Let Art Be Our Weapon: Frerard/Killjoys Epic

Official

        I step at the 100-foot mark, raise my gun up, and fire. The blast flies down the range and hits the target. The inner ring blackens and smoke rises. Frank jumps up at me. "That was a great shot, Gee!"
I smile a little. "Yeah, first try." I had a particularly good aim with a gun. I adjust myself and fire again. This time it hits dead center. This is what I am good at. Shooting. It may not be an actual job but at least there is something I can do. My birthday is tomorrow. I'll be 14. I will only have one more year left until I am officially a Killjoy and then I will need a job. Frank tried teaching me to be a technician. I understand the basics, which is what you should know, but when it comes to actually complicated tasks like hacking or even weapons modifying, I can't do it. Frank is a genius and I admire watching him concentrate on a computer screen. I would rather him do it than me. He enjoys doing it as I enjoy watching him do it. He knows how to fix radios, hack into BL/ind tech and a bunch of other things too complicated for me to explain. Being a tech is the one thing I was hoping I knew how to do. I want to work with Frank. The one thing I hope is that we are in the same unit or something because then there is a chance I can work with him. If he becomes a technician for the radio, then I can't work with him unless I learn this wire stuff fast.
I'm pretty decent at everything. I know the hand to hand combat moves and how to get out of choke holds. Of course in the heat of the moment, I feel like I'd doubt my ability and die. Mikey knows how to fight. For being 11, he can kick ass. He uses his size as a strength and is very agile. He will be a great fighter when he turns 15.
The only thing I hate a lot is surveying and driving. I know the maps. I know where everything is but I don't like checking maps and analyzing the drawing grids. It's all boring and dull. People that enjoy doing that must enjoy everything about life because that is not enjoyable. Driving is also horrible. I have never actually driven a car but the procedure is the worst. I can feel time melting as we go over the lesson. I wish Ray and Woody didn't sign us up. We have to sit through this for two hours each day. I fall asleep without a doubt. The actual driving part will be a disaster. I just have developed this hatred because of the lessons.
Frank, Woody, Ray and I go outside. We stand in the front of the base and look out in the distance. The zones go on forever. Ray points in the distance to the left. "There, that's our target," he says. I squint my eyes. I can barely make out the silhouette of a cactus. We take turns firing at it.
I concentrate on aiming. Woody, Ray, Frank and I go in line shooting. We miss the first and second round but on the third round, Ray hits the edge. We keep going and forget about taking turns. We all blast at the same time. Ray shoots the edge again and then he steps back. "I've hit my share," he says. Woody concentrates but gets frustrated and gives up. It's just between Frank and I. After five shots or so the cactus is hit in the dead center and explodes. I jump up in excitement and so does Frank.
"I shot it!" he says.
I look at him. "No, that was me!"
Frank looks at me and smiles. "I fired that one Gee. It was me!"
"No, I did," I laugh.
Frank looks down and shakes his head. "Party Poison, let's call it a truce. We both shot it. We are equally matched." He holds out his hand. I take it and shake. I don't know what happened but for some reason, I didn't want to let go of his hand and by the way, Frank kept holding it, he didn't want to let go either.

