At the Fever Fest, the four Killjoys climbed out of the van, staring up at the huge bonfire on the fallout dust. Everything flammable within a two-mile radius had been gathered and tossed into a pile, doused in lighter fluid, and the heat had done the rest. It was bright, impressive, and most of all, it was hot.
Boom Box and Dr. Death Defying were talking to other Killjoys, saying hellos to friends, introducing themselves to new allies, always speaking for Show Pony and Smile.
“Yeah, those two Killjoys won’t sing if BLI catches them.” Dr. Death Defying laughed when someone asked about their silence. Show Pony and Smile just stared silently at the unfamiliar Killjoy from behind their helmets, wishing the doctor wouldn’t say things that weren’t true.

The Fever Fest came alive not long after they got there, games starting up, Killjoys eating and singing and dancing, shooting all sorts of targets, all of them going mad with the heat and losing themselves out in the fallout dust.
Smile had wandered away from the festivities, not enjoying herself in the slightest. As she wandered, she noticed a few other Killjoys headed the same way she was going, so she stayed her course to see where they were off to.
She came across an ancient mailbox, the kind that sat in a town center for people to drive up to and dump their mail in. It had been decorated with words and banners, bows and all sorts of colors. ‘Mom’, ‘Love’, ‘Forgive and Forget’ were some of the words scrawled on it, and Killjoy after Killjoy walked up to put a note inside. Some of them kissed the papers, others just paused for a moment. A few actually spoke to the mailbox as if it were the Killjoy they were trying to reach. Almost all of them cried.
After watching for a moment, Smile sat down in the dust a good bit away from the mailbox, taking out her pen and paper.
You’re not Killjoys. You never were. You never wanted to be. But I couldn’t live like you. I hated it. I always thought I hated you, too. I’m not sure anymore, though. You just did what you thought was best for all of us. Well, I’m out here because I thinkthis is best for all of us. I know I’ve always made you unhappy- as unhappy as emotionless BLI zombies can be- and this makes it worse. I can’t won’t apologize. I hope one day you’ll wake up and we can talk everything out. Maybe then I’ll be able to apologize. For now, just… stay safe, I guess. I’ll be out here in the Zones, trying to save the world. Smile tore the paper out of her notebook, folding it messily in half as she approached the box. The few Killjoys who had lingered around it dispersed to give her privacy, like the other Killjoys had done for them.
Smile stared at the box for a long moment, fidgeting with the paper in her hand before slipping it into the box. Behind her helmet, her eyes were dry.
“You writing to your family?” Asked a kind voice, and Smile turned to see Dr. Death Defying rolling up to the box, two envelopes in his hand.
Smile nodded hesitantly, stepping aside to let the man wheel up to the box.
“This one’s for my brother.” He said, dropping the first envelope inside. “This one,” He stared at the second envelope for a moment before pushing it gently through the slot, the door of which had long ago broken off. “It’s for my four boys, whatever happened to them. They’ll always be the best of us.”
Smile nodded sadly, and after a moment of silence, the pair headed back to where Show Pony and Boom Box lounged by the fire.

“It’s a s’more!” Boom Box explained happily. “It’s made of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows.” Grinning, she bit into her own s'more. “Isn’t chocolate the best?” She sighed happily.
Dr. Death Defying and Show Pony were eating their own s’mores, watching Boom Box as she tried to coax Smile into eating the treat. Smile just stared down at the table, uncertain of the food in front of her. The way it was oozing brown and white goo certainly didn’t make it seem appealing.
“What? Have you never had marshmallows before, either?” Boom Box asked, crossing her arms on the makeshift, ramshackle picnic table that may have been a car at some point in its life… maybe even a shopping cart. Boom Box’s jaw dropped when Smile shook her head. “What about chocolate?”
Smile shook her head again, and Boom Box dropped her face onto her crossed arms with a sympathetic groan. “That’s awful.”
Smile looked away from the distraught girl, looking at the men sitting across the table from her. Show Pony had taken off his helmet, and Smile realized he had his ears pierced- three rings up his ear lobes, one ring at the top of his left ear. He had a snakebite, too. All the rings were black.
