Where's The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Tonight?

Poison’s P.O.V.-
“... never give it up!”
Staticky cheers erupted as I scrambled back from the edge of the roof, barely missing the searching eyes of a passing soldier. The roof was sharp and slick, the edges biting into my palms as I shifted my grip, sweat coursing down my back. With the way the weather had been changing lately, I would be chilled once night overcame us.
“... fight for the cause, bear arms to…”
Breathing raggedly, I inched forward to catch the words flowing rapidly from several speakers set into the city square. The roof I was on overhung the local Better Living Industries headquarters, where every day men, women, and even children were forced to smile for their voracious cameras. Where true heroes were taken beneath ground and never seen again.
“Fuck,” I muttered, backing away. All I was hearing was the same patriotic crap, pumped through their sound systems and ten foot speakers, that drove their soldiers, BL/ind’s Scarecrows and Masks, to devour people’s lives. I had risked my life for nothing.
Rising to a crouch, I crawled to the roof’s pinnacle and dropped to the other side, easily sliding down and dropping ten feet to the hard packed, dusty dirt.
“Psst, Poison,” my younger brother, Kobra Kid, hissed at me from his position behind a large billboard bearing the company’s logo. “Get over here!”
I quickly surveyed the area; a broken road covered in the remains of parties and rebellion, the wall forming the back of BL/ind’s well defended core, and several abandoned, bombed out vehicles. Forgoing my previous caution, I crossed the road towards Kobra. My feet crunched on caved-in batteries and blown out revolvers, party hats and crushed glass beer bottles; all the leftovers of happiness and the misery that is sure to follow if you have a Scarecrow on your trail.
So far, we had been lucky. That is, we had managed to avoid BL/ind. There is no such thing as pure luck when the company is involved. One moment you’re relaxing, laughing at your good fortune, and the next you’re dead, with only a smoking hole where your heart used to be.
I don’t want that to happen to my crew. We consisted of Kobra, who was only 15, Jet Star, my good friend, and Fun Ghoul, who I would trust with my life. That’s why I insisted on being leader of this band of misfits, to protect them. They’re my misfits, and I owe everything to them.
I crouched beside Kobra, sending up tiny puffs of dust where my feet hit the scraggly patches of yellow grass that were still clinging to life. “What is it, Kobra?” I whispered, peering around the truck.
He grinned at me. “Fun called. Said that he wants us back soon. I think he’s getting worried. Worried about us, can you imagine?” He threw back his head and laughed.
I nodded grimly. I definitely could imagine. Kobra was constantly telling me to lighten up, to relax. But out here, where every choice could mean life or death, I could never let down my guard. If that meant that Kobra thought I was a shitty brother, so be it. His life was worth it.
As if to underscore my mental statement, Kobra snorted. “Chill, man.”
I ignored him and turned my attention to the road. The only moving thing in sight was a paper bag blowing listlessly across the pitted street. “Let’s go, Kobra.”
He sighed and rose, dusting off his jeans and shrugging back into his yellow jacket and helmet that he had carelessly dumped on the ground.
I glared at him. “Kobra. You need to wear those all the time when we’re on missions, okay? You’ll be safer.”
He flicked up the visor of his helmet, only to roll his eyes expansively and flip me off. Even while being insulted, I couldn’t help but notice a gash running across his fingers. I grabbed his hand and held it closer to my face, where I could see the blood and dirt surrounding a deep wound.
“Kobra, what is this?” I asked, dismay seeping into my voice. “What happened?”
He pulled his hand away, shoulders rising in a defensive shrug. “Nothing, Poison. I’ll clean up when we get back to the nest. It isn’t like I could do anything here.”
I reached for his hand again, but he recoiled and turned away from me. I bit my lip, watching him go, and sighed. “Kobra! Dammit, let me do something!”
He turned around, spreading his arms wide. His stance showed his annoyance with me. “God, Poison, I’m okay! Let’s just get back to the nest.”
I loved Kobra, but sometimes he pissed me off. Setting my jaw, I strode past him and climbed onto my motorcycle, which I had left leaning against a heap of outdated robots waiting to be repurposed. Another thing that pissed me off. BL/ind found nothing wrong with creating a life, giving it a job that was usually demeaning and unpleasant, and then brutally ending it the moment it lost any measure of usefulness.
Take the very existence of Porno droids, for example. Female robots that could be taken as humans, they were allowed to live providing they provided… “services” to soldiers needing a bit of distraction.
It was all stupid. BL/ind shouldn’t, literally nobody should, have that measure of power over others. Who cares if the subjects they’re controlling are human or robots?
Kobra climbed on behind me. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag before I knocked it from his hands. “Kobra, what are you doing? Those things’ll kill you!”
