Frank's POV

The desert sun beams down on me, my sweat causing my yellow and black shirt stick uncomfortably to my back and the back of the lawn chair that Jet Star set out for me. My leg aches from the shooting yesterday, and my sunglasses have left bruises on the bridge of my nose. Despite my pain and discomfort, I'm the most relieved that I've been in weeks. For the first time since leaving Battery City, I slept on a real mattress- granted it was ratty and probably found in a dumpster, but it sure beats the hell out of sleeping in the sand. I finally felt like I could sleep through the night without having to be worried about waking up to a Draculoid. I watch contentedly as the Killjoys speak to Ali.

They stand patiently around her, pointing to the crate-supported cans they want her to shoot. I can't quite make out the words they're saying, but a few words reach my ears. Kobra Kid rests his hand on her shoulder, bending over slightly so his mouth is level with her ear, and points toward a target. He laughs slightly as he speaks, presumably at something funny he had said, causing Detonation to smile and chuckle

Detonation nods at Kobra Kid's instructions and takes her aim. The killjoys all step back from her and wait. After a deep breath and a moment's hesitation, Detonation fires at the can, hitting it dead on.

Party Poison nods curtly, trying to seem unaffected, but the smile on his face gives away his satisfaction. He places a hand on Detonation's shoulder, startling her and causing her to spin around quickly and take aim. Party Poison retracts his hand in a blur as Jet Star laughs at him. The inklings of domesticity between us all, even so soon after Ali and I being here, brings a smile to my face, as the new sensation of "being home" hits me yet again.

Party Poison collects himself again, pointing to a can further back and giving Detonation instructions. Without hesitation Detonation spins around and shoots, once again hitting the can dead on.

Kobra Kid smiles excitedly at Jet Star, laughing giddily as he exclaims a "fuck yeah" and high fives my sister. Jet Star bends down a bit to look at Detonation as he says something to her, inaudible to me.

She glances over her shoulder at me, nodding with an uncharacteristically serious expression painting her features. Her mouth moves, but I can't make out the words. I smile at her, and she returns the expression, grinning broadly back at me. The Killjoys exchange a glance, and address Detonation again, briefly.

Nodding and stepping aside, she shoves her pink gun into the back pocket of her grey jeans, walking over to me and smiling widely.

"Did you see that, Ghoul?!" she exclaims, pumping her fist in the air. This is the happiest I've seen her in so long, even before we left the city.

"Yeah, you did great," I smile, holding my hand up for her high-five. "What'd they say before they stepped off?"

She hits my hand hard, still smiling. "Just that they needed to discuss something important. They asked me to come keep you company while they figured it out."

"You seem to like it here."

She sits down on the sand next to my chair, unhooking her sunglasses from the neckline of her shirt and putting them on. Looking at the sky, she answers, "yeah, I do. I mean we haven't been here that long, so who knows, but we finally got to sleep on real mattresses, and the Killjoys seem like they're really nice. Kobra even apologized for pulling his gun on me."

"Yeah," I turn to look at the sky with her. "I think I like it here, too." After a moment of gazing at the pale blue sky, I look back at the Killjoys. They're huddled together, speaking in hushed tones, but their body language suggests that they're relaxed. Party Poison runs a gloved hand through his bright red hair, further messing up the already disheveled locks. They seem to reach the end of their discussion, disbanding and joining Detonation and I again.

"Have either of you ever heard about Doctor Death Defying?" Jet Star asks us.

"Yeah," I answer, wondering what he's getting at. "Detonation has a portable radio in her bag, and every once in a while we come across one of his speeches."

"Well, we're pretty close to Doctor D. He gives us assignments and introduces us to other rebels. He's sort of the organizer behind our whole operation. He's an informant, and he's saved our asses more times than we can count."

"So why do you ask?" Detonation prompts.

Party Posion interjects, facing me directly. "It's pretty soon into knowing you, but Detonation is an amazing shot, and she says you're good in combat too. We had originally planned on letting you guys crash here until you healed and then sending you on your way, but we talked about it, and we wouldn't mind you guys sticking around for longer than that." He pauses. "That is, if that's something you would want to do."

Detonation's head snaps toward me, her eyes wide. I look at her, raising my eyebrows and tilting my head to the side slightly. She nods eagerly.

"How do we go about becoming Killjoys?" I ask, slightly suspicious at the fast pace that this is happening.

