But Maybe We'll Live Forever

“So what you’re saying is that Better Living Industries is out to get us, and you guys are just gonna save the whole world? Just the four of you?” Shelby Chauncey asked.

“Yes, pretty much,” the boyish-faced man, whose “name” was Fun Ghoul, she’d found out, said.

“Wow. I mean… wow. I’d just say you were insane and that you kidnapped me if it weren’t for Rory’s tape.” I looked out the window at the scenery as it rushed by. It was turning into a desert wasteland; we were pretty far from the city by now.

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re thankful that we saved your life.” The afro-man’s voice was sarcastic. Shelby had found out that he went by the name Jet Star.

Shelby didn’t say anything, just sighed as she stared out the window as the world blurred. She had been carefully holding back tears this whole drive; she knew that she would probably never be in the comfort of her home for the rest of her life. She knew her life had been changed forever, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

“Look, are you sure you’re okay?” the intense-eyed man, who went by Kobra Kid, asked in a semi-caring, semi-impatient manner.

“Yeah. Totally fine.” Shelby didn’t move her eyes away from the window, because she was sure she’d start crying if she looked into any of these men’s piercing eyes.

Party Poison, who apparently was the leader of this group, looked in the rearview window at her. “No, you’re not.”

“So,” Shelby said quickly, to avoid this confrontation, “what is it with your names? That’s the one thing you didn’t explain to me.”

Party Poison looked semi-annoyed at her sudden subject change, but didn’t push it. “I guess that’s an important thing to ask, since you’re not going to be known by Shelby anymore.”

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“You’re one of us now,” Fun Ghoul said, smiling at Shelby. “Whether you like it or not, you’re officially a Killjoy. A Fabulous Killjoy, that is. And a name is one of the most important parts of your whole demeanor.”

“You see,” Party Poison said, glancing in the rearview window, “if you’re going to be one of us, you have to be off the radar. No one can know your real name anymore, because if they do, then they can find your records, and that would be bad. If you must give someone a name, you give them your Killjoy name. It’s like a cover name, or a code name.”

“Oh,” Shelby said. “I guess that makes sense.” She stared out the window again, watching the scenery. They were definitely out of the city now. It was all desert around this lonely road. “So… what’s my name?”

“Well, it could be up for you to decide, unless you want us to name you.” Party Poison flipped some of his red hair out of his face as he watched the road.

“Well, I don’t know anything about this. So… I guess it’d be nice if you could name me.” Shelby looked over at the whole group, who were all smiling.

“I say we call her Annoying Mission,” Jet Star said.

The whole group laughed, and Shelby just shrunk in her seat.

It was silent for a while, then Party Poison smiled real big and said, “I got it. The perfect name for Bullet Deceiver’s sister. If she’s anything like her brother, she deserves a good name. Atomic Battery.”

“Atomic Battery… now that’s got a good ring to it,” Kobra Kid said, a smile on his intense features.

“Are you cool with that?” Party Poison asked.

All of the Killjoys – even Party Poison, who was driving – looked over at her. “Atomic Battery?” she said it herself, almost as if she were asking a question. She had to admit, she liked the sound of it. “That sounds very… badass.”

The whole group laughed, even her.

“So is that a yes?” Party Poison asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I like that.”

And right at that moment, Shelby was no more. She was me. Atomic Battery. She’d abandoned herself to become a Killjoy with a mission – a mission to defeat the people who’d taken her brother. And this was her new life now. She couldn’t go back. There was no going back now.

Not anymore.