But Maybe We'll Live Forever

We were back on the road.

The sun was shining down on us with that late afternoon light, the kind that made you feel so alive that it hurt. My hand was sticking out the window and I was smiling, a real smile. I felt more comfortable here with the Killjoys – I felt like less of an outsider.

After all, now I had the jacket and the gun. A name. A group. I was a Killjoy.

I’m not exactly sure what had happened in the course of that time, going from hating them to being one of them. I guess, I don’t know, it just happened. Though, whenever I thought about it – what they’d done, what I’d read – I felt myself tense up and feel fear and hate again. I did my best to shove it out of my mind.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing towards a small building made entirely out of logs. A neon sign shone above it and I saw a small parking lot. It seemed strange to have a service area out in the middle of nowhere like this; random and odd.

Jet Star peered closer. “The sign says Rebel’s Bar.” He paused and laughed. “Amazing that the place hasn’t been surrounded by BL/ind agents and dracs.”

“Let’s stop,” Bulletproof Liberation said. “I could use a drink.”

“Me, too,” Grace said casually.

We all laughed at her innocence and adorableness.

“I don’t think you’re gonna be getting the same type of drinks as us, sweetie,” Bulletproof replied as Party Poison swung into the parking lot.

We all got out and stretched our legs, walking into the room.

Amazingly enough, the place was pretty full of people. We’d seen other cars, but we hadn’t expected to see this many people. A full up bar with men and women of all sorts sat waiting for drinks. A small stage was there, and a band was playing some rich acoustic blues, perfect for the desert. People were sitting at tables, drinking and laughing. Some people were even dancing. Some smoke hung in the air from the bartenders’ cigarettes.

We all told Party Poison what we wanted. I ordered a simple beer, I didn’t really need much. I sat down with everyone else at a table that was actually large enough for our group.

Soon, Party Poison came over with a bartender holding a bunch of drinks. She was a pretty little thing, the bartender. Her hair was dyed a neon green to bring out gorgeous blue eyes. Purple eyeliner surrounded them. Red lipstick. Tattoos running up and down her arms. She was wearing a short, black denim jacket with studs on it. I don’t think anything was underneath it except for her bra, which I could tell was red. Her bellybutton was showing. She had shorts settling right on her hips with fishnet stockings underneath.

Fun Ghoul whistled at her, giving her a wink.

She smiled slightly at him. “Gonna have to try harder than that, handsome,” she said, setting the drinks down and turning around to go back to the bar.

Fun Ghoul’s mouth was hanging open. “I think she’s the first woman to ever reject me,” he said slowly, staring after her though she was no longer in view.

We all laughed at him and clinked our glasses together, taking a drink. “To freedom,” Party Poison said. “Peace, love, and dead motherfuckin’ dracs.”

“Amen,” we all chimed, taking long drinks. Even little Grace, who only had a soda. She was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen in my life.

I looked up at the stage, seeing a rather handsome man leading the band in song. I couldn’t help staring at him, and his eyes caught mine. He smiled at me and winked.

I felt myself blush.

“Alright,” he said into the mic, “I think we’re ready for a sweet serenade, aren’t we, boys?”

The band gave nods and whistles. So did the audience.

“I think I’ve spotted the pretty little lady I’m directing this song to.” His eyes caught mine again. “I hope you take it to heart, and talk to me after, honey.”

I felt that blush creeping over my cheeks again. I turned back to the rest of the guys and took a long swig of beer, trying to avoid everyone’s gaze. I saw Bulletproof smiling knowingly while looking down at the table, and I also saw the guys – all of them – tense up. I think I saw Party gritting his teeth, but I’m not sure. I was trying not to look at any of them.

The band started up, and a slow, nice song started up. It sounded perfect for the desert; tired guitar an calm drums. I looked up at the stage again as the man started singing. He was looking at me.

