

There were tables inside, surgical looking ones and they had been lined up across the room in rows of ten. They'd all been covered in the bodies of children, as far as Frenzy could see. She didn't have enough film for this room or enough skin on her leg to commemorate them if they were as dead as they looked. They still deserve to be remembered. I'll have to find something better.

"Fuck, fuck…" Frenzy muttered under her breath. She couldn't leave without checking them all. She'd have to make sure they were dead and if they weren't she'd have to find a way to wake them up and save them. She stared at the door for a long moment before mustering up her courage and pushing it open again. The room looked like it had once been white, clean and sterile but now half the lights on the ceiling were flickering hauntingly or were already dead while the white sheets covering the bodies of the forty or so children were covered in a thin layer of dust and spots of some kind of fluid she didn't investigate further. Each child was attached to a series of wires hooked up to mechanical looking objects hanging from the ceiling which Frenzy didn't recognize.

What the hell were they doing with these kids? Whatever it was, it doesn't seem to have worked. Just like Better Living to leave their failures to rot. They're just orphans, who the hell would care if they didn't receive a proper burial? I care. Fuck these assholes, I'll save you all.

Frenzy walked over to the body of a small boy at the far end of the room. She crouched down and gently brushed his blond bangs from his forehead. He looked peaceful and asleep and she could only hope and pray to a God she didn't believe in that they were maybe still alive. Her fingers crept to the boy's neck and searched desperately for a pulse but she found none. She lifted the boy's eyelids and found a dead cold iris staring back at her. She pushed herself back and away from the gurney with the little boy on top of it and found herself caught on the wires of another child behind her.

Oh God, they're everywhere! Frenzy worked with shaking hands to get her arms untangled from the wires. She fell to the ground in her panic and scooted backwards until she hit a cabinet at the far end of the room. Her breath was catching in her throat, which seemed to be growing tighter and closing with every moment that passed. Her heart was racing and her head spinning and the panic of being surrounded by corpses of children, possibly orphaned children, was setting in.

It didn't matter if they were dead. They didn't deserve to spend the rest of their days lying on cold barren metal tables until they rotted into nothing but bones. Frenzy jumped to her feet and pulled the knife from where she kept it in her boot. She quickly began cutting the wires from the ceiling, watching as sparks flew from the edge of the wires, making the machines in the ceiling start to smoke. The risk of being electrocuted never crossed her mind as she continued on, destroying as many wires as she could.

She had a sick feeling that the machines were waiting for the kids to come back to life and turn into something else. She wouldn't let that happen. These kids had died a terrible death they hadn't deserved and she wouldn't let Better Living desecrate their memories further by abusing what was left of their bodies.

Frenzy slipped the lighter into her left hand and flicked it again to comfort her. Her lungs weren't getting enough air thanks to the panic attack. She needed to calm down to be able to handle this situation with a clear head. There was no way she could save all of these kids, not now. She stopped slicing at the wires finally, standing in the center of the room, listening to the crackling of the wires. This had been stupid. If a machine had been monitoring the kids, surely they'd notice the malfunction.

Frenzy held her voice to listen. There were voices in the hallway she'd come from. Frenzy held the flame in front of her and looked toward the door, waiting for more of the sounds. They didn't sound like Dracs to her, but like something much different. The voices were female and sounded hushed and nervous. They sounded young and scared.

Frenzy walked slowly toward the door and pushed it open a crack to listen better.
"This way, we have to get out of here before they notice we left…" The voice of a little girl whispered, sounding strangely confident but also nervous.

"But they'll be waiting." Another little girl responded. Oh God, they're trying to escape. How did they survive whatever killed these kids? Only one way to find out, I suppose. Frenzy pushed the door open and was met with half a scream from one of the girls before the third one had placed her hand over her mouth to keep the sound from echoing.

"I told you that they'd find us! I told you this was stupid!" The blond little girl squealed in misery. The red headed girl in the back who had screamed had begun to cry and mutter something about not wanting to die. The girl in front with curly brown hair that seemed almost like an afro was trying to look strong but Frenzy could see the fear in her eyes. For some reason this little girl reminded her of Jet-Star in appearance and she partially wondered if there was some familial connection between them.

