The Only Hope For Me Is You

I sat in a worn out booth, the man was still sitting across from me. He had taken off his sunglasses and I could now see his hazel eyes. He hadn't said anything else to me, and I was itching to ask him questions. I cleared my throat, “What’s your name?”

He looked at me, “Kobra Kid.” He answered simply, I was shocked. This was Kobra Kid? I remember hearing about him. He was one of the original rebels, but he was so young! Him and his group had been responsible for countless raids on Battery City, and had killed many Dracs. “You look surprised Raymond.” He stated, he was looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Y-you're a killer. You've killed hundreds of Dracs. They told us you killed innocent citizens of Battery City.”
He cocked his head, “And they have killed thousand of us. Some innocent blood may have been shed, but…Raymond we are fighting for freedom, the same reason you ran from Battery City.” I was about to say something when I saw two more men walk into the diner. One with fire-engine red hair, and a blue leather jacket. The other was shorter, with black hair and wore a green vest, with a black shirt underneath. The red head was laughing until he saw me, he narrowed his eyes as he looked to Kobra and then back to me.

“Who's this?” He snapped. Kobra stood up and walked up to him.

“He's a runaway, he escaped from Battery City. He was trying to steal some our supplies.” Kobra explained. The shorter man looked at me, he looked like he was trying to figure me out, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat under his gaze.

“And why is he still alive then? I told you what to do with thieves.” The red-head snapped.

“Poison, c’mon he was scared and hungry. There was a time that was us.” Kobra stated, so the red-head was Party Poison, the so-called leader of the rebels. That means the other man must be Fun Ghoul.

“Kobra we can't take in everybody that comes in hungry and scared. We just can't.” Poison pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something under his breath. “We can barely feed ourselves. I want to help him…I just don't know if we can.”

“C’mon Poison, we can't just throw him back out in the desert. You know he won't survive without our help.” Kobra said.

I didn't want to hear anymore about what they thought of me. I couldn't stand them talking about me as if I wasn't in the same room. I got up and began to walk towards the door, but Kobra grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“Look I understand that I would be an inconvenience to you and your group.” I looked to Poison, “I'm sorry I tried to steal, I did not know this diner was occupied…I swear. I promise it won't happen again.” I opened the door, I could hear Ghoul mumbling something to Poison, I was about to the exit the building when I heard Poison call out.

“Wait!” I stopped and turned around, “What skills do you have? Can you shoot a gun? Can you fight?” He asked.

“Well, I'm a decent mechanic…I took all four years of it in high school and worked in a small mechanics shop in Battery City. And I can shoot, my dad taught me when I was a kid. As for fighting, I've never been in a situation where I needed to fight.” I stated, gaining some confidence.

Poison groaned, “Alright, I'll give you one chance. Don't blow it. Kobra find something decent for him to wear, I cannot stand those black and white clothes.” And with that Poison left, along with Ghoul. They went into a back room and shut the door. I heard Kobra let out a relieved sigh and then he gripped my upper arm.

“C’mon Ray,” I smiled at the nickname, “Oh by the way you are going to have to figure out a new name.” He led me into another room.

“A new name?” I asked, Kobra chuckled.

“Of course, you can't go around telling everyone you're real name. They could use it against you, if you do have family left in Battery City then they could hurt them to get to you.” He answered.

“Whats your real name then?” I questioned, Kobra kneeled down in front of a large wooden box. He flipped open the lid and began to rummage through its contents.

“Maybe in due time Ray, but I need to get to know you before you get to know me.” He stated plainly, he pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt, “I think you're about the same size as Dr. D, so hopefully these should fit.”

“That doesn't seem very fair.” I stated, Mikey just chuckled.

“Nothing about the desert is fair Ray, learn that now and you might just make it.” He stated, before pulling out a black leather jacket with an American flag on the back and pair of scuffed-up black boots. He handed me the clothes and left the room shutting the door behind him. I looked down at the clothes and shrugged, if I wanted to survive then I needed to become a rebel myself.

I slipped out of my clothes and pulled on the pants. They were a lot tighter than anything I had ever worn and it would take some getting use to. I put on the shirt and and shrugged on the leather jacket. Lastly I slipped on the boots. I was shocked that everything fit, this Dr. D guy was totally my size. I stepped out of the room and found Kobra sipping on a bottle of water. When he saw me his eyes widened, I felt blood rush into my cheeks.

"You look good," He stated, as soon as the words left his mouth a blush crept into his cheeks, he quickly cleared his throat, “I-I mean you look like one of us now.”

Before I was able to respond I heard someone walk into the room. I saw Fun Ghoul and Party Poison walk in, “See now you look like a real Killjoy!” Ghoul smiled.

“A what?” I asked confused by the term.

“A Killjoy…that's what we call ourselves. And speaking of which…I don't believe Kobra told us your name. I'm Fun Ghoul and this is Party Poison.”

“I know,” Poison looked at me in surprise, “Lots of people talk about you guys at Battery City. My name is Ray…Ray Toro.”

“Not anymore,” Poison stated, “You have to come up with a new name. A Killjoy name.”

“Yeah…pick anything you like. Something unique.” Ghoul grinned up at me.

I thought about it. I tried to think about something that I wanted to be known as. Something that was still
special to me.

“Mommy what's that up there?” I asked pointing up at the night sky. A stream of white light flashed across the sky.

“That's a meteor, they say you can make a wish upon it and it'll come true. A wish upon a star is the most special of wishes. They are the most pure.” She smiled down at me, pushing my curls behind my ear.

“It looks like a jet mommy.” I stated, she laughed sweetly at me.

“It's a Jet Star.” She grinned.

“I think I'm going with Jet Star.” I stated, they stared at me for a few moments before Kobra spoke up.

“Jet Star…I like it.”

I was no longer Raymond Toro from Battery City. I am now Jet Star, the Killjoy rebel.

Notes

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