A week later, the van pulled back in, closely followed by the motorcycle Frankie had taken. Everyone spilled out of the van as Ray climbed off the motorcycle, shaking out his afro after having it stuck inside his helmet for so long. Frankie seemed to be sulking about his demotion to ‘van passenger’.
“Gee, Faye, we’re home!” Mikey called as he stepped into the kitchen, where Faye sat at the table reading one of Gerard’s old Watchmen comics. “Oh, good, you’re still alive.” Mikey grinned, ruffling Faye’s hair. The girl still wore a bandage wrapped around her neck, and there was a bit of gauze peeking out from under her tank top, but she seemed much better off, especially without the bruises.
“Of course.” Faye grinned. “I’ve been trained, remember? I know how to deal with annoying Killjoys.” With that she smirked, going back to her comics, the wicked glint in her eyes reassuring the other Killjoys that she was just kidding.
“Where is Gee?” Frankie asked, puzzled. Gerard hated being left behind, and usually had an ambush ready for the returning Killjoys. The man’s motto was, after all, ‘three cheers for sweet revenge’.
“I’m sure he’s hanging around somewhere.” Faye answered vaguely, apparently absorbed in her comic book. Mikey narrowed his eyes, thinking that she seemed innocent- too innocent. The paranoid smart Killjoy decided she must be in on whatever Gerard had planned, and resolved to stay far away from both of them until something awful happened to Frankie.
“Boo.” Said a calm voice from above them, and Mikey, Ray, and Frankie all jumped and looked up, seeing Gerard up in the rafters in the ceiling, before he dropped straight down onto them. Boom Box and Dr. Death Defying both laughed as Faye looked up from her comic to snicker at the men groaning on the floor.
“Come on, I warned you and everything.” She rolled her eyes, grinning as she returned to her comic book. She was already deep into the series, completely hooked on the story.
“Oh, right.” Ray scowled, pulling himself out of the pile. “Thanks ever so much.” He dusted himself off as Gerard got up, grabbing Mikey’s hand and pulling him to his feet, too. Frankie just leapt up, grinning. As fun as Fever Fests were, it was great to be home again.
“Not my fault you were too thick to get it.” Faye shrugged, finally putting down the comic, having finished the issue. “So Dr. D, when do you wanna crank the tunes in the city?”
“You feeling up to it?” Dr. Death Defying asked slowly, staring at the kid hard, trying to see if she was lying, bluffing, or just trying to act healthier than she was in general.
“I’m good, yeah.” Faye answered, nodding. “When can we try it?”
Dr. Death Defying leaned back in his wheelchair, looking thoughtful. “We’d need to clap together a playlist to avoid dead air, but that won’t take long. You think rock ‘n’ roll will shake things up enough?”
“Sounds about right. It’s the emotion that’ll get through to them, and the words. I hate to say it, but swearing will shock them, since it’s taboo in the city.” Faye agreed.
“We got this.” Ray grinned at Gerard, who nodded in agreement, the two of them taking off to grab their CD collection. Mikey and Frankie immediately followed, wanting to put in their two cents to save the world.
“Boom Box, why don’t you go help?” Faye suggested, and the little girl ran off happily. Then Faye turned to Dr. Death Defying. “You realize the risk is serious, right? I can get into the system so they shouldn’t be able to track me, but if they manage to, the signal will lead the Dracs right back to here. Even if we’re successful, some of the city mice might not be happy; it’s easier to live when someone else is thinking and feeling for you. They might fight on Better Living’s side. And of course Better Living will be pissed and come after us.”
“I know, Faye, I thought about all of this. Tracking the signal was my biggest concern, I was hoping you’d know how to stay invisible.” The man waved off her worries. “And for every mindless city mouse, there’ll be people who hate that BLI lived their lives for them. They’ll fight for us.”
Faye shifted uncertainly in her seat, not sure she was as confident in the individuality of the Dracs and the civilians. “I can’t promise it’ll work at all.”
“What do you think the odds are?” Dr. Death Defying asked seriously, knowing that this little girl’s answer could make or break his plans, maybe even the world.
“I think it’ll work.”
-
Faye sat in front of the computer in the makeshift sound booth, with Dr. Death Defying ready to hit the airwaves with whatever jams the boys had picked out. The monitor’s screen and dim, red emergency lights were the only illumination in the room, and everyone was at their stations. Ray and Gerard stood on either side of the barricaded doorway, guns at the ready, Mikey was standing with Dr. Death Defying at the table, ready to help with all the sound equipment, and Frankie sat with Boom Box on the floor, waiting for the show. Everyone was armed, and all but Faye were wearing masks; Faye’s helmet and gun sat on either side of the monitor, which was showing a BLI login screen. The lights were out, and Better Living’s party was over.
“Here we go.” Faye breathed, then started keying away, breezing through firewalls and around blocks, the passkeys unlocking everything. “I’m in.” She was grinning, slightly shocked but totally elated, and motioned Mikey to come forward. “That cord sockets there.” She motioned, and the older Killjoy plugged the sound system into the computer, which was feeding what was now dead air to every building in Battery City. “Dr. D, it’s all you.”
The man grinned wickedly, then hit the button on the antique microphone. “Look alive, sunshine. 109 in the sky but the pigs won’t quit. You’re here with me, Dr. Death Defying. I’ll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter, pumping out the Slaughtermatic sounds to keep you ‘live, a system failure for the masses, antimatter for the master plan, louder than God’s revolver and twice as shiny. This one’s for all you rock ‘n’ rollers, all you crash queens and motor babies, listen up; the future is bulletproof, the aftermath is secondary, it’s time to do it now and do it loud. Killjoys, make some noise!” Mikey hit the button on the sound system, and the room was filled with the same sounds that suddenly shook Battery City, the triumphant Killjoys singing along.
”Na na na na, na na na, na na na na na na…”