          I am shaken awake before the radio even goes off. Frank stands over my bed holding a box tied up with a bow. "Happy Birthday, Gee!" he says smiling and beaming with excitement. Oh yeah...
I sit up and brush my hair out of my eyes. It's out grown but I like it this way. Frank hands me the box and I untie the bow and take off the lid. Inside is a bright yellow mask that matches the color of my blaster. There are blue circles on the outer side and black diamonds over the eye sockets. "Thank you, Frank," I say. I try on the mask. It's a little loose but I'll be able to continue wearing this when I'm older. When I become an official Killjoy, I'll need this. I get out of bed and hesitate to hug him. Frank looks at me and I decide why not. I wrap my arms our him. "I love it," I say.
Frank hugs me back. "That's good, I was worried you wouldn't like it," he chuckles relieved.
I look at him. "Are you kidding? This is great!" I lift up the mask and leave it resting on top of my head. I look at Frank nervously and hug him again. I feel his heart beating.
The radio goes off. "Look alive, sunshine..." it continues and the others start to wake up. Frank lets go of me and Woody comes over. "Hey, guys," he says. He looks at me. "Happy birthday, Gerard."
I smile. "Thanks, Wood." He turns around to go to his locker and Frank goes with him. Woody is a good guy. I like him. He's funny and smart and the best surveyor at our age but this small part of me hated him. No, not hate. More like... is jealous of him? Those two are best friends but I have been here for 4 years. Frank and I are tight but so is he and Woody. Is he his best friend or am I? Frank would never pick between the two of us. He wouldn't. I just wished I was his best friend even though I am his best friend. That doesn't make sense. I just want... What do I want?
I think about what I want. What's the word for it...? An idea comes to my mind. Is that what I want? No, it better not be. That would ruin everything and I couldn't let that happen. No, it's not right. I shove the thought in the back of my head and leave the room. I open my locker and put the mask inside. I get dress and put on my jacket. It is a tight fit and the sleeves show my wrists. I then meet up with Ray and we go to breakfast together.
"So, you ready for the course?" Ray asks.
Course? Oh, crap. Driving course. I don't want to go driving. "Yeah, I guess," I say bummed out.
Mikey runs over to our table. "Happy birthday, Gerard!" he shouts happily. I hug him and lift him off the ground. "Too tight!" he squeals.
I laugh as I put him down. I ruffle his hair around. His bangs have been out grown. Ray slides an opened can next to me. I grab a spoon and eat the stew. Mikey goes back over to his table with Addison and Cole right as Woody and Frank walk over. I scoot over for Frank to sit next to me. He sits next to me and across, Woody sits next to Ray. We finish our meal and head outside. I resentfully go to the garage with the others. We step in and see and guy wiping oil off his hands with an old rag.
"You boys driving today. Right?"
"Yeah," Ray confirms.
The guy opens the garage door and gets a car ready. "Okay, who's going first?"
"It's Gee's birthday!" Frank says. "He should go first." I snap my head at him. Seriously, Frank?

I sit in the driver's seat adjusting the review mirror. I get the seat belt and clip it in. "Good job with the adjustments. You remember the rules?" the guy asks.
"More or less," I mutter.
"That should be fine. It's not a complicated procedure. If you are meant to be a driver, after the first few minutes, you will get the hang of it. Just remember that you aren't immortal and don't overcompensate it,"
"Got it." I turn the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life. I put my foot on the breaks and shift into drive. I let go of the breaks and we move forward.
"Test the breaks. Get a feel for how much pressure is needed," he says. I press down and we jolt to a stop. It just needs a tap. I try again and this time, it's much more smooth. "Good, now accelerate." I move my foot to the gas and press down. We start going faster. With the windows rolled down, I feel the cool breeze. "Alright. Turn." I turned the wheel and we start going left. I turn the other way and we go right. "You seem to know what you're doing at 30 mph. See how fast you can handle. Only slow down if you feel uneasy. If you can keep going, keep going."
I press down on the accelerator. 40 mph. I hold the wheel firm. 50 mph. The rough terrain rocks the car around. 60 mph. The wind whips my hair. 70 mph. My hands start shaking as I keep the car steady. I don't dare go faster.
The guy looks over at me. I don't take my eyes off the road. "You are doing pretty well. Above average."
"What was the best record?" I ask.
"Oh, for a kid's first day. The record was 118 mph." I laugh. I could beat that, right? Maybe for once, I can be better than Ray. I am a great shooter, but so is Frank and Ray and Woody isn't that far behind. Ray is great at everything. Frank is so smart and brilliant when it comes to technology. Woody knows the map of Battery City like the back of his hand. Hell, even my kid brother is shaping up to be a great fighter after only a year. I need to be something. I need something that defines me as good. This isn't bad as bad as I judged it. I like the adrenaline rush of driving. I will be the best driver the Killjoys ever have.
I hit the gas so fast that the guy and I lean back against the seats and out heads plaster to the headrest. 90 mph. I can do this. The tree lines blur past. There is a slight curve on the track. Time to turn back to the base. My session is half over. I slow down, but not close to as much as I should. I stick at 80. The car hovers close to the edge of the track. I turn just enough to correct my path but not too much to flip the whole vehicle over. I keep accelerating. Back at 90 mph. As the needle near the 100 mark, the guy says. "You're friend called you Gee? What's it stand for?"
100 mph. "Gerard!" I say.
"You're Gerard? As in Gerard Way?" 103 mph
"You know me?" 105 mph.
"Your father was my best friend." 109 mph.
"You knew my dad?" 111 mph.
"Yeah, we were tight but when BL/ind came to power, we joined the killjoys together. We grew apart as he trained for a fighter and I was a technician specializing in car engines. We still respected each other. Last time we really bonded was after he married a hotshot driver." 117 mph.
"My mother was a driver?" I ask. 119 mph.
"She was the greatest. And it looks like her son just broke her record."