Look Alive Sunshine.

Jet Star came to replace them on watch when the moon was high in the sky. Kobra Kid had fallen asleep, his head drooping onto Party Poison’s shoulder. He hadn’t minded. It’d made him feel... love and, for a few precious moments, he almost remembered something. It might have been Kobra Kid’s real name, it might have been a memory of how they grew up, it might have been anything. But that fact that he almost remembered was promising.

He shook Kobra Kid awake and half dragged him to bed, setting him on top of his sleeping bag. He passed out again, not even bothering to take off his jacket. Party Poison settled into his own bag, staring out the curtain-less window. Grace was only a lump on the bed, completely buried underneath her makeshift blankets. Fun Ghoul was right below her, snoring gently. Party Poison knew, however, that if she had screamed or even whimpered, he would have been up in an instant. He wasn’t sure why the young man was so devoted to the girl but, in a way, he wished he knew the feeling.

When he finally fell asleep, he started to dream. Party Poison barely ever remembered his dreams and for this, he was actually thankful. He often jolted awake, sweat pouring from his face, on the verge of a scream. But the dream would be gone and he’d be left only with the feeling that something very bad had happened to him.

Tonight was no exception. When he awoke, trembling, his stomach was churning, threatening to spill its meagre contents. He managed to keep them down but after that, despite the fact that the sun was just barely illuminating the sky, he knew he couldn’t go back to sleep. Fun Ghoul had replaced Jet Star on watch and, to his surprise, Grace was sitting at the end of the bed, looking down at him.

“Did you have a bad dream?” she asked. He nodded, but, realizing she probably couldn’t see, spoke instead.

“Yes. I have them a lot.” She stepped onto the floor and sat down beside him. To his surprise, she reached out for his hand and held it, not grossed out by the fact it was clammy with sweat.

“So do I,” she said. “The bad man chases me in them. He wants to hurt me like he hurt my parents.”

“Grace, why did he hurt your parents?” Party Poison asked, still holding her tiny hand in his own. He could feel her bones through her skin.

“I don’t know,” she said. “They just showed up one day and took my mom and dad away. The... Doctor was there and he hurt my dad before they took him away. I was hiding under my bed but they found me and I thought he was going to hurt me too, but he just told me that if I ran, maybe they wouldn’t take me.” He wasn’t sure how to respond so he didn’t say anything. He only held her hand.

“What did he do to you?” she asked him and he just shook his head, letting his flame colored tresses fall in front of his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I just know that he’s evil and he has to be stopped.” At that moment, Fun Ghoul silently rushed into the room, gun clasped between his fingers. He shushed them and woke up both Kobra Kid and Jet Star by shaking them quickly.

"Trouble," he whispered and listening, they could hear it; the far away purr of The Doctor's car, a sleek black Trans Am that signified death. It was hard to tell how far away it truly was, since the sound echoed in the wasteland but there was no doubt that it was coming their direction.

They moved quickly, grabbing the box full of their new possessions and tossing it into the trunk of their car before ripping the tarp off of the entrance to the hotel and shoving it inside as well. They tore out with little time to spare; the sound was just around the next corner. Grace settled into the back seat, pulling on Jet Star's helmet again. Fun Ghoul moved quickly, settling a missile into the RPG and propping it against the seat. He wasn't sure if he would need it but it was always useful to have around. Despite the fact that the Trans Am was pushing one hundred, they could hear the Doctor getting closer and closer.

The motorcycles appeared first, two massive hulking things that looked ungainly and awkward to manoeuvre. Almost directly behind them, the car came over the rise and, looking back, they could see that he was in the passenger seat. The sun reflected off of his bald head. Even from far away, they could see his grin, maniacal like a vampire or some other supernatural, child-eating monster.

"Let them chase us," Party Poison said, grinning as well. "Let's have some fun." He abruptly yanked the wheel to the left, knocking Grace into Fun Ghoul. To his surprise, no one shot at them. They seemed content to follow them at a distance, never coming closer than half a kilometre. Something was up.

