Killjoys 36 Instigate...

On the walk through the City, Frenzy had spent her time contemplating ways of entering Central Command. She had considered coming up with a more stealthy entrance through either the sewers or the air ducts that had been on the blueprints she'd spent so much time in Death-iNation's apartment poring over but had vetoed the idea several times in her mind. It didn't make any sense to try and sneak into the Central Command building in the middle of the City to her; not when the place was sure to be rigged with alarms at every entrance, cameras in every room and surrounded by security despite the army of Dracs that had left the City hours before.

More important, Fire Frenzy was just done being sneaky altogether. In fact, the idea of hiding from Better Living Industries made her physically uncomfortable. She'd spent years working underground and under the radar in order to get to this moment in particular and now that she was here, after all of her hard work, she was planning on going out with a very loud bang. Having found a discarded beer bottle on their trek through alleyways of the City with her new comrades, Frenzy insisted they stop at a filling station so she could refill her flamethrower with accelerant and the bottle along with it. Over the years, Frenzy had mastered the art of breaking into the City's gas stations and using the pumps without being noticed. Being as consumed with fire as she was, it was a skill she'd found came in handy.

As the trio grew close to the tall building, they stood at the end of the block and observed it, hidden underneath its shadow. It seemed far more menacing when they were standing dwarfed next to it. The tallest building in the City, it had a large billboard on top of it with a flashing bright white sign; the soulless black smiling Better Living Industries logo staring down at the City, monitoring it like an omniscient eye.

Nearly every highway ramp in the City wrapped around this building; it was another sort of propaganda to force commuters to pass by the building on their way to and from work as if to remind them who was in control of their fragile little lives. While the people who lived in the City seemed blissfully unaware of the spell they were under, the Killjoys now standing in front of the building were all too aware of it.

"With any luck, whatever security they've left in the building will be minimal. It seems like they've sent most of their men out into the battlefield." Death-iNation checked his gun, his hands trembling from nerves. He tried to hide it from the others, but he had a feeling they wouldn't have noticed even if his gun had been visibly moving back and forth in his hands. Everyone seemed too preoccupied with their own thoughts and fears to take notice of his. Turning to Marilyn Deathrow he smiled confidently at her, hoping his smile would instill confidence in her as well. She had always told him that she liked the way he smiled. "You've got your gun ready, Marilyn?"

"I do." Marilyn Deathrow had stopped talking, much to everyone's surprise, about a half an hour prior to their arrival at Central Command when the gravity of what the group had planned to do had the chance to finally sink in. They were taking down an empire. Or at least they were going to try to. The thought was terrifying. For once, she found that she had very little to say in regards to anything. There were no words for what they were about to do, none at least that she could think of. Maybe that's why Fire Frenzy's so quiet all the time. If this is the kind of shit she's up to all the time then it wouldn't surprise me in the least. I don't think I'd have much to say either if I was constantly throwing myself on the train tracks for a cause. I guess I shouldn't think she's so strange now, should I?

"Good." Death-iNation could hear the fear in his lover's voice but was proud of Marilyn for not backing down once she'd realized the danger they were facing. In the same breath, Nation was also afraid for her. He knew Marilyn wasn't much of a fighter, at least not in this sense. Sure she'd spent years living on the streets and dealing with dangerous men who had tried to take advantage of her, and had learned to protect herself from them, but there was a huge difference between self defense and a tactical offensive strike against a highly trained militia. Of course, highly trained militia was worst case scenario.

Nation was hoping and praying that the experiments Better Living Industries had prepared for battle would be out on the field fighting with the Dracs. He was also hoping that the highest ranked officers would be out there in the desert as well, leaving basically the rent-a-cops of Drac security to take care of their buildings and facilities within the City. That would make their task a lot easier.

"Everyone ready?" Fire Frenzy could tell that Death-iNation and Marilyn Deathrow were having second thoughts about the task at hand but Frenzy was more than ready to go; in fact, she was downright eager. She'd been waiting for this moment for years, ever since she was a little girl, and there was this giddy sort of excitement building within her. Nation and Marilyn nodded to let her know that they were both ready but nervous, though neither one of them seemed entirely eager to say it out loud. "Are you two sure about this? You can back out right now and I won't think less of you. This being said now is the time to do so because in about two minutes, there's no turning back." Frenzy really wouldn't think less of them, though she didn't have much of an opinion toward either one of them to begin with.

"We're coming with you." Death-iNation placed a reassuring hand on Frenzy's shoulder then started ahead of her. He wasn't planning on backing down, and he had a feeling that Marilyn wasn't going to either. They had come this far through the City, and the only other option was retreating out into the zones which seemed far more dangerous than where they currently were.

"Wait." Frenzy stopped him from continuing forward, grabbing his arm only for long enough to stop him. "Watch and learn." Frenzy turned to face her comrades and stuffed a discarded cloth she'd picked up along the way into the top of the beer bottle filled with gasoline. Death-iNation shook his head in amusement and Marilyn Deathrow watched in awe. She'd never seen anyone actually use a Molotov cocktail before outside of a movie. In fact, she hadn't been entirely convinced that the concept worked. Flipping her lighter out of her pocket Fire Frenzy absentmindedly flicked the flame to life and lit the cloth on fire after she'd enjoyed watching the flame dance in the darkness. Extinguishing the flame of her lighter once the cloth caught fire Frenzy kissed the metallic side of the lighter, wished it luck then slipped it back in her pocket.

Frenzy had contemplated different approaches to breaking into the front door of Central Command once she had decided she wasn't planning on sneaking in and had decided that causing a stir inside the front doors would be better than doing so outside of them. Breaching the barrier would give her and her team confidence and an advantage. Walking toward the front doors, Fire Frenzy grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. Being a public building, they were never locked. She held the door open and threw the beer bottle inside, not waiting for the crash of it on the ground before closing the door in front of her. Marilyn Deathrow and Death-iNation stood with their guns in their hands, listening to the sounds of chaos caused by the fiery explosion that had met the end of the now shattered cocktail.

