Killjoys Never Die *UNDER EDITING*

All-Out War

-3rd person POV-
"Now's the time for action," Dr. D said into his radio mic, "With DESTROYA launching an assault on the city, we can rush in and take over. No more BLI. Now is the time is do it now and do it loud. So strap on those shiny guns, pull on whatever mask you've got, and take down the pigs! They've been dusting us since God knows when, but now it's time to take back this hunk of radiated rock we call California. It ain't gonna be easy, and some people are gonna die. But that's war, tumbleweeds. Their ain't no glory in it. Don't be stupid. Stick to your plans if you've got em. And if you don't, here's a little piece of advice from your slaughtermatic master: If it's wearing a Drac mask or has that godforsaken smiley face attached to it, shoot it for all you're worth. And if that don't work, run. Run like hell and don't stop. Never stop. This is your general of all things dusty and motorized, signing off."

Party Poison clapped Dr. D on the shoulder, knowing he'd need some form of comfort after the call-to-arms that had been delivered. Sunshine Diamond stood from where she'd been sitting, sliding on her mask as she did so. "If we're going, we need to move out now," she said.

"Agreed," Nuclear Wave commented.

Everyone stood there for a moment, looking serious and solemn. This was all-out war. No one knew whether they'd see each other again. And despite their deepest wishes, Girl had a part to play. Dr. D wouldn't tell them what exactly she had to do, just that they couldn't leave her behind.

So they made their last good-byes to Show Pony, Cherri Cola, and Dr. D before jumping on their vehicles and hitting the red line. There wouldn't be any music pumping from their speakers today, only the sound of laser beams as they pulled in closer to Bat City. Girl had been shoved into the TransAm with the Fabulous Four, which left Sunshine and Toxic to trail behind.

Sunshine Diamond knew Moonlit Blood would want to be here in the thick of it all, but she just couldn't let it happen. After lots of arguing, she'd convinced Blood to stay behind with Atomic Dragon and Witch Hazel. They had to defend the store and the kids, because any elderly or wounded would end up there until such a time when the hospitals in Battery City could be open. And that was the main priority—flush out the Dracs and Scarecrows, along with any other Ritalin Rats that wanted to side with BLI. The killjoys would have to work their way up to main HQ if they wanted to get rid of Better Living Industries for good. And that meant going for the head of the whole operation. That meant taking out The Director.
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When they pulled outside of Battery City, for a moment all they could do was survey the damage. It looked like DESTROYA had taken out the entire wall that had normally surrounded the area. Now, all that was left of it were a bunch of white crumbly bricks. Fun Ghoul laughed out loud when he saw the destruction.

For the killjoys who escaped into the Zones and weren't born in the desert, these walls had been a challenge. A barrier. Seeing them destroyed like that brought an intense feeling of release. Maybe winning this thing was possible after all. Maybe, with DESTROYA and just a little bit of crazy luck on their side, they could finally take BLI down.

"Girl, you stay close," Party Poison ordered as he pulled on his famous mousekat helmet, "This is going to be really dangerous and really ugly." Girl nodded, and Sunshine Diamond couldn't help but notice how all of the playful childlike innocence was gone from her face. Maybe that was why Party Poison had never wanted her to learn how to shoot. Your first kill took the life out of you. The faces of the dead—even if you had killed them for the right reasons—haunted you in your sleep. Killing went against the brain. It was, well, inhuman. Did she know what she had to do? She clutched the white ray gun she'd gotten out of a BLI vending machine and stared off into the city with a look of pure determination.

"Let's go," Party Poison said. Toxic Mutt and Fun Ghoul took one look at each other and let loose something like a war cry. With that, the group rushed into the city at a headlong dash. All around them echoed the sounds of lasers and the screams of the wounded or dying.

"Welcome to hell," Toxic Mutt muttered.

"This isn't hell," Sunshine Diamond said back, "This is purgatory." Girl clutched onto Sunshine Diamond's free hand, and it made Sunshine wish that the kid was anywhere but here in the melee. "Just keep on running," Sunshine Diamond said encouragingly, "Don't stop for anything. Run. Stay with me. You can do this."

Girl looked up and nodded. "I just need to do what I was born to do," she said.

"And what is that?"

Girl returned her gaze forward as she said, "I need to free the lost souls. All the people trapped inside those masks. You see, I learned some things from Dr. D and Cherri Cola. They taught me that a mask or the colors you wear don't mean anything if you can't stand for what you believe in. If you can't do what you were born to do. If you fail to see your purpose, then your mask was just something to hide behind. Your colors were just a disguise."

Sunshine Diamond stared at Girl, noticing differences from the small child she had met not so long ago. This Girl seemed older, wiser. This Girl had seen her friends die, and she was sick of it. This Girl was fueled by the rage of her mother. This Girl... This Girl was a ticking time bomb.

Once the realization came to Sunshine, she knew what she had to do. She let go of Girl's hand. Girl looked up at her and smiled. "I'll be just fine," she said. Then she ran off towards the center of Battery City.

Party Poison went to chase after her, but Sunshine stopped him in his tracks. "No!" he screamed as he tore off his helmet, "Why did you let her go alone?! Why?!"

"Because!" Sunshine Diamond yelled back, shaking him by the shoulders, "She needs to do this on her own. We can't go with her. We can't protect her. This is her destiny. This is who she is. If we stop her, then her mother's capture will have meant nothing. Her mom would've been turned into a Drac for nothing! Do you understand?"

Party looked at Sunshine Diamond, and she didn't miss the pain that lurked there. All around them, the rest of the Fabulous Four and her siblings had stopped. "I know," Sunshine continued, "I know what you are thinking. You don't want to let her down again; you don't want her to die. But she won't. Not yet. Right now, it's not her destiny to die. And even if we die trying to take the world back, she'll still be fighting. And the Phoenix Witch will guide us home, where we will see her some day. So let. Her. Go."

Tears brimmed in Party Poison's eyes, behind his yellow mask. He bit his bottom lip hard and swallowed, then nodded fiercely. "You're right," he said, "It's her time to shine." He slid the mousekat helmet back on over his already greasy hair.

"No," Nuclear Wave said, looking off into the direction in which Girl had ran, "It's her time to detonate."