"Stop crying!" The little girl in front stood proudly and stared at Frenzy's hand. "I won't let you take them back down there!" She threatened and though her stature stated she was going to stand her ground, Frenzy was sure if she moved the wrong way the girl would crumble and burst into tears. She couldn't blame her, if the roles were reversed she'd be terrified too.

"What?" Frenzy realized very suddenly she was still brandishing her knife and then shook her head in dismay. Of course she thinks you're going to hurt her, idiot. You probably look like a monster from a fucking horror movie. She slipped the knife away into her boot once again and leaned down to better speak to the young girls, resting a hand on her knee. "I'm not one of them." The three girls looked skeptical and the two in back dried their tears up the best that they could. "My name is Fire Frenzy. I'm not working for Better Living Industries."

"She's a killjoy!" The blond girl in the back whispered, looking hopeful. She was surprised to feel the girl wrap her arms around her in a hug. The red head followed suit. "I'm Camille, this is Andrea and Grace." The blond looked up at her and gave her a smile. "Are you here to save us?"

"I'm not a Killjoy." Frenzy knelt down after prying the little arms off of her torso. "I heard that something was going on down here and came to investigate. I'll get you out of here."

"How do you plan on doing that, huh? Those monsters are upstairs and they see everything that goes on down here." Grace looked defensive and wary of the woman, less afraid now that she had put away the knife.

"I'm not afraid of monsters." Frenzy smiled reassuringly, which was something she rarely did. She had a soft spot for kids and this Grace girl reminded her of herself when she had been young.

"You should be." Andrea spoke quietly and averted her eyes. "They killed all our friends."

"Well they won't kill you. Not as long as I'm still alive. I won't let them." Frenzy narrowed her eyes. "Come on, there's no more time to waste. Are there others down here who need help?"

"Yes, there are a lot of them." Grace spoke up. "But we can't get them out of here all at once. I woke up my friends and we're leaving here now. Once I get away I'm going to find the Killjoys. They'll help us save the rest."

"You're right. They will and I can bring you to them." Frenzy whispered. "But for now, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible. If you say they're watching us then we don't have much time. You three stay behind me… If there are monsters let them come." Frenzy stood back up. The little girls didn't have much of a choice other than to trust Fire Frenzy. They may not have said it, but she could tell they were relieved to have someone older taking care of them, particularly someone with a gun. They crept through the hallway, Frenzy checking ahead and behind every few seconds. She pocketed the lighter, since it was doing nothing but distracting her from the task at hand. These little girls were far more important than her obsession with fire.

She had all the distraction from her madness that she needed trailing behind her as close as they could without getting stepped on by the older woman. The group walked up the stairs and carefully through the main room of the theater. Frenzy would take them out the front door and lead them away. She couldn't take them all on her motorcycle so her best bet was to try to sneak through the fences with them.

The tension was thick as they reached the glass doors at the front of the theater. Frenzy unlocked the door from the inside, tore the caution tape out front and held the door open for the little girls.

"Hurry." She whispered as she ushered them outside.

"And where do you think you're going?" Frenzy turned to face the voice that called to them from the other end of the theater. A man dressed in a black old-fashioned suit that looked like it'd been torn apart then sewn and strapped back together was walking calmly toward them. He held something shimmering in his hand that she couldn't quite make out and he cocked his head to the side in an odd manner, as though he couldn't keep it upright properly on his own. His skin was pale and nearly colorless as though no blood coursed through his veins. Frenzy stepped forward and urged the girls to stand behind her and out of sight. If he was going to attack them, Frenzy would distract him long enough to let the girls run to safety.

"…go to the third zone in the east, that's where the Killjoys set up camp. Ask for Party Poison." Frenzy leaned close as if to comfort the girls and whispered to them her instructions. She hoped they were smart enough to run away while they had the chance. Frenzy turned back to look at the man who was much closer to them than when she had turned. She carefully backed up, forcing the kids to stand in the doorway. They seemed stuck in place with fear.

"I asked you a question. It's rude not to answer a question when you are asked." The young man smiled, but it wasn't pleasant. He looked deranged, as though he were searching for some reason to hurt them rather than to really find out why they were there.