Waiting for a second, Frenzy stood with her back to the door and listened to the sound of the chaos. Holding up her hand she counted to five in her head, then pulled out her gun and opened the door, aiming the laser at the Dracs that were already there attempting to deal with the gasoline that had spread out across the lobby of the building had caught fire when the bottle had smashed. Not having expected a continued attack, the Dracs didn't see the laser coming when she fired. Three Dracs down, Frenzy ducked out of the doorway and further into the lobby of the building dodging the return laser fire of the Dracs who had finally realized they were under attack and that the fire wasn't just some random act of violence.

Death-iNation followed closely behind Fire Frenzy and aimed to provide her with cover the best he could, as well as Marilyn Deathrow. The room was filling with smoke, thanks to the Molotov cocktail so the three pulled bandanas over their faces to help keep the smoke out of their lungs for the time being. Overhead the alarm was ringing and screaming that there were intruders at the front door.

"Intruder alert, all security personnel to the first floor lobby." They could barely make out the voice overhead coming from speaker over the sound of laser fire and the sizzling crackle of the fire catching onto the carpet, the chairs, the drapery, the wooden chairs and desks. A dozen Dracs were clamoring from the elevators at the end of the hallway and heading toward them firing their laser guns.

Nation grabbed Marilyn's arm and dragged her toward the opposite end of the lobby, hiding them both behind some furniture set up for personnel to rest in and wait to be serviced by the secretary at the front desk. While he knew the couches and chairs wouldn't provide them with cover for very long, it was still better than standing out in the open and trying to avoid laser fire through the chaos of the smoke.

"We've got to draw their fire away from Frenzy, okay?" Nation whispered to Marilyn, hoping to give her guidance, then peered over the edge of the couch and aimed his weapon, firing at the oncoming Dracs as quickly as his trigger finger would allow. Marilyn laid on the ground behind Death-iNation and peeked behind the couch, aimed to the best of her ability. When she had been in sticky situations in the past she'd always had close encounters, nothing quite this long range.

While she wasn't sure how good she'd be, she figured shooting a few times in the Draculoid's general direction, she would eventually hit something. She squealed in delight when she found that one of the shots she'd fired had actually hit its target and had taken down a Drac, a brilliant spray of blood splashing across the stark white walls. The red sirens and warning lights flashing overhead gave everything a haunting orange glow.

Frenzy stepped through the fire on the ground, careful to pat out her stocking as it caught. The burning sensation didn't bother her; she'd done this sort of thing too many times now for it to throw her off. Without warning, from the ceiling, sprinklers descended and came to life to assist in putting out the fire she'd started. Jumping in alarm and surprise from the cold water soaking her, Frenzy glanced over to make sure Marilyn and Nation were still alright despite the sudden change. Nation exchanged a wary glance as if to ask if she had any way to combat water with fire, though even his gaze seemed skeptical that it was possible. Fire Frenzy, however, wasn't done with her namesake just yet.

As the ten Dracs who had survived the onslaught of laser fire entered the lobby, prepared to spread out and take cover, Frenzy approached the wall next to the entrance of the hallway. Slipping her gun back into its holster she pulled the flamethrower from where she'd had it strapped to her back, flipped a switch to activate the second accelerant container on the gun and pulled the trigger, setting nearly all the Dracs on fire as they rounded the corner. Howling in pain and misery from the surprise attack, each of the Dracs tried desperately to put the fire out on their bodies but every time they managed to douse one area of their body it'd reignite like it'd never gone out at all.

"I love napalm…" Frenzy couldn't help but smirk as she watched the result of her flamethrower's second tank. Flipping another switch, which was essentially a reload on her weapon, Frenzy pulled the trigger again and sprayed the already crippled Dracs with the arc of fire that came out of the end of her gun until the metallic end of it turned bright orange and signaled it'd begun to overheat. Slipping the flamethrower back over her shoulder with the strap she'd attached to it so that it was resting on her back once more, Frenzy ducked out of the way and let Death-iNation take care of what was left of the Dracs, half of them already writhing on the floor in pain and easy enough to pick off.

Having seen what Fire Frenzy was up to with her flamethrower, Death-iNation signaled to Marilyn to cover him from behind the couch where she remained hidden, just in case any of the Dracs had enough strength to continue pulling the trigger of their weapons. Getting up from where he'd hidden he used the distraction of the fire to duck closer to them. Pulling out a second gun from the holsters on his hip, Death-iNation aimed both and shot the Dracs as they scrambled to put the fire on their bodies out to no avail.

One by one all of the Dracs fell to the ground either burned into unconsciousness or dead. Firing a shot into all of the Dracs' heads, Death-iNation wasn't going to take any risks of having any of them get back up and shoot them in the back when they were heading past them down the hallway toward the stairwell near the elevators. He'd seen enough horror movies to know that no one was really considered dead until you'd blown a hole through their skull.

Getting up from where she'd been hiding behind the couch every since Nation had instructed her to take cover there, Marilyn hurried over to Death-iNation's side once she was sure all of the Dracs had been taken care of. Throwing her arms around his neck with excitement she made a sound of happy approval, a squeal almost. Somehow, winning that battle against the Dracs, instead of making her regret taking the lives of those men, had filled her with adrenaline and excitement.

"You were so good out there! I had no idea you were so good at this!" Marilyn laughed and gave Death-iNation a sloppy kiss on his lips. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pumping with the adrenaline that came with fighting such a battle, but still she found no reason why she couldn't be proud of the man she was in love with. She had always thought he had been more of the man behind the action but now she knew differently and was really impressed. "You were like James Bond with those Dracs! I had no idea, Nation! You just grabbed the situation by the horns and ran with it!"

"Well… I've had to learn my way around a gun… Given my job and all." Death-iNation shrugged shyly and then glanced over at Fire Frenzy after resting his arm casually around Marilyn Deathrow's waist. The sprinklers overhead stopped spraying all at once and the voice that had ceased for a short period of time came over the intercom again, as if to remind them that they were doing something illegal.

"Intruder alert. Security threat. Back up forces deployed." The voice seemed to have become warped and disturbed now that they took a chance to clearly listen to it, since the chaos of gunfire had distracted them. There was something unnatural about the message, something sinister. The message repeated in an endless loop and the three exchanged glances once again. A cold chill went down Death-iNation's spine at the idea of what could be coming next. What were the backup forces reserved for this building? He hadn't even known there were backup forces in the building and he was suddenly very worried to what sort of threat they could pose. It hadn't occurred to him that Better Living Industries would keep something in storage for such an occasion.

