Before They Were Fabulous

Dr Death Defying sighed with relief as they stepped inside the cool darkness of the large and mostly inhabitable church. He had been driving for so long in an open-sided jeep that he had forgotten that anything but heat existed. The change in temperature was so sudden in fact that he had to stop wheeling himself forward, feeling instantly lightheaded as the chill of the interior overwhelmed him.

"Heh!" The priest chuckled. "I forgot to warn you. It's a pretty dramatic change in temperature, isn't it? We better stay near the door so we can let your son know."

Raising his eyes, his head clearing as he acclimatised, Death Defying chuckled.

"He's not my son, but he's as good as," he replied with a nod.

Death tipped his head in curiosity as he saw a smirk on the priest's face and only moments later Jet threw his arms around the doctor from behind.

"Alright, alright," Death tried to shrug, frowning at the realisation that Jet had heard the admission. "Don't get mushy on me. I just meant..."

Death paused as Jet let go and moved to the side of his chair, looking up silently, a faint smile on his face.

"...that, well... Yeah, what I said," he added with a resigned smile, earning another hug from Jet, this time front on.
"Don't get sentimental," Death sighed as he saw the beaming smile from the boy as he pulled back.
"Can I call you 'Dad'," Jet grinned, adding a cheeky wink.
"No," Death rolled his eyes, sighing. "You can't!"

Jet sat back on his heels and laughed, raising a rare smile from the doctor as he looked down at the boy.

"Make yourself useful," Death shook his head lightly. "Grab my pack from..."

Jet leaned over to reach behind the wheelchair and plucked Death Defying's medical bag from the floor, handing it to him as he rose to push the chair.

"You're a good boy, Jet," Death sighed again, but this time with pride. "We'll do okay you and me."
"Thanks, dad," Jet chuckled.

Death shook his head.

"Okay, let's have a look at that leg," he addressed the priest.
"Let's go to the vestry," the priest announced. "It's comfy and I can give you something to drink. Oh, and while I think on, I changed my name too. I go by Father Dom Castillo now."
"Wise move in this age," Death nodded sagely. "You never know who's to be trusted."
"Ah, sometimes you know," Father Dom replied, turning and offering the doctor a lopsided smile. "Some people you just know you can trust."

Death nodded; it had not, until now, occurred to him that he had followed the priest unquestioningly. Yes, he knew him, at least well enough to recognise him, but he could have been leading them to a squad of draculoids or to a gang of Zone pirates, ready to murder them and take what few belongings they had. Somehow, and he had no idea how, Dr Death Defying knew this wasn't the case. There was something about the priest that just screamed safety and he had availed himself of it. It was comforting to know that even out in the Zones and in the dangerous life of a rebel, there were still pockets of honesty and decency to be found.

*

Edward walked quickly into the lobby of City Tower. He had no idea how much time he had before Korse was found. Certainly, the squad of draculoids waiting for him at tunnel 7 wouldn't wait for long before contacting him again and as soon as they received no response the alarm would be raised.

"Carl," he called to his deputy, as he strode up to the desk. "I'm relieving you a bit early tonight. Actually got caught up with my paperwork, can you believe!"
"Wow!" Carl grinned. "How long did that take?"
"Oh, you know," Edward offered a slight smirk, "just all year."
"Ready for a new load to start piling up, then?"
"It's already started. I'm sure it'll be to the ceiling by tomorrow morning."