"I was coming inside to see if I could take my girls to see a movie." Frenzy lied after thinking up a good enough excuse. It'd only taken her a second to come up with something believable. If she hadn't been so manic, she would've considered adopting some orphans and caring for them. Since she was much less than a fit mother, it had been out of the question. "I know the place is abandoned but sometimes they keep the old reels here and the girls deserved a day out." The man seemed to contemplate her words and any truth that might be behind them. After a moment he broke into laughter and began to sing to her tauntingly.

"Liar, liar, you fucking liar…" He bared his teeth to reveal fangs, drool practically dripping down his chin. Frenzy instantly became defensive and adjusted her feet to prepare herself for a fight. He looks hungry.

"Who the hell are you to call me a liar?" Frenzy reached for her ray gun, sure this was going to come to blows sooner or later. Before she could reach for the handle he had her wrist and had tugged her close, breaching the foot or so between them. She stumbled and regained her footing quickly. God he's fast! Holy shit. She could hear the little girls panicking behind her but stood her ground. She wouldn't show any fear in front of these girls.

Frenzy sharply took in her breath as she felt the sharp edge of a butcher's knife grace her throat. He made it clear he wouldn't mind cutting her open and spilling her blood right there. The knife had been what she couldn't make out in his hand from afar. He'd hidden it well, considering its length.

Frenzy didn't struggle to move but didn't let down her guard either. He seemed unaware of the children behind her now, and completely fixated on the woman who wasn't cowering in fear at his feet. With any luck, while he was distracted with her, the little girls could flee to safety. She had a feeling that they wouldn't run away without her, they were too stubborn. Stupid, they're going to get themselves killed this way. I'd do the same thing, though.

"I'm a fucking vampire." The man grinned, showing her his fangs once again. Frenzy didn't believe for a second that he was telling the truth. "I'm more than a fucking vampire, I'm the Destroyer. Who the fuck are you?" He hissed, pulling her closer, clearly trying to intimidate her but Frenzy refused to bend. She felt the blade of the knife lacerating her skin in the slightest manner, not enough to draw blood, but still enough to make her nervous.

"Vampires aren't real, dipshit. You're just some fucking genetically altered freak from the looks of it." Frenzy spat in his face, taking a chance with the knife at her throat. He hadn't been expecting her to react so boldly and his grip faltered. Frenzy took his moment of weakness as a chance and grabbed his wrist, shoving the knife toward him, managing not to scratch herself further in the process. She bent down and turned, twisting her wrist from his grasp and ran back to the girls, pulling out her ray gun in the process. "Go!" She hissed to the girls before turning to face the Destroyer who was looking as malicious as ever.

When Frenzy turned back around she found two others had joined Destroyer, similar in skin color but different in every other aspect. The woman stood tall and proud and was staring down the young man with the butcher's knife. She was wearing a Victorian dress, her hair pulled back tight into a bun. The other man wore a bowler hat and held a cane with a snake head proudly to his side. He looked disapproving at the group in front of them. When had they gotten there? They had to have moved ungodly fast to get there in that short of a time. Something told Frenzy that she was in for the fight of her life.

Frenzy stumbled back as Destroyer threw himself at her but to her surprise, the man and woman who had joined him grabbed onto him and tried to keep him from reacting harshly.

"Let me go, Instigator! Let me go! Let me have her!" Destroyer tried to bite at the woman to get her to let go of him. She narrowly avoided his teeth and smacked him on the back of the head in a scolding manner.

"Get a hold of yourself. You're acting like a child." Instigator said in a flat and monotonous voice. Frenzy glanced behind her and saw that the kids were finally running far away from the theater. They'd taken the chance she'd given them and though she wasn't sure she was going to make it out as easily, at least Frenzy knew that the girls were safe for the time being.

"She's trespassing, stealing from us!" Destroyer yelled maliciously. "She lies even, she called me a freak! She told me I wasn't fucking real! Vampires are real you bitch and I'm going to fucking prove it to you!"

"You are a freak." The man with the bowler spoke and looked back to Fire Frenzy curiously. "What are you doing here young lady? Stealing from us as my brother says?"

