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Chapter Text

Lisa See wrote in her book Shanghai Girls, “Having a baby is painful in order to show how serious a thing life is.”

The woman who was going through this experience herself has realized just how much truth that quote contained.

The woman gripped the blanket as she pushed with all of her might. She tried desperately to ignore the pain as she did. It was as though someone was stabbing a hot poker into her pelvic area and lower abdomen.

The other woman – an anthropomorphic bunny approaching her thirties – coached her, rubbing her leg in a comforting manner as she collapsed from the pain following her latest push. An anthropomorphic male bunny – the woman’s husband – dabbed at her face with a cool cloth, providing a welcome relief to her flushed face.

The couple’s six-year-old son was in the kitchen, playing with a gaming console. He was told to stay out of the way to allow the couple to safely deliver this child. That was an order he followed without hesitation. He didn’t want to be scarred for life.

“She’s crowning,” the female bunny whispered encouragingly. “You’re doing great. She’s nearly out. Just a few more pushes.”

That made the woman more determined to bring her child into the world. The seemingly endless hours of discomfort and excruciating pain would soon be worth something.

And that something that made all the hours of pain and discomfort worth it was the cries of a newborn baby.

“Looks like the doctor got it right for a change,” the male bunny joked, looking at the screaming baby in his wife’s arms.

“She is so beautiful,” the woman whispered, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. She was also coated in a thin layer of sweat, a result of her exhausting work.

“Avery!” the man called as the baby was swaddled in blankets once the umbilical cord was cut. “ACE!”

Six-year-old Avery – who responded to his nickname ‘Ace’ more than he did his birth name ‘Avery’ – came running in. Immediately, he approached his mother, who was holding the waling newborn in her arms.

“She looks funny,” Ace shrugged.

“So did you when you were born,” his mother retorted.

Watching the family together with her child, the woman suddenly remembered another quote that rang true.

It was a Skye Hardwick quote, and she had said, “A birthmother puts the need of her child above the wants of her heart.”

And what she was about to do was going to do just that.

“You know you can always change your mind,” the man said to her gently.

She was with this family for a reason. The family, as repayment for taking her in and caring for her throughout her pregnancy, was to receive the baby, whom they would raise as their own.

But the family was also prepared for another possibility. Birthmothers who originally had their heart set on adoption could change their minds when the baby was born and they got to see the child for themselves. It happened more often than people thought. The female bunny had seen it first-hand many times through her occupation as a midwife.

But this woman – this birthmother – was determined to follow through with this plan; no matter how much it would break her heart.

“It will be safer for her this way,” the woman whispered.

“What will her name be?” Ace asked, glancing at the three adults in the room.

The soon-to-be adoptive mother shifted her gaze between the newborn child and the child’s birthmother, declaring, “You are giving us the greatest gift. It is only fair you get to choose her name.”

The woman, no matter how much it would hurt her in the future, glanced at the baby.

All she could see was the baby’s face peeking through the multitudes of blankets. Her face was round with plump little cheeks people would take pleasure in pinching. She knew that her appearance would change in time as her features became more defined. So would her eyes. Her child would be viewed as a Caucasian baby. In correspondence with the science surrounding the appearance of newborn babies (regardless of how highly debated the topic was), the baby’s eyes were blue. Her true eye colour – whether it would be green like her birthmother’s or any other eye colour in the broad spectrum of genetics – would not be known for a few months at most.

The woman had a name in mind for the child. It was a name that kept appearing in her mind since she first learned of the child’s existence.

“Brylee,” the woman said firmly. “I want her name to be Brylee.”

“Brylee Bunny,” the man mused. “I like that.”

“It’s pretty,” Ace voiced his own opinion, glancing at his baby sister in excitement. He then asked, “Can Avery be her middle name?”

His father nodded in agreement, “Brylee Avery Bunny does have a nice ring to it.”

“Would you like to hold her? To say goodbye?”

The woman looked up at the other woman who would take her child in surprise. That was the last thing she expected. She would have thought most adoptive parents would have been active in keeping the child away from their birth parents in the fear of having the birth parents suddenly change their mind.

But this couple had no reason to hold that fear. This woman was firm in her resolve.

The baby made all kinds of noises as she was nestled into her birthmother’s arms. Those eyes were staring back at her, not knowing they were about to part ways.

The woman whispered to her another quote she had read during her time with the family – a quote from Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind – “You are destiny to be; Rebuilder of great home. Restorer of mighty nation.” Holding back her tears, she whispered her final words to the child, “For now, we must part. But I promise you, Brylee, when the time is right, we will meet again.”

She handed the child back to the family. She watched as they began interacting with the baby as though she was their own child.

It hurt her own heart to see this. But as she told herself repeatedly, she was no longer hers.

Chapter Text

A lot can change in fourteen years.

It has been fourteen years since Brylee was born and her birthmother left her with another family. She always knew she was adopted. She was the only human in an anthropomorphic family, after all.

She certainly didn’t need other people making snide remarks about it, though.

Some major events have happened in her life. When she was two, her adoptive father was taken from their home and was never seen again. Even to this day, they have no idea why. Police have tried everything, but it was as though he disappeared without a trace. In the end, they have given up and he was officially declared dead when Brylee was nine, following the mandatory seven-year waiting period.

When she was four, she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Fortunately, it has become manageable. It comes down to her diet, exercise, monitoring her blood sugar, and making sure her insulin pump is set up correctly. The hard part was affording everything when she was younger. Her adoptive mother’s job paid well, but not that well. A group people considered to be a gang ran the community she lived in. They didn’t smuggle drugs, launder money or take part in human trafficking (in fact, they were the type to take down human traffickers). Instead, they were like Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. They took care of their own. They helped with Brylee’s medical expenses (which were substantial when Brylee was first diagnosed) and made sure she had everything she needed to manage her diabetes.

When she was twelve, her adoptive mother died. It was a car accident; the police had said when they came to her house to deliver the news. She was driving home from a local clinic where she was volunteering her services as a midwife when someone ran a red light and drove off after the accident. She died upon impact. That was the only good thing Brylee and her older adoptive brother, Ace, could take away from everything. She didn’t suffer.

Two days after their mother’s death, Ace was named her legal guardian. He was barely eighteen, struggling to make ends meet as a stunt rabbit and teaching night classes in martial arts after dropping out of school to help his struggling family. But he made it work. He made sure there was food on the table, a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, and Brylee had everything she needed for her diabetes. He always told her that her only job was to do well at school. He wanted her to have a better future than him.

Then, a year ago, not long after Brylee’s fourteenth birthday, her life changed in a different way. A meteor hit Acmetropolis, releasing a strange, but powerful radiation. It changed everything for everyone. The planet was knocked off its original axis. It was supposed to destroy the planet – it was large enough to – but for some reason, it didn’t.

Instead, the resulting radiation gave Brylee, Ace and five other individuals strange superpowers. A mysterious woman named Zadavia found them in the aftermath and banded them together to be a team – a team of superheroes to defend Acmetropolis from anything and everything.

So, this became Brylee’s new life. She moved to the 134^th floor of the towers with these people, began attending Acmetropolis High via correspondence and joined what became known as The Loonatics.

She wore a black uniform with the triangle on her chest like her teammates. But each teammate had a different coloured triangle. Brylee’s triangle was white. Ace said it represented her powers. She could produce beams to do anything she wanted and those beams were bright. Like light. Her uniform also had special modifications to accommodate her insulin pump, a necessity to her life. Her blonde hair was always up in a ponytail – it would be more practical, she said. Her eyes, which were blue when she was born, changed to green, as her genetics dictated.

“Brr, now that is cold!”

Brylee looked up from her book – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen from her honours literacy class – to see Tech E. Coyote, one of her teammates, examine the pizza Rev Runner, another teammate of hers, had just brought over for him.

Tech is a coyote much like his ancestor Wile E. Coyote, with two key differences: he doesn’t blow himself up nearly as much as his ancestor did, and he doesn’t have Wile’s obsession with chasing roadrunners (or, rather, a certain roadrunner) across the globe. However, if Tech did accidentally blow himself up, it wouldn’t have caused that much of a worry. One of Tech’s superpowers was molecular regeneration, meaning that Tech could heal himself from any injury. (Unfortunately for him, this ability didn’t stop him from feeling the pain associated with the injury.) His other power was the ability to create magnetic pulses, which would allow him to levitate metallic objects, scramble electronics and create barriers. Something else that wasn’t considered to be a superpower was his superhuman intelligence (mainly because he was already highly intelligent before the meteor hit). He was responsible for creating the team’s weapons and other objects and, sometimes, coming up with something that potentially saved their lives in the field. His uniform triangle is green, which also matched the colour of his powers.

Rev is a roadrunner who is super-fast just like his ancestor, the infamous Road Runner. (Anytime Brylee thought about him, she wanted to go ‘Beep, beep!’ like he did.) Rev’s velocity is clocked at 9,887.9 metres per second, faster than even Road Runner himself. He can also fly without a jetpack, unlike the rest of the team. He also possessed a sixth sense: global positioning, allowing him to track anyone and anything. As much as Brylee loved Rev, however, his rapid speech sometimes confused or annoyed the others. Rev was also a genius in his own right – but he wasn’t on Tech’s level. His uniform triangle is red, since it can represent speed.

Tech took a bite out of his pizza, which was frozen solid, and snarked at Rev, “Where did you get it?! Iceland?!”

“Actually… no,” Rev shook his head. He then launched into one of those rapid and unnecessary explanations Brylee saw coming, “I just picked it up from the pizza joint downtown, which I must say is abnormally cold for this time of year. But if you really liked the pizza from Iceland, I could go get some and be back in 4.2 seconds, which, of course, is just an estimation because you never really know about traffic.”

Brylee had to laugh slightly as she saw Tech shove the frozen slice of pizza into Rev’s mouth. The banter Tech and Rev have shared since they met is highly amusing. It almost resembled the rivalry his ancestors shared. Only, they didn’t try to kill each other every change they got (no matter how much Tech may have been tempted once or twice).

“That was one of those questions that didn’t require an answer,” Tech muttered, tapping at the frozen pizza with his finger as Rev walked away.

Suddenly, Tech turned his head in the direction of their team leader, Ace. Whenever Ace wasn’t saving the world or training, he could be found meditating on that hovering disc with the sword he was given when the Loonatics first formed resting in his hands. To Brylee, Ace had changed since the meteor hit and they joined the Loonatics. Sure. Ace still loved a good joke as much as his ancestor, Bugs Bunny, did. However, he was also more serious. Brylee suspected it was because of the amount of responsibility he had thrust upon him.

“Hey, Ace!” Tech called, holding up the frozen pizza.

Ace opened one eye and smirked, “On it, Tech.”

Within moments, lasers were shooting out of Ace’s eyes and the ice encasing the pepperoni pizza was melted away. That was one of Ace’s superpowers: infrared laser vision. Brylee learned early on – back when they first discovered their powers – that she did not want to be on the receiving end of one of Ace’s laser blasts. Especially when he was still trying to control his powers, like everyone else had to. Accompanying this power was optical enhancement, allowing him to see better than everybody else. However, in battle, he preferred to rely on his natural talent in martial arts rather than his powers.

“Extra crispy,” Tech said happily before politely offering, “Pizza, Duck?”

Now, Brylee liked Danger Duck. She truly did. They could relate sometimes. However, there were times – more often than not – where he could be annoying. He is very boastful and tries to say he is better than everyone at everything, which leads to some hilarious moments whenever he did try to ‘walk the talk’. He keeps saying that he will one day be the leader of the Loonatics; however, he does tolerate Ace’s leadership. He keeps boasting about his powers, which are the ability to produce ‘eggs’ filled with random substances and short-range teleportation. He also tries to reinvent himself to be noticed by Zadavia and to be better than everyone else. Right now, he had tied a piece of material to himself in the form of a makeshift cape and was examining himself in the mirror, trying to think of a new name for himself.

“Are you kidding?” Duck scoffed at Tech’s offer. “I’ve already had my protein shake. Its vitally important to maintain a superhero physique, because you can’t afford to be flabby when you’re… the Duckinator!”

“Weren’t you calling yourself Super Duper Duck yesterday?” Brylee asked. She marked where she was up to in the book with a bookmark before closing it and moving it aside, deciding she wouldn’t get anymore reading done for the time being.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t quite rolling off the tongue,” Duck said in a dismissive manner. “Besides, I need a name that will fit on the costume!”

“How about…?” Ace trailed off, pretending to be thinking about it before finally saying, “Duck?”

Duck just deadpanned at Ace and drawled, “Very funny.”

That was something Duck inherited from his ancestor Daffy Duck: his sarcasm.

At that moment, Brylee heard the sound of the door whooshing open and music. Loud music. She didn’t need to turn around to see who just walked in.

Lexi was someone Brylee got along with extremely well. It might be because Lexi was the only other female on the team and, as Lexi said when they first met, “Us girls should stick together!” Lexi is Ace’s second-in-command. She is a bunny like Ace and is the most beautiful person Brylee has ever met. Very much like her ancestor Lola Bunny, Lexi is very conscious about her appearance. It was something Brylee couldn’t help but envy. She could make a potato sack look beautiful if she wanted to. Lexi is considered to be the most agile and acrobatic member of the team, thanks to her history with gymnastics and cheerleading. She is known as the eavesdropper of the team, because one of her powers is super hearing. She could hear anything and everything – even a high-pitched dog whistle. Another one of her powers was brain blast – shooting psionic energy from the top of her head between her ears, which were upright and tied together with a green ribbon. Very much like Ace’s laser blasts, Lexi’s brain blast was something she did not want to be at the receiving end of. According to Duck – who was at the receiving end of them frequently – they hurt.

“Tech!” Lexi began, removing her earphones, “Did you order more than one pie?”

“No. Why?” Tech inquired, munching happily on his pizza.

“Because Slam is in the house!” Lexi answered. Pink circles travelled up her ears like soundwaves, signifying her super hearing was in use.

As if the words had conjured the man himself, Brylee heard the chime of the elevator and the familiar sound of Slam’s grumblings.

Slam couldn’t speak English well, but Brylee had no trouble understanding him. Brylee considered Slam as the muscle of the Loonatics because of his powers. His strength was something he inherited from his ancestor, Taz. But the meteor seemed to increase his strength to abnormal abilities. He can also produce tornadoes with different functions, including suction mode. In his thunder mode, he can launch small electronic tornadoes and can generate flame through friction.

Slam also loved his food and, sometimes, eating with him was not pretty. However, Slam was always considerate of Brylee’s needs because of her diabetes, exercising some degree of self-control where she was concerned – even if he was in one of his crazed modes.

Basically, nothing could get between Slam and his food. So, everyone was surprised when he came in covered in icicles. The last they heard, a heat wave – not a cold wave – was going through Acmetropolis. Temperatures were meant to be in the triple digits. Not below zero. When she coupled that with Tech’s pizza being delivered mysteriously frozen, Brylee knew something was up.

Then, she heard the familiar beeps.

Everyone turned around and saw the holocom come to life with Zadavia’s image. Her white blonde hair was being blown up by an invisible wind around her. The hologram obscured many facets of Zadavia’s appearance, so Brylee was unable to provide anyone with a physical description of her mysterious benefactor.

“Loonatics, we have a problem,” Zadavia began.

Immediately, Brylee knew they were about to be sent on another mission.

“You’ve got that right, Zadavia. I’d say we’ve got a serious problem!” Ace remarked.

Ace and Brylee rubbed a circle through the condensation to look out the window. Ice was beginning to form all over the city, covering the buildings and freezing everything in sight.

“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day,” Brylee remarked dryly.

Within moments, everyone was in the conference room in their designated seats. On the screens surrounding them, they saw the cause of the mass freeze in Acmetropolis.

A massive iceberg had emerged from Acmetropolis Bay and, as it made landfall, the intensely cold temperature it emitted froze everything within the general vicinity. And it was starting to spread.

“Eh, what’s up, Zadavia? Certainly not the temperature!” Ace cracked.

“So far, nobody can figure out where this iceberg came from,” Zadavia began as her hologram reappeared. “I don’t have to tell you what will happen if the temperature keeps dropping.”

“I knew it!” Duck sighed. He then said something that made Brylee want to face palm, “We’re gonna lose cable again.”

Brylee didn’t face palm as she thought she would. Instead, she slammed her head against the table at Duck’s overall annoyance.

“Okay. Maybe I do have to tell you!” Zadavia snapped, causing Duck to lose his cocky manner.

Brylee decided to beat her boss to the punch, “We could be facing another ice age, genius.”

“Oh great. Those winter sweaters make me look chubbo!” Lexi whined.

Brylee had to agree with her female companion. The winter uniforms weren’t exactly the most flattering.

“When the meteor hit Earth, your superpowers weren’t the only after effect. This iceberg could be related,” Zadavia suggested.

“I think we can handle one iceboig!” Ace smirked, his Brooklyn accent that he inherited from his ancestor shining through.

“Acmetropolis is counting on you to take care of this!” Zadavia declared before disconnecting with a final, “Zadavia out.”

“When she goes out, where does she go? The movies?” Lexi asked.

“Maybe she monitors the city for more missions. It would be the more logical solution,” Brylee shrugged.

“Tech, we’ll need some toys to melt this ice cube,” Ace told the resident inventor.

Tech was not happy for his inventions to be dismissed as nothing more than toys, and he made sure his leader knew: “Excuse me, chief. They’re not toys. They’re precision handcrafted alloy instruments.”

“We’ll take those too. But foist, the toys!” Ace decreed.

When everyone gathered in Tech’s lab, they were aiming to get big guns. Instead, they got little circular discs; and they didn’t know what to do with them.

Even as Tech started explaining what they were, “The Retro Fire Master Blaster. Hold if in the palm of your hand, squeeze twice and…”

Rev was often the guinea pig concerning Tech’s inventions, so it came at no surprise that Rev was the first to activate the Retro Fire Master Blaster. When he squeezed twice, a massive gun appeared and turned on. The gun took up nearly the entire length of Rev’s arm.

Slam, who wasn’t necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed (but his heart of gold more than made up for it), had trouble operating it. He kept tapping at it with his finger before dropping it and standing on it. Unfortunately, him standing on it acted like squeezing it in his hand and the gun appeared, attaching itself to his leg.

“Uh-oh,” Slam grunted.

Brylee immediately knew what was coming next. The gun fired, but didn’t stop. It wasn’t a short blast. It acted like a rocket, sending Slam flying all around Tech’s lab. Everybody ducked whenever Slam came close to colliding with them.

“Uncurl your toes! Uncurl your toes!” Tech shouted over Slam’s screams.

Slam did just that and ended up falling to the ground. Slam cheered as he held the small disc in his hand. Brylee just hoped for Slam’s sake that this accident wasn’t a repeated event.

“You’ve gotta love the toys!” Lexi smirked.

“Time to crush some ice! Let’s jet!” Ace smirked in turn.

**

Whenever Ace said ‘Let’s jet!’, it meant suit up and get ready for battle. Within moments, everybody was racing to the launchpad and grabbing their jetpacks (except for Rev, who could fly without them). The good thing about the jetpacks was that Tech designed them to look like backpacks. They attached like backpacks, too, with the shoulder straps and the extra straps that ran across the top of their chests and wrapped around their waist for extra security.

They were powerful, too, but made for a smooth flight. Brylee enjoyed flying with them.

Within moments, everybody had flown to the iceberg.

“Would you look at that thing?! That’s gotta be the biggest iceberg I have ever seen! This is a doozy! Are you sure we put enough juice in the blasters, Tech? Not that I doubt your expertise or anything, but that is one giant-!” Rev began rambling.

“Yo, Rev! Watch where you’re talking!” Brylee called after him.

Rev finally turned his head towards the direction he was flying and realized that he was about to crash into the iceberg. Fortunately, he redirected his flight path and flew upwards to join the others before he crashed.

“Okay. What wise guy moved Mount Everest?” Tech joked.

Tech’s joke was a valid assessment of the iceberg in Brylee’s eyes. The iceberg certainly did look like the iconic mountain many people desired to climb. (Brylee personally could never see the appeal.) Well, it didn’t have the height of Mount Everest, but it was close enough.

“Alright. Snow cones for everyone. Set blasters on thaw!” Ace instructed.

Within moments, everybody had the small discs in their hand and they squeezed them twice. The gun appeared and took up most of their arms. Fortunately, there was no repeat of the mishap that happened in the lab with Slam. As they hit the guns, they began firing the blast that was designed to hit the iceberg. Everybody was hitting the iceberg at different points, hoping to melt the giant structure.

Ace was the first to stop firing as his blaster was about to run out of juice. To Ace’s annoyance, the blasters did not have an affect on the ice. The blast didn’t even chip it.

“No dice,” Ace grumbled before calling, “OKAY! CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!”

Everybody obeyed his command without hesitation. They were just as annoyed about the fact that the blasters didn’t even leave a dent in the iceberg. But Tech, who built the blasters, was more dismayed at the lack of success.

“How can my Retro Fire Master Blaster not work?!” Tech asked in disbelief.

Something that Tech was not used to happening was his inventions not working the way they were supposed to. Sometimes, they would work, but not in the way he designed them to. Sometimes, they weren’t powerful enough for what they needed. Or sometimes, it just would not work at all.

“It’s okay, Tech. This is why we have a Plan B,” Brylee piped in.

The gang of seven put the small discs in their pockets before heading down to land. Ace landed first, before being followed by Tech and Rev together, and finally, Slam, Duck, Lexi and Brylee landed together in a group behind them.

“You’re on, Slam, buddy!” Ace smirked.

Slam certainly did not need to be told twice. He reached across himself and snapped back rapidly, activating his tornado power. Brylee could’ve sworn she saw spouts of fire coming from the tornado. He flew up towards the iceberg and flew around it rapidly, causing the iceberg to slowly melt. Brylee felt both the water at her feet and heard the beepers of the temperature gauge on the building behind her begin to climb above below zero.

“Okay. What did he have for breakfast?” Brylee asked rhetorically.

Around her, she saw the ice begin to melt off of all the buildings and the people in the streets. The man and his dog that was peeing next to a streetlight resumed their business. The kids who were playing in the pool began splashing about once again.

“Glorified Zamboni! Chipping ice isn’t a superpower! Quacking is a superpower!” Duck scoffed. “Observe!”

‘This will be good,’ Brylee thought to herself with a smirk.

Brylee was not disappointed. Duck got into position and ‘quacked’ away, as he liked to say. However, Duck can only teleport short distances and sometimes, he has no control over where he ends up.

This time, he ended up inside the iceberg.

“You can stop observing now,” Duck winced, trapped between two layers of ice.

When Slam zoomed past with his flame, Duck fell into the shallow pool that was beginning to form around the slowly melting iceberg. Eventually, when Slam melted the iceberg to a reasonable size (which, for them, was not as big as before), he stopped.

“Good guys: one. Mother Nature: nothing,” Ace remarked.

Steam was coming off Slam as he crouched on all fours in the water, panting with his tongue sticking out. Brylee had to laugh in her head at how much Slam resembled that pet dog one of her neighbours owned when she first started school.

“Hold on, Ace,” Lexi suddenly said. “Mother Nature might be done, but I’m picking something up.”

“Perhaps a high-pitched dog whistle,” Duck drawled.

Lexi’s super hearing was highly sensitive and could pick up just about any sound. Duck’s tongue-in-cheek comment had happened a few times before, particularly when Lexi – along with the rest of the team – was going through an adjustment period where she got used to having her powers and learning how to control them.

Then, Brylee heard the rumbling and the sound of the iceberg breaking apart. The chunks of ice falling away created small waves as they landed in Acmetropolis Bay. Fortunately, the waves weren’t big enough to roll over the retaining walls that blocked the water’s access to the city.

But when they saw the big Viking-like ship emerge from the mist, a lot of them began thinking that they would rather have to deal with the tsunami instead.

The door that was positioned in the neck of the dragon-like structure opened and multiple figures jumped out, landing in front of the team.

“Robot Vikings?!” Brylee said in surprise.

The figures standing before her were, for lack of better description, robot Vikings. They had the same design as some of the Vikings Brylee had heard about in her childhood stories. Big. Strong. Helmets with horns on them. Carrying an axe or a sword. Even the armour was almost accurate.

All that was missing was the beards.

“Boy, are you guys lost!” Ace drawled.

Another Viking finally joined the rest. It wasn’t hard to determine he was the leader. The Chieftain, as he would be referred to if they were genuine Vikings from the Viking era. He was considerably larger than his companions. His armour was a different colour. His sword was noticeably larger than the other weapons.

“What’s up, doc?” Ace greeted the leader.

“I am Gunnar,” the leader, Gunnar, introduced himself.

“Gunna what? Go to a Viking Convention at the Civic Centre?” Ace joked.

If there was something Ace inherited from Bugs Bunny, it was playing with his adversaries before he finished them. The only villains he didn’t do this with were the ones who actually had the potential to be a threat to Ace and anyone on his team. (Especially Brylee – he was an overprotective big brother.)

However, Gunnar and his ‘clan’ were the type of people where if someone told them a joke, it would fly right over their heads. It reminded Brylee of the character Drax from the early 21^st-century Marvel movies.

“No! We are here to take over your world!” Gunnar corrected.

Brylee had to admit. It was hard to take their intentions seriously. They were Robotic Vikings, after all.

“You frosted flakes might as well go back to where you came from, because this is a no-invasion zone,” Ace smirked.

“We will conquer your world by any means necessary,” Gunnar proclaimed.

“No, you won’t,” Ace taunted.

“Yes, we will!” Gunnar said firmly.

“No, you won’t,” Ace repeated.

“Yes, we will!” Gunnar snapped.

“Yes, you will,” Ace smirked, knowing what would happen next.

“NO, WE WON’T CONQUER YOUR WORLD!” Ace roared, falling right into Ace’s trap.

“Have it your way,” Ace shrugged.

“Oh, I will enjoy crushing you, rabbit!” Gunnar snarled.

As he said those words, Gunnar lowered his sword, intending to split Ace in half. Ace, known for his fast reflexes, was quick to flip out of the way. His eyes glowed yellow as he drew out his own sword.

“Oh yeah! Like that’s ever gonna happen!” Ace scoffed.

The others wisely decided it was the best idea to let Ace and Gunnar battle this out themselves. Normally, Gunnar’s massive size would give him an advantage against considerably smaller opponents. However, Ace is a gifted swordsman in his own right. He was able to give as well as he received. He did just that as he blocked each of Gunnar’s blows and made a few attacks of his own in retaliation.

Eventually, Ace jumped over to where his teammates were standing, ready to jump in as needed.

“I could keep this up all day,” Ace shrugged.

“Taste my cold steel!” Gunnar cackled.

What they did next was one of the last things Brylee expected them to do. Then again, Gunnar and his clan were no ordinary Vikings. Gunnar pressed a button hidden in the hilt of his sword and the blade began to cackle and charge as though it was a weapon preparing to be fired.

In a way, it was.

“Time to chill out, bunny!” Gunnar snarled, firing from his sword.

“I don’t think so!” Ace shouted, firing his laser vision in retaliation.

Usually, when the two different temperatures interact, something interesting happens. When hot air meets cold air, it creates a low-pressure weather system. When hot water combines with cold water, they balance each other out so they are the same temperature.

When Ace’s hot laser vision and Gunnar’s cold blast from his sword combined, they clashed like that scene in Harry Potter where Voldemort and Harry Potter duelled, when their spells collided. Yes, Brylee decided that this scene greatly resembled the books and movies she watched with her adoptive mother when she was young.

“HAMMERS OF FROST!”

The difference between the two scenes was in the Harry Potter novels, Voldemort never got his Death Eaters involved in his battles with Harry directly, preferring to dispatch with Harry himself. Meanwhile, Gunnar wasn’t above using his clan members to tip the scales in his favour, using dirty tricks to ensure victory.

Gunnar’s soldiers pressed a button within their hammers and slammed the heads into the ground. Ice escaped from the hammers and spread across the ground, covering it in a slipper film that caused Ace to lose his footing.

“Ace!” Lexi cried as he did.

Something that amazed everyone there – maybe even the villains themselves (even if it was a begrudging admission on their part) – was the fact that, even as he lost his balance and slid backwards into his teammates, Ace never broke concentration.

Slam was quick to race forward and support his leader, due to him being the strongest one there. Tech and Brylee knelt beside Ace, holding his arms, while Lexi, Duck and Rev supported Slam so he wouldn’t lose his footing himself.

“Their weapons seem to be charged with a subzero thermal liquid solidification energy that, when fired, can freeze…!” Tech began explaining.

“We can guess that!” Brylee drawled.

Ace didn’t say anything in response. Brylee had said it for him. And she was right. He had that part figured out.

Since Ace was too busy battling Gunnar and the other Loonatics were busy supporting him, none of them noticed that the other Vikings had surrounded them and began firing their sub-zero thermal liquid solidification energy at them. Until it was too late, that is. Everybody winced and braced themselves as the ice began to surround them. Ace, however, wasn’t one to give up that easily, and he continued his battle with Gunnar until the team was completely consumed in a cavern of ice.

The Vikings deactivated their weapons when the Loonatics were completely encased in their igloo-shaped structure. There would be no way to break out of that.

“Let’s put this city on ice!” Gunnar cackled.

Gunnar and his fellow Vikings charged into the city, intending to conquer it the best way they know how: freezing everything in their path. They left the Loonatics encased in their igloo-shaped structure. They figured that eventually, they would die of hypothermia and there would be no one left to stop them.

What they didn’t know is the individual powers the Loonatics possessed.

Duck teleported himself out of the structure and onto the street, clutching himself as he shivered, desperate for warmth.

“Okay! I’m out! I’m out and I’m safe! Which is of number one importance. No need to worry about me! I’m…” Duck trailed off as he realized that while he was free, his teammates were still trapped. “Hello? You still in there?” When he got no response, Duck then smirked, “Well, I think that puts me in charge.”

Duck cried out in surprise when he heard and felt the rumbling around him. Immediately, he raced towards the structure that trapped his friends inside. However, he got knocked back when the structure shattered and exploded. Slam pounded at the ice from the sides while Brylee shot at the top with her beam from inside the structure. Their combined efforts shattered the structure around them, allowing them to break free.

Ace shivered his praises, “N-n-nice work there, guys!”

“Thanks, bro,” Brylee panted. She quickly checked the insulin pump Tech had built into her uniform, making sure it wasn’t damaged. Though, since the pump Tech built her was stronger and able to withstand more damage than the pump she had before the meteor hit, she wasn’t surprised to see it was fine.

“I would have busted you guys out if you had just given me time to think!” Duck snapped.

“We had seconds. Not hours, Duck,” Ace retorted as he walked away.

“I liked you better as a snow bunny,” Duck grumbled.

The Loonatics began walking through the streets of Acmetropolis. There was no one in sight, and as they took in their surroundings, everything – from the ground they walked on to the top of the tallest building – was covered in a layer of ice.

“I like what they’ve done to the place,” Ace joked.

“Snow drifts are very trendy this year!” Lexi quipped.

She pointed to a nearby building and a walkway that was so frozen, icicles were hanging from them. When they looked around, they saw a lot of other buildings that were in the same condition.

“Huh. That sounds like Zadavia’s ring,” Ace suddenly said.

Brylee began to wonder why Ace would suddenly say something like that. Then, she heard the familiar beeping that indicated Zadavia was trying to call them. Brylee traced it to a nearby ATM. When they were out in the field, Zadavia had been known to somehow hijack any form of technology to contact them, from holocom booths to those big electronic billboards.

Brylee hit the purple button on the multicoloured ATM keyboard and answered the call with a tentative, “Hello?”

When Zadavia’s hologram was projected in front of them, she went straight to business, saying, “I guess you know by now that these are no ordinary Vikings.”

“Yeah,” Ace nodded in agreement. “They don’t even sound Scandinavian!”

“I believe the iceberg slipped through one of the inter-dimensional portals that opened up after the meteor hit. These mutant techno-Vikings must have been frozen inside in an ice storm in their own dimension,” Zadavia speculated. “But now that these Vikings are here in Acmetropolis and have been released…”

“They can freeze the world so they can take over and not have anybody stop them!” Brylee cried in realization.

As she said this, the Vikings were going around the city freezing anything in their path, from innocent bystanders walking on the footpath to groups and families travelling in cars.

“Precisely. But now, you have bigger problems,” Zadavia said.

The team was about to press for more information. But they found they couldn’t as a sudden blast destroyed the ATM they were using as a communication point and knocked them for a doozy.

“I didn’t get the last part. What are the bigger problems?” Duck asked.

“I think I can take a guess,” Brylee remarked, pointing behind her.

The ship the mutant Vikings arrived on has come to life, shooting ice balls in the shape of cannonballs from the mouth of the dragonhead mounted on top of the mast. With one particular all, everyone sprinted out of the way. Except for Duck, who opted to teleport out of the way instead.

They watched as the dragonhead turned in various directions and fired the ice balls at different areas in Acmetropolis. Each area that was hit by an ice ball was frozen solid.

“If their trail leads into the city, what are they doing on that boat?” Lexi asked.

“Maybe they didn’t wanna miss the dinner show: Gunnar on Ice! Let’s jet!” Ace ordered.

“Right!” Duck raced forward, eager to lead the take-off. “Ready, team?! One! Two…”

Duck encountered a problem when he pressed the button on top of the handle to activate the jetpack. The rockets fired for a short amount of time before they shorted out.

“Three,” Duck finished lamely.

Fortunately, this didn’t turn out to be yet another embarrassing moment for Duck. Everybody’s jetpacks weren’t working.

“Looks like the ice short-circuited our jetpacks!” Ace cried.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Brylee, who seemed to follow everyone’s train of thought. If their jetpacks short-circuited due to their time trapped in the ice, her insulin pump could be compromised. As a type one diabetic, Brylee could not go for extended periods of time without insulin. Of course, the length of time varied for each person and the severity of their condition, but they noticed that Brylee couldn’t go for more than a couple of hours at most. And they weren’t in the ice long enough for the insulin to freeze, even with the cold temperatures.

“I checked my pump when we broke out of the ice. It’s fine,” Brylee reassured them. “Tech, you have a backup?”

“Glad you asked,” Tech smirked.

Tech then took out a remote and pressed the small red button on it. Within seconds, seven high-tech motorcycles appeared from the horizon and stopped in a perfect line in front of them. Ace immediately raced to the first motorcycle on the line and slid on the yellow helmet.

“Let’s show these Vikings how to fly!” Ace cried as he zoomed off.

Everybody else hopped onto their individual motorcycles, slid on their helmets, and took off after him.

The rims on the rear wheel detached from the wheel as the front wheels spread out. Rockets and hover stabilizers appeared underneath the motorcycle, giving it the ability to fly. All seven Loonatics drove to the edge of the pier before they flew over. But they didn’t crash into the water. Instead, they took off.

On the ship, a group of Vikings were going around freezing anything that wasn’t covered in ice.

“The bunny is back!” one of the Vikings sneered.

Knowing that they will never take over Acmetropolis with the Loonatics in the way, they decided to shift their attentions to stopping the heroes in their tracks. So, instead of firing their ice balls at the city, they began firing them at the Loonatics. Each Loonatic manoeuvred their motorcycle effortlessly to avoid the ice balls. Except for Slam, who was standing up and punching the ice balls away, favouring brute force over agility.

Duck didn’t move out of the way fast enough and an ice ball grazed him. More specifically, his motorcycle. Lexi happened to be flying by when this happened and was able to help him by using her brain blast to break the ice.

When the ice shattered and his movements less erratic, Duck flew next to Lexi and said, “Daredevil Duck thanks you.”

“Pick a name already, would ya?!” Lexi called to his retreating form.

By this point, Brylee was over being a moving target for the mutant Vikings, and she wanted to make sure her brother knew of her displeasure.

“How long are we meant to be target practice?!” Brylee asked her brother irritably. Lexi flew over and indicated her agreement with Brylee’s question.

“Until they run out of spit wads. Which is right… now!” Ace answered. The two looked back and saw that the Vikings have, in fact, run out of ammunition. He then smirked to the girls, “Let the fun begin!”

“Aye aye, skipper!” Brylee and Lexi joked with an accompanying salute.

“Loonatics, unite!” Ace called to the other Loonatics.

The seven Loonatics resumed their flying formation and flew towards the city, away from the Viking ship.

One Viking cackled, “Look at the cowards run!”

“With them gone, no one can stop us!” another Viking sneered.

The Vikings thought they could make a clean getaway; that they could continue with their plan to freeze the world to make it easier for them to conquer.

That is, until they saw a bright light flash from the horizon and their adversaries speeding towards them in a boat.

Ace, Lexi and Rev stood at the front of the ship while Slam, Brylee and Duck surrounded Tech, who was in the driver’s seat.

“Tech, you’ve outdone yourself!” Ace declared.

“You can say it. I’m a genius,” Tech said smugly.

“Launch the torpedo!” Ace ordered.

Tech pressed a button on the console and within moments, the seven heroes saw the familiar ripples in the water that came from a torpedo speeding through the water, heading towards its targets.

“So long, ice geeks!” Duck cried.

“The Vikings haven’t made it easy for the Loonatics to fight them when they first arrived, and they certainly weren’t going to start doing that when their plan was in motion. Rockets on the underside of the ship burst to life, lifting the ship out of the water and away from the torpedo, which continued on without hitting its target. Wings appeared on each side, allowing the massive ship to glide through the sky.

“Raugh raugh raugh!” Slam grunted, pointing to the ship.

“Yeah, Slam! We didn’t see that coming!” Ace agreed with Slam’s unintelligible statement.

“Flying Vikings?!” Brylee voiced her own disbelief.

“They won’t be flying for long,” Tech smirked.

Ace had a smirk of his own. He followed the coyote’s train of thought, and he loved what was coming up.

Tech pressed another button on his console and the Loonatics’ ship became airworthy. The rockets attached to the ship activated and lifted the ship out of the water. Before long, they had caught up with the Viking ship and were flying above them.

“Tech, take them out!” Ace ordered.

“Engaging the cryonic destabilising gravity discs,” Tech nodded.

The disc dispensary on the starboard side of the ship began to spread outwards to drop the discs on the designated target. The only problem was the mechanism was frozen and only worked partially.

“Now!” Ace yelled.

“Something’s wrong with the mechanism!” Tech gasped as he kept pressing the buttons. “They won’t respond!”

“I’m on it!” Brylee called.

“Be careful, Brylee!” Ace warned.

Brylee fired a beam from her hand and the initial firing destroyed the ice, but didn’t detonate the discs. Using one hand, she created a barrier around the discs while using her other hand to create a beam to carefully push them into the barrier. With both hands, she levitated them up and directed them over the Viking ship, where she deactivated the barrier surrounding them and let them drop.

“Anchors away!” Lexi joked.

Tech’s cryonic destabilising gravity discs did the job they intended them to do. They detonated upon impact with the Viking ship, causing the ship to crash into the nearby pier before coming to land in the water.

“I love those explosions!” Ace cheered.

Slam cheered and pulled Brylee into a near-bone-crushing hug, signifying that he thought she did a good job.

However, when they landed on the ship, they began to suspect that everything was not what it seemed.

“With their ship down, do you think the big freeze is over, Tech?” Ace asked as he, Brylee, Lexi and Tech stood over a fallen Viking.

They watched with interest as the Viking they were standing over lost its white and blue colour as it deactivated for good and turned a dull red all over.

“All of their power must come from the horns on these helmets,” Tech observed, detaching the Viking’s head from his body.

“Anyone else on board, Rev?” Ace inquired.

Rev raced around the ship in a quick check, responding to Ace’s question as he did, “Let’s have a look. All clear forward. All clear port, starboard, bow. No Vikings and no spit wads. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.”

“Where did they go?” Brylee asked.

“First, we see them. Now we don’t. This game of Battleship was all a distraction!” Ace proclaimed. “Hey, Rev. Can you give me a read on them Nordic nutjobs?”

Rev didn’t give Ace’s request a verbal response. Instead, he chose the physical form of expression. His eyes glowed red as his internal GPS locator began to work on locating the mutant Vikings. When he did, he used the triangle on his uniform to project their location to the other Loonatics.

“They’re heading for the Planetary Power Grid!” Lexi cried in horror.

“That must have been what Zadavia was trying to tell us!” Ace gasped in realization.

“Not to alarm everybody. But if they freeze the city’s power core…,” Tech began nervously.

“Everyone’s gonna have one bad case of frostbite,” Brylee finished Tech’s train of thought with a slight drawl.

**

As the team was coming to the realization of the Viking’s true motives, Gunnar was leading his remaining Vikings towards the Planetary Power Grid. With ease, Gunnar stepped on the security gate designed to block unwanted access.

“The power core is ours! Our mission cannot fail!” Gunnar decreed, using his sword to blast the doors open.

With the doors down, Gunnar and his army marched into the building. Standing in the centre of the room was the core that powered the whole city. Their target.

“Let the ice age begin,” Gunnar sneered. “Set your weapons on maximum freezing!”

The Vikings slammed their weapons to the ground. Very much like it did during Gunnar’s first encounter with Ace, the ice began crawling across the ground, freezing everything in its path. It then began climbing up the powerful structure.

Not even something as powerful as the power core could withstand the ice.

**

Around her, Brylee noticed that everything was going dark. Looking ahead, she saw the tower – something that usually was a bright beacon from a distance – was as pitch black as the rest of the city below her.

“They got the core!” Brylee cried to her brother.

“We have a certain amount of time before the damage becomes irreversible,” Tech pointed out. “If we can unfreeze the core in time, we can save the city.”

Brylee decided she could believe Tech. In their short time together as a team, they have come up against worse and they’ve managed to save the city before. She was more than certain that they could do it again.

**

The Vikings were continuing to freeze the power core that was still fighting their efforts. However, the core wasn’t powerful enough to sustain the city in this state.

“Eh, what’s up, horn heads?”

When they heard the voice, the Vikings turned to the entrance in alarm.

The Loonatics were standing there, ready to fight them to save the city. They had thought that their plan to lead the Loonatics away from the city would work. They were beginning to realize that they had greatly underestimated their foes. They were not the first, and would not be the last.

“FREEZE THEM!” Gunnar roared.

“You’ve picked the wrong planet to invade, pally!” Ace decreed.

And with those words said, the battle had begin.

Ace leaped up and flipped over one of the Vikings that was charging at him. Smirking, he turned around with his laser vision activated.

“Come on, you overgrown trashcan! Show me what you got!” Lexi challenged.

The Viking seemed to accept the challenge and approached the young bunny. Lexi had anticipated this move. After all, these Vikings enjoyed a good challenge. But they certainly didn’t enjoy a quick defeat. This was what happened to this particular Viking. All it took for Lexi to defeat him was a single brain blast to the chest.

Some people would say that two against one would be an unfair fight. Particularly if the team of two was significantly larger and stronger than their sole opponent; like what was happening in the case of Duck and the two Vikings. But Duck had an advantage of his own.

After pretending to cower away from them in fear, he teleported out of sight. Immediately, the two Vikings began looking around for the mallard. That is, until Duck appeared on top of the power core and knocked one of the Vikings down. When Duck looked behind him, he saw the other Viking about to fire his weapon at him. Knowing what was about to happen, Duck teleported away and the Viking he originally knocked down was frozen in his place.

“Come on, come on! How hard is it to deep fry a duck?!” Duck taunted them.

He then threw eggs in the faces of two Vikings approaching him. Blind by the mysterious substance (even Duck’s not sure what he threw at them), the two Vikings continued to run forward with their hands out, aiming to grab Duck. What they didn’t know was that Duck had once again moved out of the way, and they did not find out until they collided with one another.

Brylee and Tech were looking around, ready to attack a Viking that charged at them. They stopped walking backwards when they collided with each other. They both assumed fighting stances, ready to cover each other.

“Hey, Tech. You have a way to turn the tables in our favour?” Brylee asked.

Normally, some people would have a problem with what Brylee was doing. Some people would say that Brylee was usurping leadership from her brother. However, there were times where it amounted to something good. Besides, Ace was busy battling another Viking.

“I’ll reprogram them! Just keep them busy!” Tech instructed.

“With pleasure,” Brylee smirked.

Two Vikings approached them at that moment and went to strike at them. Brylee and Tech had quicker reflexes and managed to dodge the attack from the axe and hammer. Brylee used one of her beams to blast one of the Vikings; specifically towards its head. She used enough force to knock the Viking’s head from its body, but not enough to cause significant damage. Tech grabbed the head and immediately went to a place where he could work.

“Bro!” Brylee called, landing next to her brother. “We need to keep them busy! Tech’s got a plan!”

Ace nodded and called to the other Loonatics, “Get them to use their freezing powers!”

Lexi was the first to catch onto the plan and taunted the Vikings as they repeatedly attempted to freeze her, “Nope! Sorry! No dice! Your turn, Slam!”

Slam smirked, eager to get some action, and aimed his garbled speech at Gunnar.

Gunnar immediately understood what Slam said, and he was insulted. “YOU DARE?!” he roared.

Slam activated his tornado powers and charged at the techno-Viking Chieftain. Roaring, the two charged at each other, eager for the confrontation to come. There was a bright flash as the two opposing elements collided. Slam’s fire met Gunnar’s ice. Unfortunately for Slam, Gunnar’s powers were much stronger and he soon found himself beginning to feel overwhelmed by his enemy. Before long, Slam was knocked into the wall.

Another Viking decided to try and attack one of the Loonatics. He decided that his target shall be Lexi and that he will attack her by pursuing the less noble option: attacking her from behind. Lexi heard him coming and managed to dodge the attack.

“Tech! In position!” Ace called to the resident inventor as he was surrounded by a group of Vikings. (Where did they keep coming from?) “Please tell me you’re almost ready!”

Tech didn’t even look up from his work of reprogramming the Viking’s head as he answered patiently, “You can’t rush genius.”

“No. But you can give it a swift kick in the can,” Ace retorted as he began attacking the Vikings. “One Viking bites the ice! And another!”

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, BUNNY!” Gunnar roared.

Gunnar aimed his weapon at Ace and fired, hoping to freeze the bunny again. Ace anticipated the attack and dodged, forcing the ice to freeze the ground instead.

“Bry, would you like to do the honours?” Ace smirked.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Brylee responded with her own smirk.

Consuming her whole body in a beam, Brylee lifted herself up and charged at Gunnar feet first like a missile aimed for an enemy aircraft. The beam dissolved itself right at the sound of impact to the centre of Gunnar’s chest, charging into him.

“GOT IT, ACE!” Tech called over Gunnar’s screams as he connected the head to the power point.

Mere seconds after Tech said those words, Gunnar collided with the power core. The resulting electrical shock was hurtled towards the nearest suitable circuit: Tech holding the Viking head connected to the control system for the power grid. Tech grimaced as he knew what was coming next was going to be painful.

Tech’s cries of pain filled the room as his body and the Viking head was consumed by the electrical charge. The Viking helmet worked as a conduit feeding the electricity to various other points, including the remaining Vikings. Their energies immediately struck the conduits for the power core, shattering the ice that encased it and recharging it. Before long, all the conduits were recharged and the power conduit returned to life. Consequently, the blackout around the city ended, much to the citizens’ relief.

“WE DID IT! IT WOIKED!” Ace cheered.

“The energy from the Vikings has recharged the power core!” Lexi said happily. She knelt beside Rylee, who had fallen to the ground after pushing Gunnar into the power core.

Everyone in the room was happy about the success of the mission. Well, almost everyone.

“Aw, Tech! I was just about to let them have it!” Duck moaned.

“Talk about taking one for the team,” Tech grumbled.

Duck looked around, trying to figure out where Tech was. Then he saw the Viking helmet he had used to repower the power core lying on the ground. When he lifted the helmet, he saw that the electrical charge had turned Tech into a smouldering pile of ash.

“Tech?” Duck said in surprise, causing the coyote to whimper in response.

**

A few hours later, everything was back to normal at the Loonatics’ headquarters. Ace was once again meditating with his sword in his hands. Lexi decided to jump into the beanbag that was next to Brylee and help her with her history homework when she noticed the youngest Loonatic was struggling slightly. Duck was, once again, in front of the mirror posing and trying to come up with a new name for himself.

“Thunder Duck. Dazzling Duck. Dancing Duck. Super Duper Duck.”

Tech, meanwhile, had unfinished business involving pepperoni pizza. He placed one of his devices in the middle of the pizza and watched as it sliced the pizza into eight even slices. The device then lifted one of the slices out of the box and offered it to its inventor. Tech happily accepted the slice and began munching on it. He did love pepperoni pizza.

Apparently, so did someone else in the team.

“Pizza…”

The rumbling could be heard around the room as Slam came charging in, eager for a slice of pizza. All Tech had to do was point at Slam and his device charged at the Tasmanian Devil. To Slam’s surprise, the device clamped itself around his mouth. He pouted, realizing that he would not be able to eat some (okay, all) of Tech’s pizza.

“Uh-uh-uh, Slam!” Tech chided his teammate, causing Slam to growl at the coyote.

The dilemma was forgotten momentarily when they heard the familiar buzzing. Everybody gathered around the projector in front of the television when Zadavia appeared before them.

“Loonatics, I just had to personally say to each and every one of you job well done. The Ice Age is averted, the mutant techno-Vikings destroyed and Acmetropolis is safe,” Zadavia decreed. “Thanks to you, Ace, Rev, Lexi, Brylee, Slam, Tech…”

Duck stood there, waiting for his name to be called by Zadavia in her praise. To his surprise – and disappointment – it never came.

“Good work, team. Zadavia out,” Zadavia ended the call.

“That’s it? How could she forget me? I was standing right there!” Duck cried.

“Don’t worry about it, Duck! You were fantastic!” Lexi praised.

“Oh yeah. Heroic,” Ace nodded in agreement; although, the joking tone was in his voice.

Duck scrawled and marched past his teammates, muttering, “Nobody disrespects this Duck!”

Zadavia appeared to be waiting for this, as she greeted the new call with a, “Yes?”

“Hello, Miss Zadavia. Duck here. I was wondering… Didn’t you forget something?” Duck asked with a smirk.

“Oh yes. I suppose I did,” Zadavia nodded. Her next words, however, were swift in making Duck’s smug facial expression disappear: “No more memos about changing your name. Danger Duck is self-explanatory and easy to remember. Request denied.”

Brylee had to snicker at the exchange. She loved it when Zadavia shattered Duck’s delusion of grandeur. Actually, she loved it when anything shattered Duck’s delusion of grandeur. If there was one thing the mallard needed, it was lessons in humility.

“Brylee,” Zadavia began, successfully earning the teenager’s attention. “Encasing yourself to battle Gunnar the Conqueror was a wise choice. However, if you wish to try and fly, I would wait for more stability that can be obtained through practice. But keep up the good work.”

“Thanks, Zadavia,” Brylee nodded before the communication disconnected. She then turned to the scowling Duck, “Well, look at the bright side, Duck. It’s better than what she called you when we first got together.”

“Fine,” Duck sighed. “Danger Duck. I can live with that.”

“Good! Because we like it too!” Ace decreed.

Chapter Text

Ace had begun teaching Brylee martial arts – specifically karate – when she was young and he started doing lessons himself. They had to wait until Brylee got the all-clear from her medical team because of her diabetes, but once they got it, Ace began teaching her as he was learning himself. By the time he became her legal guardian, Brylee was the equivalent of an orange belt.

But when the meteor hit and they joined the Loonatics, Ace decided that Brylee had to step it up (within reason). When they weren’t fighting crime, eating, sleeping or doing schoolwork, Ace would take Brylee into the virtual trainer and teach her more karate. Now, she is at the equivalent of a purple belt, meaning she has jumped up at least three levels since Ace assumed guardianship over her.

That didn’t stop Ace from training her. Now, he was pushing her towards the equivalent of a brown belt; the level where the student would begin training in the ancient art of Japanese weaponry.

At the moment, the two siblings were sparring.  Traditionally in sparring situations, Ace would also include various weapons to make sure Brylee was prepared for any situation she may face in a mission and she could defend herself without having to rely completely on her powers.

Today, they were using sticks.

Ace had to admit that so far, he had been teaching his younger sister well. After all, he was her teacher, and he had taught her everything she knew.

But he hasn’t taught her everything he knew.

Ace smirked when he saw his sister make a very common mistake in karate. Brylee reacted too late, leaving Ace an opening to make an attack. Within moments, Ace had Brylee on her back and he was pressing his stick into her shoulder.

“If this were a real mission, you’d be injured by now. Or worse. You have to work on your reaction time,” Ace told her firmly. “A one-second delay can be all it takes.”

It was at that time that Lexi decided to come into the virtual trainer where not only Ace and Brylee were sparring, but Tech was working on another invention, with Rev assisting him from another point in the room.

“Hey! Look what I got!” Lexi called, specifically to Ace and Brylee as she held up her new item excitedly.

“In a sec, Lex!” Brylee responded.

Smirking, she retrieved her stick, whacked Ace in the side and knocked him to the ground before kneeling on his chest.

“What did you always say about not getting distracted?” Brylee smirked.

“Well played,” Ace grumbled as he accepted Brylee’s hand to pull him up.

In the shadows, Slam was standing drooling at the object Lexi was holding. One of the positives about Slam is that, unlike a lot of people who are fussy eaters, Slam is willing to eat anything.

One of the negatives about Slam is that he is willing to eat anything.

Ace and Brylee saw the Tasmanian Devil coming before Lexi did. Regardless, Lexi was able to clutch her pet close to her chest and duck as he jumped at her.

“Whoa! No eating my pet!” Lexi chided him.

Since everyone ducked out of the way, Slam ended up flying across the room, colliding into the device Tech was working on before landing in a toolbox. Slam’s collision with the weapon caused it to spin and activate, projecting a laser that could slice someone in half.

“Watch it, Slam! I’m trying to work here!” Tech was cut off after he was hit from behind with the butt of the machine.

Tech was sent flying a few feet and landed against the wall, with his head and upper back on the ground. One downside was that the machine was still active. Its beam was approaching Tech and he gasped as he tried to manipulate his body in the appropriate manner to avoid being hit with the beam.

Fortunately for Tech, the machine was going too far for the power cord’s liking and it ended up detaching from the power point with seconds to spare. Tech visibly relaxed in relief, having been whimpering as it came closer. He knew he had molecular regeneration and would be able to heal any wound he received. (Well, at least all the wounds he sustained thus far. Just like everyone else, he was still finding out if his powers had their limits.) But he preferred to avoid any pain if he could.

“What is that thing?” Brylee asked.

“You bought a new cottontail?” Ace asked, hopelessly confused.

“No. It’s a Fuz-Z,” Lexi answered. She petted the small ball-shaped creature, causing it to chirp happily. “Oh, come on! Bio-pets are only the coolest trend to ever hit Acmetropolis!”

“Yeah? What do you hit it with?” Ace asked.

That caused Brylee to face-palm. Despite having a higher than average intelligence, Ace was more street smart than anything else. He was also one to never follow the trends (mainly because he didn’t understand a lot of them). Also, sometimes, when it comes to girls – especially one he likes – he tended to make a fool out of himself.

She was suddenly thankful she wasn’t the only girl on the team.

“You don’t hit it! You love it!” Lexi corrected him. She nuzzled her Fuz-Z, who was wrapping its small tail around her wrist. “She’ll be whatever you want her to be. A glove. A choker. A cuddle-walker!”

“I suppose she is cute,” Brylee mused as she bent down to examine the Fux-X closer.

“Then, I suppose you won’t object when I tell you I got one for you,” Lexi smirked, pulling out a different looking Fuz-Z.

This Fuz-Z was different to the Fuz-Z Lexi had decided to buy for herself. Lexi’s Fuz-Z had a purple body with a lilac tail and pink hair on the top of its head with its pupils being close to the colour of Lexi’s uniform.

Brylee’s Fuz-Z had a yellow-coloured body with a tail that was a slightly brighter yellow and blue hair. Already, the creature was beginning to form an attachment to Brylee, chirping happily in her hand and wrapping its tail around her wrist as he looked up at her with loving, adoring eyes.

“Lexi, he’s adorable!” Brylee squealed happily as she stroked the little creature’s cheek.

That caused Ace to smile. Before the meteor hit, Brylee was painfully lonely, and it was something that always broke his heart to see. In his eyes, Brylee was the best person to be around. She was kind, intelligent, beautiful; one would think everybody would be lining up and begging her to be their friend. But that was not the case. Before, Ace was the only one who truly cared about her. She wanted to fit in with everyone else, but they never let her.

When they joined the Loonatics, they gained five more members in their family. They all loved and accepted Brylee – especially Lexi, who decided to take the younger girl under her wing and be an ‘older sister’ to her. But the pain was still there.

Maybe this Fuz-Z would be good for her.

“Hold it right there, sister!”

Ace, Brylee and Lexi shouldn’t be surprised that Duck appeared out of nowhere and ruined the moment.

“How did you get a hold of one of these anyway?” Duck demanded, taking Lexi’s Fuz-Z from her. “My Fuz-Z’s been on backorder for weeks! Are you sure this one isn’t supposed to be mine?”

Duck turned himself away from Lexi so she couldn’t try to take her Fuz-Z back. Unfortunately, when he turned, he found himself face-to-face with Slam, who was still obsessed with the Fuz-Z. Immediately, Duck moved the Fuz-Z away from him, while also giving Lexi the opportunity to reclaim her pet.

“Back off, Duck! Zozo is mine!” Lexi snapped.

Duck couldn’t help but laugh at Lexi’s choice of name. “Zozo?” Duck snorted. He then noticed Brylee holding a Fuz-Z of his own. “I think that one is supposed to be mine.”

“I bought him for her!” Lexi cut in, getting between them. She then turned to Brylee and asked, “What are you gonna name him anyway?”

Brylee took a closer look at the creature in her hand before deciding on his name: “Avery.”

Ace was touched that his sister decided to name her pet after him (even if it was the name he very rarely went by). However, he couldn’t say anything because Zadavia appeared on the screen in the virtual trainer. Everyone knew what that meant.

Another assignment.

“You’re not going to believe this one, Loonatics,” Zadavia began. “But there’s a situation in South Acmetropolis that requires your special attention. A residential zone in the fourth quadrant seems to have a giant spider problem.”

Zadavia’s image disappeared and was replaced with three pictures. The first two pictures were of the damage that was done in the area she mentioned. The third picture was of the culprit. The creature certainly looked like a giant spider, with a round body and six legs – two for walking and four ‘arms’ – three eyes that were glowing yellow and brown hair.

“Didn’t they just spray for giant spiders last week?” Ace joked.

“This family barely escaped with their lives,” Zadavia told them.

“Species? Origin?” Tech asked, eager to know what kind of creature this was so they knew what they were dealing with.

“Unknown and unknown,” Zadavia answered.

“Forget where it came from! Where is it going?!” Duck demanded before quivering, “It’s not coming here, is it?”

“The idea was for you to go there, Danger Duck,” Zadavia responded firmly.

“Must we?” Duck whimpered.

“Well, at least it’s not a giant squid,” Brylee shrugged casually.

Ace gave her a disapproving look, “Who let you watch The Beast?”

“I’ll transfer coordinates in transit. Zadavia out,” Zadavia finished the conversation.

“She gets to go out while we battle mutant spiders,” Brylee surmised with a shrug. “So, a typical Tuesday.”

“Let’s jet!” Ace cried.

**

The seven Loonatics stood in the launch bay as the hanger doors opened before them. Duck and Tech were the first to race forward and activate their jetpacks. When they were in the air, Slam and Rev followed. Ace, Lexi and Brylee went to follow, but Ace was stopped by the sound of familiar chirping. Ace grabbed Lexi’s wrist and found Zozo attached to her wrist as a bracelet. When he grabbed Brylee’s wrist, he saw his namesake attached to his sister in a similar manner.

“Maybe lose the wristbands, girls,” Ace suggested to the two. Although, there was a tone in his voice that told the girls it wasn’t a suggestion, but an order.

“I don’t wanna leave them here by themselves!” Lexi objected.

“They can be our mascots!” Brylee suggested, hoping her brother would cave.

“How about…?” Ace pretended to think about it before handing down his sentence, “No.”

“Fine,” both girls grumbled.

As Ace took off, Lexi and Brylee removed their Fuz-Zs from their wrists and placed them on the table. They went to walk away and follow Ace. Then, they heard the sad chirps and saw the sad little eyes the two creatures were giving them.

“I don’t know about you, Lex, but I can’t leave them here alone,” Brylee sighed.

“They’ll be lonely, won’t they?” Lexi pouted.

The two girls looked back to see if Ace had truly departed and was not watching to see if they were truly going to leave the Fuz-Zs behind. Fortunately, Ace was not hanging around for them.

So, the girls were able to sneak the two Fuz-Zs into their pockets.

**

“Alrighty. According to Zadavia’s readings, we should be able to spot the itsy, bitsy spider right about…,” Ace trailed off before the ‘spider’ burst through a nearby building. “Now.”

“WHOA! Look at that thing! It has three – no, four – no, five legs!” Duck cried out in amazement before being hit by a leg he didn’t see coming.

“Make that six legs!” Brylee called after Duck wryly.

Silently, they decided among themselves that Slam would make the first move. Slam landed on the road and sped towards the giant spider with his tornado powers. He grabbed one of the spider’s legs and pulled to try and make it stop. Not liking this, the spider just lifted its leg and crushed Slam into the road with its foot.

Rev went in next, sliding under the spider fast enough to create a large crack in the road.

“Eh, slight pothole problemo,” Ace drawled as he saw the cracks go towards the bridge.

The giant spider saw the direction Rev raced towards and followed. Drivers and pedestrians raced around trying to avoid the source of their nightmares.

“Gross! Can’t we get the day off?!” Lexi whined.

“Heroes don’t get the day off! It’s rescue time!” Ace retorted. “Slam, let’s give our friend a little help! What do you say?!”

Slam seemed to catch on to the implicit instruction Ace was conveying to him. The Tasmanian Devil charged at the spider again, grabbing one of its legs and dragging it forcefully onto the bridge.

“Hey, itsy bitsy! I’m over here! Do you ever shave those legs?!” Rev called as he ran in circles around the bridge.

“We’ve got to contain this monster now,” Tech muttered to himself. “Clear the bridge, Ace! Then remove the four bolts in each column!”

“You got it, Tech!” Ace nodded.

Brylee and Tech worked together to remove the bolts on one side of the bridge. On the other side of the bridge, Ace melted the bots while Lexi used a controlled brain blast to remove the cables without accidentally hitting anyone. Ace also used his powers to sever the bridge from the main road to limit the damage.

Slam and Rev continued distracting the spider so it wouldn’t catch on and escape. Once the overs were done removing any source of support from the bridge, Slam and Rev cleared out.

“Now, let’s lock them up!” Ace cried. He, Lexi, Tech and Brylee pushed on the bridge with the full force of the jetpacks behind them. “Clear out, everybody!”

Slam, Rev and Duck flew as far away from the bridge as they could while remaining in close vicinity to the action in case they were needed. Pushing the bridge down took Ace, Tech, Brylee and Lexi very little effort. Within moments, the bridge had fallen into the ravine below and landed with a loud bang, filling the area with smoke and dust.

When the smoke cleared, they were surprised by what they saw.

The bridge was still in one piece. That wasn’t what surprised them. The bridge was designed to withstand practically everything.

What surprised them was the fact their makeshift cage was empty.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Ace cried. “How did it get out of there?!”

The team decided to investigate and they landed inside the makeshift cage, converting their jetpacks into normal backpacks along the way.

“Very impressive,” Brylee hummed.

“Itsy bitsy go bye-bye!” Lexi quipped.

“There’s gotta be an explanation!” Tech thought out loud.

“Oh man! I can’t believe it!” Duck gushed, picking up a very familiar creature: a brown Fuz-Z. “Check it out! I found a Fuz-Z and this one is mine! Look! I’ve got my very own superhero sidekick! How about it, Wonderfluff?! Yeah! That works!”

Duck’s happiness was short-lived when Ace came forward and snatched the creature from the mallard.

“Excuse me!” Duck yelled as he glared at his leader. “You’ve got your sister’s!”

Ace hummed, “Big spider beast pulls a disappearing act and we find a hard-to-get bio-pet in its place. What are the odds?”

Tech pondered the answer before revealing, “4,027,867 to one.”

“Kind of high on the coincidence metre, don’t you think?” Ace asked rhetorically.

“Oh, come on, Ace! You’re not gonna blame a harmless little bio-pet, are you?” Brylee asked with a slight wine.

“Until we come up with something better, yeah,” Ace nodded, pulling out a container from his backpack and depositing Wonderfluff into it.

Lexi and Brylee stiffened in alarm when they heard the chirpings of their own bio-pets. Ignoring the weird look Ace was giving them, they walked away from the group and dug into their backpacks, pulling out Zozo and Avery. They made their happiness clear.

“Oh, how can anyone think bio-pets are anything but sweet?” Lexi cooked as she stroked Zozo’s cheek and Brylee nuzzled Avery.

To the girls’ horror, Zozo and Avery suddenly jumped out of their hands, bouncing towards the group.

“Zozo! Avery! Come back here! Get back here right now!” Brylee hissed.

To their horror, they jumped into Duck’s backpack. (They will certainly never hear the end of this one.) Wonderfluff followed, jumping out of the containment cage Ace had put him in and joining Zozo and Avery in Duck’s backpack.

“Sorry. Guess they just like me better. Now I have three superhero sidekicks! How cool is that?!” Duck cheered smugly.

“You had to bring the fuzz,” Ace drawled, glaring at the two girls. Brylee and Lexi just shrugged at him sheepishly.

“Uh, Duck, there’s a party going on in your backpack,” Lexi pointed out, referring to the noises coming out of Duck’s backpack.

“What do you have in there anyway?” Brylee pondered.

“Oh, I never go out without some chocolate ab-inducer bars. Oh, and Brylee’s diabetic supply, of course. Ooh! They must be hungry,” Duck remarked, pulling the three Fuz-Zs out of his backpack. He was surprised by what he saw, though. “Hey, what is this? AH! OUCH!”

Duck, Brylee and Lexi watched in horror as their beloved Fuz-Zs fell out of Duck’s hands and onto the ground, whimpering and contorting in pain as new limbs began to push out of their small round bodies.

“Zozo?!” Lexi gasped.

“Wonderfluff?!” Duck said in confusion.

“Avery?!” Brylee cried.

Roars and snarls replaced the delicate whimpers and chirps they were used to hearing from the Fuz-Zs as they grew larger and more vicious. Now, they looked like the creature that was terrorizing the city moments before. Three glowing eyes. Six legs. Large bodies. They were even drooling.

“I’m not sure Wonderfluff has had all his shots,” Duck drawled. “Anyone want to buy a bio-pet cheap?”

“DUCK!” Ace yelled.

“What?!” Duck demanded, only to be slapped by Zozo.

Zozo and Avery decided they were going to go after the other Loonatics. Wonderfluff decided that Ace, who wanted him in that cage, would be his next target.

The way Ace and Wonderfluff moved around each other was almost like a dance. Wonderfluff would make his move and Ace would respond in kind. Well, ‘respond in kind’ by avoiding its legs. Then, Ace got smacked into a nearby wall.

“Smacked down by a fuzz ball?! You realize, of course, this means war!” Ace snarled. He detached himself from the wall, his eyes glowing yellow as he ordered, “Hit it, Loonatics!”

“WAIT!” Brylee cried, grabbing her brother’s arm.

“Hey! What gives, Bry?!” Ace demanded, glancing down at his younger sister.

“Be gentle with Avery,” Brylee pleaded. “He’s had a rough day.”

All was forgotten when the aforementioned giant Fuz-Z took a swipe at the siblings, forcing Ace to tackle Brylee out of the way. As much as Brylee had already begun to love Avery – who was her first real friend – she had to remember this was a mission.

Slam was the next Loonatic to attempt to subdue at least one of the giant Fuz-Zs. His target was Zozo since both Wonderfluff and Avery were otherwise occupied. He charged at Zozo with his tornado powers, but he wasn’t expecting Zozo to grab him and toss him to the side.

Rev and Duck tag-teamed against Zozo. Rev ran in a figure-eight formation around her legs to distract her while Duck prepared to throw eggs at her.

“Here, Zozo! Catch!” Duck challenged, throwing the eggs at her feet.

Normally, the substance inside the eggs happened at random. Duck couldn’t always control it. Sometimes, he wouldn’t get what he wanted. Most of the time, though, the substance that would come out of the eggs would be what they needed.

This was definitely the case.

The substance that came out of his eggs was tar. Hot, sticky, black tar that was hard to get out of once trapped in its grasp. Eventually, in her efforts to escape, Zozo lost her balance and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Slam went to charge at the fallen Fuz-Z.

“SLAM! WAIT!” Lexi cried as Avery and Wonderfluff wound up between Slam and Zozo.

Slam stopped in confusion, wondering why Lexi would want him to stop. She must be seeing something he doesn’t.

Wonderfluff stood there, snarling at the creature standing below him. Then, he stopped. He began grumbling in pain and clutching his head. Within moments, the monstrous creature was replaced with the adorable bio-pet that was stealing hearts around Acmetropolis. Wonderfluff chirped happily and jumped into Duck’s waiting hands. Zozo and Avery then transformed into their original state not long after and jumped into the waiting hands of Lexi and Brylee.

The strange thing was it was as though nothing had happened.

“What’s gotten into these powder puffs?!” Ace demanded, staring at Brylee’s Fuz-Z incredulously.

“Something powerful.”

The team looked up to see Zadavia’s holographic image on the large television screen on the top of a nearby building.

“Powerful, yet easy to access,” Brylee pointed out as the team flew up to be eye-level with the screen.

“Good point, Brylee. The boy with the first Fuz-Z fed it a whole stash of chocolate candy before going to bed,” Zadavia revealed.

“And our Fuz-Zs ate Duck’s chocolate!” Lexi cried.

“Professor Zane’s laboratory is located in the seventh quadrant just east of the industrial centre,” Zadavia informed them.

“The guy who invented these hairballs better know a way to coib their sweet tooth,” Ace warned, “because Acmetropolis is crawling with them!”

He was right. If they were to group ten people together, nine of them would have a Fuz-Z. And there were more and more Fuz-Zs being purchased by unsuspecting citizens by the second.

“It is going to take a miracle to gather up all these Fuz-Zs. I can get about half of them, but we’re gonna need something amazing to get the rest of them,” Rev told them.

They looked down at the streets below. Every citizen they saw had a Fuz-Z. They were doing various things with them. Cuddling them. Showing them the world around them. Using them as various accessories. There was even a street performer using at least four Fuz-Zs as juggling balls in his act.

If they were going to end the Fuz-Z epidemic before things took a turn for the worse, they had to do it fast.

**

“I reckon Tech has something we can use,” Brylee smirked as they all gathered in Tech’s laboratory.

“I give you the X-O Vac 2400-X!” Tech boasted proudly.

With the press of a button, the door opened to reveal the aforementioned invention. It was the shape of a ship, but it had all the parts of a vacuum cleaner.

“Wow, Tech!” Ace gasped.

“It’s the ultimate urban vacuum!” Tech boasted proudly. Slam grunted his approval.

“Now, what in the woild made you come up with this?!” Ace asked incredulously.

Tech was known to invent practically anything and everything he felt would be useful to the team – both in the field and in their home life at their headquarters. He invented everything from the communications technology they rely on in their uniforms to their weapons to a modified insulin pump for Brylee. But this was something Ace was curious about.

What made Tech decide inventing a giant industrial vacuum cleaner? Actually, was there a class above industrial? Because that was where this vacuum belonged.

“Try eating with Slam. Not pretty,” Tech drawled. Slam grumbled some unintelligible words at the coyote, but everyone knew they weren’t exactly… appropriate for their audience.

Rev zoomed around the ship, listing its capabilities, “Hyper shield capabilities. Zero to sixty in three seconds flat. Twin sonic gravity stabilizers. Programmable rolling suction. Also comes with a bio-signature targeting beam that can target and retrieve just a Fuz-Z and not innocent bystanders! You’ve gotta love that, huh?! We so rock in this lab!”

“I get you. So, you’re saying that this invention really sucks. Fuz-Zs, that is,” Ace smirked.

**

“Loonatics, let’s jet!” Ace cried. He then proceeded to give everyone their orders. “Lexi, you, Duck and Brylee go warn this Zane guy. He could be in danger from his own creations. The rest of us will work on rounding up the furballs that are still out there.”

With that said, the seven Loonatics split up to complete their respective missions. Ace, Slam and Tech were excavating the Fuz-Zs with Tech’s invention. Ace was in the driver’s seat, Tech monitored their systems to make sure everything was in working order, and Slam was having fun controlling the hose. Rev, meanwhile, went around Acmetropolis with a large bag retrieving as many Fuz-Zs as he could, ignoring the surprised cries of the very citizens he was trying to protect.

Duck, Lexi and Brylee were heading to Professor Zane’s laboratory using the coordinates Zadavia had provided them earlier. Professor Zane invented the Fuz-Zs; so surely, he knew how to stop them and curb their sweet tooth.

Or, at the very least, made it so they didn’t transform into giant mutant spiders anytime they hate chocolate.

“I don’t think anyone’s home,” Brylee observed once they landed.

“No. Someone’s in there. I can hear breathing inside,” Lexi corrected her.

Brylee shrugged at Duck before following Lexi. She surmised that Lexi used her super hearing to see if there was anyone inside.

“Show-off,” Duck grumbled as he followed them.

Lexi and Brylee pushed the large door open. There were no lights on in the lab. No machines doing some form of monitoring. There weren’t even any signs of an experiment being conducted, never mind signs of life, despite what Lexi picked up earlier with her super hearing.

Brylee had a bad feeling about this.

“Hello?! Professor Zane?!” Brylee called into the empty space.

Lexi called out, “We’ve come about your bio-pets! We have reason to believe that they’re very, very-!”

Lexi’s explanation for their presence was cut short when the overhead lights suddenly switched on and revealed who was in the lab. Or, rather, what was in the lab.

Three Fuz-Zs stood before them. They weren’t the adorable Fuz-Zs sending Acmetropolis in a stir with desire. These were Fuz-Zs post-chocolate.

“Well, looks like they’ve already had their chocolate today,” Duck drawled.

“Hopefully, that’s all they crave,” Brylee quipped. The chocolate was bad enough. They didn’t really want to add anything else to the list.

“Not only do they love chocolate…”

The trio turned towards the direction of the voice. They heard the sound of a wrapper – a chocolate wrapper – being ripped open. With the press of the button, a light activated and illuminated the man from the shadows.

The man was Professor Zane.

“They also have a taste for duck and rabbit and are always looking to expand their palate. And guess what? It’s feeding time!”

Duck, Lexi and Brylee froze in horror when Professor Zane finished his sentence. There was more to this than they originally first thought. But they never thought it got this far.