Fire Frenzy sensed the tension growing in the air between her comrades so she pulled out her ray gun and aimed a shot at the speaker in the center of the room on the ceiling. There was a sizzle, a loud pop, and then the voice filling the room died though they could still hear it echoing from the halls and the rooms branching out on either end of it. Somehow, the absence of the voice in the lobby offered them comfort. Or maybe it was knowing they could stop the voice altogether if they needed to that comforted them as it didn't seem to bother them as they started into the hallway.

"Time to go." Death-iNation nodded and gave Marilyn Deathrow a pat on her shoulder to signal her to let go of him, since she still had her arms around his shoulders from their earlier embrace. Marilyn's feelings of excitement and pride in the man she loved as well as herself, dwindled at the idea of backup forces coming after them from some dark corner of Central Command. It had been hard enough taking out that dozen or so Dracs that had initially come after them when they alarm had sounded after Fire Frenzy had set the building on fire. It would be far too easy for them to have broken in and be done within ten minutes, so Frenzy wasn't too shocked by the threat of reinforcements.

"Right." Frenzy agreed and patted the bag underneath her arm with the C4 and other supplies they'd taken from Death-iNation's apartment just to make sure she hadn't dropped it during the fight. They headed through the hallway, past the elevators and the laboratories on the left hand side of the hallway. They didn't hold any interest to the intruders; instead they walked to the very end to a heavy door with a picture of a staircase on it.

"Hey, that stuff you used back there that the water didn't put out… was that napalm? How'd you get that stuff? I thought Better Living Industries outlawed it and disposed of all of it well, or they hid it all for their own personal use." Death-iNation asked curiously as they walked to the end of the hallway.

Tugging on the doorway to the stairwell, Death-iNation realized that the doors in the building must have automatically locked when they set off the alarms. He aimed his gun and shot the doorknob off of it after two well placed shots. Pushing the door open after it'd unlocked itself automatically as a defense mechanism, Nation glanced inside to make sure there weren't any Dracs waiting for them to get this far.

"They did. It's illegal, and you can't find it anywhere anymore." Frenzy smirked proudly at this fact and walked into the stairwell, peeking up the stairs to make sure no one was waiting there to ambush them as Nation had done previously. Once she was sure there was no one there she cautiously crept up the stairs, holding her gun pointed toward the ground, ready to fire just in case they were assaulted from above or below. "That doesn't stop anyone from making it."

"You made it? How the hell did you make it?" Nation looked puzzled. The concept of such a flammable and highly volatile substance being made out in the zones frightened and intrigued him.

"It's not as hard as you would think. Napalm is a fairly simple recipe. They may have banned the napalm, but they only confiscate books and those are easy enough to steal." Frenzy continued up the stairs, stepping as lightly as she could to prevent her footsteps from echoing against the metallic grated steps. Marilyn Deathrow followed behind Fire Frenzy and Death-iNation brought up the rear, keeping an eye below them as they ascended the steps to the second floor.

"Better Living Industries has it designed so that you have to go through all of the halls and corridors of each floor to get to the next stairwell unless you take their elevators. It helps them keep control of any visitors or intruders. It also promotes that feeling of getting lost… and keeps visitors confused. That's what stops a lot of people from trying to go to places they're unfamiliar with on their shift. Workers are too afraid of getting lost to wander." Death-iNation stopped at the landing of the second floor.

Not bothering to try the door handle, Frenzy shot it off and then ducked in surprise at the sound of gunfire, narrowly avoiding the laser fire that followed. There were more Dracs on this level waiting for them, apparently. Taking cover on the side of the doorway, Frenzy tried to recall how many she'd seen standing in the hallway before she'd ducked down to avoid being shot.

"Take cover on the stairs!" Frenzy shouted instructions, hoping to keep them out of the line of fire. Death-iNation and Marilyn Deathrow didn't hesitate, firing shots when they could from their precarious positions, lying against the stairs. Stairwells were the worst place to be stuck in during a gunfight, but luckily it didn't seem like the Dracs that were left in the building were all that well prepared for a pretty well thought out assault, such as theirs.

"Now what do we do?" Death-iNation yelled over the sound of laser fire.

"Hope we get lucky!" Fire Frenzy didn't look out the doorway, but aimed her gun in the direction she remembered the Dracs being in and fired off a few shots, hoping she'd at least cause some confusion in the process and make the Dracs as nervous as her comrades looked. Frenzy wasn't afraid of being shot or killed by any of these Dracs. She was ready for this.

"Yeah, I've got to say, in my experience luck doesn't exist." Death-iNation shouted back. Frenzy ignored him and aimed again, hearing a sound of pain coming from the other side of the door. Taking a chance, Frenzy took a deep breath, held it and ducked out of the door way, running to the side and taking cover in a cubicle on the left side of the large room. Creeping through the cubicles she'd at least be able to hide herself away from the Dracs and hopefully take out a few of them in the process, while keeping herself covered.

Death-iNation crept forward to take Frenzy's abandoned place at the door, aiming a few careful shots out the doorway, hitting one of the Dracs in the process. Nodding toward Marilyn Deathrow, he came up with a plan and hoped she'd comply.

"When I say go, you run out the door and to the right through the cubicles. You can sneak to the side of the Dracs and get them from there. I'll stay here as a diversion!"

"A diversion? Don't do anything stupid, Nation!" Marilyn Deathrow grimaced, worried for Death-iNation. Every diversion scenario she'd ever read about had ended badly for the person drawing fire. She couldn't think of how he was going to draw attention away from her in such a narrow space.

"Trust me, okay?" Death-iNation signaled for her to join him on the other side of the door. She complied, yelping as she narrowly dodged laser fire in the process. The Dracs were really on their game, despite them being unprepared for an attack. "I'll be okay, I promise." Nation smiled softly at the woman and Marilyn nodded knowingly, deciding it was best to trust him, seeing as she might not get another chance after this.