Behind her visor, Smile’s eyes widened as she stared at him, knowing he couldn’t see her. She’d seen those piercings before.
“Just eat it, Smile. It won’t kill you.” Dr. Death Defying smiled, and Smile stared at him, then hesitantly reached for her helmet. Instead of taking it off, she tipped the visor up just enough to eat her s'more. She had black lipstick on, and metallic white snakebites.
She let the visor drop back down as she swallowed the treat, grinning behind her helmet. When Boom Box looked up at her, waiting for a reaction, Smile gave her a thumbs up, making the little girl smile.
“See? I told you they’re awesome.” Boom Box grinned excitedly, and Smile nodded in agreement as Show Pony stood up, putting his helmet back on. Dr. Death Defying looked up at him before sighing, pushing back from the table, too.
“Pony’s right; we should hit the road.” Dr. Death Defying announced sadly, and Boom Box grabbed a final s'more for the road as she and Smile got up and followed the men towards the van. As they walked, Boom Box broke her s'more, offering half to Smile. The older woman hesitated, then took the treat when the little girl insisted, smiling her thanks as she tipped up her visor to eat the s'more.
“Boom Box, can I borrow your friend?” Asked an unfamiliar voice, and the two girls turned to see a Killjoy lounging in the shadow cast by a kitchen tent.
“Sure.” Boom Box chirped happily. “Chimp, this is Smile. She’s like Show Pony.” The little girl glanced at Smile. “I’ll go to the van and tell Dr. D and Show Pony where you went. Meet us there when you’re done!” Then she vanished into the crowd.
Smile turned to look at the other Killjoy- Chimp- warily. She had no idea what to make of the shadowy figure, and even less of a clue as to what the Killjoy wanted with her.
“Relax. I just wanna ask a couple questions.” Chimp was a girl, that much was obvious. She gently pushed off the tent pole and stepped out of the shadow, into the light cast by the behemoth fire. This Killjoy was shorter than Smile, although not by much. Chimp’s colors were vibrant green and white. “Like where are your colors? You’re as blank as Battery City.”
Smile shrugged, not caring enough to take out her pad and write an answer. She didn’t like that this girl was questioning her. Smile knew she was a Killjoy, and she didn’t feel the need to prove it to anyone else, no matter where she came from.
“I saw you looking at those extermination posters. Not a lot of Killjoys know about the Exterminators.” Chimp said, staring hard at Smile’s visor as if that would let her see through it. “Exterminators pretend they’re Killjoys, did you know that? And then they kill all their so-called friends.”
Smile felt the need to respond this time, pulling a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. As soon as she’d moved, Chimp’s hand had flown to her gun, taking aim at Smile’s chest impressively fast.
Smile just held her hands up in a gesture of surrender before holding out the folded bit of paper.
Chimp narrowed her eyes, then snatched the paper with one hand, using the other to keep a steady aim at Smile’s chest. Glancing at the darker Killjoy, Chimp’s gaze flickered to the paper quickly, then she let herself have a longer look.
I feel accomplished. Smile scribbled onto her pad, flashing Chimp the note when she looked back up. Chimp read the note quickly as she handed back the extermination poster, hot off the presses with a brand-new face. There was a picture of Suicidal Smile in all her helmeted glory, her name in bold underneath it.
“Nice to meet you, Suicidal Smile. I’m DJ Hot Chimp.” The Killjoy offered her hand as she sheathed her gun, and Smile shook it, not one to keep a grudge. “I’m with the JunkPunks over in Zone 4. If you ever need a hand, give us a shout.”
Smile nodded her thanks, hesitating for an instant before scribbling another note on her pad. Thanks. I won’t forget. But watch out for Show Pony. I think he’s an Exterminator.
Chimp’s eyes widened, but she nodded. “Thanks. I thought there was something off about that boy. He’s too… blank to be a Killjoy.” She shook her head, then waved, trotting off towards the other JunkPunks.
Smile waved back, then headed off to the van marked with the WKIL logo.
She wanted to hear more of that music.