Carl laughed and began packing his belongings into his backpack. There was more than an element of truth about Edward's comment. By morning, if he were successful, BLI would wake to discover the Way brothers gone from City Tower and Battery City. If he knew their methods and responses as he believed he did, his face would be posted to extermination flyers and bounty hunter sites within hours and a full scale search would be mounted for him and the two boys and their friend. He had promised to get them away from BLI and they had willingly accepted. There was more than an element of guilt when he thought about their blind faith in him. There was so much he hadn't told them that would probably have terrified them had they been aware. Details like, if they were ever found they would in all probability be murdered. They probably knew that Edward would be executed for his crimes and they already knew that Gerard was in mortal danger but in reality they all were. He had held that information back from them. If they had known, would it have changed anything? He didn't know but for their own safety he had not taken the chance. It was his firm belief that if they remained in Battery City, they would all end up dead when their usefulness ended. Korse had already tried to murder Gerard, Frankie was irrelevant to him and would almost certainly be next. Mikey was another matter, however. His indoctrination had succeeded but Korse's own actions in his treatment of Gerard had caused Mikey to doubt what he had once believed absolutely and without question. It was only a matter of time before all three would die at the man's hands in order to ensure his ascension to the highest ranks. No doubt Korse had his sights set on an even higher prize than Chief Exterminator and he would use or kill anyone to get where he wanted to be.

"Edward?" The voice finally filtered through to the mind of the security officer, absently considering his and the boys' futures. "I said, I'll see you next week."

It had only been a matter of moments before Carl had packed away his belongings and was ready to leave, but Edward had already drifted off into his own thoughts.

"Sorry, Carl, Miles away."
"So I see," Carl grinned as he rounded the desk and slung his bag over his shoulder. "You sure you don't want to grab a coffee before you start? I can hang on. You seem..." he looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tired isn't the right word."
"No," Edward shook his head before offering a somewhat forced, but he hoped convincing, smile in return. "I had to cut a meeting short today," he shrugged. "I was just thinking about when to reschedule."
"All work and no play, Edward," Carl wagged a finger. "When are you going to get a bit of downtime?"
"Soon," he offered a half smile, almost appearing a little sad. "Maybe in a few months?"

Carl frowned, picking up on the curious vibe of the reply and Edward cursed himself for training him too well.

"I'll book a vacation at one of the Retinal Resorts," he offered a cheery smile and patted his colleague on the arm. "You're right, maybe a break is just what I need?"
"Everyone deserves to be happy, Edward," Carl nodded. "Isn't that what BLI's all about?"

Edward forced a smile.

"Yeah, no go on, enjoy the weekend. Drop a pill and chill," he replied, adding the latest BLI slogan for good measure.

Grinning at either the thought of a longer weekend than expected or the unlikely sound of Edward's stern voice quoting the lighthearted slogan, Carl waved his goodbyes and headed for the main entrance. Waiting a few moments to be certain he was out of sight, Edward headed immediately for the express elevator up to the Way's suite.

Checking his watch, he frowned. It had been just over half an hour since he had tasered Korse. He had lost valuable minutes trying to calm Gerard in the aftermath of the confrontation. It had been bad enough for him realising that Korse was not only ready to, but happy to kill him without also realising that Edward was living on borrowed time, only expecting to live a maximum of four more months. Added to that discovering that he, his brother and best friend were about to be taken to the Zones for their own safety, it had been overwhelming for the boy and try as he might, it had taken more than a reassuring word and a brief hug to settle his nerves. He desperately wanted to be brave and the irony was of course that he was incredibly brave but simply couldn't see it. Once they were free of Battery City, Edward had promised himself that he would explain to Gerard that bravery was not about being unafraid, but about knowing the danger, feeling the fear and going ahead anyway. It was a huge difference but one he felt Gerard would easily understand. As the elevator rose quickly to the thirtieth floor, he hope that Mikey and Frankie would be ready. He knew above all else that if they had changed their mind, so would Gerard.

As the elevator doors opened, Edward quickly surveyed the scene. There were no signs that the two boys were about to flee Battery City - no disarray, no bags and the boys themselves were lying on the floor wearing pyjamas and watching a movie. Only as the elevator announced its arrival with a soft ping did the boys turn and spring to their feet at the sight of Edward.

"Are... are you ready?" He asked, his voice hesitant and uncertain, still looking around for any sign.
"Of course we are," Mikey replied, his pitch raised as if the question were a ridiculous one. "But almost anyone can come up here. What if they saw us sitting here with bags ready to go?"
"But you're..." Edward waved a hand at their attire. "I thought..."