He coughed, waving the smoke from his face. “Poison, sometimes I think you forget that anything we do could possibly kill us. Anyway, Fun smokes! Why do you never tell him to stop?”
I turned around and glared at him, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his hand and sticking them in my pocket. “Just because we’re in danger doesn’t mean you can add to it! And about Fun smoking, he’s older than you are! You’re still a kid, for God’s sake.”
Kobra squared his shoulders and shot a defiant glance in my direction. “You’re not my dad, Poison. And I’m fifteen. I hardly think that I’m a child. You were fifteen when you started fighting the company, anyway.”
“Kobra! Shut the hell up. You have no idea why I started fighting BL/ind. You only joined for the excitement, so you really have no right to complain. I’m trying to take care of you!” I paused, gritting my teeth, as Kobra laughed mockingly.
“You? You’re trying to take care of me? Poison, you’re the one who takes all the risks! You never let anyone else risk anything. I know you think that you’re protecting us, but Jesus, you need to relax about it!”
I settled my face into an impassive expression, inwardly seething, and turned the keys, starting the motorcycle with a roar. Kobra sighed and wrapped an arm around my waist. I hoped that he could feel my anger in my tense stance.
Hitting the kick stand with the side of my boot, I took off, pushing eighty mph. The hot wind whipped past my face, stealing my breath and sending my red hair flying. Kobra let go of my waist briefly to flip down his visor, then returned his hands to their previous position.
“At least he has the sense to do that much,” I thought, still angry. Kobra, sensing that I was pissed, wisely stayed silent, and we sped towards home.
Well, our home away from home. We knew better than to endanger our families by living with them, so Fun had gone searching and found an abandoned military bunker from some past war, where we immediately set up camp. Food could be a bit scarce at times, but we were doing okay. The important thing was that we were hidden from BL/ind, and other prying eyes, deep within the desert.
The desert flew by in a blur of heat waves and exhaust fumes. The horizon, forever rippling, seemed to stretch away indefinitely under the cruelly blue sky. With Kobra gripping my waist to stay on the motorbike, and my own hands squeezing the handlebars till my knuckles turned white, we bumped over the uneven, rocky ground.
After several miles, Kobra tapped my shoulder and gestured for me to slow down. “Poison!” he yelled, trying to get my attention. I could barely hear him past the engine’s noise, so I brought the bike to a screeching halt and glanced back at him.
“What is it? Are you okay?” I asked, leaning the bike against my leg in a resting position.
Kobra nodded. “Fun asked us to stop by the dealer’s and pick up some gas. He was worried about the levels on his cycle.”
“Okay,” I answered, coughing in the cloud of dust kicked up by our sudden stop, and restarted the bike.
The dealer’s shop was located several miles from our nest. The dealer, a young guy in his mid twenties, was surprisingly fair. Most people in his situation would, given the chance, cheat teens like us, but he always seemed genuinely happy to see us and gave us the best deals. I guess he was lacking company.
I pulled the bike to a stop in front of his low building and clambered off, followed by Kobra. We made our way past the signs inviting trade, and the barrels of razor wire, and pushed open the derelict glass doors.
“Hey, D,” I said, grinning at the skinny dark haired man reading an old newspaper behind the counter. His head shot up, and he beamed at me, shaking his head.
“Poison! It’s good to see you, man. How’s it going?” he said, leaning across the counter and shaking my hand.
I shrugged. “Fair enough. Could you spare any gas for a motorbike? Fun wanted to refuel before he rode again.”
D nodded, circumventing the countertop and heading toward the dusty maze of shelving that filled the back half of the store. “Come on back, I’ve got plenty.”
Leaving Kobra gawking at the impressive array of body armor and weaponry covering the front wall, I followed D to the back. Once we were out of Kobra’s sight, he turned and beckoned me close to him.
“Listen up, Poison,” he said urgently, glancing around to make sure Kobra wasn’t eavesdropping. “Don’t tell your crew this, but I’m not going to be here much longer.”
I frowned at him, confused. “What…”
D cut me off. “Look, I’ve stumbled onto BL/ind’s bad side. There was an incident with this Porno droid that tried to run, and I was her confident on the other side. Turns out that some droids are programmed to blow once they reach the barrier surrounding Battery City, and so I wasn’t able to help as much as I’d liked. She died, but now BL/ind are keeping a close eye on me. I’ve decided that it’s about time to fight back, like you’re doing. I’ve never been one for the battlefield, as you well know, so I’m starting an on-the-run radio station for kids such as yourself. Thing is, I need to be off the radar first.”
