He wished there was a way to prepare her for what she was about to face. In the few minutes it had taken her to follow him, Poison had at least been able to give the guys a brief update on what had happened, as well as a reminder to go easy on her. Which was more or less acceptable for Jet and Ghoul, but not for Kobra.

'Go easy on her?!!?' he yelled the moment Sky stepped through the door.

She flinched. Poison cursed under his breath, stepping in front of her in order to shield her from the worst.

'Why should we?!! She's only causing more trouble!! We have enough on our hands, we can't keep babysitting her!! UGH for fuck's sake! You already risked your life TWICE saving her and CLEARLY she doesn't give a SHIT!' he was screaming at Poison, not at her.

He knew his brother far too well. Kobra didn't get angry often but when he did, he completely lost it within seconds. The hysteric fits that turned into pulsing rage had resulted in hurting himself or others on not just a few occasions. Poison did the only thing he could think of. He smacked him right across the face, grabbing him by the collar to yank him closer. Behind him, he could hear Sky letting out a shocked gasp.

'You listen carefully now, brother. I'm only gonna say this once. I can't even count the times I've risked my life for YOU and them-' he nodded towards Jet and Ghoul. 'And not because you're my brother. Not because I have a strong sense of loyalty or responsibility, no. Because that's just what I do. Because it's the only thing that makes me feel like there's SOMETHING I can do. You're not happy about it? You're not happy about her coming here? Guess what, this time I don't give a shit.' he growled.

Letting go of him, he pushed him away, Kobra looked stunned but Poison was perfectly calm as he stepped forward again.

'She stays. And y'all better fucking deal with it. This isn't about who risks their life for whom. This is about DYING for each other if necessary. And if you're not willing to do that, none of this has a purpose. NONE OF IT. We might as well ghost ourselves right now. Sky is one of us now and you will help me train her. Teach her. You will go after her to find her in the dark if she's lost and she will do the same for you.' he turned and saw her tears. Looking up at him, she nodded.

*

As she sat down at the table with them, the mood had changed completely. For the first time she was able to see just how powerful and commanding Poison could be as a leader, how ruthlessly but passionately he was fighting for what he believed in. And he believed in her. He believed she had a purpose, just like them.

'Are you well enough to start tomorrow?' Ghoul asked, looking at her shyly from behind the curtain of black hair that was falling into his face.

Sky lowered her gaze, still not entirely sure if it was her right to speak. Poison had gotten up and was leaning against the counter, leaving her with the rest of the Killjoys. She knew it was his way of making her speak for herself while also forcing the others to acknowledge her as a member of the group.

'I...' she looked over at Poison who raised an eyebrow at her. 'I think so.'

'Good. Kobra?'

'Gonna get you in shape.' Kobra mumbled with a smirk, his eyes wandering over her skinny body in the most condescending way.

Great, Sky thought. He was given the chance to punish her, let his anger out on her. She could tell how satisfied he was with it, too.

'I'll teach you the survival skills you need out here. You clearly don't know anything about that.' Jet said, sighing in frustration and she agreed tacitly.

'Sweet. And I'm gonna show you everything you need to know about the techs. Spying on Battery City scum, hacking into their systems and how we use our radios, radar, ya know, the boring stuff.' Ghoul sounded uncomfortable in trying too hard to make her feel comfortable, knowing Poison was watching closely.

Sky nodded and then looked over at Poison again.

'What about you?' she asked him.

'All the rest. Everything you need to know about us. I'm gonna oversee your training, make sure you're physically and mentally prepared for our mission. And once you're ready...I'm gonna teach you how to kill.'

*

'Umm...have you seen my necklace by any chance?' she asked him in the dark and he could feel her eyes on him, peeking out from the door.

The others had already turned the electricity off and had gone to bed, Kobra still staying in Jet and Ghoul's room. Poison could tell that forcing his brother out of his own room to let Sky sleep in there didn't actually help the frustration he was feeling. He would have to think of another solution. There was another room that could be made into a bedroom with a little bit of work but first he needed supplies. There weren't exactly a lot of IKEAs around.

'A necklace?'

She let out a nervous sigh and he could tell she felt awkward about asking.

'Hey, let's talk in the morning okay? You should get some rest.' he suggested, hoping she would fall asleep soon so he could also go to bed.

'Okay...' Sky whispered but didn't move and he was confused so he didn't either.

'I know you've been sneaking in.' he could hear her say and he couldn't help but blush, an unusual reaction for him.

'Sorry.' was all he could reply.

'I don't mind. It's your room after all. And...I appreciate you...looking after me.' there was a smile in her voice and he wished he could see it too since so far, her still bruised face had been full of worry, pain and doubt.

She opened the door to let him in and he stepped into the room. As soon as he did, Sky moved over to his bed and he could hear it squeak under her low weight as she crawled under the blanket. Holding back a yawn, he sat down on the other bed, taking off his boots, followed by his jacket and jeans. Apparently she didn't mind at all, it was as though she had finally accepted his help without question and the fact that even though he was still a stranger, he would soon become not only her leader but also a friend.

'It's nothing. But as much as I enjoy punching my brother sometimes, I can't protect you from him forever. Don't run off again. Next time I won't be coming after you.' he finally answered.

Again, he could hear her move, turning to face him in the dark.

'I think we both know that that's not true.' she mumbled and he tried to figure out the emotions behind her words.

Humility, maybe? Gratitude. Definitely still a hint of vigilance.

'But I promise you, I won't.' she added.

He felt a bit of relief. If she fought hard in the next couple of weeks, she would make a great Killjoy.

Notes

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