Acmetropolis 4c: Rebound by furrball and ontheair, a loonatics unleashed fanfic

ACMETROPOLIS: "Rebound"

by furrball with ontheair

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Somewhere between the ending of "Acmetropolis 4: The Turncoat" and the beginning of "Acmetropolis 5: Mindbender" is an untold story: What really happened to Duke Sypher? This is that story… (Flashback sequences will be in italics.)

---

"Oh, man… what the heck hit me?" The question that was being asked at that particular moment was not an uncommon one; after all, lots of people have asked it at one time or another – usually after overindulging in various liquid refreshments guaranteed to make them ask that very question. Just not behind the steering mechanism of one of the universe's deadliest weapons – one with enough firepower to blow up an unsuspecting planet, that's all.

The pilot crawled up from the floor to his chair and quickly surveyed the damage. He thought he'd managed to stay far enough away from his intended target to avoid the back draft of flames that nearly devoured his ship. "That's the last time I ever underestimate the firepower on one of these babies," he muttered weakly.

He'd managed to accomplish his mission, but not without irreparable damage to his craft. The cloaking device originally designed to conceal its true appearance from its prey was acting wonky, changing the outward and inward appearance of the ship at random intervals. From his vast firsthand experience with these vessels, he knew that if this kept up, it couldn't last much longer at this rate.

And if help didn't come soon, neither would he…

---

"Paula? We're ready to land," Velvet Williams said as she stood outside the door to her teammate's cabin. The door opened with a quiet "whoosh", revealing Paula Hayes stretched out on her folding bed, face down and crying in her pillow. Obviously, she'd been like this for the last few minutes.

Paula looked up and, in a near whisper, replied, "Would you just go on without me, Vel? I don't really feel like dealing with royalty right now…"

"By which, you mean Optimatus…"

"Yeah. The two of us sort of have a… history…"

Velvet sat down next to Paula and wrapped her arm around her. "Hey, it's all right, 'little sister,' I understand. Zadavia assures me he's changed, and that's good enough for me." A wicked glint appeared in Velvet's eyes as she added, "And if he hasn't, you and I can take him with one arm tied behind his back."

Paula wasn't quite consoled by that. "We might stand a better chance that way… but not by much," she sighed. "Mallory, Massive, Drake and I all tried to take him on one time. It didn't work."

Velvet didn't need to be clairvoyant to know what was really troubling the girl. "It's Duke, isn't it?"

Paula nodded sadly and buried her head on Velvet's shoulder. "Why did he have to go and be the big hero like that? Wasn't capturing Qurrg enough for him?"

"You heard him, Paula. He felt he owed it to the doc… and Zadavia. Maybe to himself as well, I don't know…"

---

With General Qurrg secured in his flexiglass holding chamber awaiting transport to the Intergalactic war crimes tribunal, Duke addressed the Loonatics and the remaining members of the HOP Force outside the smoldering ruins of what had once been the home of Zadavia's friend, the late Dr. Sakamoto Hu; Mallory and Sypher having been flown by Lexi to Acmetropolis General Hospital. Zadavia stood by his side as he spoke.

"Speaking of going, that's what I'd better be doing," Capt. Sypher said. "I've got one last piece of business to attend to before I hang it up for good, and I want to make sure I get it right."

Ace nodded grimly. "The Selzerians."

"Exactly," the Captain said. "We've got numero uno, but the rest are still out there."

"Um, Duke, if you need any help," Massive started to say, but the Captain stopped him.

"Sorry, Gordon, but no. You guys are needed here. I gotta do this one by myself. I owe the doc…" Then he turned to Zadavia. "…and his friend, that much."

"You're going to have a tough time finding them," Tech said.

"Not necessarily, Tech. See, they're still waiting for the attack orders from General Qurrg, so they're all going to be waiting in one spot. That's another thing about Selzerians."

"Creatures of habit?" asked Velvet.

"Rigidly so," Duke replied. "Unless they get the order to move out, they stay right where they're at. And guess where that is?"

"Planet Selzer!" exclaimed Duck.

"Hey, you've been doing your homework after all!" Duke laughed. "Well, hope I see you guys again." The Captain turned and got no more than two steps to his ship when Zadavia stood in his path. Without a word, the Frelengian wrapped her arms around Duke and gave him a long and passionate kiss, which the Captain returned.