Fire Frenzy was sneaking through the cubicles, hoping to be able to get to the other side of the room and to the stairwell, managing to get behind the Dracs in the process. If they had the group surrounded they'd be able to easily take out what remained of the Drac security on the second level of the building. She was so close to the main computers she could taste it, and a small handful of Dracs were nowhere near a big enough threat to stop her. Hopefully while she was breaking into the computers she would be able to locate Grace before she wiped the hard drives. The little girl was more important than her sick twisted vision of vengeance that she'd been obsessed with since she had been a little girl alone on the streets of Battery City, searching for a way to survive and watching her friends disappear.

Death-iNation watched and waited for an opportunity for Marilyn Deathrow to run safely into the room so she could hide in the sea of cubicles as Fire Frenzy had done. The opportunity came when one of the shots Marilyn had taken, out of sheer luck, had caught one of the Dracs by the foot. The man fell backward into his comrades, knocking the group off of their feet and sending them into a rushed attempt to try and get up and be on their guard.

"Go!" Nation yelled and instead of remaining as a distraction as he had originally planned to do, he followed behind Marilyn Deathrow into the hallway. He shot at the downed Drac and managed to off one of his friends before they returned fire. A blast grazed his leg and it nearly gave out beneath him but he managed to keep standing and ran into the cubicles after Marilyn.

"You're bleeding!" She whispered in a panic, not wanting to give away their exact position to the Dracs.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I can't even feel it." Death-iNation lied. Every time he moved his leg he felt the muscles threatening to give but he was going to fight until there was no breath left in his lungs.

"You're not fine, don't lie to me." Marilyn whispered out of worry.

"What do you want me to do? Run back downstairs to safety and wait for you two to finish up in here? No way. You need to go do what I asked you to do, alright? I'm going to do something back here like I promised, then I'll be right behind you, covering your back. Frenzy's on the other side, I'm sure she's looking out for us." As if to reassure them they heard a squeal from one of the Dracs followed by the gurgle of someone choking on blood. Frenzy must have managed to get to the side of the group or behind and suddenly the gunfire was drawn away from the doorway.

"Okay." Marilyn nodded to confirm that she'd listen but her brow was still furrowed and heavyset with worry for the man she loved. Marilyn crept through the cubicles as quietly as she could and Death-iNation watched her go until she turned a corner and was out of sight.

Nation peered around the side of the cubicle and fired at the vulnerable Dracs, hitting another in the side and when they turned back to look at them he aimed his gun toward the ceiling. Firing a few shots at the metallic covered spots, he watched it change color from the heat of the laser fire and suddenly the sprinkler system that had activated downstairs when Fire Frenzy had set the lobby on fire activated once again, spraying cold water over the entirety of the room.

Surprise hit the Dracs and they yelled in response, looking around frantically for the source of the new attack. Hearing frantic gunfire, Death-iNation hurriedly ran out into the hallway between the cubicles and aimed his gun at where the Dracs had been but found Marilyn Deathrow standing holding her gun over the fallen bodies of the Dracs. At the other end of the hall he saw Fire Frenzy standing with her gun aimed in the same direction. The girls must have finished off what had been left of the Dracs in the room when they were distracted by the activation of the sprinkler system. Sighing with relief, Nation limped over to where Marilyn stood and pulled her close against his chest. She was shaking from her nerves and he could tell she had been terrified while she'd been shooting the Dracs but she'd done it well, despite her fears.

"You did great, Marilyn." Nation embraced her and gave her a small smile. Marilyn buried her face against Nation's shoulder and sunk into him for a moment, just to work the edge off of the things she'd just done.  Her fingers felt numbed from the act of pulling the trigger, and while she'd been excited at the beginning of their adventure, now that they'd come this far, the adrenaline was fading and fear was kicking in. "The computers are probably locked up now. They change the passwords frequently so we'll have to hack the mainframe before you can do anything." Nation was speaking to Frenzy, glancing over at her while he comforted his lover.

"Oh no one's hacking anything." A voice from the far end of the room, where the elevators stood against the wall past the cubicles that Marilyn Deathrow had been hiding in echoed toward them. Even from where they stood amidst the cubicles, Nation could see who it was that had addressed them. A man and a woman, one with a bowler hat and a cane and the woman with long hair curled lazily at the bottom were approaching them. As they reached the gap between the cubicles where Marilyn and Nation stood, both of them holding their guns, they turned to face the two.

Neither acknowledged Fire Frenzy's presence, apparently unaware she was standing behind them. Instigator and Obliterator were looking at the two in front of them as if deciding what to do with them next. A chill ran through Frenzy's spine and she wondered what her next move should be. Right now she could fire at Obliterator and Instigator but she had a feeling that before the blast reached them they would've turned away and dodged it. She'd risk hitting Marilyn and Nation in the process and then take the full blunt of the retaliation from the two experiments.

Obliterator walked past Death-iNation and Marilyn Deathrow, seemingly uninterested in them. He walked to the end of the hall and down the stairs that they'd come from. Apparently something on the first floor was far more interesting to him than Marilyn and Death-iNation were. They couldn't be concerned with him then since he no longer seemed to pose a threat. Instead the woman in front of them, though unarmed, seemed incredibly menacing. She had a presence about her that made them uneasy.

Death-iNation threw a glance to Fire Frenzy as if to tell her to keep going without them. Frenzy stared for a moment, contemplated staying to help them fight, then realized that if she did it'd be the end of them all. She'd come back to help them later if she got the chance. Before turning to the stairs Frenzy pulled out her lighter and lit the nearest cubicle on fire. While she'd been walking through the cubicles she'd started to plant containers of C4 on support beams with detonators stuck in them. Worst case scenario she'd blow the detonators and hope that Marilyn and Nation could escape in time. If she was sure they had gotten out, she'd just blow it altogether without any concern for her own well being.

Frenzy headed into the stairwell, noiselessly closing the door behind her, leaving Nation and Marilyn standing face to face with Instigator. The woman would've been pretty if there hadn't been something ugly behind her gaze.

"Now you've had your fun with Better Living's men… it's time for you to be taken care of. We can do this two ways. The easy way where you just let me finish you off or you can fight. I have a feeling you'd prefer the latter." Instigator didn't make any moves. In fact, she was downright smiling at them.

Somehow the couple knew that they'd be in for a fight.


