Dancing in the Desert

Scarlett had never maneuvered the desert so quickly before. Wind blowing cooly across her sweaty skin and a few stray strands of hair whipping around her face, it almost was as if she were flying. She turned her head towards Poison in the drivers seat. She was sitting shotgun so Kobra could keep an eye on her throughout the ride. At her motion, she felt Poison's attention snap to her in his peripheral vision. Despite having disarmed her, her backpack safe in the backseats with Kobra, they acted as if she were going to jump them at any given moment. In all honesty, they had a point; she didn't trust them either. The difference was that they held her captive in their car. Scarlett turned her head towards the desert scenery again, now darkening slightly as the sun began to set. "I would hope we're getting to wherever you're taking me soon. It's going to get cold."

Poison's fingers tightened around the wheel, giving an audible crack, and he sighed, "We're going to see someone about a background check."

"Dr. D." Scarlett affirmed, and Poison's head snapped towards her in suspicion, and then back to the desert as he realized he was still driving. Despite this, it was Kobra who broke the silence.

"You've heard of him?" Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"From you. You weren't exactly discreet." She suddenly wished she had turned around to see his expression, but smiled nevertheless at the images forming in her head.

"Right." Poison cast a quick, disapproving, glance at his comrade, before continuing. "We can't risk taking you back to our base without running one. We have nowhere else to go."

"What a dilemma." Scarlett sniffed, leaning backwards into the seat. His hands tightened on the wheel again, and Scarlett couldn't help but feel the bite of sadistic satisfaction.

Instead of snapping back, he growled, "We'll be there soon. Within minutes." Indeed, through the fading light, Scarlett could see the faint outline of a small building in the distance, appearing practically out of nowhere. She wondered how it had evaded her interest until this point. There wasn't much to look at asides from sand in the desert. Anything otherwise was usually a welcome sight. She blamed it on the fading light.

It wasn't until they arrived at the run-down, mysteriously quiet building, that she was spoken to again. Poison exited the car, and Scarlett followed suit, lagging behind so Kobra could watch her carefully. Poison was already halfway to the bilding before Kobra climbed out of the back, sighing, "You really shouldn't work him up. He's trying to help you, you know."

Scarlett snorted, watching Poison turn back to them, roll his eyes, and fully disappearing in the frame of the door. "I wouldn't call forcing me into labor 'helping,' exactly. I was fine how I was." Kobra nodded towards the building, and she began to walk beside him. Scarlett couldn't help but feel an uneasy sort of respect towards him for his gentle authority. It was much different than Poison's commanding nature. Good cop, bad cop. In any case, she suddenly felt guilty for antagonizing him in the car.

Kobra sighed, watching her hands out of the corner of his eye, as usual. Scarlett wondered how long it would take for the distrust to stop. "Look, he can't just ignore your stealing. Usually that kind of behavior would warrant execution, but my brother is giving you a fighting chance here. Probably because you're strong willed, and he sees that. You'll come in as an equal. We'll take care of you. You might even like it with us."

As they neared the door, Scarlett mumbled, "You're brothers." He raised his eyebrows at her, breathing out the ghost of a laugh.

"Yes."

"You don't look alike."

Kobra reached for the handle of the door, pulling it open for her. As she walked through the opening, he responded, "I've heard that."

The inside of the building was anything but homey, from what Scarlett could make out, anyways. It was dark and bland, like most things in the wasteland. The only notable thing about the room was the wall-to-wall counter upon which an endless array of radio broadcast equipment was settled. Scarlett guessed the hideout had once been a rest-stop-and-shop for tourists passing through the area by car. Behind the desk was a door, most likely leading to where the inhabitants of the building slept. One of them, a man with long, messy hair, and a beard, was at the counter talking to Poison. Judging by his overly-colorful clothing, she guessed he was involved with the Killjoys as well. Hearing her and Kobra's entry, both Poison and the scraggly man turned their attention to them. "Kobra Kid!" The bearded man sounded overjoyed to see him. Kobra broke into a grin.

"Dr. D," He laughed at the aforementioned's enthusiasm, "It's great to see you." Kobra gestured at Scarlett to walk with him to the counter, and she obliged, albeit a little hesitantly.

Dr. D. leaned over the counter towards Kobra, eyeing the unfamiliar girl with slight interest before turning his attention back to his friend. "I haven't seen you here for at least a few months. It's usually Fun Ghoul who comes for these runs isn't it?"

Poison nodded, agreeing, "This is an unexpected occasion." As Dr. D.'s eyes returned to Scarlett, he smile disappeared. He nodded in recognition, and Poison responded, "We've found a new runaway that we'd like to join our squadron, but we need a background check." Of course, Scarlett thought, he would leave out that she'd been stealing from them for years. Something told her she wouldn't have gotten off the hook so easily with the other Killjoys.

Dr. D. turned to give the new recruit a reassuring smile before turning back to Poison, "The name?"

Poison opened his mouth to respond, but then paused. He turned to the blonde girl in realization, "What's your name?"