Paula and Velvet exchanged giggles and amused looks, while the guys didn't know what to think. Finally Duck broke the silence. "Get a room, you two!"

Zadavia shot him a stern look. "Mind your own damn business, Duck!" Then Duke resumed kissing her. After another two minutes, Duke broke off the kiss and smiled at the Frelengian queen.

"Sorry, Zadavia, I'm on a strict timetable," he said, brushing his hand lightly on her face. "You take care of yourself…"

"You too, Duke…" Zadavia replied softly, as the Captain boarded his ship. Paula slowly led her away as the ship took off through a wormhole on his one-man mission against the deadliest creatures in the universe. Zadavia stared up at the sky as Capt. Sypher's ship vanished. "What a guy," she sighed.

"You got that right," Paula agreed quietly, following Zadavia's gaze. "Good luck, Duke…"

---

Duke surveyed the control panel and said, "Computer. Override automatic cloaking device and switch over to manual control."

"As you command," the computer replied in a synthesized female voice. Instantly the ship returned to its original appearance.

"Thank you, computer," Duke smiled. Punching a couple of buttons, he added, "Maintain appearance of a Frelengian stingray fighter."

"As you command."

"Um, computer?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"It's some sort of Selzerian response, Captain."

"I see… Computer, when was the last time you were actually in Selzerian control?"

"Four earth years ago, Captain."

"And what planet did we just blow out of deep space?"

"Selzer… I should stop saying that, shouldn't I?"

"I would think so."

"As you… wish…"

"That's better… ungh…" A stabbing pain shot through Duke at that moment, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"'Ungh?' I don't understand… Captain?... Captain?"

---

"Wow!" Velvet exhaled as the landing party was ushered into the palace. "You were right, Zadavia. This planet is beautiful!"

"Thank you, Velvet. We like to think so," Zadavia smiled.

Duck surreptitiously raised his head at that point and turned his gaze to the grand entranceway, where Optimatus strode through. "And on the other end of the spectrum…" he whispered to Lexi, who surreptitiously gave him a good old fashioned dope slap. "Ow!"

"Zadavia!" Optimatus exclaimed, taking her hands in his.

"I see Captain Sypher knew his business," the blonde Frelengian smiled.

"Indeed," her brother replied. "I never suspected wormholes could be used for actually hiding planets from enemies like that before… Loonatics?"

"Optimatus," Ace bowed as a gesture of respect to the Frelengian co-ruler.

"Zadavia told me how all of you captured Qurrg. That couldn't have been a pleasant experience," Optimatus said softly. "Believe me, I know. Offer my wishes for a speedy recovery to Miss Casey and Mister Sypher… by the way, what happened to Weather Vane?"

Paula stepped forward and nervously cleared her throat. "I'm… I'm here, your majesty…"

"Miss Hayes?" He extended his right hand. Paula, unsure of where this would lead, shakily placed her hand in his. "Allow me to apologize for my earlier treatment of you and your teammates, Miss Hayes. Freleng is in your debt. I hope you can forgive me." He bent down and gingerly placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

Paula smiled warmly. "Thank you, your highness…"

"Please, my dear, call me Optimatus," he smiled back. "And this is Miss Williams? A pleasure to make your acquaintance," he added, likewise bestowing a light kiss on her hand.

"I'm sure," she smiled. "I was just telling your sister this is a lovely planet. I've never seen anything like it."

"Please, my friends, enjoy your time with us," Zadavia said. "Our escorts will be more than happy to show you around. I must confer with my brother for a moment, so if you will excuse us…" As the visitors took the grand tour, the royal siblings retreated to the library. Optimatus walked over to gaze out of a window, lost in thought. His sister was quick to pick up on it. "You learned humility rather quickly, dear brother," she smiled.

"Hm? Oh, my greeting to Paula? I meant every word of it, Zadavia." He smiled briefly and turned back to the window. "I sense there is still some fear in her, poor child… and some sadness…"

"Well, I hope that you've gone some way towards erasing that fear," his sister sighed. "A young woman should never have to be afraid of her own brother…"

Optimatus glanced back to Zadavia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're absolutely right, Zadavia. I swear by the moons of Freleng neither you nor Mellisandra will ever have anything to fear from me as long as I live."

"I know you mean that, brother," she sighed.

"I do, Zadavia," Optimatus replied. "There was… something else…"

"Oh?"