“Come on, baby, let me take your troubles away. Some mean ol’ mama’s got your head all in a horrible way. Still for all your cryin’ and all your pain, you’re just the sweetest little woman that I’ve seen in my day, so come on pretty mama let me take your troubles away…”

His eyes were on mine, and a sexy smile was on his lips as he sang. I felt my knees going weak, at the risk of sounding cliché. It was a good thing I was sitting down.

As the song went on, he kept his eyes on mine. They never wandered to anyone else in the audience. It was like he could only see me, only me. I was pretty sure I was melting, blushing, and looking very stupid, but I couldn’t help it.

When the song ended, he announced he was going to take a break. He got down off the stage and went over to the bar.

All the guys were still very tense. Party Poison looked like he was going to pull out his ray gun. I wondered what was possibly wrong with this guy that made the guys feel tense. He didn’t look like a BL/ind worker; he was in a rebel bar for christ’s sake.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, getting up and heading towards the bar myself. If anyone protested, I didn’t hear. I was too busy making a beeline for the man.

He saw me as soon as I got there. “Hey there,” he said sweetly.

“Hi,” I replied. “That was a nice song.”

“Thank you. It was all for you.”

I blushed. “Oh…”

“Let me buy you a drink.”

“I – I have a beer back at my table –”

“Ah, yes. Speaking of your table. Any of those fellas your significant other?”

“What! No. No,” I laughed. “They’re just my—um, my group.”

“Killjoys.”

“Um, yes.”

“I am, too. I just stop by here and put on the monkey suit for the guy who owns the bar. He’s always askin’ me to sing,” said the man, taking a drink of his own beer. “Actually a friend of mine.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” I said, smiling. “He’s a pretty brave guy, setting up an obvious rebel hot spot in the middle of the desert like this.”

“He has a very cruel sense of humor.” He took another swig of his beer.

I laughed.

“So, honey, what’s your name?” he asked smoothly, sitting down on one of the bar stools, motioning for me to sit beside him.

I did so. “I’m—uh, I’m Sh- Atomic Battery. My name’s Atomic Battery.” I smiled at him, bowing my head slightly in embarrassment from messing up slightly. I hope he didn’t notice.

Didn’t seem like he did. “Nice name. I’m Gunner Shred. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Atomic Battery,” he said. He smiled at me and kissed my hand.

I melted.

“Hey, Atomic?” I heard a familiar voice behind me. It was Party Poison. He sounded urgent. “We’re ready to go now.”

“Can we stay for a little longer, Party?” I pleaded.

His steely, emotionless eyes landed on Gunner. “No.”

I turned back to Gunner and shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry…”

“No, no, it’s quite alright.” His eyes were on Party Poison’s, also full of steel. “You can go.”

Party Poison turned and went to leave. I turned to follow him, but Gunner spun me back around to face him. He kissed me on the cheek and slipped a piece of paper into my pocket. “It was nice meeting you, Atomic. Here’s my number. Call me anytime. If you need…” He looked at Party Poison’s retreating figure. “…Backup. Or something.” He smiled.

I smiled. “I will,” I said, and turned around to go follow Party Poison back into the car.

“What was with all the rush?” I asked when I was outside the bar, sliding into the car.

“We were just ready to go,” Kobra Kid said a little too quickly.

“Right,” I replied as Fun Ghoul sat beside me.

We jetted off pretty fast. I turned around and watched the bar as it disappeared, sighing to myself. I reached into my jacket pocket to instinctively get my phone. Then I realized. I hadn’t had a phone. Not since I’d been taken by the Killjoys.

How the hell could that have slipped my mind? I sighed. I was pretty sure that the guys had a phone in the glove compartment for emergencies or something, but I wasn’t about to ask them for it. This wasn’t an emergency, and I also knew that they’d ask what for. And for some reason, they didn’t seem to like Gunner.

Why the hell not, though? He was so charming. And sweet. And handsome. And a great singer. And a whole bunch of other things that I could come up with. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the guy.