"Poison," Dr. D. laughed, chiding, "You didn't bother to ask?"

"Like I said, it was an unexpected and unusual occasion," he responded, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head. He tuned back to Scarlett, who smirked back, knowingly. "Your name?"

"Scarlett," she informed, turning to Dr. D., "O'Connell." He smiled back at her before turning to enter the back room.

"I'll look in my files." Suddenly, he paused in the frame of the door leading to the back room and twisted around to face Poison and Kobra, "Will you be staying the night?"

Poison shook his head quickly, "We'd better not. Two of us have to go on a supply run tomorrow, and if we make Ghoul go twice in a row, he'll be giving shit about it. If we hurry, we should be able to make it back to the diner before dusk." At this, Dr. D. nodded and left to search for Scarlett's files. Poison faced the girl, "If you're working for BL/I, you'd better tell me now. Dr. Death-Defying keeps accurate records. You might get off with your life if you tell us now."

"I'm not working for BL/I," Scarlett snapped, "And you can quit looking at me like I'm going to put you in a choke hold. Last time I checked you're the ones with the guns."

Poison, unfazed, responded, "A necessary precaution." He turned back to his brother, who looked slightly uneasy at the girl's outburst, and said, "Are you going with Jet tomorrow, or will I?"

"I will," his brother said with conviction, "You went last time, and you've been exhausted."

Poison waved the accusation off, "I'm fine."

Kobra rolled his eyes, and said, "Poison, you're of no use to us when you're on your last legs. Take a day to recoup. We haven't got any business other than the supply run to take care of tomorrow."

Poison sighed in defeat, turning back towards the counter, "Fine. Just don't get yourselves killed." Kobra beamed at his success, and turned back to the counter along with his brother. Scarlett ignored most of their conversations after that point, the fatigue of the day's drama finally catching up with her. She had zoned out completely and was nearly asleep, her chin resting on her right palm as she leaned over the counter, by the time Dr. D. came back into the room, brandishing a manilla folder. She snapped awake at the sudden motion, pushing herself up from the counter to stand up straight. Dr. D. offered the folder to Poison.

"I didn't find anything concerning related to BL/I," he told Poison, who visibly relaxed after hearing the news. Scarlett couldn't help but feel slightly violated as she watched Poison casually flip through her file, reading her personal information. Kobra, noticing this, gave her a pointed, yet vaguely sympathetic look behind his brother's back. Dr. D. continued, "Looks like she's completely clean. You gonna take her, or should I send for another squadron leader?"

Poison shook his head, casting a quick glance at Scarlett, "She's coming with us, without a doubt." He snapped the folder shut and handed it back to Dr. D., "Destroy this. I don't want BL/I getting hold of it if anything happens to this place." He sniffed, "Not that I have any doubts in you. It's just a precaution."

"I understand. The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit has been even more difficult to avoid lately. Korse is working harder than ever to track us down. We all have to take precautions." Turning to Kobra, he smiled. "It's a shame DJ Hot Chimp is out on business. She would have liked to see you."

A blush crept onto Kobra's face, and he placidly responded, "Another time, maybe."

While Kobra tried to control the growing color in his cheeks, Poison turned to Scarlett, "You'll have to pick a new name. You can't run around broadcasting your identity to BL/I."

Scarlett sighed. She hadn't exactly given thought to what she would name herself. She thought back to her life before the Carbon War and the environmental disasters that had wreaked havoc afterwards. There hadn't been much to take away, but the earthquakes, in particular, had managed. She still wasn't sure where her sister was, if she had survived. Scarlett had vowed to find Morgan when snooping through files wasn't regarded as suspicious behavior by BL/I, but the opportunity had never risen. A wave of guilt and lethargy swept over her, as she responded, "Bottle Rocket." As the group considered her choice, she thought about asking Dr. D. for files on Morgan. Dr. D. might not think anything of it, but Scarlett was unsure about what Poison or Kobra would have to say about it. Despite having been given the 'all clear,' she could still sense their distrust in her. Scarlett couldn't exactly blame them. She had been stealing for awhile.

"That's fine." Poison waved the silence away with his hand, insisting, "We need to leave so we can get back to the diner before dusk. Unless we want to freeze."

"He's right, I'm afraid," Kobra said, fully recovered from his embarrassment, "It was great seeing you again, Dr. D." He cleared his throat before mumbling, "Give my regards to DJ."

"I will," Dr. D. responded knowingly, before adding, "I'll see you soon, Poison. Kobra." He looked pointedly at Scarlett, nodding, "Rocket."

The trio of Killjoys exited the building, and quickly made their way to the car. The desert air was already starting to cool, and Scarlett couldn't help but shiver slightly on the drive home. Usually she would be underground, by then, in her den, fire roaring. Something possibly would have been warming up over the flames. She had never been out in the open desert this late before, and she had been lucky. Her clothing was much too thin for that. This combined with the violent wind produced by the open top on the car was definitely enough to numb more than her toes. Scarlett suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and she was graced with the sight of Kobra handing her the blanket from her backpack. It was slightly sandy from her using it as a mat to sleep on, but she thanked him and unrolled it carefully, tucking the sides under her legs so they wouldn't flutter uncontrollably in the wind. After this, she was able to enjoy the ride much more, particularly the sky. They had missed sunset while they were conducting the background check, but the sky still wasn't completely dark. A few brave stars revealed themselves against the deep indigo sky, but they were a select bunch. Scarlett enjoyed finding the new arrivals as the sky deepened.