What did they get themselves into?

**

Meanwhile, things were going better for the others. They had no problem going around Acmetropolis retrieving all of the Fuz-Zs.

“Vacuum capacity: good. Suction: stable,” Tech reported.

“How you doing back there, Slam?” Ace inquired.

At the back of the ship, Slam was operating the vacuum hose, pointing it in various directions to pick up all the targets. As always, Slam’s garbles were hard to understand, but the underlying meaning was still there. Things were going well for the Tasmanian Devil. He was having fun.

The citizens cried out in surprise when their Fuz-Zs were suddenly taken from their grasped. For some of them, they watched helplessly as their beloved bio-pet was sucked into a flying vacuum cleaner. For others, they were snatched from their hands by a certain Roadrunner.

“Excuse me! Coming through! Coming through!”

“Whoa! What was that?!” one boy cried.

“You mind if I borrow this for a while? Sorry. This is a now-fuzz zone,” Rev said to various citizens before disappearing.

One woman was petting her Fuz-Z affectionately when she heard both Rev and the vacuum ship approaching. She hid her Fuz-Z behind her back, hoping nobody would notice. The urban vacuum didn’t detect the Fuz-Z, and neither did Rev at first.

“I’m picking up something on my internal sensor. Yes! There’s one remaining bio-pet!” Rev realized as the woman wrapped the Fuz-Z around her neck like a collar. Then, he went over to the woman and claimed the lone Fuz-Z. “Hello! Maybe you should think about getting a cat instead if you want something to cuddle! They’re just as cute and furry. Of course, cats don’t do tricks and can be so prickly. So, if you don’t mind… Bye!”

“Mission accomplished!” Ace boasted before turning to his wrist communicator, “How are things on your end, Lex?”

To his surprise, he got nothing but static. Lexi didn’t even try to answer the call. Usually, she was on top of communication and always answered promptly. Even if she was busy fighting a bad guy, she would at least acknowledge any communication attempts. Even if it was with a, ‘Give me another minute!’

“Lex?” Ace tried again, only to receive the same static response as before. “Brylee?” Ace asked worriedly, earning the same static in return. It caused a feeling of dread to wash over the bunny. “I’ve got a bad feeling.”

Ace didn’t need to try contacting Duck. He already knew that if Lexi or Brylee weren’t answering, all three of them were in trouble.

“Let’s ditch the fuzz balls for now, Tech, and bug out!” Ace ordered.

Immediately, Ace turned the ship back around towards their headquarters. About three-quarters of the way up, a bit before the globe, a door opened at the location of Tech’s lab and part of the floor came out. With the press of the button, the cargo container detached from the main hull and rockets guided the container to a safe landing before it was pulled safely into Tech’s lab.

“Switching to turbo vac jet mode,” Tech reported.

With the press of a button, the rockets on the rear of the ship moved further out as some of the vacuum instruments stretched out to form wings. Ace pushed the lever forward and powered the rockets towards the seventh quadrant.

Rev looked up and saw his teammates suddenly head in another direction.

“Hey, wait up!” Rev called, bolting after them.

**

“So, you knew all along chocolate mutated the Fuz-Zs!” Lexi accused her captor.

In the time between the present moment and when they first arrived at the lab, Professor Zane officially captured Lexi, Duck and Brylee. Rather than chain them to a pole or lock them in cages or perhaps tie them up and dangle them over a tank containing a giant squid, he decided to have the mutated Fuz-Zs themselves hold them hostage. Each of the three Loonatics were held hostage by a different Fuz-Z, and they were all drooling with hunger.

“Knew?! I made sure of it!” Professor Zane said eagerly. “My first two Fuz-Zs weren’t supposed to transform so soon. Not until I had completely flooded the city with bio-pets. One pulse from my electric leash and the savage beasts are under my control.”

“Do, you wanted all the Fuz-Zs to take the chocolate express to creatureville at the same time! And tear Acmetropolis apart!” Lexi cried in horror.

“Sounds like someone’s mummy didn’t buy them enough chockies when they were widdle!” Duck taunted.

“Oh, you’re just as naïve as the Acmetropolis Science Council!” Professor Zane sneered. “Imagine. Firing me because they deemed my experiments too… dangerous. They never appreciated me or my genius, my…”

“Insanity? Craziness?” Brylee supplied. “You mean any of those?”

“Hardly!” Professor Zane scoffed. “I decided Acmetropolis needed to see firsthand what I am capable of. When the meteor hit Earth, the impact opened all kinds of fissures.”

“Including the ones in your brain, Mr. Zane?” Duck asked sarcastically.

“I discovered these delightful creatures. Their biology was perfect for the experiments I had in mind. Experiments that led to the Fuz-Z,” Professor Zane continued his explanation. “So cute and cuddly… until they have a bit of chocolate. Then, the only way to stop them is with this.”

Brylee realized that this scene resembled a lot of the movies she used to watch as a child. If this were a spy movie, this would be the scene where the hero was captured by the villain and placed in a near-death situation (like having the hero dangle above a tank filled with electric eels; a scene Brylee distantly recalled from one movie) as the villain boasted about his great plan, thinking that the hero will never be able to stop them.

In Brylee’s case, she and her friends were about to be fed to the mutated Fuz-Zs.

“Care to demonstrate?” Lexi grunted, fighting against her Fuz-Z as it moved her towards its drooling mouth.

“No. They need their protein,” Professor Zane smirked.

If Brylee remembered correctly, this was also the part where the hero escaped death and would eventually defeat the villain. This was usually done by either the hero finding a flaw in the situation that was holding them captive, or where their friends would barge in.

In this case, the latter occurred.

The X-O Vac 2400-X Tech had invented blasted through the wall, slowing to a stop.

“See? To much chocolate will make you sick,” Ace quipped.

“Amen, brother,” Brylee couldn’t help but agree.

Seeing their chance, Brylee, Duck and Lexi escaped the Fuz-Zs’ grasp. Duck ‘quacked’ himself out while Lexi did a karate chop on the Fuz-Z’s hands, forcing it to loosen its grip and allowing her escape. Brylee, meanwhile, used her light beam to temporarily blind the Fuz-Z, distracting it enough for its grip to loosen. Ace, Slam, Tech and Rev eventually joined Brylee, Duck and Lexi on the ground. They were preparing to fight the three mutated Fuz-Zs standing before them.

However, Professor Zane decided to tip the scales in his favour by pulling a lever, causing containers filled with thousands of Fuz-Zs to fall from the roof. When the containers shattered, the Fuz-Zs began leaking out.

Ace and Brylee barely avoided being hit by one.

“Oh dear me! What kind of host have I been?! Would anyone care for some… chocolate?” Professor Zane smirked evilly. He pushed another lever, causing tons of chocolate to leak into the laboratory. “The affect is temporary, but the more they eat, the longer they last.”

“Then, no more chocolate for them!” Ace proclaimed. “Slam, Rev, time for a little candy run!”

Slam certainly did not need to be told twice. Unlimited access to food? He couldn’t activate his tornado power and put it on suction fast enough!

Slam sucked up as much chocolate as he could before leaving to find somewhere the Fuz-Zs couldn’t reach it. Although, they had to wonder if Slam was eating a lot of the chocolate himself.

Rev zoomed in and gathered as much chocolate in his arms as he could before chasing after Slam. However, in Rev’s case, a lot of chocolate was falling from his arms. The more he tightened his grip, the more chocolate he lost.

“Duck, the control box!” Ace barked, pointing to Professor Zane and the box in question.

“What about it?” Duck asked, genuinely confused. Then, it clicked. “Oh! Right!” He then threw an egg at Professor Zane! “HEADS UP!”

Professor Zane didn’t see it coming. Again, the substance that was in Duck’s egg was tar. Although, it wasn’t as hot as the tar Duck used against Zozo on the bridge. In his shock, Professor Zane dropped the control box.

“I’ve got it!” Duck shouted, diving and grabbing the control box while Professor Zane tried removing the tar from his face.

But for three of the heroes, the situation was about to get even worse – and those three heroes were the three who had Fuz-Zs of their own. They had briefly forgotten that their own bio-pets were still on their person. By the time they realized, Zozo, Avery and Wonderfluff were heading to join the other Fuz-Zs at the chocolate pile.

“ZOZO!” Lexi cried.

“AVERY!” Brylee screamed.

“WONDERFLUFF! NO!” Duck pleaded.

Duck was too distracted by losing Wonderfluff that he didn’t notice that Professor Zane was able to remove the tar from his face until the latter went to reclaim the control box.

“Hey! This is no time to dance!” Duck grunted, fighting with the professor.

After having only a few bites of the chocolate, the three Fuz-Zs transformed into the mutant spiders that started this whole mess. Ace, Lexi and Tech were able to duck as one of them swiped at them. Brylee wasn’t as lucky as one Fuz-Z lifted her off the ground.

“LET ME GO!” Brylee screamed.

“Hang on, Brylee!” Tech called.

Using his magnetic powers, he detached a decent length of handrail from the walkway that stood above the laboratory. He then proceeded to wrap the metal around the creature’s legs, theorizing that if the Fuz-Z lost its balance, it would fall over and let go of Brylee in the chaos.

Tech’s theory was proven correct. He just didn’t count on the Fuz-Z almost crushing Duck and Professor Zane as it lost balance.

In the chaos, both Duck and Professor Zane lost the control box. They both charged after it. Tech and Lexi went to join them, but they were snatched up by Zozo.

“NOT AGAIN! ACE!” Lexi cried.

“On it, Lex!” Ace called back.

Immediately, he jumped over various obstacles – including one mutated Fuz-Z – to obtain the control box. Unfortunately, he was snatched up by a Fuz-Z that had appeared from Ace’s blind spot.

“Not so fast, Zaney!” Ace sneered, carefully aiming his laser vision near the control box.

Professor Zane cried as the controlled laser blast pushed the control box away from his grasp. Brylee immediately used a beam to grab it mid-air and pull it towards her. She aimed the control box at the crowd of Fuz-Zs amassed before her and, to the professor’s horror, pressed the button that undid his control over them.

“Snack time’s over, kids!” Brylee chided them. “You’ll spoil your dinner!”

“MY BABIES! NO!” Professor Zane wailed.

**

The Loonatics went back to the chasm where Professor Zane first discovered the Fuz-Zs. The man in question was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment at Acmetropolis’s high-security prison. So, there was only one thing left for them to do.

They had to release the Fuz-Zs back where they belonged.

Slam was releasing the Fuz-Zs they had captured with Tech’s high-tech urban vacuum. Once that was done, Lexi, Duck and Brylee were taking the time to say goodbye to their friends.

“Time to go,” Lexi decreed. Zozo chirped sadly and wrapped her tail around Lexi’s neck, saying she wanted to stay. “Oh, come on. You’ll be much happier there!” Lexi tried to reassure her friend. “No deranged scientist to mess with you. And no chocolate. Let’s hope.”

Zozo’s face fell when Lexi mentioned the lack of chocolate in her new home.

Brylee sniffed, “You were my first real friend, Avery. Named for the person I idolise most. But you know what they say. If you love someone, you have to let them go.” Tears started falling down Brylee’s cheeks as she nuzzled Avery and whimpered, “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I salute you. You’ve been a brave solider, Wonderfluff,” Duck declared. “I also fear you, but let’s not go there now.”

Duck, Brylee and Lexi approached the edge of the chasm and let their friends go. They continued to stare down the chasm until the colourful dots that represented their friends disappeared. Ace stepped forward and pulled his sister into a hug, knowing that Brylee was taking it the hardest of the three of them.

“He’ll be fine, Bry,” Ace murmured reassuringly. Pulling back, he wiped the tears from her eyes and declared, “You did an amazing thing.”

“So, why does it hurt?” Brylee asked meekly.

“Because, sometimes, doing the right thing is the hardest thing you will ever do,” Ace answered wisely.

Tech pressed a button on his communicator and began projecting Zadavia’s image. They still had the final briefing to do.

“Congratulations, Loonatics. Thanks to your efforts, Professor Zane’s nefarious operation has been shut down. Take the rest of the day off. You deserve it,” Zadavia decreed before ending the communication with her traditional sign-off: “Zadavia out.”

Duck was quick to change the subject: “You know, Fuz-Zs are so over! I’ve already moved on to the next big thing! Take a look at this!” He then pulled out a little cage filled with a miniature circus.

“A look at what?” Lexi demanded, struggling to see what Duck was talking about.

“Oh, a little hamster playhouse!” Ace drawled.

“No, a little flea circus!” Duck corrected.

“I don’t see any fleas,” Brylee admitted.

“Looks like there’s a hole in the box,” Tech observed.

“Oh great! So, where are the fleas?” Duck demanded.

The fleas had escaped and latched themselves to various strands from Duck’s tailfeathers. Duck learned this for himself when he felt them painfully bite the skin of his rear, causing him to shout in pain.

Brylee couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. It truly was like a movie.

Right down to the bit of comic relief.

Chapter Text

It was almost two in the morning when it happened.

Brylee was feeling funny, so she had woken up, thinking her blood glucose levels were too low. They were in the normal range when she checked them before going to bed, but slightly on the lower side of normal, so she knew there was a possibility of her levels dropping as she slept.

All those thoughts went away when she saw the blood.

Her pyjama pants were soaked and, consequently, it had leaked onto her sheets. Brylee didn’t doubt that her mattress could be stained underneath. Immediately, she began checking herself for cuts or wounds – anything that would explain all this blood – but found none.

She didn’t know what was going on, and honestly, she was terrified. But she didn’t know who she could turn to.

She immediately knew she couldn’t turn to Duck. He would just tease her relentlessly (to cover that he couldn’t help her) and that was the last thing she needed at the moment. Rev would be too busy freaking out over the amount of blood to be of any help (the poor roadrunner couldn’t really handle seeing a lot of blood and this would push him over the edge). Slam, who is usually kind and eager to help out, wouldn’t understand this. Tech… well, she actually didn’t know what Tech would do in this situation, so she decided to use him as a last resort. She definitely couldn’t turn to Ace. She needed help, not to be smothered.

So, that left Lexi.

Fortunately for Brylee, Lexi’s bedroom was across the hall from hers, so she didn’t have far to go. With the sudden onset of cramps she was having, she was thankful that the distance was relatively short.

Slightly hunched over in pain – and praying to God none of the boys woke up – she got out of bed and left her bedroom. The pain was almost making her cry, but at least she made it across the hall.

When they first moved into their new home, Tech installed a buzzer next to each of the doors that would tell them if someone was outside their bedroom. The system acted like a doorbell that only the person inside the room would hear. Everyone found that this didn’t disturb them as much as the sound of someone making a commotion outside to get the person’s attention.

Fortunately for Brylee, Lexi answered at the first buzz. At first, she was rubbing her eyes and barely paying any attention, as she was still half-asleep.

Then, she saw the blood and was immediately wide awake.

“Can you help me?” Brylee whimpered.

Nodding, Lexi helped Brylee into her bedroom and shut the door behind them. Immediately, she helped the teenager into her personal bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub.

“It’s okay, Brylee,” Lexi reassured her as she placed a comforting arm around the young girl’s shoulders.

“Is this normal?” Brylee asked fearfully.

“Of course this is normal,” Lexi chuckled. “Every girl gets her period.”

“Is that what this is?” Brylee questioned.

Lexi was originally planning to get her shower running and telling the young girl to shower and clean up while she went back to Brylee’s room to get her clean pyjamas, clean underwear and put fresh sheets on her bed. Until she said that. This made her frown in worry.

“Didn’t your mother talk to you about this?’ Lexi asked worriedly. “Or anyone else?”

“Well, before mum died, she was too busy at the hospital or at the free clinic, I had no female relatives and no friends I could’ve talked to about this. So, no,” Brylee drawled. “And could you imagine Ace trying to give me that talk?”

That caused Lexi to laugh. Living together and working together to save the world on a daily basis allowed everyone to get to know each other very well. Something Lexi quickly learned was how clueless Ace could be concerning girls and situations they endure.

Suddenly, Brylee was thankful that there was at least one other girl on the team she could turn to for girl problems. Because honestly, she couldn’t imagine bringing this up with Zadavia without things being awkward between them.

“Well, this is a completely normal process in becoming a woman, Brylee. Of course, the first one is completely scary. At least yours started in the comfort of your own home where you had someone you could turn to,” Lexi reassured her. She then winced as she recalled her own memory, “Mine started in the middle of my routine at a gymnastics competition. Let’s just say there was blood everywhere and it was the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

“Poor you,” Brylee laughed slightly.

Lexi laughed as well as she grabbed a little tub she happened to have and filled it with cold water. Getting blood out of clothing and linen was challenging. The sooner she started at least soaking the items, the easier it will be to get out.

“I’m gonna go get some salt. I want you to hop in the shower. Trust me. You’ll feel better,” Lexi said to her. Once the tub was filled, she reached in and turned the shower on to the appropriate temperature. “I’ll get you some fresh clothes. Put your stuff in the tub.”

With those words said, Lexi left the bathroom, only to come back ten seconds later with the container for her insulin pump as well as her diary, a pen and her glucose reader. The insulin pump Tech modified for her was infinitely better than the pump she had before the meteor hit by far, but like any other pump, she couldn’t have it in contact with water that was a certain temperature for long periods of time so she didn’t spoil the insulin.

Quickly, she checked her blood sugar levels. It was around the same it was when she checked it at bedtime, she observed as she went to note the levels as well as the date and time of the check in her diary – in the normal range, but on the low side. So, she couldn’t afford to have a long shower – no matter how much she wanted to – because she couldn’t afford to be off her pump for too long.

She had no idea how long she was in the shower, but by the time she finished and turned off the shower, Lexi was standing there ready to hand Brylee a towel.

“Thanks,” Brylee sighed as she took the crystal-coloured fluffy towel and started drying herself.

“You feeling better?” Lexi fretted after Brylee as she quickly rubbed some moisturizer into her body.

“A little bit. Still in pain,” Brylee grunted, sliding on her underwear. She barely noticed the sanitary pad Lexi had stuck on.

“Figured you would be,” Lexi remarked. Once Brylee had her nightgown on, Lexi handed her a small cup, explaining, “I did some research after putting your clothes and sheets in the wash. Found that a small cup of hot water with a hint of ginger helps relieve cramps and keep you hydrated.”

At first, Brylee grimaced. If there was one thing in the world she hated as much, maybe more, than a lot of the villains she had encountered with the Loonatics, it was ginger. Then another wave of pain hit her and she was desperate enough to suck it up and drink the contents of the small cup, screwing her face instinctively at the taste of the ginger. But to her surprise, it wasn’t as bad as she remembered.

She couldn’t help but wonder if it was the ginger that was used in the past.

“Don’t worry. Soon, you’ll get the hang of it,” Lexi reassured her as Brylee reattached her insulin pump. “Before you know it, all of this will become second nature to you. You’ll be a pro at getting blood out of your clothes and sheets. I also found out that, while you’re still in the normal age range for girls to get their first periods, you started later than most because of your diabetes.”

“Why do we get them anyway?” Brylee asked.

“I don’t think this is a conversation to have at three in the morning,” Lexi said wryly. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know at a more human hour. I just hope Zadavia doesn’t call with a mission.”

“Me too,” Brylee quickly agreed.

“I can tell you that you and I will need to go shopping later today. You will need what I like to call a ‘girl kit’ and all the provisions you will need to be prepared for the next one,” Lexi declared.

Brylee almost moaned in dismay when she heard Lexi mention going through this again. Then, she remembered one thing she recalled watching girls at school. This is a monthly event.

“Yippee,” Brylee cheered sarcastically.

“Seriously. Anytime you need anything, feel free to tell me. No matter what time it is. I think I’m the better option compared to the others,” Lexi laughed.

That made Brylee laugh in turn. Considering her other options were six guys – one of them being her older brother – Lexi was the best option.

“And we are going to have a girls weekend,” Lexi proclaimed. “I hear Acme Pueco’s relaxing.”

“Do you honestly think that Zadavia will let us have time off?” Brylee asked. She knew that their mysterious benefactor rarely allowed them vacation time; mainly because they had a job that didn’t allow them much vacation time to begin with.

“We hardly get time off. And honestly, what can happen in a weekend?” Lexi quipped.

Brylee knew the question was a rhetorical one, but she still had to respond with a, “Shut up. You’ll jinx it.”

Lexi just laughed, “Come on. I think your sheet and clothes would be done by now.”

Grasping hands, Lexi and Brylee headed to the laundry room where, sure enough, they found the cycle was finished for her pyjamas and sheets. As they examined them and Lexi taught her how to get any excess blood out so she was prepared for future events, they had an unexpected visitor.

“What are you guys doing up?” Ace yawned as he walked into the laundry room. “You two are aware of the hour, right?”

“Yeah,” Lexi and Brylee nodded, not bothering to look up from their task.

“So, what are you doing scrubbing Brylee’s sheets?” Ace inquired.

“It’s best to do it before the blood sets in,” Brylee shrugged.

“Blood?!” Ace squeaked.

“Your little girl’s a woman,” Lexi smirked. She decided to use this phrase to tease Ace, knowing that the male bunny was more of a father figure to Brylee than an older brother at times.

Ace’s reaction was to beat his head into the doorframe, much to their amusement.

“It had to happen eventually,” Brylee shrugged.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be at fourteen,” Ace moaned.

“Going on fifteen, thank you very much!” Brylee threw in.

“She’s actually at the right age, Ace,” Lexi pointed out. “Even with her diabetes, if it wasn’t coming, I’d be more worried.”

Ace just sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He was sort of prepared for this day to come, but he too had done his research on the impacts of Type One Diabetes on a teenage girl. He knew that for them, this would be coming later than regular teenage girls.

But he still prayed that his little sister would stay little for a little bit longer.

“So, are you feeling alright? Are your levels okay?” Ace asked worriedly.

“They’re fine. But we should probably set up a consultation with Dr. Haddock or Nurse Delaney. Just in case this changes anything with my routine,” Brylee suggested.

“I’ll call them when their office opens,” Ace nodded. He would also feel a bit better if they consulted her medical team and asked the appropriate questions. “For now, try and get a little bit more sleep.”

Brylee sighed as Ace finally left her and Lexi alone. She was tired, but too wired to go to sleep.

“Come on. You need to at least try to rest for a couple more hours. You’ll feel better if you do,” Lexi pointed out. “If you want, you can rest in my hammock.”

By the time they got to Lexi’s room, Brylee was already half asleep. By the time her head hit the pillow, she was dead to the world. Lexi let out a quiet laugh as she tucked Brylee into her hammock. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Lexi sighed.

Lexi had a younger sister, but they were too different, so they never got along. While Lexi was a cheerleader in high school and was trying out for the cheerleading squad at Acmetropolis University the day the meteor hit, she did not represent the negative stereotype surrounding cheerleaders in media. Sure, she was into fashion and cared about her looks, but that was as close as she got. And even then, Lexi saw nothing wrong with taking pride in her appearance.

Lexi also followed the rules (even if it was begrudgingly at times, if she didn’t agree with a certain rule). Whenever she went out, she was always home by her set curfew unless something happened or it was already decided she was spending the night with a friend. She always did her chores. She often worked summer jobs when she wasn’t doing associated cheerleading camps. She studied hard (she was never a straight-A student, but was certainly above average) and showed respect to everyone (even if she didn’t always get it in return).

Her younger sister, on the other hand, was the total opposite. She didn’t follow the rules. She flouted her curfew. She didn’t bother to do her chores or get a part-time job (and if she managed to get a part-time job, she would get fired within a month). Last Lexi heard, she was barely getting the necessary marks to stay in school and routinely disrespected her parents, her ‘perfect older sister’ and… well, pretty much everyone.

Except for her boyfriend, who didn’t really have a lot of compelling character traits himself.

Brylee was nothing like her sister. Yes, she was shy, insecure and painfully lonely. But she was also smart, talented, beautiful and the best person to be around. She wished that she had gotten Brylee as her younger sister.

Then again, she wouldn’t wish her biological sister on anybody; even her worst enemy. All the therapy in the world couldn’t get to the bottom of why she was the way she was. She would know. Her parents tried everything they could.

So, it was Lexi’s resolve to be the older sister figure in Brylee’s life, knowing she needed one.

And now, as she began to navigate the perils of womanhood, she would be the best big sister she could be.

Chapter Text

It has been five days since Brylee and Lexi’s little early morning encounter. Everything was normal for the Loonatics. Receive missions from Zadavia. Perform those missions. Put the bad guys behind bars. Restore order to the city. Go home and tease each other relentlessly.

All in a day’s work.

Fortunately for Brylee, her first experience with the menstrual cycle has come to an end (which gave her relief; the sanitary pads were driving her nuts). She just hoped that her blood sugar levels would return to normal, even with Dr. Haddock’s reassurances that what she was experiencing was expected.

For now, everyone was unwinding in various ways. Ace, Lexi, Brylee and Rev were nowhere to be found in the main living room. Slam was happily munching on his chosen post-breakfast snack: watermelons. Tech, to everyone’s surprise, was trying to clear his mind through meditation. Duck, meanwhile was on the phone trying to conduct ‘superhero business’.

“Hello? Superhero Costume Discount Warehouse? I’ve been trying to place an order! Hello?” Duck stammered as he tried to talk on the phone.

Something that was giving Duck, who was lying upside down on the couch, a hard time hearing the person on the other end of the phone was Slam. The Tasmanian Devil was happily munching loudly on his watermelons and let out a loud belch as he devoured one.

“Please, Slam! I’m trying to hear!” Duck snapped impatiently. As he slid down to the floor, his mood improved when he heard he was finally getting through. “Oh. There you are. I’d like to order the Perforated Suede Superhero’s Cape in robin’s egg blue.”

“I’ll check on your order, sir. Please hold.”

Content with how things were finally moving along, Duck flipped himself upright and landed next to Slam, boasting, “Just trying to jazz things up a bit. Give the costume a little flair. Stand out more in front of the boss lady.” When he noticed that Slam was more interested in his watermelons, he deadpanned, “Like you care.”

Ace and Lexi entered the room and immediately were gravitated towards Tech, who has, so far, not been disturbed from his deep meditation. This surprised the both of them.

“He’s so into the meditating thing!” Lexi observed.

“Ever since I showed him how to do it, nothing disturbs him!” Ace boasted.

It was at this moment that Brylee chose to walk into the living room. However, she paid no mind to where she was going. Instead, she was fully engrossed in Pride and Prejudice. She was reading the letter Mr. Darcy had written to Elizabeth Bennet, following her harsh – but justified – rejection of his marriage proposal.

“Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes, which, for the happiness of both, cannot be forgotten too soon, and the effort which the formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been spared had not my character required it to be written and read. You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but I demand it of your justice,” Brylee whispered to herself.

She was so engrossed in reading the book that she did not notice that she was approaching the three steps that descended into the sunken couch area. Before Ace or Lexi could say anything to warn her, a surprising voice interrupted them.

“Watch your step, Brylee.”

Brylee successfully pulled herself out of the book to realize what she was doing. What she didn’t know was who gave her the friendly warning to begin with. A few seconds later, Brylee figured it out when she saw the smirk on Tech’s face.

“Thanks, Tech,” Brylee sighed. “I just wanna see Mr. Darcy justify his actions so badly.” Before long, she was sitting on the couch, nose stuck in her book.

“How does he do that?” Ace muttered in slight annoyance.

Not long after they met, Brylee became the only thing who could distract Tech. Never in a romantic way, of course. Tech was the oldest in the team and Brylee, despite her advanced maturity, was too innocent for a relationship – not to mention her status as the youngest Loonatic. Tech could be engrossed in his inventions, but still know what Brylee was doing. Without looking up, he would know when she was about to walk into trouble.

Even Ace, who has essentially raised Brylee, wasn’t able to do that as well as Tech did.

“Hello! Hello!” Duck shouted into the phone. His call had been disconnected due to loss of signal. “This is ridiculous! It’s the 28^th century! We’ve got jetpacks, hovercrafts, computer-synchronized latte makers, but I still can’t get a good cell signal on the 134^th floor!”

As if it was cued, Duck’s cell phone began ringing. Unfortunately, Duck’s ringtone was an annoying quacking sound. It was enough to stir Tech and Brylee from their respective activities.

“Duck, shut that ringer off!” Tech pleaded.

“At least the ringer works! The rest of it’s junk!” Duck grumbled.

“Come on, Duck. Tech’s trying to clear his mind,” Brylee sighed, bookmarking her page and closing her book. She wouldn’t get anymore reading done with Duck being a nuisance.

“Please! Tech would need a Hazmat team to clear the junk out of his head!” Duck cackled. Then his phone started ringing again. “Hello? Hello?”

“Are you up to Mr. Darcy’s letter?” Lexi asked Brylee.

“I am and you better not spoil it for me,” Brylee warned her.

Any further comments died when Duck slammed his phone shut and proclaimed, “I’ve had it! No more technology for me! From now on, I do everything the old-fashioned way!”

“Yeah, right!” Lexi immediately scoffed. “No phone? No EMP3 Music Blaster 5000?”

“And no high-tech weapons?” Ace voiced his concern.

“Who needs them? My bare hands are lethal weapons!” Duck boasted, showing off his powers to prove his point.

“Puh-lease!” Brylee snorted.

“You couldn’t go one low-tech week without ‘high-tech’ stuff,” Tech challenged.

“Oh really?! Well, I’m not you, Mr. Techno Geek!” Duck snapped.

Duck immediately lost his smirk when Tech rose from the hover disc to his full height.

Tech decided to challenge the mallard: “Make you a bet. If you can get through one week, I’ll buy you that new cape myself; and if not, you buy it for me.”

“I want the matching knee-high boots!” Duck requested.

“No problem,” Tech sighed.

“You’re on, mister!” Duck proclaimed as they shook hands to seal the bet.

“By the way, I’m a 13. Wide,” Tech smirked.

“This should be good,” Brylee muttered. Slam grunted in agreement next to her.

**

Soon enough, the team found themselves in the command room sitting at the round table as Zadavia’s hologram was projected from the middle of the table.

“Gather round, Loonatics. We have a major crisis. Besides Duck’s new costume requests,” Zadavia began. “Begin the holographic imaging feed.”

With the press of a button, a small rectangular console appeared in front of Tech. After Tech input the appropriate commands, the feed Zadavia had requested began playing on the three screens stationed above the main table.

The screens showed various shots of the robbery Zadavia was informing the team about. Two of the screens showed what would later be identified to the Loonatics as Shadowborgs descending onto the ground and approaching the target of their robbery.

The third screen showed their main target: a woman covering her entire body with a black cloak while wearing goggles with red lenses to shield her eyes.

“Moments ago, someone calling herself Black Velvet stole the Acme Doppler Series 5 Radar System,” Zadavia reported.

“That system directs all air and space traffic in and out of Acmetropolis!” Tech gasped.

“So much for our weekend getaway to Acme Pueco,” Lexi sighed sadly to Brylee.

Brylee was disappointed. She had been looking forward to that girl’s weekend with Lexi. But she had expected something like this to happen. It always did.

“I’m afraid it gets worse. They’ve also taken the Acme Supercomputer,” Zadavia continued.

“That’s the most advanced system on the planet!” Tech cried. “I should know. I built it for them.”

“See what happens when you rely on technology? Utter chaos! I am so gonna win this bet!” Duck boasted.

“Duck! Pay attention!”

Duck received that rebuke from two ends. One was from Zadavia, and one was from Brylee. Brylee even went so far as to flash her eyes at him, indicating what she would do if he didn’t fall in line.

“Yes’m,” Duck immediately simpered, cowering away from Brylee as he did.

“I’m uploading security footage now,,” Zadavia said as she transmitted the footage of the robbery to the team.

“Get us a closer shot of those raiders, Tech,” Ace requested kindly.

“Done,” Tech nodded, inputting the necessary commands. He then made his own observations, “Most fascinating…”

Suddenly, the gang leader, Black Velvet, floated past the camera, allowing them a closer look at their latest foe. She was very attractive with a  curvaceous body hidden underneath a black jumpsuit, purple lips and grey hair. Her left arm had been replaced with an interesting high-tech prosthetic. It was something Brylee didn’t think much of. The meteor resulted in numerous casualties and various injuries. A lot of those injuries were of the life-altering variety, such as loss of limbs.

“Hubba-hubba!” Slam drooled.

“She’s not that pretty!” Lexi scoffed.

“Nah. He’s right,” Ace shook his head. “She’s hot!”

“Keep your eyeballs in your head!” Lexi whirled her ire on Ace. He winced at the glare she gave him.

Brylee couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange between the two bunnies. Growing up, Brylee always said that there had to be a woman out there who was tough, smart, beautiful and wouldn’t take crap lying down.

She also always said how, if she ever found that woman, she would introduce them to Ace.

“Attractive or not, she is bad to the bone and you have to figure out what she’s up to,” Zadavia ordered. “Good luck, Loonatics. Zadavia out.”

Once the feed disconnected, Ace ordered, “Alrighty, gang! Let’s jet!”

**

Before Brylee could even blink, everyone was inside the Loonaporter. It was presumed that they would be flying to the spaceport – where the first attack took place – to find out all they could about their latest villain, including her methodologies.

Ace seemed to have a better idea. He instead piloted the Loonaporter towards an odd purple skyline that covered a part of Acmetropolis that would prove familiar to a certain Loonatic.

“Um, Ace, aren’t we going the wrong way? The spaceport is east,” Lexi pointed out.

“Yeah, but we’re going where the action is,” Ace retorted. “Check out the skyline. Just like it was before the foist attack.”

“Its right over the Acme Tech University!” Brylee observed cheerfully.

“Which is the ancestral homeland of geeks, dweebs and brainiac-nerds!” Duck cackled.

“I went to school there,” Tech reminded his teammate.

“There’s a shocker,” Duck drawled.

“Does this puppy have a hyperdrive?” Ace asked. It was a rhetorical question, but when the ship picked up speed, Ace couldn’t help but quip, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

When Ace landed the Loonaporter next to the Acme Tech University, Brylee couldn’t help but observe the lightning that was crackling above the structure. From the clouds – to her surprise – a zeppelin suddenly appeared.

‘Must be deploying a cloaking technology,’ Brylee thought to herself as she disembarked from the ship.

Black Velvet’s Shadowborgs began to descend to the ground below. Before Brylee knew it, she – and her teammates – were surrounded by pitch black. She couldn’t even see the ground beneath her feet.

“Mummy! Someone turned off the lights!” Duck whimpered. Even now, he couldn’t resist taking a dig: “Failed, once again, by technology!”

“Tech, any thoughts? Any suggestions?” Ace immediately asked the resident genius.

“Right now, Rev’s gotta be our eyes!” Tech proclaimed.

“No problem, Tech. With my built-in GPS, I’ve got a lock on them!” Rev boasted. “Watch out, Lexi. You’re surrounded.”

“Back off, boys!” Lexi snarled. She threw random punches around her, hitting a Shadowborg every single time.

“Contact’s varying. 45 degrees. 46 degrees. 47 degrees. 48 degrees,” Rev rambled. The only response he got was Lexi’s grunts as she dodged and launched attacks. “Slam, they’re right in front of you. Spin straight ahead!”

Slam did not need to be told twice. Activating his tornado powers, Slam spun straight ahead, bowling over Shadowborgs as he went. Unfortunately, he did not heed Rev’s warnings and ended up crashing into Tech.

Above them, none of the Loonatics were aware of Black Velvet descending from the zeppelin towards the university. Blowing a hole in the wall, she smiled as she approached her target.

“The Lightwave Eliminator. My plan is nearly complete,” Black Velvet smirked as Shadowborgs descended into the room. “Take it away, boys!”

“I can’t see them, but I can smell them!” Duck declared. Duck yelled a battle cry as he blindly thew a karate chop… only to nearly hit Ace.

As Ace dodged the blind attack, he glared at his friend, “Hi-yah somewhere else, Duck!”

“Sorry,” Duck mumbled sheepishly.

“Okay. This is ridiculous,” Brylee grumbled.

With her lower arms glowing right, Brylee shot out beams in random directions, hitting Shadowborgs and also burning a bright light in the darkness, which was another thing the Shadowborgs did not enjoy.

But they weren’t the only ones. Brylee looked up when she heard a yell of pain and came face to face with their enemy. Black Velvet’s reaction to her powers made Brylee more than a little curious. She had never gotten that reaction before.

“We got what we came for. Cluster!” Black Velvet ordered. As she retreated, she taunted, “I see dark days ahead, Loonatics!”

With her Shadowborgs and the Lightwave Eliminator she appropriated, Black Velvet retreated into the zeppelin hovering above the building. The remaining Shadowborgs remained behind to cut into the legs of the metal structure behind them.

It was only when they were done and had retreated that the light suddenly shone on the Loonatics.

“GUYS!” Brylee yelled, turning around and seeing the structure collapsing towards them.

“LOONATICS, LET’S JET!” Ace barked.

Ace, Brylee, Lexi, Slam, Tech and Rev were quick to scramble away. Duck, on the other hand, waited until the last possible second to quack out of the way. Unfortunately, the others didn’t see him do that and presumed that he was buried alive in the rubble.

“DUCK!” Brylee screamed.

“Oh no!” Lexi gasped.

“Dig him out!” Ace cried as they all began digging.

“Go, go, go!” Rev encouraged.

“Ha! Missed me!”

The others whirled around to see that Duck had safely quacked himself out of harm’s way, but they didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed. So, for now, they settled with glaring at him.

“Catch me if you can, Loonatics!” Black Velvet challenged them before her zeppelin disappeared.

“Come on! We can’t lose them now!” Ace yelled.

When everyone was buckled in their respective seats, Ace launched the Loonaporter and immediately followed the direction they saw the zeppelin depart before it quite literally disappeared.

“Time to pop this balloon!” Ace proclaimed. However, Ace had trouble spotting the zeppelin. “Picking up anything, Tech?”

When Tech didn’t detect anything on his radar, he mused, “They must have deployed some sort of cloaking device.”

“I can confirm that,” Brylee nodded. “I saw them use at back at the university. The lightning knocked it out of whack for a bit.”

“Anything, Rev?” Ace turned his attention to the Roadrunner, who was gifted with an internal GPS.

“No trace. No sign. No mark. No trail. No heat. No scrap. No lick. No speck. No nickel. Nothing,” Rev shook his head.

What they all didn’t realize until it was too late was that the zeppelin was hovering over them.

As the ship was covered in the darkness, Ace grumbled, “I hate being left in the dark.”

“Who turned out the lights?!” Duck asked fearfully.

Just like it was during the battle at the tech university, nobody could see a thing. The small lights emitted from the computer consoles in the ship provided no visibility. All they could hear was the sound of smacking and someone crying in pain. They didn’t know whose cries they were, but that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was their inability to help.

Well, that was what they thought the worst part was. Until the darkness lifted.

“Huh. Where did Tech go?” Ace asked, noticing the coyote’s seat was empty.

“Look!” Lexi gasped in horror.

To their horror, their friend was unconscious, floating in a bubble prison heading towards the zeppelin surrounded by a flock of Shadowborgs. Nobody could get to him.

“TECH!” Brylee screamed, already moving from her seat. “I’ve gotta go help him!”

“Brylee, stay where you are! You can’t do anything now,” Ace reasoned. “But don’t worry. She’ll learn her lesson. You take one, you take us all!”

“Ace, I’m picking something up! Straight ahead!” Rev reported as they emerged through a cloud.

Ace was quick to spot the zeppelin, responding, “I see them!”

The Loonatics were quick to pick up speed and gain momentum on the zeppelin. Seeing giant clouds ahead, the zeppelin decided to fly in there for coverage. The zeppelin didn’t come back out.

But three attack ships did.

“Three bogies at twelve o’clock! Take evasive action!” Ace barked.

The bogies quickly repositioned themselves so they were doing the chasing rather than the ones being chased. Immediately, Ace began performing evasive manoeuvres to shake them off, but nothing was working.

The team was in for a wild goose chase.

**

Things weren’t looking that much better for Tech. When he came to, he was on a metal slab with straps pinning him down by his wrists and ankles.

“Welcome to my city in the clouds,” Black Velvet greeted the now conscious coyote. “Isn’t it gorgeous? I built it for myself and all my Shadowborgs so we could live high in the sky.”

“Beats the rock you crawled out from under!” Tech smirked.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m no common thief,” Black Velvet chided him. She moved her cloak back, revealing the cannon that replaced her lower arm. She took delight in the way Tech’s eyes widened in fear. “I’m not like everyone else. Thanks to the meteor that hit Earth, my eyes had been permanently scarred.”

Tech’s fear was replaced with horror as Black Velvet removed her goggles to reveal her damaged eyes. Her eyes weren’t like regular eyes. They were a strange bright purple all over. He couldn’t see the sclera, the cornea or the pupil. He couldn’t even be certain if the lens of her eyes were still intact.

Tech recovered quickly, though, as he retorted, “And your brain’s been permanently scrambled!”

“I can no longer tolerate any light. I’ve been forced to live hidden here for far too long!” Black Velvet snarled. “Which is why I need a scientist of your genius to help me.”

“Never gonna happen! I know what you’re up to!” Tech glared at the villain.

“Oh really? Enlighten me!” Black Velvet challenged him.

“You’ll use the Doppler Radar to project a current of darkness powered by pulses from the Lightwave Eliminator, which will block out our son and plunge Acmetropolis into permanent darkness!” Tech answered, eyes widening in horror as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

“I call it the Shroud Caster; and soon, everyone will suffer as I have!” Black Velvet proclaimed. Then, she lowered her voice as she leaned closer to the pinned coyote, saying almost seductively, “But you’ve forgotten the part where the industrious coyote built it for me.”

“You’re dreaming, hot stuff!” Tech scoffed, wiggling his eyebrows for extra effect.

“Not many dogs can resist my charms, Tech,” Black Velvet smirked. “Especially an overworked inventor who doesn’t get out much!”

With a cry, Black Velvet aimed her cannon at Tech and shot small special neurons that hit his snout.

“No, no! NOT THE FACE!” Tech cried.

“Don’t resist my shadow force, baby, as it reaches into your mind, giving me complete control,” Black Velvet cooed as she stroked Tech’s head.

She did not have to wait long. With groans and snarls, Tech opened his eyes. They weren’t the same greenish eyes with the yellow sclera everybody saw every day. Instead, they were the same glossed purple as Black Velvet’s eyes. The slab he was pinned on lifted to an upright position and the restraints disappeared, effectively freeing him to follow Black Velvet’s commands.

He was freed from one prison, but remained trapped in another.

“Now, how about you get to work? Alright, baby?” Black Velvet simpered.

“As you wish,” Tech groaned as he followed her out of the room.

**

“We can’t shake these things!” Lexi cried in frustration.

“We’re doomed! DOOMED!” Duck proclaimed.

“Bro, now might be a good time for manoeuvre 180!” Brylee piped in.

“Well, they don’t leave us any other choice,” Ace shrugged.

There were times when his sister had some brilliant ideas. This was one of them.

The first thing Ace had to do was get behind his target. The Shadowborgs were good at robberies, but ultimately, they weren’t proficient at dogfights in the sky. So, it took little effort for Ace to get behind them.

“NOW, SLAM!” Ace barked.

With his signature toothy grin, Slam pressed the blue button that launched three missiles that targeted the three battleships.

But now, they had bigger problems as, instead of beginning evasive manoeuvres themselves, they decided to retreat towards the zeppelin.

“The attack raiders are going back to the zeppelin!” Lexi cried.

“Now the zeppelin’s the target!” Ace realized gravely.

“But Tech’s up there!” Brylee gasped in horror.

The gravity of Brylee’s words sunk in. Sure. If they blew up the zeppelin, all of their problems would be resolved. The components Black Velvet stole may be destroyed in the blast, but at least they would’ve defeated the villain.

But it wasn’t worth sacrificing their teammate. It wasn’t worth losing Tech.

“We’ve gotta stop those missiles before the zeppelin and Tech out of the sky!” Ace proclaimed. As he began chasing the missiles, he asked, “Can you brain blast them, Lex?”

“Not from here,” Lexi answered regretfully.

It was one of those times where Brylee wished their powers didn’t have limits. Unfortunately, one of Lexi’s limits is her brain blast only being effective within a certain range.

“Foist one’s yours, Rev!” Ace called to the roadrunner.

“I am on it, Ace!” Rev nodded eagerly.

Above Rev’s chair, the roof of the Loonaporter moved back, giving the roadrunner room to take off. He jumped, performed a few flips in the air, and then began flapping his wings at a rapid pace, flying quickly towards one of the missiles.

“Here’s my chance to rip on technology! The next one’s mine!” Duck snarled.

“You’ve got it, Duck!” Ace smirked as he guided the ship closer to the second missile.

“A little closer, a little closer,” Duck requested.

When he was in sufficient range, Duck teleported from his seat onto the missile and ripped off one of the panels to access the missile’s wiring.

“Alright! Let’s see,” Duck mused as he began messing with the wiring. “No, that’s not it. How about this one? No, that’s not it either. Maybe this one? No! This one? AH!”

Rev, meanwhile, was imitating a sports caster calling a play. “He’s unmovable! Unstoppable! Unbelievable! He shoots!” He kicked his targeted missile, causing it to drift off-course and explode harmlessly. “HE SCORES! Back to you, Charlie.”

“Nice, Rev! Hit the showers!” Ace praised. As he moved closer to the final missile, he said to Lexi, “Looks like we’re running out of sky here, Lex.”

“On the count of three!” Lexi nodded, charging her brain blast. “One… two… two-and-a-half… THREE!”

When she finished her three-second countdown, Lexi fired a brain blast that struck the final missile. Electricity crackled around it briefly before it exploded in a big bang. The shockwaves of the explosion were felt for miles. Everyone who was still inside the ship cried as the Loonaporter toppled around until Ace finally regained control.

But the shockwaves proved to be beneficial. The zeppelin had a few moments where it was appearing, then disappearing and reappearing again before it finally decided to remain visible.

“Alright, Lexi! You knocked out their cloaking!” Ace cheered.

“Hey. Anyone seen Duck?” Brylee suddenly asked.

Ace hummed in confusion as he looked to his left, then to his right, before finally looking above him. Duck was still trying to disarm the missile manually, but nothing he was doing proved effective. Somehow, Ace knew what was going to happen next.

‘Insert Tab B into Flight C and cut Wire D,” Duck mused to himself.

“Grab the wheel, Lex!” Ace ordered.

Lexi immediately jumped into the pilot’s seat as Ace jumped onto the front of the ship.

“Insert Tab B into… Oh, where is the manual?!” Duck moaned. He yelped when Ace suddenly pulled him away from the missile and focused his ire on his leader, “Hey! I was just figuring out how to fly that thing! A few more seconds, I would’ve been-!”

BOOM!

“Roasted, Duck?” Ace smirked, walking back to the cockpit.

Duck just stood there frozen at the puff of smoke that was once the missile he was trying to disarm.

Turns out he was doing something right.

Duck would more than likely need a change of uniform by the time they got back to headquarters.

An idea struck her as Brylee suddenly got up and approached the compartment next to the pilot’s seat.

“What are you doing?” Ace asked his sister in confusion.

“Tech left us some weapons as a safety precaution. You know, just in case,” Brylee shrugged nonchalantly, moving to open the compartment.

“In case of what?” Lexi demanded.

“The usual suspects. Mutant Vikings… Mutated Fuz-Zs…,” Brylee listed. She then pulled out a weapon, “The Ninjiza 500! Ooh, and night vision goggles!”

“How did you know where to look?” Duck inquired suspiciously.

“Tech told me,” Brylee shrugged before smirking, “Before we started making out in the pilot’s seat.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Ace screeched, his eyes turning yellow.

“Kidding! Just wanted to see your face!” Brylee giggled. When her brother glared at her, she shrugged, “What? I just wanted to lighten the mood.”

Lexi had to bite back a giggle as she flew the Loonaporter closer to the zeppelin. Two things stopped her.

The fact that they had to rescue Tech.

The fact that Ace was still annoyed.

“Slam, time to do your thing,” Ace smirked.

Not needing to be told twice (he gets to destroy something; why would he need a further invitation?), Slam jumped onto the roof of the Loonaporter and ripped off one of the zeppelin’s underside panels. The force was hard enough to rip a hole in the zeppelin large enough for the entire team to climb through. Lexi and Duck jumped through first, followed by Slam and Brylee, and finally, Rev and Ace joined them.

“Whoa! We’re not in Kansas anymore!” Lexi remarked.

“Activate night vision opticals,” Ace ordered before closing his eyes.

“Activated!” everyone called in response as they opened their now bright red eyes.

“Let’s go crush some velvet!” Ace smirked evilly.

The six of them went off in separate directions. Lexi, Slam and Rev went off to reverse the polarity for the Shroud Caster when the villain was defeated and their teammate was rescued. Brylee, Ace and Duck went off to rescue said teammate and to defeat said villain.

They would have to work quickly, however, as Tech – with Black Velvet watching gleefully – was doing the final preparations on the Shroud Caster.

**

Lexi, Slam and Rev easily found the location of the Shroud Caster. The reason they went there instead of the control room was it was where the lever to reverse the polarity was located.

The only complication was that the Shroud Caster – and, by association, the lever they needed – was surrounded by Shadowborgs.

Black Velvet definitely does not make it easy.

Still, it made Lexi smirk, “Piece of cake.”

Slam growled in approval as he approached the Shroud Caster.

“Right behind you, Slam!” Rev called as he sped to catch up with the Tasmanian Devil.

One thing they didn’t count on was Shadowborgs surrounding them.

Yep. Black Velvet doesn’t make it easy.

**

Using the Ninjiza 500, Ace cut a hall through the glass wall that separated Duck, Brylee and himself from the control room. They expected to find a lot of things. Black Velvet. A few dozen Shadowborgs to fight. Tech chained to a wall.

They did not expect Tech to be operating the Shroud Caster for Black Velvet.

“Hey, uh, Tech, ol’ pal. Let’s make it like an atom and split,” Ace suggested, only to have the coyote ignore him.

“He’s not answering,” Duck observed.

“Tech, what has gotten into you?!” Brylee demanded as she approached her friend.

“Tech only answers to me now!” Black Velvet proclaimed as she appeared behind them. “You all are just in time to watch us usher in the dark ages!”

From her cloak, she fired neurons at Ace, who was quick to counteract with his laser vision. The standoff went on for a few moments until both powers dissipated.

“Uh-uh-uh. Not tonight, Loonatics!” Black Velvet taunted her foes.

It very soon almost became a dance routine for the heroes and the villain. Attack. Block. Counterattack. Attack. Block. Counterattack. It was a never-ending cycle.

That is, until Duck was trapped in a sphere he couldn’t get out of – a sphere that reminded Brylee of a movie she once saw – and Ace was knocked down by a blast.

“Hey, Duck. Maybe you can take care of her friends,” Ace suggested before racing into the action.

“Righty-oh, Ace!” Duck smirked. Duck then treated his sphere like a bowling ball and the Shadowborgs as the bowling pins, cheering, “STRIKE!” as he knocked them down.

“Guys, tell me you’re ready,” Ace whispered into his commlink.

**

Grunting, Lexi responded in the midst of her battle, “I need another minute!”

For Lexi, it seemed for each Shadowborg she defeated, two more took its place. It was like fighting the Hydra; cut off one head, two more emerged from the wound. She defeated a few around her with a series of round kicks and punches. One Shadowborg fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as Lexi’s hit knocked the wind out of him.

“Take two Aspirin and call me in the morning,” Lexi smirked.

She then used that Shadowborg to knock down a group of Shadowborgs charging at her.

**

Finally having had enough of his prison, Duck used his eggs to break the sphere after knocking over another group of Shadowborgs.

But the fight wasn’t over yet.

“Miss Velvet, your Shroud Caster is ready,” Tech reported with that monotone voice.

“Why, thank you, baby,” Black Velvet simpered.

“Tech, stop!” Brylee cried, charging at them.

Black Velvet was not going to let anyone – let alone a teenager – interfere with her plans. Immediately, she began firing neurons from her blaster at the young girl. Brylee was able to avoid them with ease. That is, until she righted herself after a flip almost went wrong.

Brylee cried out in pain as she fell to her knees, clutching her side where the blast hit her. It didn’t go through her like a bullet, but it still burned. It was painful.

“BRYLEE!” the horror in Ace’s voice was unmistakable.

“Wha… what?” Tech grunted as he found himself slipping between the trance from the mind control and the reality surrounding him.

Immediately, Ace began racing towards Brylee. The mission be damned. His little sister was hurt. She needed him.

His plans were halted when Black Velvet changed the ammo in her blaster and fired at Ace. Ace wasn’t shot like Brylee was. Rather, he was pinned by a set of ropes. Well, at least, they acted like ropes.

“Activate the Shroud Caster! NOW!” Black Velvet barked.

“Tech, no!” Brylee begged. “Come on, Tech! Wake up!”

“Bry… Lee,” Tech groaned.

After defeating a few Shadowborgs and racing to Brylee’s side, Duck suddenly cried out, “Wait! I can wake him!”

Whipping out his phone from his back pocket, Duck pressed the button that began playing the ringtone everyone despised. Brylee may have moaned and grimaced – although, part of that may be due to her injury.

But it fully snapped Tech out of his trance.

“ARGH! THAT ANNOYING PHONE!” Tech growled.

“I need a little help here, Tech!” Ace drawled, struggling against his bonds.

“Activating night vision,” Tech reported, using his magnetic powers to pull the Ninjiza 500 towards him.

With the weapon in his hands, Tech fired a blast that broke the bonds and freed Ace. Immediately, Tech joined Ace and Duck at Brylee’s side.

“I’m fine,” Brylee groaned. She waved off everyone’s concerns as she stood up, clutching her side.

“Too little, too late,” Black Velvet said gleefully as she approached the controls. “Darkness was my curse. Now, it will be yours, Loonatics!”

With that declaration, Black Velvet pressed the button to activate the Shroud Caster. Ace, Brylee, Duck and Tech heard the familiar whirs of a machine charging and the crackling of electricity as the Shroud Caster came to life.

**

On top of the dish that would fire the emissions from the Shroud Caster towards the city, Rev and Slam saw a slink of electricity hit the satellite dish and gasped in horror as it fired a cloak of darkness over Acmetropolis, blocking any light from breaking through the barrier.

“What happened to the light?!” an older man asked a young woman near him on the street.

“I don’t know!” the young woman responded. “There’s blackouts all over the city!”

Above them, lightning cackled, making it appear as though it was a bad electrical storm when they took into account the dark skies and power outages plaguing the city. No citizen on the ground knew what was truly going on.

Only Black Velvet and the Loonatics knew the truth.

**

“Lexi, have you reversed the polarity?” Ace asked.

“Not yet, Ace!”

Brylee’s lower right arm lit up, indicating that she was ready to use her powers. In the darkened room, her powers seemed to glow infinitely brighter. “If we’re gonna take this place down, I might as well get a shot of my own.”

With those words said, Brylee fired a stream of light towards Black Velvet, unable to hide her smile of satisfaction when it hit the villain in the torso, similar to the injury Brylee had sustained.

“Payback’s a bitch,” Brylee smirked.

“GOT IT!”

They were slightly startled by the sound of Lexi’s voice over the commlink. However, they soon silently cheered as the polarity was reversed and the cloak of darkness that was suffocating the city below was stifled by a stream of light. From the top of the dish, Rev and Slam changed the trajectory, shining it into the zeppelin rather than towards the city.

“MY CITY OF DARKNESS! NO!” Black Velvet cried in horror as she tried to shield herself from the intense light.

“I think it’s time for us to get out of dodge,” Ace remarked as the zeppelin began collapsing around them.

Without thinking twice, Tech scooped Brylee into his arms bridal style and took off.

“I can walk, you know,” Brylee grumbled as the others joined them.

Tech paid no mind to Brylee’s objections. He was just focused on getting out of there before they were caught in the aftermath along with their archnemesis for the day.

Behind them, everything inside the zeppelin – including the remaining Shadowborgs – was sucked into this bright cackling ball as the zeppelin was rapidly approaching the point of implosion.

The Loonatics barely escaped in the Loonaporter before the zeppelin finally imploded.

**

Back at headquarters, the team was now relaxing after their successful mission. Well, after Tech had treated Brylee’s injuries and everyone fussed over her. The burn itself surprisingly wasn’t too bad. At least, it was nothing that some aloe vera gel couldn’t fix. The worst part was the bruised ribs. Unfortunately, the bruised ribs would leave her out of action for the next three weeks at a minimum.

Brylee was disappointed, but at least she wouldn’t be bored. Especially given the entertainment around her.

Rev was playing a game of air hockey against himself while Slam watched, cheering from the sidelines. Ace and Lexi were enjoying a relaxing game of pool, Ace finally relaxing for the first time since his sister was first injured in the field. Tech was… somewhere. Brylee actually didn’t know where he was. Likewise with Duck.

“Rev runner fights for the saucer, but Rev beats him to it! He lays it into the corner, but taken down by Rev Runner! Another tricky shot, but not quite tricky enough! Rev shoots! Saved by Rev Runner! Looks like Rev really came to play! He shoots! He scores! And the fans go wild!” Rev rambled, causing Slam to cheer as Rev continued playing.

Brylee was whispering the next part of Mr. Darcy’s letter to herself: “My sister, who is more than ten years my junior, was left to the guardianship of my mother’s nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and myself. About a year ago, she was taken from school, and an establishment formed for her in London; and last summer, she went with the lady who presided over it, to Ramsgate; and thither also went Mr. Wickham, undoubtedly by design; for there proved to have been a prior acquaintance between him and Mrs. Younge, in whose character we were most unhappily deceived, and by her connivance and aid, he so far recommended himself to Georgiana, whose affectionate heart retained a strong impression of his kindness to her as a child, that she was persuaded to believe herself in love, and to consent to an elopement.”

“Has anyone seen Tech?” Duck demanded, stalking towards Ace and Lexi at the pool table. “I believe he has something to say to me.”

Hearing footsteps from behind, Duck turned around and saw Tech standing there proudly… in the robin’s egg blue Perforated Suede Superhero Cape and matching knee-high boots they were fighting over.

“Thanks. I went ahead and ordered them. Nice, huh? They’re sending you the bill,” Tech smirked as he swooshed the cape around him.

“But… but… but… Those are mine! You were supposed to buy those for me!” Duck objected.

“That would be true… but he won the bet,” Brylee pointed out.

“You used your phone, Duck,” Ace reminded him. “We all saw you.”

“But I only used the phone to save him!” Duck objected. “If not for me, he’d still be walking around, ‘Whatever you say, Oh Velvety One!’”

“A bet’s a bet,” Lexi smirked. “Besides, from what I hear, Black Velvet’s control over Tech started slipping when Brylee got injured. He’s always had a soft spot for her.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that,” Ace decided as Zadavia’s hologram appeared.

“Good work, Loonatics,” Zadavia praised. “Despite Black Velvet’s disappearing act, the Shroud Caster has been dismantled and all the parts have been returned.” She then turned to Tech, “Oh my, Tech! Don’t you look heroic?”

“Why thank you, Zadavia,” Tech responded with a smirk, knowing how much this was annoying Duck.

“Very impressive indeed,” Zadavia harmed in approval.

“But… But… But…,” Duck stammered.

“Brylee, how are your injuries?” Zadavia inquired worriedly, having received a report about what happened.

“Relatively superficial. The bruised ribs are the worst of it,” Brylee shrugged. She then held up her book, remarking, “At least with the mandated time off, I can finish this for my literacy class.”

“Are you up to Mr. Darcy’s letter?” Zadavia asked with a smirk.

Brylee was surprised, for she never suspected her boss had read Pride and Prejudice. But she nodded eagerly, “Yeah. I just found out Mr. Wickham tried to persuade Georgiana Darcy to elope with him.”

“I won’t spoil anything else for you then,” Zadavia decided before signing off with her signature, “Zadavia out.”

“WAIT! COME BACK!” Duck cried, still not over her admiration for Tech’s new outfit. “I picked out the cape and the matching boots! I’m the heroic one! Be impressed with me!”

“Maybe you can call her back on your cell phone,” Lexi shrugged.

“If you can get a signal,” Ace added with his signature smirk.

“You know, you’re all despicable,” Duck growled.

Brylee just rolled her eyes and went back to the book, whispering to herself once more, “She was then but fifteen, which must be her excuse; and after stating her imprudence, I am happy to add that I owed the knowledge of it to herself. I joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the intended elopement; and then Georgiana, unable to support the idea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost looked up to as a father, acknowledged the whole to me. You may imagine what I felt and how I acted. Regard for my sister’s credit and feelings prevented any public exposure, but I wrote to Mr. Wickham, who left the place immediately, and Mrs. Younge was of course removed from her charge. Mr. Wickham’s chief object was unquestionably my sister’s fortune, which is thirty thousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hopes of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement. His revenge would have been complete indeed.”

“How close are you to finishing his letter?” Tech asked as he sat next to Brylee.

“Close enough to forgive the interruption,” Brylee teased as she rested the book on her lap.

Tech chuckled. Something everyone learned very quickly about Brylee was that, when she was really into a book, she hated to be interrupted. For anything. She barely keeps herself in check when the source of the interruption was Zadavia. Even if Brylee was scared of Zadavia in the early days.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Tech began, surprising Brylee for the second time in the space of two minutes. “I feel like you being hurt is my fault.”

“Were you the one who shot me?” Brylee asked bluntly.

“Huh?” Tech stammered, surprised by her directness.

“Were you the one who shot me?” Brylee repeated her question. “It’s a simple question, Tech. Yes or no.”

“No,” Tech shook his head after a minute.

“Then, what happened to me wasn’t your fault. Therefore, I do not need your apology. We’re facing the danger of getting hurt on a mission every time we go out. Heck. Sometimes, I feel like I’m taking that risk going to the library. Hadn’t Black Velvet shot me, it could’ve been one of her Shadowborgs. Hadn’t I been hurt on that mission, I could’ve ended up being hurt on the next one. This is one of those things that could happen at anytime anywhere to anyone. This is not your fault,” Brylee told him firmly. She then scoffed, “Heck. You’d probably fight with Ace to take the shot.”

“Well, it would be better if it was me than Ace. I can regenerate,” Tech drawled.

“And you’re not a big baby when he’s sick or injured,” Brylee giggled to Tech’s amusement. “Oh, the stories I could tell you from when we were growing up. At least he never tried to claim he was worse off than me. I think being sick and a Type One Diabetic would beat anyone.”

Tech had to shrug at that. Being sick when you had something like Type One Diabetes, cancer, or anything that would leave you compromised made things just that little bit worse. And he knew Ace would never pull anything like that, considering how much he loved his sister.

“A part of me already knew what you just told me, Brylee,” Tech confessed. “But I still felt the need to apologize for you getting hurt. It made me feel better.”

“Well, whatever makes you feel better,” Brylee shrugged. Who was she to get in the way of someone’s coping mechanisms? Unless someone was coping with something the wrong way.

“So, come on. Let’s hear the rest of the letter,” Tech encouraged her.”

Brylee laughed slightly as she picked up the book and continued reading:

“This, madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which we have been concerned together; and if you do not absolutely reject it as false, you will, I hope, acquit me henceforth of cruelty towards Mr. Wickham. I know not in what manner, under what form of falsehood, he has imposed on you; but his success is not, perhaps, to be wondered at. Ignorant as you previously were of every thing concerning either, detection could not be in your power, and suspicion certainly not in your inclination.

You may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last night; but I was not then master enough of myself to know what could or ought to be revealed. For the truth of everything here related, I can appeal most particularly to the testimony of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, from our near relationship and constant intimacy, and, still more, as one of the executors of my father’s will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of these transactions. If your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning. I will only ad, God bless you.

FITZWILLIAM DARCY”

Chapter Text

Brylee was sidelined for three weeks due to the rib injuries she had sustained during their encounter with Black Velvet. In that time, she not only finished reading Pride and Prejudice, but also completed and submitted the accompanying book report. She had submitted it three weeks before the due date. She didn’t see the point of leaving it lying around when it was complete and she didn’t think she could do anything more with it.

Brylee was always very studious, as shown by her teacher’s lack of surprise upon receiving the final submission. Brylee very rarely submitted assignments on the due date; the only question the teacher had concerning Brylee’s assignments was how early she would submit them. Usually, it was the second the electronic submission window was open. Nevertheless, Brylee received confirmation that the electronic submission was received. The teacher also subtly indicated that she would get high marks.

Since it was a lovely day (in spite of reports of a storm hitting later that afternoon) and she was miles ahead on her schoolwork, Ace had decided to let Brylee leave the tower for a day out. Originally, he wanted someone to accompany her in case something happened, but she convinced him that she would be fine with only her trusty camera by her side. After all, she was nearly fifteen and her sugars have been good lately.

Ace reluctantly conceded. On the condition that she regularly checked in with him and she not stray more than five city blocks from the tower. Although, Brylee did not doubt that he was still keeping tabs on her somehow. She didn’t even doubt that Zadavia would somehow be keeping tabs on her.

But Brylee didn’t dwell on her brother’s overprotectiveness (much). For now, she was thankful that her favourite park was only two blocks from the tower. So, she wasn’t breaking the rules her brother had so firmly outlined to her before she left on her solo adventure.

That was how Brylee ended up here with her camera. She had one passion in her life outside of crime fighting, and that was photography. Whenever she could, she would like to take her camera and take pictures of the world around her.

The park was her favourite place to do this. There was so much around her. Flowers, trees, bushes, people going about ordinary life – from the family having a picnic to children playing on the playground to the homeless man sleeping on the bench to the man crankily yelling at the bird for stealing his food.

“Oh my gosh! Look who’s here!”

The voice made Brylee freeze as she took a picture of a bee landing on a flower. Turning around slowly with a slight eyeroll, she came face-to-face with a Regina George lookalike who could easily put some of the villains the Loonatics have faced to shame.

“Hello, Brandy,” Brylee sighed tiredly.

“Oh my gosh! We haven’t seen you at school in, like, forever!” Brandy scoffed. She then turned to her two lackeys, “Haven’t we, girls?”

“No!” her lackeys chorused.

“Well, it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed,” Brylee drawled. She turned her attention to Brandy’s lackeys, “Let me guess. You got plastic surgery to look more like Brandy.”

“Our daddies paid for nose jobs so we can have Brandy’s perfect nose!” the first lackey squealed in excitement. Clearly, she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

“Otherwise, we would be like you,” the second lackey sneered. “Boring and ugly.”

“Which I see still hasn’t changed,” Brandy sighed in a mocking fashion, giving the younger girl a once-over. “You may have these fancy schmancy powers now, but you’re still the pathetic loser you were before the meteor hit.”

“Well, at least she got some fashion sense,” the first lackey shrugged.

Brylee looked down at the outfit she had chosen to wear over her Loonatics uniform. She was wearing a grey singlet covered by a blue cardigan with dark blue jeans, a black belt (where her insulin pump was attached) and black boots with her blonde hair up in her signature ponytail. It was an outfit Lexi had insisted on buying for her during the most recent shopping trip the bunny was able to drag the younger girl to.

“You call that fashion?” Brandy scoffed. She then noticed Brylee’s camera. “Oh, look at this! She still has her pathetic camera!”

Despite her best efforts, Brylee couldn’t stop Brandy from taking her camera. Growing up, Brylee, Ace and their mother could barely afford to put food on the table or pay for her medical expenses. Then, Ace surprised her on her tenth birthday with the camera he saved his entire allowance for the two years beforehand to buy. It may not have been the best camera in the world for an aspired photographer, but the effort her brother put into buying this for her made it the best camera in the world in her eyes.

“Give that back, Brandy!” Brylee pleaded as she went to grab it.

“Why should I? You know how much I love your photos!” Brylee simpered. She then began going through the photos Brylee had taken. “Ew… All of its arty and tasteful. It’s disgusting. I should destroy these and save them from ever seeing the light of day. In fact, I’ll just destroy the whole camera.”

“Brandy, don’t even think about it!” Brylee snapped – a rarity for her when it came to her bullies.

“I’m doing everyone a favour by lessening their exposure to a pathetic loser,” Brandy sneered. She then held the camera high to drop it to the ground, hoping to maximise the damage.

“Give her the camera, Brandy.”

The girls all turned at the sound of the new voice, and they were all surprised to see where it came from.

Ryan Fontana.

Not only was he muscular, but standing at 5’7, he easily towered over Brylee’s 4’12 frame. His hazel eyes normally portrayed warmth and kindness, but they didn’t today.

“Why hello, Ryan!” Brandy flirted, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

“Give. Her. The. Camera,” Ryan only repeated his request, placing more emphasis in his words.

Brylee shouldn’t have been surprised Ryan had been decided to intervene. It was true to form for him. Unlike some of his football teammates, he used his popularity as a force of good. He never bullied anyone who would be considered ‘below him’. Instead, he would intervene whenever he saw instances of bullying. Even going against his own friends. He did intervene a few times where Brylee was concerned if he happened to be nearby. But she didn’t think he noticed her beyond that.

If her classmates weren’t bullying her, they were ignoring her existence.

Looks like someone always took notice.

“Must I?” Brandy whined.

His eyes were now almost as dark as his dark brown hair as he pointed to the camera, “The camera, Brandy.”

Knowing she had lost the fight; Brandy just scoffed and shoved the camera at him. To Brylee’s relief, the camera wasn’t damaged in the exchange.

“Come on, girls. We have better things to do,” Brandy sneered before leaving, her two obedient lackeys trailing behind her. Like always.

“Thanks,” Brylee muttered quietly, suddenly feeling painfully shy once more.

“I would’ve figured you’d use your powers on them,” Ryan remarked. “You’d easily have them beat if you did.”

A small smile graced Brylee’s face as she quipped, “They weren’t the trouble I’d get into. My brother and my boss wouldn’t approve.”

Brylee couldn’t believe this was happening. Ryan was the hottest guy in school and had all the girls fawning all over him; even going as far as fighting over the spare seat next to him in class. Which resulted in him sitting next to Brylee in the classes they shared together. Brylee was smart enough to have skipped two grades, which allowed her to be at the same year level as Ryan: a junior.

“Here,” Ryan said sheepishly – ‘Seriously? He’s sheepish around me?’ Brylee couldn’t help but think – as he handed her the camera. “You take some good photos.”

“How do you know?” Brylee immediately asked in surprise. If there was one thing Brylee was extremely private about, it was her photos. She doesn’t show her photos to anyone. Not even her brother.

Well, considering what had transpired between her and Brandy mere moments before, she should amend that sentence to she didn’t show them willingly.

“You mess around with them on the computers sometimes in art class,” Ryan recalled. “Your photos are really good, Brylee. I can see why you aced that photography portfolio last month. My photos were nowhere near as good as yours.”

“They’re weren’t bad for someone who had never done photography before,” Brylee complimented him.

“Yeah, but yours look like they could’ve been taken by a professional,” Ryan objected. He then noticed the astonished look on Brylee’s face, “What?”

“I’m just surprised you noticed me,” Brylee admitted.

“Why wouldn’t I notice you?” Ryan asked.

“You’re captain of the football team. You’re the favourite for becoming senior class president next year. You’ve already secured a football scholarship to Acmetropolis University. Girls are throwing themselves at you at any given opportunity – and I mean that literally, by the way. I’m not the type of girl you tend to notice,” Brylee rambled.

“Maybe that’s why I do,” Ryan smirked, stunning Brylee into silence. He then asked, “Do you wanna grab a bite? It’s approaching lunchtime and you need to eat three regular meals a day as well as snacks.”

Getting over her shock that he was effectively asked her out, Brylee finally verbalised her answer, “I would love to.” She then knelt down to grab her bag. Sliding the straps on her shoulders, she warned him, “It’ll have to be no more than five blocks from headquarters, though. That was my brother’s sole stipulation to letting me out on my own today. And trust me. He’ll know if I broke that rule.”

Nodding in understanding, Ryan reassured her, “I know just the place.”

That place turned out to be a small Italian café exactly four-and-a-half blocks from the Loonatics’ headquarters called Fontana’s. What was so special about this café was who owned it.

“Mama! Papa!” Ryan called as they entered the café.

“Ryan! We were wondering when you were going to show up!” a middle-aged woman with a thick Italian accent greeted him as she walked out of the kitchen. She then noticed Brylee standing next to him, taking in her surroundings. “Who’s this?”

“Mama, this is Brylee. Brylee, this is my Mama,” Ryan made the introductions.

“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Fontana,” Brylee smiled.

The café was very beautiful and simple with an old-fashioned elegance to it. It had the heart-shaped chairs with round tables covered by gingham tablecloths with green material adorning the top. The walls were made of brick – a rarity in today’s society – and displayed photos reflecting the café’s long history.

It was, after all, one of the few 21^st-century cafes that are still standing and was able to stand the test of time.

“Please, dear. Call me Bambi,” Bambi smiled warmly in return. She then guided the young duo to a table near a window and took away their menus, to Brylee’s surprise. “Fresh Herb Shrimp Linguini for you, Brylee; and we have a very special recipe for diabetes, so you needn’t worry about that, my dear. For you, Ryan, Tuscan Seafood Stew. I’ll tell your father to hustle.”

“This is your family’s café?” Brylee asked in amazement.

As Ryan came back with a jug of water for them to share, he shrugged as he explained, “Not many people from school come here. It’s too old-fashioned for them. So, I don’t have to worry about running into anyone when I have to wait tables.”

“They give you a hard time about working in your family’s restaurant?” Brylee stammered, clearly stunned.

“Oh yeah,” Ryan nodded with a slight laugh. “I mean, they understand why I do it, but it still doesn’t stop them from giving me a hard time.”

“RYAN!”

“Hey, Aria!” Ryan happily greeted the four-year-old girl that came running towards them. He grunted playfully as he lifted her into his lap before making the introductions, “Aria, this is Brylee. She’s a really special friend. Brylee, this is my little sister.”

“Very nice to meet you,” Brylee smiled warmly at the little girl.

“Are you in the Loonatics?” Aria asked innocently, with perfect pronunciation of the team name.

“I sure am,” Brylee nodded proudly. She then opened her hand and created a sparkling ball of light with her palm, showcasing her powers.

“Wow!” Aria squealed excitedly as she reached for it. “Pretty…”

“Aria!” Bambi called as she ran in from the kitchen. “Don’t bother your brother while he’s with his friends, young lady.”

“She wasn’t bothering us,” both Ryan and Brylee started objecting.

“Besides, we have to give you your pre-lunch insulin,” Bambi scolded. She then scooped the child up and settled her on her hip before turning to Brylee, “You can adjust your pump now, dear. Your lunch is coming.”

Brylee was stunned by Bambi’s words as the older woman took the young child away. Even as she did adjust her insulin pump accordingly. When she was done, she looked at Ryan and asked him, “Aria’s a diabetic?”