Late into the night, Phoenix Fury, Jet-Star, Zeppelin Rocket, and Fun Ghoul had led group after group of Killjoys into position in the desert. Main base had been set up in the buildings rumored to be haunted that Fun Ghoul had hidden his men in when Phoenix Fury had the rebels storm the base the week before. It seemed like the most logical spot and the Dracs would never suspect that they weren't inside of the base, as they usually were. In fact, they were sure that the Dracs still thought they had no idea about the attack at all. It gave the Killjoys the upper hand which was something they rarely had and wouldn't let go lightly. Neon Acid and Screaming Extinction had rigged the base with explosives and now were waiting in the nearby abandoned buildings for the Dracs to attack the camp.

Phoenix Fury stood in the doorway of a building in the destroyed suburbs of the third zone, watching as the army from Battery City marched through the dust storm and slowly toward the base. Korse was at the head of the pack, leading the Dracs in an orderly group, an old World War II gas mask over his mouth. There were a hundred of the Draculoid soldiers following behind him, at the very least. Phoenix Fury had never been very good at estimating so fuck if he actually knew what the number of them could possibly be. Regardless, he felt confident that his men could handle the large group.

"The last group is set up at the border of the second zone. Captain Phantom just radioed me to let me know." Jet-Star walked up to Phoenix Fury with his arms crossed over his chest. "You ready for this?" Jet-Star didn't want to make friends with Phoenix Fury but the guy looked like he needed someone to talk to and being a nice guy, Jet-Star decided he would make the effort.

"As I'll ever be, I guess." Phoenix Fury seemed worried, not taking his eyes away from the oncoming army as they made their way through the sands.

"You did a good job today. This was a good idea, positioning us around like this. You're not a bad leader, Phoenix. You're just… a little hasty."

"I'm too young. Without the help of you, Ghoul and Zeppelin? I'd be done for." Phoenix watched the dust starting to settle over the third zone, but the dark clouds in the sky seemed more ominous than the sand had been. Any second Zeppelin Rocket would be taking off to give them an eye from the sky and his radio would be going off to let him know just that.

"Yeah, but a good leader has to know how to listen to the people he's leading." Jet-Star shrugged. "Look, no one's perfect, you saw Party Poison. He's a wreck. But he knows how to deal with people and that's half the battle."

"What the hell was he doing leaving like that when we needed him the most?"

"He was doing what he needed to, I suppose." Jet-Star didn't offer any further explanation because he wasn't honestly sure what Party Poison was up to. Whatever it was, he knew it had to be important. Party Poison was not the type to abandon his friends in a time of need.

"You really think I'm doing okay?"

"Captain Phantom and Commander Cutlass are listening to your orders, so that means your ideas must not be that bad." Jet-Star chuckled, hoping to lighten Phoenix Fury's mood a little bit. "Look, no one's perfect. You're going to fuck up sometimes but I know that you can handle this. And you want to know why I know that about you?"

"Why?" Phoenix Fury turned to look at Jet, his bulky arms crossed over his chest, giving the doctor a skeptical look.

"Because you're already handling it, that's how." Jet-Star said confidently. Phoenix Fury wasn't sure if that made sense or not, and though he was trying to wrap his mind around it he didn't have time to process it completely. His radio buzzed to confirm that Zeppelin Rocket had indeed made it into the air, as he had predicted.

"The dust is settling now, but Korse has a fuck-ton of Dracs lined up. Wait for them to get to the camp and take out as many as you can. I'm going to stay high up enough so I make less noise and won't get shot down quite so quickly."

After hesitating and exchanging a glance with Jet-Star, Phoenix Fury picked up his radio and spoke into it. "Good, keep me posted. After the bombs go off I'm signaling the ambush so come in fast and low and try not to hit my men."

"I'll plow the road. No worries." Zeppelin Rocket's smirk could be heard from the other end of the radio.

"Cocky bastard." Phoenix Fury put the radio back on the hook on his belt. His radio buzzed again, Screaming Extinction's voice coming from the other end of it this time.

"They're here." Phoenix didn't have to respond to the command. Glancing behind him, he saw the others in the room staring out the windows nervously. Thunder cracked in the sky as if to add to the mood they were all feeling, the lightning that preceded it having illuminated everything to a point of blindness. The world was shifting and changing around as the storm reached its boiling point. Even nature seemed to know what was coming.

"They're going into the base." Jet-Star whispered, even though he knew there was no way his voice could carry over the wind to the Drac army. Phoenix Fury merely watched Korse cross through the gates once the Dracs knocked the door in. "You should blow it now." Jet-Star urged Phoenix Fury. "While Korse is in there… give us the advantage. If he's wounded he'll at least be a little slower than usual."

"That won't kill him. Give it a minute." Phoenix Fury wanted them to know they were walking into a trap. Though he couldn't see the look on Korse's face when he realized the camp was empty and rigged with explosives, he could envision it and it tasted sweet.

"You're wasting time…"

"I'm not." Phoenix Fury picked up his radio and spoke through it. "Blow it." Not putting down the radio, Phoenix let go of the trigger on the walkie-talkie and stared out the open doorway at the Eastern camp, watching it intensely. Everyone who had been watching the army out of the window had turned to look at him. There was a tension set thick in the air, filled with apprehension and nerves.

Without a response from Screaming Extinction on the other end of the radio, there was a moment of almost deafened silence where even the rain and thunder had ceased before explosions riddled the Eastern camp. Buildings blew, the walls trembled but didn't fall, debris flung through the air. Smoke and dust flew over the surrounding suburbs. Phoenix Fury pulled the door to the building he was hiding in with his small militant team to help shelter them from the flying debris and dust. In the silence that followed the explosion, a sob from someone in the room echoed amongst them. Phoenix wouldn't ask who it was that was upset. They'd just watched their homes be blown sky high. Even Phoenix felt like he'd lost something of himself in the explosion.

"Even more of a reason to fight." Clearing his throat, Phoenix didn't explain his thought but he didn't need to. Those around him seemed to know exactly what he'd meant. Opening the door after the debris had settled, the sight that met them was haunting. The dust was clearing on the rubble that was left of the Eastern camp, very few of its buildings still standing but it's surrounding supporting walls partially remaining intact.