She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep until she was woken by Kobra shaking her shoulder. "We're here," he informed her, teeth chattering slightly. She looked at the sky briefly, now home to a flurry of twinkling lights and the largest moon she had ever seen. Scarlett easily would have stared for a few more minutes if Kobra hadn't begged, "Look, I can't leave you here alone, and I'd rather not get hypothermic." Sighing, she rose from the seat and left the car, blanket abandoned, following a relieved Kobra into the faintly lit diner.

Kobra was greeted by a curly-haired killjoy almost immediately upon entry into the building. He quipped, "Kobra! What took you so long? I was about to come out and get you." Kobra smiled, and gestured at Scarlett, sleepily lagging behind him. "Rocket, I'm assuming?" When she nodded, he flashed her a brilliant smile and said, "I thought so. I'm Jet Star. I'm sort of the techie around here. Call me Jet." Scarlett returned the smile, thankful for the lack of a suspicious undertone that she had experienced with the two brothers previously.

She mumbled, "It's nice to meet you." Then, she shook her head, adding, "You'll have to excuse my lack of conversational skills right now. I'm very tired."

"I'd guessed. Poison is up fixing up the spare room for you." He stopped suddenly, rubbing his neck nervously, "Well, I suppose it's your room now, isn't it? You'll be able to sleep in a few minutes."

"Where's Ghoul?" Kobra asked, looking around the room, "I thought it was his turn for watch tonight."

"Exactly. He's making himself coffee," Jet nodded in the direction of what Scarlett assumed was the kitchen.

Kobra snorted out a laugh, "Figures." Turning to Scarlett, he quipped, "Poison's probably done by now. You want me to show you to your room?" The girl nodded, and moved to follow him once again, flashing Jet a quick smile as she passed. She already liked the curly-haired Killjoy. There was something about him that was warranted him both friendly and worthy of her trust.Kobra led her up the stairs and down a very narrow hallway, pointing at a door on the left as he passed it, indicating, "Bathroom," and adding, "I wouldn't shower at night. The water tends to run cold pretty fast." He continued until coming to the last room on the left. The door was slightly ajar, so Kobra knocked on the frame before pushing it open. Poison beckoned them in, but shook his head when Kobra began to enter.

"Go to sleep Kobra, now. You and Jet are going on a run tomorrow and need your energy." Kobra cast a glance at Scarlett, who shrugged, as if asking her permission. Poison rolled his eyes again. The gesture seemed familiar to him. "Don't worry about Rocket; I'll take it from here." Kobra sighed, giving Scarlett a slight nudge with his elbow as he exited.

"G'night Poison. Rocket." After both returned the sentiment, Poison turned back towards Scarlett, scratching his head. Scarlett almost laughed at the way he seemed to lean into his hand during the motion, but decided against it. Finally, Poison broke the silence.

"Everything's all set here. I mean, it's your room, so you can do whatever you want in here, really." When Scarlett didn't respond, he continued, "You should get some sleep, if you can. These next couple of weeks are going to be hard for you."

"Thanks," Scarlett responded drily, and Poison sighed dramatically at her tone.

"Well, mine is the room next to yours, if you need me." He exited the room without another word, shutting the door rather roughly behind him.

Exhausted, Scarlett practically collapsed onto the bed, pulling the blankets over her in an attempt to feel normal. It was strange; just that morning, she had woken up to her familiar routine of stealing supplies from the Killjoy den, and now she was one of them, sleeping in a bed at one of their hideouts. She had a new name. Though she hardly intended for her new life to last long, it had started without her permission, and she wasn't sure what it would be like, thrown so unexpectedly into a lifestyle she had never intended to have, and being so suddenly turned into a person she had never expected to be.

But for now, this was who she was: Bottle Rocket, the Killjoy's newest fighter, and BL/I's newest enemy.

Notes

Hello!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I'm getting better at updating, despite all the craziness lately. We've had snowstorm after snowstorm where I live, and its resulted in a lot of canceled school, a lot of power-outages, a lot of shoveling, and a lot of overall stress. Driving has been terrible, and the teachers are being forced to amp up our workload so we stay on schedule with the curriculum. That and extracurriculars is kind of killing me at the moment. I'm involved with a lot of music groups and I'm working on a lot of art projects and I'm involved with a lot of productions. Being a high school junior is terrible.

AP classes, and test scores, and resume building, oh my.

My other story is going to be updated sometimes soon. I'm almost done with the latest chapter.

That being said, I hope you're all enjoying the story. Thanks for all the comments, rates, and subscriptions so far. It really makes my day!

--Sparrow Delanuit