“Type One like you,” Ryan nodded. “She was only diagnosed a couple months ago, so we’re still getting used to it. I should’ve known something was wrong before. She went from being extremely energetic to being so tired all the time. She was losing a lot of weight despite her increased appetite. She went from happy to irritable.”

“Increased thirst and frequent urination, blurred vision and yeast infection?” Brylee guessed, earning a surprised nod from Ryan. “I had the same symptoms. I was the same age as Aria when I was diagnosed.”

“How do you cope with it?” Ryan asked.

“You won’t get used to it overnight, but before you know it, it’ll become part of your daily routine. You’ll get used to the adjusted diet and keeping a constant eye on her sugars,” Brylee promised. “Things definitely got easier when I could go on the pump rather than having to do the constant injections.”

“The doctor was talking about pancreatic transplants,” Ryan recalled.

“That’s usually only limited to those who also suffer from kidney failure. However, the transplant being a success isn’t always guaranteed either. If it does work, she’ll have to be on medication for the rest of her life so her body doesn’t reject the organ and those can cause damage to her other organs,” Brylee warned him. When she noticed Ryan’s amazed expression, she clarified, “I’ve had extensive conversations with my medical team about a pancreatic transplant. Unfortunately, because of my tissue type, I’m ineligible.”

“So, you’re stuck with this,” Ryan surmised.

“It’s not so bad,” Brylee shrugged. “I can still lead a full life. And so will Aria.”

“Well, that sounds good,” a middle-aged man who was significantly round in the middle remarked as he placed their meals in front of them.

“Papa!” Ryan greeted happily as he stood and hugged his father.

“This smells good, Mr. Fontana,” Brylee said appreciatively.

“Call me Celso,” Celso requested. “It is our pleasure to serve you, Brylee, given all you and your team do for this city.”

“Just doing my job,” Brylee shrugged, blushing slightly at the compliment.

“You’re lucky. The shrimp was purchased fresh off the trawler from the bay this morning!” Celso boasted. He then left the two teenagers alone.

When Brylee noticed that Ryan hadn’t started eating his meal, she teased, “What? You’re waiting for me to try mine first?”

“Yep,” Ryan nodded with a smirk, making a note to pop the ‘p’ at the end of the word.

Brylee rolled her eyes and laughed, but still decided to humour him and began eating her dish. She couldn’t help but moan in delight when her taste buds, for lack of better expression, exploded in delight.

“That good?” Ryan smirked.

“Of yes,” Brylee moaned in delight. She then moved on to eat other components of her dish, asking curiously, “Have you finished your book report?”

“I just have to write the conclusion,” Ryan nodded. “Let me guess. You’ve already submitted yours.”

“Well, I didn’t see the point of leaving it sitting around when it was good to go,” Brylee shrugged. “Did you enjoy the book?’

“Way more than I thought I would,” Ryan nodded eagerly. “But what do you think of Charlotte marrying Mr. Collins for security? Jane Austen was against those marriages, but she didn’t condemn Charlotte for doing that.”

“Well, marriages like that happened more often than not back in those days,” Brylee pointed out. “Charlotte was also 27. She was considered a spinster because of the shortened lifespan from the era. It was normal for a woman to be married at fifteen or sixteen.”

“I would never let Aria get married that young,” Ryan immediately proclaimed.

“Ace is the same way with me,” Brylee winced. “Actually, if he had his way, I’d just stay in the tower until I was a spinster.”

“He and I should compare notes on our protectiveness,” Ryan quipped, which caused Brylee to laugh. “How about what Mr. Darcy did to Jane and Mr. Bingley?”

“I don’t condone it, but I can’t fault him at the same time,” Brylee decided after a brief moment of reflection. “His motives may have been twisted and his evidence was very circumstantial, but he was doing it to protect someone he held dear to him. And considering what happened with Georgiana and Mr. Wickham…”

“Wickham’s a dick,” Ryan said bluntly.

“Hope that’s not in your report,” Brylee laughed.

“Nah. I actually need to pass to stay on the football team,” Ryan joked. “But seriously, though. Going after a girl for her inheritance?”

“The term you’re looking for is fortune hunter, and I don’t think that was Wickham’s sole motivation. He wanted to get back at Mr. Darcy,” Brylee retorted. “I could see his marriage to Lydia becoming like the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.”

“I could not deal with a mother like Mrs. Bennet,” Ryan winced. “Seriously. Could you imagine living like that?”

“And back then, you couldn’t tell your mother to shut up,” Brylee added, causing Ryan to grimace. “You certainly understand why the girls – particularly Jane and Elizabeth – had trouble finding suitors.”

“I suppose lack of connections would be another reason,” Ryan mused. “Mr. Bennet may have been a gentleman, but he wasn’t a high-ranking one.”

“And the girls didn’t have a substantial dowry because they kept hoping for a son,” Brylee pointed out. “At least, according to that mini-series.”

“That mini-series is considered to be the closest adaptation of the novel,” Ryan recalled the show’s reviews. “It definitely helped clear up some things for me.”

That was how they spent their lunch. Eating, talking, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Eventually, the topic moved from Pride and Prejudice to school to Brylee’s missions to themselves.

The encounter caused Ryan to feel some regret over their time together in school. Sure, he protected Brylee from bullying – especially if it started going too far – but he never tried to get to know her. He was always a background protector. Sometimes, his mere presence was enough to stop bullies in his tracks.

Except for one particular time.

One day, Brandy went too far and destroyed Brylee’s insulin pump. Unfortunately, her levels were already dropping and without the insulin, Brylee began slipping into diabetic shock. Brylee didn’t remember anything that happened afterwards, but then again, nobody knew that Ryan was the one who carried her to the infirmary and stayed with her until she was taken to the hospital. Afterwards, he went back to the role of a background observer and protector.

He wondered if things could’ve been different if he actually made the effort to talk to her. They always sat together in class until the meteor hit and Brylee began attending school via correspondence when she joined the Loonatics. They would be friends, for sure.

But maybe by this point, he would’ve finally gained the courage to ask her out.

“Well, I hope you enjoyed your meal, dear,” Bambi smiled warmly as she picked up the empty dishes.

“It was beautiful. Thank you so much,” Brylee gushed.

“You wanna get out of here?” Ryan asked.

Barely could barely manage to nod and grab her bag before Ryan grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the table, leaving money for their meals (despite his parents’ objections).

When they were finished, Ryan mentioned that Misty Breeze was preparing to do a live broadcast from Civil Hall Plaza just down the road. They decided they could see if they could watch; or at least wonder how long it would be until they were noticed and sent away. Brylee, remembering that Duck was a devoted fan of Misty Breeze, decided it would be a good opportunity to get him her autograph. The weather was already starting to change.

They hid at the small park nearby, out of sight of the news crew, but close enough where they could hear everything that was going on.

“Alright, Misty. We’re going on live. Is everything ready?” a crewman named Rob asked.

Brylee could recognize the woman with the teal-coloured hair anywhere. Her face was as sour as her attitude. Brylee thought Misty could make a killing as an actress because she knew how to fake it on camera and at official appearances.

Brylee also recognized the other woman that was approaching the crewman and Misty from a school field trip. Paula Hayes, an intern at the newsroom who had the unfortunate and unenviable task of being Misty’s personal assistant.

“Here’s your coffee too, Misty,” Paula said dutifully as she handed Misty her coffee. “You know, I was thinking we should do a piece on barometric pressure.”

“That’s absurd!” Misty scoffed as she took the script Rob offered her.

“What? Barometric pressure?” Paula asked in surprise.

“No. That you were thinking. I’m Misty Breeze, honey. I do the weather. You… bring the coffee,” Misty sneered, taking a sip of her coffee.

Paula growled and gave Misty a glare that could send her six feet under. At the same time, ugly purple clouds formed in the sky, clapping thunder and bringing forth high winds. Brylee could also feel water spitting at her cheek, indicating, at the very least, a light shower.

“Whoa. This is gonna be a big one,” Rob remarked, walking into the trailer.

“Maybe we should get out of here,” Ryan suggested. “I don’t like the look of this weather.”

Brylee shook her head, “Something’s up with Paula.”

“Up how?” Ryan asked worriedly.

“That’s what I wanna find out,” Brylee answered. She began tossing off her every day clothes, revealing her uniform underneath.

“Whoa. You’re like Superman!” Ryan remarked. “That’s kinda hot.”

“Thanks,” Brylee shrugged while folding her clothes into her backpack. “Let’s get a closer look.”

When Ryan and Brylee moved closer, they heard the whirr of the printer as Rob was obviously printing an updated script to correspond with the more recent changes to the weather.

“You said if I told her my idea, you’d back me up!” Paula hissed.

“Oh, come on, Paula! You can’t be on air!” Rob objected. “You’re too young, you’re inexperienced, and… well, let’s just say the camera loves you… when you’re behind it.”

“What?!” Paula gasped in disbelief. She then growled and boomed, “NO ONE APPRECIATES ME!”

As she said those words, another clap of thunder sounded in the sky and a gust of wind blew around in the trailer, causing what Brylee presumed were the pages of Misty’s newest script to blow around all over the trailer, getting out of order.

“Misty’s script!” Rob gasped in horror as he desperately tried to gather the loose pages. “Oh, she’s gonna…”

As if it was cued, Misty appeared at the doorway to the trailer demanding, “Where’s my script?! I need my script, Rob! I can’t make up the weather, you know!”

Rob didn’t even bother trying to come up with a response. Instead, he began sorting through the pages he had managed to gather to make sure they were in the correct order. While he did that, Misty took a sip of the coffee she was enjoying only moments before. Only this time, she spat it out.

“This is cold, you twit!” Misty snapped at Paula before pouring the coffee all over her intern. “You are absolutely worthless!”

Degraded by yet another act of humiliation, Paula growled and glared at Misty, muttering, “I know more about the weather than you’ll ever know.”

Just like the other few times Brylee had seen Paula get angry, another weather phenomenon occurred. Only this time, the target was more personal. Somehow, a thundercloud appeared above Misty’s head with the accompanying lightning, thunder and rain. Misty screamed as she was soaked to the skin by the cloud.

“What was that?!” Rob gasped.

“My hair!” Misty cried in horror, clutching her teal-coloured strands and storming towards the nearby building.

“We’re on in thirty! Try and lose that cloud in the meantime!” Rob called to her retreating form.

“Let me do it!” Paula immediately suggested, almost eagerly.

“No! Paula, you…!” Rob immediately began objecting.

“What other choice do you have?” Paula asked coyly.

Rob hummed in consideration at the thought. There was no guarantee that Misty would be camera ready by the time they were due to go on air and they couldn’t go on air without a weatherperson on standby. No reporter would reach the plaza in time to fill in for Misty. It was too short notice.

Paul was right. He didn’t have any other choice.

“I think she was affected by the meteor,” Brylee whispered to Ryan.

“What makes you say that?” Ryan asked incredulously.

“You meant o tell me you didn’t notice a weather phenomenon occurring whenever she got angry?” Brylee asked in disbelief.

“There’s a storm coming in,” Ryan pointed out. “It could be a coincidence, Bry.”

“What about that storm cloud that appeared above Misty’s head and only affected Misty?” Brylee retorted.

“Good point,” Ryan conceded.

“Did you just call me Bry?” Brylee suddenly asked.

Ryan didn’t answer her question as they noticed the news crew was preparing for the broadcast with Paula in Misty’s place. They watched as the cameraman did the countdown, going silent when he reached one and then pointed to Paula, signalling to her that she was live.

“This is Paula Hayes, and I’m standing in City Hall Plaza where a giant storm is brewing over Acmetropolis. There’s lighting, thunder and dangerously high winds,” Paula reported with a smirk.

It did not escape Brylee’s notice that whenever Paula listed the signs of the oncoming storm, those signs appeared almost instantly. Brylee and Ryan struggled to maintain their footing as the dangerously high winds Paula mentioned appeared. The cameraman and Rob whimpered in fear as the cameraman was trying to capture the carnage unfolding around them. The trailer was shaking in the wind, struggling to stay upright. It was doing better than a nearby statue of one of Acmetropolis’ founders, which fell of its perch, shattering upon impact.

What happened next surprised everyone that was present. The lightning that was striking around them sent another discharge directly at Paula. Paula screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through her.

“PAULA!” Rob cried out in horror, immediately racing over.

Brylee knew he was trying to help, but what could he do? There was no way he could help Paula without getting killed himself, if there was even a way to help Paula.

Paula, who was crouching on the ground in pain, screamed again as she was levitated off the ground. Her body arched as purple beams shone out of her eyes and electricity seemed to shoot off her body.

It was at this moment that Misty decided to reappear, the storm cloud above her having dissipated and her hair and makeup restored to the way it was before the incident. Needless to say, she did not like what she saw.

“What is she doing?!” Misty demanded.

“What is she doing?!” Ryan repeated Misty’s question, having to shout over the carnage.

“I don’t know!” Brylee shouted as she shouted towards Rob and the cameraman. “You guys need to get out of here! Now!”

“Cut! Stop take!” Misty snapped, shoving the cameraman who was still recording. “I am Misty Breeze! I do the weather!”

Rob, Brylee and Misty turned to face Paula as she cackled.

“Well, there’s a change in the air, Misty, because I am the weather!” Paula shouted, spinning around in the air as the lightning dissipated and tornados were shot from her hands.

Brylee could barely get rob out of the way in time as Paula turned the tornados towards them. Ryan tried to reach Misty to get her out the way, but he couldn’t stop her from being whisked away by the tornado.

“Sorry, Misty! Your program’s been cancelled! They said I couldn’t be on the air! Well, I am now!” Paula proclaimed, her voice echoing around the plaza.

The cameraman barely managed to get back on his feet as Paula levitated into the air, disappearing into the purple clouds that were beginning to form around them. When the clouds parted to give Rob, Brylee and the cameraman a good view, Paula was floating in an electrical orb and had changed drastically.

Her skin, which was once pale, had now turned into a shade of blue and her hair turned into a shade of purple that almost matched the purple dress she now donned. Her eyes were now purple all over, with no discernible features. In fact, the only recognizable feature of Paula’s before her transformation was her red lips.

Brylee didn’t have much time to ponder on what was happening, as Paula turned her lighting towards the four of them on the ground.

Chapter Text

There was a high-pitched ringing when Brylee came to. She had been momentarily stunned by the lightning. When it came, she just threw her arm up. She didn’t know why she did it. She supposed it was instinct. But it must have done something, because it blocked most of the impact. Even if it didn’t stop the group from being thrown back by the impact.

Looking to her left, Brylee saw Ryan starting to come to as well. He looked shaken, but otherwise unharmed. It was clear he was trying to make sense of what happened.

“Bry?” Ryan winced. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Brylee responded shakily. “Where are the others?”

“I don’t know about the cameraman, but I think that producer’s trapped in the trailer,” Ryan answered.

Grunting, Brylee pushed herself onto her feet, stumbling slightly when she righted herself. She wiped at the sweat that had gathered on her forehead (when did the temperature change?), battling against the high winds that had suddenly developed.

At first, Brylee couldn’t understand why the weather had undergone such an extreme change. Then she remembered.

She had a new villain to deal with.

Brylee and Ryan approached the trailer, pressing their ears against the metal to hear signs of life. They heard groaning inside, indicating that Rob was alive. Maybe a bit disoriented, but alive.

“Looks like the trailer’s fallen on the door. He’s trapped,” Brylee observed.

“Can you cut him out?” Ryan asked.

Brylee shook her head, “Don’t think so, and I think it’s a bit too risky to find out now.”

“Fair point,” Ryan conceded.

Brylee pressed the button on her wrist to activate her communicator, “Ace? You there?”

“Brylee? I was just about to call you. Is everything okay?”

“We’ve got a situation,” Brylee answered. “How fast can you and the others get to City Hall Plaza?”

**

A few minutes earlier…

The remaining members of the Loonatics were dealing with a problem themselves. The high winds Paula had generated were strong enough to knock a satellite disk off its mount, and it dangled precariously over the edge of a building. The civilians watched in fear as the dish shifted, looking to fall any second.

Then, the dish stabilised. It no longer dangled precariously at the edge. It no longer buckled in the wind. Within a few seconds, the civilians were able to see why.

Slam lifted the dish into the air, grunting as he did. Even with his super strength, some tasks felt like a workout for him. Slam tipped the dish back, sending it in the other direction before using his tornado powers to race to the other side of the building. He caught it before it could fall over, guiding it in the right position to link back with where it broke off its mount.

Tech was monitoring the situation nearby with a handheld device. When it beeped to indicate that the dish was in the right position, he barked, “That’s it! Now!”

Standing next to him, Ace fired his laser at the fracture in the satellite dish’s mount, the heat of his laser fusing the two ends together.

“There we go! That oughta keep Duck from complaining!” Ace quipped.

“We’re done! How was that so hard?” Tech asked Slam.

The Tasmanian Devil leaned against the ledge of the roof, wiping his forehead of the sweat that had started to accumulate. He wanted to say that was easy for Tech to say, considering Slam was the one doing the heavy lifting. But he didn’t get the chance to.

Because Slam learned the hard way that he was standing on the door into the building when Duck pushed it open, unwittingly sending his teammate over the edge.

But Duck was oblivious to what he had done, instead ranting, “Thanks a lot, Slam! Just in time for me to miss my favourite TV personality of all time, Misty Breeze!”

But Ace and Tech had noticed what Duck had done, because they both raced to the edge where Slam had fallen.

“DUCK!” Ace cut in.

“What?!” Duck responded irritably.

Fortunately for Slam, Lexi and Rev were ready to catch him. Rev carried Slam on his shoulders as he raced up the building, while Lexi flew up on her jetpack, supporting Slam’s upper body and taking some of the strain off the roadrunner.

Rev might have had super speed, but he did not have the strength required to carry Slam.

“I break more nails picking up after you guys!” Lexi grumbled.

Once Rev and Lexi had righted Slam back onto his feet, the first thing Slam did was charge at Duck. But he chose to get up in the mallard’s face and use his garbled speech to make his displeasure known.

“Such language!” Duck gasped, wisely choosing to quack out of sight (much to Slam’s annoyance).

Ace hummed as he glanced at the built-in communicator in his wrist, making note of the time.

“Brylee should’ve been back by now,” Ace remarked.

“She probably got held up,” Lexi shrugged.

“She should’ve called me,” Ace argued. “One of us could’ve gone to get her if she needed help getting home.”

“Ace, Brylee is more than capable of looking after herself,” Lexi reasoned. “And she knows to call if she got into trouble.” She then decided to tease Ace, “Unless she met up with a boy. Then, you know, she probably got sidetracked…”

“Not. Helping,” Ace grumbled, shooting the female bunny a glare.

Nothing more could be said by either Loonatic, because they heard screams in the air above them. Looking up in confusion, they saw a woman falling from the sky before sliding down the satellite dish. She managed to stop her fall by grasping on the feed horn that stuck out from the middle of the parabolic surface. It was only then that the Loonatics were able to recognize the woman.

“Misty Breeze!” Duck gasped excitedly. The others could’ve sworn they saw hearts coming out of Duck’s eyes, the mallard being a lifelong fan of the woman.

“Don’t just stand there, you dolts! Get me out of here!” Misty snapped.

She then lost her grip and slid down the rest of the way. It was rather like going down a slide, but it wasn’t a nice landing that awaited her at the bottom, like one would find going down the slide at a park. This slide involved quite a height, and the landing would’ve hurt.

Duck quacked to where Misty would land, catching the diva weatherwoman bridal style.

“I’m your biggest fan!” Duck gushed. “Danger Duck at your service, hot stuff!”

Misty righted herself as she stood in the wind, posing with one hand on the back of her head and the other hand on her hip. “Thank you,” Misty responded. She then shot a glare at Duck (and Lexi, by extension, since she was standing nearby) and sneered, “Don’t get too close!”

“Ace? You there?”

“Brylee?” Ace immediately answered. “I was just about to call you. Is everything okay?”

“We’ve got a situation. How fast can you and the others get to City Hall Plaza?”

“We’re on our way,” Ace immediately reassured his sister.

“Wait!” Misty cut in. “That was where I was doing my broadcast!”

“You were broadcasting live from City Hall Plaza?” Lexi asked.

“Yes. And this woman used her powers to blow me away!” Misty shrieked.

The others exchanged a look before deciding they needed to get to City Hall Plaza…

After drawing straws to see who would have the pleasure of escorting Misty off the building.

**

Once they knew Misty was safe, the other Loonatics were racing through the sky to reach City Hall Plaza. With Brylee’s call and Misty ending up in the satellite dish, they knew something had happened.

“Misty and her crew were broadcasting from City Hall Plaza,” Ace recalled what Misty had told them.

“I just don’t get it! Who would ever want to harm the lovely Misty Breeze?” Duck asked.

“Anybody who’s ever met her?” was Lexi’s response.

“Jealous?” Duck smirked.

Lexi wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. For one thing, Misty had nothing for Lexi to be jealous of.

For another, Zadavia was contacting them through one of the virtual billboards they were flying past.

“Loonatics, we’re receiving reports that a strange weather phenomenon is materializing all over the planet,” Zadavia immediately informed them, not bothering to waste time with pleasantries.

“Say, Zadavia,” Ace began, “isn’t monitoring the weather more of a job for…?”

“Misty Breeze?” Duck interrupted his leader, a starstruck look in his eyes.

Ace’s look was hard to convey. It was part incredulousness, part disbelief, part… actually, Ace didn’t know if he should be surprised. This was typical Danger Duck.

“Not this kind of weather,” was Zadavia’s retort. “You’d better move fast, Loonatics. Zadavia out.”

**

The first thing Ace did (albeit unwittingly) was recall Lexi’s remarks about Brylee getting sidetracked by a boy. Because he saw his little sister standing by the overturned trailer…

With a boy.

“Eh, what’s up, doc?” Ace asked the boy pointedly, positioning himself in front of his sister.

“Ace,” Brylee cut in with a warning tone.

“I’m Ryan,” Ryan introduced himself, offering his hand to shake. “Ryan Fontana.”

Ace wasn’t anymore impressed. In fact, he just stood there, looking briefly at the outstretched hand before settling on intimidating Ryan with his glare. He knew his sister would have objections to this.

He would retort that he wasn’t using his powers to intimidate the teenage boy, and they should both be thankful for that.

Lexi, meanwhile, was giving Brylee a knowing look. She had heard about Ryan from the youngest Loonatic. With the way Brylee had talked about him, Lexi wondered if Brylee had a crush on him – or if she realized she did.

“Ace, Ryan and I were checking out the broadcast,” Brylee interceded, stepping in between them. “I met up with him at the park and we were hanging out.”

“Hanging out?” Ace repeated his sister’s words, the tone in his voice conveying his unhappiness about his little sister hanging out with a boy.

“Look. We can talk about this later, but the producer is trapped in that trailer,” Brylee sighed in exasperation. She then turned to Ryan and said, “The weather’s getting pretty bad. You should go make sure your family’s okay. Can you get back to the café?”

“Yeah. I’ll manage,” Ryan nodded at Brylee. He then looked at Ace and said, “Nice to meet you,” before he walked away.

“You could’ve been a bit nicer,” Brylee said to her brother.

“I thought I was,” Ace shrugged. He then asked Brylee with a smirk, “I didn’t use my powers, did I?”

Brylee rolled her eyes. Oh great. She thought overprotective Ace before the meteor hit was annoying enough. Now that he had the superpowers to allow him to not only get more creative with his threats, but back them up?

There goes any chance of her having a love life.

Slam lifted the trailer into the air, holding it up as the door swung open and Rob fell to the floor below, making an unintelligible noise as he did. Still holding the trailer up, Slam babbled to the producer, obviously asking him what had happened.

“Paula. Assistant. The script. Misty. Wet hair. Crazy weather. Storm! Misty gone!” Rob gasped, sitting up.

Stepping under the trailer Slam was still holding up, Ace remarked, “Hey, uh, I’m gonna need some more woids there, pal. Got any voibs?”

“Here’s one. Look!” Lexi cried, pointing to the sky.

The group looked up to see Paula, now standing in an orb as she hovered in the sky.

“No stealing my thunder, Loonatics! Back off!” Paula snapped, lighting dancing off her hands as her voice echoed around them.

“That’s her!” Brylee and Rob proclaimed.

“Cloud creatures, put these heroes in a fog!”

Brylee watched as Paula pointed her hands to the ground below her, causing those cloud creatures to form before the team.

“Amazing!” Tech gasped. Of course the resident scientist would marvel at this.

“Was this in the forecast?” Ace asked rhetorically.

“Ooh, scary clouds!” Duck pretended to shudder in fear. “What? You gonna stop us from getting a tan?” Any further teasing remark Duck would have made was lost when one of the cloud creatures gripped Duck around the waist. “Maybe stop us from breathing!” Duck cried when he was yanked away.

“Okay, chief. What’s the plan?” Tech asked their leader.

“Kick some cloud!” was Ace’s response.

Ace jumped up, giving the cloud creature a roundhouse kick to the head, which dissipated at the action. However, the action didn’t take down the cloud creature itself, as one of its hands grabbed Ace by the foot, holding him upside down as his face regenerated.

“Hey, watch the foot! It’s lucky!” Ace snapped.

Slam jumped up, chewing through the monster’s arm and spitting it out as he ran off. Ace fell to the ground, the hand that was holding him by the foot having dissipated when Slam chewed through the arm. Paula, however, was not pleased with how things were unfolding, so she had another cloud creature tackle Slam to the ground.

Rev, meanwhile, was running in circles around another cloud creature, babbling as he went.

“Here’s something you don’t see on a sunny day! I could be wrong, but it looks like they’re alive! But how is that possible? Clouds are just for making rain! Not striking terror in the heart of the city!”

Rev’s babbling allowed the cloud creature to punch the ground in front of the roadrunner, causing him to stumble across the plaza where he ultimately crashed into Brylee. The two Loonatics grunted at the impact as they were forced to the ground. Rev immediately helped Brylee to her feet, watching in concern as Brylee briefly shook her head, indicating some form of disorientation she experienced.

“A present for ya! Via Duck Mail!” Duck taunted, throwing one of his eggs at the cloud creature holding him. But the egg went through the creature without causing damage.

“Let’s pump up the clouds and bring in the fog!”

Lexi was grunting as she avoided the blows from the cloud creature she was facing off against. But Paula’s actions were making it impossible for her to see.

“Yoohoo! Puffy boy!” Lexi called. Lexi grunted when she felt a hand pushing her from behind. Using a forward flip to right herself, she turned around and faced the cloud creature that tried to knock her over, “Oh. There you are.”

Ace was in the grips of a cloud creature again. But this time, rather than just gripping his foot, the cloud creature also had a tight grip on Ace’s ears. Using his laser vision, Ace cut through the arms, forcing the cloud creature to let go of him. He then tried to shoot his laser vision at the cloud creature’s torso, figuring striking it at the equivalent of its heart would do the trick.

Cries of pain disabused Ace of that thought, as his laser went straight through the cloud and struck Tech instead, as demonstrated by Tech jumping up in the air holding his bottom, where the lasers had struck him.

“Whoops!” Ace winced. “Very sorry there, Tech.”

Rev raced over, warning Ace, “Ace, my internal radar can’t distinguish between what’s a creature and what’s plain old fog! And it’s getting hard to avoid their grip!” Rev’s final word was choked off by a cloud creature gripping Rev and pulling him away.

“What do you say we help him out, Slam?” Ace asked rhetorically.

Slam grunted, being pinned down by another cloud creature. But he was able to activate his tornado powers, using his suction to remove as much fog as he could. He then came over to the cloud creature that loomed over Ace, knocking it away.

“Slam: one! Cloud: none!” Ace smirked.

Paula shrieked at the events unfolding. “Clouds of thunder, destroy them!”

Brylee winced as the clouds grew even bigger. She was having enough of a hard time as it was. Especially considering her powers were useless against them.

“Oh shit!” Brylee cried, narrowly avoiding being struck by one of the growing creatures.

When she righted herself, Ace shot her a disapproving look and rebuked her, “Hey! Language!”

Brylee went to roll her eyes, but settled with tackling her brother out of the way instead as another cloud creature went for them.

“This is getting annoying,” Brylee grumbled, accepting Ace’s outstretched hand to pull her up.

They walked over to Lexi, who had somehow gotten the cloud creature to hover over a fire hydrant. Developing an idea, Lexi used her brain blast powers to blast the top of the fire hydrant off, allowing a stream of water to hit the cloud creature, which roared as it grew in size.

“Clouds absorb water!” Lexi gasped. She then quipped at Ace and Brylee, “And to think I only got a B in science!”

‘ONLY a B?’ Brylee couldn’t but think to herself incredulously. You had to score anywhere between 80-89% to get a grade in the B range. And considering Lexi mentioned getting a solid B rather than a B- or a B+, that meant Lexi would’ve had to score anywhere between 83-86% to get that grade. It was still impressive.

“That’s great, Lexi, but do you really wanna make ‘em bigger?” Ace asked her nervously.

The trio watched as the cloud only grew bigger and bigger. But then, not taking the pressure anymore, it dissipated with a final lighting flash, dousing the trio with a light rainfall.

“Whoa!” Lexi smiled.

Rev had caught onto what was happening, so he raced over excitedly, “Oh! I wanna try that! Let me try that! Let me try that! Here I go!”

Rev immediately raced over to the fountain, using his super speed to kick up a tremendous amount of water at the cloud creature that hovered nearby. He achieved the same result Lexi had achieved. Once the cloud creature had absorbed too much water, it too dissipated, only leaving rainfall in its wake.

Brylee raced over to the fountain as well, but she had a different idea in mind. Using her powers, she broke the statue of the merman blowing a horn, where the water was coming out. The stream of water that emerged from the now broken statue doused the third cloud creature. The third cloud creature also dissipated with a final roar.

“Nice job, sis,” Ace praised his younger sister. He then glowered at her, “We will talk about your language a little later, though.” That comment earned him an eyeroll from the teenager.

“Water egg. Please. Going for a water egg. Water egg!” Duck muttered to himself.

He forced one of his eggs into the cloud creature’s mouth, forcing it to loosen its grip on him. Rather than simply dissipating like the other three cloud creatures had, this cloud creature exploded, with an orange substance emerging from him rather than a clear one.

Holding his tongue out to taste the substance, he smacked his lips and rubbed his stomach, humming in approval, “Orange juice will do the trick too!”

“Pesky duck!”

Duck cried as a bolt of lightning sent him flying, causing him to land in Slam’s arms. Now gathered in the plaza as a group, the seven Loonatics looked up at their latest supervillain, glaring at her.

“You may have won this round, Loonatics, but I’m the star here!” Paula proclaimed. The cameraman (Brylee had wondered where he’d gotten off to) joined her at the roof. Paula turned to the unnamed cameraman and seethed at him, “Keep that camera pointed at me! I’ve got breaking news!” Satisfied the cameraman was recording, she proclaimed, “Hear me, Acmetropolis! I am Weather Vane – and tonight, there is a 100% chance… of destruction!”

Paula – no, Weather Vane – then began directing her lighting towards the Loonatics. They danced around the plaza to avoid the strikes, but they couldn’t dance around it forever.

“Here’s a newsflash for you, Loonatics – and it’s a real shocker!”

Tech gasped as he saw what was coming. Weather Vane had fired individual lighting shots at each member of the team. There was no way they could avoid them. So, Tech immediately pressed a button, extending a rod from his jetpack and cried in pain as he absorbed the hits for everyone.

Once he was a pile of ash on the ground, Ace praised the resident inventor, “Nice lighting rod, Tech! That’s definitely gonna eoirn you some vacation time!”

Once he had regenerated, Tech asked his leader with a wince, “Can I take it right now?”

“Let me think about it,” Ace pondered, muttering between the two answers before settling on a firm, “No!”

The Loonatics looked up once again at Paula, waiting to see what she would do next.

“All the elements are at my command. I don’t need to report the story. I am the story!” Weather Vane cackled before turning to the cameraman, ordering him, “Make sure you get this. It’ll make everyone forget about Misty Breeze!”

“Forget about Misty Breeze?!” Duck scoffed. “I’d sooner forget about…” Duck trailed off before asking about Lexi and Brylee, “Well, what’s their names here?”

Lexi and Brylee immediately shot the mallard dirty looks.

“Time for you to be gone with the wind!”

Brylee decided she didn’t like how that sounded long before she and her teammates were caught up in a tornado. Ace quickly maintained a tight grip on his sister’s wrist, keeping her closer to him as he grabbed a streetlight nearby. The duo spun around in the air before falling to the ground. Ace was able to land on his feet, and so was Brylee, but unlike her agile brother, Brylee lost her balance. She had to be rightened by her older brother.

“You okay?” Ace asked her worriedly.

“Is the room spinning?” Brylee moaned, holding her head as she watched Slam get through out of the tornado.

“You’re probably dizzy from being spun around like that,” Ace told her. At least, he hoped that’s what it was.

With a scream, Duck quacked himself out of the tornado. Now, something that was known about Duck was that he could quack a short distance away, and he could usually control where he went if he thought hard enough. The keywords here were usually and thought hard enough. Duck didn’t think about where he would be quacking to. As long as he was out of the tornado, he didn’t care.

Well, he reconsidered those thoughts when he ended up quaking himself inside a TV being displayed at a nearby shop. Smooched against the glass, Duck whimpered, “Look, mummy! I’m on TV!”

“You’re on, Slam!” Ace told the Tasmanian Devil.

Not needing to be told twice, Slam immediately activated his own tornado powers, zooming to battle the tornado that still had three of his team members trapped inside.

“ACE! HELP!” Lexi cried.

Ace immediately fired a grappling hook, which attached to Lexi’s jetpack. Ace then used that momentum to pull Lexi out of the cyclone.

“Gotcha!” Ace grunted in exertion.

“Thanks!” Lexi winced after landing harshly on the ground.

While Ace helped Lexi back onto her feet, Brylee watched as Tech wrapped an arm around Rev’s waist before firing his own grappling hook. The hook latched into a nearby building, giving Tech the momentum he needed to swing himself and Rev out of the cyclone.

“I was gonna get you next,” Ace told the coyote sheepishly.

“I got impatient,” Tech winked at the roadrunner.

The remaining Loonatics gathered as they watched Slam battle the tornado. Looking up, Brylee could also see civilians had gathered at the windows of the buildings nearby, watching the carnage unfold. Brylee didn’t fully understand what Slam was doing, but she didn’t dwell on it too much.

For one thing, whatever Slam was doing was working as the tornado eventually dissipated.

The civilians in the building cheered at Slam’s victory. Slam stood in a pose that was reminiscent to his old days in the wrestling ring, soaking in the praise and the glory. None of the other Loonatics begrudged him of this. He had more than earned it.

Weather Vane, watching the scene unfold from the clouds, was not pleased.

“They defeated my clouds, my lightning, my tornado – but can they defeat all of them at once?!” Weather Vane challenged them. “I release all the forces of the elements upon you, Acmetropolis!”

Brylee gasped as Weather Vane followed through with her threat. She thought dealing with the elements one at a time – especially with the way Weather Vane seemed to supercharge them – was bad enough. But with all of them at once?

The Loonatics were in for a hell of a fight.

A bolt of lighting struck one of the nearby buildings, causing the top part of it to explode in fire and rubble. The Loonatics knew the top floors of the building had already been evacuated when the storms started approaching, so they weren’t worried about potential casualties.

“Bring me Misty Breeze or start building an ark!”

“Move it, Loonatics!” Ace snapped as the team flew through the city.

Putting the well-known biblical reference to one side for the time being, Brylee watched in horror as one of the lightning strikes struck the tracks for the monorail. One carriage of the monorail dangled precariously over the edge of the broken track. And to make matters worse, the monorail wouldn’t simply just fall to the ground.

Weather Vane’s control over the elements allowed her to flood the city with a deluge of rain, beyond anything that was seen even in some of Acmetropolis’ worst storm seasons. She was causing several days’ worth of natural disasters in a matter of minutes. The monorail would fall into the water, and everyone trapped in the monorail would drown.

“Ace!” Brylee cried. “The monorail!”

Ace followed his sister’s line of sight and gasped at the untold implications. As the monorail continued to slide, he turned back to the rest of the team, “Come on, gang! Let’s get that monorail!”

Slam sprung into action, flying below the carriage that dangled precariously over the edge. Using a combination of his super strength and tornado powers, Slam lifted the carriage up so it levelled out. Tech, knowing that Slam may need some additional help, used his magnetic powers to lift up the rest of the monorail behind the Tasmanian Devil, taking some of the strength for him. Ace and Lexi used their powers to take down the remaining damaged section of the track, allowing for a safer landing.

Brylee watched as the monorail landed back on the track and immediately sped away. Slam, however, was in front of the lead carriage, pushing against it with his strength until the monorail eventually slowed to a stop.

“Good job, Slam!” Ace praised the Tasmanian Devil.

Slam did not heed the praise. He was too busy fanning and blowing on his burning feet, the friction causing them to overheat uncomfortably.

When the doors opened, Ace asked the gathered passengers coyly, “So, who ordered the AcmeHeroes?”

The cheers of the passengers showered the Loonatics in gratitude for their efforts. Satisfied the passengers would be safe for the time being until they could get them down safely (the supernatural weather phenomena prevented a more total rescue), the Loonatics flew away.

An elderly woman on the monorail turned to her grandchild and said, “Oh, I knew his great-great-great-grandfather.”

**

The Loonatics knew that they could save every civilian in Acmetropolis if they fell victim to one element of Weather Vane’s schemes. If a civilian got washed away in flood waters, they could dive in and get them out. If civilians were in danger of being crushed by falling rubble, they could get them out of the way.

But they knew that as long as Weather Vane reigned supreme, the citizens of Acmetropolis would never be truly safe. The only way to save Acmetropolis was to defeat their newest supervillain.

And that was what Ace had deduced, as the team gathered once more in City Plaza. He ordered the team, “Box her in! One of us from each side! Go!”

The team immediately flew up to the top of the building. They moved to box her in from each side, as Ace instructed. Duck and Brylee took the wings from their respective sides, while the others surrounded the other sides of the building. Except for Rev and Slam. They hung back to act as a perimeter barricade in case Weather Vane managed to slip through.

Ace began reciting his line, “Okay, Weather Vane. Your forecast calls for…”

“AH! DON’T HURT ME!”

It was only then the team realized that Weather Vane had gotten away. Only the cameraman remained on the roof of the building.

“Ah, I didn’t even get to finish my line,” Ace pouted. “Where’d she go?”

“I don’t know! She just flew up and vanished!” the cameraman answered fearfully.

Ace flew over to Rev, where the Roadrunner was already using his internal radar to search for not only Weather Vane, but any civilian in distress.

“Hey, Rev, does your radar show anybody else in danger?” Ace asked worriedly.

“Well, a lot of wet people, but nobody in danger. Unless you count soggy underwear as danger!” Rev quipped.

The team looked down and saw the civilians struggling to seek shelter from the flooded streets where they could.

“We should evacuate the area,” Ace suggested.

“The whole area? Why?” Lexi asked.

“I’ve got a little feeling something big is coming,” Ace answered.

Zadavia’s hologram then began projecting from the back of Slam’s backpack. This surprised Brylee. She didn’t realize their jetpacks had that capability.

Unless Zadavia was putting her skills at turning anything technology-based into a communication relay into good use.

“Suspicions confirmed, Ace.” As usual, Zadavia did not waste time with greetings. When Slam used his garbled speech to ask for more information, Zadavia answered, “There’s an unnatural energy force brewing with intensity 35 miles off the Acmetropolis Coast. All efforts to contain Weather Vane have failed.”

Well, if that wasn’t a call to action, Brylee didn’t know what was.

Brylee briefly held her head for a moment, stalling briefly as the others took off. She suddenly felt light-headed and her head started hurting. But she put those symptoms aside, assuming she was still feeling the effects of being spun around in that tornado, and chased after the team, hoping they didn’t notice her absence.

She did not need an overprotective team right now.

When she caught up with them, she heard Lexi remarking, “With all this water, we could sure use a duck.”

“Yeah. Where is Duck?” Ace mused.

It was only then that Brylee noticed the mallard had disappeared. But it didn’t take her long to figure out what he was doing.

**

Brylee’s suspicions proved correct. Duck was racing through the waters on one of Tech’s inventions. He did not know what it was, but he made a mental note to thank the coyote for inventing it. (Even if he didn’t follow through with the display of gratitude. The fact that he thought to do it counted for something, right?) He was in hot pursuit of Weather Vane.

“Duck, where are you?”

“I’m on a personal mission!” Duck answered.

“Poisonal? Hey, Duck, we don’t do-“

Whatever Ace was trying to say was lost when Duck pressed the button to disconnect the communication. He knew he would hear about it later. But right now…

“Anybody who insults Misty Breeze insults Danger Duck!”

Duck came to a stop below Weather Vane as she floated in the sky. He didn’t waste any time. He immediately started taunting her.

“Excuse me, bubblehead! But as Misty Breeze’s biggest fan, I’m gonna have to ask that you apologize to her right now!” Duck declared.

“Misty Breeze?! She is nothing compared to me!” Weather Vane raged.

“Well, somebody has an ego,” Duck smirked. But his taunting turned to a cry of fear as Weather Vane directed her powers at the ocean, “And a temper!”

Duck cried once more as the giant wave that was generated by Weather Vane’s powers forced him into the depths of the ocean. But being a highly competent swimmer, he was quick to right himself. Activating his jetpack underwater, he was quick to fly out and charge at Weather Vane once more.

“I am queen of the elements. A weather goddess!” Weather Vane proudly proclaimed.

She screamed as she was sent flying through the air, Duck having flown up behind her in the midst of the traditional villains’ monologue and kicking the sphere that housed her.

“Did you see that coming, Misty Hater?!” Duck taunted her.

“You again?!” Weather Vane snarled at Duck once she righted herself.

“Nobody disses Misty Breeze, or you answer to the vice president and founding member of her international fan club!” Duck pressed on.

“I answer to no one because I-!” Weather Vane began objecting.

“Excuse me, Miss Partly Cloudy!” Duck cut in rudely. “You’ve had your moment! I’m trying to expound here!”

“I’ve heard enough!” Weather Vane snarled.

Weather Vane disappeared in a puff of clouds and fog once more. Duck feared she was creating another weather element to strike him with. But instead, what he got was much worse.

Weather Vane emerged from the clouds… as a storm dragon.

“Now, there’s something you don’t see every day,” Duck quipped almost fearfully.

“DUCK!” Brylee cried as the team approached him. “What are you doing?!”

“Where’s Weather Vane?!” Lexi demanded.

As the team gasped and whimpered at the sight of the dragon before them, Ace remarked fearfully, “I hope that’s not her.”

Weather Vane’s cackles disabused Ace of the hope that it wasn’t her.

Well, this was a first for the team.

As the team dodged the lightning strikes the dragon fired from her mouth, the dragon took this as her chance to fly back towards the city.

“The dragon is heading back to Acmetropolis!” Lexi cried.

It did not take long for Weather Vane to start causing carnage as she approached the city’s boarders. She fired at the lighthouse at the coast, destroying it before moving on to target two helpless fishermen on the nearby pier. Brylee raced down, acting as a barrier once more between Weather Vane and the fishermen, buying them time for a quick getaway. Brylee was knocked back by the impact, but Rev quickly flew over and helped the young teenager right herself.

Tech gasped as he saw Weather Vane knock down a steel antenna off the top of the roof, sending it down towards the helpless civilians below. He quickly activated his magnetic powers, catching the steel structure in the air before it could fall to the ground. Still using his powers, he squashed the steel structure into a ball before sending it hurtling at Weather Vane, who only sucked it up on a swirling cloud. The coyote groaned in dismay.

Ace stood on the roof of a nearby building, watching the chaos unfold. Rev had delivered Brylee to her older brother, and Ace had a protective arm wrapped around her. The weather events had knocked Brylee around quite a bit. She needed a minute to recover.

“A busted fire hydrant is not gonna take that thing out,” Lexi quipped as she flew next to the duo.

Noticing the coyote fly up next to them, Ace asked, “Hey, uh, Tech, I don’t suppose you had a really big hairdryer?” It wouldn’t have surprised him if he did. Tech tended to invent things for the sake of it. But more often than not, his seemingly weird and random inventions came in handy during their missions.

“If you’re thinking of evaporating that thing, it would take a hairdryer about… oh, a mile wide,” was Tech’s response.

“Nah, nah, nah,” Ace shook his head. He then turned to the roadrunner, “Hey, Rev! Any idea where we can find the hottest spot within a hundred miles?”

Rev answered eagerly, “Oh, baby, do I have a fiery hotspot for you guys! It’s gonna burn the hair off if you get too close! It’s smoking!”

“Got it!” Tech cried. “We just need some bait.”

Duck, who had flown over in time to hear Tech’s declaration, looked nervously as his teammates smirked at him.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Duck asked nervously. He then deadpanned, “Let me guess. Me again.”

**

The first thing the team dead was rush back to headquarters to get everything Tech needed for the job at hand. He decided he needed his Portalab, which he had newly built, and the means to construct a bomb to detonate inside the volcano on this island.

The plan was simple. Rev would help Duck bait Weather Vane towards the volcano, where Slam would have dumped the bomb to stir up the lava. When the bomb detonates, Weather Vane would be hit by the intense heat of a volcano erupting, causing the dragon to evaporate and defeating the threat.

“This gonna woik?” Ace asked as he, Lexi, Brylee and Slam flew behind Tech, who was piloting the Portalab.

Tech began beginning the high-tech answer, “If the lava depth charge’s in sync with the targeting mechanism, there should be enough combustion.”

“English, Tech!” Ace cut in impatiently.

“Yeah. It should go boom,” Tech shrugged.

“That’s all we need,” was Ace’s response.

“Will that be enough to activate the volcano?” Brylee asked worriedly.

“You guess is as good as mine,” was Tech’s disarming answer.

“Hey, guys! It’s showtime!” Lexi warned them.

The quintet gasped as they felt the rumble and heard the roar before they sighted Weather Vane approaching over the horizon. She was chasing Duck as he was pulled across the water by Rev. His ability to run at a superspeed allowed him to race across the water. This enabled him to pull Duck along like a boat pulling a water skier.

“Misty predicted the weather, not nightmare!” the mallard taunted the dragon. “Well, look at the mighty storm dragon, acting all big and superior! Let me tell you something, dragon lady! Misty’s still number one in my charts!”

Rev gasped as Weather Vane fired projectiles at the duo. He couldn’t tell you for certain what they were, but he knew he wanted to avoid them at all costs. Using his internal radar to spot the incoming projectiles, he altered his course to avoid them.

Duck, meanwhile, continued taunting the villain, “Oh! Missed me! Woohoo! Missed me again! And again! Whoa! Is that as fast as you can go? You’re such a sad excuse for a monster! Much less a weather girl! Oh, pathetic!”

Yep. Duck was certainly playing his part perfectly.

Tech, meanwhile was debriefing the rest of the Loonatics on the island.

“Slam can withstand the heat better than any of us!” Tech proclaimed. Knowing he had the Tasmanian Devil’s attention, the coyote continued, “Take this up there and when I say now, push this big red button and throw it in the volcano. Got that? Now.”

Unfortunately, Slam misunderstood Tech’s meaning. The others cried in horror as Slam moved to press the big red button. Immediately after he pressed it, big red numbers flashed on the screen, counting down from thirty as an automated voice began the countdown. It declared they had thirty seconds until detonation.

“No! Not now-now! Now-later!” Tech cried in exasperation.

Slam garbled an apology as he moved towards the red button once more. He thought he was being helpful by ripping out the red button that initiated the countdown, but he only made things worse. Realizing what he had done, he gave the coyote a sheepish grin.

Seeing that there were only seventeen seconds left before the bomb detonated, Ace ordered Slam, “Just get it up there! Now!”

Not needing to be told twice, Slam began racing towards the volcano.

**

Duck and Rev were still coming, blissfully unaware that Slam had bungled the plan.

“You want Misty, you bag of wind? Catch me!” Duck challenged.

“Yeah, Duck!” Rev cheered, praising his teammate.

Rev’s feet soon connected with solid land rather than sloshing water, indicating their arrival at the island. Duck’s feet began to burn as they dragged along the ground, and he ended up with a wad of leaves in his mouth as his face collided with a tree branch. But he shook his head and spat the leaves out, determination etched across his features.

Rev began racing up the volcano. In the distance, they could see Slam racing away from it. That told them he was successful in dumping the bomb into the lava. Letting go of the handle, Duck stood at the top of the volcano as Rev sped away to safety. The mallard panted and wiped at his forehead, feeling overheated from his efforts. He remained there long enough for Weather Vane to fly over the volcano before quacking away.

Appearing a safe distance away, Duck watched as Weather Vane remained over the volcano, searching for the ‘pesky duck’, as she continuously referred to him in her thoughts.

“Chance of explosion: a hundred percent!” Duck boasted.

Immediately after Duck’s boastful declaration, the explosive detonated, and lava sprouted from the volcano. They heard Weather Vane’s roars in distress as she was hit in the abdomen by the lava. Ace, Brylee and Lexi were blown away as Weather Vane roared a final roar with a gust of wind.

But once they righted themselves, they saw that the dragon had evaporated. Their plan worked. Weather Vane had been defeated, and the city was saved.

However, Tech gasped in horror as he saw the lava race down the volcano, “My portalab! I just built it!”

“Forget the portalab, Tech! Let’s jet!” Ace snapped.

While racing away, Tech looked back to see his previous invention swallowed by lava before being consumed in an explosion.

“My portalab. Destroyed. No!” Tech whimpered. “It never harmed anyone!”

Ace couldn’t help but remark to Lexi, “Wow. He really needs to get out more.”

**

The cameraman was busy repairing his camera when he heard the familiar sound of the Loonatics’ jetpacks approaching. He had heard the news of their success and was preparing for the latest newscast to commemorate this.

As he disappeared into the trailer, he heard Lexi cry, “I’m picking up Zadavia’s signal!”

Sure enough, Zadavia’s face appeared on the screen attached to the trailer.

“There are no traces left of the storm dragon, but what happened to Weather Vane remains a mystery. We can only assume she escaped,” Zadavia reported. She paid no heed to the Loonatics suddenly turning away from her and smirking at Misty’s arrival. “Good job, Loonatics. Zadavia…”

“Who is this?!” Misty shrieked, turning off the screen. “I’m the only pretty face on this channel!”

Duck gasped dreamily, “Misty! This is my chance!”

The cameraman whispered a countdown as Misty prepared for her broadcast. Satisfied she was now live, Misty moved the cameraman’s hand away and began her report, “This is Misty Breeze, and the massive stormfront that battered Acmetropolis appears to have finally come to an end. I for one am…”

Misty growled as Duck interrupted her broadcast, approaching her with a lovestruck look in his eyes.

But Brylee paid no mind to it, instead focusing on the headache that seemed to get worse. She vaguely heard Misty yell, “CUT!” before haughtily asking Duck what he wanted. He appeared to want Misty to autograph every piece of memorabilia he owned.

“Maybe we should leave these two loveboids alone,” Ace quipped, turning to leave.

He stopped in his tracks, however, when he noticed his sister wasn’t following him. Turning back, a feeling of dread sank in his stomach as he got a good look at his sister for the first time since Weather Vane first came on the scene.

Racing back over, Ace demanded worriedly, “Brylee, are you okay?”

Brylee only moaned, holding her head once more before losing her footing. Ace scrambled to catch her, gently helping her to the ground.

As her vision went back, she distantly heard her brother cry for help and his reassurances that she would be okay.

Chapter Text

The first thing Brylee heard in the seemingly far off distance was the sound of beeping.

It was continuous. Constant. Stable. Intermittent. It was a sound that became clearer as she became more aware of her surroundings.

And once her awareness reached a certain level, she found she didn’t need to look around to see where she was, or to detect the source of that beeping.

It was a heart monitor, and she was in a hospital room.

She must not have gotten through that battle with Weather Vane as unscathed as she thought she did.

It took Brylee a few more moments before she was able to open her eyes. But the senses she regained before she opened her eyes only served to confirm her suspicions about her location.

The scratchy blanket under her fingertips (seriously, one would think with all the advancing technology, they would’ve thought to invent comfortable hospital blankets that didn’t irritate their patients). The overall atmosphere one would find in a hospital room (and one Brylee was able to immediately recognize, given her own history).

Brylee groaned as she went to open her eyes, only to be blinded by the bright light of the room.

“Brylee?”

“Ace,” Brylee moaned, sensing the comforting presence of her older brother.

“Oh thank God,” Ace sighed in relief as Brylee began opening her eyes more fully. When he noticed Brylee struggling with the bright lights of the room, he immediately moved to dim the lights. “You scared us, Brylee.”

“What happened?” Brylee asked.

Ace answered, “A few of those lightning strikes messed with your insulin pump. You were getting too much insulin and your sugars dropped. Those two combined led to this.”

“I thought I was feeling off from being thrown around in a tornado,” Brylee moaned.

“I know, I know,” Ace soothed her. “Don’t worry about it, okay? We got you here quick.”

Noticing that Ace was the only one in the hospital room with her, Brylee asked, “Where are the others?”

“Waiting outside,” Ace answered. “We didn’t want to overwhelm ya.” He moved to stand up, “I can get them if you want.”

“No. Not yet. Please,” Brylee pleaded. She did want to see the others, but she wanted a few more minutes to get her bearings. Nodding, Ace took his place by her bedside once more. “I just need…”

“Don’t stress,” Ace soothed her. “They’ll understand.”

“What happened with Weather Vane?” Brylee asked.

“Zadavia’s monitoring,” Ace reassured her. “When she rears her ugly head again, we’ll get her. We always do.”

Brylee sighed, resting a hand against her head. She knew that Ace was taking it slow, especially since she is known to get overwhelmed very easily when coming back from a particularly bad spell (as she and Ace sometimes referred to her hypoglycaemia attacks).

“You okay?” Ace asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m just…,” Brylee trailed off. “I’m still trying to…”

“I know,” Ace soothed her. “Take your time, sis.” He moved to grasp his sister’s free hand, giving his sister all the comfort he could give. “Dr. Haddock will be by soon.”

Almost as if the word summoned the man himself, the endocrinologist Brylee had known since she was a child walked into the room. He walked with a slight limp, one that was only noticeable by those who really looked. The change in his gait was due to a traumatic injury to his leg at the age of fifteen that necessitated in a below-the-knee amputation.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Dr. Haddock quipped to the young girl who was arguably his favourite patient (but if anyone ever asked, he would deny having a favourite patient).

“Hey, Dr. Haddock,” Brylee greeted him, moving to sit up slightly in her bed.

“You gave us quite a scare,” Dr. Haddock chastised her jokingly. “But we managed to stabilise you fairly quickly. We got you back to rights.”

“Will I need to stay here long?” Brylee asked.

“I want you to stay at least overnight. I want to make sure your sugars are stabilised before I feel comfortable about discharging you,” Dr. Haddock responded. He then pulled up a seat. “Also, there was something else I want to talk to you about. How would you feel about a change to your diabetes management?”

“What kind of change?” Brylee demanded. She immediately turned to look at Ace, figuring that Dr. Haddock would have talked to him before she woke up. After all, he was her legal guardian and she is a minor. He needed to sign off on any treatment.

“You already wear the insulin pump. How would you feel about continuous glucose monitoring?” Dr. Haddock broached.

Brylee immediately knew what Dr. Haddock was talking about, for it had been brought up many times before. Continuous glucose monitoring (or CGM, as it was commonly referred to) involved a sensor just under the patient’s skin to monitor their blood sugar levels, which are then transmitted to either a wearable device or cell phone. It was something that they had discussed before, but there was always one obstacle or another that prevented them from going ahead with CGM.

“We can’t afford that,” Brylee began objecting, an automated reflex when it came to discussing treatment plans for Brylee’s diabetes. They could never afford it.

“We can,” Ace cut in, reminding her, “Zadavia’s covering all of our expenses, remember? Including medical.”

“There are several benefits to this, Brylee. Fewer finger pricks, and it will help you better manage your glucose levels so we can reduce the number of low glucose emergencies you have,” Dr. Haddock said. “And, with your more active lifestyle, it will be better for you.”

“I know all the benefits,” Brylee sighed. “It’s just… I know Zadavia is covering our expenses, but I just feel…”

“Don’t,” Ace cut in firmly. “We both talked to Zadavia before you woke up. She’s on board with whatever you need to manage your diabetes. You know that. We even came up with a plan to give you time to adjust to the CGM.”

“I’m not being sidelined,” Brylee told him firmly.

“Not entirely sidelined,” Ace shook his head. “You will be confined to HQ for certain missions, but even then, you will play a significant role. You can monitor from the tower.”

Brylee sighed and asked, “If I agree to this, will I need to stay in the hospital longer?”

Dr. Haddock shook his head, “Not since your team can monitor you at your headquarters and they’ll race you here if anything goes wrong.” He stood up, “I’ll be back in a minute with different options for monitors.”

“Thank you,” Brylee said to him as he walked away. Once he was out of the room, she turned to Ace, “Who brought it up first?”

“In this instance, me,” was Ace’s answer. “We’ve been dancing around it for years. I get why we didn’t before when we foist discussed it, but now, there’s no obstacles. We can do this.”

Brylee gave a small smile, “It’d be nice not having to prick my finger so much.”

Ace laughed, “And you won’t give me as many scares. I’ve got enough grey furs.”

That made Brylee laugh. A full-on, belly laugh she hadn’t done for a while. It warmed Ace’s heart, and it told him his sister would be okay. It gave him the extra reassurance he always needed when something like this happened.

They then heard a knock at the door. Ace stared at his sister, knowing who was waiting and asking her if it was okay. When she nodded, he told the people crowded outside the door to come in. Not needing a further invitation, their team quickly entered the room. They carried various plush toys they had purchased from the hospital gift shop, recalling how Brylee preferred them to other traditional hospital gifts such as bouquets of flowers.

They all came in using many phrases to express their relief that she was okay. They all placed their plush toys around Brylee (with Duck making sure his was in prime position, of course, boasting it was the best of the lot). Ace stood to the side, making sure he was always in reach of his sister, but making sure their friends got to have their time with her.

He watched the way Brylee lit up as she interacted with them. It was a refreshing change from where they were almost a year ago. When Brylee was painfully lonely and Ace was drowning trying to keep them both afloat. Ever since their mother died, it was just the two of them (although, they both could argue that, with the hours their mother worked, it was just the two of them long before that fatal car accident that claimed her life). They had nobody else. Nobody who could take some of the weight off Ace’s shoulders. Nobody who was willing to ease Brylee of the chronic loneliness she was suffering from.

Then, the meteor hit, and a mysterious woman reached out to them, mere days before Brylee was discharged from the hospital (the chaos of the meteor hit and the injuries that resulted from it wreaked havoc on her diabetes and the teenage girl needed careful monitoring). The two of them were already showing signs of the powers that had resulted from the radiation exposure. This woman had them travel to the tower that would become their home and meet a group of people who were just like them. Misfits in some form or another. Gifted strange abilities.

They all formed a close bond fairly quickly. Which all of them would admit to being surprised by. Given their vastly different personalities, several clashes were anticipated and certainly would have been understandable as they adjusted to their new lives. Their powers. Living with a group of strangers. Having the responsibility of protecting the city thrust upon them with little to no warning.

But there was one thing they all did – they took Brylee under their wing in some form or another. Even Duck was quick to nurture a bond with the young girl, never making any comments on the chronic loneliness she suffered from. They all told Ace he didn’t need to worry. He wasn’t alone anymore. They had her.

It was a promise they all kept to this day.

It was why Ace felt comfortable stepping back. Well, that and Brylee encouraged him to let the others take some of the load off his shoulders. She was well aware of the sacrifices he had made to raise her. Anytime he had an opportunity to do something for himself, she was one of the first to encourage him to take it.

With that in mind, Ace took his leave, saying he was due to give Zadavia an update on Brylee’s condition now that she was awake and had made a decision about her continued care. (Well, took a step closer to the decision, but she was certainly not offering as much resistance as she had once before.)

Besides, he had a few other things he wanted to talk to his boss about.

Chapter Text

Chinatown in downtown Acmetropolis was always vibrant. Strings of paper lanterns were hung up above the streets. Traditional music could be heard all over. The dragon dance, performed at traditional celebrations to drive away evil spirit and usher in good luck and blessings for the community at large, was performed for a throng of delighted spectators.

Two of these spectators, dressed in their own traditional attire, emerged from one of the many shops that lined the streets of Chinatown carrying cartons of delicious food.

“Okay. We got the food. Can we go back to HQ now?” Duck pleaded.

“Chill, Duck. It’s not a trip downtown without getting a little takeout,” Lexi rebuked him.

“Frankly, I’m a little uncomfortable in a place where duck in orange sauce is a dinner entrée,” Duck shuddered. He then warned Lexi, “If anyone starts drooling, I’m quacking out of here!”

“Whoa! Here comes your girlfriend!” Lexi joked.

When he saw another dragon walk by, complete with the man performing a juggling act following behind it, Duck rolled his eyes and drawled, “Ha-ha. Very funny.”

Lexi just couldn’t resist taking that dig at Duck. He claims to be a ladies man, but… let’s just say that if your actions don’t live up to your words, you have nothing to say.

Lexi glanced around, taking in the sights before her, and gasped slightly when she saw a very familiar girl standing nearby. She then turned to smile at a boy approaching her with what appeared to be steamed dumplings he purchased from a nearby street vendor.

She hoped her gasp was discreet, not wanting to bring her companion’s attention to the young girl. Alas, she was unsuccessful in that regard, as she watched the mallard follow her line of sight before immediately quacking over to the couple.

“Hold it right there, mister!” Duck snapped haughtily, getting between the two of them.

“Duck, what are you doing?” Brylee demanded impatiently.

“I just wish to know what he thinks he is doing with you,” Duck justified himself.

“Duck, Ryan is a friend!” Brylee revealed. “We’ve been hanging out lately. Ace is cool with it.”

“Well… as cool as he allows himself to be,” Lexi joked as she made her way over. Any further response died out when Lexi started hearing a strange noise, “Do you hear something?”

“How can I hear anything with this racket?!” Duck snapped impatiently. “You’d have to have super hearing to…” Duck trailed off at the knowing looks Brylee and Lexi were giving him. “Oh. Right.”

“Come on. Let’s check it out,” Lexi ordered.

“One of these days, we’re gonna be able to hang out without being interrupted by a world-ending crisis,” Brylee sighed.

“Hey. You do what you gotta do,” Ryan shrugged. “I’m just glad I got to see you around your birthday.”

“Excuse me! You’re not the boss of me, missy!” Duck scoffed. “Ace is technically the boss, but since he isn’t here, don’t just assume that you get to be in charge! If anybody’s gonna lead, it’s gonna be me!”

As Duck walked away from the group, everyone suddenly lost their footing. An earthquake seized the district, causing the buildings to tremble and the roofs to almost vibrate off the building. Lexi and Brylee were barely able to stand upright. Ryan wasn’t as lucky. He fell over and lost the steamed dumplings he had purchased for himself in the chaos.

But as quickly as the seismic activity appeared, it disappeared. It was almost as though nothing had happened.

Well, almost.

“Anybody order duck with orange sauce?” Duck grumbled.

Lexi and Brylee gaped at the mallard as he stalked over covered in spilled sauce from the cartons he had lost.

But they could not relax for long, because the seismic activity started up again, this time a lot more volatile. The road split in two, divided by a massive fissure that appeared out of nowhere. Several buildings that withstood the previous earthquake were now in sudden danger of collapsing due to the volatile force.

Duck stumbled around blindly, losing his balance from the tremors as he was also blinded by one of the food cartons that had spilled on him. He muttered apologies to people he was bumping into. He was thinking that things could not get any worse.

But then, a food worker lost control of a food cart containing various foods and Duck collided with it, being covered with even more sauce.

When the tremors stopped, Lexi, Brylee and Ryan made their way over to the grumpy mallard.

“Boy are you saucy!” Lexi and Brylee couldn’t help but remark.

Tasting the sauce that was dripping off him, Duck couldn’t help but quip, “You know, I am pretty tasty.”

“Aftershock!” Ryan yelled, grabbing onto Brylee and Lexi as they felt the tremors once more.

But these tremors were different. The ground beneath their feet began sinking, taking Brylee, Lexi, Ryan and that food worker from the nearby restaurant down with them.

Duck, who was conveniently standing at the edge of the newly created hole in the ground, asked the girls in confusion as they slowly disappeared before him, “Are you getting shorter, or am I getting taller?”

“You keep dreaming, Duck!” Lexi scoffed.

“Head’s up!” Brylee called.

Duck followed Brylee’s line of sight and saw, yet, another food tray hurtling before him. “Not again,” he whimpered before quacking out of the way. The food cart crashed into the hole a fair distance away.

As Duck appeared next to the group in the sinkhole, Lexi asked, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

Grunted as he got hit by yet another carton containing some dish with orange sauce, Duck couldn’t help but say, “Looks like downtown is sinking to a whole new low.”

**

The trio of superheroes couldn’t see this from their present location, but the sinkhole wasn’t the only strange occurrence from this supposed aftershock. Rather than collapsing, buildings remained intact, but began sinking into the ground beneath them. Nobody knew if the buildings would remain structurally sound in the aftermath of this strange disaster.

Just when they thought they had seen it all following the meteor hit.

A mountain formed out of nowhere in the midst of this seismic activity. It was safe to say it was formed from the ground that had begun sinking when the tremors resumed. Conveniently, there was a building at the top of this makeshift mountain, but it did not stay up there for long. It, too, was eventually swallowed up, some form of strange sinkhole forming at the top of the mountain that consumed the compound whole.

The compound turned out to be a museum, housing a peculiar glowing green crystal. One that this man was seeking. He took advantage of the wall that crumbled as a result of the tremors to form his makeshift entrance to the room containing the crystal.

“The Jade Serpent. At last,” the man sneered. “Get ready, Acmetropolis. There’s going to be a whole lot more shaking going on!”

Holding up the crystal with his deformed arm, the sound of the traditional villainous laughter echoed through the space, even if there was no one around to hear it.

It was proving to be a productive day for him.

**

Back at headquarters, Lexi, Brylee and Duck were debriefing the others about what they had witnessed downtown.

“This mountain just grew out of nowhere? Just like that?” Ace asked incredulously.

“I’m pretty certain it wasn’t there before,” Duck drawled.

“Yeah, weird, huh? But now, we can go skiing anytime we want without ever having to leave downtown. And when we work up an appetite on the slopes, we can stop in for Chinese takeout at the bottom. Man, Acmetropolis has everything!” Rev cheered.

Brylee could certainly count on the roadrunner to look at things with a different perspective. Turning around at the sound of the door opening, she saw Tech enter the room, pushing in a diorama he had created of Acmetropolis’ downtown district. Clearly, he had been working on coming up with an explanation behind the sudden seismic activity and the mountain’s equally sudden disappearance.

“I’ve gone over it again and again, but I can’t figure out what would’ve caused that kind of geologic instability,” Tech reported.

Duck decided to provide Tech with a smartass answer: “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something like a giant meteor hitting the Earth? Hmm? Ring a bell?”

While Duck was fully intending to be a smartass, as he often was, Brylee had to concede that the mallard’s theory was plausible. Many strange events that have occurred over the past year – a lot of the villains they’ve had to face – could all be traced back to the meteor in some way. Whether it be injuries sustained from the meteor’s impact, like Black Velvet’s eyes being permanently scarred, or the resulting radiation creating all of these mutations in their DNA, like what turned Paula into Weather Vane; and what gave the superheroes their powers to begin with.

Taking the brief moment to shoot the mallard a glare, Tech pondered, “Perhaps if I had a bit more time to build a more detailed model. I did it during my break. Total rush job.”

Brylee looked at the diorama Tech built in amazement. It was the perfect replica of the downtown district. It was something that would take the average person (or, at the very least, someone without Tech’s considerable intellect and abilities) several months to construct – and even with the extended timeframe, Brylee doubted that the other individual would match Tech’s attention to detail.

“Tech, the little elevated trains are actually running,” Lexi pointed out. Quickly glancing at her watch, she couldn’t help but add cheerfully, “And on time!”

“Okay. Now, normally, when there’s tectonic activity, the plates of the Earth’s crust move like this,” Tech began his explanation. He pressed a red button on the hover board that housed his diorama. The board vibrated to replicate the earthquake Duck, Brylee and Lexi reported experiencing in the downtown district. Pressing a few more buttons to highlight his point, Tech continued, “But no matter how many variations I tried, there’s just nothing that would account for this.”

Slam’s eyes lit up when the mountain formed in Tech’s diorama. Licking his lips, he was quick to scoop up some of Tech’s makeshift mountain with his finger and toss it into his mouth. The noises he emitted as he ate the mysterious substance told the group he was enjoying his meal.

“Er, Slam, I believe that’s mud you’re eating,” Ace stated worriedly.

“Actually, I ran out of soil, so I used hot fudge,” Tech corrected him.

Having heard that it was actually hot fudge, Lexi decided she had to sample some of the mountain herself. Taking a smaller handful compared to Slam, she could taste the different textures on her tongue and quip to the group, “With nuts!”

“Speaking of nuts…”

Brylee had been wondering when Zadavia would be making her appearance. She would’ve been more concerned if she hadn’t.

The hologram now fully operating, Zadavia continued her sentence, “this attack was the work of one Dr. Thaddeus Dare.”

The monitors appeared on either side of Zadavia’s hologram, showing a picture of the man in question. He had a round face with medium-toned skin and an indeterminate eye colour concealed by the coloured lens of his glasses.

Regardless, Tech clearly had some form of a history with the man (or at least some awareness of his existence) because he couldn’t help but scoff, “Thaddeus Dare? Nut is an understatement.”

“A reclusive and rather odd scientist, but brilliant nonetheless,” Zadavia introduced the man.

“Well, that’s a dangerous combination,” Brylee couldn’t help but remark.

“Dare was convinced that he would one day control all forms of rock,” Zadavia revealed.

“Told you. Dangerous combination,” Brylee shrugged.

“Say what? Control rock?” Duck repeated in disbelief. “Hello! Wacko party of one!”

“He was hideously disfigured by the meteor crash. He went crazy and his rock experiments grew more reckless. He was finally banished by the scientific community and disappeared,” Zadavia reported.

“Let me guess. A guy that into rocks went underground, right?” Ace asked with a knowing smirk.

By this point, present day footage of the man in question appeared on the screen. Zadavia was right. Dr. Dare had been hideously disfigured by the meteor hit. Half of his face and one of his arms was now formed of rock rather than a biological substance.

“Deep underground,” Zadavia confirmed Ace’s statement. “I believe he’s preparing to take his revenge on the world that rejected him. And he may have just found the ultimate means.”

Tech gasped at the crystal that was displayed on the screen. He would recognize it anywhere. “The Jade Serpent Crystal.”

“Yes. The crystal was housed in the science tower which sank underground today,” Zadavia nodded.

“What’s so special about this nugget?” Ace inquired. Certainly, it was no ordinary crystal if someone went through that much trouble to steal it.

“It’s an ancient gem that has a unique atomic structure said to contain untold energy,” Zadavia clarified. She then proceeded to give the group their latest assignment, “If Dr. Dare somehow harnesses the power of the crystal, there is no telling what he might do. You must find Dr. Dare and stop him.” Following this declaration, she disconnected her transmission with her traditional sign-off, “Zadavia out.”

“Alright, gang. Let’s jet!” Ace ordered.

**

Fortunately for everyone, Tech had just the invention they needed for their latest mission. The Mobile Magma Mover. Brylee couldn’t help but wonder if Tech drew inspiration from an old Supermarionation show from the mid-twentieth century featuring a family who ran a rescue organisation with all kinds of equipment. Including one that could burrow through the Earth. If asked, Tech would admit that yes, the old show did give him some inspiration, but he certainly added his own improvements. Especially considering that he had access to technology that wasn’t available at the time – both the time it was made, and in the futuristic setting it claimed to be set in.

“This new toy of yours is a great way to beat the traffic,” Ace quipped to Tech.

Tech, who was in the pilot’s seat, cackled, “Yes!”

Tech, however, proved to be a bit of a reckless pilot. He would turn the Mobile Magma Mover sharply, and often without warning. His passengers gasped as they lost their balance – even if they were harnessed in their assigned seats – and they would never have time to right themselves before Tech performed another sharp turn.

“Quit doing that!” Duck finally snapped at the coyote.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been working on my Mobile Magma Mover for a while. Just needed a good excuse to take her for a spin.” Tech then laughed, “Good thing I got almost all the kinks worked out.”

“I’ll say!” Duck scoffed.

“Wait,” Brylee cut in, having noticed Tech’s choice of words. “What do you mean almost?”

Before the coyote could offer any type of defence, Lexi called to the group, “Guys, head’s up!”

By this point, they had made their way through the rock wall into another cavern. But there was something here that wasn’t in the other caverns they sped through.

All the buildings that had sunk underground as a result of the earthquakes.

“The city’s upside down. Or is it my stomach?” Duck couldn’t help but snark.

“So, that’s where the buildings went,” Ace said.

“They look to be intact,” Brylee quickly observed. “Not gonna lie. I expected them to be a bit worse for wear.”

The others agreed that Brylee had a point. Between the trembles from the earthquakes and undoubtedly being crushed as the buildings sank into the ground, they fully expected the buildings to have been damaged to varying degrees. Broken windows. Dents in the walls. Heck. They fully expected some to be completely collapsed.

Looks like they won’t have to be overly worried about rebuilding when they can reverse whatever Dr. Dare did.

“Hang on! Going down!” Tech quipped. He guided the Mobile Magma Mover to start drilling through another rock wall and start going down further into the Earth’s crust.

“And we’re how many miles beneath the Earth’s crust?” Duck asked nervously.

“Don’t worry. This thing is built with ultra titanium double shielding. Trust me. Nothing can stop us,” Tech boasted.

Brylee really wished Tech learned to stop bragging the way he did. Because when he bragged about his inventions like this, something was bound to go wrong.

And this something was them coming up against something they couldn’t smash through, forcing the Mobile Magma Mover to a sudden stop.

Brylee couldn’t help but wince at the thought of the bruise that was going to be left on her torso from the seatbelt.

“What was that?” Duck demanded.

“A lot of nothing,” Ace drawled, immediately rising from his seat.

“I don’t understand,” Tech began objecting. “This baby should be able to smash through any kind of rock.”

Fear was laced in Lexi’s voice as she asked, “And what if the rock smashed back?”

Tech let out a fearful cry of his own as he saw what Lexi was talking about. These rocks started taking form, rising from a seemingly crouched position. These rock golems rose to their feet and quickly surrounded the Mobile Magma Mover.

“Tech, get us out of here!” Ace ordered.