Waiting with baited breath, they watched. Phoenix held the radio close to his face still, ready to signal the battle to begin once he was sure it was safe to emerge from their hiding place without suffering any damage from the explosions that had gone off. He had no idea how long it would take for the debris to stop flying and come crashing to the ground.

Shadows formed within the dust and debris started to settle. The pitter patter of raindrops fell overhead, signaling the continuation of the storm that had been threatening them since the night before. Perfect timing really, all hell is about to break loose, quite literally.

"…time to go." Phoenix spoke into the radio, hung it on his belt and started out the door. The men and women hidden in the building with him followed him out of the front door, walking toward what was left of the Eastern base camp. Jet-Star and Cosmic Karma stood close behind Phoenix Fury, prepared to follow him into the smoke. Killjoys from the buildings all around them started to emerge, some of them laying down heavy artillery and stationing themselves near the building for cover, others marching like foot soldiers toward the remains of the base.

The first laser fire came from the Dracs within the smoke. It was then that all hell actually broke loose. The tension that had built up during the explosion and through the course of waiting for the Dracs to make their approach had been broken. Killjoys were running into the smoke, dodging laser fire and causing their own.

"Could use some help here!" The radio buzzed with Screaming Extinction's voice on the other end, laser fire heard over the radio as well. Phoenix Fury was about to respond when the radio was blown out of his hand. Korse was coming at him, pointing his laser gun at Phoenix his face half burnt and a sick smile across his face. The man seemed disappointed to see Phoenix Fury leading the pack instead of Party Poison.

Jet-Star pulled Phoenix Fury out of the way of the laser fire just in time, Korse continuing to fire at them fiercely. Phoenix Fury grabbed his radio and replaced it on his waistband, forgetting about Screaming Extinction's call for help in all the chaos. Cosmic Karma retaliated but Korse managed to dodge as quickly as he fired. Instead of staying away from the woman who was firing at him, Korse walked straight toward her. Karma backed up and did her best to dodge the laser fire. As Korse came closer she flipped her gun around, grabbed the hot end of it and swung the butt end hard at Korse's face. Korse merely tilted his head to the side with the force of the blow. Blood ran down his face from the gash the butt end of the gun left but he gave no other reaction. Cosmic Karma widened her eyes in horror as he grabbed her wrist and twisted. Her wrist snapped and she screamed in pain.

"Karma!" Jet-Star aimed at Korse, hitting him in the back of his shoulder. Blood sprayed over the ground, over Cosmic Karma, but the Scarecrow didn't budge or back down from his target. Grabbing his gun he fired at Jet-Star who fell back to narrowly avoid the blow. Phoenix Fury offered his hand to help Jet-Star to his feet, all the while aiming at the Dracs who were running toward them to provide back up to their leader.

"Cosmic Karma needs help!" Jet-Star hurried back toward Korse again but Phoenix stopped him.

"You're being stupid, take out the Dracs! I've got her." Phoenix Fury aimed at the leg of Drac, knocking him to the ground. Several other Killjoys surrounded Phoenix Fury and Jet-Star to keep the heavy fire off of them. Phoenix hurried toward Korse, but was stopped as a Drac tackled him to the ground and punched at him.

Korse twisted the laser gun out of Cosmic Karma's hands, ignoring the bleeding from his shoulder. Taking the gun, he turned it on her and aimed it at her chest.

"How does it feel? To be shot with your own gun?" Korse sneered but as he pulled the trigger, his arm slipped and the blast went through Karma's shoulder rather than her chest. Phoenix Fury had managed to overpower the Drac who had taken him down rather easily and subdued him and had come running into Korse at full force. Korse fell to the ground in surprise, letting go of Cosmic Karma who howled in pain and stumbled backwards on her feet, grabbing the bloody wound on her shoulder and barely managing to stay upright.

Phoenix wrestled with Korse on the ground. Somehow the man was managing to avoid his punches and attacks, despite how close they were in proximity. Luckily, Phoenix Fury had won quite a few fights in his life and managed to dodge the blows that Korse attempted to return.

Jet-Star hurried through the laser fire and grabbed Cosmic Karma, scooping her up into his arms. Yelling to Black Cherrybomb, he started to drag her back toward the building they'd started in before the explosions had gone off. "Cover me!"

Black Cherrybomb, who was holding down the fort at the building that they'd been hiding in because of his head wound, nodded and ran out into the desert, picking up Cosmic Karma's discarded gun as he did. Aiming his own weapon and the newly acquired one, Black Cherrybomb kept the Dracs at bay. Despite his head wound, his aim had never been better. Making sure that Jet-Star managed to get Cosmic Karma into the building he retreated back to the doorway to provide cover to others who were injured in the fight. "Is she okay?"

"No!" Jet-Star was pulling at her jacket and applying pressure to the wound on her shoulder, covered in blood. Karma grabbed at Jet-Star's arm to stop him from pushing and trying to deal with her wound.

"Calm down! I'm going to be okay!" Though Karma had initially panicked she was relieved to be away from the heavy fire and away from Korse in the same moment. "They need you out there! More than I need you!"

"No, I'm staying here! Cherrybomb, we're setting up first aid here! Send a message to Ghoul to let him know that we need more supplies, to send a runner with some backup!" Jet-Star refused to let it go, pulling his jacket off frantically and tossing it aside. Cherrybomb picked up his radio and sent the message to Fun Ghoul who was holding the fort down in the warehouses further out in the zones and ran to the trunk they had filled with supplies at the other end of the main room of the abandoned run-down building. Gathering some gauze and antiseptic along with some other first aid supplies in his arms, Cherrybomb ran them over to Jet-Star.

"Ghoul's sending some men, here's what we have! Stop the bleeding and she'll be okay! You're lucky it's her shoulder and not her chest."

"I know that man, I'm a doctor." Jet-Star offered a small smile to Black Cherrybomb, thanking him for the supplies he'd provided him with to help with Cosmic Karma's bleeding. "Get back to the doorway and keep watch. Make sure Phoenix is okay out there, I left him without backup!"

"Shit." Black Cherrybomb hurried to the door, still holding both his weapon and the one he'd retrieved from Cosmic Karma out in the sands. He could see Phoenix rolling in the sands trying to keep his hands on Korse, but not doing an incredibly good job.