Edward broke into a light laugh as they pulled their pyjama tops over their heads to reveal them to be fully clothed and ready to travel. Slipping off their pyjama pants, Mikey headed to his bedroom to collect the backpacks while Frankie bundled the pyjamas into the hamper in the bathroom.

"We've padded out the beds to make it look as though they're being slept in," Mikey announced to a still smiling Edward.

The boys had reassured him that not only were they ready to leave for Gerard's sake but they were also willing to leave. There would, he hoped, be no animosity or complaints despite the hardships out in the Zones. Only now he began to feel guilty for not filling them in on all the details of what they could expect to face.

"We don't have long," he began with a stern expression, "but I want you to know, it's going to be hard out there. Little comfort, low quality food, no luxuries, the water tastes terrible and..."
"Are you telling us to stay?" Mikey asked quietly, a confused expression fixed on his face.
"No," Edward frowned and shrugged. "I'm painting a realistic picture so you know what you're going to face if you go through with this. I don't want you to regret this."
"Edward," Mikey sighed, "I'm not going to pretend I'm not going to miss this," he indicated his surroundings with his arms, "but I'd miss Gee more. As much as I don't really understand why, I do know that Gee's not safe and that's reason enough. And..." he glanced briefly at his friend. "Frankie's not safe either and that's reason enough too. I don't know what Korse is doing, but I guess it's only a matter of time before he does it to me, so that's another reason. We're ready, Edward."

Edward nodded; the boys had been discreet and careful. They had also been clever enough to make it look as if they were still there. Despite their age, they were very mature and they would survive. It might be a shock at first, but they would adapt. He took a deep breath; in that moment, he knew this was absolutely the right thing to do.

"Come on then, let's go."

*

At Tunnel 7, the draculoid squad leader was getting impatient. Tunnel 7 was almost the opposite side of Battery City to the BLI holding cells and even driving at speed with all sirens blaring it had taken forty minutes to get there. Now they had waited a further twenty minutes and there had been no sign of either Exterminator Korse or a band of escaping rebels. The message that they had believed had come from Korse had told them that Gerard had once again been abducted by rebels. It seemed to them that City Tower was not the impenetrable fortress they had been led to believe as this was apparently now the third time the boy had been abducted. It was especially surprising as they were aware that he had only just been rescued. Was Battery City security so slack that rebels could enter easily at will? And City Tower, assuming he had been taken from there, was supposed to be one of the best guarded buildings in the city. The boy was never left alone if travelling or visiting somewhere. How could this possibly have happened again?

Not knowing how much of a head start the rebels had made it impossible for him to know whether or not to expect an escape attempt or, for that matter, in what format. Tunnel 7 was a gatehouse that also housed an adjacent helicopter port, where a giant airlock allowed helicopters to enter and leave the city through sliding doors fitted in the enormous dome that surrounded and protected the city from harsh sunlight, dangerous UV rays pouring through the damaged ozone layer, acid rains and blistering desert windstorms. The squad was large but couldn't adequately cover both a road or air escape.

It was that thought that resonated with the squad leader. He had been postponing contacting Korse, fearing a tongue-lashing or worse for questioning his continued absence. If he were to call to ask if Korse's information had specified whether to monitor road or air escapes, he would at least be able to get an update on the exterminator's expected arrival time.

Raising his communicator, he hailed Korse on his personal frequency, one that was scrambled for all but S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W employees.

"Draculoid Captain 7R2 to CE Korse."

Waiting for a response, the draculoid paused for longer than he would normally with a colleague for fear that Korse might find him impatient. After a few more moments of waiting he repeated the call, this time with greater urgency in his tone. Still no reply.

"7R2 to CE Korse, come in please, sir."

At still no reply following a third call, the captain turned to his lieutenant.

"There's something wrong, I'm contacting the holding cells."

Notes