“The sudden stop must have short-circuited the engine,” Tech observed.

“Wait. We’re stalled?” Brylee demanded.

Tech didn’t bother to confirm Brylee’s suspicions. For one thing, she was right. For lack of a better expression, they were stalled. For another, he was busy trying to undo this stall. He was trying to reboot the engines with no success.

“Hey, uh, Tech, can you revoise us out of this hole?” Ace asked nervously.

“Yeah. As in, back up now!” Duck chimed in.

“Well, I would if I could,” Tech responded sheepishly.

“No reverse?” Duck said fearfully.

“Tell me you thought of a failsafe to reboot the systems,” Brylee pleaded.

Everyone suddenly gasped when one of the rock golems broke through the roof of the magma mover, reaching in blindly and grabbing the first person he could.

Unfortunately for Lexi, she was the one in the line of fire.

“Oh no!” Tech gasped.

“Lex!” Ace cried.

“Guys, a little help!” Lexi whimpered.

Brylee jumped up, grabbing Lexi’s hand as she tried to pull her back in. Unfortunately, the rock golem proved to be much stronger and Brylee ended up losing her grip on Lexi’s hand. The force of the rock golem’s strength sent her hurtling backwards, causing her to crash into Ace. Ace grunted as his sister collided with him, losing his own footing. Fortunately, Slam was standing right behind the two siblings, and he proved to be a steady source of support.

Once they were righted, Ace cried, “It’s got Lexi!” Racing to the door, Ace ordered the others, “Let’s rock!”

“Hey! Stop, Rockzilla!” Lexi grunted, struggling against its tight grip as it carried her away.

Duck quacked in front of the rock golem holding Lexi hostage, his eyes glowing orange. He then proceeded to fire a series of powerful eggs at the rock golem’s chest. It did not destroy the rock golem, but it still proved effective. Stunned by the blast, the rock golem’s grip on Lexi loosened enough for her to break herself free. Her eyes glowing pink, she landed next to the mallard.

“Thanks, Duck,” Lexi took a moment to thank her rescuer.

“Let’s go,” Duck smirked.

Everyone was divided into groups, fighting their own cohort of rock golems. Slam arguably proved to be more successful than the others so far. He was able to combine his strength and tornado powers to be evenly matched. After taking one down, he charged at the other. The rock golem blocked his approach momentarily, but Slam was able to call back to his wrestling days, picking up the golem and sending him flying in another direction. When he defeated the second rock golem, a third one appeared behind him through the wall. This one was larger and bulkier than the ones he had been dealing with, but Slam was still able to tackle him through a wall into another cavern.

Brylee couldn’t understand Rev’s garbled speech, but she did understand what he was trying to do. He was luring the rock golems into chasing after him. So, when they all went to tackle the roadrunner, he would speed away with his superior speed and the rock golems would crash into each other and destroy each other. Hey. Whatever worked, right? Using their brute force against each other was a brilliant strategic move.

Brylee, meanwhile, was using her powers to blast through these rocks. Leaping onto one rock golem’s chest, she used her light powers to blast the rock golem’s head, decapitating it. When it began falling backwards, she used the momentum to push herself off onto another rock golem.

“Hey, Lex, you’re up!” Duck informed the female bunny.

Thanks to Duck’s warning, Lexi was able to avoid being hit by the rock golem that was sneaking up behind her.

“Don’t you ever lighten up?” Lexi smirked. When the rock golem threw a rock spear at her, she shrugged, “Guess not!” before using her brain blast powers to destroy the projectile.

Ace destroyed his own rock golem before noticing Rev’s appearance next to him, “Fast woik, Rev. I’m going after Slam!” The two Loonatics then parted ways.

“You’re getting on my nerves!” Lexi proclaimed as she was cornered by a rock golem. “And you don’t wanna see me mad!”

Apparently, the rock golem wanted to see Lexi mad as he raised his fist at her.

With a cry, Lexi fired a controlled brain blast at the ceiling above the rock golem, crushing it as the ceiling collapsed on top of it. As she manoeuvred around the falling rocks caused by her impromptu cave-in, Lexi couldn’t help but quip, “Hey, I warned you!”

Quacking next to her, Duck couldn’t help but praise, “You tell him, sister!”

Slam, meanwhile, appeared to have met his match in the form of the rock golem he was facing. He was getting smashed around the cavern like a ragdoll. When he was being crushed against the rock golem’s chest, Slam activated his tornado powers, summoning his strength to fly up and rip off one of the golem’s arms and use it to smack him around. The Tasmanian Devil was certainly proud of himself, and displayed this by taunting the rock golem with his garbled speech.

That self-satisfaction quickly disappeared when the rock golem leaned into a nearby wall, which emitted a green glow when it sensed the golem’s presence. When the glow dissipated, the rock golem pulled out a new arm, one larger, bulkier and stronger than the one Slam had just ripped off of him.

With this new arm, the rock golem had an easier time smashing Slam around.

“Yo!” Ace called, catching the rock golem’s attention. “What’s up, rock? Drop the Devil and back away!”

Ace’s distraction gave the Tasmanian Devil time to recover as he was able to activate his tornado powers to escape the rock golem’s tight grip.

The rock golem decided that two-against-one wasn’t a fair fight. So, the rock golem started picking up rocks to throw at the two Loonatics. Seeing that Ace was able to simply destroy the rocks he threw with his laser eyes, the rock golem turned its attention to Slam. He threw rocks at the Tasmanian Devil repeatedly, throwing him off-balance once he was unable to block the attacks. Eventually, the rock golem forced Slam to the edge of a chasm, and one final rock forced him over the edge.

“SLAM!” Ace cried in horror.

Suitably enraged, Ace started focusing his rage on the rock golem, much to the rock golem’s surprise. Ace alternated between using his classic martial arts moves and his laser vision to force the rock golem to the edge of the very same chasm Slam fell into. With a cry of rage, Ace used a powerful laser blast to force it over the edge. Looking over the edge of the chasm, he saw that the rock golem was destroyed on impact.

“Oh man,” he shuddered.

The rocks started shifting, but Ace wasn’t worried about the rock golem reforming. He was more worried about what he had accidentally done.

“Hey, Slam! Are you okay?” Ace asked worriedly. Once Slam had freed himself, Ace said sheepishly, “Oh, I’m sorry about the whole dropping a rock monster on ya thing there, buddy.”

Brylee, by this stage, had wound up joining Lexi and Duck’s group, having been forced over there by a rock golem she was battling.

“Any sign of Dr. Dare?” Brylee grunted as she avoided a rock.

“Not yet!” Duck responded.

He then cried as he was picked up by a rock golem. Struggling briefly in the rock golem’s grip, Duck then quacked away, thankful for the meteor giving him the power to teleport short distances. To his surprise, he left behind one of his eggs in his wake. It acted like a grenade, growing in intensity before consuming the rock golem in an explosion.

“Wow. I even impressed myself!” Duck laughed. “I’ve gotta remember how to do that.”

His jovial mood quickly disappeared when another rock golem appeared before him.

Brylee appeared behind it, blasting it at different parts to make it collapse. When she landed in the ground, the rock golem used its hand to start shoving her. Using her powers to reinforce her strength, Brylee pushed back. The rock golem’s hand began to crack under the pressure of her blasts. Eventually, she was able to consume the monster in a beam of light, using the beam to completely crush the rock golem.

“Whoa!” Lexi praised the younger girl, who was resting her hands against her knees as she crouched in exhaustion. “I didn’t know you could do that!”

“Neither did I!” Brylee panted.

Looks like all of her training sessions were paying off.

Ace used the built-in communicator in his wrist to check on their resident scientist. While everyone else had raced out to rescue Lexi and defeat the rock golems as they appeared, Tech remained in the Mobile Magma Mover to perform repairs.

“Yo, Tech! What do you got?” Ace demanded.

Tech had taken a break from the repair work to perform scans on the rock golems they were battling, reporting his findings to Ace, “My scanners are picking up a strange energy field around them. There’s a high probability they’re being controlled by the powers of the Jade Serpent Crystal.”

“The hot issue isn’t how they’re woiking. It’s how we’re gonna beat them!” Ace retorted. “We’ve gotta level the playing field. Tech, can you jumpstart that thing.”

The answer was yes. Pressing a button to make a small step ladder emerged from the ground, Tech opened a panel clearly marked danger.

“This might work. If I could just reroute the power reserves to the front thrusters,” Tech mused.

He hopped off the step ladder and grabbed a power cord that was nearby. He began tugging the power cord to the plug for the power reserves. It would serve as a conduit, transferring the reserve power to where it was needed. Namely, the thrusters.

But there was a problem Tech encountered. The cord was too short. It couldn’t reach the plug.

“Come on!” Tech growled in frustration.

But no matter how he tugged, no matter how he pulled the cord, he couldn’t get it to go that very short distance.

“Fine,” Tech grumbled.

Capping the plug with his palm, he then shoved his ears into the conduit. He screamed in pain as the immense power surged through him. He could only hope it worked. He whimpered as the power surge stopped and he crumbled into a pile of ash. But merely seconds after crumbling into the pile of ash, his regeneration powers kicked in.

Once he had fully reformed, Tech moaned as he approached the driver’s seat, “Gotta be an easier way to be a hero.”

Fortunately for Tech, the pain proved to be worth it as he was able to power up the Mobile Magma Mover. And not only was he able to power it up, he was able to use it to smash the remaining rock golems.

“Alright, rock on!” Tech cheered.

He then slowed the Mobile Magma Mover to a stop after the final rock golem was defeated.

**

With all the rock golems defeated, the team was able to regroup to discuss the next step.

“So, what were those things?” Lexi asked.

“Reminds me of some of the guys who keep calling you,” Duck snarked. Ignoring the glare Lexi shot at him, Duck cackled, “Except the rocks have more personality.” Duck cried out in pain as Lexi sought her retribution, firing a controlled brain blast at the mallard. Rubbing the impact zone, Duck grumbled, “Watch the feathers!”

“Those rock guys are the security guards. Which means we must be close to Dare’s lair,” Ace pondered.

Dr. Dare’s voice could be heard echoing around them as the cavern began shaking and more buildings appeared above them.

“You’re not close. You’re here. Just in time to see the power of the Jade Serpent turn Acmetropolis upside down.”

“Tech, what’s going on?” Ace nervously asked the coyote, who was still inside the Mobile Magma Mover.

“I told you he was a crackpot,” Tech couldn’t help btu remark. “Let’s get going.”

But any plan to ‘get going’, as Tech put it, was quickly squashed by the presence of the man himself. Dr. Dare emerged from below ground, seated on his makeshift throne. He held a staff in his hand. And atop that staff, glowing in all of its glory, was the Jade Serpent Crystal.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed your little visit down here. Because it’s now your permanent residence,” Dr. Dare sneered. “In fact, soon, all of Acmetropolis will reside underground, and I will live in peace on the surface.”

“Are you kidding me, doc?!” Ace scoffed. “That’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heoid!”

“You won’t be laughing when you’re buried in stone, bunny!” Dr. Dare snarled.

He then aimed the Jade Serpent Crystal at the team, causing them to shield their eyes from the immense glow. Brylee had originally thought that he was going to turn them into statues, but what he was actually going to do was far worse.

He was going to bury them alive.

“Take cover!” Ace ordered. He grabbed Brylee’s wrist and began dragging her back to the Mobile Magma Mover.

“Sayonara, Loonatics!” Dr. Dare cackled.

As he rose to the surface, the rocks buried the Mobile Magma Mover.

But there was one thing Dr. Dare didn’t count on. Slam’s powers. The Tasmanian Devil used his tornado powers to break himself through the rocks that completely covered the Mobile Magma Mover with a cry. Those rocks were crushed into smaller pieces and sent flying in random directions. Once the Mobile Magma Mover was no longer covered, he then began shifting through the debris that still blocked their path.

Once he was done, Ace praised the Tasmanian Devil, “Nice work there, Slam.”

“We have to get back up to Acmetropolis,” Brylee said. “Before…”

“Before there is no Acmetropolis,” Zadavia finished the youngest Loonatic’s sentence for her. Taking off her hood, Zadavia informed the team, “Dr. Dare’s continued to turn the world inside out. You must hurry! If you do not do something quickly, this madman will bury us all!”

Zadavia then showed the team images from the surface. Acmetropolis’ buildings were sinking into the ground below as the citizens ran around in a panic, desperately avoiding the rock formations that were emerging in their place.

“Let’s get this mover moving before we lose power too!” Ace ordered.

Tech was quick to act on his leader’s orders. He pushed his Mobile Magma Mover to her top speeds. Before long, they were breaking through the surface.

As the drill powered down, Ace raced to the door.

“Nice driving, Tech! Looks like we’re…” Ace’s jubilant cries were cut short as he took in the sights before him. “A little late.”

“It’s Acmetropolis!” Lexi gasped in horror.

“Talk about an extreme makeover,” Duck drawled as he took in the ruins of the city.

“Up there!” Brylee cried. She pointed to the top of the nearby mountain, which now had some form of a castle atop it and emitted a green glow.

“Dare’s using the Jade Serpent to turn our world inside out. So, we’ve gotta use the gem to reverse it!” Tech declared.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Ace was quick to agree.

The team then hopped onto dune buggies that Tech had stored aboard the Mobile Magma Mover, using them to race through the rocky terrain and up the mountain. Everyone except Rev, who opted to use his powers to race the team to the top. Brylee blocked out Rev’s goads and gloats, focusing instead on the amusement that she was driving one of these when she was technically unlicensed. She didn’t have her learner’s permit yet, but she would soon. Acmetropolis was a part of the world that allowed teenagers to apply and obtain a learner’s permit at fifteen.

So, it always gave her something to look forward to – especially as her fifteenth birthday came closer. She had been studying for the test so she can take it within a couple of days after her fifteenth birthday.

Eventually, the team made their way up to the top. Removing their helmets, they began approaching the door to Dr. Dare’s lair. They must have triggered some silent alarm, as more rock golems appeared before them.

“Oh great. It’s the Rockettes again, gang!” Ace quipped. “Slam, teach them how to twist!”

Slam’s garbles could be loosely translated to, “With pleasure.” He raced to the closest rock golem, already lining up his punch. But he was in for a surprise when his fist made contact with the rock golem. Rather than sending the rock golem flying, his fist went through it.

“Sand?” Lexi gasped.

“Who knew?” Ace remarked.

The group suddenly started shouting as they were knocked off their feet. The four rock golems held up their hands and began emitting a sandy wind from their palms. The group struggled to regain their footing and resist the force of the strong wind as they were forced closer to the edge of the mountain. Slam continued his struggles to free his hand from the rock golem’s torso. The rock golem quickly reformed after Slam’s attempted assault, trapping his hand and hindering his escape.

But the rock golem made the same mistake its compatriots had made underground, and a mistake many people have made in the past. It underestimated Slam’s strength and determination.

Using his tornado powers, Slam built the momentum to flip the rock golem trapping him over, smashing it into the ground and freeing himself.

“Slam!” Ace cried.

Slam watched as his teammates were sent over the edge of the mountain, along with their dune buggies. The team didn’t have their jetpacks on them, so they were certainly falling to their deaths. Slam quickly flew down using his tornado powers. He set his tornado to suction to he could scoop up his teammates. Once he scooped up all six of them, he flew back to the top of the mountain, dropping them to the ground.

“Oh, it’s on now!” Lexi proclaimed as she and Brylee raced forward.

Lexi and Brylee nodded at each other before combining their respective powers. The combined blast sent the three remaining rock golems hurtling over the edge of the mountain. The sound that resulted from their impact with the ground and subsequent destruction was certainly music to Brylee’s ears.

She almost wished she had her camera with her.

“Nice blasting, goils!” Ace praised them. “Time to shut that crystal down!”

When they raced through Dr. Dare’s front door, they didn’t find the man of the hour. It almost surprised them. They thought he would’ve been there ready to make his displeasure known to them.

But they did find their objective regardless. The Jade Serpent Crystal floated on a pedestal in the middle of what could easily be described as a throne room.

“Whoa! Looks like we’re in Oz!” Lexi remarked.

Brylee had to agree with the female bunny. She was definitely getting Emerald City vibes from the place.

“There’s that jade nugget that’s been causing all the trouble!” Ace proclaimed.

Duck used his powers to quack closer to the crystal, pondering aloud, “So, how do we reverse this thing?”

“This is just off the top of my head, but I’d say you could do it with a quantum amplified charge of an intense magnetic radiation,” Tech answered.

Ace began stammering in confusion, so Brylee clarified for her brother with a deadpan tone of voice, “Light. He means light.” Since Tech was her registered tutor, she was used to his teaching and explanation methods.

“You make it sound so boring,” Tech said to Brylee.

“The Loonapests!” The group turned around to see that Dr. Dare had emerged from the shadows. “I thought I buried all of you down below!”

“Haven’t you heard? Down is the new up!” Lexi retorted.

“By your own hand, no less,” Brylee smirked.

“Eh, we would’ve called foist, but you were unlisted,” Ace snarked.

“And now, we’re gonna stop your insidious plans stone cold!” Duck proclaimed.

Dr. Dare laughed, “Stones are my domain, duck.” He then waved his hands over a series of coloured crystals, sneering, “But there’s no reason you all can’t join my little rock group.”

They were all hit with a beam that was emitted from the Jade Serpent Crystal behind them. Brylee’s initial suspicions down in the cavern were now being enacted. This green substance began snaking its way up everyone’s bodies, leaving them unable to move. She immediately raised her hands above her head, hoping to keep some part of her body free.

“Hey. What’s with the rock candy?!” Ace demanded, struggling against his own restraints.

“You’ll become my own personal statues. A commemorative of what once was. Not that I’m paying tribute to you!” Dr. Dare snarled.

“Ace, if we don’t shut down that machine now, the entire planet is gonna…” Tech’s warnings were cut short as the ‘rock candy’ wrapped itself around Tech’s snout, silencing him.

Ace noticed out of the corner of his eye that Brylee had raised her hands. Before the substance covered his mouth, he hissed at her, “Do it, Bry!”

Just as her own head was to be covered by the substance, Brylee fired one of her light beams at a nearby wall. It reflected off it and hit the crystal directly. Tech did say that light was the best way to reverse the effects, and her power involved light. So, why not use it?

“My lovely jade crystal! No!” Dr. Dare cried in dismay.

The gelatinous rock that had begun to encase the Loonatics shattered as a result of the hit to the crystal. Sensing his impending defeat, Dr. Dare ran, crying, “You’ll never catch me!”

“Hit it, Ace! Manoeuvre 29!” Lexi called to Ace.

When Lexi had placed her foot in Ace’s cupped hands, the male bunny gave the former cheerleader the boost she needed. The momentum sent Lexi flying through the air, enabling him to land directly in front of the fleeing supervillain, blocking his path to escape.

“Okay, Dare! Let me help you crawl back under the rock you came from!” Lexi offered.

With a kick to the chest, Lexi sent Dr. Dare flying off the pedestal he had formed around his throne. He landed before Ace, whose eyes were now glowing yellow as he unsheathed his sword. Ace and Dr. Dare were locked in a stand-off, with Ace being the only thing standing between Dr. Dare and the crystal.

When Ace had knocked Dr. Dare to the ground, Dr. Dare held up his sceptre and called, “Power of the crystal, be mine!”

A beam shot from the crystal, hitting the top of Dr. Dare’s sceptre. He was going to fire the power at Ace, use it to turn him into a stone statue. He had hoped that by defeating the leader of the Loonatics, he would crush the team’s morale, therefore making it easier to literally crush them. Especially the youngest member. Her light powers would prove to be a thorn in Dr. Dare’s side, and he wanted that light extinguished in any way possible.

But there was one thing Dr. Dare didn’t count on: Ace still being in possession of his sword. He used the sword’s blade to reflect the beam away from him. It bounced off another crystal nearby before hitting Dr. Dare instead. Dr. Dare’s screams echoed through the room as he was slowly petrified, his fear frozen on his face as he clung to his sceptre. He tried to shrink into himself to elude the beam, but he proved unsuccessful.

His cowering pose was his final pose as he was turned into a statue.

Ace couldn’t help but giggle to Lexi, “What a stiff.”

With Dr. Dare defeated, the team turned their attention to reversing his actions. They had to put Acmetropolis back to rights.

As Tech rubbed the crystals, reprogramming them like a computer, Ace asked excitedly, “Well, we got the crystal. You think we can revoise it?”

“We? What’s with the we?” Tech asked cheekily. “Yes, I can reverse it.”

Tech then waved his hands over the crystals, much like Dr. Dare had done before. But while Dr. Dare intended to do harm, Tech intended to do good. The beams that were projected from the crystal spread all over Acmetropolis. As the Loonatics stood atop the mountain, they could see the buildings returning to the surface.

“Good job, Tech! Man, you are so smart! I wish I was half as smart as you are! I really look up to you! I really do! Except socially, because I wouldn’t wanna spend all my free time in a lab by myself! That’d be really sad. But kudos on a job well done!” Rev rambled.

It was moments like this that made Brylee wish she was able to bring her camera with her on missions. The pictures she could have taken of this moment would have been glorious.

“Oh look! I think I see New Chinatown!” Duck observed. He then muttered to Slam, “Egg rolls on me, Slam.”

Slam excitedly garbled his agreement.

**

The Loonatics were certainly given more than egg rolls as a reward for their heroic efforts. Ace and Lexi stood before the table covered in a blue tablecloth at their headquarters, admiring the spread of Chinese food in appreciation.

“We should save New Chinatown from destruction more often,” Lexi remarked. “A year’s worth of free takeout? Excellent!”

Behind Ace and Lexi, the TV came to life with a holographic message from Zadavia.

“The calls of thanks are still coming in,” Zadavia revealed. “I also wanted you to know that Dr. Dare is enjoying his new life as a statue in Acmetropolis Park.”

“I’m sure the pigeons are thrilled,” Ace smirked.

“And we’re receiving reports from all over that things are returning to normal,” Zadavia reported.

“Hey, Zadavia. You wanna join us for some moo goo gai pan?” Brylee offered.

Zadavia was clearly touched by Brylee’s kind offer, “It is so sweet of you to include me. And as it happens, I am hungry.”

“Finally! Some real face time with the boss lady!” Duck cheered. “We can discuss some new costumes, a better dental plan, a personal biographer…”

“But alas, I have some other commitments. Maybe some other time,” Zadavia declined the invitation. “But before I go… happy birthday, Brylee!”

As Zadavia’s transmission disconnected, the group cheered as they all raced forward to tackle Brylee in a group hug, eager to voice their own birthday wishes for the young girl.

“Hey. Fifteen. You’re officially a woman!” Lexi couldn’t help but remark.

Ace was quick to voice his objections, “Hey, uh, slow down there, Lex. My little sister is staying little for a while longer.”

“You know, if we were back in the day of the Aztec Indians, a girl was considered ready for marriage when she turned fifteen,” Brylee couldn’t help but remark.

“Good thing we’re not in the day of the Aztec Indians,” Ace drawled. But the affectionate smile stayed on his face. He then proclaimed, “We’ll open your presents later. But now, let’s eat!”

The others watched in horror as Slam zoomed across the table, consuming everything in sight.

“Despicable!” Duck cried. “Does anybody have a towel? Slam, you’ve gotta gorge with your mouth closed!”

Brylee laughed at the sight. It certainly made her thankful for the lengthy supply of free takeout the team was given in gratitude. Although, she was worried that even that wouldn’t stand up to Slam’s extensive appetite.

So, while they waited for more food to arrive, they decided to move on to having Brylee open her presents.

Tech revealed that he had invented Brylee a special camera. The camera Ace had scrimped and saved for her was getting on in years, and Ace had lamented to the coyote about being able to get her a better camera. So, Tech decided to help Ace make his wish come true for his younger sister. This camera operated much like her standard camera, but it also allowed her to automatically take photos using specific filters with the press of a button. Brylee would no longer have to rely on special attachments to capture special effects in her photographs. Also, this camera was durable, so she was able to take it with her on missions.

To accompany the gift of a new camera, Rev got her a scrapbook. This was a scrapbook she could customise herself, and it would give her somewhere to display her photographs. It would also allow her to trace her growth as a photographer, from the moment she first started taking pictures, to today.

Duck gave her a device that resembled the JBL Tour Pro 2 from the early 21^st-century. It was a smart case that makes listening to music as easy as ever. She could also mange incoming calls, control the settings of the accompanying earbuds, set alarms, and even more thanks to the device’s touchscreen. In a rare case of selflessness that he only ever showed to Brylee, he recalled that the young girl enjoyed being able to listen to music. It was part of her routine to wind down for the night. Along with reading.

Which brought them to Slam’s gift. He had taken note of the books Brylee often borrowed from the library, since they could never afford books at home. So, he bought her brand-new copies of those books. Everyone quipped about making sure to build Brylee her own library within the headquarters with the amount of books she would soon have.

Lexi’s gift was a coupon book filled with activities the two of them could do together. She had made the coupon book herself. It was filled with various ideas for girls nights, promises for shopping trips, spa days; activities one usually did with female friends or older sisters.

Ace’s gift was arguably the most sentimental. He gave her a locket, but as he would explain, it was no ordinary locket.

“Your biological mother gave us this before she left,” Ace revealed. “She wanted you to have it when you turned fifteen. It was her way of telling you that she will always love you and miss you.”

Brylee gave Ace a watery smile as she considered the locket in her hand. “This is from… my birth mother?” she reiterated.

“Yeah,” Ace nodded gently. “I may not remember much about her, but I do remember that. And the promise I made to her. The same one I made to you. I’ll always take care of you, Bry.”

When Brylee tackled Ace in an emotional hug, she heard some sniffling behind her. Looking over his sister’s shoulder, Ace watched in amusement as Duck wiped a tear from his eye, but the mallard was quick to cover it up.

“What? I just got something in my eye!” was Duck’s defence.

Lexi looked over at where the pile of presents once was, “Hey. Looks like there’s one more.”

“How did that get there?” Ace pondered. He had seen to that pile of presents himself before they left on their mission. He didn’t remember that being there before.

Looking at the card, Brylee offered the explanation, “It’s from Zadavia.” She then read the message, “You have done amazing work this year, Brylee. You have proven yourself ready for this. Use it wisely.”

“Use what wisely?” Ace couldn’t help but ask nervously.

Brylee then turned around after she opened her present, holding it up to the group. Zadavia had given her an archery set. And she couldn’t wait to use it.

Eventually, more food arrived and Slam was able to actually leave some for the others this time. As she ate her diabetic friendly meals, Brylee couldn’t help but smile at what she now had compared to what she had the year before.

She couldn’t wait to see what fifteen would bring her.

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a beautiful day. One of celebration. It was the first anniversary of the meteor striking Acmetropolis. Yes, they also recognized the damage the meteor had caused. The trials in rebuilding. The lives lost in the aftermath.

But today, they were choosing to recognize one good thing that came from the meteor: the formation of the Loonatics.

It was why they were gathered in the park, each of the seven Loonatics lining the stage in their uniforms as the Mayor gave a speech to the gathering citizens.

“Which is why we are gathered here on this day, the one-year anniversary of the meteor’s impact,” Acmetropolis’ Mayor read her speech. “Adjusting to the new world has been difficult for all of us.”

Slam was struggling to stay awake. Brylee could hear him suddenly start snoring several times. Then Lexi, who stood between Slam and Ace, elbowed him and he cried out in his garbled speech. Brylee glanced out of the corner of her eye and sighed to herself. She knew what was coming next, especially when she saw Duck checking his reflection right there on stage.

“Fortunately, we have had help from seven extraordinary individuals who have watched over and protected us,” the Mayor smiled. She then held up a plaque, “And now, to accept this small token of our appreciation…”

Predictably, Duck raced forward, cutting the Mayor’s speech short and snatching the plaque from her.

Duck wasted no time in launching into an admittedly obnoxious speech, completely obvious to the glares the Mayor was shooting him. “Thank you! Thank you! You know, there are so many people in my life who have made this incredible honour possible. But enough about them! As you know, there is a lot of hard work…”

Duck grunted as the Mayor snatched the plaque from him, declaring haughtily, “This is for the team’s leader, Ace Bunny!”

Brylee cheered the loudest as her brother walked forward to accept the honour from the Mayor. Duck walked off, clearly dejected to have his moment of glory snatched from him. Even though it was never his for the taking.

“Thank you very much, Mayor,” Ace thanked her. “Good thing it’s not every day when destruction rains down upon us?”

Ace’s voice trailed off in confusion as he looked up and saw that something was, indeed, raining down upon them.

“Great. A hailstorm and me without my umbrella,” Lexi grumbled.

Tech observed the small masses he had collected in his hand, reporting, “This isn’t hail. These are rock pellets. They’re not even from this planet! It’s a meteor shower!”

“And I don’t think an umbrella’s gonna help,” Ace drawled.

Rock pellets of larger sizes began raining down upon them now. The citizens who had gathered for the ceremony honouring their heroes ran around the park in fear. Trying to avoid the falling projectiles. Particularly the larger ones. Lexi was able to use her brain blast powers on one particular large rock formation, disintegrating it into smaller harmless pieces.

“Hit it, Loonatics! We’ve got people to save!” Ace barked.

The team sprang into action immediately. Ace and Brylee started using their respective powers to strike the projectiles that were falling from the sky. Lexi continued using her brain blast on the smaller rock pellets. Slam was having the time of his life punching through any particularly large rocks that fell his way.

Brylee had also raced over towards the crowd, trying to give them some coverage amidst the falling rocks as they scrambled to evacuate.

“You need to get out of here! Find shelter!” Brylee called to them.

The Mayor remained at the podium, screaming and trembling in fear. Brylee would have wondered why she didn’t take off for cover the first chance she got… if she could think of any form of cover the Mayor could have sought. But surely, she could’ve joined the crowd in seeking shelter.

“I thought the weather called for only partly rocky!” Ace quipped.

Tech formed himself a small shield with his powers to protect himself, calling to the Roadrunner nearby, “Rev, fetch my neutron cannon!”

Rev raced back to the tower, something that would only take him a short time thanks to his superspeed. Predictably, Rev was back by Tech’s side within a few seconds. Although, Tech couldn’t help but notice that, rather than bringing back one cannon for the coyote, he brought back several.

Rev defended himself, “You didn’t say if you wanted the diffraction neutron cannon or the beam-splitting neutron cannon or the one that goes gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah!”

Tech wordlessly grabbed one of the neutron cannons he was offered and started firing it at the rock pellets. From the type of projectiles the cannon fired, it was clear he went for the one that goes gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah.

After successfully blasting a bunch of different rock pellets, Lexi couldn’t help but quip, “How’s that for mind over matter?”

“Slam!” Ace called to the nearby Tasmanian Devil, “Set your spin cycle on suction!”

While Slam formed a giant tornado with his powers that sucked up the falling rock pellets, Rev raced through the crowd, using his super speed to help with the evacuation of the civilians from the park.

“All aboard! Rev Runner Express coming through! Okay, ladies and gents. No need to pack your bags! We’re all travelling light!” Rev remarked.

Brylee gasped when she saw that little Aria had gotten separated from her family by the panicked crowd, and was right in the path of a particularly large bit of rock. Brylee jumped off the stage, sliding over and blasting the rock while tackling Aria out of the way.

“Brylee!” the young girl greeted her friend happily.

“Hey, kiddo,” Brylee smiled warmly. Settling the young girl on her hip, she raced through the park, blasting rock pellets on her way through. “Let’s go find your family.”

The Mayor screamed in horror as a large boulder fell towards her. Then, she heard a voice tell her to “have no fear” and she was suddenly off the stage and up a tree. Looking next to her, she saw Duck loosening his grip on her, allowing her to sit on the branch. He had clearly teleported her out of the path of the boulder.

“Mayor, your life has just been officially saved by Danger Duck!” Duck boasted proudly. But his boastful mood quickly disappeared when the branch broke and the Mayor fell to the ground screaming. “Kind of,” he then winced.

“Ryan!” Brylee called, seeing her friend in sight.

“Oh, thank God!” Ryan sighed in relief. He quickly took his sister from Brylee’s arms. “It was crazy, Bry. The crowd…”

“I know,” Brylee reassured him. “Where are your folks?”

“Over there,” Ryan answered, pointing to his parents, who stood at the entrance to their restaurant.

“Get over to the restaurant. Now,” Brylee ordered him, a kind tone in her voice.

Before she could race back over to the park, Ryan grabbed Brylee’s arm. When she turned around to see what he wanted, Ryan said, “Thank you.”

Brylee gave him a small smile before racing back into the chaos.

**

The chaos was over as quickly as it started. Eventually, the rock pellets stopped falling from the sky. But there was a considerable amount of debris left in the park. Much like the bits that fell off the meteor one year ago before it ultimately landed in Acmetropolis Bay.

It was what caused most of the destruction, alongside the initial impact and the radiation that followed.

Once they knew the rock pellets had stopped falling and the citizens were secure in their residences or workplaces (basically, wherever was safe), the Loonatics quickly moved back to their headquarters. They had to work out what was going on. And fast.

And much to their dismay, they found it – and it wasn’t good.

“Okay, Tech, time to make with the big woids,” Ace told the resident genius.

Tech pressed the button so the diagrams displayed on the screen matched his presentation. “The meteor that hit Acmetropolis a year ago was only a trial run. This one is five hundred times the size of the original!”

Brylee gasped in horror, clutching her brother’s arm when Tech showed a comparison between the two meteors. He had not been exaggerating (not that she had ever known the coyote to).

“Kinda makes you miss the good ol’ days, huh?” Ace quipped. But even through his show of bravado, he wrapped his arm around his sister, trying to offer the young girl some comfort.

“Oh great! When the next one hits, everyone will have superpowers!” Duck cried in dismay. He then scoffed, “I don’t need that kind of competition!”

Lexi was the one who stepped forward and delivered the reality check to the mallard: “After this one hits, there won’t be anyone. Period.”

They heard Zadavia’s ringtone and her voice ring out, “You’re absolutely right, Lexi,” before the hologram actually appeared. “Which is why you have to journey into space before that meteor hits Acmetropolis.”

Duck immediately raced towards the table. “Well, don’t worry your wealthy little head, boss lady! We laugh at danger!” He then laughed loudly before scoffing, “Besides, what’s so scary about a little space voyage?”

Rev appeared next to Duck, answering a question that was clearly meant to be rhetorical, “Well, there’s cosmic rays, air loss, engine failure, zero gravity, deadly aliens, black holes, supernovas…”

Duck’s laugh was not as boisterous as it was before. It came out more like a whimper. But Duck, even with the fear laced in his voice, still tried to keep up the bravado. “See? Laughing already.”

“Zadavia out,” Zadavia ended the call.

**

Everyone coped with the stress of the oncoming mission differently. Ace was coping with his by holding a late-night training session in the virtual arena. He had set it up to look like the traditional dojo where he started his martial arts journey. He needed that reminder of home – even if he was facing a bunch of training droids Tech had designed for the team to aid their training sessions.

He alternated between using his powers, his hand-to-hand combat skills and weapons left nearby. The difficulty he had established had allowed the droids to knock him off his feet a few times. But Ace always got back up.

“Engaging antigravity sensors.”

Ace froze in surprise as he found himself floating temporarily. Then, the dojo disintegrated around him, revealing the dark and stark virtual arena. Then he heard a familiar voice.

“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” Lexi asked, standing in the doorway by the controls. “I usually count sheep. But that’s just me.”

Floating back to the ground, Ace voiced his justification to Lexi, “This is the biggest mission we’ve ever been on. Gotta be ready for anything!” To highlight his point, he spun the bo staff in his hands before holding it across his chest.

Tossing Ace a towel to wipe off the accumulated sweat, Lexi remarked, “You always land on your feet.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Ace muttered.

As he watched the female bunny walk away, Ace recalled what he had been doing the day the meteor hit.

Begin flashback

The day the meteor hit, he was working for a movie studio as a stunt bunny. He would dress up in the same costume as the actor, put on a mask to look like him, and film the action scenes deemed too dangerous for the main star.

He stood off to the side, waiting patiently for the director to finish filming the scene leading up to the action sequence. His cue.

The blonde actress cowered in terror as the ominous robot had her cornered in the alleyway. They were filming on location today rather than on a set. Clearly, the director wanted to capture every nuance of Acmetropolis in his action flick – particularly the elements that couldn’t be perfectly replicated on a movie set.

“Destroy humanity. Destroy.”

Then, the leading man – someone who resembled the early-21^st century actor Vin Disel – tapped the robot on the shoulder. Gaining the robot’s attention, he cracked his knuckles and challenged it.

“Sorry, bucket boy. Not today,” he recited his line.

“And… CUT!” the director called. The robot’s hand froze above the actor’s face as the director walked over with a delightful laugh. “Van, babe, that… Take a break while we shoot the fight scene, hmm?” Watching as the actor walked away, the director barked, “Where’s that stunt rabbit?!”

“Yeah, that would be stunt bunny,” Ace corrected as he stepped forward.

“Whatever,” the director rolled his eyes. “Now, like we rehearsed, hmm?”

“Whoa, slow down there, doc!” Ace objected, dropping the mask he had to wear. “See, I got some ideas you’re gonna love.”

He then demonstrated for the director and the film crew the new choreography he thought of for the fight sequence, explaining, “Now, when the robot comes at me, how about I do some of these, huh? A couple of those and one of these!”

His choreography consisted of a series of punches, roundkicks and other moves he learned through his years of diligent martial arts training. The other members of the film crew stood behind the director, mouths agape. They were clearly impressed by what Ace had come up with.

The director, however, wasn’t.

“No,” the director shook his head. He then draped his arm around Ace’s shoulder. “You see, I am the director, which makes me the boss, and that means you do the scene the way I tell you to do the scene.” He then shoved the mask back in Ace’s hand and walked off, shouting, “And… action!”

Ace didn’t get time to prepare for the scene. He didn’t have time to slip his mask on and get in position. Mere seconds after the director called action, the robot grabbed Ace by his ears and pulled him towards it. Ace winced, knowing what was coming. His cries of pain reverberated through the studio before he finally stumbled forward, more than a little worse for wear.

Nobody rushed forward to help him when he fell. Nobody rushed forward to see if he was okay. Nobody rushed to seek medical attention for the stunt double.

It was times like this that Ace wondered why he did what he did. But then, he pulled out a photo of him and Brylee that he always kept on him, even in costume, and he remembered his younger sister was counting on him. So, it was why he put up with the demeaning insults from directors and actors alike. It allowed him to look after his sister, so she wouldn’t have to make the sacrifices he does.

But still, he couldn’t help but hope for something better.

Then, he heard the rumbling. He looked up, gasping in shock and horror as he saw the meteor fly across the sky above him. It was flying lower and lower each time. Ace didn’t know where it would land, and he feared it would crash into a building – or somewhere filled with people.

He heard the collision rather than saw it, but he could tell by the sounds that it landed in the bay, much to his relief. But that relief quickly dissipated when he saw the waves of radiation rushing towards him.

End flashback

“It’s showtime!” Ace proclaimed to the empty virtual trainer.

“Avery?”

Ace turned behind him to see his sister standing in the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She very rarely called him Avery. She always called him by the childhood nickname he went by – Ace. That meant she really was afraid.

“Hey, what are you doing up?” Ace asked worriedly. “You need to sleep.”

“So do you,” Brylee responded pointedly.

“I think you and I are up for the same reasons,” Ace stated.

“You’re scared too?” Brylee asked timidly.

“Yeah,” Ace nodded. He wasn’t about to lie to his sister. “I’m scared too. And that’s perfectly okay, Brylee. Remember what I always said?”

“It’s okay to be scared,” Brylee recited.

Ace supplied the rest of the quote for her, “Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.” He then pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. He then began guiding her to the kitchen, “Come on. I think we can allow ourselves some hot chocolate before bed.”

It was times like this that made Ace thankful for whoever invented diabetic drinking chocolate.

Watching as Ace prepared their mugs of hot chocolate, Brylee couldn’t help but think of a time when she was as scared as she felt now.

Begin flashback

Brylee opened her locker with trembling hands. Her hands trembled so that she was losing her grip on the books she was holding, causing them to fall to the floor. With a dejected sigh, Brylee bent down to pick them up.

“Hey, loser!”

Brylee whimpered as she stood up, desperately trying to busy herself with putting her books away and grabbing the ones she would need for her next class.

“Hey!” Brandy snapped, appearing next to her. “Didn’t you hear me when I talked to you?”

“N-n-no,” Brylee stammered.

“Huh? I didn’t realize diabetes made you deaf too,” Brandy sneered. “I mean, I already know it makes you ugly.”

Brylee looked down dejectedly. She had been receiving comments like this from Brandy since school started. Brandy had succeeded in ensuring the young girl was isolated.

“Diabetes doesn’t work like that,” Brylee muttered quietly. But Brandy didn’t hear her. For this took place before Brylee gained her voice.

“Huh? What was that?” Brandy said to her mockingly. She then scoffed, “Why am I surprised? You are such a reject. I mean, your own mother abandoned you after your birth and your adoptive parents couldn’t even bother to stick around. They were so eager to get away from you. It’s a matter of time before your brother does the same.”

“Please don’t say that,” Brylee pleaded.

“Say what? The truth? That you are an ugly loser?” Brandy sneered. “The world and everyone in it hates you, Brylee. The sooner you accept that, the better. Nobody would even care if you died tomorrow.”

The bell then rung, so Brandy went to walk away. But not without making sure she bumped into Brylee in such a way that shoved her into the locker, spitting at her, “You’re a pathetic loser” before walking away. Her lackeys laughed at Brylee as they trailed behind Brandy.

Brylee sunk to the floor, clutching her books to her chest as tears fell down her face. Everyone around her walked off, indifferent to her plight. Some even laughed at her and threw in some jeers of their own.

She looked up at the ceiling and murmured a silent prayer. A prayer for something – someone, even – to come along and take her pain away. She wasn’t sure she could take much more.

Then, the rumbling and the screaming was heard. Parts of the ceiling started falling around Brylee, but never hitting her as people screamed in terror. Everyone was screaming about a meteor falling from the sky.

She looked towards the door and saw a wave of light racing towards her. It was obviously shockwaves that were emitted from the meteor’s impact at an unknown location (well, unknown to her). Brylee did nothing as it came before her.

While others were running away in fear, she just sat there and closed her eyes, welcoming whatever it brought her.

End flashback

Ace placed the mug before her with a gentle smile, asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Brylee nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” She took the mug and started sipping from it with her brother.

Ace looked at her worriedly, grabbing her hand, “You’re not that girl anymore, Brylee.”

“I know,” Brylee nodded. She then declared resolutely, “I’m braver now.”

And she was. Her bullies were cowering in fear from the very threats she confronted. She had already shown herself to be braver and stronger than the people that tore her down.

“Yes. You are,” Ace nodded in agreement.

**

Morning was breaking as Lexi approached Duck. The team were taking turns watching for anymore meteor showers. Except for Tech. He had confined himself to the lab to construct what they would need to reach the meteor. It wasn’t like they had a spaceship in their arsenal. So, he had to work around the clock to build it.

“Any sign of more meteor showers, Duck?” Lexi asked the mallard.

“Nope,” Duck shook his head. “But the fit and handsome superhero stands calm, yet focused. Confident that should danger arise, he’s ready to protect the lives of its…”

“A simple no would’ve done, Duck,” Lexi cut in. She couldn’t help but ask, “Have you always been like this?”

“Stoic in my resolve to be the best superhero ever? Why yes,” Duck nodded. “Seems just like yesterday.”

Begin flashback

“The bronzed and handsome lifeguard sits calm yet focused. Confident that should danger arise, he stands ready to protect the lives…”

“Yo, Duck!” Duck winced at the sound of the lifeguard’s voice. “Get out of my chair and do your job!” The mallard found himself being lifted up by his singlet, off the lifeguard’s chair and placed on the ground below. “Pool boy,” the lifeguard sneered. “Oh yeah – and make sure you use the net!”

Shoving the net in the mallard’s hands, he then proceeded to shove the mallard towards the edge of the pool. It took everything Duck had in him to not fall in. Shooting the lifeguard one final glare, he then placed the net in the pool and began moving it around, fishing for rubbish in the pool.

“Use the net… use the net… talk about a waste of talent,” Duck grumbled.

Duck’s grumblings about his lack of greatness changed to one of disgust when he observed the latest ‘treasure’ he just pulled from the pool: a soaked – and clearly used – diaper.

“Eugh! Another treasure from the deep!” Duck shuddered, holding it as far away from him as he could.

A mother then came walking over to the mallard, holding a crying, bare-bottomed child on her hip. The baby cried while pointing at the diaper, “Mama, mine!”

Without a second thought, the mother reached into the net and took out the diaper with her bare hands. The sight disgusted Duck. What was she going to do with it? He didn’t want to think about it.

“Oh, just put me out of my misery!” Duck pleaded.

He cried in surprise when he saw a blinding light streaking across the sky. Recognizing it as a meteor, Duck turned his head to follow its trail, watching as it crashed into Acmetropolis Bay nearby. The streams of light that followed and raced towards him had Duck cowering in fear as he tried to shield his head with the very pool net he regarded with disdain.

“I was kidding! I was kidding!”

End flashback

Duck shook his head, shaking himself out of the flashback he had lost himself in as he recalled his story to Lexi.

“Well, I’ve gotta hand it to you, Duck. You’ve come a long way since diaper duty,” Lexi praised him.

“You got that right, toots!” Duck quickly agreed. “You gotta be fearless when you step into the spotlight like me!”

“I know what it’s like to be in the spotlight,” Lexi revealed. She then started recalling her own story, where she was the day the meteor hit.

Begin flashback

A group of people gathered in the gymnasium at Acmetropolis University. Three people – the captain of the squad and two adjudicators for the tryouts– sat behind a table, glancing at the crowd that had gathered before them.

“Welcome, everyone, to this year’s tryouts for the Acmetropolis University Spirit Squad!” the captain greeted the five hopeful girls. “As you know, the competition is particularly tough this year, so super good luck to you all!” The captain rose from her seat and waved her pompoms for emphasis. She then glanced at the list one of the adjudicators showed her. “Okay. First up is Lexi… Bunny?”

Lexi stepped into the spotlight timidly. Her ears, which were normally standing upright, were down to form a traditional ponytail look. She had red lipstick on her lips, a stark contrast against the white fur that surrounded the lower half of her face. She wore an off-the-shoulder teal outfit with a matching hair-tie for her ears. It was an outfit she had worn in her gymnastics days. A gold leaf pattern sprawled across her breast area and a pink band was around one of her arms and her hips. She wore knee-high socks and sneakers appropriate for cheerleading. One of the sleeves of her outfit stretched down to cover her hand like a glove, while her other hand was left bare.

‘Don’t mess up, Lexi. Don’t mess up,’ Lexi mentally chanted to herself as she stepped forward.

“Anytime your ready,” the captain told her.

The music – a hip-hop track – kicked in and Lexi immediately started her routine. First, she flipped into a handstand, walking forward on her hands for several steps before righting herself. She flipped forward, crossing the rest of the gap between the mat and the judges’ table before performing a Moonwalk back. She spun on one foot, performing rapid spins before striking a few poses that went along with the accents of the music. She then flipped in the air once more, landing in a split. She struck her final pose on the ground as the music ended, spreading her arms to signify she was done.

The other hopefuls behind her cheered in delight, clearly impressed by the routine Lexi had put together. They could already picture her in the university’s cheerleading uniform.

“Wow! I’ve never seen anything like it! She’s even better than you!” an adjudicator proclaimed to the captain.

The captain, clearly threatened by Lexi’s talent, proceeded to sneer, “That was such a cute routine, Lexi, but I’m afraid you don’t have what it takes!”

The other cheerleaders booed their captain’s decision as even her fellow adjudicators stared at her in disbelief. Lexi sat on the ground dejected. All those hours of rehearsal had amounted to nothing. She had been a successful cheerleader in high school. But here in university, she couldn’t even get a foot in the door. All because the captain was jealous and fearful of the possibility of being upstaged. Something Lexi wasn’t even trying to do.

“What is that?!” the adjudicator suddenly gasped.

The rumbling had crept up on the group from out of nowhere. Parts of the gymnasium’s roof began collapsing in on them. While everyone else fled in fear, Lexi stood to her feet. Wondering what was going on. The rumbling soon made her lose her balance, and she fell to the ground. When the radiation burst through the gymnasium door, she could only sit there gasping in horror as it crept closer to her.

End flashback

“I’m ready for this mission,” Lexi proclaimed. “And I know I’ll be as brave as you, Duck.”

“Dare to dream, Lexi. Dare to dream,” the mallard responded.

So much for the nice moment.

**

Brylee didn’t know how much time had passed. All she knew was that Tech was now ready to present them with what he had been working so hard on: their means of reaching the meteor.

“So, Tech, how are you gonna get us up to that rock?” Ace asked with a smirk.

“Presenting the Tech E. Coyote Space Dream 8000!” Tech boasted proudly. He then pulled the rope to unveil his latest invention.

Something that could only be described as a flying saucer.

“Kind of a little retro, ain’t it?” Duck drawled.

“No,” Tech shook his head. He then pulled out a circuit diagram for the ship out of his pocket, unrolling it for all to see. “In fact, it’s just the thing we need to destroy that meteor!”

Brylee then shrugged, “Well, if it ain’t broke…”

“Exactly,” Tech nodded in approval.

The group wasted no time. They all raced into the ship and took their assigned seats. The seatbelts appeared automatically, securing the passengers with four straps that connected in the centre of their chests. Brylee and Lexi were thankful that their buckle rested in the middle of their abdomen rather than a little higher. Otherwise, it would have made for an uncomfortable ride.

As he flicked the switches to activate the spaceship, Tech sighed to himself, “Oh, if only the fellas back at the Acme Institute could see me now.”

Begin Flashback

Tech was a graduate student at Acmetropolis Tech University. He was preparing to present his latest invention to his mentor. It was clear with the way Tech fussed over it that it was an essential assessment.

“Tech, you’re keeping us from lunch. Now, are you going to demonstrate your senior thesis or not?” the professor asked impatiently.

“Yes. And you won’t be disappointed, sir!” Tech proclaimed. He then turned back to the controls of his invention. “Now, just one last adjustment…”

His patience having long worn thin, the professor stepped forward, pushing Tech out of the way and declaring, “Oh, for crying out loud! Step aside, son! I’ll turn it on myself!”

“Be careful! I installed the self-destruct mode for extra credit!” Tech warned.

The professor did not heed Tech’s warnings, and ended up activating the self-destruct mode that consumed Tech’s invention in an explosion. The resulting smoke billowed out of the doors and windows, along with some debris from the blast. Tech, looking a little worse for wear, stumbled out of the building, holding a destroyed remote.

“My baby!” Tech whimpered, pressing buttons that did not work.

His professor then stepped out of the building, coughing and spluttering as he shot the coyote a murderous glare.

“I used to think you were a mad genius! Now, I think you’re just… mad!” he decreed before storming back inside.

His demeanour told Tech not to follow him inside. The coyote was told in no uncertain terms that there was no longer a place for him within the university.

“But it does work!” Tech objected, falling forward. “If only someone could see that…”

Tech looked down on the step to see the pieces of his remote bouncing off the ground. He heard the sirens behind him as the ground rumbled beneath him. Rising to his feet, he watched in amazement as the meteor streaked across the sky before landing in Acmetropolis Bay.

But he could not admire the sight for long, as he was soon knocked off his feet by the resulting shockwaves and radiation.

End flashback

Tech sighed as he brought himself out of his flashback, declaring to himself and his teammates, “It’ll work. I know it.”

He then pressed the power button and the ship spring to life. It rose from the launchpad at the tower, speeding towards the skies. Tech was more than happy to declare this to be a perfect take-off – and he did.

“Great job, Tech!” Ace praised the coyote.

Lexi voiced her own praise, “It may be retro, but it’s cool!”

“Yeah. Cool. For a flying dinner plate!” Duck scoffed.

“Hey. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Brylee shrugged, shooting Tech a thumbs up.

Smiling at the gesture of support from the teenager, Tech declared, “Should be a smooth ride from here.” Then, he glanced out the window and warned, “Brace yourselves. Approaching light meteor shower.”

Brylee couldn’t help but think this wasn’t a light meteor shower, but rather a wave of cosmic energy. Even if it did contain a few rock pellets. The ship was shaken about within the wave, much like getting tossed around in the ocean by a violent wave.

“This your idea of a smooth ride?!” Duck snarked.

Then, the wave of cosmic energy disappeared and everything was quiet. Too quiet.

“Uh, Tech, why does it sound like the engines just stopped?” Ace asked worriedly.

“Uh, well, that would be because the engines just stopped,” Tech answered sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Ace hummed.

Then, the screaming started as the ship started hurtling back to Earth.

“I think I just threw up in my bill!” Duck moaned.

Brylee gasped in fear, struggling to suppress her own bout of motion sickness that had suddenly developed.

“We’re doomed! Completely and utterly doomed!” Duck cried.

Brylee couldn’t help but agree with the mallard’s declarations.

“Rev,” Tech spoke to the roadrunner calmly, “log into the lab. Upload a copy of the control system software so we can reboot the system.”

Rev nodded, “Done, done, and… wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute… done!”

Brylee should have known that Tech would have failsafe upon failsafe with his inventions. Including a way to remotely reboot the system should it inexplicably crash. She also knew the upload would take next to no time at all, thanks to the high-speed internet Acmetropolis had access to.

Things have really improved since the days of the early-21^st century.

But even as the engines kicked back on and the ship began flying into space once more, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief, Duck did not stop crying, “Doomed!”

“Okay. It’s smooth sailing from here on out,” Tech proclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Duck glared at the coyote. “I hope this is the good smooth as opposed to the bad smooth!”

“Once we get through the asteroid belt, we should see our target,” Tech informed the group.

Ace looked nervously at the asteroids they were flying past, “If our target doesn’t see us foist!”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about that, Ace!” Rev moved to reassure his leader. “Because Tech has plotted a course that allows us to avoid contact with any large objects. And if anyone can do that, it’s my man, Tech! And besides, the statistical probability of impact, even here in the asteroid belt, is fairly minute!”

Brylee winced as she felt the impact of several asteroids against the ship. Looking out the window, she could have sworn the asteroids that struck the ship were a rainbow colour. Much like the rainbow colour her powers emitted.

“You wanna recheck those numbers?” Ace asked the roadrunner.

“And recheck as to why those rocks are using us for a punching bag?!” Duck snapped impatiently.

“Everyone, into your intercosmic spacesuits!” Tech ordered.

“Do we get our choice of colours?” Lexi couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, no,” Tech shook his head. “But it’ll keep you from imploding.” He then stood in the middle of a circular shape on the floor. A beam of light surrounded him before he was digitally fitted for one of the spacesuits. The spacesuits were clear in colour and formfitting. “Voila!” Tech cheered. He couldn’t help but pipe in, “And it locks in freshness!”

Needing no further prompting, the others were quick to suit up in their spacesuits. Their jetpacks (altered to be suited to space travel) remained attached to their torsos over the spacesuit. Tech really did think of everything.

“Hey. Where’s Slam?” Brylee asked, suddenly noticing the Tasmanian Devil’s absence.

Looking at the monitor, Lexi revealed, “He’s already outside slamming away.”

Slam yelled, “Fore!”, a term commonly used on the golf course, as he grabbed a rock that was conveniently shaped like a club. He then began swinging and hitting the asteroids as they came at him. Some of the rocks bounced away. Some shattered on impact. But the Tasmanian Devil was smiling and grunting in joy as he took out his targets.

“I haven’t seen Slam have this much fun since his old days in the wrestling ring,” Lexi remarked.

“Head’s up, Slam!” Ace suddenly cried.

A meteor, surrounded by the same rainbow energy Brylee had spotted before, suddenly swung towards Slam as he stood on top of the ship. It impacted him from behind, knocking him off his feet. The zero gravity in space meant that he was in danger of floating away.

Stunned by the initial impact, he was lost in a memory – the memory of who and where he was exactly one year prior.

Begin flashback

The crowd was going wild as the umpire hyped them up and proceeded to introduce the day’s competitors. They were in attendance of a wrestling match. Something that is considered a favourite pastime of many.

“And now, this week’s Raging Fight Night of the Millennium! Your favourite, Carlos the Conqueror!”

Carlos the Conqueror stepped into the ring to a flood of cheers. He was the odds-on favourite to win, coming into the match with an unblemished record. A feat that might have meant something were it not for the fact that the matches were fixed.

“Versus the terror from somewhere, Twisted Spinner!”

Rather than the warm greeting Carlos the Conqueror got from the audience when he was introduced, Slam was greeted by a barrage of boos. But Slam turned a deaf ear to them, focusing instead on the match as it was about to unfold.

The umpire gestured for the two competitors to meet in the middle of the ring to commence the match. In a quiet voice, ensuring that they would not be heard, Carlos sneered at Slam, “Remember, fuzzball. Make it look good when you lose.”

Every match that Slam had participated in at this point has been fixed, the outcome predetermined long before he stepped into the ring. And more often than not, Slam was told to do the same thing Carlos had just told him to do: lose and look good while doing it. He could put up enough of a fight to keep the audience on their toes. To keep them in suspense. But winning was something he was never allowed to do.

He was never allowed to become the champion.

But today, Slam was determined for all of that to change. He wasn’t going to follow the rules anymore. He wasn’t going to allow someone to decide whether or not he was going to win.

If he was going to lose, he was going to lose on his own terms – not because someone told him he had to.

And most importantly, as Slam declared to Carlos in his garbled speech, he was going to win.

The bell could be heard dinging behind them, signalling the start of the match.

“Take the fall, you furry fathead!” Carlos snarled. When Slam voiced his objection – particularly to the insult, Carlos gasped mockingly, “Oh! Excuse me…” He then offered his hand for Slam to shake – a peace offering. Only, it wasn’t a peace offering. When Slam grabbed his outstretched hand, he sneered, “Mr. Fathead!”

Slam yelled as he was spun around in circles in Carlos’ iron grip. He was then thrown into the ropes of the ring, which snapped back to throw him onto the ground. Looking up, he saw Carlos standing in the centre of the ring in a heroic pose. He was already claiming his victory, thinking Slam would follow the rules and stay down. Like he was meant to.

Not today, Slam had vowed to himself. Not today.

Slam jumped up, landing on Carlos’ shoulders. The other wrestlers were standing near the ring, chanting, “Crush him!” But the Tasmanian Devil couldn’t tell who they were chanting for. Were they chanting for Carlos to crush Slam, or were they chanting for Slam to crush Carlos?

Either way, Slam knew the outcome he wanted.

Shifting his body weight forward, Slam pulled them to the ground, using his legs to flip Carlos out of the ring and into those same wrestlers.

But Slam couldn’t take the moment to revel in his newfound glory. For many of the spectators and the wrestlers looked up to the open-aired roof of the stadium to see the meteor streaking across the sky. They did not know where it would land, so there was the tiniest bit of panic.

But Slam did not take note. He was hypnotized by the waves of light and radiation that approached him.

“Pretty,” he sighed.

End flashback

“Alright, slugger! Way to save the day!” Duck praised his teammate.

Duck and Rev flew up to the still dazed Tasmanian Devil, positioning themselves under his arms so they could support him. Slam smiled at his teammates in gratitude.

Ace, who had also flown out alongside Lexi, told the group, “Let’s get him back to the ship.”

The danger was now over. For now, at least. Slam’s actions had given the team a clear path through the asteroid field. No longer having to worry about sudden decompression, they had changed out of their spacesuits.

“Meteor straight ahead,” Lexi reported, having checked the monitors.

When the team looked up from their monitors and saw the meteor itself, they couldn’t help but start trembling in fear. They had known that this meteor was significantly larger (five hundred times larger, to be exact) than the meteor that had changed their lives. But nothing prepared them for the sight they ended up seeing.

“Yeah,” Ace whimpered. “And it’s…”

The rest of Ace’s sentence was lost when the ship was suddenly struck by the underside of the meteor as it flew over them. The underside of the meteor consisted of a series of sharp pointy rocks. While the ship was able to withstand the impact and not sustain any damage that put her crew at significant risk, it still made for a bumpy ride as it got tossed around.

When the ship stabilised, Duck snapped at Tech, “Are you sure we can destroy that thing?!”

“Yes,” Tech nodded resolutely. “To ensure destruction before it reaches Acmetropolis, I designed this device which will amplify Ace’s laser by a full factor of – you guessed it – googol!”

“You’re not talking about the search engine, are you?” Brylee asked. A googol wasn’t something they had yet covered in Brylee’s schooling.

Rev provided the explanation with his rapid speech, “A googol is a number one followed by a hundred zeroes and was invented by American mathematician Edward Kasner. Born 1878. Died 1955. The reason they called it a googol is because Kasner asked his nephew Milton, who was then eight years old at the time, what name you would give a really big number.”

Having long lost interest in the conversation (not that he had much of an interest to begin with), Duck interrupted Rev’s explanation with a rude, “Okay! Yawn! Really bored now! Step!”

The roadrunner shot the mallard a glare for the rude interruption. Brylee did the same. She was very interested in Rev’s explanation. But then again, she was someone who loved learning, so she hated when any opportunity to learn was interrupted.

But the moment was forgotten anyway. Ace’s chair was moved to the centre of the cockpit, where a device had emerged from the floor. It resembled a pair of binoculars Brylee often saw at tourist points. Particularly ones that had a beautiful view, like a lookout. But this was obviously different. Ace would fire his laser into the binoculars, and his power would be transferred to a laser projector Tech had built into the bottom of the ship. The meteor appeared in clear view in the binocular device, giving Ace a clear view of his target.

“Here goes nothing!” Ace remarked.

He then fired his laser into the binoculars. His laser – amplified by a full factor of googol, as Tech promised – struck at the corner of the meteor. With a deafening explosion, their vision was suddenly filled with dust and debris from the meteor. The team allowed themselves to get their hopes up, thinking they had completed their objective.

“Whoa, Ace! You did it!” Lexi gasped excitedly.

“Whoa, Ace!” Any praise the mallard would have sung his leader (something that happened rarely) was lost when the cloud cleared and the meteor emerged, still intact. “You didn’t do it!”

“That blast only peeled off a layer of atmospheric dust!” Tech gasped in horror. “Impossible!”

“Maybe, Tech. Maybe. But if we don’t find some other way to stop that thing, Acmetropolis is gonna be nothing but a great big pile of atmospheric dust!” Ace declared.

Duck had moved to the centre of the room, using the binoculars to examine the meteor with a closer inspection. Everyone had been taking a moment to accept the horror of their situation. Plan A hadn’t worked.

“Guys, we’ve gotta take out that meteor before it hits Acmetropolis,” Lexi warned.

“No more Acmetropolis?! No more gloomy purple skies?! Oh, sadness! Oh, woe!” Duck was sobbing before he asked in a serious tone, “So, what planet do we move to next?”

Ace and Brylee stood on either side of Tech, pondering the situation.

“Eh, Tech, something’s screwy out here,” Ace mused.

“You mean besides Duck?” Brylee couldn’t help but snark.

“Yeah, besides him,” Ace nodded in agreement. “First, the saucer conked out. Then, those asteroids came after us. And now, that hunk of rock turns out to be laser proof.” Then, he declared with a smirk, “Time for Plan B.”

“Next time, let’s start with Plan B,” Lexi couldn’t help but suggest.

Brylee couldn’t help but nod in agreement. There have been several instances in the past where they’ve saved the day by moving on to Plan B after Plan A failed.

Actually, that could be said for all of their missions.

Ace explained his plan as a rounded shelf emerged from the floor, displaying several charges, “We land on the meteor, plant some charges at precise stress points, and then escape before the big kaboom.”

“Okay, everyone! Put on your intercosmic spacesuits! Come on!” Rev ushered the team.

“Why didn’t we come up with this earlier?” Brylee couldn’t help but ask Ace after they had suited up.

“Because we had to go through Plan A foist,” Ace responded with a teasing smirk.

Brylee rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but ask Ace knowingly, “You’re not gonna let me go off on my own, aren’t you?”

“Nope,” Ace shook his head. He might be fine letting his sister go off and handle things on her own (but still within his line of sight) during missions back on Acmetropolis, but space was a whole different ballgame.

“Can I at least choose who I go with?” Brylee pleaded.

“How about you go with Lexi?” was Ace’s compromise.

“Deal,” Brylee nodded.

Ace and Lexi exchanged a quiet look to one another as the others collected their bags of chargers. It was a silent understanding. A silent assurance Lexi was offering.

She had his sister’s back.

Holding a bag of charges to Rev, Ace said to the roadrunner, “Okey-dokey, Rev baby. You’re the fastest. So, we’re counting on you to plant most of the charges.”

Rev took the bag of charges from his leader, rambling his reassurances, “You can count on me, Ace! They don’t call me the Speed Demon of Acmetropolis for nothing! But, of course, I haven’t always been the fastest, but that’s another story. It happened a long, long, long, long, long, long time ago.”

In his mind, Rev then recalled where he was one year ago today: the day the meteor hit.

Begin flashback

It was another day at Quick Wrap Sandwich Shack. Rev was working as a delivery boy, giving himself the means to support himself while he pursued his real dream of being an inventor. He often found a way to utilise these inventions at work – especially the ones that would help him make his deliveries faster. Because his boss, Cookie, had the rule where they delivered in thirty minutes, or the customer got their food for free. And if Rev didn’t make the delivery in the timeframe, it got docked from his pay.

“We guarantee a free lunch if they don’t get their order in thirty minutes,” Cookie told the roadrunner, pointing to the clock. “You’ve got five minutes left to get it there. Otherwise, I’m taking it out of your pay.”

Rev saluted his boss, “Don’t you worry, Cookie. I’m on it!” He then took off, pleading, “Rocket skates, please don’t fail me now!”

Rev sped through the streets of Acmetropolis, his rocket skates (his latest invention) propelling him forward at high speeds. It enabled him to zip up the top of the monorail and through a construction site, where the crew were laying bitumen on a new stretch of road. When the substance sprayed up on them, the crew made their displeasure known to the roadrunner, even if he wasn’t there to take it.

Rev then sped up the steps to where a man was waiting for him impatiently. Obviously, this was the customer he was delivering the food to.

Rev then launched into the spiel, “Quick Wrap Sandwich Shack. We deliver in thirty minutes, or you eat…”

“For free,” the customer finished, glancing at his watch. He then smirked, “My watch says one minute past twelve. You’re late.”

“Well, your watch must be fast because,” Rev began voicing his objections, Cookie’s threat echoing in his mind.

“Better move faster next time,” the customer sneered, snatching the bag from Rev and walking back into the building.

“But… but I won’t get paid!” Rev sighed sadly.

He then gasped in horror as he saw the meteor streaking across the sky.

End flashback

In his mind, Rev said to himself, ‘I’m faster now, and I can’t fail!’ Out loud, he declared, “You won’t have to dock my pay this time, Cookie!”

“Who’s Cookie?” Ace asked.

Realizing where he was, Rev stammered, “What?! Oh! I mean, Ace!”

As the ship landed on the meteor, Ace said to his teammates, “Everybody, you know what to do!”

“Is it too late for Plan C?” Duck asked dryly.

The seven Loonatics then flew out of the ship through their own separate entrances. They all wore their spacesuits, and they all carried bags of charges. They each carried a holographic map of their designated area of the meteor, with the stress points highlighted. They were dividing and conquering.

Since Rev was the fastest, he was zipping off to different points to plant the charges. Duck went off on his own, and as did Tech. While Brylee and Lexi went off together, since their stress points were close to each other, Ace and Slam did the same.

**

Duck flew to his designated area. When he landed, the first thing he did was check the map he was given to ensure he was in the right spot. Seeing that he was, he prepared to plant the first charge.

“X marks the spot to the big kaboom,” Duck couldn’t help but quip.

Unbeknownst to him, the same cosmic force that had caused the ship to conk out when leaving Earth and battered it with asteroids in the asteroid belt was approaching him rapidly. Clearly, something was determined to ensure the Loonatics were unsuccessful in their mission.

Slowly kneeling down to carefully plant the charge, Duck pepped himself up, “Now, the brave space ranger precisely positions his charges. If he’s off by even one micron, the entire mission will fail.”

Duck saw a shadow on the ground that was suddenly obstructing his view. Looking behind him, he saw a tower of rocks take a life of its own – a menacing life.

“Yikes!” he squeaked.

He dove out of the way before the rocks could strike him, taking the charge with him. He jumped around, dodging the rocks.

“Ha! Missed me!” he taunted.

But when he jumped up, he forgot to take into account the zero gravity in space, as he ended up floating up into the rock’s grip. For Duck, the solution was simple. He would simply quack out of its grip and be on its way. He even declared, “I’m quacking out of here!”

There was no problem with his plan. He not only quacked himself out of the rock’s grip. He had also quacked himself out of the spacesuit, which hung precariously off the tip of the rock by his jetpack. Duck learned this the hard way when he suddenly started swelling up and struggling to breathe.

“Okay! No air! Bad idea!” Duck wheezed. He then quacked himself back into the spacesuit, pondering to himself, “Now, where was I? Oh yeah!”

He then cried as he was flung around by this rock form, in a manner that resembled what the Hulk did to Loki in that movie Brylee enjoyed watching. Except, the Hulk stopped after a coupe of tosses, satisfied with leaving Loki a whimpering mess in a hole in the ground, calling him a puny god as he walked away. The rock was going to toss Duck around for an indeterminate period of time, despite the mallard’s strong objections.

“Let go of my suit!” he cried.

**

Ace and Slam were at their designated zone.

“Okay. Let’s get these babies planted,” Ace smirked.

Slam growled in approval at his leader’s suggestion. The subsequent explosion was going to be glorious.

But there was something else they had to contend with. The same cosmic energy that had been causing them trouble all along. This time, it moved along under their feet.

“It’s that cosmic energy again!” Ace cried

Clearly, it was going to use different approaches to dispose of the Loonatics. For Ace and Slam, it turned the ground beneath their feet into something that resembled quicksand. The two Loonatics struggled against its pull. When their legs were consumed and they were only free from the waist up, the ground solidified once more, trapping Ace and Slam.

“Don’t move!” Ace called. “I’ll save you!”

He then fired his laser into the ground near where Slam was trapped. He didn’t want to hit the Tasmanian Devil, but he did have to hit close enough to allow his teammate to free himself.

Ace’s laser did the trick. Slam was able to break himself free and leap into the air. He activated his tornado powers mid-air before flying over Ace. He set his tornado to suction mode, using it to pull Ace out of his predicament. Ace grunted at the pull, but he did feel himself becoming dislodged. Soon enough, he was pulled clear. Slam only deactivated his tornado powers when he knew for sure Ace was no longer stuck in the ground.

With them both now free, the two Loonatics flew away, moving to plant the charges at other locations while hoping they never encountered that cosmic energy again.

**

Lexi and Brylee were at a cave. There were four stress points in this area they needed to plant the charges at. One at each entrance on either side, and two that converged in the middle. Lexi had planted her charge at the entrance and was moving into the middle while Brylee was still setting the timer on hers.

“Time to blast you out of orbit,” Lexi smirked.

She then knelt to the ground, twisting the charge in place.

Brylee had moved to do the same, before gasping as she noticed the cosmic energy approaching them. Immediately, Brylee activated her jetpack, racing forward to stand between the cosmic energy and Lexi. Using her powers, she acted as a barrier between the two, allowing Lexi time to plant the charge and set the timer.

“What was that?!” Lexi gasped, finally noticing the blinding lights behind her.

The battle between Brylee and the cosmic light ended almost as quickly as it began. Brylee was temporarily knocked off her feet, allowing the cosmic light to come in and do what it had been planning to do.

Lexi was kicking away at the falling rocks and brain-blasting a couple of them while Brylee planted the final charge they need. When the timer was set, Brylee rose and gasped in horror as she noticed the entrance of the cave sealing shut.

“Come on!” Brylee called.

The two performed a series of cartwheels out of the cave, deciding it would allow them to move faster and with more agility to avoid the continuously falling rocks. Once they were clear of the cave, they performed a series of flips to right themselves.

“Yeah!” Lexi cheered once they were clear. Quickly glancing over at Brylee, she noticed how the younger girl was resting her hands on her knees. “How did you know you could go up against the cosmic energy like that?”

“I didn’t,” Brylee revealed.

Lexi gaped at her. She remembered when she first met Brylee. The young girl had been so traumatized and almost scared of her own shadow. It took a lot of encouragement to get her to come out of her shell.

The Brylee she knew once before wouldn’t have rushed into things the way she did, not knowing if it would work.

Then, Lexi remembered the mantra she had heard Ace tell his younger sister a million times – “It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”

It looked like now, a year later, Brylee was really harnessing that lesson.

**

Tech wasn’t fairing any better. The cosmic energy came after him as well. But much like the cosmic energy attacked the others in different ways, the seemingly sentient being employed a different strategy with the coyote. The wave of cosmic energy ran across the ground, attacking the charge he was planting rather than attacking the coyote directly. Tech noticed with concern that the countdown had been triggered for the charge that was laying on the ground next to him.

“Uh-oh! That energy field triggered the countdown!” Tech cried.

“Be right back!” Rev called.

Tech barely had time to register what was happening before the charge was no longer in his possession and being sped away by a certain roadrunner. There was only one aspect that concerned Tech, even when he took Rev’s superspeed into account: not only had the countdown been triggered prematurely – it had been accelerated.

“Rev, get rid of that! It’s set to blow!” Tech warned him.

“You got it!” Rev nodded.

He threw the primed charge into a random direction of space – somewhere it could detonate harmlessly. But the cosmic energy appeared once more, blocking the charge’s path and knocking it back into the hands of the stunned inventor.

“Oh dear,” he winced.

BOOM!

The explosion singed the coyote inside his spacesuit, and somehow did this without causing any damage to the suit itself. Tech considered finding a way to understand the logic once they got back to Acmetropolis, but two things halted his plan.

The first thing, this was a classic callback to his Looney Tune ancestor, Wile E. Coyote. His ancestor continuously found himself in precarious situations (most of them involving hunting down a certain Roadrunner) and falling prey to his own traps. But he always managed to walk away unscathed. Well… relatively unscathed. So, this to him felt like a throwback to his ancestor and the Looney Tunes logic.

The second thing? As much as Tech was grateful for his healing powers, the process was still unpleasant.

Rev sped up next to the coyote, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened as he rambled, “Whoa, did you see that?! It stopped in mid-air! Man, Tech! It was that strange cosmic energy! It somehow knocked the charge off course! How do you explain that?! But really, Tech, thanks for saving my life!”

“A pleasure as always,” Tech responded.

He regenerated as Ace, Slam, Lexi and Brylee rejoined them back at the ship.

“Tech, you put the boom in kaboom!” Lexi praised.