Phoenix was sure that if he could take Korse down then he would be able to take out the rest of the Dracs. He guessed they had a pack mentality and if the leader went down the rest of them would fall too, powerless to lead themselves without his guidance. While he had no idea if this point of view were valid, Phoenix couldn't help but want to try. Plus, he'd had the wool pulled over his eyes by this asshole and thought it was about time he'd gotten his revenge and paid him back for the damage that had been done to the Killjoys.

Yelling in misery as his fist once again met the ground instead of Korse's face, Phoenix grabbed at Korse's neck and squeezed, deciding to take a more direct approach to attacking.

"Get out of this you slippery fuck!" Phoenix hissed in frustration, his knuckles bleeding and sore from punching and missing. There were Killjoys around them trying to keep the Dracs from defending their leader. Phoenix could see the Dracs were quickly becoming outnumbered and felt empowered.

"You underestimate us." Korse grinned despite the fact that his face was becoming discolored from being unable to breathe due to Phoenix's bulky hands squeezing at his throat. Grabbing at Phoenix's throat in return, Korse leaned up and bit hard down on Phoenix's shoulder. Phoenix widened his eyes, didn't immediately panic then started to try to push Korse off of him, only succeeding at tearing his flesh as he did. Korse laughed maniacally and spit the chunk of Phoenix Fury's skin to the side as Phoenix rolled off of him in pain, gripping the spot where he'd been bitten. Korse got to his feet, aimed his gun, only to be thrown back by a laser shot from Black Cherrybomb who was aiming from the doorway of the building nearby.

Two Killjoys came up behind Phoenix Fury and helped him to his feet, seeing the pain he was in and how surprised he was that he'd been bitten.

"You need to get to Jet-Star!" A familiar voice instructed Phoenix. He turned to see Captain Phantom and Bad Medicine standing nearby, laying down cover fire. They had helped him off of the ground.

"Not yet, I don't! Don't let that fucker go!" Phoenix shoved Phantom off of his shoulder and ran after Korse. His radio buzzed again, a cry for help once again from Screaming Extinction.

"Phoenix! I'm trapped in what's left of the camp! I'm cornered, my gun's jammed! They're coming, I can't hold them off!" Phoenix stopped and immediately turned on his heels toward the camp. Korse would just have to wait. Captain Phantom and Bad Medicine were on his heels, following up behind him.

"You can't run around bleeding like that, you idiot!" Phantom hissed, following after him, despite her dislike of him.

"I know that, go help the others okay? I've got this!" Without turning to look at her Phoenix picked his radio up again and spoke into it. "I'm coming Extinction! Hey Zeppelin, you hear me?" After a moment of waiting, the familiar smooth voice of the pilot responded over the radio.

"Loud and clear, Phoenix! How's it going down there? Too dusty for me to see your position!"

"I could use some cover fire at the camp if you're not too busy, is that too dusty?" Pushing what had once been his green mohawk but was now a sopping wet green mess out of his face, Phoenix hurried toward the campsite. The rain was falling diagonally from the sky in torrents.

"I'm coming with you, tell him to watch out for me too!" Commander Cutlass was running to catch up, having ditched his leather jacket somewhere during the battle, his arm soaked in blood from some unseen wound.

"Did your sister send you? I told her I'm fine!" Phoenix sounded annoyed but was secretly grateful for the backup.

"You're an idiot, but we're not going to let you die running headlong into the thick of the Dracs! They're holding down base in what's left of the camp, you need some backup! If anyone's going to kill you, it's going to be me or my sister." Commander Cutlass wasn't going to take no for an answer and Phoenix Fury didn't have time to argue.

"Fine! Damnit, Zeppelin, Cutlass and I are running into the camp after Screaming Extinction! I could use some cover fire and preliminary fire to clear the path to where my man is!"

"Hurry!" Screaming Extinction could be heard through the radio, still panicking about being stuck amongst the Dracs. Phoenix could only hope that the man could hold out and they wouldn't be too late to save him.

"You got it, Phoenix!" Zeppelin didn't respond further. Cutlass and Phoenix continued to run toward the camp but ducked low to the ground when Zeppelin's plane came in low and began maneuvering through the Dracs, some not moving away in time and getting caught on the plane, either dying instantly or flying to the ground unconscious.

"Everyone watch out for Zeppelin Rocket!" Phoenix yelled into the radio, though it was pretty obvious to everyone in Zeppelin's way before he'd yelled it.

"Ya think?" Detonation Punx responded, coughing into the radio, having obviously dodged the plane and narrowly at that.

"Sorry!" Phoenix winced, realizing he should've sent out the warning before calling the pilot. No harm seemed to have been done though, at least not that he knew of. The Dracs had no idea what was coming for them as the plane sped through the remainder of the camp, firing the gun attached to the front of the plane, Zeppelin Rocket taking out as many of the Dracs as he could until he was forced to pull up to avoid crashing to the ground.

Phoenix took the hand that Commander Cutlass offered him to help him off of the ground and hurried to his feet. Detonation Punx joined them a moment later.

"I heard Extinction over the radio and hurried over!" She shouted before they could ask her what she was doing so close to the camp. The three ran into the camp, taking down any of the Dracs who were coming out of hiding now that Zeppelin Rocket had finished his sweep. He was turning around for a second go, it looked like.

"We don't have much time! Extinction, where are you?" Phoenix yelled into the radio, looking around at the half destroyed buildings that had once been home to the Killjoys.

"The old mess hall!" Extinction shouted through the radio. "I'm down but have taken cover near the ovens, hurry!" There was a strained weakness to the man's voice that hadn't been there during prior calls. Someone must have managed to get to him before they'd gotten into the camp.

Ducking out of the way to avoid any friendly fire from Zeppelin Rocket during his return attack, Phoenix, Cutlass and Detonation Punx kept to the buildings that were intact, taking out Dracs along the way. It looked like, thanks to Zeppelin Rocket, they'd taken out the bulk of the Dracs that hadn't been killed in the initial blast. In fact, Phoenix could hear cheering on the wind, through the rain. Somehow he knew that the Killjoys were rejoicing some kind of victory.

"Do you…?"