"Yes…"

Zadavia picked up on her brother's thoughts in a nanosecond. "You're still not convinced she is Mellisandra, are you?"

"Not completely," Optimatus sighed. "I know how much you wish she could be, Zadavia; I, too, would like nothing more than to believe that really is her… prophecy or no prophecy… and like you, I wish that I could protect her from that, if only for your sake. We've already lost her once…" A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and the two separated. "Enter."

The door opened, and Sergeant Marsallas Marius entered. "Forgive the intrusion, your highnesses, but we just received a computerized message on one of our closed channels. I thought you might like to hear it."

"Of course, Marsallas," Zadavia said. "Play it back, by all means."

Marsallas did so, and the Frelengians' faces froze as they heard it. "Mayday… mayday… this is a distress call from the ship of Captain Donald P. Sypher near the ruins of what was Planet Selzer. My captain is hurt, and this ship can't last too much longer. Please come immediately! Message ends."

Zadavia looked at her brother and gasped, "Duke! He's alive! Offer my apologies to our friends, I must go to him!"

"Of course, sister…"

---

Duke briefly drifted back into consciousness and tried to focus on the woman who had suddenly appeared on his ship with no explanation. "Man, just when I started to convince myself angels don't exist, you gotta show up…"

"Angels? I've been compared to a lot of things, Don, but never that," she smiled.

Duke briefly winced and shook his head before recognition came to him. "Huh? How… did you know where to… find me?"

"I received your automatic distress signal."

"But I didn't send any…" Painfully, Duke looked over to the dashboard. "Computer, by any chance…"

"Are you going to talk all day or do you plan to survive, Captain?"

"Now you sound like my aunt Charlotte," Duke grimaced.

"Captain, just go, will you?"

"Now you really sound like my aunt Charlotte," Duke chuckled lightly. "Okay, we're going… easy there, Zadavia…"

"Zadavia?" the computer asked. "Are you the same Zadavia who was a friend of Dr. Hu?"

"Yes… yes I am…"

"Your doctor… was a good man…"

"I… I know…"

"The Captain is, too. Keep him safe…"

"I will…"

"You'd better hurry… initiating self-destruct sequence in 45 seconds… Goodbye… Duke…"

"Goodbye, computer… Charlie…"

Zadavia quickly teleported Duke and herself aboard her ship and made for the nearest wormhole just as Duke's ship finally exploded…

---

As Zadavia's cruiser sped through the wormhole, she activated a video monitor inside her quarters.

Duke was lying on the queen's bed slipping in and out of consciousness. Crystalline tears made their way down her face as she remembered the first time they had been alone in a ship…

It was just after Duke had revealed his true identity as a Captain in Acmetropolis Military Intelligence, disclosing to the Loonatics and HOP Force that their "friend," Dr. Sakamoto Hu, was in actuality the dreaded Selzerian General Qurrg; and that Qurrg was responsible for the death of the real Dr. Hu three months earlier. This news hit Zadavia especially hard, as she and the Doctor had been close friends ever since her arrival years before on Acmetropolis. She was stunned to learn that he and Duke had also been close friends, which the Captain proved by presenting Zadavia with a framed photograph taken shortly after her arrival of her with the Doctor. She wanted to break down and cry at that moment, but the serious matter of capturing Qurrg meant she would have to remain stoic until

she was alone.

Moments later, she teleported Duke and herself aboard his ship, which was disguised as one of Optimatus's dragon cruisers. Duke flipped a switch, and the ship changed appearance to that of a Frelengian Stingray cruiser. Setting the ship on an automatic course, he turned to the Frelengian queen and said, "So, now that we're on autopilot, is there anything else you want to know?"

Zadavia looked sadly at the framed picture, taken during a happier time. "Yes, there is," she replied, fixing her green eyes on him. "Tell me some more about the Sakamoto Hu you remember…"

Capt. Sypher sighed deeply and smiled. "Good times, Zadavia… only good times…" It was then the Captain noticed the Frelengian shaking slightly. "Zadavia, are you okay?"

Her lips trembled, and tears fell on the glass protecting the picture. "No… no I'm not…" She shut her eyes tightly as if that would block the reality. "All these months," she cried, shaking even harder as her emotions finally took over. "Sakamoto…" Her tears flowed freely as she sank to her knees.