Noticing the mallard’s absence, Ace asked coyly into his communicator, “Hey, uh, Duck, care to join us?”

Duck, who was still being flung around like a ragdoll, answered between grunts and cries of pain, “I’ll be right there!”

Now having more than enough of being treated like a ragdoll, Duck used the next throw to gain momentum, allowing him to free himself from the grasp of the rock formation and fire an orb. The orb struck the charger he had planted below. It had been due to detonation in mere seconds, but the impact with the orb triggered the explosion prematurely. As Duck raced back to the ship, the other charges began exploding around him.

By this point, the others had boarded the ship and prepared to take-off once Duck had returned. Checking the status of the other charges that had been planted, Tech noted something of concern.

“The other charges are about to blow!” Tech warned.

“Duck!” Ace cried worriedly.

Duck flew into the ship in the nick of time. As soon as his door was shut, Ace launched the ship. Mere seconds after launching, the remaining charges planted on the meteor exploded. The meteor exploded in several small fragments and clouds of atmospheric dust – two things that would have certainly consumed the ship and her passengers were it not for their combined efforts in outrunning the explosion.

Brylee cried in relief and joy when the dust cleared and she saw that Acmetropolis emerged from its latest danger unscathed.

“What do you know? It woiked!” Ace cheered.

“You say that like you’re surprised,” was Tech’s response.

Zadavia’s hologram then appeared in the middle of the cockpit.

“Congratulations, team. Acmetropolis is breathing a very big sigh of relief right now,” Zadavia revealed.

“They’re not the only ones,” Brylee remarked.

“Hey, boss lady! Didn’t think we could do it, huh?” Duck teased.

“Oh, Duck. I’ve always had faith in the team,” Zadavia reassured him. Then, she amended her statement with a smirk, “Well, most of the team.”

Brylee noticed the look on her older brother’s face, “Hey. Is everything okay?”

“Mission may be accomplished, but this whole thing has got me thinking. What is that cosmic energy?” Ace pondered. “There’s something big going on. Something really, really big…”

**

What Ace had no way of knowing was he was right to be suspicious. A mysterious man had watched the events unfold from his own ship with dissatisfaction. This man had shoulder-length purple hair with streaks of white falling around his face. He had no discernible pupils in his eye, a greenish colour consuming the entire eyeball. His cybernetic eye consumed half of his face above his jaw and went round to the back of his head.

What was most concerning was that he was surrounded by the very same cosmic energy that had been attacking the team.

“Twice, I have attempted to destroy Acmetropolis,” the mysterious man lamented. “The first time, I misjudged the meteor’s effect. The second attempt was just demolished by those so-called Acme Heroes.”

But then he made a promise. One he intended to keep.

“But the third time, the third time, will be the charm.”

Chapter Text

Brylee panted as she took her position, drawing an arrow from her quiver and aiming with her bow. She always varied her training sessions before, alternating between sessions that focused on developing her powers, and sessions that focused on her hand-to-hand combat skills. (Ace always stressed to her that she should never rely on her powers alone.) Now, she had a new form of combat to train in. Archery.

It was understandable to the other Loonatics that, while Brylee still trained with her powers and hand-to-hand combat, her archery training temporarily took precedence. She was learning a new skill, after all. And it wasn’t just archery she was learning about. She was learning about her birthday present itself.

There seemed to be something special about this archery set. She somehow never seemed to run out of arrows (she didn’t know if it was part of the archery set’s properties or just some good ol’ Looney Tunes logic being applied here). Each arrow also seemed to have different abilities. Some exploded. Some emitted an electric shock. Some gave her the ability to repel above ground (something that will definitely come in handy if/when she found herself surrounded by enemies in a fight). Some were your standard arrows.

And Brylee still had the feeling there was more to learn.

The training drones surrounded Brylee, so she smirked as she fired her arrow into the air towards the roof. She could feel herself being rappelled into the air. The training drones jumped as though she was still there, colliding with one another in a contained fiery explosion. While in the air, she fired another arrow. This one hit another training drone and emitted a controlled electric shock, frying its circuitry. When she landed on the ground, she spun on her knees to dodge an attack. Rather than fire an arrow from her bow, she grabbed one from her quiver and thrust it directly into the training drone.

Hey. Whatever worked, right?

Rising to her feet, she fired her arrow behind her, taking out the training drone that was approaching her from behind. The explosion was controlled, so Brylee was never in any danger, but she could still feel the heat of the explosion on her back. She was thankful for Ace insisting she learn that skill. Especially since villains didn’t always play fair and would try to attack when your back was turned.

“Combat simulation over.”

She turned to the sound of cheers. Slam sat on the sidelines, offering words of encouragement. A rule that was instituted for Brylee was that she was never allowed to train alone in case something happened with her sugars. She certainly felt better having a spotter with her anyway. Today’s spotter was Slam.

“Thanks, Slam,” Brylee panted with a smile as she sat next to him.

Even though her CGM was a life saver, there were still times Brylee needed to check her blood sugar levels with the finger prick test. The CGM needs to be calibrated to ensure it was reading her levels correctly. Slam wordlessly handed her the kit she needed.

Much to her relief, the levels Brylee saw on her glucometer matched the readings on her CGM. So, there was no need for calibration this time. She noted the numbers in her diary along with the time she checked it, even though she knew her CGM records everything automatically – with timestamps and everything.

Through Slam’s garbled speech, he asked if she was okay.

“I’m fine, Slam,” Brylee reassured him. “Just need to monitor a bit more regularly for the next few hours.”

Brylee then reached for the string cheese. She was told that, after strenuous exercise, she needed to have a carbohydrate snack or meal. Knowing she would be having a proper meal in the next couple of hours, Brylee opted for a snack over a full meal.

She could feel Slam gently dabbing her head with a towel, soaking up the sweat that dripped down her face. The gentleness was a stark contrast to the Tasmanian Devil’s strength.

“Brylee good!” Slam decreed.

“Thanks, Slam,” Brylee beamed. She ripped off another part of the string cheese to eat. “You wanna get a workout in?”

“Yeah!” Slam nodded eagerly. But before he moved to the centre of the virtual arena, he pointed a finger at Brylee and told her, “Stay.”

Brylee wordlessly nodded. She wasn’t about to argue with him.

Slam appeared to opt for cardio workouts rather than strength-building or workouts that focused on his tornado powers. They were exercises that called back to his wrestling days, when he gave himself well-rounded workouts to build his strength, speed and agility in the ring. Even if the matches were often rigged against him.

“Do you miss them?” Brylee asked. “Your wrestling days?”

“No,” Slam grunted. Through his garbled speech, he elaborated on the answer. While he had fun, he was much happier where he was.

“And I suppose being able to walk into a fight not rigged against you beforehand is an added bonus,” Brylee remarked. Slam had told the others how the matches were fixed – and almost always against him.

“That too,” Slam chuckled.

Brylee couldn’t help but think back to when she and Slam first met. Slam’s English admittedly wasn’t the best. Much of his speech was garbled and hard to understand with the odd decipherable word thrown into the mix. But Slam had been sitting in on some of Brylee’s study sessions and he picked up the odd tidbit from her lessons. His English has improved remarkably in the year they’ve been a team. His garbled speech even became easier to understand.

“Hey. You hear about the circus in town?” Brylee asked.

Slam’s eyes lit up at the word ‘circus’. He had fond memories of going to the circus as a kid. The clowns. The ringmaster. The jugglers. The acrobats. The animals. (Especially when stricter laws were passed over the course of history concerning how the animals were to be treated in a circus environment. People enjoyed the animal acts a lot more when they knew the animals were not subjected to cruel treatments behind the scenes.)

Slam bounced on his feet excitedly. He really was a big kid at heart, but it was one of the things Brylee loved about him. His endless positivity and enthusiasm.

“Why don’t we see if we can get some tickets?” Brylee suggested. She smiled when she saw Slam hold up two fingers. “Yeah. We’ll go together.”

The hug Slam engulfed her in was one Brylee returned enthusiastically. While Brylee made a point of spending time with each member of the Loonatics individually, it was hard sometimes to find a way to spend one-on-one time with Slam that didn’t involve training sessions or her schoolwork or a movie night (that was often crashed by other members of the team). And it would be nice to spend time with Slam outside the tower too.

Besides, Brylee had never been to the circus before. She had never been able to.

It was something that Slam had clearly realized through his garbled speech. Because he began planning various ways to fully enrich the young girl. All the carnival food they could buy (while keeping Brylee’s diabetes in mind, of course). The balloons. The souvenirs. Finding other ways to really soak in the atmosphere one would find at the circus.

Seeing Slam excitedly plan their day out made Brylee smile in excitement. Having finished her string cheese, she looked at the time.

“Hey. We’re due for a meeting with Zadavia. Why don’t we bring it up there?” was Brylee’s idea.

Slam nodded happily as the duo walked out of the virtual arena.

The adventure awaits.

**

But what Brylee and Slam had no way of knowing was that there was a dark side to this particular circus. This circus prided itself on being a travelling intergalactic circus, starring creatures from all corners of the universe. They were collectively known as ‘Galactic Oddities’. But there was a dark, sinister truth behind these animals.

The animals were actually human. They had been hit with a device known as the sonic DNA scrambler, which mutated their DNA with the DNA of various animals.

And the Ringmaster and his assistant, Otto the Odd, were the ones behind this.

“Hello, my precious, precious beauties,” Otto sneered. He walked past the cages filled with the mutated animals, pushing a hovering cart filled with a disgusting sludge. “Time for dinner!”

He then heard the chittering sound of a monkey. Looking down, he saw an unidentified lizard/monkey hybrid speeding past him, obviously aiming to make an escape.

It would fill many people with irony. It was the fantasy that had been around for as long as the circuses have been. Running away to join the circus. Now, there was one animal looking to run away from the circus.

But Otto was not willing to note the irony. Not while he was irate over an animal possibly escaping.

“Hey! Get back here!” Otto snarled.

Otto smirked when he thought he was successful. He thought he had the loose animal cornered. But he forgot one important warning when it comes to animals who are cornered.

They are dangerous.

And this animal proved to be creative in her evasive strategies, for Otto ended up colliding with that cart he was pushing moments before. He was covered in the sludge he was planning to feed the animals. He could’ve sworn he heard the elephant make noises behind him that appeared to be laughter.

The lizard this animal was spliced with turned out to be a chameleon, as the animal had blended into the wall. When the animal saw it was clear, she appeared from the wall, hopping on Otto’s body as she darted for the exit. The doors may have been closed, but she blended into it, allowing her to slip through once the Ringmaster opened it from the other side.

When the Ringmaster found Otto sitting in the sludge sulking, he was clearly not impressed.

“Otto! What’s going on in here?!” the Ringmaster demanded impatiently.

“We never should’ve mixed her DNA with a chameleon lizard. That’s trouble with a capital T!” Otto proclaimed. “How did it get out of its cage?”

The Ringmaster was only too happy to answer: “I let it out.” He made a show of bowing before Otto as he did. When he looked up, the sneer on his face was clear. There was an ulterior motive for the animal’s escape.

“She’ll lead them right to us.”

The Ringmaster’s evil cackles echoed around the halls. He took delight in the trap his latest targets were about to fall into.

And that chameleon/monkey hybrid was going to play an unwitting role in his scheme.

Chapter Text

When Slam and Brylee walked in, they sensed that something was off straightaway. They headed straight to the meeting room, fully expecting to debrief with Zadavia. They planned to use that opportunity for time off to go to the circus together like they had planned to. But Zadavia was absent.

Lexi noticed that Tech was holding a new weapon and asked the coyote, “Tech, is that a new toy?”

“My latest and perhaps greatest invention – the Gluco Gel 9000!” Tech proudly introduced his newest invention. “The plasma energy core fires an impenetrable gelatinous substance, which provides a safe and effective way to trap all enemies.”

“That… actually sounds really cool,” Brylee admitted.

Duck finally walked into the meeting room, took his seat, and snarked impatiently, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where’s Zadavia? Did somebody forget to pay the holocom bill again?”

“Patience is a virtue, Duck,” Lexi chided the mallard.

“What are you, a fortune cookie?” Duck scoffed.

“It’s not like her to stand us up,” Ace hummed. “You sure we got the time right?”

Pulling up the team’s planner in her built-in communicator, Brylee checked the day’s schedule and nodded, “Yeah. This is when we’re meant to debrief with Zadavia.” She sighed, “Was kinda hoping to ask her if Slam and I could get time away to check out that new circus.”

“Coicus?” Ace repeated.

But he could not say anything more about his sister’s plans to go to the circus with Slam, because Lexi’s ears suddenly perked up and the tell-tale pink sonic waves began moving up the length of her ears.

“Put a sock in it, guys! I’m hearing something I don’t like,” Lexi warned.

“Please!” Duck scoffed as he walked over to the Tasmanian Devil. “It’s probably the sound of Slam’s stomach gurgling!”

It was only now that Brylee realized Slam didn’t eat after their impromptu joint training session. If anything, Slam was too preoccupied in making sure she ate her post-training snack.

Any thoughts about getting food for Slam were dashed when an alarm started blaring and Lexi smirked at Duck, “Told you so.”

The team were prepared for anything, for this particular alarm was designated to warn them of intruders in the tower. But the team was not prepared for what the intruder proved to be. The intruder in question turned out to be the chamelion/monkey hybrid that had escaped the circus moments before. Immediately, the hybrid cried for the team’s attention and pointed towards the door.

Duck gasped in horror, “A hideous beast is invading HQ! Run for your lives!” Noticing the looks everyone was giving him, Duck amended his cries, “I mean… attack? Attack!”

Brylee watched as Duck prepared to throw an egg at the chamelion/monkey hybrid and cried, “Duck, no!”

But Brylee’s cries were ignored as Duck threw a series of eggs at the mysterious creature. Brylee watched as the creature darted around the room avoiding the plasma eggs the mallard threw at it. Eventually, it climbed onto the wall it emerged from before, phasing through it. It made out it was leaving the tower, having been successfully chased away.

Duck was certainly quick to boast of his apparent success, “Once again, I have saved the day!”

“Duck, give me a break,” Lexi rolled her eyes.

To everyone’s surprise, the chameleon/monkey hybrid did not leave the building as they first thought. Instead, it appeared behind Ace.

“Watch out!” Duck cried as he immediately quacked himself between the creature and Ace.

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes as Duck moved to catch the creature. But the creature tapped into its monkey genetics by jumping over the mallard, using his head as a boost for good measure. Duck shook his head to right himself before turning around and noticing that the creature had leapt into Ace’s arms.

“I think it likes you, Ace!” Lexi grinned.

Brylee smiled as she too walked over and gave the creature a gentle pat on the head. The creature made noises that were… indecipherable, but still indicative that the creature enjoyed the attention.

Ace frowned as he noticed the collar the creature was wearing, “Hey, check out the collar there, Lexi. It’s from the space coicus.”

“Wow! A Galactic Oddity!” Lexi gasped in excitement.

“Poor thing must’ve gotten lost,” Brylee sighed.

She went to pat it once more, but Duck grabbed her wrist and scolded her, “Don’t touch it! It’s probably infested with intergalactic bloodsucking fleas! I say we get rid of it pronto!”

The creature began shaking its head and chattering its objections from Ace’s arms. Fortunately, Ace had another idea.

“I think it’s time we take a trip to the Big Top!” Ace proclaimed. “Let’s jet!”

Brylee shrugged at Slam, “At least we still get to see the circus.”

Slam excitedly voiced his agreement.

**

Rev was quick to talk up the potential benefits the team could receive for returning one of the Galactic Oddities to the circus.

“Maybe we’ll get free passes to the Interstar Orbiting Space Circus for doing a good deed returning a Galactic Oddity to its home! Oh yes!” Rev cheered. “It would be so cool! I love the circus! There’s so much good stuff to eat! Candy and delicious popcorn and taffy! That would be totally sweet, sweet, sweet!”

Duck glared at the chamelion/monkey hybrid inside the cage it was holding, “Hey! Zip it, lizard lips! This is all your fault!”

“Did we really have to put the poor thing in a cage?” Brylee asked. She had been vocal in her opposition since the cage was first brought out back at HQ.

“It was the best way to ensure everyone’s safety,” Ace responded logically.

Tech used his magnetic powers to have the cage brought over to him, reliving Duck of the burden (which is what he kept referring to the creature as throughout the entire trip). Setting it down by his feet, the coyote then pressed a button on his built-in wrist communicator to open the cage’s doors. The creature turned around to face the direction of the entrance to the circus.

“You’re free to go, little one,” Tech smiled warmly.

Seeing the creature hesitant to move, Duck snapped at it, “You heard him, chimpzilla! Shoo! Scram! Buzz off!”

“Duck!” Brylee rebuked him.

“What?!” the mallard whined.

The chameleon/monkey hybrid leapt away from the cage, having been scared away by Duck. But it didn’t leap back through the doors to the circus. Instead, it stood in the doorway and waved frantically at the team. It was clear to them what the creature wanted.

“I think she wants us to follow her,” Ace remarked.

So, the seven ran into the circus tent without hesitation. They followed the creature through a winding comb of corridors.

Sniffing the air, Ace couldn’t help but remark, “Something smells fishy.” He then spotted the hippo/fish hybrid he was standing near and quipped, “Oh. That would be you.”

Brylee gasped and got everyone’s attention when she spotted the chameleon/monkey hybrid after briefly loosing sight of it. She watched as the creature phased through the nearby wall, disappearing once more.

Then the door opened and a strange hybrid creature emerged through the doorway. Brylee couldn’t correctly identify any component of the hybrid – what creature the head belonged to, the origin of the wings, the fur…

“Maybe these guys can help. We have your lost friend. Can we get free passes to the circus? That would be totally sweet, sweet, sweet!” Rev gushed excitedly.

Brylee couldn’t help but feel that this creature wasn’t here to give them free passes to the circus.

“But first, take back your fuzzy lizard thing before we all catch monkey flu!” Duck snapped impatiently, holding the chameleon/monkey hybrid up in the air by the tail.

“Duck, be gentle with her!” Brylee pleaded. She then gasped when she saw another creature emerge behind what she had correctly identified as the security guard. “Oh no…”

Duck cried when a punch from one member of the security team sent him flying across the room, causing him to collide with an empty crate. Duck moaned as he emerged from the leftovers of the crate, pushing the wooden planks off his body.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?!” Duck snapped. “Okay, now you’ve asked for it!” Activating his egg powers, he challenged his new foe, “Eat egg, wise guy!”

The moment Duck’s egg collided with one of the creatures, the battle was on. But in many ways, the battle was over before it truly started. They all charged at one another, using their respective abilities to defeat the foes. Lexi gasped when one appeared to attack her from behind, but Ace flew through the air to kick the creature away from his teammate. Brylee had noted with peculiar interest that Ace had sent the creature flying into another room.

“Is this the centre ring?” Brylee voiced aloud, stepping through the crack.

“What? No clowns?” Lexi joked.

“Nope. Not even a dancing bear,” Ace observed. “Fascinating!”

The group walked closer to the real setup. It was a strange machine. The layout of the room appeared to be something Tech would create when he was experimenting with cloning or something along those lines. Not that Brylee had ever known Tech to dabble in that particular field, but the coyote certainly knew what setup he would need if he ever did decide to explore that particular category of experimentation.

“Tech, check out the hardware,” Ace instructed the coyote.

Tech immediately sat behind the computer in the centre of the room. Pressing a few of the buttons and entering a few key commands, Tech began his hacking. It didn’t take him long to break through the firewalls (the limited number there were) and pull up the history of the machine. It was a history that made him sick to the stomach.

“How’s the hacking, Tech?” Ace asked impatiently as he stood behind Tech.

“Genetic manipulation codes,” Tech observed. “Human DNA mixed with every animal on the zoological spectrum. It’s an experimentation log! A most disturbing one!”

Lexi was looking at another screen, one that had pulled up the photo of a young boy, and gasped in horror, “Let me get this straight! These freaks are human?!”

Brylee jumped when she heard another alarm blaring and the sound of the door slamming shut behind the group. She barely registered her brother’s warnings that they had fallen into a trap before she was suctioned into these cylinder-like prisons. The seven Loonatics were separated, being housed in different points of the room.

“These cylinders must have been designed to withstand our individual powers!” Tech informed his teammates. He had been trying to use his own powers to break free from his prison with no success.

“Brilliant observation,” the Ringmaster praised the coyote as he finally emerged from the shadows. “They don’t call you Egghead for nothing.”

“That’s Dr. Egghead to you!” Tech snapped indignantly, glaring at the Ringmaster.

“And what’s your name, fancy pants?” Ace demanded.

“They call me The Ringmaster,” the Ringmaster smirked at Ace.

“Doesn’t ring a bell. You might wanna hire a publicist,” Ace drawled.

“I am the greatest showman in the universe!” the Ringmaster snarled at Ace, clearly offended by the insult. “And you, my friends, are about to become my new opening act!”

Otto the Odd had emerged from the shadows by this point as well. He immediately moved to the DNA Scrambler, preparing it for its latest use. After all, it was going to mutate seven individuals at once, and they also wanted to be meticulous when it came to determining the hybrid combinations these seven individuals were going to be mutated into.

“Hey, Ringo, what’s with the carny contraption?” Ace asked as he slid into a seated position.

“I’m always trying to improve my Big Top, so I had this device built to accommodate your unique genetic makeup,” the Ringmaster boasted. He gestured to the screen that was beginning to show what the group would be mutated into. “It will manipulate your superpowered DNA and transform you into monstrous hybrids… under my control.”

Slam’s speech was unintelligible as usual (and probably contained words Brylee wouldn’t dare to repeat with her brother in earshot). But either way, Lexi was quick to voice her opinion on the sentiment the Tasmanian Devil shared:

“I’m with you, Slam!”

“I’m not clinically insane!” the Ringmaster dismissed Slam’s insults. “I’m a master performer!”

“Who is clearly overcompensating for something!” Brylee snorted.

The Ringmaster took great pleasure in walking over to Brylee’s prison and remarking, “By the way, this is going to hurt… a lot.” He then turned to Otto and said, “Otto, proceed.”

Not needing any further prompting, Otto pulled the leaver to activate the DNA Scrambler.

Brylee was forced to admit that the Ringmaster had been correct in his warnings. The process hurt. A lot. She screamed in pain as she was shocked by the machine. She could feel her body morphing in ways that felt unnatural to her. She fell to her knees, clutching her head as she felt the pain of two unnatural appendages trying to break through.

“Tech!” Ace cried through his own pain. “Your Gluco Gel thingy!”

Tech was able to work through his own pain, wincing only so slightly as he primed his weapon and aimed it at the tube into his cylinder, gasping, “Here goes nothing!”

Then he fired the shot. The shot travelled through the tube, landing right on top of the machine, which immediately began to malfunction.

“Otto? Otto, what’s happening?!” the Ringmaster demanded impatiently.

“He’s gumming up the machine!” Otto gasped in horror.

Otto and the Ringmaster were quick to flee the subsequent explosions. The seven Loonatics weren’t as lucky, being propelled out of the room by the explosion. At least they were no longer trapped in their respective cylinders.

Lexi cried as she suddenly found herself spinning rapidly, landing on the ground in a daze.

“What was that all about?” Lexi asked as she forced herself to her feet.

The group looked down and gasped when they realized what had happened to them. They had been mutated.

Ace had been turned into a cheetah/deer hybrid, Lexi into a frog/skunk hybrid, Duck was an antelope/gorilla hybrid, Slam was a lion/elephant hybrid, Tech was an alligator/zebra hybrid, Rev was a bat/rat hybrid and Brylee had been turned into a polecat/ferret hybrid.

Feeling around her body, Brylee was able to feel things she had never possessed before. Fur. Pointed ears emerging from the top of her head. A tail that she quickly suspected would prove troublesome before long.

But all of those thoughts disappeared when she spotted the Ringmaster and Otto laying nearby.

The Ringmaster charged over to the group, clearly furious and spluttering, “You wrecked my Sonic DNA Scrambler, ruined my main attraction, and I’m not sure, but I think I chipped a tooth! For that, you will pay dearly!”

“Ace, give him a laser blast!” Lexi cried.

Ace fully intended to do just that, only to cry out in surprise when something different happened. Rather than projecting lasers from his eyes, he ejected light from his hands. He stumbled back in shock, his shots widely missing the mark.

“Slam, give him a tornado punch!” Ace ordered.

Slam went to do just that, but instead of feeling the familiar sensation of a tornado consuming his body, he felt a prickling sensation at the top of his head. One that Lexi stated she felt when she first started using her brain blast powers.

It looks like the superheroes had more than their genetic DNA scrambled. They had clearly swapped powers with one another.

“It’s time for you to get in the centre ring now!” the Ringmaster snarled. His baton shone as the cages around them opened. “Attention, Galactic Oddities! Round them up! All of them!”

Brylee had been hoping to see that, since Ace clearly got her powers, she would’ve gotten her brother’s. But instead, she found she had Duck’s. She realized the hard way when she inadvertently generated an egg in her hand. Shrugging, she threw the egg in the face of one of the creatures charging at them. But while she hit her target, it did nothing to slow the creature. If anything, she only fuelled its anger.

“I don’t think he likes his eggs sunny side up,” Brylee quipped to her brother.

While the others dispersed in random directions, Brylee quacked herself out of the way. But she kept quacking herself into random, awkward positions. Including astride one of the Galactic Oddities. While Duck had his own mishaps with his teleportation powers, he was also more practiced at them, and his mishaps were becoming less and less frequent.

After inadvertently quacking herself onto the Ringmaster’s shoulders, Brylee quacked herself into Duck’s arms. As he held her bridal style, Brylee snapped, “This is ridiculous!”

When Brylee had quacked away, Duck shouted into the air, “Excuse me! My powers are not ridiculous!”

There were several mishaps to be witnessed during the Loonatics’ fight with the Galactic Oddities. Slam went to brain blast a creature that was standing right in front of him, but he experienced a misfire. Rather than hitting what was in front of him, the blast went behind him, striking Tech. When he turned to apologize to Tech, Slam was hit by one of the creature’s tentacle arms.

Lexi cried in horror as she activated the tornado powers that were in her possession. But while she possessed Slam’s powers, she did not possess his ability to control them. The tornado drifted all over the place, with Brylee barely able to quack herself out of the way. Tech wasn’t as lucky. The force of the collision sent him flying into the wall before landing on top of Duck. The impact caused Duck to shoot lasers out of his eyes, confirming to the group that he had inherited Ace’s powers.

Unfortunately, Rev had lost his super speed, so he wasn’t able to dart out of the line of fire, and he disintegrated into a pile of ash.

Duck raced over, horrified by what he had done.

“Rev!” Duck fell to his knees before the pile of ash. “Rev, pal, buddy, speak to me!” When he didn’t get a response, Duck bemoaned, “He’s gone, and it’s all my fault. I’m sorry for calling you a disgrace to the bird community. I’m sorry for stealing the cookies from your secret stash.”

“So, you’re the one!”

Duck gaped as he saw Rev regenerate in front of him. Well, it certainly answered the silent question of whether Tech and Rev swapped powers with one another or if they were able to retain their respective abilities.

When Rev was fully regenerated, he raged at Duck, “I always suspected it might be you, but how could I just come out and accuse you without any proof?! Man, it’s been bugging me for months! I don’t know why I’m surprised, really. Duck, if I had to pick one teammate who would stoop so low-!”

“I liked you better when you were a smouldering husk,” Duck grumbled, glaring at his teammate.

All those thoughts quickly disappeared when the duo were charged by another creature. Duck cried when he was knocked into the wall.

“Now, I’m quacking mad!” Duck warned the Galactic Oddity responsible. “Taste the wrath of my laser vision!”

But Duck did not know how to operate his newfound powers. Particularly how to aim them or – more importantly as his teammates darted out of the line of fire – how to turn them off.

“Duck, close your eyes!” Ace called.

Duck squeezed his eyes shut and kept them that way.

“We can’t keep this up!” Lexi declared to Ace. Gesturing to her own mutation, she quipped, “And this Pepe le Pew look definitely is not me!”

“And I don’t like having the tail,” Brylee grumbled, crying out when she stepped on it. “Can you stay behind me?!”

Ace would definitely laugh at this later. But for now, he had pressing matters. “I never thought I’d say this, but haul tail!”

“Where?! Which way?!” Duck cried, his eyes still closed.

“Come on!” Brylee groaned in frustration, pulling Duck towards the hole in the ground.

**

They had fled into the sewage system. It made Brylee a bit uncredulous. A sewage system in a floating circus.

Well, they did have bathrooms.

“What’s going on here, Tech?” Ace demanded the resident genius.

“My Gluco Gel 9000 destroyed the DNA Scrambler,” Tech informed his leader.

“But not fast enough! I mean, look at us!” Ace cried in dismay, gesturing to his mutated form.

“It also mixed up our genetic codes, which explains why we’ve switched powers,” Tech continued.

Duck finally opened his eyes when he heard the all-too-familiar chatter of an all-too-familiar creature. And he wasn’t shy at making his displeasure known towards the chameleon/monkey hybrid.

“Hey! Monkey face! This is all your fault!”

Brylee sighed as she threw an egg in Duck’s face, getting him to leave the poor creature alone. Despite everything, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. She was surprised at how quickly she adapted to having someone else’s powers. She even giggled when Duck snarled at her after wiping the egg off his face.

“Well, look on the bright side. It can’t get any worse than this,” Lexi quipped.

Brylee moaned in dismay the second the words left Lexi’s mouth. You never ever put something like that out in the universe. The second you do, something goes wrong.

And that something turned out to be another Galactic Oddity emerging from the sewer waters. (‘Why couldn’t it be something cool like a Ninja Turtle?’ Brylee mentally pouted to herself.) It was a giant snake with a… actually, Brylee couldn’t correctly identify the giant hybrid that was showing itself before her. All she knew was that it meant trouble. It wrapped its tail around the group, lifting them up into the air.

“You had to say it, didn’t ya?” Ace grumbled.

Struggling against the monster’s grip, Brylee quipped, “Being monster food was not on my agenda for today!”

“Ace, what’s the plan?” Duck whimpered.

Grunting as he struggled against the monster’s grip, Ace asked the group, “Who’s got Slam’s power?”

“Oh! Hey! That would be me!” Lexi answered cheerfully.

Lexi was able to use her newfound ability to fly up and strike the creature with a series of punches until it was knocked unconscious. With the creature unconscious, the group fell to the ground below. It would not pose a threat anymore. Now, they can focus on more important matters.

“I am so grossed out! That gorilla snake licked me! Bleugh!” Lexi shuddered. Accepting Slam’s offered hand, Lexi remarked as she rose to her feet, “I’m gonna need a hot bath quick!”

Slam grunted his agreement. Not at Lexi’s declaration that she needed a hot bath, but at the prospect of having a hot bath when this was over. That was an important distinction to make.

“We need a plan and fast. I can’t live like this!” Tech voiced his own opinion.

“Alright. The way I see it, we gotta somehow rebuild the Ringmaster’s Sonic DNA Scrambler and revoise the transformation. You up to it?” Ace winked at Tech.

Pulling up a series of holograms as he pondered the scheme, Tech answered, “Normally, it would take me at least two days to reconstruct a machine of that magnitude. But with Rev’s super speed, I’d need say… oh, five minutes?”

“Okay, then. Make it four-and-a-half,” Ace responded.

“What do we do in the meantime?” Brylee asked her brother.

“Tech’s gonna need space to woik, so we’ll need to keep the guards busy,” Ace answered. He then asked almost timidly, “Any tips on how to use your powers here, sis?”

“I always just saw it as an extension of myself. For example, I think of punching a bad guy, and my powers give me that extra reach,” Brylee shrugged. “It’s almost the same principle as your laser vision. Except, it’s coming out of your hands instead of your eyes.”

Ace hummed as he considered Brylee’s words.

**

“Ace, those hybrid creatures have amazing hearing. We don’t wanna get their attention,” Rev warned his leader. But his quiet warning ended up disturbing the guards they were trying to sneak past. “Uh-oh.”

“Go, Tech. We’ll cover for ya!” Ace promised.

Tech zipped away, grateful for his newfound ability. The remaining Loonatics immediately prepared to fight.

Slam grumbled in dismay when he tried to fire a brain blast at one guard, but ended up missing.

Lexi decided to give Slam some gentle coaching, “Slam, concentrate. Pretend he stole your lunch and brain blast him!”

Something that was very well-known amongst the group? Slam was very food motivated. So, Lexi having him pretend these goons messed with his food proved to be the perfect motivator. With a roar, Slam was able to fire a brain blast that hit one of the guards square in the chest.

“That’s it!” Ace cried. “We can beat these guys if we woik together!”

Closing his eyes, Ace felt the strange sensation of a power gathering in his hands rather than behind his eyes. Looking down, he saw his hands being consumed by a white glow. Remembering what Brylee had told him in the sewers, he thrusted his hand forward, smiling when the beam of light he fired hit another Galactic Oddity and stunned it into submission.

“Uh-oh,” Brylee suddenly winced when she noticed that she and Ace were surrounded. She wasn’t competent enough with Duck’s superpowers to quack Ace away alongside her.

Looking up at a beam in the ceiling, Brylee remembered a move she had pulled off in her training session earlier.

“Hang tight,” Brylee warned her brother.

“Huh?” Ace stammered in confusion.

Brylee fired an arrow into the ceiling. Now understanding what his sister meant, Ace immediately wrapped his arms around her, allowing himself to be pulled up with her. The Galactic Oddities had jumped at them the second they jumped up, causing them to collide with one another. The rather abrupt stop caused Ace to suddenly lose his grip, and he flailed about reaching for anything to stop his sudden fall.

Unfortunately, that something proved to be Brylee’s new tail.

Brylee howled in pain when she felt the sharp tug. Now she knew how Tech felt.

“Sorry!” Ace called to his sister. The two landed on the ground once it was safe, and Ace winced at the glare his sister gave him as she rubbed at her sore spot. “Sorry, sis.”

He’d make a joke about kissing her boo-boo, but considering where this particular boo-boo was, he didn’t think it appropriate. So, he opted for a hug and a kiss to the top of her head instead.

“You’re forgiven,” Brylee sighed.

She was never mad at him, but what kind of little sister would she be if she didn’t play on his paranoia?

**

While his teammates dealt with the Galactic Oddities that moved to stop him, Tech made himself busy. First, he took care of the Ringmaster, knocking him unconscious with an electrified whip the Ringmaster had pulled out to use on him. As Tech defiantly pointed out to the unconscious body, that was payback for calling him Egghead.

With all obstacles adequately dealt with, Tech focused on rebuilding the Sonic DNA Scrambler. But his version was decidedly more portable. In fact, his Sonic DNA Scrambler came in the form of a robotic glove rather than a giant machine. But that wasn’t the only difference he implemented in his version. Rather than creating mutations, his machine reversed them. And he had made it portable for simplicities sake. After all, he wasn’t only interested in reversing the team’s mutations. He wanted to reverse everyone’s.

“Huh. Reconstructed in four minutes flat,” Tech remarked cheerfully. Sliding the robotic glove onto his hand, he cheerfully declared, “The Genetic Descrambler ready to rescramble!”

**

Tech walked around to all of the cages, firing sonic waves at the various Galactic Oddities. He had done his best to reduce any pain the poor children would experience, but he couldn’t make the experience entirely pain-free. At least it wasn’t as painful as their mutations had been.

The team knew that the Galactic Oddities had been humans who were mutated into these hybrid creatures. But they were horrified to discover that the majority of their victims were children.

Tech stood in the middle of the team, pointing his Genetic Descrambler up into the air so the sonic waves fell down on them. Brylee sighed in relief when she looked down and saw her regular human form once more. She did not enjoy her brief experience of having a tail. She briefly activated her powers, smiling when she felt the familiar sensations and saw the familiar glow consuming her hand and lower arm.

There was one creature who had to be restored to normal. The chameleon/monkey hybrid that alerted them to the situation. Tech aimed his machine at the creature, and the creature stood in an optimal spot. The group were certainly surprised to see an adult woman. One who wore a red cloak to obscure her identity.

“I’m back. Hello, Duck.”

Duck gaped when he immediately recognized the voice.

“Zadavia?” Brylee gasped, voicing her own surprise.

“You mean… all along… that little monkey thing was… was…?” Duck shuddered in fear. “You’ve never looked better.

Zadavia glared at the mallard as she declared, “We need to talk.”

Seeing the Ringmaster trying to flee, Duck was quick to use the opportunity to escape, “Sorry! Love to chat, but gotta go stop Ringmaster!”

Ace was quick to use his laser vision to hit the control console for the door the Ringmaster was trying to escape through, causing it to slam shut in his face.

“And that’s a wrap, coicus boy!” Ace declared.

“The show is over!” Lexi voiced her own declarations.

“No.” Otto the Odd emerged from the shadows. “Actually, the show must go on, for we have one last surprise.”

Brylee gasped when she had seen Otto. She had actually almost forgotten about him. But her surprise turned to horror when she saw him pull a remote out from a hidden pocket and point it at the Ringmaster.

“Feast your eyes on our main attraction!” Otto the Odd smirked.

The Ringmaster screamed in horror as he realized what was about to happen to him. He was being mutated. He mutated into a hybrid of multiple sea creatures – the type you would see in a horror movie.

“Okay. I’m never watching The Beast again,” Brylee sighed.

“What do you mean, ‘again’?” Ace demanded, taking a brief moment to shoot his younger sister a look.

Brylee winced when she caught glimpse of it. She knew that she and Ace were going to have a very fun conversation back at HQ when everything was over.

Tapping some commands into his remote, Otto the Odd delightfully revealed to the superheroes, “The Ringmaster is only the face of this circus. I’m the real brains under the Big Top! He works for me!”

“Attack!” Ace ordered.

The team spread out, hoping to be able to attack the creature from different angles. Ace fired his laser vision at the Ringmaster, but it was blocked by one of the numerous tentacles that emerged from the mutation. It proved to be rather impervious to his superpowers.

Tech decided to try and employ a different strategy. He was hoping that he could simply reverse the Ringmaster’s mutation with his Genetic Descrambler. He grunted when one of the Ringmaster’s numerous tentacles collided with his body. Much to his horror, the Genetic Descrambler was knocked off his hand. Tech quickly rushed to retrieve it, but his horror was only magnified when he saw it be destroyed in front of him, crushed under a testicle.

“No! How can I let this happen?” Tech whimpered.

“I control this circus!” Otto the Odd snarled.

Duck was quacking around the Ringmaster, taunting him as he did. “Silly monster! Your tentacles are no match for Danger Duck!”

But Duck forgot that the Ringmaster did not only have tentacles. He had claws that resembled a lobster claw – and a decidedly human fist. A fist he used to smack Duck into the ground.

“But your fist is a contender,” Duck winced.

Slam was able to break off one of the Ringmaster’s claws, but one quickly regenerated in its place. Slam wasn’t phased by it. In fact, he saw it as a new challenge, with a new projectile in his arsenal. When the Tasmanian Devil threw the detached claw at the Ringmaster, it bounced off his mutated form, ultimately colliding with Otto the Odd, who had been standing in the sidelines. In the process, the remote the jester had been holding was destroyed. Shattered like Tech’s Genetic Rescrambler.

Slam winced when he saw the destroyed remote. He knew enough to know that wasn’t good.

Crawling from under the claw, Otto the Odd gasped in horror when he saw his destroyed remote, “Curses! What have you done?!”

Brylee screamed as she and Lexi jumped out of the way, crying incredulously as she landed, “It breathes fire?! What creature did he mutate with to do that?!”

“Okay, now I’m getting annoyed,” Lexi grumbled.

“Soundwaves triggered the transformation. We need to create a sonic boom!” Tech informed the group.

“Sonic boom, huh?” Ace smirked. “Yo, Slam, twist and shout!”

Slam was quick to do just that. He raced over to the Ringmaster, forming a giant tornado around his body and shouting out unintelligible remarks as he did. He twisted and he shouted, just as his leader told him to.

“Okay, Rev. Your turn!” Ace told the roadrunner.

Rev quickly raced over. His superspeed helped magnify Slam’s tornado. Rather than just covering the lower half of the Ringmaster’s body, the entire creature was consumed in the cyclone. A trail of fire darted along the bottom, representing Rev’s presence within.

“Now! Hit it hard!” Ace ordered the rest of the team.

The five of them stood in a line, firing their respective powers at the tornado Slam and Rev formed together. The Ringmaster’s screams echoed in the confined space, giving them a clear indication that what they were doing was working. They were reversing the mutation.

“Okay! Back off, Loonatics!” Ace told the group, warning them, “The sonic waves can knock the Big Top out of the sky!”

At least the group combining their powers did they job. They had successfully reversed the Ringmaster’s mutation. But Ace’s warnings had proved correct. Their efforts disrupted and destroyed the systems built into the floating circus that were responsible for keeping it flying above Acmetropolis. The dome around them shattered, leaving them exposed to the open air.

“Uh-oh! The Space Circus just ran out of space!” Duck winced.

It was the relief of the group that the flying circus was able to stay in the air long enough to avoid crashing into the city. Instead, it crashed harmlessly into Acmetropolis Bay. The impact split the two-level circus in half, with both levels floating safely on top of the water.

The impact also caused the Loonatics to lose their balance, falling on top of one another.

“Ow!” Duck winced, having been forced to the bottom of the pile.

He was quick to quack away, causing everyone else to fall around him. Brylee’s fall was cushioned by Slam’s chest, the duo grunting at the impact. Wrapping his arms around the young girl, Slam gently helped Brylee to the ground.

“Sorry about that,” Brylee winced.

“All good,” Slam grunted in response.

Brylee looked over and smirked at the position Ace and Lexi happened to find themselves in. Lexi had landed right on top of Ace, and it took them a few moments to move apart.

Looking up, Lexi saw the Ringmaster and Otto the Odd trying to flee and yelled, “Guys! Shorties on the run!”

Tech was quick to rectify that situation. He pulled out the Gluco Gel 9000 and fired two shots. The two villains were encased in their own cubes of gel. Their heads were free, so they were able to talk and breathe and be an overall nuisance to the group. But their bodies were confined in the gel, with their movements heavily restricted. There was no escape for these bad guys.

“That was a lucky shot, Tech,” Lexi quipped.

“True genius is never appreciated,” Tech sighed, holstering his weapon.

Brylee looked up when she saw a series of hover jets flying above them. Immediately recognizing them for what they were, she sighed in relief.

A reassuring voice could be heard over the tannoy, “Stay calm, boys and girls. The Acme Rescue Unit is here to take you home.”

It was safe to say the mission was over, and it was also safe to say it was a success.

**

Regardless of being rather secure in the knowledge of their mission status, they still had to debrief with Zadavia once they got back to the tower. Duck spent the entire debrief cowering under a random magazine he had picked up before walking into the meeting room, doing everything he could to avoid making eye contact with his boss, much to everyone’s amusement.

Through her hologram, Zadavia reported to the group, “The Ringmaster and Otto are both in custody, and all the humans who were turned into Galactic Oddities have been reunited with their families. Once again, Acmetropolis is in your debt. Excellent work, as always.”

Ace smirked, “Uh, anything else you wanna say, boss?” He was clearly ignoring the mallard’s scowls.

“Nothing at the moment, Ace,” Zadavia answered.

“Anybody here you might wanna have a few woids with?” Ace pressed on, smirk still prevalent.

“I don’t believe so,” Zadavia mused. “Zadavia out.”

When the transmission disconnected Duck peeked through the magazine and asked nervously, “Is she gone?”

“Yes, Duck. She’s gone. You can relax now,” Ace responded.

“Phew!” Duck sighed in relief. “I thought for sure I’d get busted for ragging on her when she was that disgusting monkey thing!” He shuddered as he recalled the creature Zadavia mutated into before boasting, “I guess this finally proves that Zadavia really does like me best!”

But Duck’s relief was short-lived when Zadavia quickly activated her hologram once more, “Oh. I did forget one thing. Duck, we need to talk. Alone. Now!”

Slam giggled and smirked at Slam, “Busted,” before leaving the mallard to face their boss’s wrath alone.

“Help,” Duck whimpered, even if he knew his pleas would go unanswered.

Brylee hummed to herself as she walked away from the meeting room, deliberately walking in the opposite direction of her older brother. But Ace was very quick to catch on, as he quickly appeared alongside her and casually draped his arm over her shoulders.

He asked teasingly, “Where do you think you are going?”

“Uh…,” Brylee trailed off. “I was just…”

“Preparing for our little chat about what you’ve been watching?” Ace finished his sister’s sentence with a smirk. He may have been teasing, but there was a certain tone in his voice that told the youngest Loonatic that it wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order.

Brylee inwardly winced. This will not be fun.

Chapter Text

The Mondo Bowl Basherball Tournament was an event that captured public interest. Everyone was either watching the tournament from home or at the stadium.

Brylee had recently caught a semi-final game at the stadium with her friends. Yes. Friends. Something Brylee had never experienced before. Ryan had introduced her to some of his friends and they eagerly welcomed her into the friend group. One activity she did with her friend group was attend one match of the semi-finals – coincidentally, the match where the Acme Rangers advanced to the finals. It was a very fun day out for the teenager.

Even if Ace wasn’t happy about the boy-girl ratio in the group.

“Hello, and welcome to the ultimate showdown: the last game of the Basherball Semi-Finals! The winner today advances to face the Acme Rangers in the Mondo Bowl!”

Today, Brylee was staying home to watch the final game in the semi-finals with her team. Her family.

That included watching Duck wield some type of… actually, Brylee didn’t know what it was, and cry, “Check out this move!”

Duck was trying his hand at being a Basherball player and pulling out cool moves to score a goal. Unfortunately, his makeshift weapon didn’t have the same velocity and his ball didn’t get very far.

“Of course, if I was a real Basherball player, I’d have a professional Basherball grabzooka,” Duck lamented. Duck shot a glare at Slam when he laughed and said something unintelligible – something that made Duck say, “I don’t know what you said, but I’m gonna be insulted anyway.”

“Shh!” Brylee hissed at him, helping herself to some popcorn. (Regretfully unsalted and no butter. Damn diabetes.)

“Mr. Leghorn, who are you rooting for today?”

Mr. Leghorn was one of the key sponsors of the Basherball tournament. He was also known for the snack he sponsored: Chili Gurt. Another interesting fact that Brylee couldn’t help but note is the fact that, despite being human in appearance, Mr. Leghorn was a descendant of Foghorn Leghorn. It was something that was definitely prevalent in the way he spoke.

Mr. Leghorn answered the reporter’s question, “I would just like to say how pleased – I say, pleased – I am to announce the Mondo Bowl is gonna take place at the World Drome!”

“Oh, we’ve gotta get tickets!” Brylee proclaimed to Slam and Duck.

Duck went to say something – probably a comment about using their connections as superheroes to score free tickets and good seats – when the TV started crackling. The source of the interruption soon revealed herself.

“Team, we have a problem,” Zadavia declared, not wasting any time with pleasantries.

“Aw, can’t it wait till halftime?” Duck whined.

“Now, Duck!” Zadavia snapped at him.

“What’s up, boss?” Ace inquired, sliding into the living room. He was soon joined by Lexi, Tech and Rev.

“There’s a thief at large committing robberies all over Acmetropolis,” Zadavia reported.

“A thief? Isn’t that beneath us super types?” Lexi quipped.

“Not if he’s a super thief!” Ace smirked. “Let’s jet!”

Brylee shrugged at Duck and Slam, “Looks like we’ll have to catch the highlights.”

“You can catch them with your boyfriend later,” Duck winked at her.

Brylee only rolled her eyes.

**

Their supervillain, after striking at the bank and helping himself to one hundred million quasarlinium, had now made his way to the museum.

Massive carried a very large and burly figure. His green skin highlighted a potential disfigurement as a result of the meteor. The meteor also gave him the ability of gravikinesis – the ability to control and manipulate gravity. He mostly uses this in two ways: levitating himself off the ground to allow him to move around faster, and manipulating the weight of objects and people, whether it be making them so heavy they’re forced to the ground, or making them as light as a feather so they float up in the air.

“I am Massive!” Massive introduced himself. He then used his gravity powers to force the three security guards onto the floor. “You guys chill out – and while you’re lying around, I’ll just relieve you of your trinkets.”

He was immediately drawn to a highly ornate egg that was displayed nearby. Rubbing his hands together, his eyes lit up in greed.

“Okay, doc! Step away from the egg!” Ace ordered the villain.

Massive turned around to see the Loonatics standing before him.

“The Loonatics, huh? Interesting. It appears Massive’s population is growing,” Massive remarked. “How about I give you a choice instead? Save this one trinket or save yourselves?” He paused to use his powers to levitate the egg before lifting up the floor the Loonatics were standing on. “Don’t you know the cost of being heroes is rising? Now for a hero sandwich!”

Massive then used his powers to bring down part of the ceiling. It became clear what he was intending to do to the Loonatics. He was going to crush them. It wasn’t something Ace liked at all.

“No way!” Ace objected. “Tech?”

“On it, chief!” Tech immediately nodded.

Tech began using his own powers to push back against the slowly dropping ceiling, holding it up over the team rather than allowing it to come down on them. Massive began throwing some of the knickknacks found around the museum at the group, making a comment about needing some condiments. Ace was quick to destroy one he threw with his laser vision.

“Try to stop this, rabbit! And this!” Massive challenged, throwing more projectiles at the heroes.

Ace did rise to the challenge, with a little help from his friends. While he took care of one projectile, Lexi, Duck and Brylee took care of the rest. Frustrated, Massive levitated the egg closer to him and began fleeing.

“I’m finished yoyoing with you, Loonatics!” Massive declared.

The group of superheroes was finally able to free themselves from the two layers of concrete that surrounded them, landing on the ground as Massive fled.

“Ace! The guards!” Lexi cried.

“The museum is now closed!” Massive declared.

Massive was using his powers to bring the museum down on top of all the occupants. Ace used his laser powers to provide the security guards some cover from the falling debris. Rev had managed to pull one security guard to safety, but it was hard to do. Massive’s powers hadn’t worn off on them yet, so it was fair to say that the Roadrunner was getting quite the workout.

So, Ace had to come up with another plan.

“Loonatics, we’ve gotta get these people out of here!” Ace cried. He used his laser to cut around the ground, creating a slab for Slam to lift so he could carry the two security guards out. “Duck, don’t just stand there with your hands in your feathers! Grab something!”

Duck went to grab one of the artifacts being displayed. He then felt a sharp pain near his tail feathers. Rubbing the sore spot, he turned around and glared at the perpetrator. This pedestal had a built-in anti-theft device, saying ‘Stop, thief!’ while shooting a small laser at the would-be thief.

“Hey, what’s with the roast duck?! I’m one of the good guys!” Duck snapped.

When the device wouldn’t stop shooting at him, Duck busied himself with going round collecting more artifacts from around the museum. By the time he met the others outside, he had a sack full of priceless artifacts. Artifacts that would’ve been damaged and/or destroyed when the museum finally collapsed.

“Nice haul,” Brylee praised him.

“Well, guys, looks like Massive skipped,” Ace grumbled.

Lexi asked the important question: “How does someone that big skip?”

“Oh, who cares?! I risked my feathers to save this?!” Duck scoffed, holding up what appeared to be a tribal mask. “Really… what is this?”

“Looks like a tribal mask of some sort,” Brylee hummed. She then said sheepishly, “We haven’t covered this in school yet.”

“We need to pick where the next fight goes down,” Ace decided. “Get the home court advantage.”

The group then heard a voice suggest, “We could set up a sting.”

Recognizing the voice, the seven Loonatics immediately formed a semicircle, pointing their built-in communicators towards the middle. A holographic beam projected out of all of them, joining together to display Zadavia’s holographic form.

“A sting? That sounds painful!” Duck quipped.

“Lay out a trap for him,” Zadavia elaborated further. “What is the one thing Massive wants the most?”

“A lot of money,” Brylee snorted. “That egg he stole comes with a hefty price tag.”

“150 million quasarlinium is a bit more than hefty, sis,” Ace remarked cheekily. Then, he smirked, “I’m a little short. Got any pennies in your piggy bank, Zadavia?”

“I have a little set aside for a rainy day,” Zadavia pondered. “Do you have an idea?”

“Yeah. What if we make a very public investment?” Ace suggested, a coy tone in his voice.

**

The scheme was something Zadavia was only too happy to assist with. When Brylee first laid eyes on the two hundred million quasarlinium her boss was lending to the endeavour, the colour drained from her face in a hilarious manner. She knew the team’s rather mysterious benefactor (so mysterious, they weren’t entirely sure what she looked like thanks to her holograms) must have money. After all, she takes care of all the team’s expenses (including Brylee’s rather expensive medical bills). But she had no idea just how wealthy Zadavia was.

Not that Brylee would’ve ever pried. Ace raised her better than that.

It was certainly enough to organise the scheme of making a very public investment to the luxury rocket industry.

“Today is a glorious day for the luxury rocket industry. Please join me in welcoming our newest investor: Mr. Mallard Megabucks!” an unidentified woman presented.

The spotlight then shone on Duck, who had disguised himself as the wealthy benefactor. The other team members had spread out around the location where the donation was taking place.

Ace, Lexi and Brylee sat in the audience, dressed as an upper-class family in attendance. Lexi wore a beautiful rich red floor-length long-sleeved dress lined with faux fur with a matching red ribbon tied around her ears. Ace wore a dark brown suit with a lighter brown turtleneck underneath and a matching dark brown hat with an orange band. Brylee wore a creamy-white dress that was similar in style to Lexi’s without the faux fur lining. Another aspect of the dress that separated it from Lexi’s was the knee-high slit (something Ace allowed considering she was wearing her uniform underneath). Brylee’s hair also had a beautiful matching creamy-white ribbon tied into it.

“Thank you, thank you!” Duck began as he approached the podium. “I am happy to invest two hundred million worth of quasarlinium bars to build more of these crazy rocket doo-hickeys. Naturally, I’d like the next model to have my face on it. So, I’m…”

Duck winced when he heard the high-pitched wine in his ear thanks to the earpiece he wore linked to his communicator.

“Duck, don’t ad lib! Get on and get off!” Ace hissed at him.

“Right,” Duck muttered. “So, in closing…”

“Everyone else in position?” Ace asked quietly.

He received confirmation from the three remaining Loonatics. Rev was disguised as an usher showing people to their seats. Slam was disguised as an employee for the centre where the donation was taking place. Tech was pretending to man a food cart.

Brylee only realised Rev was speaking when Ace quipped, “We got it, Rev. Is our little surprise ready to go?”

She heard Tech respond, “My specially made handcrafted gravity stabilisation gyro is all set. Any gravity affected by massive can be instantly restored to normal.”

“Then, we are good to go,” Ace smirked.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?”

Brylee knew Massive would be making his appearance at any point. The money they were pretending to donate was too good to resist for a thief who enjoyed stealing money.

“Massive amounts of quasarlinium and massive amounts of me!” Massive smirked. “That’s right! Run! Run before you make me throw my weight around! No one stands up to Massive!”

Massive was delighted when everyone started fleeing. He did enjoy a challenge, but he also enjoys ‘jobs’ where he could just walk in, achieve whatever objective he had set, and walk out with little-to-no resistance. But as Massive went to help himself to that quasarlinium that had been left unattended, he was about to encounter resistance to his scheme.

“Hey! Mean and green!”

Massive turned around to see Ace, Lexi and Brylee standing by the seats, disguises gone to reveal their uniforms.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that money can’t buy happiness?” Ace snarked.

“She did. That’s why I’m stealing it!” Massive retorted.

Ace went to hit Massive with his laser vision, but it only made Massive laugh as though it tickled him. The villain then taunted,

“My body is so dense, I’m invincible!”

Okay. A supervillain impervious to their superpowers? This was not good.

Undeterred, Ace leapt forward, drawing his sword as he did. Brylee, meanwhile, gripped her bow and pulled an arrow from her quiver. She watched as Massive knocked Ace to the side, taunting about how they were no match against his powers. Slam came out of nowhere, using his tornado powers to give him the momentum to knock Massive into a nearby wall.

“Quick! Everyone! While he’s down!” Ace cried.

All the Loonatics charged towards Massive, intending to take him down once and for all. Unfortunately for them, Massive wasn’t quite down for the count. He managed to rise to his feet and focus his power towards five of the Loonatics. Ace, Lexi, Slam, Tech and Rev suddenly found their feet lifting off the ground.

“Getting a little lightheaded?” Massive teased.

But Massive would learn too late that there were two Loonatics that didn’t fall into his trap. He felt something collide with his stomach. Thanks to the density in his body he had taunted Ace with earlier, it didn’t actually do anything to him.

But it was enough to draw his attention to Duck and Brylee. They both stood in a fighting pose, their eyes glowing with their power’s respective colours (orange for Duck and white for Brylee).

“Forget about somebody?” Duck smirked.

“Not exactly,” Massive sneered.

Brylee gasped as she suddenly found her body feeling heavy. So heavy, she couldn’t keep herself upright. Her head collided with Duck’s chest, her body having fallen in such a way that she landed partially on top of the mallard.

“Am I crushing you?” Brylee grunted worriedly.

“No,” Duck groaned with a wince.

“You see, all that weight has to go somewhere,” Massive remarked.

“Thanks for clarifying,” Duck winced.

Massive then turned to the five Loonatics he was forcing to hover in the air and declared, “I think you all need a little vacation. But where to send you? Oh, I don’t know. How about… the moon? Yes!”

Brylee gasped and began struggling in earnest, for she knew what was about to happen.

“Farewell, Loonatics!”

With a flick of his hand, Massive sent Ace, Lexi, Slam, Tech and Rev hurtling towards the moon. Duck and Brylee could only watch helplessly as they floated away, unable to come back down to Earth.

“Brylee, stop moving!” Duck finally snapped at her. He saw the pain-filled grimaces on her face. “You’ll keep hurting yourself!”

Brylee panted as she finally stopped struggling, resting her head on Duck’s chest once more. Her body physically deflated, almost as though all strength left her.

Despite the moment, Duck couldn’t help but tease, “Too bad your boyfriend’s not stuck with us.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, Duck,” Brylee revealed. “Ryan’s just a friend.”

Before Duck could comment further, he heard Ace’s voice through their comms, “Duck, can you and Brylee point Tech’s gyro up at us?”

Brylee grunted as she and Duck tried moving, but found themselves unable to. In fact, it only made the arm Duck had somehow managed to drape around Brylee’s waist a lot heavier than it already was (if that was even possible).

“Not unless we can do it without moving,” Brylee moaned. Her body ached.

Then, Duck looked up and saw the ship that was stationed nearby. The ship that was set up as a backdrop for the presentation of the organisation’s newest benefactor. There was one thing he knew about the ship: it wasn’t just there for show. It was entirely operational.

“Hang on! I have an idea!” Duck proclaimed.

Tightening his grip so subtly on Brylee, Duck used his powers to teleport the both of them onto the ship. But rather than quacking them onto a seat, Duck inadvertently quacked them on top of the control console.

“Oh yeah! The Duck has landed!” Duck cheered.

The elation was short-lived when the console crumbled under their combined weight. Duck and Brylee cried as they slid down, landing in the pilot’s seat. Brylee was draped across Duck’s lap. Their weight smashed the controls, but it did achieve their planned objective: getting the ship in the air.

“Hold on! We’re coming for you!” Duck reassured his teammates. “If we could steer this thing!”

Both Duck and Brylee tried lifting their arms and reaching for the controls so they could guide the ship towards their teammates, but found they lacked the strength to do so. It was hard to quantify just how heavy they both felt thanks to Massive’s gravity manipulation abilities. But there was one thing they both knew: any attempts at movement caused them a lot of pain.

“Thanks, Duck. We see ya.”

“Looks like this ship has some autopilot capabilities,” Brylee observed.

Neither Loonatics winced when they heard the loud impact against the ship. They already figured it was Slam getting a tight grip on the ship so the group didn’t float away before they could get into it. Brylee could’ve sworn she heard her brother remark to his teammates that they only had one shot at what he was about to do. Her unspoken question was answered when Ace used his laser vision to burn a hole in the side of the ship. Looking up wearily, Brylee was able to see that the team had joined hands. Ace was holding Tech and Lexi’s hands while Lexi held onto Rev and Tech held onto Slam.

The five Loonatics used the momentum to float themselves into the cockpit. Tech grunted as he gripped a seat, guiding himself into a seated position before pressing some buttons that activated his seatbelt.

Tech was able to turn the ship around to head back to Acmetropolis, but he did issue a warning for the team:

“Duck and Brylee’s weight has smashed the controls beyond repair. It’s gonna be a rough landing!”

That turned out to be the understatement of the century. That was the only way Brylee could describe it. She couldn’t help the cries she emitted as the ship bounced at the impact. It certainly did not help her predicament.

Undoing his seatbelt, Tech guided himself to the hole Ace had blown into the side of the ship, using his magnetic powers to draw the food cart closer to them.

“Now to grab the gyro and restore us to normal gravity!” Tech declared. “That’s it. Come to papa.”

Brylee made a mental note to have a little chat with Tech about getting him out of the lab more. Maybe suggesting some of their tutorials take place outside for a refreshing change. But she pushed those thoughts to one side when she felt the gyro doing its job. She heard the screams of her teammates who were floating in the air as they suddenly landed on the ground. Duck and Brylee found themselves able to move with only the slightest residual pain from their experience.

“The gyro works! We have gravity!” Tech cheered.

When Duck and Brylee finally walked out of the ship, Ace rushed forward to hold his sister.

“Are you okay?” he fussed over her worriedly.

“A bit sore,” Brylee admitted.

“That’s Massive: 2 and Good Guys: 0,” Lexi pointed out.

“So, we know his power is all about give and take. Making something lighter or heavier then vice voisa. Maybe we can figure out how to use that against him,” Ace pondered.

“Got that right!” Lexi scoffed. “It’s about time for us to throw our weight around!”

“He stole one hundred million from the bank, the egg was worth 150, and we set him up with two hundred million quasarlinium,” Ace recalled.

“He keeps one-upping himself. So, what’s worth more than that?” Lexi asked.

“All this chasing is gonna make us miss the basherball game at the World Drome!” Duck snapped impatiently. “And I wanna see who’s gonna win this year’s trophy!”

“That’s it!” Brylee suddenly cried. “That trophy’s been talked about everywhere, and it’s pretty expensive. That’s gotta be Massive’s next target.”

“How expensive?” Ace pressed.

“Solid gold, diamond-studded… it’s worth an easy 250 mil,” Brylee answered.

Ace hummed as he considered Brylee’s information. The trophy would definitely be something that attracted Massive, and he also knew it wouldn’t just be the gigantic price tag that went with it that allured him. It would be the challenge. As Brylee had said, the trophy has been talked about for weeks. Every basherball game leading up to the finals talked about that trophy. It is the most expensive trophy in the world, after all.

That strengthened the team’s resolve. Looks like they were gonna get to check out that game after all.

**

Brylee loathed using her superhero status to get perks, but she had to admit there were times where it came in handy. Especially when it came to getting tickets to the biggest game of the year. It was sold out, but it didn’t stop the organisers from being able to give the Acme Heroes some of the best seats in the house. Brylee appreciated the view the seats gave her. But she knew she couldn’t enjoy it for long.

After all, they were here for business. Not pleasure.

“You ready, Tech?” Ace asked the inventor.

“Yes,” Tech nodded. He then held up the gauntlets as he talked about them, “These gauntlets use the same gravity stabilisation technology as my gyro, and should neutralise Massive’s powers. All we have to do is get them on him.”

“Oh. It’s that easy, huh?” Brylee couldn’t help but snark. Because if there was one thing she learned in the superhero business, it’s that if something looks too easy, it never is.

Brylee decided to turn her attention to the field before her. Both the Rangers and the Manglers have taken their positions, ready to start the game. Now, it was up to Mr. Leghorn to kick things off. He’s going to grabzooka the first ball into play from his position in the skybox. He fired the ball into the air, starting the game.

Despite why they were here, Brylee couldn’t help but take the opportunity to enjoy herself and take part in the revelry in the crowd. She cheered when the Rangers gained possession of the ball and shot their first goal.

What could she say? She enjoyed a good game of basherball.

“Block him, block him!” Brylee shouted when the Manglers were primed to score. She whooped when Chris the Mauler intercepted. “Bring it home, boys!”

Ace looked at his sister with an amused smile. This was a side of her that was rarely seen. But he wasn’t about to dampen her enthusiasm. In fact, he encouraged it.

But any thought of enjoying the game disappeared when Trick Daley went to shoot the ball through the goal ring and it froze in mid-air. The team immediately recognized the purple glow that surrounded the red ball, even if the rest of the crowd was confused.

“He’s here,” Ace told the team.

“What’s this? A new player on the field?” the sportscaster was surprised to see Massive floating into the arena.

As the crowd began booing, Ace ordered his team, “Let’s move!”

“Sorry for the Massive interruption. I’m sure you all recognize me. So, yes. It is safe to assume this a robbery,” Massive boasted. He then turned to the armoured security guards who had rushed onto the field, “Now, half of you reach for the sky. And the other half hit the floor.”

“Okay, sir. You made – I say, you made – your point.” Mr. Leghorn then held up his watch and told Massive, “Here. Now take this and scram.”

“Oh, I’m not some petty thief, Mr. Leghorn. Who else in Acmetropolis would ever have the guts to steal something on live TV? I’m the greatest thief Acmetropolis has ever seen!” Massive proclaimed. “So, I’m gonna have to go home with something a lot bigger.”

Mr. Leghorn watched helplessly as Massive moved to take the trophy.

Massive quipped, “Thanks to you, Mr. Leghorn, this is the crowd of the millennium. Your ratings should go through the roof.”

“You know, for the price of the ticket, you’d think we’d get a better halftime show!” Ace snarked. “Take him down, Slam!”

Slam did not need any further prompting. In fact, he was already flying through the air with his tornado powers before Ace even had the opportunity to issue a command. Massive was able to get his hands on the trophy, but lost his grip when Slam knocked into him from behind. Mr. Leghorn and the sportscaster ducked as the trophy went flying in their direction.

“Rev, go!” Ace hissed at the Roadrunner.

“Okay, Ace! Now I get to give this guy a taste of his own medicine!” Rev cheered. “Let’s see how you like it when you get punched around, big guy!”

Rev was certainly enjoying himself as he sped around the arena, kicking Massive in one direction before quickly moving to kick him in another.

“Time for you to slow down, bird,” Massive sneered, aiming his powers at Rev when he regained his stability.

“Too heavy!” Rev whimpered as he found himself suddenly crashing to the ground.

“Not this time, big guy!” Massive snapped at Slam.

Slam cried as he found himself floating up in the air, suddenly crashing into the stadium’s ceiling.

“I got ya, Slam!” Tech proclaimed as he flew up to the Tasmanian Devil. “I’ll reverse this with my… going down.”

Tech whimpered as Massive focused his power on the gyro stabiliser Tech was holding. The purple glow then spread to consume Tech’s whole body, sending him hurtling to the ground.

“Tech, are you okay?” Ace asked worriedly.

“Define… okay,” Tech whimpered.

Moving to the gauntlets, Ace grabbed them and said to Tech, “Hey, uh, I’m just gonna borrow these.”

“Fire!”

Lexi had rounded up the basherball players on both sides and gotten them to fire balls at Massive, using her brain blast to magnify the impact of each ball. It did its job as the impacts knocked Massive out of balance, as Lexi made a taunt related to the classic game of tag.

“Score one for the home team!” Lexi boasted. When a Mangler voiced his disapproval, Lexi quickly amended her statement, “Oh, and you guys,” with a sweet smile.

“Why you little…”

“Oh no you don’t!” Brylee snapped, using her powers to distract Massive from going after Lexi and the players.

“Game’s over, Massive!” Ace proclaimed as he stood next to his sister.

“I told you! You can’t hurt me!” Massive reminded the duo.

“You may be right,” Brylee began with a smirk.

“But we’re working on making you pretty uncomfortable,” Ace finished the quip. “Duck, Lexi, Brylee, blast him!”

The combined powers of the foursome were certainly enough to knock Massive off-balance. In fact, he was knocked so off-balance that he was sent flying through the air, sending him out of the arena. Mid-air, Massive realised that he was leaving ‘his’ trophy behind, and that would certainly not do. So, Massive tried to use his powers to bring the trophy to him. But the trophy got caught in the hole his body made. It was something he observed in dismay from the crater his body made upon impact with the ground.

“Okay, I’ve really had about enough of you!” Massive snarled. He was only further frustrated when Duck threw an egg in his face.

“What’s the matter? Don’t like Chili Gurt? Beans and all that delicious gurt?” Duck quipped. “Of course, it makes you pack on the pounds. That’s why you’ll never see me…”

“Oh, you want to be lighter? Fine,” Massive smirked.

“Uh, that’s not exactly what I…” Duck’s objection was cut off with a scream as he found himself floating in the air.

“Going up!” Massive continued smirking.

“You get him, Duck?!” Lexi called down to him.

“That would be a no,” Duck winced.

“Come on down and join the party!” Massive called to Lexi.

He used his powers to force Lexi down towards them while also using his powers to force Duck to meet his teammate halfway. They floated around in a ball, twisting and turning and positioned awkwardly.

“Ew! Boy cooties!” Lexi whimpered.

“Don’t move. I think we’re holding each other in place,” Duck told her calmly.

“Ew! My face is in your armpit!” Lexi whined. She then gasped, “Where’s Brylee?!”

Brylee slid across the ground on her knees, blasting Massive with her powers. Now, Massive had already boasted about his durability, so Brylee already knew her powers weren’t making much of an impact. But she did hope to at least tickle him with her blasts. And Massive had to admit it: they did tickle him.

“Why don’t you lie down?” Massive kindly suggested to Brylee.

Brylee cried out in pain as she was suddenly forced to the ground. At least she was able to land on her back. Brylee was gasping in pain as she realised painfully that her leg was bent in an awkward position along the way. Pain-filled tears leaked from her eyes. Her leg was hurting. A lot.

“Now, where was I?” Massive pondered. He then gasped when he saw the trophy teetering on the edge of the wall. “The trophy!” As he brought the trophy down to him, Massive scoffed, “When are they gonna learn? Massive always gets paid. Now, now. Gently…”

“You know you didn’t win that,” Ace quipped. He then jumped down, holding onto a rope as he did.

“You’re through, you flea-ridden rabbit!” Massive declared.

“That’s bunny, doc!” Ace snapped.

He dodged Massive’s blast with an ease and agility he worked to build for almost his entire life. Letting go of the rope, he landed on top of the trophy that hovered in the air.

“Bunny’s going down!” Massive declared.

Ace jumped away from the trophy as Massive fired at him once more. From Massive’s declaration, it was obvious what form of gravity manipulation he was going to subject Ace to. He was going to bring him down a few pegs. But, when Ace jumped away, Massive hit the trophy instead.

“No! You are, doc!” Ace was quick to correct him.

Massive realised his mistake too late as the shadow loomed over him. Looking up, he saw the trophy he had been trying so hard to steal dropping down to land on top of him. He could only stand there gasping as the trophy came down on him. Since it was significantly weighed down – by his own power, no less – it was safe to say that Massive felt the impact. In fact, the impact left a crater in the ground. When the trophy moved away, Massive was actually half-buried in the crater.

He immediately began activating his powers, determined to go down fighting, but Ace was quick to put a stop to that.

“Here’s a little bling-bling for your trip to sing-sing,” Ace quipped, sliding the gauntlets on his massive wrists.

Ace raced over to his sister, having heard her cries of pain. When Tech used the gyro stabiliser on her, she immediately clutched her leg in pain. Ace gently felt around the leg, wincing as Brylee’s cries of pain became more pronounced.

Tech used his wrist communicator to run a quick medical scan on the young girl, declaring, “It’s not broken, but it looks like your leg’s been strained pretty bad. We’ll know more when we get back to HQ.”

“Come on. I’ve got ya,” Ace murmured reassuringly, picking his sister up bridal style. “I know. It hurts.”

Behind them, Massive made his presence known to the group, “If you think these things can hold me, you’re wrong! You can’t control gravity!”

“Yeah, but it’ll do for now,” Lexi shrugged with a dismissive hand.

Above them, Mr. Leghorn’s voice boomed, “Terrific – I say, terrific – job! I’d like to give you a reward for saving all these people who paid good money to come into my World Drome!”

“You know, we can’t accept your reward, Mr. Leghorn,” Ace kindly declined.

“But if we could, what kind of reward are we talking about?” Duck asked smoothly. He certainly had his own ideas on what an acceptable reward would be.

Mr. Leghorn, clearly put off by the question, stammered briefly before coming up with an idea, “How about a lifetime supply of my own red-hot Chili Gurt?”

“Too rich for us, but not Slam!” Ace smirked.

Slam was already drooling in anticipation, panting as he pointed as his open mouth.

“Go to town, son!” Mr. Leghorn encouraged him, already tipping a pot of Chili Gurt down.

The others watched in slight disgust as they did their best to avoid getting caught in the blowback. Unfortunately for them, Slam was a rather messy eater.

“Okay. It’s official. I’m gonna be sick,” Duck winced. His disgust only grew when he was splashed with Chili Gurt.

Moving his sister away from the rather disgusting display, Ace suggested, “Let’s get you back to HQ and get a proper look at your leg.”

The others were quick to join their leader and injured comrade in their rather hasty retreat. They were more than happy to leave the delighted Tasmanian Devil to his devices.

Chapter Text

Brylee sighed to herself as she leaned back on the bed she was currently occupying. A heavy machine was clasped around her leg. A bit cumbersome, but it should help. At least, according to Tech.

When Brylee was brought back to headquarters, the source of the pain was quickly determined. Tech’s preliminary diagnosis in the field proved to be accurate… to a degree. Brylee did indeed strain her leg. But she didn’t strain one muscle – she strained multiple.

Tech immediately strapped the device to her leg that she was currently forced to wear. It was one of his newest inventions. She had to wear it for thirty minutes and it was supposed to help with natural healing. Brylee couldn’t remember if Tech meant it would speed up her healing or make it less painful. The pain had overwhelmed her senses.

“Never fear! Duck is here!” Duck crowed, making his entrance.

Brylee gave him a smile that she hoped didn’t come across as a pain-filled grimace. She asked, “Everyone else still debriefing with Zadavia?”

“Yep,” Duck nodded. “I volunteered to keep you company until our fearless leader is finished.”

“I appreciate it,” Brylee smiled warmly.

Duck plopped himself on a seat he pulled over to sit next to Brylee. “Did you hear they rescheduled the final?”

“I would hope so,” Brylee snorted. “Massive did disrupt everything. Hopefully, they’ll organise better security for the trophy.”

“You got that right, toots!” Duck smirked. “You think Slam saved himself any Chili Gurt for the final?”

