Resurrection

Time seemed to freeze.
Gerard waited for the pain that didn’t come, his eyes blinking open at the flash of laser fire that didn’t hit him but the scarecrow holding the weapon to his head. A hand pushed him down to his knees, something in his head making him crawl to where the bushy haired man was cowering against the wall. Both watched as Korse screamed and pointed his gun at them before arching back, an arc of electricity seeming to form around him and he shook and wilted in its grip.
The room was full of smoke, the scarecrows seemed to have fallen on each other, one of them clearly had an advantage with a weapon the likes of which neither man had ever seen. Gerard could only stare, noting that the bespectacled man had reacted quicker than himself, grabbing a weapon and taking down two scarecrows with well aimed shots. He smiled briefly at Gerard and he found he was smiling back, something in him immediately trusting the boy as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The sense of disorientation increased as there was a massive shimmer in the air in opposite corners of the room, two human shapes in all over black suits appearing as if out of one of his nightmares.
“Toxic? Kobra? You guys ok?”
“Fine, check on Gee and Ray.”
The scarecrow pulled off his mask and hugged the boy briefly as one of the black suited figures went to work on the terminal and the other came towards the two frightened men. The hood slid back and Gerard felt the scream stick in his throat. The woman was dark haired, not quite as his dreams had shown her but the same face, the same eyes which now seemed to hold tears as she crouched down to look at him.
“Hi, don’t panic. You’re going to be fine and we’re taking you home.”
Ray lashed out, catching the side of the girl’s head and she sat back with a curse before lashing out with one booted foot. Ray’s already bleeding temple hit the wall and he blacked out, the girl turning back to Gerard with an apologetic smile.
“Jet always did have a nasty punch. Do you know who I am?”
“N..no…please, I can’t go back out there. BLI saved me, I must stay here…”
Toxic shook his head, it was playing games with his mind to see his mentor a broken man who didn’t realise he was talking to the woman he had loved. The other suited figure pushed her hood back and planted a virus into the security systems that would take out every camera from the building they were in to the dome above. She glanced down at the android and gave Korse another burst with the EMP device. Rainbow didn’t want to look across and see the pain that her friend would be in at Gerard’s words.
“BLI want you dead, its over for you here. Come on.”
Gerard tried to resist but Crimson hauled him up and pointed him at Kobra, as much as it pained her she knew that he would not remember their love but he might remember his brother. She crossed to Toxic and they armed the doors, prepping the lift to take them back down into the sewers below. They were on the clock now, the fires and the attacks outside would only give them a small window of time. The two of them managed to lift Ray into the tiny elevator, Rainbow squeezing in too as they glanced back to where Mikey and Gerard stood facing each other.
“Her name is Crimson, the other girl is Ghoul’s woman, Rainbow. Ray was and will be Jet Star again. Our spy is Toxic and I am Kobra….or Mikey if that helps.”
Gerard blinked.
“Mikey….I know that name.”
Kobra nodded slowly and reached out his hand cupping Gerard’s cheek.
“You should, you’re my big brother and best friend.”
Gerard froze, again the dreams and visions assaulting him as he started to shake. He didn’t want any of it to be true but he could picture the little boy who he had protected and adored. His little brother, always there when he needed someone….that was something he found he couldn’t deny and he stared at the man in front of him afresh. Mikey could see it was working, a small spark of hope as he smiled.
“Trust me.”
Gerard nodded and let Kobra push him into the lift. Crimson tried not to notice his body pressed up against hers and resisted the urge to rest her head on his chest. The lift began to descend, Rainbow reaching into her suit to hand Kobra back his red gun which the tall man accepted, his fingers running along the familiar weapon.
“You found it.”
“Crim rescued all of them and some other items you may want back.”
Toxic glanced down into the city, the streets still in turmoil. The hardest part of the mission was still to come. Rainbow and Crimson could disappear but they needed to get Gee and Ray through three floors of the enemy to reach the sewer entrance. Mikey had already figured it and had pulled a scarecrow mask for himself. He stripped off his shirt, both Rainbow and Crimson wincing at the scars that marked out the wounds that had killed him as he put on the t-shirt the other man handed him. Kobra returned the red gun to Crim and reloaded the white one he had taken from the scarcrow, looking down at where Ray was coming around.
“We walk them out, anyone asks we are taking them to a safe location as per Korse’s order. The girls can keep the way clear. Gerard, keep quiet yes?”
Gerard nodded as Toxic hauled Ray to his feet. The tall man still looked half unconscious and didn’t protest but the spy was taking no chances. Somewhat apologetically he handcuffed Gerard and Ray, adding gags to complete the illusion. The doors opened to a scene of chaos and they shuffled forward, the shimmers lost in the crowds as the two disguised killjoys pushed their friends forward. It was both a rush and terrifying, rescuing the two most wanted men in the city from under the noses of BLI’s best.
Not that the two men considered it a rescue as such. Ray was waiting for his moment, refusing to listen to the nagging voice in his head that recognised the other people as people he had once known. Gerard was just confused, wanting to trust the man he knew was his brother but terrified of becoming the man he had once been.
Crimson scouted ahead, tripping another fire alarm so that the floor started to empty and they could head down the next stairwell in amongst the crowds. Rainbow kept an eye on the signal jammer that was keeping them safe and the red dot that would tell her that Korse had awoken and all bets were off.
Still their luck held, the swell of white suited bodies leaving them at ground level, the invisible figures making sure that the alarmed doors to the basement levels were switched off so that Toxic could get them through the barred doors and down into the cooler air. Now the masks came off again, the girls reappearing as they dragged the two men along. Gee noted that they didn’t uncuff them or release the gags and wondered if they really were killjoys or just some weird flashback that would see him loaded with pills and gibbering in the corner.
“Sorry about this.”
Rainbow kissed both men on the cheek, driving home a syringe full of sleeping agents into their necks. Kobra caught Gerard on the way down, both Toxic and Crimson catching Ray. Carefully they loaded the precious cargo into the white BLI van that was parked behind Rainbow’s Mustang. Kobra nodded, glad that he could now forget about his friends inadvertently raising the alarm as he looked at Rainbow.
“What’s the plan?”
“You and I will go back to the Crater for Ghoul and Dr D. Crimson and Toxic are taking the boys to her bunker in six. Its safe and secure, perfect for us to start trying to help them remember who they are.”
Toxic rubbed the back of his neck.
“Amazed the council agreed.”
Crimson smirked, grabbing Kobra in a long hug before looking at Toxic.
“They didn’t want to but Ghoul is in one of his break your face moods so they sort of had to. Plus the council are the last people we want around Gerard right now.”
All of them noted the slight hint of annoyance in her voice and Kobra wondered ruefully just how much trouble she had got herself in while they were away. He ruffled her hair, lifting Crimson’s chin so he could take in the scars before glancing at Rainbow.
“You’re gonna have to tell me all about your mischief later. We need to go.”
Crimson winked, hugging Rainbow on the way past and allowing herself to feel the euphoria of seeing Gerard again, alive and not sliding down that wall time after time on the huge screens. She would get him back, get revenge for all that had happened since and enjoyed the thought as she settled in next to Toxic.
Things were about to get very interesting.

Notes