After an hour or so, the sun was setting. Party Poison was driving really fast down the highway. There were no other cars. I knew that in an hour or so there would be coyotes and Kobra Kid would do his howling thing. And then an hour after that all of us would be asleep, except for Party, who would be wide awake and watching the road—

“What’s that up there?” I asked quickly, catching sight of what looked like a car pulled off to the side of the road.

“Not sure,” Party Poison said, slowing down as we got closer. “There’s not usually many people traveling down this road at this time, it’s usually only in the morning and early afternoon—hey, the hood’s up—I see someone.”

We pulled over cautiously behind the suspicious car. Party turned the engine off and opened the door, getting out. The rest of us did, too. I ran up to catch up with Party as he walked over to the person working on the car.

It was a girl. Her auburn hair was cut very short and her icy blue eyes were trained on what was under the open hood. She had surprisingly pale skin for someone who seemed to be so custom to the desert. She was wearing a Killjoy ensemble – a worn red jacket with a patch of a gun and a pill on the back. A small patch was on the front, a picture of a heart with a bandaid on it. Much more optimistic than my own. Under the jacket, she wore a black tank top. She was wearing some very short shorts, but you can’t blame her for that. We were in the middle of the desert and all.

She looked up at us. “Oh, hey. The future is bulletproof.” She looked back to her car.

“The aftermath is secondary,” Party Poison said automatically, staring at her intently. “Do you need any help?”

She cracked a smile. “Yes, please. God, I don’t know anything about cars. It was usually Moon Illusion who dealt with all this technical stuff…”

Moon Illusion. Why did that sound familiar…?

Party looked under the hood. He laughed a little. “It looks like you’re car’s just out of battery. You can’t leave it runnin’ too long or that’ll happen. Do you need a jumpstart? I think I have the cables.”

“God, you’re a lifesaver.” She looked up at him and smiled. Her smile faded quickly, and then a newer one – a one of realization – came on. “Holy crap, you’re Party Poison.”

“Guilty,” Party said, shrugging as he walked over and popping the trunk, looking through his stuff. He found the cables and pulled them out, walking back.

“Oh my god. I’m Ritalin Revolver,” she said, smiling.

Where have I heard that name before?

“Nice to meet you, Ritalin,” Party said, attaching the cables. “This is Atomic Battery. The other good-for-nothings that you also probably know about are over there, along with Grace aka Sunshine and Bulletproof Liberation.”

Ritalin let out a semi-forced laugh.

“Oh my god,” I said quickly. “You’re one of the missing Killjoys that Dr. Death-Defying reported.”

“Aww, he reported us missing? Good ‘ol Dr. D, lookin’ out for us.” She jumped and clapped as her engine roared to life. “YOU GUYS ARE WONDERFUL!”

“Well… if you’re Ritalin Revolver, then where’s the rest of your group?” I asked, feeling dread at what the answer was going to be.

“Oh, well, uh, we had a clap with an exterminator and uh, well, they got ghosted… Anyway, yeah, thanks for the jumpstart, that was really kind of you—” Ritalin rambled.

“Woah,” Party Poison said, holding up his hand. “Your group’s dead?”

Sadness shone on Ritalin’s eyes. She nodded.

“Female Killjoys shouldn’t be all alone. Do you know what some of those bastard Dracs are programmed to do to female Killjoys?” Party Poison said.

I didn’t want to know.

“Yeah,” Ritalin Revolver said. “But they’re dead, and I was kinda stranded here, and—”

It was getting dark.

“Alright,” Party Poison said. “I have an idea. We’re getting pretty crowded in my car. How about you take the ladies in your car, and you drive behind us on our way to Battery City? You might as well join us.”

“Really?” Ritalin asked, her eyes wide. “I mean, sure. Of course. Get them in my car. I stocked up on coffee last time I was at Dr. D’s so it should be in the cooler, I can go all night. Hell, yeah.”