“I’m not taking a sucker bet,” Brylee shook her head. “Like when you made that bet with Tech about going tech-free for a week and you didn’t even last a full day.”

Duck glared at Brylee while she giggled at the memory. “You’re despicable,” he grumbled.

“Aw, come on, Danny, lighten up,” Brylee teased.

“I did,” Duck snarked, clearly referring to his earlier incident with Massive.

Brylee started laughing in earnest then. She did suppose that wasn’t something she should say for the time being. Even Ace wasn’t in the mood for making gravity-themed jokes, and he was only too eager to crack wisecracks to his teammates and any villain he confronts.

Well, being made so light and almost floating up to the moon would do that to you.

That was one aspect of Massive’s powers Brylee was never on the receiving end of. He always weighed her down. He never lifted her up. Her current injury was a very good representation of that. Tech believed that when Brylee increased her weight and forced her to the ground, her leg was contorted in a painfully awkward position. That, along with the amount of time she was forced in that position, was the cause of her current predicament.

But Brylee had to look on the upside: this injury wasn’t going to sideline her for several weeks. Especially if Tech’s invention did… whatever it was supposed to do. Brylee decided she needed to ask Tech to tell her about it again, now that her mind wasn’t muddled by the excruciating pain.

“Say,” Duck began curiously, “what did you mean when you said you didn’t have a boyfriend?”

“Just that,” Brylee shrugged. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“So, all those times you were hanging out with Ryan weren’t dates?” Duck pressed. “I riled Ace up for nothing?”

“He did ask me out, and I almost said yes,” Brylee admitted. “But when I thought about it, I wasn’t sure if I felt that way about him.”

Duck scoffed, “Could’ve sworn you had a crush on him.”

Brylee shot Duck an indecipherable look. But even if the overall expression was indecipherable, the mallard was still able to detect the elements of annoyance and frustration that was almost always thrown his way. Duck muttered something before making a show of zipping his lips. He also adjusted his body language, displaying all the signs that Brylee had his full attention. It was something he rarely did. Not even with Zadavia.

That alone told Brylee that Duck was adopting a serious manner that was rarely seen.

“There’s more too it,” Duck declared. “It wasn’t just because you weren’t certain of your feelings for him, was it?”

“No,” Brylee sighed. “I turned him down because I wanted a friend more than anything else.”

“You wanted a friend?” Duck repeated incredulously.

“Yeah. Because I never had friends before,” Brylee reminded him. “Before the meteor hit, everyone either bullied me or ignored me. I couldn’t even get someone to tolerate working with me for group assignments, let alone sitting with me at lunch. It didn’t really change after the meteor hit. I couldn’t even get fake friends. I was the same outcast I was before. Just with superpowers.”

“Yeah. Well, they’re idiots who didn’t really know what they were missing out on,” Duck adamantly declared.

“So, when Ryan asked me out, I ended up friend zoning him,” Brylee revealed. “And he was fine with it. Even though I never gave dating him a shot, I already feel like I’ve made the right choice. We’re better off as friends.”

“As long as it wasn’t because you were too scared,” Duck told her seriously. He was continuing his rare show of seriousness.

“No,” Brylee shook her head. “It wasn’t because I was scared. But because it didn’t feel like what I want.”

Duck hummed, observing the young girl before him. Brylee was rarely on the receiving end of his teasing remarks. In fact, if anything, Brylee was the only member Duck felt he could truly be vulnerable with. After all, they had the same start in life. They were both orphaned, and then ended up losing their adoptive parents after the fact.

Although, there were some subtle differences to their stories. Brylee was given to her adoptive parents by her biological mother, who, as far as they knew, was still alive somewhere. Duck’s parents were killed in a fire when he was a baby, and he spent several years in the orphanage before he was adopted. Brylee lost her adoptive parents in childhood. Her adoptive father disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was a toddler and her adoptive mother died when she was twelve, leaving her in her older brother’s care. Duck’s adoptive parents passed away within months of each other when he was eighteen and had finished school. His adoptive mother died from ovarian cancer, while his adoptive father suffered a massive heart attack one day at work.

“Hey!” Duck suddenly cried out, objection laced in his voice. “What do you mean you never had friends?! What do you think I am?! What about the others?!”

“You’re not my friends,” Brylee shook her head. Seeing Duck growing even more upset at her adamant declaration, Brylee rushed to finish what she was saying: “You are family. We’re not just a team. We are family.”

“Well…,” Duck trailed off with a smirk, “I do have all my sisters with me.”

Brylee began laughing once more, clutching her abdomen as tears fell down her face. Her laughter truly was hysterical as she recalled the old song he was referencing. Duck often called Brylee and Lexi ‘sister’. What was originally thought to be a derisive nickname was later revealed to be how Duck viewed the both of them. His sisters. He only called Lexi ‘toots’ to rile her up. Much like a younger brother would.

And Brylee would know. She held the belief that the younger sibling should rile up the older. Especially if they were easy to rile up. Like Ace can be at times. Particularly when it came to his younger sister interacting with the opposite sex.

Ending her laugh with a happy sigh, Brylee beamed, “I needed that. Thanks, Danny.”

“You’re welcome,” Duck endeared her with a warm smile. “As long as you only all me Danny in private.”

“Deal,” Brylee nodded.

Brylee held out her pinkie and Duck held out his own in response. They both then intertwined their pinkies, reminiscent of the old practice of making a pinkie promise. It was something Brylee joked about when they first started bonding. First started confiding secrets to one another. Making promises to not share with the others what they shared with each other. Anytime they confided something new to each other, they renewed the promise.

Duck smirked like a co-conspirator, “You do know that anytime you go out with this guy, even if there’s nothing between you, I’m going to be riling Ace up, right?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Brylee adamantly declared.

Duck changed the subject, “So, hear about the new reserve on the basherball team?”

Brylee nodded. She had heard talks about Drake Sypher. He was recruited to the basherball team as a reserve, as Duck had stated. He was a benchwarmer, watching the game unfold and rarely taking part. But Brylee couldn’t help but feel that if Drake Sypher had his way, he would be changing that soon enough. She had heard talks about him being a power-hungry glory hound. Someone who wouldn’t be afraid to sell out his own mother for the chance to be in the spotlight.

In a lot of ways, Sypher sounded a lot like the mallard sitting before her. But Brylee knew that Duck put on a lot of the bravado. Ultimately, he had a heart of gold and was extremely loyal to his teammates. He may give Ace a hard time and he may make all these comments about wanting to be the leader, but if someone ever tried to make disparaging comments about Ace’s leadership skills (unfortunately, there were many people who looked down on Ace due to being a high school dropout), Duck would be one of the first people to defend him.

He was just weary about who he lowered his guard with. Brylee was one of the few where he could.

So, the duo continued their animated chatter until Brylee’s treatment finished. Then, Duck quacked Brylee to the kitchen to help her get something to eat. They were making plans to watch the basherball game together on TV at headquarters. The team had been gifted with two free tickets, and it was decided that Ace and Rev would be the ones to use them. Brylee, Duck and Lexi had been to a game recently and Tech wasn’t interested. So, it was an easy choice.

Brylee looked around at her team – her family – and smiled as she reflected on the different relationships she had with all of them, and they all had with each other.

Chapter Text

Brylee had been hoping to hear from Ace and Rev their experience at the basherball game. Of course, she had watched the game on TV with Duck, but she knew Ace and Rev were going to hang back to meet the Acme Rangers newest star player: Drake Sypher. Maybe even get his autograph. Especially since everyone had immediately started talking about him overtaking Trick Daley.

But there was something wrong with the duo when they returned to the headquarters. For one thing, Ace had to carry Rev back because the roadrunner was unable to fly. And his voice was normal speed. That alone told the team there was something seriously wrong. Alongside the colour of their eyes. They no longer had their individual eye colour. Their eyes were clouded over with a sickly yellow and blue.

Then, Ace revealed that he thinks he and Rev lost their powers.

So, they all gathered in the lab. Tech had to analyse their two downed teammates. Pronto.

“Okay, Rev. Start sprinting,” Tech ordered. “This machine will measure your steps per hour.”

Tech was standing by the treadmill he had modified for Rev, monitoring his progress. But Rev’s progress was… not great. Rev was having a hard time keeping up with the pace of a normal individual, never mind the pace of a roadrunner (particularly a genetically enhanced roadrunner).

“This is as far as I can go!” Rev panted. “I’m cramping now! In pain!”

Rev was sent flying off the back of the treadmill, the electrodes Tech had attached to his body to monitor his vitals ripping away from him. Tech observed the readouts he did manage to get before noting them down on his clipboard.

“Well, Rev, the good news is that the machine is working. The bad news is that you’re not,” Tech revealed.

Ace approached the treadmill and read out the number on the speedometer incredulously, “36 miles per hour?”

“Actually, eighteen. I doubled it to be nice,” Tech admitted.

Brylee helped Rev to his feet, watching worriedly as Tech brought forward a target for Ace to shoot at. She glanced worriedly at her brother. From Rev’s test alone, she could tell that things weren’t going to go well for Ace.

“Shoot your power peepers at these, Ace,” Tech instructed, referring to the… actually, Brylee couldn’t tell what Tech’s makeshift target was made of, and she quickly decided it wasn’t a pressing concern.

“Come on, Tech. I’ve tried this!” Ace objected. He then relented, “Okay. Here goes.”

Brylee’s heart broke at the sight before her. She saw Ace straining to do something that had once come easily for him. He strained his eyes, trying to fire his lasers at the target. But nothing came. Even after Ace rubbed his eyes in the hope of removing any obstruction. Tech just stood there, watching the scene unfold in front of him and taking notes.

Slam decided to take pity on his leader and smash the target for him, knowing that Ace wouldn’t stop otherwise.

“Thanks, Slam. I was starting to get a headache,” Ace remarked sheepishly.

“I’m afraid there’s no denying it, Ace. Both you and Rev are no longer in possession of your superpowers,” Tech pronounced gravely.

“Yeah, but check this out!” Ace then proceeded to demonstrate a series of martial arts moves that had become muscle memory by this point. “You can take away my powers, but you can’t take away my moves!”

“Exactly. You’ve still got the moves that you had before you got your superpowers, and Rev can still run like a normal roadrunner,” Tech revealed.

Huh. So, Brylee was mistaken in her declaration about Rev’s current capabilities.

“Whatever did this must not have affected your natural abilities,” Tech pondered.

Brylee noticed Ace looking rather dejected over his current situation, even with Tech’s reassurance that any natural abilities he had wouldn’t be impacted by what was afflicting him. So, she stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Ace’s shoulder.

“Hey. You don’t need superpowers to be a superhero,” Brylee tried to reassure him.

But then, Duck had to come along and burst the reassuring bubble Brylee was trying to create.

“You know, the last time I checked, superheroes need superpowers!” Duck snarked. “You guys were the best of us, but until you’re better, I think it’s time for a new leader.”

Brylee shot Duck a dirty look for his earlier declaration, but couldn’t help but agree with his second statement. It was clear that both Ace and Rev were going to be sidelined for potentially a considerable period. Even with the natural abilities they both possessed, going out into the field would be too dangerous for both of them. And since Ace was the leader, they were going to need someone to take the reigns. At least when they were out in the field.

But even then, the dirty look Brylee was shooting Duck remained on her face, for she knew what the mallard was angling for. He was angling for the leadership of the team. He was seeing this as his opportunity to shine.

“That’s an excellent idea, Duck.”

Brylee glanced over at the monitor where Zadavia’s hologram had suddenly appeared.

“It is?” Duck stammered in hopeful surprise.

“Ace, until we can figure out what happened to your enhanced abilities,” Zadavia began saying.

“See? Even the boss lady agrees with me!” Duck boasted.

“Oh, for crying out loud, Duck!” Brylee finally snapped. “This is a serious situation! Not an opportunity for one of your ego trips!”

Zadavia finished her earlier statement, “you shouldn’t be out in the field, and neither should Rev.”

Ace hung his head low. He understood what Zadavia was saying, and he agreed with her declaration. But it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Especially since he knew Brylee was going to continue going out into the field. He didn’t like being in a position where he couldn’t protect his sister, no matter how much he trusted the others to look after her.

“Your replacement will have to be smart, courageous, cool under pressure, and have excellent leadership skills. Not to mention a dazzling smile,” Zadavia listed. “There really is only one clear choice.”

Brylee smirked to herself. Duck was preening himself, presuming that Zadavia was going to name him the new leader. But she knew his bubble was about to be burst. She knew who Zadavia was referring to.

“Lexi, I’m counting on you,” Zadavia made her decision.

“All over it, boss!” Lexi promised.

Brylee smiled in approval. Lexi was Ace’s second. It’s only natural that he take over for him while he was on the sidelines for an indeterminate period of time.

But her smile disappeared when Zadavia revealed her intention to throw them into the deep end and not give them time to adjust to the new dynamic. A new assignment was coming in: an urgent one.

“And you’ll have to be fast. I just received this report that the dam for the Central Acmetropolis reservoir is about to burst,” Zadavia revealed, showing the team the footage. “Billions of gallons of water will rush down river and flood this campground filled with tourists. There’s no time to evacuate. Lexi, take Slam, Duck and Brylee. Good luck. Zadavia out.”

Lexi turned to her teammates and said, “You heard her. Let’s jet!”

Slam quickly raced forward to follow Lexi. Duck and Brylee took some time, but for different reasons. Duck was still pouting after being overlooked for the leadership role.

“I have a dazzling smile,” Duck grumbled.

Brylee, however, felt someone grabbing her arm to stop her. Turning around, she saw that person was Ace, and he had fear in his eyes.

“This is just a temporary situation,” Brylee reassured him. “You’ll get your powers back and you’ll be leader again.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Ace shook his head. “I trust the others, but… you’re all I have, Bry.”

“I’ll be okay,” Brylee promised.

She then raced forward to catch up with the others. She had a job to do. Even if it felt weird for her as well.

Tech decided that Ace needed a distraction. Something to take his mind off the situation. And it was something he could talk about openly, since Rev was in on the secret.

“Maybe you can use this time to study,” Tech kindly suggested. “Your tests are coming up. Rev can help you while I monitor the situation.”

“Yeah. We can do one of the practice tests,” Rev added. “You’re improving all the time, Ace. You’ll be ready for the big day before you know it.”

Ace reluctantly nodded. Tech and Rev were right. It was coming up. But before walking away, he began saying to Tech firmly, “If anything happens…”

“I’ll tell you straightaway,” Tech promised.

It was only with that reassurance that Ace followed Rev to the designated area for his secret studies. As much as he hated the secrets, it wouldn’t be for much longer.

And he felt the payout would be worth it in the end.

**

The four Loonatics sped towards the dam. Brylee couldn’t help but wonder if Tech was going to need to spend time fixing their jetpacks when they got back to headquarters with the way they were pushing them. But something like a dam bursting was a time-sensitive situation. So, it justified pushing the capabilities of their jetpacks to their limits – and beyond.

But it all turned out to be for nothing, as Lexi spotted.

“Check it out!” Lexi called to the group.

The dam was bursting.

“Hey! I thought she said this dam was about to burst!” Duck recalled Zadavia’s earlier report.

“Whatever, guys! Let’s bust a move!” Lexi ordered the group.

The foursome landed at the campsite, the very same campsite that had a large group of tourists running around screaming in panic. Brylee could hear some of the campers screaming that everyone needed to get out of there. They needed to flee the campsite.

Well, at least they didn’t need to worry about coordinating any evacuation efforts. The campers were doing a great job of doing that themselves.

“Watch and learn, Lexi!” Duck smirked. “The boulder express to the rescue!”

Brylee watched as Duck threw four of his eggs at the canyon where the water from the dam would come rushing in. Duck was getting better at controlling his powers (as they all were), so he was able to generate four large boulders as he boasted.

Now, the idea was sound, and it did appear to work. Brylee actually think it would’ve worked under different circumstances. But there was something about this that didn’t feel like normal circumstances. That only seemed to heighten when the water simply washed over the four boulders Duck had set up in a giant wave.

“Looks like the boulder express took a dive,” Lexi quipped.

“Oh well. At least ducks can swim,” Duck shrugged.

“Time to get slamming,” Lexi decided.

That was all Slam needed to hear. Something the group was quick to learn when they first started working together? Slam often didn’t need much prompting. He would simply smirk as though to say ‘with pleasure’ and get right in to do the dirty work.

“Help! Someone help me!”

Slam’s path was diverted when he saw someone in distress. Obviously, it was a tourist that was unable to evacuate the campground before the water from the dam came rushing down, and he was caught in the flood. Now, Slam did need to stop the flood (or at least mitigate the damage it would cause), but there was no denying. The preservation of life took priority.

So, Slam dove in to rescue that tourist, who had now disappeared beneath the waves.

Brylee gasped when she heard screams. Turning in the direction she heard the screams coming from, she saw two children clinging to a rock structure. And their grip was weakening. It wouldn’t be long before they were swept away in the floods.

“Lexi!” Brylee cried. “There’s two kids in distress!”

“Go get them, Bry! I’m gonna try and stop the flood!” Lexi ordered her kindly.

Brylee raced towards the shoreline, activating her jetpack as she did. She was launching herself into the air before her feet even had the chance to get wet. She raced low, close to the ground so the distressed children. Brylee used her powers to boost them up higher onto the rock to make them easier to grab. The older of the two kids managed to push the youngest further up.

“Take my sister!” the oldest pleaded Brylee.

“I can take you both, so that’s what I’m gonna do,” Brylee declared. Landing on top of the rock, she held her hand out for the older girl. “Take my hand.”

It took a bit of effort, but Brylee was able to pull the older girl out of the water. Brylee asked the older girl to hold onto her sister. Once she was confident in her grip, Brylee scooped the older girl into her arms bridal style. Twisting her wrist slightly so she could grip the control of her jetpack, Brylee began guiding them back to the campground.

When she came back, she saw Slam looking rather disoriented and his eyes displaying the same discolouration as Ace and Rev’s.

“Stand down, super dudes! There’s a new hero in town!”

Looking out at the water, Brylee saw someone speeding along it… using Slam’s tornado powers. Then, she saw lasers that looked very much like Ace’s shooting up at the very top of the canyon, using the rock formations there to halt the rushing water.

“Head’s up!” Brylee cried. Some loose rocks were falling above the mysterious figure, so Brylee immediately used her powers to shield him and block the damage.

“Who is that guy?” Lexi pondered.

The man in question appeared before them, and Brylee recognized him immediately. Drake Sypher. The new star player of the Acme Rangers.

“The name’s Sypher, and I’ve always wanted to meet the hottest superhero in Acmetropolis,” Sypher smirked, grasping Lexi’s hand.

“What?” Lexi could only stammer in surprise.

Then, she felt it. She felt something being drained away from her, that something being her powers. She felt as weak and disoriented as Slam did, and her eyes displayed the same discolouration.

“You too, Duck,” Sypher approached Duck, holding out his hand.

“Well, finally. I never refuse an adoring fan when he’s adoring me,” Duck boasted.

Call it fate or a mere coincidence, but Sypher and Duck never got the chance to establish any form of physical contact, for a flock of tourists raced forward to lift Sypher on their shoulders, declaring him a hero.

Or, rather, a superhero, as Sypher corrected them with a delighted smirk.

“Don’t we at least get a C for trying?” Lexi asked dejectedly.

Duck, who had been flattened to the ground in the chaos, lifted his head weakly to call, “Fans, I’m back here, available for autographs!” before face planting once more.

Brylee frowned at the display before her. Something was going on, and she didn’t like it.

**

“Then, he touched us and our powers are gone!” Lexi recalled the story to the group.

“Well, if he did steal our superpowers, at least he’s using them to save people,” Rev pondered. He was trying to look for an upside to the situation.

But Lexi wasn’t in the mood for it, as she retorted, “Sorry, but stealing is stealing! Time to take this guy down! I want my powers back!”

“Calm down! You’re already a one big power trip!” Duck snarked. “Though, Tech, Brylee and I are the only ones left with superpowers – and seeing as Tech couldn’t lead a parade and Brylee’s too young, I shall be making the decisions.”

“You’re not that much older than me!” Brylee quickly pointed out.

“But I can vote and I’m out of high school,” Duck shot back.

“Touche,” Brylee grumbled. She hoped turning sixteen, even if it was several months away, would be different.

Ace pondered Duck’s words, “Hmm, alright, then, Duck. What do you think we should do?”

“Well, we should… uh… hunt down this Sypher guy and find a way to get all our powers back!” Duck decided after a brief moment of faltering.

“Not bad,” Brylee conceded. “But how are we gonna do this?”

Zadavia took that moment to make her presence known, projecting her holographic image through the television screen.

“Sypher shouldn’t be too hard to find. As we speak, he is acting as the Grand Marshall at a parade thrown in his honour,” Zadavia reported.

Ace winced at the images being shown on the screen, “Yeesh, talk about overexposure.”

“Yeah. It took us ages to get that kind of recognition,” Brylee recalled.

It did take the citizens of Acmetropolis some time to warm up to their superheroes, never mind give them the type of recognition they were quick to give Sypher. It really did show how fickle the citizens of Acmetropolis were, when she thought about it.

“Don’t be too impressed,” Zadavia gently chided Brylee. “Sypher is not as heroic as he pretends to be. Watch these images recorded at the dam by one of my own satellites.”

Brylee gasped at the images being displayed. First of all, she was impressed by the quality of the video. But then again, she expected nothing less from her mysterious benefactor, who seemed to have all kinds of access that rivalled even the city’s mayor.

But she saw that the disaster at the dam was something of Sypher’s own making, for he used Ace’s laser vision to weaken the structure of the dam.

“That faker!” Ace cried. “He used my powers to crack the dam!”

“Further proof why my powers are the best,” Duck shrugged. “Oh yeah.”

“That glory hog set us up to steal our powers just so he could be famous?!” Lexi asked incredulously.

“Precisely,” Zadavia nodded. “And he needs to be stopped before he does something that even superpowers can’t fixed!”

“Right!” Ace nodded. “Now that we know where he is…”

Ace was halted by the sound of a throat clearing. Looking next to him, he saw Duck giving him some serious side-eye. Ace couldn’t lie. It unnerved him slightly. Then, he remembered why Duck was giving him that look.

“Oh, right, Duck. Take it away,” Ace acquiesced.

Duck rose to his feet, “Yes! Now, saddle up and let’s… uh, you know…”

“Rain on his parade?” Brylee supplied for the mallard.

“Rain on his parade!” Duck finished his sentence, as though Brylee never said anything.

Exchanging a smirk and a shrug with Brylee, Ace proclaimed, “I couldn’t have said it better myself!”

**

Brylee gaped at the sight when the Loonatics landed at the parade. She was pretty sure every citizen of Acmetropolis came out to flock around Sypher. She also couldn’t help but notice his new… uniform. Particularly the colours. Red and yellow. Obviously to signify that Ace and Rev were his first victims.

Then, she felt sick, watching him giving out autographs. The citizens of Acmetropolis were giving Sypher the recognition it took them months to give to the Loonatics. The Loonatics had to work hard to gain the city’s trust, respect and affection. Everything they were giving to Sypher in less than a day.

“Chill, everybody! There’s plenty of Sypher to go around!” Sypher reassured his adoring fans.

Duck took this moment to make the group’s presence known.

“Is that so? Save the celebrations, Sypher, for the real superheroes!” Duck scoffed. “Because there isn’t any super in Sypher because the real Sypher is a superless… Sypher-head!”

“You really need to learn to quit while you’re ahead,” Brylee muttered as Lexi face-palmed behind him.

“Dude, that makes no sense,” Sypher deadpanned.

“What my teammate is trying to say is… you’re a fraud! You only got to where you are by stealing my family’s powers!” Brylee proclaimed.

After the citizens gasped in horror, Lexi added, “And we’re here to take our powers back!”

Sypher laughed and scoffed, “Stole your powers? Look! They’re bugging because I can do everything they can, but way better! They’re just trying to smear me! I say they go back to the petting zoo where they came from!”

The citizens of Acmetropolis made it clear whose side they were taking – and they weren’t standing with the Loonatics. They were standing with Sypher. They were jeering and booing at the Loonatics. And it was something that made Brylee’s blood boil.

Especially as Sypher simpered, “But Sypher’s willing to forgive and forget.” He then leapt forward with an impressive speed to rest his hand on Tech’s shoulder and smirk, “Are you willing to be my bud?”

Tech only moaned in response, feeling weaker by the second as Sypher stole his powers from him.

“Tech, get away from him!” Ace cried. He raced forward, pulling Tech away from Sypher, but the damage was done. His powers were gone. All that was left in Tech was lethargy and the same eye discolouration afflicting his teammates.

“See? I just wanna be buds, but the heroes has-beens won’t let me!” Sypher smirked. Predictably, the citizens of Acmetropolis stood with Sypher, booing the Loonatics once more.

“Oh, I am so over this!” Brylee growled in a display of anger that was rarely seen.

“Bry…,” Ace began worriedly, but he was cut off by Duck.

“Maybe if we rush him all at once, he won’t be able to defend himself,” Duck told the group.

“Good thinking, Duck!” Ace praised him before quipping, “You’re scaring me!”

So, that was what the team did. They rushed Sypher all at once. But Sypher used the tornado powers he stole from Slam to knock them away. He watched in satisfaction as the Loonatics landed in a pile before him. Duck, like it always happened to him, ended up on the bottom, being crushed by his teammates.

“Anymore thoughts?” Duck grumbled.

“Man, they are totally out for me!” Sypher whined.

Brylee screamed in horror as Sypher used Ace’s laser vision to cause debris to fall from the buildings around them, trying to crush them. The team sped away, going in separate directions to avoid the debris. She heard Sypher trying to justify his actions to the witnesses who had gathered round. She heard him say he was acting in self-defence. But when she heard him taunt Ace, making a comment about the ‘little rabbit’ run, she was done.

She leapt forward, using her powers to stun Sypher.

“Ooh, looks like I touched a nerve,” Sypher quipped, turning to face Brylee.

“Well, it looks like you’re delusional,” Brylee shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say delusional. I would say… blinded,” Sypher leered. “Maybe I need to turn down the light.”

Brylee fired her powers into the ground, giving her some levitation before Sypher could rush at her. It was a manoeuvre she practiced with Rev a lot, so she was able to nail the timing for her impromptu liftoff. But, as Brylee was about to painfully learn, Rev played fair. Sypher played dirty.

Sypher used the superspeed he stole from Rev to be right where Brylee was about to land. Brylee only realized too late when she felt Sypher wrapping his arms around her torso, pressing his back into her front so she couldn’t escape. He delighted in Brylee’s moans and whimpers. It shot a thrill through him that accompanied the surge of power that rushed through him. It went without saying that, of all the people he victimized, of all the powers he stole, he took the most pleasure in Brylee’s.

He didn’t let Brylee slump to the ground. Not yet. He took the moment to enjoy the sensation having her limp body in his arms gave him. He wanted to extend this pleasure for as long as he could.

As demonstrated by him sneering in her ear, “Edison may have invented the light bulb, but I’m the one who really shines.”

Then, Sypher finally let Brylee fall to her knees. She held her head, trying to starve off the wave of dizziness that suddenly washed over her. She didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that her eyes were discoloured. The same way her family’s eyes were.

She didn’t know why she tried, because she knew what had happened, but she still tried to project the light from her hands. But all that came out were sparks. She couldn’t generate anything. She was helpless.

Looking up, she saw the crowd of citizens gathered around her. Nobody offered her help. In fact, they looked at her with indifference. Apathy. Hatred. They didn’t care what happened to her. Some would even say she deserved what she got.

It brought Brylee back to the days before the meteor, and it brought her to a painful realization. Nothing had really changed.

Behind her, she could hear Duck quacking onto the scene. And she heard something in his voice she hadn’t really heard before.

She heard rage.

“Alright, Captain Suckup – and I mean that literally – let me ask you something: can you do this?!”

Finally getting the strength to turn in the direction Duck’s voice was coming from, she saw him standing on top of debris, eyes glowing orange, eggs burning in his hand.

“No, but it sure looks cool!” Sypher remarked. He then used Rev’s superspeed to escape Duck’s line of fire. Looking behind him at the damage Duck’s egg caused, he had to admit. He was impressed. “Sweet! But can you do this?”

Sypher race forward with Rev’s superspeed once more, looking to tackle Duck and help himself to the mallard’s powers. But by the time he got there, Duck was gone. He only caught smoke. Literally. Looking up, he saw that Duck had quacked himself on top of the large balloon that had been done in his honour.

He had almost forgotten about Duck’s teleportation abilities.

“Ha! Top that!” Duck challenged.

So, Sypher did try to top that. It turned very much into a game of cat and mouse. Sypher was the cat. Duck was the mouse.

“Where are you, Duck dude?!” Sypher growled in frustration.

Looking up at the scene from the ground, Ace remarked to Lexi, “Hey, look! Duck’s actually getting to him!”

“He’s elevated annoying to a superpower!” Lexi quipped.

Brylee suddenly found herself in Ace’s protective embrace. She felt him gently leading her away from the group of citizens who treated her in a contemptuous manner. She couldn’t help but think wryly to herself if this was how many of the supervillains she’s fought became supervillains in the first place. Because of how they were treated by society.

She couldn’t help but wonder bitterly if the citizens were simply reaping what they sowed, and if she was wasting her time helping people who would never help her in return.

Looking up in Ace’s arms, she gasped in horror when she saw Duck stained with a mysterious substance… and wandering precariously close to the edge of the building he was standing on.

“Duck!” she screamed.

They all watched with horror as Duck finally tumbled over the edge, knowing full well what was about to happen. Sypher raced forward, wrapping his arms around Duck as he helped save the mallard. While, of course, helping himself to the powers he was so impressed by.

“How does it feel to be quacking with fear?” Sypher taunted him.

“Despicable,” Duck breathed out, slumping in Sypher’s arms.

It was over. He had won.

**

“Well, that’s seven out of seven!” Ace proclaimed in display.

The Loonatics had retreated back to their headquarters, with their tails between their legs. The citizens looking at them with the same contemptuous manner they had looked at Brylee. It was something that did not help Brylee’s growing uneasiness about the citizens she had sworn to protect.

In fact, it only increased her doubts as to whether they deserved her protection.

“What are we gonna do? Now that he’s got my powers, he’s practically invincible! We’re doomed, doomed!” Duck cried in dismay.

Ace only shot the mallard a look before walking away. But it wasn’t necessarily because of Duck’s negativity. It was also because of Duck’s belief that it was his powers that now made Sypher invincible. In reality, he was invincible long before he got his hands on Duck.

“Duck’s right. Without powers, we’re useless against him,” Tech lamented.

“That bloated fame hound is not gonna get the best of us!” Ace declared adamantly. “We can take him with what we have left: our skills!”

Tech pondered his leader’s words for a moment before being struck with inspiration.

“You know, I could fashion some kind of body armour. Yes! I may have just the thing! Leave it to me!” that was all Tech said before racing out of the meeting room and towards his lab.

“Did I mention we’re doomed? Doomed, I say,” Duck muttered.

**

It was barely five minutes later before Tech was calling the group to the lab.

“Here they are. Ready for combat. Designed and calibrated to your individual brain patterns,” Tech boasted proudly.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!” Duck cheered.

Brylee looked down at her own body armour. She had to admit: she was impressed. All seven Loonatics were wearing the same blue and silver chrome body armour, including head gear. The only personalized touch on their respective armours was the colour of their respective triangles. They remained the colour of the accents of their uniforms. Yellow for Ace, pink for Lexi, white for Brylee, orange for Duck, purple for Slam, green for Tech, and red for Rev.

But she immediately knew there was more to this armour than its looks and durability (even if Tech didn’t mention anything about its durability). So, she waited patiently for Tech to deconstruct the armour’s capabilities for the team.

And she wasn’t disappointed.

“Nano-powered bionic suits?” Brylee guessed. “So, Sypher can’t use your magnetic powers against us?”

“Exactly right,” Tech praised her. “Each suit has been designed to mimic and deflect our individual superpowers.” Having a target brought down, Tech informed his leader, “Ace, yours is specially equipped with laser goggles.”

Ace was only too happy to test that function, and he was only too happy to give Tech a thumbs up in approval. The laser emitted from the goggles, while not as powerful as the laser vision Ace gained from the meteor, was certainly powerful enough to do the job, burning through the target Tech laid out for him.

Tech then turned to Rev, who was set up on the treadmill: “Rev has speed accelerated legs and wings.”

Rev’s legs were so accelerated that when he began running on the treadmill, the treadmill began to emit sparks, obviously incapable of keeping up with the roadrunner’s strides. Watching the step counter, Brylee gaped when she saw it was already reading three thousand steps – and still climbing.

Tech focused his attention on Lexi: “And Lexi, an ultrasonic siren to blast Sypher’s super hearing.”

Brylee supposed she had to be thankful for the warning before Lexi decided to test that capability. She could see the pink soundwaves being emitted from her mouth. But Brylee was surprised to find that it didn’t hurt her hearing like she thought it would. She figured that was down to how Tech programmed it. While she could hear the sound of the siren, she wouldn’t be affected by it. It would be geared specifically towards Sypher.

Tech then turned to Slam: “Slam, circular jets that will enable you to create a tasmo tornado.”

Slam was only too happy to demonstrate this capability of his suit. The circular jets emitted the steam he needed to create the tornado. The tornado he created strongly resembled the powers that were now in Sypher’s possession, so Slam was more than satisfied with what Tech had given him.

He then turned to Brylee: “Brylee, you have the ability to create holograms by manipulating light wavelengths around you and project controlled light blasts.”

Much like the others, Brylee was quick to test out the capabilities of her own battle suit. With assistance from her head gear, she was able to manipulate the light waves in a certain spot to create a hologram of the team. It would be the perfect diversion against Sypher. She then tested the light blast projector, finding it satisfactory.

Tech then winced as he turned to Duck, “And, Duck, yours…”

Duck only sighed as he held out his hand, something resembling an M&M slipping out of a hidden compartment. Analysing it with disdain, Duck deadpanned, “Yeah, I found it. Doomed.”

“Hey. Give me a break! I only had five minutes to come up with all this!” Tech defended himself.

And Brylee thought that was impressive in itself.

**

The Loonatics decided to use the Zoomatrixes Tech had built for them rather than their jetpacks or the Loonaporter.

“Zadavia pinpoints Sypher’s HQ straight ahead,” Ace reported.

Brylee couldn’t help but scoff when she noted the location of Sypher’s headquarters. Of course he would pick a headquarters with city views and review views, but a location that looked… well, let’s just say it made Brylee wonder if Sypher was compensating for something.

“Look alike, gang. I’m picking up security sensors,” Ace warned the group.

Of course Sypher would’ve invested in security. He may be arrogant, and possess an ego the size of Montana, but he wasn’t stupid.

“Oh great. There’s no doorbell,” Duck quipped.

That was when Brylee realized that Tech never mentioned the capabilities of his own body armour, and it was something the coyote was about to rectify.

“Did I forget to mention that my suit has electromagnetic palms?” Tech asked coyly.

Brylee smirked when she watched Tech use those electromagnetic palms to force the doors to Sypher’s headquarters open. It was clear that Sypher’s arrogance stopped him from considering a few contingencies. Including the stubbornness of the group of heroes he made an enemy of.

Although, as they would find out, Sypher was waiting for them. In the middle of a large room. Sitting in a throne that hovered off the ground. The sight made Brylee sick.

“Hola, ex-super dudes! Check out my new crib! Pretty awesome, right?” Sypher smirked. “By the way, nice threads!”

“Eh, what are you, the fashion police?” Ace smirked.

“Bring it on, bunny!” Sypher challenged.

Sypher leapt forward, flying through the air as he fired Ace’s laser blast at the group. But it was as Tech promised. Their body armour deflected the superpowers Sypher tried to use against them. The laser bounced harmlessly off of Ace’s palm and Tech’s chest.

“Huh. Nano-bionic armour. Nice one, Tech!” Sypher praised the coyote. “But I don’t think it’ll help you against this.”

That something Sypher alluded to was him firing Lexi’s brain blast towards the floor. The brain waves moved towards a pillar stationed behind them. But the group was quick to move out of the way.

“Back at ya, doc!” Ace snarked.

Sypher gasped before jumping out of the way. When he landed, Ace tried using his laser goggles against Sypher, but found that Sypher was able to dodge every blast he fired. Even when Brylee tried to help by firing her own light blast projections. Sypher evaded them all. With ease.

“Wow! Bogus powers too!” Sypher taunted Ace. “Very cool. Wait. No. Not cool. Sad.”

“Well, let me dry your tears!” Ace so kindly offered, leaping forward to challenge Sypher.

“Bring it on! I’ve got your moves too!” Sypher snarled.

Huh. Brylee did seem to notice that Sypher had an easy time blocking Ace’s attacks – and Ace was a martial arts master. But while Sypher was in possession of their moves (and Tech’s intelligence, based on an earlier comment), he didn’t take everything away from them. Not completely.

As shown by Ace walking up the pillar and jumping down to grab Sypher from behind.

“Hands off, man!” Sypher cried, struggling against Ace’s tight grasp.

“Wait. Something’s happening,” Ace muttered.

He began to feel a surge flowing through him. He felt… strong. Stronger than he had felt in the last few hours. The last time he felt this strong was when he and Rev were at the basherball game…

When Sypher stole his powers.

Ace cried when he suddenly found himself being thrown against the wall. So, whatever was happening was incomplete. But it was enough for Ace to throw off his head gear and feel the familiar sensations in his eyes.

His powers were coming back.

“Hey, Sypher!” Lexi called tauntingly. “I’ve got a message for ya, and it sounds something like this!”

Lexi aimed her ultrasonic siren at Sypher, and it had the desired effect. Sypher fell to his knees, clutching the sides of his head as he cried in pain. Brylee couldn’t help but take a perverse delight in what she was seeing.

But when Lexi ended her siren call, Sypher was right back on his feet, firing a brain blast at Lexi. Lexi was able to deflect the blast with her body armour, but the force of it still threw her off-balance, causing her to collide with the wall behind her.

“Tasmanian Tornado? Ha!” Sypher scoffed, charging at Slam with his own tornado.

Brylee could feel the rain dripping down her body as the two tornadoes collided, causing a storm in the building. The others were taking cover behind the destroyed column.

“Tech, I know how to beat him!” Ace revealed. “When I touched Sypher, I felt my powers coming back!”

“No wonder he won’t let any of us near him! He absorbs his powers through touch! But we can get them back the same way!” Tech proclaimed.

Brylee was relieved to hear that they had found a solution. A way for them to get their powers back. But then, she gasped as she watched Slam lose his battle with Sypher and was tossed to the side.

“And that’s a wrap!” Sypher boasted.

Tech frowned when he noticed Brylee put her hand up to shield the team from some residual rubble that went flying as a result of Sypher’s battle with Slam. The action in itself didn’t surprise him. He knew it was something Brylee did out of instinct. What surprised him was its success.

Tech didn’t program that capability into Brylee’s body armour, so it had to come from Brylee herself.

But shouldn’t that be impossible?

“Time for a little squeeze play!” Ace decided. “Come on, guys! All together now!”

Brylee felt deep in her gut that, even though the solution to their problems was relatively simple, actually executing that solution wasn’t going to be as straightforward. Sypher wasn’t about to give up that easily. It was shown by the way he was able to repel all of them. He even quacked out of the way when Rev raced towards him, causing him to crash into a pillar. (Brylee wondered how many of these fricking pillars he had in here.)

But Sypher also made the point of repelling them with as little physical contact as possible. He didn’t want to give anyone any opportunities.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Sypher?” Tech offered coyly, using his body armour’s capability to bring the seat closer to Sypher.

“That’s okay, Tech! I’d rather stand!” Sypher kindly declined, throwing it in Tech’s direction.

The Loonatics were sprawled on the floor, taking the brief moment to lick their wounds.

“He’s never gonna let us get near him, Chief,” Tech muttered to Ace.

“Unless he doesn’t see us coming,” Ace pondered quietly.

“I’ve got an idea,” Brylee whispered. There was one capability of hers that hadn’t been played yet.

Sypher cackled, “Aw, the poor little Losertics all fall down!”

“Well, come closer and say that to my face!” Ace challenged.

Sypher scoffed, “Ha! I have super hearing, remember? I know what you’re up to! I’ve been where you are and I am not going back! You are so over!”

Sypher had a hard time deciphering what happened next. All he knew was that he was staring at the group of downed Loonatics, preparing to fire his powers at them. He was going to make them hurt. He was going to make them pay for trying to steal his limelight. He would do anything to keep what he had stolen.

But then, the image crackled before disappearing. He was taunting holograms. The team was gone. He then heard Ace cry something from another direction before his vision was blinded. There was an unidentified muck covering his eyes. Something he couldn’t remove. He tried firing his powers in random directions, but giving his blindness, his aim was very off.

Then, he felt seven pairs of hands touching him.

“No!” Sypher cried.

“Oh yeah!” Rev cheered, feeling his powers return.

Despite Sypher’s adamant objections, he heard the cheers of victory as the Loonatics regained their powers. They were feeling stronger. Faster. Brighter.

They felt whole again.

“Will the real superheroes stand up and the phoneys fall down?” Ace taunted.

Sypher was spent from having all of his powers drained from him at once, so he fell to the ground. Defeated.

While the Loonatics stood victorious.

**

The victorious feeling continued all the way back to their headquarters, and well into their debrief with Zadavia.

“Congratulations, team,” Zadavia later praised them. “Now that word’s out on Sypher, his popularity has plummeted. He won’t be touching other lives anytime soon.”

On the screen was a security feed into Sypher’s cell. He was pouting as he glanced at the special gloves that had been fitted onto his hands. They were designed to neutralise his powers. So, no matter what he did, he won’t be helping himself to the talents of others.

“Nice work all of you. Zadavia out,” Zadavia closed the connection.

“Alrighty, then! I want your reports on the Sypher mission on my desk first thing in the morning before group calisthenics!” Duck proclaimed.

Brylee only rolled her eyes with a scoff before leaving the lounge area. She knew what was about to happen and she was not in the mood to deal with it. Not right now.

“Reports? Since when do we write reports?” Lexi objected.

“Or exercise?” Tech chimed in with a shrug, cutting Duck’s response short.

“As team leader, I’ve decided to make a few changes around here! I’m gonna be running a tighter ship!” Duck declared.

“Did he siphon your brain, Duck? Ace is still our leader!” Lexi argued.

“Excuse me, missy,” Duck began, leaning close into Lexi’s personal space, “I didn’t hear the boss lady mention anything about Ace being back in charge! Did you, Slam?”

Slam responded by pulling earwax out of his ear and having to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that he didn’t hear anything about Ace being restored as the team’s leader.

“There you have it!” Duck boasted. “Clearly, she wants me to remain numero uno!”

Zadavia’s hologram appeared to quickly end Duck’s delusions of grandeur, proclaiming:

“Duck, get over yourself. Ace is back in charge. Now, is that understood?”

“Yes’m,” Duck whimpered.

Zadavia ended the hologram once more, leaving Duck alone to his teammates’ torments.

“It’s good to be back!” Ace smirked. “Come on, everybody! Let’s give numero uno some time alon-o.”

Ace vaguely heard Duck voice his objections, including the fact that Zadavia didn’t technically name a timeline for when Ace would take back the leadership. But all the arguments fell on deaf ears. Particularly Ace’s.

And it wasn’t because he wasn’t willing to give them any consideration. It was because he had other worries plaguing his mind. He had seen how Brylee had been throughout the case. She hadn’t taken everything well at all, and it was something that carried through even after regaining her powers. Her victroy and excitement was tempered by sadness. Anger, even.

“Bry?” Ace began as he knocked on the door to her room. “Are you okay, sis?”

Ace was worried that he got no response from Brylee. That was a rule he always had. Even if Brylee wanted to be left alone, she was to at least answer him and tell him she was okay and want to be left alone. Ace always respected her wishes in that regard, but he wanted to hear her tell him to go away. It was a rule Brylee always followed with no problems.

So why wasn’t she this time?

Ace hated having to use the override code to his sister’s room, but his worry overrode everything else. Walking into her room, he found he made the right choice.

Because Brylee was gone.

Chapter Text

When Brylee snuck out of the tower, she didn’t have a plan in mind. This was probably her first mistake. But her mind was too clouded to care.

She just wandered through the city. She had ditched her uniform, so she blended in with the citizens. It was how she wanted it. She couldn’t deal with the false admiration. Not today. Probably not ever.

Thinking about the events with Sypher made her body tremble with rage. The people who once proclaimed to look up to her looked down on her. They didn’t really care about her. They only cared about what she could give them. Once she didn’t have a purpose to serve, they went right back to slinging her with contempt and ridicule or outright ignoring her existence.

Brylee couldn’t decide which was worse.

She couldn’t talk to her teammates – her family – about this. They were too wrapped up in the excitement of getting their powers back and defeating the bad guy of the week. They were looking to restore the status quo. Seemingly without regard for any conflicted feelings that were felt before.

So, Brylee ran. She didn’t know where she was going to end up, nor did she care.

Nor did she care about what happened to her along the way.

**

Ace gasped in horror when he saw that Brylee’s room was empty. Her uniform was on her bed, along with her archery set. But there was no sign of his sister.

He raced into the room, calling her name as he looked around. He even looked in the walk-in closet and attached bathroom, hoping his sister was just hiding in there. But to his horror, she was nowhere to be found. He didn’t bother asking the others to look through the tower. He already knew she wouldn’t be here.

His sister was out wandering the city. Alone. Vulnerable.

The mere thought made his heart freeze, while the reality of the situation took his breath away.

“Guys!” Ace called out urgently. “Brylee’s gone!”

The tower sprung to life at Ace’s words. Sprung to life with concern for the youngest member of the team. Immediately, the communication was filled with reports as the teammates searched different areas of the tower. She wasn’t in the kitchen. She wasn’t in the virtual arena. She wasn’t in the lab. She was nowhere.

Rev, meanwhile, was using his geo-positioning powers to track Brylee. Everyone else was talking about racing through the city looking for her. While Rev could pin down her location in seconds. The roadrunner couldn’t blame the others for forgetting this aspect about him. They were consumed with worry. As was he. This was decidedly out of character for Brylee. But what had happened to them was not ordinary.

Rev gasped when he finally pinned down Brylee’s location. He barely took the time to report it to the others before bolting away. The others would follow him as quickly as they could. But it was silently agreed that Rev would use his superspeed to get there first. To make sure Brylee was okay.

It was something Ace appreciated, even through his own helplessness and struggles.

**

Brylee ended up at the docks. Specifically at an abandoned warehouse. She didn’t even know how she ended up here, or who she met along the way. Nor did she care.

Because her heart was bleeding. And she wanted it to stop.

Her eyes burned with tears. Her body shook with repressed rage. Her hands glowed in a way they never glowed before, seemingly reflecting the inner turmoil that raged within her. The glow was blinding. It seemed to change colours all the time.

The scream Brylee released was painful to hear. It was a wounded howl. A wail. The power she released was destructive to any item in her immediate vicinity. The waves of her power spread from the centre of the abandoned warehouse where she stood. The ground cracked beneath her feet. The walls were left with holes from her blasts. But the structure itself was still sound. It wasn’t in danger of collapsing.

Like the world seemed to be collapsing around Brylee.

Brylee fell to her knees, her body spent from the rage that still flowed through her veins. Before her body could fully slump to the ground, she felt someone beside her, pulling them into an embrace.

Even in her weakened state, she pleaded, “Let go of me, Rev.”

“No,” Rev shook his head. “I know you’re hurting, Brylee, but…”

“Hurting?!” Brylee snapped. “Rev, they… why would I devote my energy into saving people who wouldn’t spit on me if I was in fire? Who probably wouldn’t care if I died tomorrow? Why shouldn’t I hurt them the way they hurt me?!”

The realization struck at Rev with such force, it took his breath away. Now he understood. He understood why Brylee was so angry. So heartbroken. There was no denying that, while all of the Loonatics went through hardships before the meteor hit, Brylee’s was the hardest. Everyone either hated her or was indifferent to her, and she had done nothing to deserve such apathy. Such indifference. She had no one in her corner except Ace.

They had to work hard for months to get the citizens to trust them. To like them. To respect them. Then, they turned their backs on her in seconds.

It had broken Brylee, and Rev could only hope it wasn’t beyond repair.

It may have seen a cliché, but for Rev, it was the only answer he had to Brylee’s question:

“Because you’re better than that.”

“I don’t think I am, Rev,” Brylee muttered dejectedly. “I can understand why a lot of our villains are the way they are. Marginalized. Looked down on. They snapped. Maybe they had the right idea.”

“No. They didn’t,” Rev objected. “They did everything wrong, Brylee. But even in your rage, you did everything right, Brylee. Look at where we are.”

Brylee looked up to do just that. She was in the abandoned warehouse still. Rev hadn’t moved to take her outside. But she looked beyond that, because she knew that was what Rev was pushing for. Yes, the docks may have been a popular area of Acmetropolis, but this part wasn’t. It was long abandoned. Even before the meteor hit.

Even in her rage, Brylee deliberately went to a place where she could unleash her rage, but not catch anyone in the crossfire. She couldn’t hurt anyone else. She could only hurt herself.

“If you didn’t care, Brylee, you wouldn’t be here,” Rev stated. “Those villains wouldn’t be who they are today if they just cared. Your only fault is how much you care. You care too much.”

“Do I?” Brylee snorted. “Because right now, I’m having a hard time giving a damn.”

“You’re hurting. Everything you’re feeling is perfectly normal. You will feel better tomorrow, and even better the day after,” Rev reasoned. “I didn’t like the way they turned on us either.”

“So, how can you just go back to doing what we did before? Like nothing happened?” Brylee asked. “Because I don’t know if I can.”

Rev sighed. People may say he is naïve, but he is also highly intuitive. And sensitive in his own way. He remembered being so dejected when he was late to that delivery the day the meteor hit. The realization that he wasn’t going to get paid.

And, of course, the prejudices that came with being a roadrunner.

“I think those thoughts sometimes. Everyone looking down on me for being a roadrunner. For not being fast enough. For… a lot of things,” Rev lamented. “But I think about why people were tearing me down and wonder if a lot of its insecurity.”

Some people may view the answer as naïve, but it was still an answer that was commonly voiced when people question a bully’s motivations. They’re insecure. They’re powerless. They need to be in control. Some people feel their best when they’re tearing down others. There was never one answer, however.

“You are hurting, so you want others to hurt. But the fact that you’re sitting here, rather than going on a rampage through the city, says a lot about you, Brylee,” Rev finally stated. “You’re better than that.”

“Did your pain stop?” Brylee asked meekly.

“Some days are worse than others,” Rev finally answered. “But anytime I think those thoughts, I remember this. I’m stronger now. I’m faster now. I’m better now. And you are too, Brylee.”

Brylee sighed. She may not believe it now, but she will. One day. She could already feel her rage dissipating. Her body no longer trembled. Her eyes no longer burned. Her hands no longer glowed. But her body started feeling like jelly.

“How much trouble am I in?” Brylee sighed.

“Ace is more worried than angry,” Rev told her. “We all were, Brylee. I mean, you snuck out of your room without anyone knowing. You left behind your uniform and weapons. Actually, that reminds me. How did you sneak out of the tower? Because you don’t have your jetpack with you, so you can’t have flown out a window.”

Brylee laughed when Rev began rambling all these questions at her before admitting, “I did fly out a window, actually. Or… I fell out, but I used my powers to catch myself. I’m getting better all the time.”

“Yes. You are,” Rev nodded in agreement. But then her words sunk in: “You fell out of a window?!”

“I’m fine,” Brylee reminded him. “But I… left my diabetic stuff at home.” Looking at her glucometer, she asked, “And my sugar’s a bit low. Do you have anything with you?”

Rev felt around his body before gasping at something he felt in his pockets. Jelly beans. Perfect. Rev kept a variety of snacks on him to keep himself going, because his superspeed also translated to his metabolism. He found himself needing a variety of snacks to keep him going throughout the day. Keeping Brylee’s diabetes in mind, he also made sure that some of the snacks he carried were safe for her. He gave her six of these jelly beans, watching as she ate them carefully.

“You feel okay to move?” Rev inquired.

“Yeah,” Brylee nodded. “I might need a little help.”

Rev might have hated going slow, but that was something he was willing to put up with for Brylee’s sake at the moment. He helped her out of the warehouse, her emotions having taken a toll on her.

They emerged from the warehouse as the others were landing outside with their jetpacks. Slam carried Brylee’s with him. Ace barely waited for his jetpack to deactivate and tuck into a backpack before he raced forward.

“Oh, thank God!” Ace sighed in relief, pulling his sister into a tight embrace. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” When Brylee shook her head, he pulled her back into that tight embrace. “You scared me to death.”

Brylee returned the tight embrace, closing her eyes as she found comfort in the security of her brother’s embrace. As she always did. She heard Rev mention giving her jelly beans because her sugars dipped. She also knew that Ace will be rather hesitant to let her out of his sight, and she figured she could say goodbye to her solo day trips out of the tower for the time being.

But she walked away from that warehouse with something she didn’t have before. The belief that things will get better with time.

Chapter Text

It was another day in Acmetropolis. One that wasn’t going that well, if the state of the news reporter was an indicator. His tie was loose. His suit jacket, undoubtedly designer, had at least two rips that could be seen on camera. His hair was dishevelled. He was clearly out of breath. But he still had his glasses and the headset microphone he opted for in lieu of a handheld one. So, he at least had that going for him.

He panted as he spoke into the camera, reporting, “Acmetropolis is under siege from a mysterious new threat! Some type of terrifying monster machine!” He then moved out of view and adjusted the camera to allow the viewers to catch a glimpse of the monster machine in question. “Reports say it was stolen from the Acmetropolis Weapons Laboratory, codenamed The Trollbot 9000. The Loonatics are valiantly fighting to stop it!”

The Trollbot 9000 flew through the air, powered by the two turbo engines on its back. Its weapons were on display, ready to be fired at a moment’s notice. There was no telling what one of its targets would’ve been. Perhaps the Loonatics that were flying around it trying to stop it.

Ace flew along the length of the robot, firing his laser vision into the seemingly impenetrable armour. But his powers seemed to have no effect. In fact, he wasn’t even sure it tickled.

“On three, Lexi!” Ace called to his teammate.

Lexi flew up next to Ace and the two bunnies combined their fire power, hitting one of the engines and sending the Trollbot 9000 crashing to the ground. The robot landed on its feet, leaving a sizable pothole in the road beneath it.

Flying around the pillar of smoke that resulted, Ace cheered, “We brought it down! You in position, Tech?”

Ace and Lexi landed on the ground behind Duck and Brylee. They all had been flying around the Trollbot 9000 while it was in flight, hitting at it in random spots from random angles trying to find a weak point. Something that would bring it down and stop it in its tracks. No such luck.

“Don’t worry, Ace! My Metallo-Convertor will neutralise it!” Brylee heard Tech vow over the commlink.

Brylee gasped in horror when the giant robot started moving once more, emerging from the rubble it had left from its rather rough landing.

“Oh, for the love of…!” Brylee trailed off in anger.

“Let’s jet!” Ace cried as the foursome took to the skies once more. “Closing in on you, Tech!”

“Almost there!” Tech responded.

Brylee heard the familiar sizzles of Tech doing some last-minute maintenance on the Metallo-Converter and suppressed the urge to scream in frustration. Was it wrong to think the machine should’ve been ready to go at a moment’s notice?

Slam used his tornado powers to climb up the robot’s body, landing beneath its mouth. He was preparing to take a swing. See if he could use his strength to breach the robot form and go after the pilot within. But their supervillain-of-the-week clearly had other ideas. One giant hand reached up and flicked Slam off of him as though he was nothing but an annoying bug. Not having a jetpack to rely on, Slam screamed as he hurtled uncontrollably through the air, crashing through multiple buildings before finally coming to a stop. He slid down to the ground below him, clearly pained.

With Slam out of the way, the robot suddenly became aware of four other Loonatics. Duck, Brylee, Lexi and Ace were firing at him from behind. With a calmness that disturbed the team, the robot raised a cannon at them and prepared to fire.

“Split up!” Lexi warned.

The foursome flew off in different directions, avoiding the cannon’s fire. Well, Ace, Lexi and Brylee flew away. Duck decided to make use of his quacking powers to teleport himself a short distance away.

“Now, you’ll see what a superior hero this duck really is! How about a robot omelette, buddy?!” Duck growled.

He conjured a giant egg between his hands – one that was clearly volatile – and threw it in the direction of the Trollbot 9000. He aimed low, looking to hit the equivalent of the giant robot’s stomach. (For even though it was a robot, Duck couldn’t force himself to aim lower and go for the giant robot’s equivalent of a groin.) But much to the mallard’s horror, the egg ricocheted off the robot like a rock skipping off a pond… and came hurdling back at him.

Duck screamed in horror, finding himself unable to fly away before the egg collided with his body. Now, he found himself covered in the substance he aimed at the robot.

“Lucky for me, it was a tar egg!” Duck winced.

“Come to papa,” Tech smirked from his vantage point in the tower. The robot was in the perfect range. “Rev, the turbo reverse modulator!”

Rev sped up next to Tech with the device he requested in his hand. He dropped it into the coyote’s waiting hand, and stood by as Tech immediately attached it to his weapon. Now fitted with the final component, Tech began charging the weapon, aiming it at the Trollbot 9000.

“Eat dust, troll!” Tech challenged.

To Tech’s dismay, before Tech could fire the weapon, the Trollbot 9000 fired these sonic waves at the tower that disrupted the weapon. In fact, it disrupted it in such a way that it backfired on Tech.

His body moments from disintegrating, Tech clung to the machine as he turned to Rev and asked, “You already reversed the reverse modulator, didn’t you?”

“I sure did,” Rev responded eagerly. “Wasn’t I supposed to?”

“Hold that… thought,” Tech whimpered as he disintegrated.

Brylee gasped in horror as the Trollbot 9000 fired four missiles at the tower that had been her home for over a year.

“Rev, get out of there!” Brylee pleaded.

She watched in relief as she saw the familiar signs of the roadrunner streaking through the sky and escaping the tower just before the missiles collided. The tower collapsed as a result of the impact, and it took everything in Brylee to avoid the falling debris.

Ace wasn’t as lucky. He was struck by a flying rock as he avoided the larger structure collapsing. He landed amidst the rubble, his jetpack having been rendered inoperable as a result of the impact. Regaining awareness of his surroundings, he gasped in horror as he noticed the Trollbot 9000 standing above him.

Brylee gasped in horror, knowing what was about to happen to her brother, and she was going to do everything she could to stop it. She flew through the sky at a rapid pace, pushing her own jetpack beyond its limits. She fired her powers at the Trollbot 9000, hoping she could distract its attention away from Ace to give him time to run.

“Ace, run!” Brylee pleaded her brother.

Ace prepared to do just that, but a horrific sound and an equally horrific sight stopped him in his tracks. He heard Brylee’s piercing screams of pain as the robot backhanded her, sending her flying through the air. He didn’t flick her away like he had done with Slam. He swiped at her with the back of his hand, the equivalent of giving someone a backhanded slap. Brylee hurtled through the air uncontrollably, unable to regain her stability.

“No. No!” Ace cried.

The Trollbot9000 had hit Brylee in a way that sent her flying behind him, so the rubble did nothing to obscure the view for Ace.

Brylee collided roughly with a nearby building, her jetpack taking the brunt of the impact. Her head whipped back violently, colliding with the wall behind her. Time seemed to slow in that instant. Watching Brylee fall away from the wall and land on the ground below with a sickening thud seemed to take an eternity to Ace. And he couldn’t look away.

She landed on her front, allowing Ace to see the sparks flying out of her destroyed jetpack. It was this moment that made Ace curse the enhanced vision that came as a result of his superpowers. For he could see the state of what he hoped was his sister’s unconscious form. Because he wouldn’t be able to bear the alternative. He could see the blood on the pavement, the puddle forming as a result of Brylee’s head injury. She made no effort to move. She lied there. Unresponsive.

Ace couldn’t bring himself to bring the use ‘lifeless’ to describe her prone state.

Time returned to normal as Ace looked up upon hearing the familiar sounds of machinery whirring. He realized too late what was about to happen when the robot held its foot above the cornered Loonatic.

He could only scream as the robot moved to lower its foot.

**

Ace screamed as he bolted awake in his bed. He was dressed in his uniform for reasons he struggled to remember in his panic. The orange blanket offered no resistance to his movements.

Holding a hand to his head, Ace gasped, “That was some dream! At least I think it was a dream…”

Looking around at the bedside tables, the computer screen next to his bed, his reading light above it, and the book with the red cover thrown almost haphazardly down at the end of the bed, Ace was able to come to the conclusion that what he saw was some type of horrific dream.

But there was only one way for him to make sure. Especially after what he saw in the dream’s final moments.

**

Ace wasted no time. He made his way to the kitchen area, where the other Loonatics had already gathered for their morning meal. Tech, Duck, Slam and Lexi were seated at the table nursing their mugs, undoubtedly filled with coffee. Rev and Brylee were preparing their own breakfasts. Rev was obviously preparing some type of beverage with the blender while Brylee had opted for a yogurt parfait with fresh berries.

“Morning, Ace!” Rev jovially greeted his leader. “You look really rundown. I’m making my special super booster pick-me-up shake. If you’d like one, you can have mine! How about it?”

Ace yawned, still not fully awake as Rev held up the glass for him. He politely declined, “Thanks there, Rev, but I’m too shaken for a shake.”

Ace was then able to make his way to his sister. She was still layering her yogurt, berries and she had also opted to add some almonds to her layers for an extra crunch. He pressed a kiss to his sister’s temple, visibly relieved that she was okay. If there was anything that left him shaken after his nightmare, it was those final moments. Seeing his sister on the ground unmoving.

“Hey. I made you a parfait if you want it,” Brylee held up the glass containing the one she had prepared moments before.

“Thanks, sis,” Ace smiled. “Your sugars okay? No dips? Rises? Nothing happened last night?”

Brylee shook her head, “I’m fine.”

Ace suddenly found himself confused. His body a lot more awake, he couldn’t help but find something oddly familiar about this morning. Rev making his special shake. Brylee opting for a yogurt parfait. And now, Lexi having an argument with the toaster, having to hit it to get it to work.

“Huh. That’s strange,” Ace hummed.

“Ace, toast is not strange!” Lexi laughed. “Unless Duck makes it. Then, watch out.”

Zadavia’s hologram appearing at the dining table killed any banter that was being exchanged. They also knew that their breakfast was going to be cut short. A silent look from Ace made Brylee continue to eat her breakfast. She couldn’t afford to skip meals.

“Loonatics, your assistance is urgently needed at the Acmetropolis Weapons Lab,” Zadavia reported.

Zadavia’s hologram briefly disappeared, but the connection was still there, as she displayed security footage of the weapons laboratory in question. Brylee knew it well. It was a military installation on the outskirts of town. Far from civilization. The perfect location for some of the weapons testing they did. And she wasn’t just necessarily talking about the volatile nature of some of the weapons they designed. She was also referring to their highly classified nature.

In fact, the only people on the base are people who work at the facility – and they have to undergo stringent background checks and the level of access a person would have depended on their clearance level.

The group left the table and approached the screen to see it up close. Brylee gripped her glass, thankful for the portable nature of her breakfast option. Along with the fact that Zadavia didn’t get offended by Brylee eating when she needed to – particularly during important meetings.

“The weapons lab needs help from us?” Tech asked incredulously. “But they have all those… weapons.”

Swallowing her breakfast, Brylee remarked, “The weapons would serve as an inducement as much as it would a deterrent.”

Ignoring the remarks, Zadavia revealed, “Someone’s broken in and is trying to steal the Trollbot 9000.”

“The Trollbot 9000?! No! Not the Trollbot 9000!” Duck gasped in horror. He then turned to Ace and asked, “What’s the Trollbot 9000 again?”

“The most powerful fighting machine ever created,” Zadavia answered.

Now remembering what it was, Duck gasped in horror once more, “Not the Trollbot 9000!”

“Duck, try to use your indoor voice,” Ace quietly rebuked the mallard. Turning to the hologram, Ace promised, “We’re right on it!”

“Zadavia out.” Zadavia signed out as she always did.

“Let’s jet!” Ace ordered the team.

Brylee quickly swung by the kitchen, taking the moment to put her glass and spoon in the dishwasher before racing to meet the others at the launchpad. Duck went to follow as well, but found his moves halted by the sound of a familiar ringtone in the tower. Someone was trying to reach them. Turning back to the screen, Duck pressed the button in the built-in communicator on his wrist to answer the incoming call.

He was greeted by the sight of an elderly man in a hovering wheelchair. The top of his head was bald, his long white hair only being present on the back and sides. Along with his matching beard.

“Hello? Make it snappy, gramps! We’re on our way to save the city!” Duck ordered impatiently.

The man began to state his business: “My name is Dr. Fidel Chroniker, and my grandson is totally out of control!”

“And this is our problem how?” Duck scoffed, his signature attitude on display. “We’re superheroes. Send junior to bed without his video games and let us do our job!”

Dr. Chroniker went to argue, but Duck immediately disabled the connection, effectively hanging up on him.

**

In his own headquarters, Dr. Chroniker growled in frustration.

“Must we go through this again?!” he voiced into the universe.

Frustrated at his warnings going unheeded, he opted to do whatever he needed to do to rectify that.

They were going to listen to him – one way or another.

**

“Attention all personnel! Red alert! Security has been breeched! An unknown intruder has made his way into the weapons lab!”

The intruder in question was a young man with a green mohawk wearing a red coat over his white shirt and black pants. His hands were covered by gloves. He was making use of his unique ability to go from one part of the base to another, disarming and taking down the security guards as he did. Nobody saw him coming.

“How is he doing that?!” one guard asked after the intruder made his way into a control room.

“Put your hands up!” another barked. “Identify yourself, or we’ll shoot!”

“The name’s Time Skip, and today belongs to me! That troll is mine!” Time Skip proclaimed. “And I’m not hostile! I’m just reclaiming what’s mine!”

When the guards went to fire their weapons at Time Skip, he displayed another ability of his: the ability to stop time. The blasts fired by the guards’ weapons froze in mid-air, as did the guards who fired them. This demonstrated to those who would have the knowledge that Time Skip’s earlier movements weren’t teleportation exactly. It was a skill known as chronokinesis.

Simply put, the ability to manipulate time.

“The military stole my design, and now, they’re gonna pay for it!” Time Skip sneered.

**

By this point, the Loonatics had arrived at the weapons laboratory. They were greeted by a confusing sight. Smoke billowing from wreckage. Holes in the ceiling. Lights punched out. Guards on the ground.

Deciphering Slam’s garbled speech, Lexi quipped, “Yeah, it does look worse than your room.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Brylee remarked to Ace.

“You too, huh?” Ace smirked, despite everything.

“The Loonatics! At last!” a man dressed in a military uniform spluttered as he raced to the group. “So glad you’re here. I’m Colonel Trench. This is my command.” A series of explosions in the distance made Colonel Trench amend his statement, “Or… was. Follow me.”

The group began following the Colonel down the corridor, in the direction where those explosions had come from. He was leading them towards the danger.

“Someone calling himself Time Skip has broken in, claiming we stole his design for the Trollbot 9000,” Colonel Trench began explaining.

Duck suddenly quacked in front of Colonel Trench, blocking his path as he gasped in horror once more, “Not the Trollbot 9000!”

“I’m afraid so,” Colonel Trench confirmed solemnly. “We’ve been trying to pin him down, but he continues to breech our security measures.”

Brylee was confused. The weapons lab, due to its nature, was meant to have the tightest security of any facility in the city. The fact it was a military installation only played a small role in the facility’s tight security measures.

So, Brylee had to wonder: what made Time Skip so special that he was able to evade their security like this?

**

Time Skip was close to victory. He could taste it as he typed in the necessary commands into the controls to unveil the Trollbot 9000. The giant robot appeared through the ground courtesy of a rising platform. It shone in the spotlight. Its storage mechanisms were the last obstacle Time Skip needed to overcome to claim what was supposedly his rightful possession.

“Awesome!” Time Skip gasped. “You’re mine! All mine!”

But Time Skip would soon find that he still had one more obstacle to overcome. That obstacle appeared in the form of Colonel Trench escorting the Loonatics into the hanger.

“No! Don’t let him near that system!” Colonel Trench cried in horror. “If he gets inside that bot, nothing can stop him!”

“Well, we’re just the nobodies to try!” Duck proclaimed.

“Time out, Loonatics!” Time Skip sneered.

The Loonatics were charging at Time Skip, prepared to provide the interference needed to stop Time Skip from gaining access to the machine. They had all heard talk of the Trollbot 9000. Zadavia had proclaimed that the Trollbot 9000 was the most powerful fighting machine ever created, and Colonel Trench had just warned that Time Skip will be unstoppable if he gets inside it. So, it was fair to say the stakes were high.

Actually, Brylee could compellingly argue that the stakes were always high, especially in the superhero business.

But the Loonatics would never get close to Time Skip, for he utilised the same trick he used on the security guards earlier. He froze time around the Loonatics, halting their movements and leaving them trapped as he gained access to the Trollbot 9000.

It was only when Time Skip began powering up the machine that the time freeze he applied to the Loonatics wore off. They could only watch in horror as reality caught up to them, and the familiar whirs of a machine coming to life echoed around the hanger.

“Now that I’m in the driver’s seat, let’s show them what you got!” Time Skip smirked.

Brylee fired at the cannon Time Skip was activating in the robot, but it proved ineffective. The team would soon learn the hard way that the Trollbot 9000 was impervious to all of their attacks.

“Incoming!” Ace cried as the cannon fired.

Ace, Lexi, Slam and Brylee were knocked off their feet by the blast, being hurtled several feet across the hanger. They were momentarily stunned by the shockwaves. Brylee had landed next to Slam, while Lexi was sprawled on top of Ace.

Having incapacitated four of the Loonatics, Time Skip cackled as he focused his attention on Duck, Tech and Rev. He decided to utilise another piece of weaponry that had been built into the Trollbot 9000: the missile launcher.

“Tech, look out! I’ve got you!” Rev cried.

Rev used his superspeed to carry Tech away from the incoming missile, while Duck used his powers to teleport himself out of harm’s way. They sought cover behind the console, which was hit with flying debris. Ace, Lexi, Slam and Brylee joined them there. Ace had his arm wrapped around Lexi as they walked.

“Come on, Trollbot! We’re out of here! Let’s take a tour of the city!”

Brylee watched as Time Skip used… actually, she couldn’t immediately tell you what weapon he used to break through the walls of the hanger. All she knew was that, in the end, Time Skip was making his escape with the Trollbot 9000.

And he was going to wreak havoc on the city.

“My new Metallo-Convertor would turn that thing to dust, but it’s back at headquarters!” Tech informed Ace.

“Right! Then, you take Rev and prep it!” Ace ordered. “We’ll bring the Trollbot right to ya!”

Tech nodded before activating his jetpack. Rev raced ahead with his superspeed. There was no time to waste with this endeavour. They had to stop the Trollbot 9000. They had to stop Time Skip. And it looked to be the only way possible.

Ace turned to the remaining Loonatics and quipped, “Come on! Let’s go clean his clock!”

Ace, Duck, Brylee and Lexi took to the skies. It didn’t take them long to catch up with the Trollbot 9000. But even in the short time since claiming the robot for himself, Time Skip had already piloted it over the city.

“What’s the plan, Ace?” Brylee asked.

“Take out its blades!” Ace answered. “On three, Lexi!”

Ace and Lexi combined their firepower and hit one of the turbo engines, rendering it inoperable. With the rather cumbersome size of the Trollbot 9000, it needed both turbines to fly. Taking out one turbine sent it hurtling towards the ground, a thick plume of smoke tracing its rapid descent.

“We brought it down! You in position, Tech?!” Ace asked urgently.

“Don’t worry, Ace! My Metallo-Convertor will neutralize it!” Tech promised.

As Tech made his promise, the Trollbot 9000 emerged from the rubble. Clearly, taking out a turbine and rendering it incapable of flight wasn’t going to stop it. So, they had to keep luring it towards HQ so it was in range for Tech’s Metallo-Convertor.

“Keep hitting it hard! The plan’s working!” Ace cheered.

Brylee could’ve sworn she heard Time Skip cackling as he boasted, “You crazy Loonatics! Can’t you see I’m invincible!”

Dodging all the hits that Time Skip kept throwing at them, Ace reminded the group of their goal: driving the robot to their headquarters.

The plan was working brilliantly – perhaps a little too brilliantly as Time Skip smirked, “Oh, this ought to be fun. Time to bring down the house!”

But Time Skip didn’t go to hit the tower yet. Brylee couldn’t work out why. She was too busy avoiding the Trollbot 9000’s cannons. Although, that in itself answered her question. Time Skip may have wanted to bring down the tower, but he also wanted to bring down the Loonatics.

“Closing in on you, Tech!” Ace reported.

“I’ve had enough! I’m gonna blow up your headquarters!” Time Skip snarled.

Seeing the robot approaching, Tech called, “Rev, the turbo-reverse modulator!”

What happened to Tech next unfolded exactly as it had unfolded before. Tech prepared to fire his weapon, taunting Time Skip about eating dust, but Time Skip fired one of the Trollbot 9000’s weapons that made the Metallo-Convertor backfire and hit Tech instead.

“You already reversed the reverse modulator, didn’t you?” Tech asked Rev through his wince.

“Just saving you time. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do?” Rev asked innocently.

“Hold that thought,” Tech whimpered. He was too busy disintegrating to hold conversation with the roadrunner.

What happened next was the same, but different to what happened before. The end result was the same. But how they got there was the difference.

It started the same. Time Skip fired four missiles at the tour, which collapsed as the missiles damaged its structural integrity. Ace didn’t know if Tech and Rev had gotten out of there in time, and while the thought was present in his mind, he couldn’t focus on it. He had been forced to the ground at some point, and was struggling to avoid the falling debris.

When he righted himself after a tumble, he gasped in horror at what he saw on the footpath.

Brylee had clearly faceplanted. Sparks flew from her jetpack, which was clearly destroyed beyond repair. He could see the blood that was beginning to pool around her, but he couldn’t work out where the blood was coming from. All he knew was that Brylee was laying there unmoving. She wasn’t trying to right herself. She wasn’t stirring. She wasn’t doing anything.

She almost looked… lifeless.

“No. No!” Ace cried.

He went to race towards his sister, but he was stopped in his tracks by the Trollbot 9000. Or rather, the taunting voice of Time Skip that echoed from its speakers.

“Give up, bunny rabbit! Can’t you see I’ve won?!”