Without saying a word, Duke knelt down, softly took her in his arms and held her, letting the queen of Freleng get her sorrow out of her system. She spent almost the rest of the journey crying on his shoulder. Finally on an impulse, and also because he didn't know what else to do, he kissed her. He knew he shouldn't have, but it couldn't be helped.

Zadavia pulled back in shock momentarily as Captain Sypher whispered, "I… I'm sorry, Zadavia… I just had to…"

She didn't say a word in response, but wiping her tears away as best she could, she slowly wrapped her arms around him… and returned the kiss…

The sight of Planet Freleng appearing through the end of the wormhole brought Zadavia back to the

present. Wiping fresh tears away, she opened her communications link to the palace. "Zadavia to Optimatus, please have our guards meet me at docking bay 13… and please also notify the Lady Kassondra. Her services are desperately needed…"

---

Optimatus, Sgt. Marsallas and a detachment of guards were there to meet Zadavia as she landed, a floating stretcher at the ready. She exited from the ship with Duke leaning on her, and even Optimatus could see he was in rough shape. "Marsallas, take him to the healing room," she said.

"Yes, your highness," Marsallas replied, as the guards gently placed Duke on the stretcher and guided it to its destination.

"Is that Captain Sypher?" Optimatus asked.

"Yes, brother," Zadavia sighed, looking after Duke. "I returned as fast as I could, but I don't know if I made it in time…" A Frelengian healer approached them at that moment. "Oh, Kassondra, there you are." Zadavia explained the situation to her. Lady Kassondra nodded and immediately went to the healing room to attend to Duke. She found him stretched out on a table, unconscious.

"All right, Captain, let's see if we can get you back in shape," she smiled, casting a blue rainbow-colored dome over Duke for about half a minute. When she stopped, the dome dissipated. Zadavia entered at that moment. "Well, there he is, Zadie," she said. At that moment Duke stirred, but wasn't quite conscious. "Hold on, I'm not quite done with him yet," she added with a worried tone. "He seems to be reliving some traumatic episode…"

"Memory projection," Zadavia suggested.

"Right," Kassondra replied, placing a hand on Duke's forehead. Immediately Duke lapsed into unconsciousness again as a bluish rainbow-colored projection shot out from the healer's forehead. Zadavia studied the scene intently. It appeared to be somewhere on Acmetropolis. Suddenly two figures came into focus. The Frelengian recognized them instantly as Duke and Drake. They were working on a hover car in the driveway of a house. Unusually for this type of memory projection, she could pick up the dialogue between the two.

"Hey, squirt, can you hand me the ratchet wrench?" Duke asked.

"One ratchet wrench, coming up," Drake replied. His hair was sort of a dark grey, not quite black, and not yet the yellow and red streaked hair he currently sported. "I don't get it, bro. Why do you wanna fool around with a clunker like this when you can just buy a new one?"

"Drake," his older brother sighed, "when are you gonna learn to appreciate classic hover cars? This one's a collector's item! They don't make 'em like this anymore!"

"Of course they don't, it's an antique, which reminds me, do you think for once we could watch something other than those old western movies tonight?"

"Aw, come on, squirt, I don't get the chance to come home as much as I'd like, let me have some fun!" Duke chortled. "And let me have the ratchet wrench while you're at it."

"You wanna be careful how you phrase… that…" Drake dropped the wrench and pointed to the sky. "Holy crud, what's THAT?!?"

"What's what?" Duke asked with mild irritation, but changed his attitude when he saw what it was. Zadavia held in a gasp when she saw it, as well.

It was the meteor.

Suddenly she realized what was about to occur, even though it was ancient history by now. She had never actually seen what had happened when the meteor struck back in 2772, and now she was about to witness it for herself. She wanted to turn away, but couldn't. She had to know.

Duke shouted one word. "RUN!!!"

She could see him tearing towards the house like a man possessed, and followed his point of view as he dashed into the living room almost like Rev Runner, stopping at the top of the basement stairs to catch his breath as he heard the door close behind him. "Well… (pant… pant…) talk about dodging a bullet, squirt… Drake?" He looked around and headed back to the door. She could sense the rising panic in him.

Drake was still outside.

And the door was shut tight.

He pushed at the doorknob, but it refused to budge.

He could see Drake pounding at the door, yelling to get in, and unable to do a thing about it.

Then the meteor hit.