"I hear it." Phoenix interrupted Cutlass, more concerned with finding Screaming Extinction than anything else at the moment. There would be plenty of time for celebration after they'd won the war.

"Over here!" Detonation Punx ran ahead, into the half destroyed mess hall. "He's in here! I found him!" Punx hurried inside and back to the kitchens where she could see Screaming Extinction holding a bloodied butcher knife, lying next to the body of a fallen Drac. His body was badly bruised and his leg was bloodied and mangled.

"Bad Medicine, we could use your help here." Cutlass picked up his radio, out of breath from how far he'd run with Phoenix. Phoenix shook his head and leaned over Extinction.

"Sorry that it took so long to get here, we had our hands full."

"Yeah, I heard you were wrestling with Korse. Don't worry about it. Glad you got here before anymore Dracs found me, though." Extinction coughed in response, nodding toward Detonation Punx who had apparently been communicating with him over the radio since he'd first sent out his distress call.

"Yeah, but you're going to be okay." Phoenix Fury patted Screaming Extinction on the shoulder and immediately apologized, seeing the man wince in reaction. Sometimes, Phoenix forgot his own strength.

"I'm hit!" Zeppelin Rocket's voice came in over the radio. Phoenix and Cutlass immediately jumped to attention.

"Go, I've got this!" Detonation Punx was tearing the bottom of her shirt into strips to help stop the bleeding on Screaming Extinction's leg.

"I'm on my way up, are you alright Cutlass?" Bad Medicine's voice came in over the radio in response, worry thick in her voice.

"I'm fine, we've got a man down here in the mess hall, He's in pretty bad shape and we could sure use your expertise." Cutlass started toward the destroyed doors to the mess hall, followed closely by Phoenix.

"I've got to bail, look out below." Zeppelin chimed in over the radio once again, not sounding incredibly concerned. "My plane's burning up, stay away from the south end of the camp. I'm ditching this bitch!" Zeppelin stopped talking over the radio.

"Come on, we've got to cover him! He's going to crash right into the Dracs holding up back there!" Cutlass furrowed his brow and hurried out the door, not waiting for Phoenix Fury. Phoenix hurried after him, aiming his gun, feeling the pain in his shoulder intensifying with each moment that continued from where the Scarecrow had sunk his teeth into his skin. He had a feeling there was some kind of muscle damage done, or that Korse was poisonous. While he had no legitimate proof to that fact, he felt like it was possible some kind of venom was coursing through his veins thanks to the man who had bitten him.

"He's coming down hard!" Cutlass shouted, hurrying toward the soon to be crash site. Phoenix Fury grabbed Cutlass by the arm and they both ducked to the ground quickly as the plane came in very suddenly and smashed hard into the dirt. It wasn't like in old movies where everything exploded and caught on fire, it was more a mess of gears and metallic pieces breaking apart from the impact on the ground. There was a small fire and explosion from the fuel source and the engine falling to pieces, but it was quickly extinguished by the pouring rain.

"Zeppelin!" Phoenix shouted in distress.

"Look!" Cutlass grabbed Phoenix's arm and stumbled to his feet. Zeppelin Rocket was falling from the sky with a parachute. He was bloodied up, but seemed alright, aiming his gun on the way down to keep the Dracs from destroying his parachute too early. Phoenix and Cutlass ran to catch up with the man descending from the sky and helped him land safely and ditch the parachute.

"You alright, Zeppelin?" Cutlass asked out of breath once they'd managed to detach the chute from Zeppelin Rocket's back.

"Sugar's going to be pissed." Zeppelin Rocket laughed in reference to his girlfriend out in the zones. He was bleeding from his forehead, it was dripping down his neck and his jacket was torn, his arms bloodied from the damage being in the plane had caused him.

"We'll get you back to Jet-Star." Phoenix slipped his arm under Zeppelin's and started to help him limp toward what remained of the entrance of the camp. Detonation Punx joined them soon with Screaming Extinction's overly thin frame draped in a similar fashion over her arm. Screaming Extinction looked barely conscious.

Bad Medicine was running up to the group of them, carrying a small first aid kit with her, but it was clear that kit wouldn't be nearly enough to cover the damage that had been done between the group of Killjoys who had been wounded within the camp.

"Oh lord, you guys!" Bad Medicine widened her eyes in shock seeing the blood dripping from three of the five Killjoys coming toward her. Captain Phantom and another girl in baggy black jeans, with brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin were running toward the group, guns aimed but not firing. It seemed as though they'd gotten the advantage over the Dracs now, and laser fire was dying down.

"They're falling back! Korse is holding the Dracs in the second zone but it's not looking good for them." Captain Phantom reported proudly a smug smirk on her face. "This is Vanilla Octopus, she's come with Colored Chaos to report the damage done in the second zone. We're holding up well out there. The Dracs left in the third zone are being captured or picked off like flies."

"We've got a lot of wounded out there, but everyone's mostly on their feet." Vanilla Octopus looked nervous but excited to be in the thick of the battle. Bad Medicine was looking over Screaming Extinction and Zeppelin Rocket while they walked. She looked more concerned about Extinction than Zeppelin and was hurrying them along, trying to get them to where Jet-Star had hunkered down with Cosmic Karma and Black Cherrybomb.

Picking up the radio, Phoenix couldn't help but feel satisfied that their plan had worked. "Killjoys, keep up the pace. We're taking the upper hand."

"Don't get too comfortable." Fun Ghoul's voice came in over the radio after a moment, sounding strained. The group stopped in their tracks outside of the front of the camp. "Look to the north west." Phoenix, Cutlass and Phantom made sure that the others were taken care of before running around what remained of the camp to look out in the direction Fun Ghoul had directed them toward. In the distance were reinforcements of Dracs, hundreds of them lined up and headed their way. The trio stood and stared in awe at the group of Dracs that was coming to assist Korse's army.

"Killjoys." Phoenix picked up his radio hesitantly and spoke seriously. "Pick off what remains of the Dracs here. Regroup… and prepare for the second wave." Phoenix closed his eyes, took a deep breath then looked between Phantom and Cutlass who looked eager to know what they were going to do next. "If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear them."

"We still have some explosives." Captain Phantom suggested after a moment lost in thought. "We lay down a preliminary line. It'll at least buy us some time."

"Make it happen."