Rage flowed through Ace, the kind he rarely felt. Time Skip had destroyed his home. Gone after his team. Hurt his sister. And he wasn’t about to let that go unpunished.

So, instead of rushing to his sister’s aid, Ace focused his ire on the Trollbot 9000. His eyes burned from the power of the lasers he fired at the Trollbot 9000’s chest. He growled in anger, allowing it to fuel his powers. Time Skip’s goading held the same purpose. Deep down, he knew Time Skip was taunting him, but he was too enraged to care.

He only realised too late he had been backed into a corner. Trapped amongst the rubble with no way out.

“That the best you’ve got? Now, it’s my turn! Time to do the Trollbot Crunch!”

The Trollbot 9000 then raised his foot and began lowering it over Ace.

**

Ace woke up screaming once more, bolting upright from his bed.

“What a dream!” he shuddered, holding his head.

**

Ace’s posture was slumped as he finally joined his teammates in the kitchen. Tech, Duck, Slam and Lexi were seated at the dining table. Slam and Lexi were having bowls of cereal. Tech and Duck were having cups of coffee. Rev was preparing his special breakfast shake, juicing all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Brylee was preparing her parfait. Ace could see the Greek yogurt, assortment of berries and almonds spread out before her as she layered them in her glass.

“Another bad night! I keep having the same nightmare over and over!” Ace lamented to the group.

“Sorry, Ace. I’m making my special super booster pick-me-up shake. Would you care for one?” Rev offered, holding up the glass to his leader.

Ace yawned before politely declining, “Nah, I’m too shaken for a shake.” Ace’s face flashed an unreadable expression as he voiced in confusion, “Am I still dreaming? ‘Cause… I feel like I’ve done this exact same thing before!”

“Hey. I made you a parfait if you want,” Brylee told her brother, gesturing to one she had just finished preparing.

“Yeah. Thanks, sis,” Ace hummed. “You did that in my dream, too!”

“So, you already know my sugars are fine,” Brylee teased. She pressed a kiss to her brother’s cheek before moving to the table.

Lexi yawned as she pressed the button to change out the automated juicer for the automated toaster. She then made her own teasing remark to Ace, “Uh, hello, only like every single morning.” She then grunted as she hit the malfunctioning toaster with the side of her fist to make it work.

“No, Lexi. I mean Rev, Brylee, you, this – it’s all too familiar!” Ace argued.

Taking a bite out of her toast, Lexi smirked, “Hello – we only make the same breakfast-y thing every single morning.” She then paused as she pondered her statement, “Scratch that. Brylee changes up her breakfasts. Depending on her needs.”

“And that – what you just said, I’m sure you’ve said before!” Ace proclaimed.

The others were beginning to watch Ace in concern. Whatever he thought was happening to him clearly had him shaken.

“Are you okay, Ace?” Brylee asked worriedly.

“Sounds like déjà vu,” Tech pondered.

“Zsa Zsa who?” Duck responded in confusion, mispronouncing the term.

“Déjà vu. The sense that you’re experiencing something over and over again,” Tech elaborated.

Something else happened next that had happened before, which served to solidify Tech’s déjà vu theory. Zadavia’s hologram appeared before them as their mysterious benefactor prepared to brief the superheroes on their latest assignment.

“Loonatics, your assistance is urgently needed at the Acmetropolis Military Weapons Lab,” Zadavia reported.

“Hey, uh, you thinking what I’m thinking?” Ace asked nervously.

“Yeah,” Lexi nodded. “Your déjà vu just became a team sport.”

“Then, I’m thinking what you’re thinking’s what I’m thinking,” Ace decided. “We’re on it, Zadavia! Let’s jet!”

What happened next unfolded the same as before. The team raced to the launchpad to get their jetpacks. But Brylee made a detour to the kitchen first to drop off her glass and spoon. Disturbingly, this time, her parfait was only half-eaten. At least in the last iteration of this event, Brylee got a full breakfast.

Duck, like before, was halted by an incoming call. Pressing the button to answer it, he was greeted by the face of Dr. Fidel Chroniker. And just like before, Duck had a snappy, impatient attitude.

“Yes? Make it snappy, chappy! We’re about to save the city!” Duck snapped.

“My name is Dr. Fidel Chroniker, and…”

“Bladdidy-blah. Heard it before. Bored me then,” Duck rolled his eyes. “Now, knock it off with the prank phone calls!”

 “Please don’t hang up! My grandson…”

Duck disconnected the call and sniggered, “What a nut!” before racing to join the others. Blissfully unaware of Dr. Chroniker’s frustration at the other end of the now-disconnected line.

**

The events that happened next Brylee could recall with an intimate familiarity before they even happened. This showed how she was affected by the déjà vu. Even before arriving at the weapons lab, she remembered that their villain was called Time Skip, and he seemed to have abilities involving time manipulation. These were the measures that he used to evade the strict security measures at the military facility.

Either way, Brylee was standing before the unveiled Trollbot 9000 with her teammates, Colonel Trench, and a group of security guards, waiting for Time Skip to make his appearance.

“That bot is mine! Got it?! And no bunch of superfreaks are gonna stop me!”

Brylee went to turn around to confront the villain as he had appeared behind them. But her movements were frozen, as were everyone else’s. Time Skip had frozen them in time once more, allowing him the chance to slip past them all and into the Trollbot 9000. Defeating him officially became harder.

It was only when the door to the Trollbot 9000 closed that the time freeze wore off.

“We don’t understand how he’s moving so fast or how to counter it,” Colonel Trench admitted. In the background, the sounds of the Trollbot 9000 powering up could be heard.

Tech stepped forward to provide his theory, “My guess is he’s inducing temporal displacement by fragmenting the quantum fabric.

Everyone looked at the coyote in confusion – even Brylee and Rev, who were familiar with Tech’s thought process. Clearly, they had touched on something that was unknown to the majority of the group. Or something that had been previously thought impossible.

“He’s manipulating time?” Tech offered as a translation. The vacant expressions remained on his teammates’ faces, so Tech tried this one: “Jumping just ahead of us?”

Tech rolled his eyes when that last translation had no effect. Slam even grunted in confusion as he exchanged an equally confused look with Brylee. Colonel Trench, in turn, exchanged one with Duck, and Ace exchanged one with Lexi.

“We need to contact Dr. Fidel Chroniker. He’s the world’s foremost genius on time displacement theory,” Tech revealed.

Hearing the name made Duck gasp in recollection, “Wait a minute! That old crank called HQ this morning, trying to hoodwink us into dealing with his totally out-of-control grandson!”

“Loona-pests!”

“I think we forgot something!” Brylee remarked.

They had indeed forgotten something. Time Skip had gained access to the Trollbot 9000 and had been powering it up while Tech had been trying to provide an explanation for his unique abilities. They learned that the hard way when Time Skip fired a missile at them from the robot’s arsenal. They barely managed to take cover, seeking refuge behind a console that had clearly seen better days.

“This is a wild guess, but do you think he fits the bill?!” Ace shot the mallard a glare.

“Oh,” Duck only winced in response.

“Let’s take a tour of the city!”

Just like before, Time Skip used the Trollbot 9000’s weapons to blast a hole in the hanger’s wall and make his escape.

Watching Time Skip activate the robot’s turbines and fly away, Tech informed the group, “My new Metallo-Convertor would turn that thing to dust! But it’s back at headquarters!”

Ace was coming up with a scheme, but it ended up unfolding differently than it did before. Before, he had told Tech and Rev to race ahead to headquarters to prepare Tech’s Metallo-Convertor while the others diverted the Trollbot 9000 to them. But this time, Ace was doing things differently.

“Lexi, you warm it up while we pay Dr. Chroniker a visit,” Ace ordered.

“I know how to operate it. Shouldn’t I do that instead?” Brylee asked.

“No, because you’re coming with me,” Ace told her. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Seriously?” Brylee whined. “I thought you were starting to ease up!”

“That has nothing to do with this,” Ace corrected her.

“Oh. So, this is your normal overprotectiveness,” Brylee surmised.

“…let’s go with that,” Ace acquiesced.

That alone told Brylee that something happened to her in the previous déjà vu incidents. Something he was trying to avoid. She then decided that she wasn’t going to give Ace a pass for his overprotectiveness. But just this once.

**

Tech and Duck ended up going with Ace and Brylee. Tech’s presence was obvious. He was the one who suggested talking to Dr. Chroniker, and as a fellow scientist, he could take the lead in the questioning and asking for help. Duck was forced to come along to face the consequences of his actions.

“Loonatics, it’s about time you showed up!” Dr. Chroniker snapped impatiently, appearing before them in his motorized hovering wheelchair.

“It’s an honour to meet you, Dr. Chroniker,” Tech greeted his fellow scientist. “I’ve read all your research on time displacement.”

“Thank you for coming. At long last,” Dr. Chroniker sneered.

“Eh, what’s up with that, doc? How did you know we’d be here at all?” Ace challenged.

“I’ve called you every day for the last five days!” Dr. Chroniker revealed.

“Five days?!” Brylee gaped in shock. “But we only heard of you today!”

“I’ve been resetting each day back to its beginning,” Dr. Chroniker revealed.

“That explains the déjà vu!” Ace gasped.

The foursome followed Dr. Chroniker over to his console. All kinds of numbers were moving across the multicoloured screens. Taking a closer look, Brylee realized the numbers were chronological. Tech certainly caught on to what it was quicker than she did.

“Your time displacer! It works?!” Tech asked excitedly.

“Yes,” Dr. Chroniker nodded. He then pulled up what Brylee assumed was security footage to accompany his story. “Unfortunately, my grandson Arthur – who now calls himself Time Skip – was irradiated by it one week ago. It imbued him with the power to phase time, enabling him to leap moments ahead of the rest of us.”

“That doesn’t explain why he stole the Trollbot 9000,” Ace pointed out.

Dr. Chroniker providing the backstory for how Time Skip got his powers and the true nature of his abilities certainly explained his modus operandi, and why they hadn’t been able to stop them. Tech was right. He really was jumping just ahead of them. But it did nothing to explain his motives. Why was he so interested in the Trollbot 9000 in particular when he could use his abilities to help himself to anything within the weapons laboratory?

“Arthur’s quite a genius himself. He spent years designing a weapon exactly like the Trollbot 9000. When he learned the military developed a bigger, meaner bot, he… he took it hard. He set out to acquire what he believes to be his,” Dr. Chroniker responded. He then turned to Duck and glared, “And that’s why I was calling!”

Duck winced at the withering glares he was now receiving in stereo. For when Dr. Chroniker made his declaration, Tech, Ace and Brylee focused their own ire on the mallard. It turned out that everything that happened could have been avoided if Duck hadn’t been so dismissive and quick to get off the phone.

Duck quickly relented under them, crying, “Alright, alright! Next time, I’ll take a message! I’m a superhero, not a secretary!”

“So, Time Skip’s motive is personal,” Brylee surmised. Turning to look at Dr. Chroniker, she asked, “How are we gonna stop him? He keeps freezing us with his powers, and he’s unstoppable once he’s inside the Trollbot 9000.”

“In order to defeat my grandson, we have to set a time trap,” Dr. Chroniker answered Brylee’s question.

“You can show us what he’s gonna do?!” Ace gasped in amazement.

“Of course,” Dr. Chroniker nodded. “Observe.”

The group turned their attention to the screen. They watched as Time Skip appeared behind the group and used his powers to freeze them in that moment in their place – an event that had unfolded earlier that day.

“Watch as he gets past you and the security, allowing him to enter the Trollbot undetected,” Dr. Chroniker said. “Once inside, he’s unstoppable.”

“Wait! This looks familiar,” Duck stated.

“Right. We chase the bot, and he beats us!” Ace recalled. “And Brylee… well…”

“What?” Brylee pressed. “What did Time Skip do to me?”

Dr. Chroniker answered for Ace when the words failed the bunny, “You are left in a bad way. Admittedly, your survival would have been… uncertain.”

And Brylee just figured out why Ace had been so shaken in the mornings. For, she was watching it all unfold on the screen. It was one of the last moments Ace saw in his supposed nightmares.

Dr. Chroniker then gasped, “By the way, Ace, congratulations.”

“Congratulations? For what?” Ace frowned in confusion.

“You’ll find out,” was Dr. Chroniker’s cryptic response.

“Hey. Can this contraption send things back through time?” Ace asked Dr. Chroniker. A plan was beginning to form in his head.

“Yes, of course,” Dr. Chroniker answered as though it was obvious.

“Hmm, let’s get a head start,” Ace decided.

“Dr. Chroniker, rewind the clock,” Tech requested.

“So, we can undo the déjà vu,” Ace finished.

The last image any of them saw was the image of Time Skip about to crush Ace with the Trollbot 9000.

**

Ace ended up waking up that morning in worse shape than he had ever been. Not only was his posture slumped, but his ears were droopy.

Rev yawned and asked Ace, “Breakfast?”

Ace ignored the roadrunner, sitting next to his sister and seeing that she had also made a parfait for him. Tech was holding a piece of paper. One that he handed to his leader as soon as he sent down.

“Apparently, you had me send this to you from later today,” Tech sighed tiredly.

Ace gasped as he read the note, “I had you send me what from when?!”

“Oh. And also, these plans for Dr. Chroniker’s time displacer,” Tech added, holding up the storage tube that contained said plans.

“I had you send us what from who?” Ace spluttered in confusion.

“Are you okay, Ace?” Brylee frowned in concern. She went to push her breakfast – this time, only one-quarter eaten – away, but one look from Ace made her forget the idea. She continued eating, but her concern never abated.

Duck scoffed, “Oh please! Notes sent from later today?! Impossible! Zadavia will straighten us out when she calls us in the next few seconds!” Duck’s eyes widened and he gasped as he realized what he just said.

Ace and Tech exchanged looks of astonishment at Duck’s statement. Ace subconsciously went to pat his sister on her back, having heard her choke on her mouthful in shock. He didn’t know what shocked them more. The statement itself or who said it.

Sure enough, Duck’s prediction proved true. Zadavia’s hologram appeared before them.

“Loonatics, your assistance is urgently needed at the Acmetropolis Military Weapons Lab. Someone’s broken in and is trying to steal the…”

“Trollbot 9000!” Duck gasped, cutting his boss’s sentence short. He then turned to his teammates and demanded, “How do I know this again?”

“Because we’re all remembering shadows of the future. Mental flash forwards. We’re moving in time through a day that’s already happened,” Tech proclaimed.

“But there’s something different about today!” Ace argued. He turned to Lexi, who had taken the note and started reading it for herself, “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I was already thinking it yesterday,” Lexi drawled.

“I think we all are,” Brylee deadpanned. “But do you still wanna share your thoughts with the class?”

Ace nodded, rising to his feet, “Listen up! Some of this might not make any sense.”

“Like it ever does,” Duck rolled his eyes.

“But here’s what we’re gonna do.”

Ace then began laying out his plan in detail.

**

“This will be a piece of cake. No security alarms.”

This was one of the key differences to the events that would serve to break the déjà vu over the team. For their plan to work, the soldiers at the weapons laboratory had to stand down and disable all security measures. Time Skip had to walk straight in and think he had a straight shot at the Trollbot 9000. To say that Colonel Trench almost had a heart attack at the suggestion would be an understatement. But once he was brought in on their plan to lay a trap for the thief, he was onboard, and willing to give the Loonatics everything they needed to put their plan into action.

So, Time Skip gaped in shock when he saw the hanger containing the Trollbot 9000 empty.

“Nobody home? Weird,” Time Skip missed. He then smirked, “Not that I mind…”

He cackled as he made his way to the console, pressing the necessary buttons for the Trollbot 9000 to appear before him, raised on its platform.

“They stole my design, but they have no idea what this baby can do,” Time Skip sneered. “Uh-huh. That’s right! We’re gonna get you out of here right now!”

This was where Time Skip’s plan started falling apart, for he was soon to learn that somebody else had already beaten him to the punch.

Inside the Trollbot 9000, Lexi, Slam and Duck had already taken control. Slam and Duck sat at the consoles inside the control room. Lexi, meanwhile, was in the pilot’s seat. She had operational control.

“Look at that! Little skippy showed up right on schedule!” Lexi remarked. Slam made a request through his garbled speech, one Lexi responded to with, “Yeah. You can kick his sorry butt – right after me!”

Time Skip had begun gaping when he heard the familiar sounds of the Trollbot 9000 whirring to life. His shock quickly turned to rage when he heard Lexi’s voice through the loudspeaker:

“Surrender now and no one gets hurt!”

Racing to a nearby jet, Time Skip snarled, “That bot is mine – and no bunch of superfreaks are gonna stop me!”

The three Loonatics calmly piloted the Trollbot 9000 towards the wall of the hanger Time Skip had blown out so many times before to make his escape. But this time, the shoe was on the other foot.

Now, they were turning the tides in their favour.

**

Ace, Brylee, Tech and Rev stood on the launchpad of the tower, watching in concern as the Trollbot 9000 approached them, followed closely by a jet that had been appropriated by Time Skip. Time Skip had fired some weapons at the Trollbot 9000. It did nothing to take it down, but it did momentarily knock it out of balance. Once Lexi had rightened herself, she swatted at the jet, much like Time Skip had done to Brylee in previous versions of events.

Regrettably, that had a better outcome for Time Skip than it did for Brylee.

“Come on, Lexi, bring it on home,” Ace muttered worriedly.

“This time, we’re ready!” Tech smirked, patting the Metallo-Convertor. It was now ready to go.

“Just in case,” Ace remarked as he handed Rev an unknown device. “Rev, you know what to do.”

Rev wordlessly nodded and sped to the ground. He knew the role he had to play, and he was determined to play it to perfection.

“Good thing you had me send Dr. Chroniker’s plans back to us through time,” Tech praised his leader.

“Just thinking ahead – backwaids,” Ace smirked.

Watching the moment unfold through a pair of high-tech binoculars Tech supplied for her, Brylee reported, “The Trollbot’s here.”

“Tell me when Time Skip’s in range,” Tech requested kindly.

Brylee hummed, watching for a sign of the jet. Time Skip wasn’t far behind the Trollbot 9000, and he had more manoeuvrability than they did, so theoretically, he shouldn’t be that far behind. Sure enough, two seconds later, the jet appeared – and it was in range.

“Got him!” Brylee cheered. “Tech, fire!”

Tech was quick to decide that hitting Time Skip’s jet with the Metallo-Convertor gave him immense satisfaction. Especially with the way the jet crumbled into dust. Time Skip’s screams echoed through the city as he fell towards the ground. At least he had a nice pile of dust to cushion his fall.

Rev appeared next to him, placing the device he was given in Time Skip’s outstretched hand. Time Skip was too confused to notice or protest.

“Courtesy of your granddad, your own personal time trap. Hope you like it. Bye,” Rev smirked before taking off.

Due to Rev’s speed, Time Skip didn’t realize what was happening until he was trapped in a floating orb. He screamed as he suddenly found himself levitating through the air – and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t escape it.

Duck, Slam and Lexi exited the Trollbot 9000 and stood before him. Rev, Ace, Brylee and Tech weren’t far behind.

“Hope you’re not claustrophobic!” Duck teased.

“Because that bubble’s gonna hold you for a long time!” Lexi proclaimed.

Time Skip gasped in horror when his powers didn’t work inside it. He truly was trapped. The look he gave the gathered Loonatics could only be described as murderous.

“Let me out of here! Let me out of here!” Time Skip screamed, pounding at his makeshift prison.

“I’d say better luck next time, but let’s face it – your time’s up,” Brylee boasted.

“Which is good, ‘cause we’re all out of time jokes!” Ace quipped, draping his arm across Brylee’s shoulders.

Dr. Chroniker appeared next to the team in his motorized hovering wheelchair, staring at his trapped grandson. He was here to deliver the final blow to Time Skip’s ambitions.

“This bubble won’t keep me forever! Then, what will you do, huh?!” Time Skip challenged his grandfather.

“Don’t worry. I’ll soon neutralize your powers,” Dr. Chroniker vowed.

“You can’t do this to me!” Time Skip raged, pounding at the walls of the bubble once more.

“I can, and I will,” Dr. Chroniker snarled. “It’s for the best.”

Time Skip continued raging as an Acmetropolis Police jet appeared above him. Using their grabs underneath the jet, the police lifted the bubble and attached it to the underside of the ship. The sirens and Time Skip’s screams cursing both his grandfather and the Loonatics echoed through the city as the jet made a hasty departure – ostensibly towards the prison.

“Bon voyage. See ya last week!” Duck taunted.

Watching as the jet disappeared into the horizon, Lexi quipped, “And I thought this day would never end…”

“And I didn’t know you were gonna say that!” Ace smiled in relief.

It was fair to say that the team had successfully put an end to the déjà vu that loomed over them. Their future was now unknown – and it excited them.

Now, Ace could find out why Dr. Chroniker suddenly congratulated him earlier.

Chapter Text

The strange words lingered in Ace’s mind as he recalled them. Why did Dr. Fidel Chroniker want to congratulate him? What had happened that would have been worth congratulations? Those questions swirled in his mind as he flew back to headquarters.

In the background, he could hear the animated chatter of his teammates, making plans to celebrate their latest accomplishments. They defeated the bad guy and rescued themselves from the time loop they had found themselves unwittingly trapped in by a well-meaning scientist who was desperate for help. This felt like more than their typical adventures defeating the ‘villain of the week’.

Time Skip was going to continue being housed in his special containment unit until Dr. Chroniker could find a way to neutralise his abilities without causing irrevocable harm. Nobody could blame him for that desire. At the end of the day, no matter what he had done, Time Skip was still Arthur Chroniker. He was still his grandson.

Nobody understood that better than Ace. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his sister.

Eventually, they had landed back at HQ. Their jetpacks were put away until the next mission. And everybody went to unwind in their own spaces. They knew the debrief with Zadavia was imminent. But everyone had their own rituals for unwinding after a mission, and nobody infringed on that.

It was when he grabbed his tablet that it dawned on Ace why Dr. Chroniker was congratulating him. He saw the notification across the screen. It was something he had been waiting for. It was something he had kept secret from everyone – except Tech, Rev and Zadavia.

He then started the internal debate with himself. Did he want to open this alone? Or did he want to open it with them? If this email contained what he thought it did, it was certainly his victory. His moment to be celebrated. But it was one that wouldn’t have happened without them.

Ace’s hands made the decision for him, as they moved to open the email that had come in while they were out fighting their bad guy. He hadn’t even realized he had done that until that email filled his screen.

He gasped at the contents. Now, everything made sense

**

The first thing he had done once he had processed the news was track down Tech and Rev. He didn’t say anything to the duo as they gathered in Tech’s lab. He just showed them the email on the tablet. He didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing – something that was an extra challenge when you considered a female teammate, who he was very fond of, who possessed super-hearing.

He couldn’t help but wonder what Lexi would be thinking when she heard Rev’s excited rambles from the other end of the headquarters. (Because one downside of Lexi’s super-hearing: she couldn’t always control what she heard, so she was always unwittingly eavesdropping on private conversations, much to her dismay.)

“Oh, Ace, this is so exciting!” Rev was gasping excitedly.

“I knew you could do it, Chief,” was Tech’s warm response. “Are you going to tell the others?”

Ace nodded, “I thought I would do the announcement after we debrief with Zadavia.”

Tech and Rev promised they would be right behind Ace. They just wanted to put some things away in the lab first. Knowing how pedantic the coyote was about lab safety (especially since it was a space anyone could wander in and out of at any time), Ace didn’t question it.

The second the leader was out of earshot, Tech quietly asked Rev, “You know what to do?” Rev went to open his mouth, but a firm hand over his beak stopped that as Tech told him in an equally firm voice, “A simple yes or no would suffice.”

Since Tech wasn’t releasing his hand from his beak, since the coyote wisely did not trust the roadrunner, Rev could only nod in confirmation. Oh yes. He certainly knew what he had to do.

Ace was going to be in for a great surprise once the debrief was over.

**

The debrief was a lot more… involved than usual due to the unique nature of their newest mission. A scientist trapping them in a time loop for several days until he successfully got their attention. Someone with a grudge and the ability to manipulate time. It was certainly a lot.

Duck certainly did not appreciate being raked over the coals for inadvertently allowing this to happen by refusing to take Dr. Chroniker’s calls. He reiterated his prior statement about being a superhero rather than a secretary, which most certainly did not impress Zadavia. It led to the institution of a new protocol for if anyone called them directly for help – regardless of if they were about to embark on another mission.

The closer they got to the end of the debrief, the clammier Ace’s palms felt. It was so unusual for him to be so nervous. He knew everyone would be happy for him. Maybe a bit hurt he kept this from them, but happy nonetheless. He hoped they would be eager to celebrate his achievement with him.

He only became aware of his fingernails digging into his palm when he felt Brylee place a comforting hand on his arm.

“Are you okay?” Brylee asked quietly.

Ace nodded with a smile, “I’m fine, sis.”

Zadavia, having heard the quiet exchange between the two siblings, turned to look at them. Or, rather, her hologram turned to look at them. But she made no move to rebuke them. For one thing, the debrief was over. (Even if that fact wouldn’t stop Duck from moaning about the supposed favouritism.)

For another, she strongly suspected why Ace was nervous. She knew what he was waiting for, and she knew it was due today.

“Ace,” Zadavia began, “is there anything you would like to say?”

Well, it was now or never. Tech and Rev gave Ace encouraging thumbs up and smiles as he rose from his seat. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling self-conscious with all the eyes on him. This had never happened before.

“Uh, thanks, Zadavia,” Ace began. “I, er, I made a decision recently and I decided now was the time to share it.”

“You’re stepping down as leader and naming me your successor?” Duck smirked. “Very well. I accept.” He cried out in pain when Lexi fired a controlled brain blast at his butt. “Watch the feathers!”

“No, Duck,” Ace deadpanned. “Only a select few knew of dis. Tech and Rev have helped me a lot. And Zadavia, you made it possible.” Suddenly overwhelmed with nerves, Ace forgot the rest of the speech he had prepared for himself (not that he was much of a speech giver to begin with), he blurted out:

“I got my GED.”

Ace had blurted out the news so quickly (of course, he didn’t talk as fast as Rev, for nobody could match the roadrunner’s speed) that it took his teammates several moments to process what he had said.

Brylee was the one who caught onto first, and she clued the others in as she excitedly screamed, “You got your GED?!”

Brylee was quick to leap up out of her seat and jump into her brother’s arms in an eager embrace. It was something Ace returned. Around him, he could hear the cheers of his teammates. He could’ve sworn he saw out of the corner of his eye Rev speeding out of the meeting room. But he paid no mind to it. Rev already knew about the news and had given Ace his congratulations earlier. So, no suspicions were raised.

“Ace, that’s amazing!” Lexi gasped excitedly.

“Way to go, Ace!” Duck cheered. Some might consider it uncharacteristic of the mallard, but Duck never judged Ace for having not finished high school – especially considering the circumstances that made him drop out.

Slam’s speech may have been garbled (which tended to get worse if he was overly excited), but his tone was clear. He was happy for his leader.

“Congratulations, Ace,” Zadavia smiled warmly.

“Thank you so much for making it happen, Zadavia,” Ace was earnest in his gratitude.

“I was only too glad,” Zadavia responded. “Were you emailed your diploma?”

“Yeah,” Ace nodded.

Rev raced back into the meeting room. Rev’s high-speed speech was something they mostly had a grip on. But when Rev was extremely excited, it was extremely hard to understand. But they understood enough to know that Rev wanted them to gather in the lounge area. Because he and Tech had organised a special surprise for Ace.

Walking into the lounge area, Ace gasped in delighted surprise when he realized what Rev and Tech had organized for him.

They organised for him to have a special graduation ceremony.

“Oh wow!” Brylee gasped excitedly.

Only Rev with his super speed could have set this up so quickly and so perfectly. He had even created a makeshift stage for Ace to walk across so he could get the full graduation experience. Above the TV was a large banner that spelled “Con-GRAD-ulations!” complete with the graduation cap.

Brylee figured Rev must have utilised some Looney Toons skills from his ancestors to pull out the gown and cap for Ace. It was even specially designed so he could comfortably wear it without having to smoosh his ears down underneath it.

The instructions were clear. Ace had to wear the cap and gown.

Tech and Rev decided amongst themselves that Tech would be the Master of Ceremony, so to speak. Since Rev was the one to design the space and put it together, Tech argued it was only fair. (Besides, Tech was actually supposed to be the only one who knew since he was helping Ace study for his exams.)

Ace stood at the side, ready to walk across the stage as everyone else sat on the lounge excitedly. Brylee even made a point of racing to grab her camera, fully prepared to be the sibling that is proud to the point of embarrassment. (While also knowing full well that Ace will be getting payback when her graduation comes.)

Rev also raced out of the room for something else. But he reappeared as quickly as he had disappeared, carrying something he made a point of concealing until the right moment.

Tech cleared his throat, calling for quiet as he prepared to make the introductions:

“We have gathered today to mark a tremendous occasion. But, rather than hear about it from me, what do you say we hear it from the graduate? Ace, would you like to come up and say a few words?”

Ace hoped he didn’t look as awkward as he felt as he walked up the stage to where Tech gestured for him to stand. He was prepared for the team to want to celebrate his achievement. He just wasn’t prepared for the lengths they would go. He watched as Brylee took photos and cheered loudly, her cheers drowning out her teammates.

“Thank you, Tech,” Ace began warmly. “Firstly, I would like to thank you, Tech and Rev, for helping me study for the tests. I know it wasn’t always easy, but I got there in the end because of you guys. So, thank you.”

Rev opened his mouth to say something, but Tech clasped his beak shut once more and told him, “Don’t interrupt.”

Ace turned to another screen that had been set up, one that Zadavia had set up her hologram to project from.

“And Zadavia, I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for making all da arrangements. Helping me take all da classes and practice exams, and giving me the time to take the big test.”

“I was only too happy too,” Zadavia smiled warmly.

Ace’s smile turned watery as he continued with the rest of his speech:

“To be honest, this wasn’t something I ever expected to happen. I knew that when I made the decision to drop out. I had promised myself that I’d go back for my GED if I ever got the opportunity. When Brylee was settled. But that dream felt outta reach. But then, I met all you guys. I met people who believed in me. And most importantly, I knew that Brylee was okay.”

Brylee wiped her eyes as tears of joy started falling down her face. Ace’s expression softened as he focused her attention on her.

“Brylee, I want you to know that I have no regrets. I would do what I did all over again for us to get where we are today. I know I kept this from you, but I want you to know: you are the biggest reason why. You always believed that this would happen. And I want you to know that no matter what, amazing things can and will happen. I mean, look at where we are now.” He allowed for a brief moment of laughter. “I love you, sis, and I hope you know that you can do anything you put ya mind to.”

Lexi draped an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders. She had her own look of pride on her face. As did the others. Even Duck. They all knew the circumstances that made Ace drop out of high school. As Ace had said, he would do it all over again in a heartbeat. But not having a GED was something he struggled with deep down. He always felt less than. The fact he was an average student before dropping out only fuelled those darker thoughts.

When Brylee was hospitalized after fighting Weather Vane, it was what Ace had talked to Zadavia about. Now that he knew Brylee was okay, now that he knew that he would have the opportunity to go after his own dreams, he asked Zadavia if it would be possible for him to get his GED. Knowing how much it meant to him, Zadavia was only too happy to make the necessary arrangements for him to obtain his study materials, take the classes, and sit the exam. She also respected his desire for secrecy, coming up with a highly convenient excuse to allow Ace to slip away from the tower for the day to sit his exams.

When Zadavia had made all the arrangements, Tech was the next person Ace approached. Ace knew the coyote could be trusted to keep it to himself, and he wouldn’t have judged his leader. Besides, Ace needed a study partner and someone who could deconstruct the stuff he struggled with. Tech had tutored various students for extra cash during his university days, so he had the experience needed to help Ace.

Rev finding out had been by total accident. He stumbled upon the duo during one of their incognito study sessions. Ace had been initially nervous. Rev had a hard time keeping a secret when he was excited. But to his surprise, the roadrunner had come through for him. He couldn’t always help with the subject matter like Tech could (even though Rev was highly intelligent in his own right), but Rev was able to help Ace with his study techniques. Giving him tips on how to deconstruct his materials, organising his study schedule, and introducing him to the Pomodoro method. It was the same thing he had shown Brylee when she switched to homeschooling after moving to the tower, and she had told him how beneficial it was. So, he knew (or at least hoped) it would help Ace too. And sure enough, it did.

Sensing that Ace was done with his speech, Tech gestured for Rev to reveal the next surprise they had for their leader. When Ace had approached them in the lab, he had with him his tablet showing both his e-transcript and his e-diploma. Not wanting the surprise to be spoiled before he could tell them, Tech suggested that Ace printed them off to the printer set up in his lab (for his lab reports) since it was on a private network.

It enabled him and Rev the opportunity to organise something that showcased how much they believed in Ace.

They had bought a frame for Ace’s diploma, and were about to hand it to him on his graduation stage.

Clearing his throat once more, Tech proclaimed, “It is now my greatest honour to confer this GED to Avery ‘Ace’ Bunny!”

The cheers that echoed in the space were almost deafening, despite the small number of people in the room. Tech took the part of the high school principal (or its equivalent) seriously, shaking Ace’s hand and instructing him to pose for the photo as he handed him the framed diploma. Brylee proudly played the part of photographer. Tech also moved Ace’s tassel from right to left, signifying his graduate status. Ace then walked across the rest of the stage, holding his framed diploma with a pride he rarely allowed himself to feel.

Tech took the camera from Brylee, allowing the siblings to get a special photo together commemorating the big moment. He even got a photo of Brylee wearing Ace’s graduation cap for laughs.

“I am so proud of you, bro,” Brylee proclaimed. “I always knew you could do it.”

“I meant what I said,” Ace told her seriously. “I couldn’t have done it without ya.”

The sweet hug between the two siblings that followed was quickly captured on camera by Tech.

“Group photo!” Lexi was quick to suggest.

Rev used his superspeed to grab the stand for the camera to stand on. Everyone else went to pose around their leader. Rev would set the timer on the camera and race into frame to take his place. Brylee and Lexi stood on either side of Ace, with Ace pulling Brylee into a side hug as she helped him hold up his framed diploma while Lexi looped her arm through his. Tech stood next to Brylee, leaving space for Rev to come stand next to him once he had set up the camera. Duck and Slam stood next to Lexi.

“Here we go!” Rev called excitedly, hitting the button to start the timer and racing to stand next to Tech. “Say cheese!”

Everyone cried “Cheese!” as they heard the telltale beeps of the timer winding down. Then, the flash went off.

**

Before long, everyone was retiring for the night. And Ace was looking at the two new framed objects hanging on his wall. The framed GED and the group photo from his makeshift graduation.

That photo was also being shared with the local news outlets, along with some of the more sillier celebration photos he took with his teammates. His family. It was something Zadavia had arranged. Not because Ace wanted to celebrate himself. But because he knew how much the citizens of Acmetropolis. Something he had heard about was the growing numbers of people dropping out of high school. He wanted to show them that if he could get his GED, so could they. If he could inspire one person to get their GED, he’d consider it a victory.

But there was one moment of the day he will never forget. The way Brylee looked at him during the graduation ceremony. How proud she was of him. She was always proud of him. But there was something about her proud expression today that made Ace’s eyes water.

He walked forward, adjusting the frame on the wall that held his diploma. Not only did it realign it correctly, but it also allowed Ace to accept that it was real. It had really happened.

Yawning, Ace finally pulled himself away from the two frames and climbed back into bed. He knew that tonight, he wasn’t going to be hit with nightmares like he was every time he woke up in the time loop. He was going to sleep with a smile on his face.

Things were looking up for the bunny.

Chapter Text

It had started out like a normal day. The team was still on a high with Ace obtaining his GED. Everyone knew how much it meant to him to be able to achieve it.

They didn’t get through breakfast, as Zadavia called in with another mission. The villain they had to chase down wasn’t even worth naming. It wasn’t someone they had encountered before, but that was par for the course for the team. More and more supervillains were cropping up out of nowhere, each in their own way affected by the meteor over one year ago.

Had they stopped, they would have noticed that Brylee did not finish her breakfast, nor did she eat enough to tide her over. They were all in a rush to get this latest supervillain, for they posed a significant danger to the public. The sooner they took him down, the better.

But it was this rush that caused everything to come crashing down.

**

Brylee’s heart was pounding. That was something she remembered briefly. But she had just come from a battle. Wasn’t it normal to be sweating and have a fast heartrate? Surely, not everything had to be a warning sign related to her diabetes.

Either way, it was something she felt the urge to check out. At least, she was sure that was what she was doing.

Slam heard the ruckus in the kitchen and naturally came to check it out, since he was the closest. Everyone else had their own routine after a mission. Slam’s routine was helping himself to food in the kitchen. (Let’s just say the Tasmanian Devil was a significant contributor to their high grocery bill.)

What he saw surprised him. Brylee searching frantically through the kitchen. What was she searching for?

“Brylee?” Slam walked into the kitchen.

Even though she wasn’t totally present, Brylee was aware of the sound. So, she turned to see Slam. She said something, but Slam had a hard time understanding the team’s youngest member. Her words were slurred.

That alone was enough to raise an alarm in Slam’s mind. When the team first moved into the tower together, something they were all drilled on was the warning signs for Brylee’s diabetes. She was prone to hypoglycaemia rather than hyperglycaemia. So, they all (even Duck) studied intensively the signs to watch out for and what to do if Brylee ever got bad enough where she couldn’t help herself. They knew how to administer the glucagon if she needed it. They knew what to give her to get her sugars up if she was able to eat and drink.

They knew everything they needed to do.

It was what made Slam act quickly. He approached her carefully while also activating his radio. He immediately called Ace, telling him to come to the kitchen from the training room. Now.

By the time Ace got there, things had gotten worse. Nobody would have thought it was possible considering Brylee’s condition when Slam found her, but it had gotten worse. Because by the time Ace made his way into the kitchen, Brylee was lying in Slam’s arms. Unconscious.

With blood running down the side of her head.

**

Ace was certain he was driving his teammates nuts with his pacing, but nobody dared to say anything to him, for they were too consumed with their own worry, and Ace couldn’t bring himself to care, for he was too consumed with his own worry.

The sight that had always struck him to the core during those instances of déjà vu he was forced to live through was the sight of Brylee lying on the ground. Unconscious. Unmoving. Blood staining her body from some type of wound he couldn’t identify.

So, when he raced into that kitchen, and saw his sister lying prone in his panicked teammate’s arms, it was his worst nightmare come to life.

As for his pacing, Ace was never the type to be able to stand still in worrying situations. To do nothing was the hardest thing for him. And he couldn’t help his sister. He couldn’t go back with her. Dr. Haddock was very clear. Everyone had to wait in the private waiting area that had been set aside for them so he could focus on saving Brylee.

Everyone coped with the stress of waiting differently. For Ace, it was pacing. Lexi tried reading one of the many (outdated) magazines that had been made available for them, but found she was just staring at the page and not focusing on any of the details. Not the words. Not the pictures. Nothing. Duck was quiet. An unusual sight for him. Rev was given numerous items to fidget with, for he was very fidgety when he was nervous and scared. Tech was trying to distract himself with… anything. Just anything. Slam had earlier raided the vending machine and had restored to stress eating to cope.

Duck spoke first, “What’s taking so long?”

“She was in a bad way, Duck,” Tech stated reasonably. “Her sugars… it’s going to take time to build them back up.”

“How could this happen?” Ace asked, not for the first time (and the team doubted it would be the last). “We’re so on top of her sugars. She’s on top… How could I have missed this?”

“Ace, this is no one’s fault,” Lexi tried to soothe him. “She’s going to be okay.”

Ace was certain he could appreciate what Lexi was trying to do after the fact. But right now, he couldn’t even find it within himself to give her even the smallest smile. But nobody blamed him. Nobody blamed each other for how they were coping. They all just wanted to know how Brylee was doing. They all needed to know she would be okay.

Dr. Haddock had done his best to keep his facial expressions neutral when he received Brylee into his care. He did not want to tip the worried team off and scare them unnecessarily. But there had been no way to hide the panic in his eyes. Because this was the worst attack Brylee had experienced in several months.

And Brylee had certainly never slipped into a diabetic coma since the incident that had led to her diagnosis.

But that wasn’t all that had scared Ace. He knew enough about diabetic comas and their dangers. The side effects Brylee could end up living with. A diabetic coma, if left untreated, could be left with permanent brain damage. Maybe even death.

Ace was so lost in the dark thoughts that had begun to swirl in his mind that he didn’t realise Dr. Haddock had walked into the room until their bodies collided.

**

Zadavia had been doing what she always did – monitor the city for any signs of trouble she could dispatch her team to – when she got the distressing call from the headquarters describing what had happened to Brylee.

The usually composed woman had dropped the item she was holding in shock. She was sure when she went to pick up the pieces later, she would be able to identify what it was she had been holding, but she had other priorities right now.

And the item that had come crashing down was nowhere on the list.

In fact, the list was only comprised of one point. One person. One matter.

The only person on that list was Brylee.

She waited with bated breath, not just to find out about Brylee’s condition, but what she could do to help. Some of the solutions were obvious to her. She was already preparing to cover the expenses of Brylee’s indeterminate hospital stay, and whatever she would need in the tower for her continued recovery. That was one thing she had promised the team. She would cover all of their expenses, and it was something they never abused. (Although, Duck had certainly come close a couple of times.)

It was times like this that made Zadavia wonder if maintaining the distance she insisted on keeping from the team was worth it. She always interacted with them through a hologram, and did it in such a way that would have made them wonder if her appearance was authentic. Even when she had been taken and transformed into an animal hybrid by the Ringmaster and rescued by the team, she had been quick to disappear before they could see her. Carefully keeping her features hidden to not give away her elusive identity.

The only accurate piece of information she had ever given them was her name. She never lied about her name. Her name is Zadavia.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the call came through from the hospital. She had a direct line to the waiting room the team had been left in at the hospital. Left to wait the agonizing wait. Zadavia immediately dropped the object she was holding and picked up the call.

She made her presence known, as she always did, and exchanged some polite pleasantries before instructing Dr. Haddock to get straight down to business. Brylee’s health was the priority.

It was very fortunate that Dr. Haddock was the type of doctor that started with the important stuff straightaway. Everything he said was important, of course. But he was the type to start with telling the family that his patient would be okay before getting into the other stuff.

And that was no exception here, because the first words out of his mouth concerning Brylee’s condition were, “She will be okay.”

Through the audio, she heard the relieved sounds from all the teammates. In particular, she saw the way they all crowded around Ace. She immediately knew he would be the most frantic of the team. It was definitely most understandable. That was his sister. He was raising her. He was more a parent than a sibling.

Dr. Haddock allowed them that moment before going on to explain what had happened to Brylee. Particularly, what had caused one of the worst instances of hypoglycaemia she had experienced in a while.

Simply put, in the last few weeks, Brylee’s body had been put through the ringer since the first anniversary of the meteor hit. Going to space (which was, apparently, a dangerous mission in itself, with her diabetes). Being mutated into an animal hybrid by the Ringmaster. Being subjected to Massive’s gravity manipulation powers. Having Sypher steal her powers. And, finally, the instance of déjà vu they all experienced. (That last thing was particularly fun to explain to Dr. Haddock.)

Hearing all of that made Dr. Haddock almost faint in shock, and it took a lot to surprise him. Type one diabetics needed a lot of care starting an exercise program, because of the impact exercise and sports can have on a diabetic’s glucose levels (don’t misunderstand; physical activity was considered good for diabetics, but they still needed to be closely monitored), never mind do what Brylee has been doing for over a year now. It went without saying that Dr. Haddock had a lot of misgivings about letting Brylee join the Loonatics, even with all the extensive monitoring they were all doing with her.

Finally finding her voice again, Zadavia asked, “So… will she have to be sidelined?”

Dr. Haddock nodded, his voice clear through the hologram as he decreed, “I want her to not go into the field for at least six weeks. We can revisit everything then. For now, the main priority is to give her all the time we can to recover. Including the next couple of nights at the hospital.”

“Is she awake? Can we see her?” was Ace’s worried question. Or rather, questions, as they came out rather rapid fire. Again, not that anybody could blame him.

Dr. Haddock nodded, “She’s awake, but a bit groggy. Her head injury doesn’t help.”

That was at least one thing they had been told quickly in the flurry. Her head injury actually wasn’t that bad. Head injuries tended to bleed a lot and look a lot worse than they actually are. Slam’s actions when Brylee first went down helped to reduce the severity of her condition.

It was with all this in mind that Dr. Haddock decreed that Brylee could only have one visitor at a time for short periods of time – no more than 45 minutes. Ace, as her legal guardian, was the only exception to this rule. In fact, he would be allowed to stay with her overnight, recalling how Brylee tended to be if she had to stay in the hospital overnight and the impact stress can have on blood sugar levels.

Given the type of ‘episode’ that Brylee was recovering from, nobody wanted to risk any setbacks. So, if having Ace stay with her in the hospital help with that, Dr. Haddock would do everything in his power to help that happen.

Zadavia refocused her attention to Dr. Haddock, having the usual discussion about covering Brylee’s medical expenses and making all the necessary arrangements to have items transported to the tower for her continued recovery. She was certain she only started breathing properly when the call disconnected. The last she heard of the team, they were deciding on the visitation order.

She buried her face in her gloved hands, all of the emotions hitting her at once. Now that she was alone, she can drop the façade. The cool façade she had to uphold with her team. People she cared for so deeply, but she could never tell them what she felt. After everything she had been through, everything she had seen, she couldn’t allow herself to get too close.

She couldn’t lose more than she already had.

So, Zadavia busied herself by cleaning up the shards of the item she had dropped before. The item itself was insignificant. Nothing she would miss. Disposing the shards in the bin, she moved back to the window of her underwater residence, watching the sea creatures swim by as her hand subconsciously fiddled with a locket she wore around her neck.

**

Brylee turned her head at the sound of the door opening. She had reached her hand up to scratch her head, but rather than feeling skin or hair under her nails and fingertips, she felt a coarse material. Why did bandages have to be so itchy?

She was readying herself for her next visitor. The team had all rotated like clockwork. 45 minute-visit. Five-minute break between each visit. But she hoped it would be her last visit. She was so tired. She had been through so much and just wanted to sleep.

She relaxed in her mattress in relief when she saw Ace, her older brother and protector, walk into her room carrying a bag. This clearly signified the end of the visits and Ace was preparing to settle for the next couple of nights on an uncomfortable couch in an uncomfortable hospital room. Hardly the first time. And as much as Ace would very much like it to be, he sadly knew it wouldn’t be the last.

“Do I really have to be sidelined?” Brylee asked, her voice dejected.

“Just for six weeks to start off,” Ace told her gently. “You need time to recover, Brylee. This is the worst you’ve been for a while.”

“I know,” Brylee sighed. And she did know. But she didn’t like it. “So, I just have to sit at the tower, monitoring and watching my family go out and risk their lives while I can do nothing?”

“I know it won’t be easy, but we will get through this,” Ace promised her. “We will, sis. Just take this time and you’ll be back kicking bad guys round the block in no time.”

Ace had been aiming to make Brylee smile, and possibly even laugh. It was an objective he successfully accomplished. The smile that graced Brylee’s face may not have been as bright as it normally is, but the fact that he was able to bring any form of smile to her face was something Ace would take. A small victory was still a victory.

“Can I have friends over?” Brylee inquired.

That was a question that Ace had longed to hear, and it always broke his heart when she never got the chance to ask him or their mother if she could have a friend come over. Hearing her have the experiences she should have had growing up made Ace say yes. With a few conditions, of course.

“If there are boys, no closed doors,” Ace told her firmly.

Brylee rolled her eyes, but acquiesced nonetheless. She didn’t even bother saying that she was never going to be alone with boys in the tower. The whole friend group was going to come, and her friend group comprised of both boys and girls.

And it wasn’t like they were ever going to wander around the tower unsupervised. That was one rule the team had with visitors. Regardless of who they were. That rule came in after an unfortunate incident with a visitor in Tech’s lab. (Nobody was really to blame for that one, but it did make them more cautious about who they let wander around the tower and where they could go.)

Ace grasped his sister’s hand with a smile. One thing his team had told him was that all he had to focus on was taking care of Brylee during her hospital stay. They would take care of everything else. And that was something Ace was determined to do as he started unpacking his bag, which was filled with stuff to keep Brylee entertained during her stay. Much to his dismay, she insisted on talking about the party they were planning (because apparently, they hadn’t celebrated Ace’s GED enough).

They say that things that go up must come back down. Well, there was no reason that anything that came crashing down couldn’t be built back up.

Chapter Text

It was fair to say that being confined to the Tower during missions was something that Brylee struggled with. She hated sitting by being unable to do anything (although, she was always set up with monitoring duties from within the Tower).

There were sometimes where someone was able to stay behind with her if a mission came in that didn’t require every single member of the Loonatics. So, there were sometimes when she had company in the form of a teammate when she couldn’t have her friends over for one reason or another. But those moments were few or far in between, since things had gone semi-quiet in those four weeks. (And by semi-quiet, Brylee meant they didn’t have to go on missions on a near daily occurrence.)

She supposed the sole upside was allowing her to remain on top of her schoolwork and ahead of any deadlines for assessment – oh, and the extra credit work, of course.

It was after completing her latest round of schoolwork that allowed her to head over to the virtual trainer to watch Duck test one of Tech’s latest upgrades.

And it did not surprise her to see Duck treating it like a videogame.

“That’s a new high score!” Duck cheered.

Tech sighed in exasperation from the control room, “How many times do I have to tell you? What I have created here is a state-of-the-art virtual trainer – not a video game!”

Brylee watched as Tech pressed some buttons to increase the level of difficulty in the training session for the boastful mallard. But Brylee felt Tech had not increased the difficulty enough, because Duck was still defeating the holograms with his powers and weapons available in the room with him.

“Call it what you want! I’m the master!” Duck proclaimed. After defeating an additional two holograms, Duck boasted, “I rule this game!”

When Duck made a show of blowing the smoke being emitted from the muzzle of the weapon he was holding, Brylee officially decided that her dear friend could use with being knocked down a peg. Or two. Maybe more than that.

With a wink, Tech wordlessly stood aside and gestured for Brylee to take the controls. He knew what she wanted to do, and he fully endorsed her scheme.

“Yes, you’re quite the expert,” Tech smirked. “Try this level.”

This level involved plunging the virtual trainer into darkness. Duck couldn’t even see his own hands outstretched before him, never mind anything around him. It was fair to say that Tech had done too good of a job designing both the virtual arena and its subsequent upgrades.

“Hey! Who turned off the lights?!” Duck whined.

Duck would soon find that the lights would come back on, but only momentarily. Just long enough for him to see the numerous holograms that surrounded him. Or, rather, their weapons pointed right at him.

“Uh-oh!” Duck whimpered once the lights went out once more.

Now, Brylee knew that Tech was careful when he designed everything in the virtual trainer. While the team would certainly feel any impact or a slight sting, nobody would be walking away from a training session with a serious injury. But Brylee still got the satisfaction of seeing Duck glowering with smoke emitting from his body as he stormed into the control room. It was times like this that Brylee loved the Looney Toons logic that seems to happen around Acmetropolis.

“Hey! I was kicking virtual tail over here!” Duck whined. Then, he noticed Brylee’s presence and asked, “Were you behind this?”

“Maybe,” Brylee smirked.

Before anything else could be said, Ace’s voice could be heard over the loudspeaker:

“Zadavia’s online. We need you guys up here.”

“Yay. Another mission I have to watch from the sidelines,” Brylee grumbled.

“Just two more weeks,” Tech moved to reassure her.

For Brylee, those two weeks could not go by fast enough.

**

All seven Loonatics took their seats in the meeting room, watching as Zadavia’s hologram came to life from the centre of the table. There were no assigned seats, as such, but everyone had their preferred seats and gravitated towards the same chair every time. Ace had Lexi and Brylee sitting on either side of him, Duck sat next to Brylee, Rev sat next to Lexi, Slam sat next to Duck, and Tech sat next to Rev.

“Loonatics, there’s been an escape from the subterranean maximum-security prison. The file is being uploaded to you as we speak,” Zadavia informed the group.

Everyone immediately diverted their eyes from Zadavia’s hologram in the middle of the table to the small screens that appeared directly in front of them. There was no picture of their villain of the week yet, but there were some statistics about the person. The name was Mastermind, and this person was three feet tall and weighed 67 pounds. Last known appearance was unknown. It was something that made sense, considering their last sighting was in the maximum-security prison they had just escaped from.

Then, the picture of the person appeared. The person was a woman. She was wearing a purple outfit that Brylee couldn’t work out if it was a separate pants and t-shirt setup or a jumpsuit. But that was the least of the youngest Loonatic’s concern. The large head Mastermind possessed occupied all her thoughts.

“Big head!” those were the only two words Slam said through his garbled speech that Brylee could pick up.

“You said it,” Ace was quick to nod in agreement.

“Mallory!” Tech gasped quietly. “Oh no!”

“I want you to get down there. Tech can fill you in on the way,” Zadavia ordered. Then, she signed off with her signature, “Zadavia out” before her hologram disappeared.

That was something Brylee did not expect. Although, she supposed the day had to come when someone in the Loonatics would directly know the villain of the week. Sure, they’ve had people they saw out and about, particularly before the meteor hit, but never a villain they actually knew personally.

But having it happen to Tech first was not something any of them expected.

Ace didn’t say anything, except the words, “Let’s jet!”

“I’ll start setting up monitors for her around the city,” Brylee decided.

Brylee didn’t even bother with the dejected tone in her voice anymore. It wouldn’t change anything, so why bother? She would rather focus her time and energy into something far more productive. Something that would actually help the team rather than add to her misery.

“Just two more weeks, sis,” Ace reassured her, “and then you’ll be back kicking bad guys down the block.”

Brylee couldn’t wait for the day to come. She found she liked being in the hero business. It was the first thing that felt right for her.

**

Ace had keyed in to the communication relay at HQ so Brylee could hear Tech reveal how he knew Mastermind. She was going to need the information to continue monitoring the city for the villain. Her patterns before she went to prison – and Tech’s role in the matter – would help.

“So, Tech, wanna tell us how you know Miss Melon Head?” Ace asked the coyote pointedly.

Not looking up from the work he was doing at his designated console, Tech began telling his story:

“Right before Zadavia put us all together, I was still a grad student at Acme Tech.”

Begin flashback

For Tech, it was another day at the university he had attended for so many years. He was inputting data into a computer. Only this time, he wasn’t alone. There was someone else in the lab with him. This person was a bright young woman who went by the name Mallory Casey. Her purple lab attire was a stark contrast to the white lab coat Tech wore over his orange turtleneck sweater. The only thing the two had in common was their lab goggles.

“Mallory was a young prodigy I was tutoring. She was working on a device that could amplify brainwaves. But I discovered she had modified the device to transfer knowledge from other people’s brains into her own. The university staff were going to be her guinea pigs.”

Tech watched in horror when the data came up on his own screen. There was no way he could let this go ahead. He had to do something. He had to stop Mallory. But it was too late to put a halt to the demonstration. The university staff had already arrived to see the young prodigy, and Mallory was not going to listen to reason. This much, he already knew.

He needed to come up with something. Fast.

“With just a flip of the switch, I will show you what it means to be brilliant,” Mallory smirked as she put on the helmet.

Her statement seemed innocent enough. Something that hid her true intentions from her audience and unwitting guinea pigs. Then, she activated the machine. The purple strands of electricity and the giant brain-like appearance in the middle of the machine astounded and hypnotized the faculty. It was certainly a spectacular light show.

And it was all Tech intended for it to be. For while Mallory began her presentation, he raced to the consoles and began implementing the shutdown procedure for the device before any real damage could be done, not knowing the significant damage he was about to cause, nor the supervillain he was able to give birth to.

“So, I stopped her and her evil head before it was too late. I had to do something before their minds were destroyed. Unfortunately, she was hit by a surge of bio-neuroelectronic feedback.”

Mallory’s pain-filled screams echoed around the lab as she clutched at the helmet on her head. She could not understand what was happening to her, why she was in so much pain, and why it just wouldn’t stop.

It only stopped when the now malfunctioning device exploded. The lab had been evacuated. Only Tech and Mallory remained in the room. By this stage, the helmet had fallen off of Mallory’s overgrown head, and she screamed in horror as she realized what was happening to her. But she had no way of knowing that this was only the start of her nightmare.

“Take her away, officers.” Tech’s voice was cold and emotionless as he gestured for the two police officers to come forward.

“Mallory Casey, you’re under arrest.”

Even as her hands were cuffed behind her back and as she was carried away by the two police officers, Mallory Casey – who would soon become known as Mastermind – made a vow to the coyote:

“You! You ruined my life’s work! How dare you?! Oh, I will get you, Tech! Someday, I will get you, you mangy dog!”

End flashback

“And that’s the last I heard of her. Until now,” Tech finished his story.

Tech wanted to say that he never thought about Mallory Mastermind after her sentencing. He wanted to say that he was able to move forward. But the truth is he couldn’t. While he knew he had done the right thing in stopping her true intentions, he wished there was a way he could have done so without causing her harm.

It didn’t stop him from feeling responsible.

“Brylee, start monitoring around the university,” Ace requested into the radio. “We’ll check out the prison for any trace of her escape.”

“She might not have gone far. The monitors are picking up suspicious electrical activity around the prison. She could be luring you into a trap. You need to be careful.”

“Careful’s my middle name, sis,” Ace smirked.

“Actually, your middle name is Francis, Avery.”

“Shut up,” Ace grumbled. But the affection was still present in his voice.

**

The Loonaporter landed at the prison and the six Loonatics immediately disembarked, racing to the location that Brylee mentioned the strange electrical activity was the strongest. What they saw around them was a construction site. They had heard the subterranean prison was undergoing a massive renovation, including an expansion to accommodate all of the criminals – ordinary and superpowered – the Loonatics had been capturing since they first started operations.

From what Brylee had been able to gather, Mastermind was able to swipe a pen from an unsuspecting prison guard (who was on his first day, no less) and used her unique abilities in ferrokinesis and technokinesis to turn her Penpal into a device that enabled her to escape with the help of the construction equipment directly above her.

Brylee would admire her if she wasn’t a villain.

“Mallory would have a field day with equipment like this!” Tech commented.

Duck looked around them, looking for any sign of Mastermind. But despite Brylee’s assurances that she was somewhere in the vicinity of the prison, there was no sign of her. No machinery suddenly coming to life. No melon head making an appearance from behind a dirt mound. Nothing.

And it was something he was quick to point out: “Methinks this place is empty.”

Lexi was quick to correct him, “Chill, Duck. Methinks, I hear someone thinking louder than any of us.” Her eyes glowed pink as the soundwaves ran up the length of her ears, indicating her super hearing was in use. “We’re not alone.”

“It’s gotta be her,” Tech proclaimed.

“Give that dog a bone!”

All six Loonatics (who were, as always, beginning to feel the absence of the youngest Loonatic) turned at the sound of the voice. They saw that Brylee had been right all along (not that anyone really doubted her aside from Duck’s snide remark earlier). Mastermind had never left the prison grounds. She was luring the Loonatics – specifically, Tech – into a trap. Somewhere where she could force the odds into her favour.

“Nice to see you again, Tech,” Mastermind smirked from atop the construction equipment.

“I wish I could say the same,” Tech uncharacteristically snarled.

“Some genius!” Duck scoffed derisively. “You get an A for the escape, but a D for the getaway, sister!”

“Oh, this isn’t about getting away. It’s about revenge. Isn’t it, Tech?” Mastermind spat.

Ace found himself confronted with the reality that Brylee was right all along. Mastermind was luring them into a trap. She knew they would hear about her escape from the prison and pursue her. She had them right where she wanted them. This horrifying reality was further confirmed when the construction equipment around them came to life on their own.

“Eliminate those animals!”

Realizing what was going to happen and what they were going to have to do, each member of the Loonatics thought at least once during this battle whether Zadavia would be happy footing the bill to the city to replace the construction equipment they were being forced to destroy.

**

Brylee hummed to herself as she went into the kitchen, searching for the juice that is always kept on hand. She had received an alarm that her sugars were starting to drop, so she needed to get some juice to boost her sugars before having a full meal in her fifteen minutes. She didn’t mention too much to the team, but they knew she would have to step away periodically to take care of her sugars. Besides, she had heard what happened.

Mastermind had slipped away in the chaos, and the team was coming back to HQ. Apparently, Tech had something that would give Mastermind a headache wherever she was.

Well, anything that got her back in prison where she belonged was something Brylee would happily endorse. And she trusted Tech enough to know that it would work.

Brylee gasped when she heard something behind her, then she heard nothing at all.

**

“Brylee, come in! Brylee!”

Ace’s tone was growing more urgent by the hour. He had been radioing the tower desperately to talk to Brylee. The silence was making the fear tighten its grip over his heart. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Brylee would never leave that many lights on in the tower.

His worst fears were confirmed when a taunting voice echoed around the Loonaporter.

“I’m in complete control of your headquarters now, Tech. It’s my turn to play with some of your inventions – and boy, is this gonna be fun!”

Ace didn’t know what was worse: the alarms telling him that the very weapons that were keeping them safe in the tower were now turning on them, or the realization that his sister was trapped in the tower with a maniac villain.

Everyone already knew this was not going to end well as they came to another unfortunate realization: Tech had done too good a job designing the tower’s defence mechanisms. Ace couldn’t even think up an evasive manoeuvre to try before he was struggling to regain control of the Loonaporter as it descended into a crash dive towards the streets below.

“I can’t hold it!” he cried.

Slam’s garbled speech echoed around the space as Ace called to his team, “Everybody hang on! We’re going down!”

“We’re doomed! Doomed!” to the surprise of no one, Duck was easily lost to his own panic.

“Okay, now’s not the time to panic,” Lexi rebuked the mallard.

“What?! Now is exactly the time to panic!” Duck retorted.

Lexi didn’t say anything else. She supposed in his own way, the mallard did have a point. But she wasn’t going to let Duck claim this victory. She instead focused on her own job just as Ace and Tech were with theirs. While Ace struggled to maintain control of a ship that was in an out-of-control crash dive, Tech was booting up the safety protocols, which included the deploying of a parachute to slow their descent and an override that allowed Ace to lower the ship’s undercart.

They ended up being forced to make an emergency landing in the street. But the important thing is that they were unharmed, and more than ready for payback.

“Brylee, come in!” Ace tried once more.

“Chief,” Tech cut in firmly. “If Mallory’s got control of HQ, that means she has Brylee.”

“We never should’ve left her alone!” Ace cried in dismay. “Someone should’ve stayed with her!”

“Hey. She could be hiding,” Lexi tried to reassure him, “and she’s not responding because she doesn’t want to alert Mastermind.”

Ace figured he would appreciate Lexi’s words more if he knew she actually believed them herself.

**

“Ah, my pet, company has arrived!” Mastermind gasped happily to her Penpal, the pen she had converted into her companion who had aided in her escape. She was attaching a device to all the weapons. “Won’t Tech just love the modifications I made to his little toys?! Love it!”

It was the cackling that Brylee woke up to. She moaned and held her head as she pushed herself into a seated position. Surprisingly, she just felt like she woke up from a deep sleep. She was fully expecting to wake up from her forced nap experiencing a headache, blurriness, dizziness… everything you would expect from a cliché.

She was also expecting to be tied up or locked in a cage. Surprisingly, she was neither of those things. But she had heard enough about Mastermind to know there was a catch.

Penpal suddenly started chirping next to Mastermind, making the supervillain turn away from the console where she was watching the Loonatics outside the tower and sabotaging the stockpile of weapons they kept in various locations.

“Good. You’re awake,” Mastermind quipped. “I wouldn’t try leaving your spot.”

Saying something like that made Brylee try anyway. She gasped when she felt her hand touch the invisible electrical barrier she seemed to be surrounded by, and she felt something coursing through her body. It didn’t hurt, but it still sent her falling to the ground, her legs seemingly rendered useless. She could still feel her legs, which was something that almost made her wish she didn’t. Because having legs that felt like dead weight hurt.

“What did you do to me?” Brylee demanded.

“Just a little something to make sure you stay exactly where you are. The paralysis is only temporary. It’ll wear off in ten minutes,” Mastermind answered dismissively. “But I think you’ll agree it drives the point home. I even gave you some room to move around – and supplies easily in reach.”

Brylee looked to her left and saw that Mastermind did include some of her diabetic supplies in her prison. The food and beverages she would use to boost her sugars when needed. Insulin in a small fridge. Her glucometer. There was even a sandwich waiting for her. A wholewheat baguette with shredded turkey breast (cooked, of course), red leaf lettuce, thinly-sliced Granny Smith apple slices, Brie cheese and Dijon mustard.

Her growling stomach betrayed her, and Brylee pushed herself over towards the plate, pulling it within her reach as she began eating her sandwich. She glared at Mastermind the whole time.

“You know you won’t get away with this,” was Brylee’s defiant statement.

Mastermind’s response? “I already have.”

**

“That hideous headcase locked us out of HQ!” Ace grumbled in frustration.

They had pulled up in front of the garage they had for emergencies just like this – along with an entrance for any visitors they had to the tower, even if those visitors were far and few in between. Ace didn’t know why he was surprised to see they had been locked out of the tower, but he was.

“Fighting your opponent from within his own stronghold. Genius!” Tech praised.

“Big genius!” Slam grunted as he pulled himself out of the ship.

But there was one thing Mastermind hadn’t accounted for. At least, as far as the Tasmanian Devil was concerned. Slam used his tornado powers to enable him to burrow into the ground, creating a tunnel underneath the tower. He did so without prompting, and it was something the others were happy to see.

Slam had burrowed them into the very garage they were trying to get into. Rev was the first one out (after Slam, of course), and he immediately sped over to where they kept an emergency stockpile of weapons. Aside from the classic guns (laser guns, not the type of bullets), Tech had also kept in there weapons that were designed with specific teammates in mind. So, there were also weapons that suited Slam’s bulkier frame.

“Okay, enough head games! Time to go old school!” Duck proclaimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

Ace passed a gun to Lexi as Slam helped himself to the weapons that were specifically designed for him. Tech was about to grab a weapon for himself when he heard a voice that made him stop dead in his tracks. A voice that made his blood run cold. A voice that made him realise they had fallen into a trap.

Mastermind had counted on this happening.

“Alright, Tech. Now, you’ll see payback is a dog!”

“Wait! She’s boobytrapped everything!” Tech cried in horror.

But the warning came through too late, for the devices Mastermind attached to all of the weapons activated and came into effect. Ace, Lexi, Duck and Rev found their hands restrained as these metallic coils emerged from the device, wrapping themselves around their hands and wrists to keep them attached to the weapons they held. Slam’s weapons glowed a brilliant blue as they fused together, trapping his hands.

“My brilliant inventions!” Tech whimpered. “What has that ghastly woman done to my babies?!”

That would turn out to not be the worst of it. The worst would come when the weapons began firing on their own.

“I’m not doing it! I can’t control it!” Duck immediately defended himself.

It was a defence that didn’t need saying. The others had quickly figured out that the device that was restraining their hands was also firing the weapons for them. The five trapped Loonatics found they were unable to free themselves or stop the weapons from firing at each other. It almost seemed as though the device was also making them move the weapons against their own will, aiming at the teammates they fought alongside and swore to protect along with the citizens of Acmetropolis.

This experience made one thing clear – Mastermind was playing dirty.

But even if the weapons had been sabotaged by Mastermind, one thing remained the same. They couldn’t continually fire at one another for long periods of time. Every once in a while, they would need to recharge or reload. It was at this time that enabled the Loonatics to take the time to free themselves.

Ace freed himself first, using his laser vision to destroy both the weapon and the coils wrapped around his wrists. Slam smashed his weapons into the wall, destroying them upon impact. Rev, who had inadvertently fired his weapon at Lexi, raced in front of it and positioned himself to take the shot. The shot hit the gun he held, sparks of electricity flying from it as it was destroyed. It fell harmlessly out of Rev’s hands, along with the restraints. Lexi, who had jumped out of the way, used the opportunity to smash her gun on the ceiling above her. Duck ended up using his powers to teleport himself out of the weapon’s grip.

Under normal circumstances, Tech would be dismayed by the number of inventions currently being destroyed. But these weren’t normal circumstances.

“I should’ve seen this coming,” Tech sighed sadly. “I feel like such a peabrain!”

“You’re no peabrain, Tech,” Ace reassured him, “but it is time to take your balloon-brained girlfriend down!”

“I heard that.”

“In here,” Tech whispered. “We can get out of sight of the cameras.”

**

Brylee could only watch helplessly from her prison as her family walked into the heat generator room. She knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to access the elevator shaft that was hidden behind the heat generator. And she also knew that Mastermind had anticipated this move as well.

Something Brylee learned the hard way was that her prison didn’t just keep her inside and paralysed if she touched their invisible walls. It also blocked any and all attempts at communication. On any frequency. The team couldn’t contact Brylee (and she knew Ace would have tried a million times by now), and she couldn’t contact them to warn them of the trap they were walking into.

She watched as Mastermind pressed the button to not only seal them into the room, but turn up the power of the heat generator to the point of an overload.

“Is it getting hot in there, or am I just crazy?!” Mastermind cackled.

“You want my answer to that?!” Brylee growled defiantly.

“Ooh, looks like you’ve got some of the dog’s bite,” Mastermind quipped. “Looks like Tech found someone to replace me with.”

“You did that to yourself!” Brylee spat. “I know what you did at the university! And not only that… I know you had set Tech up to take the fall! Everything showed up on his console, he would’ve been the only one unaffected… and don’t tell me the police just happened to show up! Tech didn’t even have time to call them!”

Mastermind cackled at Brylee’s words. “You’re smarter than you let on. Not even the great Tech E. Coyote figured that out! Now, just sit back and watch the show.”

“Hey, guys! Miss Brain just set us up for a big bang!” Lexi remarked.

Brylee watched as Slam immediately charged at the wall with his tornado powers. But again, Tech had done his job too well. He actually frequently used them as guinea pigs to test the durability of the security systems he continuously designed and updated. So, she already knew that Slam would not be able to bust through the metallic wall. In fact, she knew he would hurt himself trying.

Not wasting any time, Tech moved to the computer console.

“Okay, Tech, time to put your wits to woik!” Ace told the coyote urgently.

“I’m hacking into the security portal, but it’s gonna take some time,” Tech warned without looking up.

“Well, could you pretend to hurry?!” Duck snapped impatiently. “One more minute and you’re looking at crispy fried duck!”

“I’ve almost got it,” Tech reassured the group.

“Almost doesn’t count, dog face!” Mastermind taunted. “Cover your ears, Penny,” she cooed to her Penpal. She then glanced over her shoulder and said to Brylee, “Cover yours too.”

Brylee could only watch in horror as the security feed momentarily cut out. But she knew what happened. She heard and felt the explosion that rocked the tower. The heat generator finally exploded under the immense heat. And from what she saw, the team were still working on their escape.

Her worst fears seemed to be confirmed when the security feed came back to life and she only saw the billowing smoke and the flames from what was left of the explosion. The heat generator was destroyed, along with much of the room.

And her family was nowhere in sight.

“Anybody for a barbequed hero? It seems that hot dog is well done!” Mastermind cackled.

Brylee felt her eyes burn with tears. But they weren’t tears of grief or sadness, though she knew they would come later. These were tears of rage. And they were directed at Mastermind.

“YOU!” Brylee screeched as she charged forward.

Brylee scrambled to her feet, the paralysis having worn off and charged at the still cackling supervillain. But in her rage and grief, Brylee forgot about the prison she was trapped in. Not until she felt the force charging through her once more. She screamed as she found herself falling to the ground once more. Her screams continued as her tears ran down her face, burning her cheeks.

Mastermind just killed her family.

**

Or did she?

“Could you cut it any closer, Tech?!” Ace snarked at the coyote below him.

“Actually… no,” Tech grunted. Shaking himself, he then used his regeneration powers to heal his burned body.

Gesturing to the rope they dangled from as they had escaped the destroyed room, Ace remarked to his surviving teammates, “We better get moving before she figures out we’re here.”

Spotting a conduit nearby, Tech quickly pointed and cried, “Through the vents! She can’t monitor us in there!”

Nobody dared to point out that was what Tech had said about the heat generator room. But they figured that Tech had to be right about the vents being a place where they could hide and devise a strategy. Tech was right more than he was wrong.

Since he was closest, Slam climbed up into the vent first, stopping to help his teammates inside. They then crawled deeper into the vents, stopping when they reached an area where they all could… crouch comfortably.

“We’ve got to somehow get to my EMP,” Tech proclaimed. Obviously, this was what Tech had been alluding to before.

“You don’t have to spell it! I know what an imp is!” Duck scoffed. But then he paused and asked, “What’s an imp?” Clearly, he had misunderstood what Tech was trying to say.

“The EMP is an electromagnetic pulse generator,” Tech explained. “Now, if we can get to it and activate it, it would temporarily knock out all electrical current in the vicinity. Without power, she’s… well, powerless.”

“And we can save my sister,” Ace added. He was liking this plan more and more. “Lexi, take Slam and Rev with ya and follow this all the way up so you can activate the EMP. Duck, you come with Tech and me and we’ll enter through the virtual trainer. She won’t know what hit her!”

Lexi asked Tech the important question: “So, where do we find this EMP and how do we activate it?”

“It’s hidden right in plain sight. It comes with simple instructions,” Tech answered.

Lexi could only hope that Tech shared her definition of simple instructions.

**

Brylee looked up at the screen when she heard an alarm go off. Movement was detected in the vents heading into the virtual trainer. Three dots could be seen moving through the complex system. Three dots that represented her teammates.

“What?!” Mastermind raged. “I thought it was cats that had nine lives!”

“They’re descended from Looney Toons. What do you expect?” Brylee groaned. Man, this paralysis hurt more this time.

Mastermind made no comment. She was putting the next part of her plan into motion.

**

Removing the grate, Ace peaked his head around the virtual trainer, being happy to report, “The coast is clear.”

Satisfied, Ace jumped down into the virtual trainer, with Duck and Tech following closer behind. Immediately, Tech reached for the weapons that had been left out from the last training session. It was something he approached with caution, recalling what had happened the last time his teammates had reached for weapons.

But this time, he was happy to report, “She hasn’t tampered with these!”

Mastermind may not have tampered with those weapons, but she certainly tampered with the virtual trainer.

“Oh no!” Ace cried in dismay.

Around them, the virtual trainer transformed into the streets of Acmetropolis. They immediately knew what was happening. They were being trapped in a combat simulation. And they also knew that, given the tricks Mastermind had pulled before, there was no easy way to get out of this one. Not without someone coming in and overriding it from the outside. Or Lexi, Slam and Rev being able to activate the EMP. Or Brylee escaping. He’d take anything at this point.

“And by hasn’t tampered with, you mean?” Ace challenged the coyote as holographic fighters appeared around them.

Ace, Duck and Tech found themselves surrounded, but the mallard was more than ready for a fight.

“Alright! Time for a new high score!” Duck cheered.

Then, the fight commenced. Tech was the only one who was able to grab a weapon, so Ace and Duck were forced to rely on their powers. Well… Duck was. Ace had the sword he always carried with him.

They all hoped, to use Duck’s video game analogy, that this was the final level they needed to pass before the boss level.

**

Lexi, Slam and Rev dropped down into the lounge area. It was the central hub of their living quarters. From there, they would be able to get to any point of the tower with ease. It also served as a good starting point for their search of Tech’s EMP.

“Pool table!” Slam grunted through his garbled speech.

Lexi followed Slam’s line of sight and recalled what Tech said about the EMP being hidden in plain sight. The pool table certainly was in plain sight. She also realized that Tech could have meant playing sight as much as plain sight.

“Chalk one up to Tech!” Lexi praised the coyote, even though he wasn’t in the room. “The EMP device is hidden here.”

When the vacuum cleaner appeared before the group, they had been thinking in the back of their minds that this was proving to be too easy. They were waiting for Mastermind to pull another ace out of her sleeve. And that ace turned out to be turning their devices against them. Rev ended up being chased by the vacuum cleaner that had sprung to life.

“Easy! This is a no-slicing zone!” Lexi chided the… well, she couldn’t tell exactly what was chasing her, but she knew one thing: it was sharp. So, getting caught by it would hurt.

She was so lost in her focus of evading the device chasing her that she barely saw Slam be cornered by his own device too.

**

It would be nice to say that things were going better for Ace, Duck and Tech in the virtual trainer. But they weren’t. The holographic fighters weren’t disintegrating when struck, as Ace learned the hard way with his laser vision. Instead, they split in two. In the back of his mind, he thought of what Brylee had been learning recently about Greek mythology. Specifically, the Lernaean Hydra. Aside from possessing multiple heads, the Hydra also possessed the power of regeneration, regrowing two heads for every head chopped off.

“We zap one and two more appear!” Ace cried.

“Oh yeah!” Duck cheered. “Cool, isn’t it?! That means we’re getting close to the bonus level!”

If the bonus level was still to come, Ace didn’t want to think of what level he was currently stuck on.

“This has gone far enough!” Tech snapped. “It’s time to go head-to-head!”

“We’ll cover you!” Ace reassured the coyote.

The trio never pulled the cover back on the vent they used to enter the virtual trainer, so Tech had an easy means of escape at his disposal. He barely noticed the holographic fighters that had started firing at him as he did. It was fair to say in this case that the coyote had a one-track mind.

**

Mastermind turned around in shock when she heard the sound of the grate in the vent being kicked in. She hadn’t been expecting Tech to find his way out and into the control room she was currently occupying.

So, she did what many villains did. She ran.

“Come back, Mallory!” Tech chased after her.

He growled when the door slammed in his face.

“Tech!”

Tech gasped at the sound of the voice.

“Brylee!” he cried as he raced to the corner she was being held in.

“Don’t get too close!” Brylee warned him.

Frowning, Tech used a scanner he had built into his wrist communicator to scan the general area. He gasped in horror when he saw not only the diagram of the invisible electric prison his teammate was being held in, but the technical readouts he was given. He knew why Brylee was laying on the ground unable to get up.

“How long is the paralysis?” Tech asked her worriedly.

“She said ten minutes, but that was the first time,” Brylee grunted. “Think it’ll be more like twenty this time.”

Tech sighed in dismay. He wanted to free Brylee, but if Mastermind got away…

Seeming to read his mind, Brylee told him, “Go. You need to stop her.”

“I’ll come back for you,” Tech promised.

Then, he began chasing after Mastermind. He knew where she had gone.

**

“I’ve heard of cleaning house, but this is ridiculous!” Rev remarked.

Ducking to avoid the swinging knives, as Lexi had coined the thing that was chasing her, Lexi was suddenly struck with inspiration. Perhaps there was a way for them to take care of all of their problems.

“Rev, lead that big sucker this way!” she called to her teammate.

“Oh, if you had told me when I woke up this morning that I was gonna be bait for a runaway vacuum cleaner, I’d have said that you were just plain nuts!” Clearly, Rev wasn’t done with voicing his opinion on everything that was happen.

But it enabled Lexi to do what she wanted to do, which was to knock the thing chasing her into the vacuum, stopping both in their tracks. Slam just ended up smashing the thing attack him. It was only then that they were able to reach the pool table. Lexi reached into the corner pocket for the device that she knew would contain the instructions to activate the EMP.

But when she began reading the instructions, Lexi whined, “Aw, Tech said they’d come with simple instructions! Simple, my lucky foot!” Cleary, Lexi and Tech had different definitions of simple.

“I’ve got this!” Rev immediately said. Spending a lot of time with Tech and being smart in his own right made him the best person for the job. “Step one: arm primary ignition sequence using standard alphanumeric code calculation. Step two: insert electron override rods and…”

Clearly, this was going to take a while.

**

Tech walked into his lab, anger fuelling all of his calm steps. He knew this would be where Mastermind had fled, preparing for their final showdown. And it was a showdown he was ready for. Tampering with his inventions. Invading his home. Hurting Brylee (who he would not hesitate to admit was the teammate he held the softest spot for). Mastermind had to go down.

“You are proving yourself to be more Wile than I ever expected,” Mastermind smirked as she emerged from the shadows.

“And you’re just as twisted as I ever thought you were!” Tech spat.

“Not twisted. Enlightened,” Mastermind smirked. Then, her face contorted to one of hatred, “But then, you were always jealous of my brain power!”

Tech shook his head, “It’s not your intellect I have problems with – it’s your swollen head!”

“You taught me everything I know!” Mastermind reminded her former tutor. “Remember?!”

Then, she drew her weapon and fired. Tech barely had time to dive for cover. Just because he has the power to regenerate after sustaining injuries doesn’t mean he didn’t go out of his way to avoid them. Besides, the regeneration powers didn’t stop him from feeling the pain of the injuries he sustained. Using his magnetic powers, Tech was able to summon some knick knacks over to him to create his own weapon. Two can play this game.

After all, it was as he was about to say to Mastermind:

“But not everything I know!”

Mastermind gasped when Tech started returning fire, scurrying to get out of his line of sight.

**

“Yes!” Duck cheered. “I vaporize seven more and I unlock the hidden level!”

Ace barely paid attention to what Duck was saying. He was too focused on defeating his own enemies. But distantly, he thought to himself, ‘Whatever woiks.’

**

Mastermind decided she had enough running. She didn’t want to play defence anymore. She wanted to play offence. And she was going to play offence using her former mentor’s own inventions against him. Using her unique abilities, she was able to gather a bunch of random components and construct herself a massive robot to fight her battle for her.

“Bet you didn’t know I was gonna do that! Did ya, dog breath?!” Mastermind taunted him.

Tech found his hastily constructed weapon would prove ineffective against it. In fact, the robot knocked it out of his hands and picked him up in its massive hand. Tech grunted as he felt the pain encase his suddenly glowing body. The grip was too strong. There was no way for him to get out of it.

There was only one way to stop Mastermind now, and it rested in the hands of Lexi, Rev and Slam.

**

Rev had taken over priming the EMP since he was the only one with the technical knowledge to do so. But there was one final step that Lexi would be able to do.

“Step 99: load algorithmic variance programming into onboard encryption chip using the ball rack. Step 100: press the big red button!”

It was something that Lexi was more than happy to press. They watched as the centre of the pool table disappeared and a glowing ball emerged from the gaping hole. It floated up and began whirring to life. Soon enough, it emitted a bright glow that was almost blinding – and she knew that before long, all electricity in the tower would be gone.

“That’s it! Game over!” Lexi cheered.

**

Ace and Duck were in the middle of their own fight with the holograms when they found the virtual reality started disintegrating around them. Including the bad guys they were fighting. They knew it could only mean one thing. They got the EMP running.

“Game over,” Ace smirked.

“But… but… but… I was so close!” Duck whined.

**

Brylee watched around her as the computers began powering down. She already knew about the EMP Tech hid in the pool table. In fact, he taught her how to activate it in an emergency as part of his science tutoring.

Her legs still being the equivalent of dead weights to her body, Brylee didn’t stand up. She couldn’t stand up. All she could do was crawl across the floor. She knew where the electric prison boundaries were, so she knew when she should expect her paralysis to hit her once more. She was gasping when she reached the boundary and didn’t feel the pain.

In fact, she was able to keep going.

“Game over,” she smiled to herself.

**

Tech was wincing in pain as the robot’s grip on him tightened. Mastermind watched the scene unfold before her in glee. She had been waiting for years for her chance to get revenge on Tech, and it was finally happening. All of her dreams were coming true.

Or were they?

When the EMP came into effect in his lab, the robot crumpled into the leftover parts it had been comprised of. Tech found himself hovering in the air, gravity only coming into effect when he dared to look down. (Clearly, there were some lessons he hadn’t learned from his ancestor’s mistakes.)

But there was a big difference between Wile E. Coyote and Tech E. Coyote: Tech was better at landing on his feet.

“Game over,” he smirked to Mastermind.

Mastermind watched in dismay as Penpal also fell victim to the EMP. He fell off of her shoulder and onto the floor, its dying whimpers echoing around the room as all life sapped out of him.

“An electromagnetic pulse?! But that’s not fair, you mangy dog!” Mastermind whined.

But Tech wasn’t done as he swung a rope like a lasso – with some help from his powers, of course. Especially with the way he ended up wrapping the rope around Mastermind.

“What’s not fair is you turning my own inventions – my precious babies – against me! You crossed the line, fathead!” Tech spat. Approaching the now bound and hovering Mastermind, he growled, “And for the last time, I’m not a dog – I’m a coyote!”

“So sensitive,” Mastermind grumbled. But she was soon wailing once more when Tech deliberately stepped on Penpal’s remains, ensuring that he was beyond saving. “Pendroid, mama will be back! Don’t worry! You’ll see!”

“Yeah!” Tech scoffed. “In twenty years to life! Depending on good behaviour.”

On his way out, he saw Ace had made his way to where Brylee was still lying on the ground. He knelt next to her, holding her tight in his arms after what he didn’t doubt was a thorough check to make sure she was really okay. Brylee and Tech locked eyes for a brief moment and Tech allowed himself a small smile.

They had won.

**

“Oh yeah! This is just what the doctor ordered after a tough assignment!” Duck moaned appreciatively.

It was several hours after Mastermind’s defeat and return to prison. All of the Loonatics were relaxing next to a lagoon. Or, in Duck’s case, floating in the lagoon on a pool toy. They were all out of their uniforms and dressed in swim attire. The boys wore board shorts and singlets of varying colours, and the girls wore one-piece swimsuits. Lexi’s was pink while Brylee was black with white details.

“Yeah, Duck’s right. Chilling is good,” Lexi nodded in agreement.

“Amazing,” Ace sighed.

“What? The beach? The sun?” Lexi asked.

“The people?” Brylee smirked at her older brother.

“No,” Ace shook his head. “Duck being right about something.”

Slam grunted his own approval. He found he quite liked relaxing in a sun lounger with a drink within reach.

Even Tech was pleased: “Ah, yeah… Sometimes, getting sand between the toes is the best thing to clear the mind.”

But it was not something that would last long. Duck found himself falling, crying out as he suddenly landed on the hard ground of the virtual trainer. The team had not decided to actually go to a beach lagoon. Instead, they had decided to do the relaxing right at home in the virtual trainer and taking advantage of its reality simulator.

But there was one problem with this. The electromagnetic pulse that played a key role in Mastermind’s defeat was still in effect. So, they were reliant on a certain roadrunner using kinetic energy to fuel the power for their latest escapade.

Hearing the roadrunner’s pants, Ace asked impatiently, “Yo, Rev! What’s the deal?!”

Brylee shot a sympathetic look to Rev, who was sitting on an electronic bike that was hooked up with all sorts of wires.

“Sorry. Just taking a little breather,” Rev panted. “Okay, done!”

When Rev began cycling in earnest once more, the virtual simulator in the virtual trainer came back online. His teammates were quite happy to reap the rewards of his hard work. They promised they would make it up to the roadrunner when the power came back.

Rev was still panting as he said, “You know, I don’t mind helping with this whole vacation thing, but… okay, I do sort of mind! I mean, when will the power come back on, Tech?! You said the EMP effect would wear off on its own in 6-12 hours! I think it’s been about eight hours! But I lost count. I should start counting again. Okay, I will! One, two, three, four…”

“JUST KEEP PADDLING!”

Chapter Text

Much to Rev’s relief, the EMP eventually wore off and he did not have to power up the Tower through kinetic energy. He crashed out the second he could. Which Brylee did not blame him for. Being on an exercise bike continuously for twelve hours would knock anyone on their ass for an indeterminate amount of time.

Having spent the entire time relaxing in the virtual trainer, Tech decided now was the time to go to his lab to survey the damage Mastermind had caused in her chaotic takeover. He also needed to determine exactly which devices she took control of and make sure she couldn’t do it again. Something told Tech that being sent back to prison would not have been enough to stop her.

“Need a hand?”

Tech looked up in surprise to see Brylee standing in the doorway. He was surprised that Ace let her out of his sight, especially since the last time he left her alone, she was taken hostage.

It was something else that only added to Tech’s guilt. The guilt he wanted the distraction from.

“I’m fine,” Tech shook his head. “You should be resting. We don’t know the full extent of what Mallory did to you.”

“I’ve done enough resting,” Brylee retorted.

Tech supposed she had. Ace would have been anal about that (along with the others, but not to the extent Ace would have; Tech would say he had the overprotective brother act down to an art… if it was an act).

Brylee didn’t need Tech to tell her that he wouldn’t mind her staying, but he preferred to do things his own way. They’re his babies, after all. So, she made herself comfortable in one of his chairs. Somewhere close enough for her to have a conversation with Tech if he so wanted, but far enough away to not impede his work.

Tech supposed that would be as good of a compromise as he would get. Clearly, Brylee did not want to leave him alone for some reason.

Actually, he knew the reason why. This was something no mission had ever been before. This was personal. Particularly for Tech, since he feels he bares responsibility for this villain’s birth.

“You know I don’t blame you,” Brylee started the conversation. “This is something that could have happened regardless of who the villain was. I was actually waiting for the day a supervillain tried to hit us where we live.”

“Brylee…,” Tech trailed off with a sigh. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but… you didn’t bare responsibility for this villain.”

“Mastermind wasn’t your fault,” Brylee shook her head. “You can’t be held responsible for her actions. Not when she tried to frame you.”

That made Tech stop in his tracks. He put his stuff down and took the seat next to Brylee. He had not expected those words to come out of her mouth.

“How could you possibly know that?” Tech asked, his voice incredulous. He didn’t want to outright say he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t want to believe it to be possible.

“After you told us your story about Mastermind, I did some snooping into the circumstances behind her arrest. Someone managed to look at the machine she was working on. You were meant to be the only person in the room outside of her unaffected by her scheme. Everything was programmed to show up on your console,” Brylee listed. “But what really sold it for me was the timing of the police. Nobody had time to call them.”

The more Tech thought about Brylee’s words, the more he recognized the truth behind them. And it sent his heart dropping into his stomach. He didn’t want her to be right. But he knew she was. He knew she was right. Mastermind had set him up. He was supposed to be in prison. Not her. Everything was meant to unfold differently.

And that was all before another, equally heartbreaking realization hit him. He had missed it. He had been so caught up in everything that happened that he didn’t take the time to really look at the incident. To see everything Brylee had told him.

He really had been set up.

“How could I have missed this?” Tech lamented.

“Because you care for Mallory and you don’t want to think the worst of her,” Brylee answered wisely. “It’s perfectly rational, Tech. Even you have to admit that.”

“I have to admit a lot of things,” Tech said morosely. “My regrets led to this.”

“Tech,” Brylee began saying.

“No. I knew what Mallory was capable of. I should have known this would’ve been the first thing she would do. Then, you… you wouldn’t have been caught up in my past. You wouldn’t have paid the price,” Tech sighed heavily.

“I haven’t paid the price,” Brylee argued. “Beyond keeping me in an invisible cage that turned my legs into dead weight if I touched the invisible bars, she didn’t hurt me. She just kept me out of the way.”

Tech considered Brylee’s words. He also got a good look at where Brylee was imprisoned in his lab. Many of the foods and beverages she uses to get her sugars back up quickly should they suddenly dip. The small fridge he kept in the lab containing backups of her insulin (that somehow survived the power outage, much to his relief). He also saw her glucometer – something she used rarely since switching over to the CGM, but they still kept on hand to ensure its accuracy. He even found the plate that had Brylee’s food.

Mastermind really didn’t hurt Brylee. If anything, it was clear she had no intention of harming the youngest member of the Loonatics. She had every opportunity, too, but never did. She really just wanted Brylee out of the way. Even with her misguided belief that Brylee had taken her place in Tech’s life.

“Did she ever talk about…?” Tech trailed off, suddenly unsure of how to put it. “You taking….”

“Not really,” Brylee shook her head. “She only made one comment.”

Tech and Brylee both knew what the conversation was alluding to. There were several magazine articles and interviews about the Loonatics. It was something that came with being world-famous superheroes, and the only team member who enjoyed that aspect of the job was Duck (to no one’s surprise). One of the questions that came up often was how Brylee – the only underage individual on the team – was going to be able to continue her education while being a full-time superhero (something that Ace had made clear was he wanted Brylee to finish high school at least). So, anyone who followed the news and the Loonatics’ exploits knew that Tech was officially registered as Brylee’s tutor.

And she had informally become his new protégé. Working alongside him in the labs in a limited capacity. (She was nowhere near a technological genius, but thanks to Tech’s tutelage, she was able to hold her own in certain circumstances.) Those interviews and pictures would’ve been published in those magazines and other news outlets. And Mastermind would have seen those magazines and other news outlets while in prison (with the metal staples removed, of course; nothing made of metal was allowed in her cell due to her unique abilities). She would have been enraged.

“How… personal was your relationship with Mastermind?” Brylee asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

It was several moments filled with heavy silence once more before Tech finally answered, “Personal enough for us to share a locker in college.”

Brylee whistled low, “That personal.”

It went without saying that the relationship Tech shared with Mastermind went beyond the relationship traditionally shared between a tutor and his protégé. And the familial relationship Tech and Brylee shared.

“Can you keep this between us?” Tech asked timidly. “I’m not ready for the others to know about this.”

Brylee didn’t need to say that they weren’t in the soundproofed space, so Lexi’s superhearing would most certainly be picking up their conversation. But they both knew she would keep the secret. She never abused her powers like that.

“Is that one of your regrets?” Brylee inquired. “How things unfolded between the two of you?”

“Yeah,” Tech sighed. “Logically, I know I’m not to blame. Mallory’s actions were her own. But I still feel responsible. I feel like I gave her the ability to do that. And I’m responsible for her swollen head. If none of this had happened…”

“It’s not your fault,” Brylee told him firmly. “Nobody blames you. Ace certainly doesn’t. And if he does, just send him my way.”

For the first time since everything happened, Tech laughed. And it was a genuine laugh. It was something he didn’t know he needed until he was experiencing it. What made him laugh was Brylee’s request to deal with Ace if he tries to direct any blame on Tech (whether it would be on target or misdirected was something Brylee and Tech would just ‘agree to disagree’). The only person on the team who could really stand up to Ace and call him out if needed was Brylee.

Don’t misunderstand. Ace didn’t run any type of dictatorship. If anyone disagreed with his plans or anything, they were more than welcome to voice it. But the relationship Brylee shared with her brother meant that she could go about it a different way. And more often. It usually gave the others a source of entertainment watching their fearless leader get knocked down a peg or two by his little sister. Especially as her confidence grew.

“Everybody has regrets, Tech,” Brylee stated wisely once the laughter stopped. “Are you going to let them define you?”

Not for the first time, Tech wondered when Brylee got so wise. He wondered if it was everyone on the team rubbing off on her in their own way. He wondered if he was rubbing off on her in his own way.

But still, Tech pondered it. He knew everyone had regrets. The whole team had them. But there was something about those regrets. Those regrets led them here. It led to them gaining their powers when the meteor hit. It led to them forming a superhero team. It led to them turning into something good.

And if those regrets hadn’t happened… there’s no telling where they would be.

Someone had decided this group – these seven individuals – deserved this in spite of all the mistakes they made. All the regrets they carry. All the people saying they did nothing to deserve the good fortune bestowed upon them. Tech understood that, even if he was able to rationalize it away with his scientific mind. But hearing Brylee say what she said made him decide to consider them more carefully.

When he made his choice, he didn’t need to verbalize it. Brylee already knew. He’s not going to let his regrets define him. Not anymore. Not when he saw the consequences unfold before him. That would’ve led to some new regrets.

Brylee gave Tech a small smile and said, “Come on. Let’s clean up this lab.”

This time, Tech didn’t reject Brylee’s offer to help. In fact, he welcomed it. And it wasn’t just because he knew she wouldn’t leave him alone. He found he would genuinely appreciate not only her help, but her company.

The conversation between them was easy. It flowed naturally. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. They carefully inspected each and every weapon, even the ones they knew Mastermind didn’t get her hands on. Nobody wanted to take the chance of her sneaking something nasty while she was here. The possibility was what made Tech decide he was going to run all sorts of programs and diagnostic tests on all electronics within the tower. It wasn’t just to make sure they were all in working order after being hit with the EMP. It was to make sure Mastermind didn’t sneak any nasty bugs into them.

Tech may have taught her just a little too well.

Eventually, the others joined in. Even Duck, who proved to be helpful in his own way. And Rev’s hyperactivity proved useful in the actual cleanup stage.

But at the end of it all, Tech felt lighter than he had since long before this mess with Mastermind started. It was really confirmed as he sat next to Brylee in the kitchen indulging in a hard-earned meal. The day proved to be long and hard.

But finally, Tech was no longer going to let himself be weighed down by his regrets. Not when they led him to where he is now.

Chapter Text

It was already different than a typical day, but it was definitely not meant to go in the direction it went. Four supervillains previously captured by the Loonatics were being transferred to another facility, one designed to contain superpowered supervillains. Reduce the likelihood of them escaping and wreaking havoc on Acmetropolis once more.

“Attention: prepare for the arrival of the Acmetropolis Prison train. Today, we’re transporting four of the most dangerous criminals to a new maximum security facility.”

The guards stood around the train, watching as the first of the four prisoners was lowered into one of the carriages in a specially designed cell.

“Sypher. Power transfer.”

Sypher stood still, with his hands on his hips. He conveyed a cocky type of confidence, one he always carried with him. It appeared that prison had done nothing to teach him an important lesson in humility. With his ID verified, his cell was lowered the rest of the way into the carriage.

“Mastermind. Diabolical genius.”

Mastermind stood close to the glass, her hands pressed on it. She was observing her new surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and fascination. She knew that the new prison – and even the cell she was currently being transported in – were specially designed. With her ID verified, her cell was lowered the rest of the way into the prison.

“Weather Vane. Atmospheric control.”

Weather Vane stood in the centre of her cell, hand on her hip in a rather sassy pose. She appeared rather indifferent to her circumstances. It was something she maintained from the moment she was arrested not long after nearly destroying Acmetropolis in a weather disaster. With her ID verified, her cell was lowered the rest of the way into the carriage.

“Massive. Gravity manipulation.”

Massive stood in the centre of his cell, adopting a calm and neutral demeanour. He gave nothing away. Not even any signs of discomfort since his rather bulky build took up most of the cell. With his ID verified, his cell was lowered the rest of the way into the carriage.

The warden’s voice could be heard, “These prison containers have completely neutralized their powers, and they will be under the supervision of two courageous members of the Loonatics.”

Those two courageous members of the Loonatics only revealed themselves once the train was on its way to its destination. Duck and Brylee made their way into the carriage containing their former adversaries. Duck even made a show of carrying a high-tech baton that made Brylee not even bother to suppress an eyeroll.

“Greetings, prisoners! Losers, parasites, scums of society,” Duck began with a smirk. “Brylee and I will be your jailors today. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy your incarceration.”

Either way, Brylee shared a smile with the mallard as they started walking the length of the carriage, keeping a close eye on their prisoners.

“Yo, duck dude!” Sypher summoned the mallard to his cell. “High-five!”

“Sorry, Syphor. I’m not falling for your power-sucking schemes!” Duck sneered as he walked away. “In fact, you’re all wasting your time if you’re hoping to bust out!”

“Shall I calculate the odds on that?” Mastermind smirked.

“Allow me to present you the factors for your calculations,” Brylee returned the smirk. “You’re confined in an ultra-high security transport tube being taken to an even more ultra-high security penitentiary. These tubes, like your cells, have been designed to neutralize your rather unique abilities. With these factors in consideration, I believe you will agree with me when I say that the odds of escape are… impossible. So, you and your friends here will be stuck in those cells for quite a while.”

Mastermind chuckled, “Looks like the dog has taught you well.”

“You did say we could share the baton, right?” Brylee grumbled to the mallard.

Duck was in the midst of handing her the baton when something happened that made those impossible odds shift in favour of the imprisoned supervillains. They all watched in fascination as a small wormhole appeared, releasing a small hovering machine before disappearing as quickly as it came. Duck cried out as he tackled Brylee to the ground, shielding her from the device.

“Hey! Who spat the spit wad?!” Duck snarked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mastermind admitted.

Brylee already knew this would not bode well.

That mysterious device somehow made its way into Massive’s cell, generating a new wormhole.

“Ever see anything like this?” Massive asked, pointing to the portal. Massive gasped when he felt himself get sucked into the portal. “Oh! Hey, wait a minute! Get away from me! NO!”

Brylee immediately made her way to the alarm system in the carriage, pressing the button and reporting into the microphone, “The prisoners are escaping!”

“Hey, what happened to Mass-WHOA!” Duck cried, ducking once more as he avoided what could conclusively be identified as a wormhole generator.

Weather Vane trembled in fear as the wormhole generator burned its way into her cell. While she wasn’t exactly happy about her current circumstances, she found she preferred them to this.

“No, no, no!” Weather Vane pleaded, clinging to the walls of her cell. With a final scream, she was sucked into the portal.

“Fascinating!” Mastermind cackled when the portal came to her. She was the only one to greet it without fear. Her evil laughter echoed around the confined space as she willingly allowed herself to be sucked into the portal.

“Hey! You can’t escape! I’m guarding you!” Duck whined.

“Whoa! Dude!” Sypher screamed, clawing desperately at the ground as he did his best to resist the suction of the portal. But he could not resist it any further than Massive or Weather Vane.

With all four prisoners no longer aboard the train, the wormhole closed. Duck and Brylee could only watch the scene before them in dismay.

“Oh, this is not good,” Brylee winced.

**

The four supervillains found themselves being transported to a small planetoid approaching the asteroid belt in Acmetropolis’ solar system. When all four of them landed on the planetoid, they were surprised by a number of things, including but not limited to their new surroundings, and the ability to breathe on their own.

“Whoa!” Sypher gasped. “Where are we?”

“How did we get out here?” Massive asked the pertinent question.

“I brought you here.”

All four supervillains gasped at the sound of the new voice. They turned to see a mysterious man. Shoulder-length purple hair with streaks of white framing his face. A long purple beard. A greenish colour consuming his remaining eyeball. A cybernetic eye consuming half of his face above his jaw and reaching around the back of his head. Dressed in what could be described as a warrior’s attire from a distant world.

The new supervillain, a man who has played an important role in the background before, introduced himself:

“I am Optimatus.” His cybernetic eye then flashed a brilliant red.

**

Duck and Brylee continued to stand there in shock. None of them could process what they had seen.

“Did that just happen?” Brylee ask Duck.

“We’re doomed. Doomed!” Duck proclaimed.

For once, Brylee found herself agreeing with the mallard. They were most certainly doomed. Because the only person who could possibly have the capabilities of breaking out four already extremely powerful supervillains was someone who was even more powerful than them.

“So, we have four supervillains on the loose and a new player in the game,” Brylee sighed. “And we have to tell the others what happened.”

“We’re doomed,” Duck whimpered.

Again, Brylee found herself agreeing with Duck. How were they going to explain this escape to the others? To Zadavia?

**

On the planetoid, Optimatus had just finished explaining his reasons behind his… could they call it a rescue? But there was one thing it came down to.

“Let me get this right. You want to take down the Loonatics?” Massive inquired.

“Why should we help you?” Weather Vane demanded haughtily, folding her arms across her chest. She wasn’t exactly objecting to the idea of taking down the Loonatics, but rather her mysterious benefactor.

“Do as I ask, and you will forever rule Acmetropolis and all its resources,” Optimatus answered calmly.

“Any objections?” Weather Vane asked her co-conspirators.

Sypher kept his eyes on Optimatus as Weather Vane, Mastermind and Massive gathered in a huddle. They clearly wanted to discuss the proposition amongst themselves before deciding to accept or reject.

They had only known Optimatus for a handful of moments, and they already knew he was someone not to be crossed.

“Well, on one hand, we do owe him for getting us out of jail,” Weather Vane pondered.

“But, on the other hand, he’s a cold-blooded alien who probably plans to take over Acmetropolis for himself,” Massive presented a rather compelling counterargument.

Having heard both sides of the argument – both compelling in their own ways – Mastermind prompted, “All in favour, say aye.”

Massive, even though he was the one to present the counterargument, was the first to voice his agreement. Either way, he saw it as a win. Even if Optimatus ended up double-crossing them, he would get to take out the Loonatics. He also figured that if Optimatus did end up double-crossing them, they could take him out.

Weather Vane was quick to voice her agreement. She was the one who spoke in favour of helping Optimatus, figuring they owed him for breaking them out of jail, so her agreement was not surprising.

After voicing her own agreement, Mastermind finally noticed the absence of a key member of their team: “Hang on. Where’s Sypher?”

They all turned to see Sypher standing before Optimatus, already looking to work his own angle.

“So, what do you say, Optimato? You let me swipe the other superfreaks’ powers and I’ll do the job for you solo. Okay?” Sypher smirked.

Optimatus did not get the chance to accept or reject Sypher’s offer, for Sypher was carried away screaming by a cloud that had been conjured by Weather Vane. It really went to show that Weather Vane’s powers had no limitations. She really could manipulate any atmosphere around her – even atmospheres not of her world.

“No side deals!” Mastermind scolded.

“Oh. And I do have one other request,” Optimatus cut in. “Once you invade the Loonatics’ headquarters, insert this device.”

Mastermind was the one to catch the device Optimatus tossed their way. By all appearances, it appeared to be some type of chip. But Mastermind already knew it was no ordinary device.

“Nice work,” Mastermind hummed. “Mind if I look inside?”

“Yes!” Optimatus snapped, his displeasure clear in his voice. “And any attempt to do so will end very badly.”

“Maybe I better hang onto that,” Weather Vane suggested, already snatching the device from Mastermind. She knew Mastermind well enough to know that she would be unable to resist her curiosity for long.

“Oh. And there’s one more thing,” Optimatus began. “There is a young girl on the team. You may do what you like with the others, but I want the girl alive and… mostly unharmed.”

The foursome nodded, although they had to admit that their curiosities were piqued.

What did their mysterious benefactor want with Brylee?

**

Back at headquarters, Duck and Brylee were explaining to the others what had happened.

“They escaped on our watch! We’re doomed!” Duck whined, his head in his hands.

“I don’t get it,” Brylee stammered. “They were standing there one minute, and the next, they were just… gone.”

“Ah, you guys shouldn’t be so hard on yourselves,” Ace tried to tell them, his arm draped across Brylee’s shoulders in a comforting embrace.

“Ace is right. It’s not really your fault,” Rev nodded. “Although, it’s a major botch; and you probably feel even worse because we all know it makes you look even less like the kind of leader you want to be, Duck.”

“Gee, Rev, have you ever heard of the phrase, ‘Who asked you?!’” Duck snapped.

“Couldn’t you have left it at how it’s not really our fault?” Brlyee pleaded the roadrunner. “I mean, it’s bad enough that we have to find a way to tell Zadavia that four supervillains escaped on our watch!”

“I already know.”

Somehow, Brylee was surprised to see Zadavia’s hologram appear in the middle of the table, even though she knew she shouldn’t be. Zadavia appeared to know everything. So, she shouldn’t be surprised that Zadavia was already aware of the prisonbreak.

“Oh boy!” Duck whimpered.

“How did they escape?”

Duck stammered an explanation, “They were just, uh, kind of, uh, flushed into a hole and just went poof!”

Brylee elaborated, “Something created a wormhole and just… whisked them away. We couldn’t do anything.”

“It is not your fault, but you must find them before the situation escalates! I… I suspect…”

“Suspect what, Zadavia?” Ace asked worriedly.

Instead of answering his question, Zadavia disconnected the call with a brisk, “I must go. I will contact you later.”

Ace and Brylee exchanged concerned looks. They tried to recall a time when they saw Zadavia as unnerved as she was over something that did not directly involve the health and safety of a team member. (Ace could recall the slightest trace of panic in Zadavia’s expression anytime something happened to Brylee.) But they could think of none.

There was more to this than meets the eye.

**

In her own headquarters, Zadavia was processing the events unfolding with a horror she had not felt in a long time.

“I thought I was safe here. I’ve run out of time!” Zadavia gasped. “I fear he’s coming for me!”

But there was another fear that gripped Zadavia’s heart. It made her reach for the locket she wore around her neck. The one she always kept hidden in her holographic calls with the team. Because if they got a close look at it, they would recognize it instantly.

For it was a replica of the same locket that Brylee wore around her neck.

**

Brylee had been waiting for Duck to spring forth and declare his intention to take charge in the search for the four supervillains that had escaped on their watch. (Despite Ace’s best efforts to make her feel better and reassure her it was not her fault, Brylee was going to bear the responsibility on her shoulders for a long time to come.)

And sure enough, Duck stood in the middle of the monitoring room, holding one weapon in his hand while he carried a slew of others in a sack on his back.

“Fear not! I shall track down those criminals and serve up justice Duck style, with a side of melted cheese!” Duck proclaimed, striking a heroic pose.

“Eh, I don’t think so,” Ace was quick to voice his objection.

“But my cheese will get cold!” Duck whined.

“This is just another sad, desperate attempt to kiss up to Zadavia and hog all the glory,” Lexi rolled her eyes.

“Uh, yeah! And your point is?” Duck scoffed.

“At least he admits it,” Brylee shrugged to Slam. Slam snickered in response, agreeing with the young girl.

“Okay, Duck. I’ll make you a deal,” Ace acquiesced. “You can go look for those super-joiks…”

“Now you’re talking!” Duck cut in happily, immediately dropping the weapons he carried.

Ace then finished with a smirk, “…so long as you take Rev with ya.”

“Yeah!” Rev raced over with a smirk.

Duck was quick to voice his objections, “Uh, sorry. I don’t do partners.”

“Okay, then. What about a sidekick? Lots of heroes have sidekicks,” Rev stated.

Duck scratched his head as he briefly pondered Rev’s proposition, “That could work! Danger Duck and Rooster Boy! I like it! Okay, let’s move out!”

The second both Duck and Rev were out of earshot, Levi smirked knowingly to Ace, “You’re just keeping him busy.”

“Well, gee, Lexi, I have no idea what you mean,” Ace winked to the female bunny. He then approached Tech and requested, “Tech, give me a full planet scan. Power soiges, gravity fluctuations; anything that looks squirrelly.”

“Ah-ha! Got one!” Tech proclaimed after a few moments. “We’re getting a Code Red alarm at the Acmetropolis Zoo!”

Tech typed a few commands into the console, pulling up the security cameras from the Acmetrpolis Zoo. Something they had been granted to them by the city was unrestricted access to all security systems. It was a privilege they never abused; it was simply something that made their job easier.

Soon enough, Tech was able to zoom in enough to identify the perpetrator.

“It’s Sypher!” Brylee identified.

Slam said something amidst his garbled speech as they watched Sypher rip out a wired fence. It was definitely an ability that did not come naturally to him. He must have already been helping himself to the natural abilities of others. The question is… human or animal?

“We’ve gotta flush out that power drain!” Ace ordered. “Let’s jet!”

The remaining Loonatics in the tower strapped on their jetpacks and sped away from the tower. They found one of their escaped prisoners, and they were not about to let him go if they could help it.

**

“He’s coming! Come on, hurry! Hurry!”

Sypher relished in the panic he caused as he casually strolled through the zoo, helping himself to some of the snacks they offered. He saw himself as an ordinary guy enjoying an ordinary day out at the zoo. Why did everyone have to runaway from him in a panic?

“The Loser-tics!” Sypher happily greeted the team that landed in front of him, promptly discarding his snacks.

“Enjoy those nuts while you still have teeth, Sypher!” Ace taunted his foe.

“Hey, dudes! Don’t you love this? You know, being up close with all the animals?” Sypher asked coyly.

Hearing him ask that question confirmed Brylee’s suspicions. Sypher had been getting up close with the animals, helping himself to abilities that came naturally to those animals.

“I hope you’re not giving them fleas!” Lexi snarked.

“It’s not what I give. It’s what I get,” Sypher smirked. “Cause I get to swipe their natural abilities. The kangaroo’s hop…” Syber hopped until he was almost nose-to-nose with Lexi before leaping over them. “The falcon’s speed…”

Brylee screamed as they all found themselves flung in different directions. She found herself standing next to Lexi and Tech, while Ace and Slam were at another end of the… what word would Brylee use to describe their location? Perhaps she should use the enclosures as a reference. Yes, that would work. Lexi, Brylee and Tech found themselves standing at one enclosure while Ace and Slam found themselves standing at another.

“And the grizzly bear’s strength!” Sypher finished boasting as he lifted a park bench.

“Oh, those poor animals,” Brylee sighed sadly. She recalled how weak she felt when Sypher took her powers. She hated to imagine what those poor animals were now enduring.

Ace was able to easily destroy the park bench Sypher threw at him with his laser vision.

“And evidently, the yak’s smell and the dog’s breath!” Ace quipped.

Using the time to recover, the Loonatics moved to stand together, adopting their own fighting poses as they confronted their enemy.

“Give up, Sypher! After all, you are outnumbered five-to-one!” Tech pointed out.

“Wrong, dog boy!”

Surprised by the sound of the voice, the team turned around to see Mastermind, Weather Vane, and Massive standing nearby.

“Uh-oh,” Brylee winced. It was fair to say that these four supervillains were easily the most powerful supervillains they took on. They were enough of a danger individually. But together?

“Alright! Let’s party, Loonatics!” Massive cheered as they charged.

Everyone splits up, looking to confront their respective foes. Ace found himself confronting Massive, the gigantic being crowding his personal space. It was not something Ace liked. With only the briefest wince at the proximity, Ace was quick to fire his laser vision, aiming square at Massive’s broad chest. Something Ace had forgotten from his previous battle with Massive was Massive’s increased body density. His laser vision wasn’t going to hurt him. In fact, it would barely tickle. But at least in this case, Ace was able to create some distance between himself and Massive.

Massive laughed at the ticklish sensations coursing through him before taunting, “Get down, rabbit!”

Ace groaned in pain when he found himself forced onto his knees. Massive had activated his gravity manipulation abilities, making Ace feel heavier than what was surely possible. He soon found his torso forced onto the ground, his body straining with effort as he tried to push himself up.

“Well, would you look at that? He’s kissing the ground I walk on,” Massive smirked.

“Never on the foist date!” Ace spat in defiance.

Ace groaned once more when he found himself floating in the air, only to come crashing back down to Earth. He continued fighting against the gravity forcing him down, but found his strength leaving him with each passing second. He could have sworn he felt tears prick the corner of his eyes as a result of his effort. But he found he preferred the tears pricking the corner of his eyes to the darkness that was edging around him. Eventually, with a final sigh, he slumped against the concrete, everything around him fading to nothing.

Lexi found herself confronting Weather Vane, but it didn’t turn out to be a fair fight. Actually, even an unfair fight had a fight in it, so it felt wrong to describe this encounter as any type of fight. Before Lexi could even realize what was happening, Weather Vane generated a tornado around her. She screamed as she found herself trapped in the swirling vortex, losing her footing. She gasped as she tried to regain control of her body, which seemed to be flung in all different directions.

There was no flying debris, so Lexi’s body did not take a physical battering that way. Lexi supposed that was one thing she should be thankful for. But the swirling vortex did make it hard for her to breathe. When she was on the brink of losing consciousness, the tornado dissipated, having done its job. Lexi fell to the ground with a thud, the darkness fully enveloping her by this point.

Slam found himself going against Sypher, but he would fare no better than Ace or Lexi. He picked up a nearby metallic box, looking to throw it at his enemy.

“Hey, Slammie!” Sypher smirked.

“Uh-oh!” Slam winced.

Sypher had picked up a huge chunk of the ground. Certainly larger than what Slam was carrying, and certainly more than he could lift; even with his own immense strength. Sypher tossed that chunk of ground into the air, aiming to drop it on the Tasmanian Devil he had caught unawares. Slam could only watch as the shadow looming over him grew larger and closer. Then, he knew nothing at all.

“You’re still the same old windbag, fido!” Mastermind taunted her enemy. Then, she smirked, “Which reminds me…”

She then held up her hand, where she had gathered a pile of sparkling white powder. She then blew into her hand, dispersing that powder in the direction of her enemy. Tech held his hands up instinctively to shield himself, but that did nothing to spot him from coughing and spluttering as he was completely surrounded by the unidentified white particles.

“What’s that?!” Tech spluttered. “Mega dandruff from your mega head?!”

“Nanites,” Mastermind corrected with a smirk. “Tiny robots designed to take over your jetpack.”

Tech winced as he went to search his jetpack for signs of this nanites. Even though he already knew he wouldn’t see them. Nanites were so small that they were virtually invisible to the naked eye. But he did hear the familiar sound of his jetpack whirring to life despite him not having programmed it to do so.

Tech could only whimper before he was sent hurtling through the air.

“I can’t control it!” he screamed.

His whimpers continued as he was forced into a crash dive to the ground below. Tech may be thankful for his regenerative powers, but his powers had limitations. They did not stop him from feeling the pain caused by the injuries that would require those abilities; and they did not protect him from the unconsciousness that would result. The last thing Tech was aware of was slamming into the concrete ground a couple of times before crashing headfirst into a nearby planter.

Now, there was only one hero standing. Massive had taken care of Ace, Weather Vane had taken out Lexi, Sypher had buried Slam under a massive pile of rock, and Mastermind had just seen to it that Tech experiences a rather unfortunate accident with his jetpack. Brylee was the only hero left standing.

With a growl, Brylee’s arms shone brightly as she adopted a fighting stance. She did her best to conceal the fear that coursed through her. Taking on all four powerful supervillains on her own was not going to be easy – some would say it would be a futile effort – but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Brylee used her powers to boost her into the air as Sypher approached her. He may have taken the falcon’s speed, but not the falcon’s flight.

“Remember not to hurt her too badly,” Mastermind reminded them. “Remember what he said.”

The words made Brylee freeze. “Who’s here?” Brylee demanded, landing before them. “Who’s the puppet master pulling your strings?!”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Massive shrugged with a smirk.

Brylee gasped when she found herself forced onto the ground. She could feel the electricity coursing through her. A carefully controlled electricity. Through the pain, she wondered who the culprit could be. When she found herself at Mastermind’s feet – an unarmed Mastermind, rather – she worked out that Weather Vane had attacked her from behind. It appeared to be a low-voltage shock, although it hurt regardless. She could feel her muscles spasming as she fell to the ground, her body weakened. She moaned as she tried to push herself up, but she could feel the strength leaving her.

“Master villains: one. Superheroes: zero,” Mastermind sneered with a smirk.

Mastermind’s evil laughter was the last thing Brylee heard before she too slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Brylee’s limbs felt heavy. That was the first thing she became aware of when she regained consciousness. But much to her surprise, it wasn’t a heaviness that lingered long. As she regained more consciousness, the heaviness eased. She was able to feel the texture of the ground beneath her body. Cold. Smooth. Opening her eyes, she saw a dome. A see-through dome, allowing her to take in her rocky surroundings. She could feel her blonde hair form a halo around her. Her hair elastic must have broken at some point during transport because she was certain her hair was up in her signature ponytail during the battle.

Her mind was still in the midst of processing her latest predicament when she heard more groans next to her. Sitting up slowly (holding her head for the brief wave of dizziness she suddenly experienced), she saw that she was not alone in this cell. Ace, Lexi, Slam and Tech were here with her too. Tech was slumped against the glass dome, while Ace, Lexi and Slam were sprawled on their stomachs. Brylee found herself on her back when she awoke.

Brylee didn’t know why she was surprised when Ace immediately made his way to her, but she was.

“I’m fine,” Brylee reassured him before he could even say anything.

“Tech, isn’t this…?” Ace trailed off, focusing his attention on the residential genius.

Glancing around at their surroundings, Tech confirmed Ace worst fears: “The underground prison I once designed to hold Mastermind.”

“Yes.”

Now on their feet, the five Loonatics turned to glare at Mastermind, who stood at the end of the walkway to the prison they were now occupying.

“It couldn’t hold me, but it’ll keep you on ice nicely,” Mastermind taunted them with a smirk.

Ace wasn’t one to go down without a fight, however, and he seemed determined to prove that there was a flaw in Tech’s design.

“Hey, craniac! Ever get premonitions?! ‘Cause here comes a psychic flash!” Ace challenged her.

Ace’s eyes glowed the same brilliant yellow they always did before firing his laser blast. Mastermind simply stood before them smirking. She knew what was going to happen next. And she seemed to take a little bit of pleasure in watching her unspoken prediction become reality.

Ace found, much to his dismay, that Tech was a little too good at what he did. Because his laser blast ricocheted off glasslike dome and bounced around the interior of the prison. Everyone was doing their best to stay out of its way. They found themselves confronted of memories of when the Loonatics were first formed and they first started training together. They were still learning to control their powers, which led to more than a few mishaps. Including a couple of incidents where they were hit by each other’s powers.

And Ace’s laser blasts… boy, did they hurt.

Eventually, the laser blast disappeared, having finally found a target. Two, in this case.

Ace winced at two reasons. The first reason was the look Brylee was giving him. Her hair had grown a little long recently – even with her meticulously keeping it up in a ponytail. So, when Brylee ducked to dodge Ace’s misfiring laser blast, her hair was a casualty. It was thanks to Looney Tunes logic (something that Brylee still benefited from even though she didn’t descend from a Looney Tunes character (so far as she knew, at least; being adopted, her family history was a mystery)) that it left her hair somewhat neat. The tips of her hair now just touched her shoulders, where before it was between the bottom of her shoulder blades and her waist. It was considered a medium-length now. (Although, Brylee will certainly want to find a way to style it that didn’t involve a bob.)

The second reason behind Ace’s wince was the burning sensation at the tips of his ears. He was just on the receiving end of his own powers. And he had to admit. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“Didn’t know it was time for a haircut,” Ace winced.

“The security shields I built activate when you try using your powers,” Mastermind revealed.

Ace made a mental note to apologize to Tech for incorrectly blaming him for his laser powers backfiring the way they did (even if he didn’t actually voice the blame aloud; and he felt it wrong to call it blame). It wasn’t Tech’s doing. It was Mastermind’s.

“Prisoner-specific defences? Nice.” Tech had to admit: he was impressed.

“I try,” Mastermind bowed with a smirk. Behind her, Massive, Weather Vane and Sypher appeared. “And unless you know the deactivation code, nothing can get in or out of that cell.”

Brylee watched in confusion as Sypher tapped Mastermind on the shoulder. Sypher wanting Mastermind’s attention wasn’t necessarily what confused her, but the method was. Because Sypher was directly tapping Mastermind on her shoulder. And he wasn’t siphoning away any of her abilities. Was he somehow not actually touching her directly and was only appearing to? Or did he find some way to control his ability to siphon only when he wanted to?

“Hey, big brain. How about you shut down the shields long enough to let me in? I take their powers; bingo! They’re not a threat anymore!” Sypher suggested.

Brylee didn’t even bother trying to suppress her eyeroll. Of course Sypher would suggest something like that. And she also knew Sypher’s intensions centred around his own greed rather than helping the villains’ cause.

“But you’d become one! That’s why only I can drop the shields!” Mastermind proclaimed.

When Sypher cried out in offence, he found he didn’t receive much support from his allies. Massive was laughing over the way Mastermind shut Sypher down. Weather Vane decided to actually voice her opinion.

“You won’t get sympathy from us. We don’t trust you either,” Weather Vane proclaimed.

“Now, stay there and guard them while we track down the other two!” Mastermind ordered him. She then left with Massive and Weather Vane while Sypher remained behind.

“But remember,” Massive began saying.

“No touching, I know,” Sypher pouted, slouching at the control console to the Loonatics’ prison.

Brylee sighed as she sat on the ground. Duck and Rev were off doing their own investigations into the supervillains’ escape, so they had no idea what had happened. And Brylee already knew that all communications would be jammed, so they can’t call for help.

With those factors and Mastermind’s security shield, it was clear they would be here a while.

**

Duck and Rev had made their way back to the prison train where the supervillains had escaped. With Duck and Brylee as witnesses, it was already known that the evil foursome did not escape unaided. Clearly, there was another big bad out there calling the shots. But who?

Duck was closely examining one of the holes left behind by the wormhole generator with a magnifying glass, voicing aloud, “Clearly, this wall was perforated by an unknown force. The question is: what kind? Was it a…?”

Rev decided to voice his opinion, “Well, Tech might say the walls were subjected to a time space displacement vortex, also known as a wormhole. Though, technically, that’s inaccurate because there aren’t any worms involved at all.”

Duck didn’t even try to hide the scowl that had formed on his face. He didn’t know what was pissing him off more. Rev overstepping his clearly defined role as the psychic, or his typical long-winded technical explanation.

Suddenly, Duck gasped, “I just realized! There’s just one force powerful enough to have this effect! Termites.”

“Or a wormhole,” Rev smirked with his arms folded across his chest.

At the end of the day, everyone knew that Rev’s explanation was more plausible. It would certainly fit what Duck and Brylee had witnessed.

“Yeah, that too,” Duck acquiesced.

**

“Welcome back to headquarters, Danger Duck. Facial scan confirmed.”

It certainly appeared to be a straightforward admission to headquarters. Duck was returning from his seemingly fruitless efforts in tracking down the escaped supervillains to regroup. But then, the elevator doors opened and revealed some unfamiliar faces they did not want to see.

“Yeah, there’s a good look for you!” Weather Vane quipped with a smirk.

Mastermind grumbled as she deactivated the hologram she was using to disguise herself as the mallard, “Clam it, Weather Vane, or your forecast won’t be pretty!”

“You try anything, bubblehead, and I’ll hit you with a little acid rain!” Weather Vane retorted.

“Ladies…” Massive’s voice contained both a warning and an exasperated undertone. It was clear that this alliance was tedious at best, and he was simply doing his best to ride it out.

Eventually, they made their way to the main computer console. The very same one Mastermind had used when she took over the Loonatics’ headquarters not long ago. It was at this moment that Weather Vane pulled out the device Optimatus had given them before sending them back to Acmetropolis.

“What do you think this thing does?” Weather Vane asked.

Mastermind snatched it from Weather Vane, “Well, if you’d let me look at it…”

Massive shook his head as he grabbed the device from Mastermind’s hands, saying in a rather patronizing tone, “Don’t worry your pretty little giant head. I’ll handle this.” Glancing around at the console, Massive spotted a slot and decided, “Hmm, that looks like a fit.”

Sure enough, the slot Massive had chosen was a perfect fit for the mysterious device. Mastermind’s eyes lit up in delight when she saw all the screens flash and an infinite amount of numbers roll over them. It was clear what the device was. It was a special code. One that would take down every aspect of the tower and the Loonatics’ defences. Leaving them free to take over Acmetropolis as they pleased.

“Genius! Fascinating!” Mastermind gasped in excitement.

**

Outside, Duck and Rev were finally making their way back to headquarters. It was not clear what their plan was. But there was a clear complication when Duck tried to gain access and found his access denied.

It had started out simple enough. He stood for the facial scan, waiting with the perfect facial expression as the computer scanned his features. What it should have said was his facial scan was confirmed and his identity was verified. Instead, it came back with:

“Access denied. Facial scan of Danger Duck is a duplicate.”

Duck immediately began voicing his objections, “What?! What do you mean duplicate?! Listen, you overgrown ATM! When they made this kisser, they broke the mold! So, open this door now, or else!”

Rev had quickly grown bored of Duck’s tirade, so he stepped forward to the facial scanner in Duck’s place. Much to Rev’s relief and Duck’s annoyance, Rev’s facial scan was accepted and they were immediately granted access.

“See the kind of respect I command? Even the computers are afraid of me,” Duck smirked, already twisting this into his favour.

Those thoughts were quickly forgotten when Rev and Duck walked into the room to find all the computers offline. Every single monitor displayed static. There were absolutely no readouts. It was clear that their headquarters was down once more (because Mastermind taking over their headquarters was still fresh in everyone’s minds).

“Who forgot to pay the satellite bill?!” Duck grumbled.

Before Duck and Rev could say anything further about what they had walked in on, they heard a screen crackle to life. It was a weak signal. But the signal was unmistakable.

Zadavia’s voice was heard through the crackles as she cried, “Oh, at last, I’m getting through! Duck, get out now!”

Zadavia’s warnings were cut short by the destruction of the screen she was using. Duck and Rev turned around, their jaws dropped in shock and horror, in the direction of the shot that took away their lifeline. Mastermind was standing in the doorway with a blaster in her hand. The smoke coming from the barrel telling everyone it was recently fired.

“You’re really clueless, aren’t you?” Mastermind smirked tauntingly. “Blast them!”

It was then that Duck and Rev realized that Mastermind was not alone. Massive and Weather Vane had invaded their headquarters alongside her and were now launching an assault on the two Loonatics. They realized with horror that they had walked straight into an ambush.

Duck and Rev’s strategy was simple: stay out of the line of fire. Rev was using his superspeed to race all around the room, not allowing Massive and Weather Vane to get him in their line of sight. Duck was certainly making good use of his teleportation powers. Especially as he avoided Weather Vane’s lightning. (The lethalness of her lightning was best demonstrated by the section of the table she had destroyed trying to hit Duck.)

Eventually, Rev was standing in the perfect position. Thanks to his global positioning abilities, he was able to detect when Weather Vane was going to fire at him from behind (since Duck was still to reappear following his recent teleportation) and speed away just in time. Since Weather Vane had already fired her bolt of lightning, there was no redirecting it. And she realized too late that Rev had moved away.

With Rev out of the way, Massive took Weather Vane’s lightning straight to the chest. It turned out to be something that affected him more than he thought it would. It knocked him off-balance and forced him to fire his gravity manipulation prematurely. Weather Vane was the one hit. But she wasn’t left floating in the air or sinking to the ground like dead weight. Instead, she screamed as she was shot upright, colliding harshly with the ceiling before landing sprawled on top of Massive.

Duck and Rev took this moment to make their escape.

“What did I do to deserve working with you two super incompetents?!” Mastermind lamented.

Massive and Weather Vane only looked at Mastermind briefly before slumping unconscious.

**

Duck and Rev did not stop until they had put a considerable distance between themselves and headquarters (and, by extension, the three supervillains now occupying it). They ducked into an alleyway, waiting for when they knew it was safe to peak their heads around the corner. Rev had picked up that Massive, Mastermind and Weather Vane had recovered from the brief skirmish and were in hot pursuit.

It became clear to them that it meant the others were in trouble if they were able to take over with ease. They were just waiting for Duck and Rev to come back so they could finish the job. Take out all the Loonatics.

When Rev and Duck emerged from their respective hiding places (Duck decided the dumpster in the alleyway made a great (if smelly) hiding place), they heard Zadavia’s voice once more. They had hoped that being outside headquarters meant that they would be able to communicate with their boss (and perhaps even their missing teammates) with ease. But it became clear that the damage was more extensive than they realized, because even now, Zadavia was struggling to reach them.

“Rev! Duck! Can you hear me?!”

Duck and Rev did not respond. The quality of the signal was poor, so they knew that there would not be much time before Zadavia’s signal cut out. They didn’t want to waste any time. Not when she clearly had something important to tell them.

“I’ve tapped into a private data net! Bad signal! You must find the other Loonatics! All my systems have been sabotaged! Find the others! Now!”

It was clear the situation was more dire than they realized. So, Rev immediately set to work. The solution seemed simple enough. Use his global positioning abilities to locate his missing teammates, race to their location, and rescue them if need be. (Rev did notice that Sypher was missing in action during the brief battle at headquarters, so it was safe to assume that he had stayed behind to guard the others wherever they were imprisoned.)

“Focus, focus, focus, focus, think, think, think!” Rev muttered to himself. He suddenly cried out. In pain and frustration, nobody could tell.

“What have you got?” Duck asked urgently.

“A headache,” Rev answered. Rev then suddenly gasped, “Wait! That’s it, Duck! A headache!”

“What are you talking about?!” Duck demanded. The urgent tone in his voice had been replaced with impatience. He wanted Rev to get to the point. Quickly.

“Okay. Who has the biggest head you know? Mastermind, right? And who was in a specially designed underground prison but isn’t anymore? Mastermind again! So, where would be the closest place for her to lock up our buddies?” Rev asked his friend.

Duck was still trying to process everything Rev had been telling him. In the end, he just lamely said, “Um… go fish?”

“The underground prison Tech designed!” Rev answered, as though it was obvious. “Come on!”

He then took off before Duck had time to regain his bearings. With how Tech designed the underground prison, it also explained why Rev couldn’t pick up his teammates on his internal GPS. Also, Mastermind would have made her own alterations to make things even more difficult.

In the background, Rev could hear Duck call after him as he chased him: “Hey! Wait up! You’re just a sidekick!”

But in this case, the sidekick outshone the hero.

**

Back in the prison, the Loonatics were beginning to plan their escape. Even under Sypher’s watchful eye. The supervillain stared at them intently, even as he read a book, eager to report any move they make to Mastermind. Selfishly, he was hoping to curry some favour. Make himself look good. Be given the opportunity to steal the Loonatics’ powers and take out his reluctant allies.

Whatever the reason, he was not about to give the Loonatics an easy fight.

And it was something that the Loonatics knew. Even as they started scheming. Lexi, Slam and Brylee stood together, rocking back and forth on their heels as they whistled some nonsense tune. It was not orchestrated, but the trio still found themselves whistling the same tune, attesting to their effortless teamwork.

Tech and Ace were crouched on the ground behind their teammates. Tech was trying to hack their way out of their prison. He had found a computer panel in the ground. Something he could use.

But Sypher wasn’t about to make things easy.

“Yo, dudes! Give it up! Mastermind reset the deactivation code!” Sypher taunted.

“She tell you what it was?” Ace couldn’t help but ask. If Sypher knew, maybe Ace could trick him into giving it up.

“Are you kidding?!” Sypher scoffed. “If I knew those six little numbers, I’d have all of your powers by now!”

Brylee had to admit. Sypher actually presented a logical defence. It was clear that the four supervillains didn’t trust each other. Their alliance was on shaky grounds. And it was clear as day that Sypher would have immediately let himself into their cell and stolen their powers if he knew the deactivation code. And if he possessed all the Loonatics’ powers, he’d immediately turn on the others. So, there was no way Mastermind was going to trust him with the deactivation code.

Then again, the same applied to Massive and Weather Vane. While they didn’t possess Sypher’s abilities, they certainly would take any opportunity to backstab each other.

Those thoughts were forgotten when they heard a rather obnoxious, ‘Ahem!’ at the entrance to the underground prison. Gasping, Sypher turned around to see Duck and Rev standing in the elevator, which served as the only way out.

“Forget about somebody?” Duck smirked.

Ace was quick to issue the orders: “Duck, entertain our friend! Rev, help us get out of here!”

Both Loonatics were quick to obey Ace’s orders without question. Duck used his teleportation powers to quack out of the elevator while Rev sped to the prison.

Duck’s scheme was going to be a scheme that had worked before. Drive Sypher nuts. Taunt him. Let him get close to touching him before teleporting out of his reach. It was something that would continue for a long time. Because Sypher. He wanted Duck’s powers. If he had Duck’s powers, he could get the rest.

Standing before the cell, Rev reported, “Okay, Ace, I’m raring to go!”

Tech stepped forward, explaining, “The security code contains six numbers. Random sequence. Hurry!”

“Huh. Sypher did reveal something useful,” Brylee shrugged. After all, before Sypher’s boastful speech, they didn’t know the security code had six numbers.

But there was one thing Brylee knew for certain. Even with Rev’s super speed and intellect (he wasn’t a genius on the same level as Tech, but he could certainly hold his own and is intelligent in his own right), it would take him time to get them out. After all, the number of combinations he had to work through were infinite. There was no telling when (or if) he would find the right numerical sequence.

Meanwhile, Duck’s scheme to distract Sypher was certainly going well. At least until Duck made a serious miscalculation in his quacking. Something that was well-known (and something he was working to improve) was the fact Duck couldn’t always control where he ended up in his teleportation. Especially when he quacked away in a hurry like he was doing here. It would definitely be somewhere nearby, because Duck’s quacking only enabled him to teleport short distances.

And this short distance, unfortunately for him, was right on top of Sypher.

“Uh-oh,” Duck winced. He knew what was coming next.

Sure enough, realizing that Duck was within reach (literally sitting on his shoulders), Sypher pounced. He grabbed Duck’s wrist and pulled him off his shoulders, holding him in the air as he drained the mallard’s powers. Duck could only moan helplessly as he felt his powers be syphoned away. While Duck grew weaker, Sypher grew stronger.

By the time the power transfer was complete, Sypher’s eyes were glowing orange, while Duck’s eyes were clouded over with a sickly yellow and blue. His teammates could only watch in horror as Duck was tossed aside once Sypher was done.

Sypher then came over with a smirk, taunting them as they trembled in fear, “Feel like a little company, dudes? So, now that I stole Duck’s powers, I’m gonna quack myself in there and steal yours too.”

Even as he trembled in fear – something that was a rare sight where the team’s fearless leader was concerned – Ace pushed Brylee behind him. He was wordlessly telling Sypher that if he wanted to get to Brylee, he would have to go through her overprotective older brother first.

But as it turned out, there would be someone else Sypher would have to get through before he could lay hands on his prey. And that someone was Rev Runner. Using his superspeed, he raced before Sypher. Positioning himself out of the supervillain’s reach while effectively blocking his path to his trapped teammates.

“Want a little superspeed, dude?” Rev challenged with a smirk.

Sypher definitely wanted superspeed. But he didn’t want a little. He wanted it all. And that was what made him shift his focus to Rev. One would think that Sypher being in possession of Duck’s powers would give Sypher the advantage. All he would have to do is teleport himself to wherever Rev’s going and catch the roadrunner unawares.

But he had forgotten about Rev’s global positioning abilities. Rev was able to track where Sypher would appear – sense his presence – and move himself out of the supervillain’s reach with seconds to spare. But Sypher wasn’t about to give up. Not without a fight. He had syphoned away Rev’s powers before. He was certain he could do it again.

Hearing Tech groan, Brylee turned away from the fight and raced over to her friend, “Tech, what is it?”

But then she realized: Tech wasn’t hurt. He was being struck with inspiration.

“Why didn’t I realize it before?!” Tech asked himself in dismay. “I think I know the deactivation code!”

“You do?” Ace asked in amazement.

Immediately, all eyes were on the downed mallard, who was just beginning to regain consciousness. Duck was groaning as he pushed himself to his feet. Having your powers syphoned away was a draining experience. It was going to take some time for Duck to recover. It was time Duck didn’t have, much to his dismay.

“Duck!” Ace cried urgently. “Get to the keypad!”

“Can’t a guy recover from an injury?” Duck moaned. “I’d just like to point out that I’m doing all the heavy lifting here!”

But even as he complained, Duck still stumbled over to the keypad. His limbs felt heavy as he crossed what was realistically probably not more than a few hundred metres, but felt like an eternity to the mallard. Eventually, he finally made it to the keypad, slumping in the seat. He was waiting for his next instructions.

“Hurry! Tell him the code!” Ace ordered urgently.

“1-6… 3-2…”

“3-2…,” Duck moaned as he input the numbers Tech called out to him.

“0-8!” Tech finished.

“Okay!” Duck responded as he entered the final two numbers.

Brylee knew beyond certainty that Mastermind would have some sort of alarm on her system that her security system had been deactivated. She was too smart not to. But that wasn’t her immediate concern.

“A locker combination? Really?” was Brylee’s incredulous response.

A locker combination was instantly recognizable, even if the sequence was unique to a specific lock. So, it didn’t take a genius to work out that the six-digit code was Mastermind’s locker combination from her student days at Acme Tech.

Tech grimaced as he revealed to the rest of the team, “We shared one in college. It’s a… long story.”

Slam shuddered in disgust. Ace and Lexi had their own unreadable expressions going on. Brylee was the only person who was not surprised by Tech’s revelation. Because she already knew. She remembered the conversation she and Tech shared in the aftermath of Mastermind’s original escape. Where Tech confided in her just how close he and Mastermind truly were. It was just as clear that Brylee had not betrayed his confidence. Something Tech appreciated.

“You did it!” Rev cheered, briefly pausing his chase with Sypher.

“I did! I rule!” Duck was quick to praise himself.

Brylee decided that she would allow Duck this. While Tech figured out what the code was, Duck was the one who entered it into the console and ultimately secured their freedom. So, his boasting was well-earned.

“Aw no!” Sypher cried in dismay when he turned around to see his prisoners free.

“Aw yeah!” Ace returned. “We’ve got a little score to settle, Sypher!”

Sypher, however, was about to get reinforcements. But he will be the first to admit that he wasn’t sure he wanted it. Not when he saw the glares Mastermind, Massive and Weather Vane were shooting him when they saw the Loonatics free.

“You let them escape?!” Weather Vane screeched.

“Relax, weather girl. I’m handling it,” Sypher smirked.

Brylee and Lexi decided they would help show the other three supervillains just how well Sypher was handling the situation. Combining their firepower, Sypher found himself struck in the back and being flung across the underground prison. He ended up crashing into the wall near the elevator before slumping to the ground unconscious. But Brylee knew he would not stay down long. That’s the way things always ended up.

“Never let a boy do a weathergirl’s job,” Weather Vane proclaimed.

She concentrated her lightning at the Loonatics. Lightning that Ace was quick to block with his laser vision. The two blasts combined, creating all sorts of chaos in the air. Brylee and Lexi found themselves battling Massive, using their powers in a desperate effort to counteract Massive’s gravity manipulation.

Tech and Mastermind, meanwhile, were locked in a battle of wits. Of sorts. They were using their respective powers to generate all sorts of weapons they would throw at each other. They were clearly trying to one-up each other, the weapons becoming more and more outlandish. (Brylee swore she heard Mastermind say the words ‘weaponised spoon’ and ‘kamikaze keychain’.)

Brylee was almost relieved when she saw that Sypher had indeed regained consciousness and was back to chasing Rev around the prison. Because it interrupted a battle that was becoming increasingly ridiculous.

But her (almost) relief was forgotten when she and Lexi had to dodge the rocks Massive generated with his latest blast. Diverting them with their powers wasn’t enough.

The only downside? It left Duck vulnerable. And Massive knew this.

“Here’s another present for you, Duck,” Massive smirked, cracking his knuckles.

Duck laughed nervously, “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t need any presents.”

Slam appeared at that moment, sucking Massive up in a tornado he had generated with his hand. He was laughing in delight as the Loonatics all gathered together.

“I’m having personal space issues,” Lexi admitted.

Brylee knew what Lexi was really trying to say. They weren’t going to get anywhere continuing their fight in the underground prison. It was too confining. They were getting in each other’s way. It was too dangerous. (Brylee decided it was especially dangerous knowing that Sypher could just quack next to them and help himself to their powers anytime.)

“Well, what do you say we get out of here?” Ace suggested.

Duck then cleared his throat obnoxiously as he stood at the elevator (‘Wait. How did he get there? Wasn’t he standing next to me just now?’ Brylee thought to herself), suggesting coyly, “First floor! Furniture, toys, ladies’ undergarments.”

“Seriously?” Brylee sighed at the mallard.

But there was one remaining obstacle. Or rather, three. And they were standing in their path.

Seeing that Slam was still spinning Sypher around in his spin cycle, Ace was quick to order, “Slam! A little blowback, please!”

Slam interpreted Ace’s order a little differently. He used his free hand to create the blowback Ace requested, sufficiently knocking Sypher, Weather Vane and Mastermind to the ground. A very dizzy Massive fell to the floor behind the Loonatics as they made their escape.

Looking down as the elevator made its (seemingly agonizingly slow) ascent to the surface, Brylee gasped as she saw a familiar purple light chasing after them. This wasn’t one of Mastermind’s inventions, nor was it one of Weather Vane’s weather events. It was Massive’s gravity manipulation. He was going to use his powers to forcibly bring the elevator down. Along with the Loonatics. And the rocky structure of the prison.

Tech and Brylee nodded at each other. They knew what they had to do. Something they had been experimenting with recently (actually, Tech was the one doing the experimenting; Brylee was just availing her services as a guinea pig) was what could happen when they combined each other’s powers in different ways. They found some brilliant combinations and some disastrous combinations.

In this case, Brylee’s powers would act as a shield, protecting the team from the falling debris. (Everyone wondered if Massive was briefly losing control over his powers). Tech’s powers would be focused on the elevator, getting it up against the strong pull trying to force them down.

By the time they made it to the top, Tech and Brylee were exhausted. They barely heard the praise Lexi said to them. They stayed in the elevator until the others were out (something Ace would be decidedly talking about when it’s over). They joined the others as Ace made a remark about not getting comfortable because they had company.

And sure enough, Massive, Sypher, Mastermind, and Weather Vane were levitating before them in a glowing orb Brylee recognized to be Weather Vane’s signature.

“Care for another round, Loonatics?” Mastermind smirked.

“I’m gonna wipe the shine right off that head!” Lexi vowed.

Brylee had to admit. She was spoiling for another fight. Especially with Sypher. She wanted to help Duck get his powers back.

But it appeared that fate had other plans. Because a hologram appeared before them. Seeing the colours made the Loonatics briefly wonder if a rare thing was happening, and Zadavia was intervening. Zadavia has never intervened in one of their fights before. It would certainly show how serious this situation was if the ‘boss lady’ (as Duck eloquently described her) was making an appearance.

But it wasn’t Zadavia who appeared in the hologram. It was Optimatus.

“Who the heck is that?!” Brylee demanded. But deep down, she already knew. This was the big bad.

However, that wasn’t what scared her about him. What scared her was how much he was like Zadavia.

Optimatus sighed, “I ask you to do one simple thing: catch the Loonatics. But you can’t even do that. I should eradicate you as well!” After having the pleasure of seeing the four supervillains tremble in fear, he decided, “But I suppose you may still prove useful to me.”

With his mind made up, Optimatus generated another wormhole over the four supervillains. He was slowly lowering it to them when a series of events happened.

Duck raced after them, crying out, “Hold on, suction boy! You’ve still got a little something called my powers to return!” He ignored Ace’s pleas to come back. To stay back.

The second thing that happened made time slow to an agonizing pace. Yet, everything happened quickly at the same time. Massive used his gravity manipulation abilities, even as he was being sucked into the portal above him. This time, he had more control over where he fired and what happened to them. Because he was aiming at Brylee, and he was intending to make her float. Float to him, specifically.

Ace’s scream echoed around the open space as he desperately reached for his sister. He didn’t know what he was looking to do exactly. Bring her back? Get taken with her? All he knew was he couldn’t just stand still while his sister was being kidnapped before his very eyes.

But all of his efforts were for naught. She was quickly out of his reach. And any attempt to get her back with his powers could hurt his sister. So, all he could do was fall to his knees in dismay as she was sucked up into the wormhole along with Duck and the four supervillains.

He didn’t know which was worse.

**

On the planetoid, Optimatus watched patiently as the wormhole deposited his rather unwilling guests before him. Massive was first, followed by Mastermind, then Weather Vane, then Sypher. Then, the wormhole moved a few feet away to deposit Duck and Brylee. Brylee was no longer subjected to Massive’s gravity manipulation, so she fell to the ground next to Duck.

“Whoops,” Duck winced once he realized his mistake. It was all forgotten however when he saw Brylee next to him.

“Where are we?” she asked her friend.

Then, she heard an ominous voice say, “Well, well, look what the wormhole just dragged in.”

Duck and Brylee clung to each other as Optimatus stood over them ominously. They thought he was dangerous as a hologram. But it turned out to be nothing compared to seeing him in person.

They were officially face-to-face with a new danger, and they were uncertain if they would survive.

**

“Who was that?”

Back in Acmetropolis, Lexi was asking the important questions. And they didn’t know who to turn to for answers.

Ace had risen to his feet, his eyes looking at the sky. But he didn’t hold the fear and confusion his teammates did. He held determination. No matter what it took, he would get his sister back.

Then, a voice appeared behind them. A voice that would give him the means to do that. A voice that would answer every question the team held. A voice that was familiar.

“Loonatics, there’s something I must tell you.”

The team turned in the direction of a cloaked woman approaching. Their posture was filled with trepidation as they regarded her.

Then, she took off her hood and revealed her identity. Her blonde hair. Her blue eyes. Her sharp facial features. Something that stirred something within Ace. Something beyond the recognition the other Loonatics felt.

“It’s Zadavia!” Lexi gasped in amazement.

The others were voicing their amazement and delight at finally seeing their mysterious benefactor in the flesh and immediately made their way over to her. But Ace was slower. He was regarding Zadavia in a different way. It wasn’t just excitement at finally meeting his boss. The woman who brought them together. The woman who made him who he is today, along with the others.

But as a woman he had met once before. Brylee’s biological mother.

But Ace kept that to himself, instead choosing to focus on the matter of the mysterious new danger he was confronted with. The mysterious new danger who had his sister and teammate in his claws.

“Uh, Zadavia, you know, something about that big guy looked familiar,” Ace remarked.

“I’m not surprised,” Zadavia sighed. “After all, he is my brother.”

All Ace could say in response was, “Oh brother!”

He could feel his teammate’s shock behind him, each of them having their own reaction to Zadavia’s revelation. This big bad – this new danger they were now facing (and probably were always facing, if they thought about it) – was their boss’s brother. Ace was also processing the revelation that this big bad was Brylee’s biological uncle.

When Lexi quipped, “Well, every family has its problems,” Ace couldn’t help but think it was an understatement.

Because this new danger was proving to be a big problem.