The force of the impact knocked Duke clear down the basement steps just before the house itself collapsed… and all went dark… and silent… except for his scream.

"DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!..."

The projection ended at that point. Zadavia turned away, her tears flowing. She wiped her eyes, composed herself, and rejoined Kassondra, who remained stock still, her eyes closed. Finally she opened her eyes and turned to Zadavia. "You saw it?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I knew there was some resentment between Duke and his brother, but I never knew why…"

"Well, let's not remind him right now, Zadie," Kassondra smiled.

"You're the healer, Kassie," Zadavia smiled in return.

"That's right, and don't you forget it…" Kassondra gently placed a hand on Duke's shoulder. "Captain Sypher? Time to wake up now."

Duke fluttered his eyelids for a brief second before coming to. "Huh? Tell me I haven't…"

"I'm afraid not, Duke," Zadavia said. "How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, but not too bad," he shrugged. "Is this Freleng?"

"Yes it is, Captain Sypher," Kassondra replied, "and as you can see, not a scratch on it. You, however, were not in such pristine shape."

"Yeah, I… kinda figured that would happen," Duke sighed, turning his attention to Zadavia. "Hey, I almost forgot to ask, how's Drake and Mallory?"

"The last I heard, they were both resting comfortably," Zadavia said, "which really is what you should be doing…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Zadavia," Duke smiled wearily. "I'll need all my strength for when I face Colonel Trench. After all, there's a world of difference between an authorized mission and a personal vendetta…"

Optimatus passed just outside the healing room at that point, overheard Duke's remark, and entered almost unnoticed, until he spoke. "The Captain is right, I fear," he said quietly. "Believe me, I know all too well about both subjects – especially, sadly, the latter."

Duke sat up slowly, surveying this new addition to the group. "Let me guess. You're Optimatus, right?"

"Yes, Captain Sypher. And if I may, some words of advice…"

"Go ahead, it's your planet…" Duke shrugged cheerfully.

"I learned the hard way that vendettas, in the long run, get you nowhere. They may bring you some brief personal satisfaction, but the end results can often be tragic. I… and the people of Acmetropolis… have had to live with the results of my foolishness ever since. I hope that you are not so weak as to make this a chosen path for yourself."

Duke considered Optimatus's words carefully, and then spoke. "You won't have to worry about that, your highness. Once is enough for me. Nothing left for me to do now but await the outcome."

"I pray it will be a good one, Captain."

"So do I," Duke replied, and gave a cordial nod as Optimatus left. Then, after a few seconds, he turned to Zadavia. "You know, I really hate to say this, and it's only my first impression, of course…"

"But?"

"It strikes me that in some ways, your brother may actually be smarter than he looks…"

---

Two days later…

Zadavia expertly steered a new Stingray cruiser from Freleng to Acmetropolis and set down at Fort Acme; then she and Duke made their way to the office of Colonel Trench, who – after exchanging a brief pleasant greeting to Freleng's queen – got down to the unpleasant business of having to reprimand Duke. "Captain, I don't know whether to slap you into the stockade or pin a medal on you or do both," Trench fumed. "On whose authority did you destroy planet Selzer?"

"My own, sir," Duke replied calmly. "And I'd do it again… except that there isn't another Selzer, thank goodness…"

"What happened to your ship?"

"It was damaged in the explosion, sir. Zadavia rescued me before it finally blew up."

"Oh, I see… Well, thank you for bringing him back, your highness."

"My pleasure, Colonel. So, what happens to him now?"

Colonel Trench shot her a pained look. Never mind that Duke eliminated a potentially lethal threat to Acmetropolis. He couldn't have one of his best men going rogue on him like that. Some sort of justice was called for in situations like that, after all. Nonetheless, he did want to give Duke as much of a loophole as he could, and hope he was smart enough to jump through it. "I'm afraid that that's strictly a military matter, ma'am, as long as he's under my command…"

"Well, Colonel, if I may," Duke said, "I guess my career here's all but over anyway, no matter what, so… I think I'll save you the trouble of a court martial and resign my commission." Duke took a small plastic bag containing his Captain's bars from his jacket and tossed them on his desk. "If it's all the same to you, sir, I think this is more of an intergalactic matter, so I'll let the Frelengians deal with me. And if anybody asks you what happened to Selzer, tell them one of their own did it. That's the popular conspiracy theory floating around, anyway; you might as well pick it up and run with it."