Kobra Kid, who was looking out for possible distractions, spotted it first. Up ahead on a rise, almost completely hidden by a rock, was a group of Draculoids, all equipped with double laser guns. If it weren't for their white clothes, they would have been invisible.

"Up ahead!" he yelled, leaning out the window, ready to fire preliminary shots. Fun Ghoul was already on the move, pulling up the RPG. He stopped for a second and looked at Grace, smiling.

"Want to have some target practice?" She nodded and when she removed Jet Star's helmet, she was smiling as well. There was barely enough room for both of them to squeeze onto the window sill but they did it, both laughing loudly. Grace held the RPG up, her hands wobbling slightly as she pointed it in the general direction of the Draculoids. Holding the barrel with her, Fun Ghoul steadied it so that they had a clear shot. Adjusting as he moved, they both pressed the button, lurching backwards as the missile propelled itself forward. Seconds later, it hit the ground in front of the group, sending them flying through the air. Throwing the empty launcher back into the back seat, him and Grace exchanged a high five, both of them giggling. She ducked back inside but he stayed on the ledge, ready if they made a move. But still, there was nothing. They only continued to follow, although it did seem like they were a bit closer than before.

"Zone 5 is coming up ahead of us," Jet Star said, glancing down at the map. Sure enough, as they turned one more corner, there was a guard box with one Draculoid in it who was too busy reading a magazine to look up. Only when they were about to smash through the gate did he finally jerk up, yanking his gun from his belt and firing at them. Both of his panicked shots missed and they flew by, the gate splintering apart. Party Poison couldn't resist sticking up his middle finger as they continued down the road, feeling smug in the knowledge they were in dangerous territory.

It was then that the shooting began. Whipping around, they could see the Doctor leaning out his window, firing as fast as he could. These shots were much more accurate, leaving scorch marks on the back window. Jet Star attempted to lean out but a shot whizzed by, partially singing his hair. However, as soon as the Doctor took a second to allow his gun to recharge, he was being fired on from three guns, the shots slamming into his previously undamaged car. One from Kobra Kid took out one of the Draculoids on the motorcycles, hitting his cheek and sending him spinning off to the ground. Yet another shot sent his side mirror flying into the air. They could see The Doctor scream at the Draculoid who was driving, spit flying from his mouth. He accelerated, closing the distance between them to only a few car lengths.

Party Poison was weaving from one side to the other and it was having an effect on the Doctor's accuracy. Many of his shots simply whinged off into the desert, completely harmless. The Killjoys, on the other hand, were used to having to quickly adjust to movement and shot accordingly. After concentrating on the front left tire of the Trans Am, it finally burst, sending it skidding out of control. It slid to the side of the road and struck a rock, stopping it dead. Looking back, they could see the driver's airbag come out, slamming into the Draculoid's face. The Doctor had apparently been wearing his seat belt and he stumbled out of the car, waving his fists at them. His mouth flapped up and down but his words were lost to the air.

They sped away, whooping with joy. However, as they pulled off of the road and drove towards a mass of cliffs that would sufficiently hide them, their mood turned more sombre. They had finally made it to Zone 5 and the security level was much higher. If they really wanted to work on taking the Corporation down, they would have to be sly and sneaky. Unfortunately, the car wasn't exactly the most subtle way of doing that. As they drove up a steep hill, Party Poison holding the accelerator down, they realized that they would have to abandon the vehicle that had been one of the reasons they had survived thus far.

When they had reached the top of the hills, they stopped and climbed out, surveying the land. They had an excellent view of the desert around them but there were plenty of places to hide and observe as well. In fact, as they spread out, they found signs that, once upon a time, someone had thought the same thing. In one cranny, there was a small pile of things that had been left behind. The most interesting of this was a small, yellow half mask that was lying on top. Party Poison looked at it and, without hesitation, placed it on his face. Looking at them, they all smiled.

Fun Ghoul has his Frankenstein mask and both Kobra Kid and Jet Star had their helmets. Now, Party Poison had a Killjoy face of his own.