Jet Star cuts in; "It's not that you're becoming official Killjoys, necessarily. That's something we might decide to do later on down the road, or something we might not decide to do at all. This is just sort of keeping Doctor D in the loop."

"Do you remember," Kobra Kid prompts, seemingly trying to find the proper analogy to explain the situation, "renting a house or an apartment? How, if somebody new was moving in, you'd have to report that to the landlord and get them added onto the lease? It's kind of like that. Granted Doctor D isn't exactly our landlord, but it's a similar situation to that"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. So what's the next step here, then?"

"Well, I guess the next step is to go see him" Party Poison grins.

I look over at Detonation and smile, "yeah, let's meet him."

***

We clamber out of the old white car covered in graffiti, my leg injury making it a bit difficult, and look at the rundown building in front of us. The door is rickety and the satellite on the roof looks like it's barely hanging on. The Killjoys walk up to the door, knocking and beckoning Detonation and me to follow.

As we get to the door step, the door swings open. A man with light brown hair, a dark green shirt, and tattered blue jeans stands in the doorway, grinning at the Killjoys. His face screws up a bit in confusion when his gaze finds Detonation and me.

"Hey, Cola," Party Poison greets the man and smiles. "We need to talk to D. He in?"

"Uh, yeah. Come on in," he motions for us to step into the building, moving out of the doorway.

The Killjoys file in, followed by Detonation and me. As soon as we cross the threshold, the stale scent of cigarettes and damp wood hits. The rug on the floor is warn and washed out, resulting in the original pattern being faded almost beyond recognition, and I'm willing to bet that it wasn't grey when it was bought. They navigate their way through the small building, eventually ending up in a small, messy room. A fair sized couch rests against the back wall, a small table separating it from a small seat with a design similar to that of the couch. On the wall to the right, pushed up against that wall and the wall opposite of the couch, stands a large desk that has a control panel covering a good portion of it, a bulky pair of headphones laid out, and a microphone standing by the edge.

A middle-aged man with dark hair falling passed his shoulders in braids and a short beard rolls into the room in a wheelchair. He has a bandana wrapped around his forehead, his aviators slightly covering the bottom hem of spots of the band.

"You boys brought somebody?" the man speaks, his voice causing a realization in me: this is Doctor D, the man who does most of the broadcasts Detonation and I had heard.

"Two somebodies, actually," Jet Star motions to Detonation and me with his hand.

"The girl's an amazing shot, and she says the boy is good for combat too," Kobra Kid interjects.

"How'd you come across them?" Doctor D asks, wheeling his chair so he is positioned across from the couch. The Killjoys cross the room to sit on the couch that Doctor D is facing, so Ali and I follow suit. The couch doesn't fit the five of us, resulting in Alison sitting on the arm rest, while the rest of us squeeze in next to each other.

"They showed up at our door. Detonation Diamond- the girl- was holding onto Fun Ghoul- who's her brother- because he had been shot in the leg. With a bullet. Not a laser. We patched him up and let them stay for the night. This morning we had Detonation Diamond shoot some stuff for us. Her accuracy is great," Party Poison explains.

"And Fun Ghoul?" Doctor D addresses Jet Star, glancing at me momentarily.

"He's injured, so we haven't seen him shoot yet. Detonation Diamond says he's a good shot too, though," Jet Star leans forward slightly, moving his hands as he speaks.

"So why bring them here?" Doctor Death Defying reaches for a poorly rolled cigarette on the table, placing it between his lips and lighting it.

"Well," Kobra begins, "we originally were planning on letting them stick around until Fun Ghoul got better, but now we're thinking that we'd like to keep them around for longer than that. So we figured that was something we should run by you."

Doctor D takes a long drag from his cigarette, removing it from between his lips and blowing a large cloud of smoke into the air. "You boys can do whatever you think is best. If that's what you want to do, I'll keep it in mind and start planning things with them included." He turns to look between Detonation and me now. "You kids know what you're getting into? The Killjoys are the best group out here in the desert, and I use that knowledge to our advantage. These guys go on the most dangerous missions I have, and I send them out to help other groups pretty often. If that's not something you want to sign on for, you better make that decision now. I don't have time for indecision or for you two to be changing your minds."

I nod. "I understand the circumstances, sir. I'm willing to do what I've got to."

He turns his focus to Ali, who gives her verification.

"One more thing, Fun Ghoul." He starts, and I look at him expectantly. "There's no need to call me 'sir.'"