A wry smile crossed Trench's countenance. "I think you deserve a medal for that explanation alone, Don…"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

"Well… good luck, Duke," the colonel added, saluting.

Duke returned the salute and replied, "Thank you, sir. I'll need it."

"Your highness, he's all yours," Trench said, looking out of his office window. "And maybe not a moment too soon."

Duke and Zadavia peered out the window to see a crowd of appreciative pilots gawking at her ship. "You'd think they'd never seen a Frelengian Stingray before," Zadavia smiled.

"They probably haven't," Duke countered. "Well, we'd better clear them out of the way or you'll never get back home."

"Thank you, Colonel," Zadavia replied, and without another word, accompanied the now former captain back to her cruiser.

"Allow me, Zadavia," Duke said with an imperceptible smirk, just before he let fly with an "ATTEN-HUNH!" that scattered the onlookers to a respectable distance, all of them standing stock still. "If the military did nothing else for me, it taught me how to yell with authority," he chuckled. "After you, your highness," Duke added as the pair got back into the cruiser without further incident and safely took off.

"Weren't you supposed to tell them 'at ease'?" Zadavia asked with a smile.

"Believe me, by the time they figure out I'm a civilian now, we'll be miles from here," Duke laughed. After a while, the former captain's expression turned serious. "Okay, so, what happens to me now?" Duke asked calmly. "Am I going to face an intergalactic tribunal or something?"

"No, Don," Zadavia sighed. "As easy as that would be, it wouldn't change anything. Selzer's gone and that's that. Besides, I wouldn't want to deprive you of the chance to get acquainted with your new ship," she added with a cunning smile.

"My new… wait… you mean…" Duke let out a long whistle. "Your highness, may I respectfully say you never fail to surprise me."

"Well, don't just sit there, Duke, take it round the block… metaphorically speaking…"

A shocked look came over Duke. "Computer?!?"

"My proper name is 'Charlotte II', Duke," the computer replied. "But you can call me 'Charlie'. And before you get too nosy, Zadavia paid a visit to your aunt Charlotte, sampled her voice and, well, you're a bright boy, you can figure out the rest."

"Thanks… Charlie." Duke smiled. "So, Zadavia, what do I have to do now?"

"That depends, Don. You and I both know that destroying planets… even Selzer… runs contrary to intergalactic law, and technically, this does classify you as a criminal… in the eyes of intergalactic law, that is."

"I understand, your highness," Duke sighed. "So, what are my options?"

"That depends," Zadavia said, pacing back and forth before fixing her green-eyed gaze on him. "Are you willing to help defend Acmetropolis, no matter what the risk?"

"That's why I joined the Army in the first place. Of course."

"And would you be willing to join the HOP Force to do it?"

"I had a feeling that's where this conversation was heading," Duke chuckled wryly. "I won't have to wear one of those uniforms, will I? I look stupid in spandex… or whatever that material is…"

Zadavia quickly surveyed Don's current apparel – black trousers and boots, white turtleneck, and faux leather bomber jacket – and smiled. "No, actually, what you're wearing is sufficient."

"Then I'm in," Duke smiled. "Oh, a couple of things, Zadavia…"

"Yes, Don?"

"First… are you going to tell the intergalactic authorities it was me who blew up Selzer?"

"Duke," Zadavia smiled, "as the Loonatics themselves will tell you, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's keeping secrets."

"Ah, gotcha. I can roll with that."

"What's the other thing?"

"Let's not tell the Force until Drake and Mallory get back, okay? I want them all to be surprised."

"Fair enough."

"I can't wait to see the look on Surfer Girl's face," he grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? One time around the planet?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, strap yourself in, your highness, here we go… Charlie, some traveling music?"

"As you command."

"HEY!"

"Sorry, just teasing. Traveling music it is…" Instantly, the ship was filled with the strains of an old piece of classical music from late 20th century Earth, The Traveling Wilburys' 'Handle With Care'.

"Literalist," Duke grumbled.

"Humanoid," countered the computer…

---

Story copyright © Sept. 12, 2009 by Jerry D. Withers with additional material from ontheair. All rights reserved. "LOONATICS UNLEASHED," "ACMETROPOLIS" and all related characters and indicia are © 2005-2009 Warner Bros. Animation, Inc., all rights reserved, and are used without permission, except as follows: