Loonatics Unleashed:
"Survivor" part 1.
(This story falls between Seasons 1 & 2)
Rated T for reading level.
Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed and related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
"Give it up, Massive!" Ace goosed his jet pack to dodge around the huge, blue skinned villain. The glow in the Loonatic leader's eyes matched the bright yellow triangular chest shield of his costume. He shot his eye lasers at the seat of the gravity villain's pants to keep him from bringing the weight of the world down on Tech as the coyote brought up his Gravity Stabilization Gyro. Of course, as he knew from previous experience that Massive's body was so dense that his laser eyes would do him no harm. But it should be enough to get his attention anyway.
"Did some-bunny say UP?" Massive taunted. The huge, blue skinned man targeted Ace and his Loonatics with his gravity defying power. "Now half of you reach for the sky! And the rest of you hit the ground."
"Errraaah!" Weathervane screamed in frustration as Danger Duck quacked away from yet another lightning strike. The annoying fowl's taunts were throwing off her aim. Cocooned in her floating weather anomaly sphere, the purple tressed weather girl gathered the humidity and updrafts so prevalent around Meteor Bay, forming a huge, roiling cloud bank capable of producing the massive amounts of lightning that she was determined to rain down on Misty Breeze's biggest fan. Suddenly she found the duck floating up towards her as Massive altered the Loonatics' gravity. Weathervane smirked as she worked the clouds to produce sheet lighting to engulf the mallard instead of strikes.
"I really need ta engage da team in more zero gravity training." Ace found himself lighter than air and temporarily unable to maneuver. He'd use his laser blasts to propel him through the air except Duck was floating right in front of him; and as tempting a target his braggart teammate made, he'd better forebear. The Loonatic leader took a few moments to assess the situation. He, Danger, and Lexi were all floating helplessly above the bay where the meteor that had given them all powers had struck. While Slam, Rev, and Tech were pinned down on the wharf with several remaining giant robots that they had been fighting. The only thing that saved the suddenly heavy roadrunner from the big stomp was that the robots' creator abruptly changed their targeting to the now immobile coyote. And though the three foot tall terror was nowhere to be seen, the cybernetic shock troops were definitely Mastermind's handiwork.
"Say, Chief," Tech's pressed voice came over the bunny's yellow wrist communicator. The coyote scientist was pressed flat on the pavement. Luckily, after previous encounters with the gravity manipulator, Tech had modified his gyro to be magnetically activated. The coyote's eyes glowed green and he shot his leader with a wave of stabilizing gravity. "You need to get your head out of the clouds."
"Maybe so, Tech." Suddenly weighted again, Ace shot his eye lasers at the ground rushing up at him, slowing his descent with the kickback. He blinked his eyes cutting off his lasers and flipped, landing in a crouch before straightening. "But I'd say you really need to lighten up."
"Good point." Tech swung the Gravity Stabilization Gyro over the rest of the team. He rolled out of the way of the robots stomping toward him. Rev speedily gathered up Danger and Lexi to cushion their landings while Slam spun a tornado into Massive, knocking the gravity manipulator up into Weathervane, and the both of them into a nearby skyscraper. After being suspended for a heartbeat, the two semi-conscious villains fell to land in a heap on the pavement below. Rev ran around the remaining robots unscrewing their bolts at light speed while Lexi loosed pink blasts of brain power at them to knock them apart.
"Yawn." Danger stated, looking around at the battered super villains. It was becoming almost routine defeating Weathervane, Massive, and Mastermind. The mallard glanced around to ensure there were no other baddies lurking in the warehouse district. Though he boasted with considerable pride of his prowess, Danger was secretly glad that the terrifying trio hadn't busted Sypher out of prison as well when they escaped. That egomaniac power sucker was always a real pain in the tail feathers . . . apparently to the other super villains as well. Sypher had tried to double cross the villainous trio when they were previously released by Optimatus. "When are you losers ever going to learn that no one can stand up to the fearless and dashing Danger Duck!"
"Oh? is that so." Mastermind's mocking singsong voice intruded on Danger's delusions of grandeur. The bulb-headed villainess stepped out of the alleyway from which she'd been directing her robot attack force and over to the recovering Weathervane. She threw a double handful of silvery dust into the light whirlwind that the weather witch managed to stir up covering the Loonatics in her specially created nanites. She'd have liked to infest Tech directly with the microscopic metal pests, but the mangy cur was clumped in the middle of his teammates and she'd have to go through them first.
"Mallory! What have you done!" Tech ignored Mallory Casey's taunting laugh and concentrated instead on her gloating explanations of how her new nanites worked. The nanites' effectiveness was short lived before they burned themselves out, but it was long enough. In a matter of moments all the Loonatics' high tech weaponry, their wrist communicators, and even their belt buckles crumbled and sifted to the ground. "Instead of taking over our equipment, your new strain of nanites actually disrupt the atomic lattices of all metal they come in contact with. And without heat sink capabilities themselves, the resultant energy conversion destroys them before they can spread to surrounding technology thus leaving you with plenty of raw material for your technopathy power to activate. Brilliant."
"I try." Despite herself, the compliment from her one-time tutor greatly pleased Mastermind. Tech's compliments came rarely, only when he was genuinely impressed with another's work. Coming from the super genius, that was high praise indeed. Not one to stand on sentimentality, however, the supervillianess lost no time in not only reanimating her destroyed robots, but in utilizing the demolished vehicles that littered the street to make more.
"Technopathy? What is that? Some kind of disease?" Duck's snide voice cut through the mayhem on the street.
"According-to-the-documented-lexicon-of-superpowers,-Technopathy-is-the-ability-to-manipulate-technology-and-is-often-manifested-as-a-special-form-of-electrical-or-telekinetic-manipulation-but-sometimes-as-a-special-form-of-shapeshifting-which-allows-for-physical-interaction-with-machines-or-even-a-specialized-form-of-ESP-that-allows-for-mental-interface-with-computer-data. Though-of-course,-Mastermind's-particular-brand-of technopathy-is-most-likely-of-the-former-variety. It-really-is-lucky-for-us-though-that-most-of-what-Mastermind-comes-up-with-is-based-solely-in-her-superpower-and-not-in-scientific-fact-which-means-that-once-the-power-she-infuses-into-her-creations-is-spent-they-fall-apart-again-unlike-Tech's-which-are-true-scientific-advancements-and-can-be-used-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-again." Rev continued his high speed explanation oblivious to the effect his unintentional slight to the mastermind criminal had on the big headed villain. Angry, Mastermind added huge blades to her attack bots. Nor was the roadrunner aware of Tech staring forlornly at the remains of his gravity gun which had disintegrated with the last of the nanites as if it was one of Mastermind's cobbled together inventions. He had hoped the invention had escaped the nanite attack. Horribly offended, the coyote started growling. "And-siccing-metal-eating-nanties-on-us? Now-that-was-sooooo-effecitve-NOT! I-mean-really-losing-all-metal-and-weapons-and-things-might-be-a-bit-of-an-inconvenience-but-certainly-nothing-to-be-dismayed-about. As-Duck-says-our-bare-hands-are-lethal-weapons!
"My . . . my baby." Tech started at the dust of his Gravity Stabilization Gyro for only a moment before his eyes and hands started glowing a brilliant emerald green. His low growl morphed into a full fledged howl as he first magnetized the metal monstrosities drawing them toward each other as well as the Loonatics in the middle, then abruptly reversing polarity causing the robots to repel each other and violently throw themselves back into the ones behind them. Parts and pieces of robot flew every-which-way, knocking divots out of the surrounding buildings and crushing parked vehicles in the street. One of the robots exploded as its power cored was breached. He turned his magnetic power on the metal costume that Mallory wore. He snarled. "I really need to update the prison security again."
Mastermind gasped and dived out of the way, surprised at her old tutor's ferocity. Tech destroyed her creations faster than she could put them together, and she barely managed to keep from being dragged in by his infernal magnetic power. "You mangy dog! How dare you destroy mamma's little babies!"
Mastermind wasn't the only one stunned by Tech's actions. The Loonatics stared between their mild mannered scientist, still trying to tag Masternind with his magnetism, and the devastation around them. Tech really needed to get out of the lab more if the destruction of his inventions upset him this badly. The Acme heroes had no time for further reflection. Mastermind dived behind Massive and Weathervane who had used the intervening time to fully recover.
Ace's eyes suddenly widened as he saw the trap the villains had maneuvered them into. The villains had managed to herd all the team into one spot for a concentrated attack. "Loonatics, scatt! . . ."
A deafening thunderclap interrupted the Loonatic leader's command to scatter, rattling the windows in the nearby wharf warehouses and stunning Acmetropolis' erstwhile heroes. As Ace struggled against blacking out, he saw Massive crush the rest of Mastermind's robots to lighten the Loonatics so Weathervane could blow them all out to sea. "So long, Loonatics. Oh, and have a nice day."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I will see Tech reduced to a whimpering little puppy dog. And once his great mind is unhinged, the rest of the Loonatics will never stand a chance against me and my constructs!" Cunning delight shone in Mastermind's eyes as she watched the dwindling specks that were their adversaries. It was always Tech who foiled her. He ruined her life work back at the academy. It was his EMP and his confrontation that was her undoing when she had taken over Loonatic Tower. It was he who figured out the security code override when they had captured most of the Loonatics and trapped them in her old cell. And it was the dog's prison security measures that kept them all incarcerated. It was only due to human error of her guard that allowed them to escape this time at all. "Where they're going, the Loonatics will soon be destroyed!"
"I give them three days. Tops." Weathervane let her disdain of a certain orange and black clad duck fan her southwesterly breezes. Insanity was too good a fate for the avid Misty Breeze fan.
Massive grinned at his female cohorts. They each might have a best enemy among the Loonatics, but he didn't play favorites. He'd just pound them all. "And then we just drop in and pick them off."