“She said, ‘come on, come on, kiss my battery,
Come on, come on, I’ll be your android girl.’
She said, ‘Come on, come on, kiss my battery,
Come on, come on, and fuck this whole wide world’!”

“Oh, fuck yeah!
That’s right,
1-2-3-4
Well, 3-2-1, we came to fuck,
Everybody party till the gasman comes,
Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun
And get a parking violation in La Brea till it’s done.
Hair back, collar up, jet black, so cool!
Sing it like the kids that are mean to you (c’mon)!”

“So give up,
So get out,
S-I-N, I S-I-N!”
After many fantastic songs, Faye started tapping away at the keyboard again, and everyone looked at her in confusion; she wasn’t supposed to be messing with anything. The other Killjoys watched as she minimized the sound system window, opening up another BLI page; she typed in a few more logins and passkeys, and then a live video feed launched, showing several parts of the city.
The city mice were in a frenzy, some of them cheering and dancing, some looking terrified as the others celebrated. Dracs were running everywhere, but were completely ineffective what with their orders to never harm a civilian. Some of the city dwellers were running for Better Living headquarters for sanctuary, some of the others had wrestled guns away from the Dracs and were storming nearby buildings, which had gone into lockdown mode when the Awesome Audio Assault started.
“Alright all you tumbleweeds, this here is Dr. Death Defying,” The wild people onscreen slowed their frantic attacks, if not freezing outright, as the pirate radio DJ finally got them to tune in. “Out here in the Zones, we’ve been trying to wake you up. Better Living wiped your minds and took your lives, we’re here to take you back. Fight those Dracs, get the pills out of your food! We’ll be rolling through, coming back for you. We’re the Fabulous Killjoys, and we’re here to rock your world. I’ve got to start running, but I’ll be seeing you soon. Keep your boots tight and your gun close, and die with your mask on if you’ve got to!”
The rebellious people on the screen cheered, raising their fists, rounding on the Dracs as more rock and roll poured into the city, pounding loud enough to drown out the alarms and mind-wiping tones Better Living was trying to broadcast.
”Do or die
You’ll never make me
Because the world
Will never take my heart
Though you’ll try
You’ll never make me…”