I nodded as his plan dawned on me. “Let me guess: you’re going to fake your death.”
He smiled nervously. “That’s it. Look, Poison, I need your help. You know how to pull off shit like that. I’ve seen you do it.”
I sighed, looking down at the dingy floor. “The easiest way would be an explosion. Simple to set up, and you can be miles away by the time it blows. Plus, if it’s a vaporizing blast, BL/ind wouldn’t expect to find a body. Do you have anything like that?”
“Let me see,” D called, hurrying towards the storage area beneath huge bomber doors set into the building’s side in case of an attack. I followed him, brushing cobwebs from the cans of food on the shelves.
“Here,” he breathed, rubbing dust from the surface of a shiny bomb. Several years past expiration, it wouldn’t be difficult to believe that it had accidentally gone off.
“That’ll work,” I said, touching his shoulder. “Do you know how it works?”
D nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen these in action, sunshine. Thanks for the idea.”
I smiled, nodding at him. “Hey, I’ll be listening for news. Have you had any ideas for a code name yet? You know, for the radio show.”
He grinned. “Oh, definitely. What do you think about “The only ‘D’ BL/ind doesn’t want”?”
I snorted, throwing my head back. “God, no. That sounds like a pathetic song name from one of those post-industry garage bands that are usually broken up by the company before they go anywhere. Try again.”
“Hmmm,” D said, rolling his eyes. “I want something catchy and cool. You have any ideas, Poison?”
After thinking for a moment, I grinned as an idea hit me. “How about “Dr. Death Defying”? Sounds right up your alley.”
“Yeah!” he yelled, punching the air. “That sounds amazing, Poison! You were always better at names that I was.”
“Guys,” Kobra called from the front. “You done yet? I’d like to get home before dark.”
D nodded at me. “Okay, let’s get your fuel. It’ll be back here, if you want to come with me.”
I followed him to the cartons of gas, where he selected one and handed it to me. “No charge,” he said, winking. “Thanks for the help, Poison. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” I answered, hefting the carton. “I’ll miss you, D. Or should I say, Dr. Death?”
He laughed. “Save that for the next time we meet. That’ll be after I don’t blow myself up with that bomb and manage to hide away from BL/ind’s supervision.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “It’s been fun. Look, message me if you ever run into any trouble. You’re practically part of the crew, D, and we’re all going to miss you.”
He smiled, heading toward the front where Kobra was impatiently waiting. “Thanks, man. I’ll see ya. And, once I’m safely away, you can tell the others. Just save it till then, if possible.”
“Absolutely,” I answered, lowering my voice as we reached Kobra’s earshot.
“Finally,” Kobra drawled, rising from his seat on the counter. “Poison, Fun called again. Told you to get your ass home before dinnertime.”
D laughed and punched Kobra’s shoulder lightly. “Tell Fun and Star I said hey. I’ll see you around, kid.”
“See you,” he replied, grinning. “Poison, I’ll be waiting by the bike. Hurry up.”
He pushed open the door and jogged across the lot, heading for my cycle. I turned my attention back to D.
“Hey,” D said casually, pretending to check me out. “You remember that old shed a few hundred yards from here?”
“Yeah,” I answered, grabbing the fuel from his hands. “What’s up?”
“Well, I have a lot of food in here,” he continued. “Before I go, I’ll leave some for you in that shed. Maybe help you out a little.”
“Thanks, man,” I said, smiling. “I’d really appreciate that, especially since you’ll be going out of business.”
“Well. I’ll be on the lookout for you,” D said. “If you’ll tune in whenever I do the show, I’ll be sure to say any news that reaches my ears that might pertain to you.”
“I’d like that,” I replied. “I guess I’ll be seeing you. Eventually. Take care, D.”
He grinned at me as I kicked open the door, heading out into the hot sunlight.
Kobra was straddling the bike, waiting for me. “Come on, Poison,” he called, hopping off and undoing the cargo straps. I placed the gas in them, and he re-did the buckles, holding the container securely against the bike.
I climbed onto the seat, and Kobra slid on behind me, flipping down his visor. The cycle started with a low roar, and we shot away, heading for the nest.
I was impatient to arrive, since the sun was sinking. If the rumors were true, there were many unsavory characters haunting these parts after dark, and I wasn’t looking forward to finding the truth. Plus, Fun was waiting for us, and I didn’t want to worry him. Knowing Fun, he’d set off to look for us if we were too late.
Kobra sighed tiredly, leaning his head against my back. I grinned as I watched the miles disappear behind us, shortening the distance to home.



A.N.- I know this is long, hah. If anyone took the time to read this, what did you think? I'm pretty new to the MCR fandom. Hope you guys like it!

Notes