"I was taking the kids to a movie. I sent them running home. This man is scaring them, waving that fucking knife around like that."

"Liar… liar, liar fucking liar, you're a fucking pathetic sorry excuse for a liar, you fucking bitch." Destroyer fought against his captors but didn't manage to escape. Frenzy felt the handle of the gun in her hand becoming slippery with sweat. She wasn't going to instigate a fight if she didn't have to. If they let her walk out now she wouldn't look back until she'd gathered an army to take these assholes down.

Usually she wouldn't mind the odds of three to one in a fight but there was something supernatural about them in the way they moved and the way they acted. Frenzy had a strong feeling that they were the IOD project she'd heard about and what they were capable of was something she didn't know and scared her all in the same breath. She was guessing they were unnaturally fast and even though she was a pretty good shot, she wasn't fast enough to take them all down at one. The last major project she'd fought was Korse and he'd been as tough as they come. His only flaw was that he could fall apart. It'd always given her enough time to escape his grasp. If they were looking to replace the Scarecrow with the IOD then they had to be ungodly strong.

Destroyer managed to get a hold of his composure after a moment of quiet contemplation and straightened himself up. He seemed to know that Instigator wouldn't let him go if he didn't get a handle on his actions.

"Please, sister, please let me teach her a lesson? She needs to learn a lesson… She needs to learn that liars are punished." Destroyer was gripping at the wrists of Instigator. She wondered if they were actually related or if because they were experiments together, they'd adopted each other as family. It was sweet in a sick and terrifying sort of way and if they weren't threatening her life, she would've told them so.

"Calm yourself Destroyer." Instigator walked toward Fire Frenzy after letting go of her brother. She scrutinized the woman who stood holding the gun in her clammy hands. "You let your children just run away on their own onto the streets of a dangerous city?"

"They're waiting for me outside, down the block. I told them where to meet me. They're very smart girls." Frenzy spoke confidently, not taking her eyes off of Destroyer who scared her far more than this Instigator did.

"Just like their mother it seems. All three of those girls, each of different race and hair color, are yours?" Instigator walked around her and gave her the once over.

"I adopted them. I have a soft spot for orphans having been one myself."

"Oh believe me I have a soft spot for them too." Instigator stood back in front of Fire Frenzy, not convinced by her story. Frenzy felt a sudden rush of dizziness and pain in her head. She stumbled and hit the glass door. Instigator was doing something to her but what. It felt like someone was pushing into her skull and crushing her brain. The pain was unlike anything she'd experienced before and instantly crippled her.

"Fuck! Stop it! Get out!" She could hear the woman's voice in her head, reading her thoughts, probing her mind for the answers she sought. She cursed and grabbed at her head, trying desperately to get the pain inside of it to stop.

"You're a liar." Instigator spoke after letting up her concentration. Frenzy hadn't realized she'd fallen to her knees against the door until the pain had finally muted enough for her to see straight again. She looked up at the woman who accused her of lying and had a feeling she'd just had her thoughts read. "You're right, she's a liar Destroyer. For once, you're not out of your mind."

"You know what we do with liars." The man with the bowler hat added.

"She destroyed the labs downstairs. She was helping those kids escape, which they have now. She's sending them to see someone called… Party Poison. Do you recognize the name Obliterator?"

"Yes, I do." The man in the bowler hissed, but seemed somewhat bored by what was going on around them. Frenzy didn't understand how he could remain so casual after all he'd learned.

"She needs to be taught a lesson."

"You're not going to teach me shit." Frenzy hissed, getting back to her feet and aiming her gun at Instigator who seemed far more threatening now that she knew what she was capable of.

"Destroyer?" Instigator held her hand to the side and the younger more vicious man walked to her side.

"Yes…" He spoke as he watched Frenzy, looking eager as ever to get his hands on her.

"You can have your fun with her. You're right. Show her that vampires do exist. Make her pay for what she's done." Instigator turned away from Frenzy without a second glance. Destroyer grabbed Fire Frenzy's hand as she got a shot off. She'd missed, having been nowhere near fast enough to stop the man from grabbing her.