Battery City Rebels: Part One

Fun Ghoul parked the van a few minutes out from the station. Indigo helped the girls from the back and took Baby's hand to lead her away from the road.

"You stay with me, okay?" she said. The little girl nodded and stood closer, immediately latching herself onto the nearest maternal adult.

The walk to the station didn't take long. But it was dark, and Indigo was already jumpy. The building was empty save for the single attendant in his blue jumpsuit and green mask at the counter. He was still and silent.

"Phone?" Ghoul asked. The droid motioned behind them to the other side of the store. Ghoul nodded, and the women followed after. "Keep an eye on him," he whispered to Indigo. She pressed her back to the wall plastered in wanted posters. Everyone wanted for Extermination. She searched for familiar faces but found none. She and the boys were all relatively good at staying under the radar. For now.

"So, where are you girls from?" Indigo whispered while Ghoul slipped into the back room to put in the call.

"The outer zones," Dary explained. "The farther you get from BC, the harder it is to keep track of them. So I'm not sure which one."

"Me either," Baby explained. "I like the way you killed that Drac. You were like—pow!" She imitated the gesture of stabbing him in the throat. Indigo winced. It felt wrong coming out of the mouth of a child. Even though it was necessary at the time.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that."

"I've seen worse." She didn't doubt that.

She kept her eyes on the droid behind the counter. They never moved unless they needed to. But that didn't mean he wasn't putting out a call anyway. And while they were supposed to remain neutral, a halfway decent hacker could quickly change that.

Headlights appeared far down the highway. So she stood up straight and motioned toward the girls.

"There's a car coming. Follow me back," she told them. She retook Baby's hand and led them into the hall where Ghoul was on the pay phone. "There's a car on the highway. Headed toward the City."

"Shit," he muttered. "We'll have to leave through the back and go on foot for a while. They'll probably turn and investigate once they spot the van. Poison will meet us on Joshua Tree." He hung up without saying goodbye to whoever was on the other end. "C'mon." He reached for her other hand, and she gave it without question. He took Dary's in the other, forming a link so they wouldn't get separated.

They headed out through the back and directly into the open desert. Indigo kept her hands clutched in Baby's and Ghoul's. They stayed quiet until the lights of the station were out of sight.

"Where are we headed?" Indigo asked.

"If we can manage to stay straight, there should be a network of abandoned streets just ahead. Poison will meet us on one of them."

"I hope they bring water," Baby said. "I'm really tired." Ghoul stopped and let their hands go to kneel.

"C'mon. I got you." She jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You guys stay close.

He carried her the rest of the journey. He didn't make any complaints, and she seemed comfortable resting her head on the back of his. Indigo kept Dary close so she didn't wander off. Both of them looked worn out. They were probably dehydrated and starving on top of everything else. Dary said they'd been captive for a few days, and Indigo doubted the Dracs had been nice. The only real good thing about the situation was that they were children. It didn't always stop the worst of them, but BLI had strict rules and harsh punishments for breaking them. Thankfully, they'd been picked up by relatively law-abiding Dracs.

The first street appeared out of the dark, almost unnoticed. If it wasn't for the shift from dirt to broken concrete and the skeletons of streetlights, they would never have known they'd reached the neighborhood. Ghoul stopped for a moment to look around and catch his breath. There were a few street signs bent and faded from years of acid rain and sand storms. No one had lived there since before the wars. The only houses left standing made terrifying monoliths in the dark.

"This way," Ghoul said after a moment. He carried on with a little more purpose, and it didn't take long for them to hear the sound of an engine idling. The Trans-Am was sitting on the corner of Joshua Tree, otherwise silent and dark. The light only turned on momentarily when Poison opened the door and got out. He appeared to be alone.

"Indigo, good to see you again," he said with a nod when he approached, ready to take the girl off Ghoul's back.

"I appreciate your help," she said.

"Not a problem. You guys can stay with us for the night. The Hive will be buzzing."

Baby shifted from one pair of arms to the other, not seeming the least bit bothered by the stranger. He carried her back to the car, and Indigo wrapped her arm around Dary's shoulder to guide her after them. Ghoul took the front with Poison, and the girls took the back. Baby immediately rested her head on Indigo. So she held onto her, letting her steal as much rest as she could.

"Where did they catch you?" Poison asked as he put the car back on the road, lights still off.

"Where Indigo stashed my bike," Ghoul explained.

"You went back for her. Despite my warning."

"Obviously."

"And you didn't notice the scouting Dracs nearby?"

"We were a bit uh…," he glanced into the backseat, making a show of not wanting to go into detail in front of children, "preoccupied." Poison reacted by slamming his fists into the steering wheel.

"Damn it, Ghoul! That's exactly the kind of shit that gets you killed. What would you have done if she'd lost her life because you couldn't keep your fucking dick in your pants?"

"There are kids back here," Indigo reminded him.

"Sorry."

"I'm not going to try and justify our actions," Ghoul continued. "We got sloppy, and then we got lucky. The Dracs were idiots. Indigo had them both dead in ten minutes. And if we hadn't gotten busted, these two would be in Bat City right now."

"Your name is Indigo?" Dary asked from the other side of the sleeping little girl.

"Yeah, Indigo Umbrella."

"They were talking about you. Before we picked you up?"

"What?"

"The Dracs. They said they've been trying to look for you. Hunting you is actually what they said." Poison hit the brakes so hard that they all shot forward and then fell back against the seats. They were all buckled, thankfully, but Indigo still had to hold onto Baby so she didn't get whiplash. He turned around as if he hadn't almost just killed them all.

"Hunting her?" he asked. She nodded.

"They said the Scarecrow is after her. She's wanted for Extermination. But I don't think they realized who she was when she was picked up. They just said they'd followed a couple of coyotes into the desert." He turned to Indigo.

"Why would the Scarecrow go after you now?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But they went after Midnight. Maybe they're just starting from the bottom now." He shook his head.

"No, getting ghosted by Dracs is one thing. The Scarecrow only get involved when it's bigger. They must have gone after Midnight to get to you."

"Believe it or not, I already put that together. But I don't know what they want me for. I thought I was under their radar. They haven't even put up posters."

"Yet. Maybe they just hadn't figured out who you were yet."

"If that's the case, they definitely know now," Ghoul pointed out. The two men shared a look.

"Fine, change of plans." Poison turned the car around and headed in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Indigo asked.

"Doctor D. We need to see if he's picked up any chatter."