I don't own Loonatics Unleashed or the song "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
It was a gloomy day as the clouds began to cover the blue sky. She looked up at the sky as she felt a small raindrop fall on her eyelashes. The small white orb trickled down her cheek, making it look like as if she was crying. She wiped the raindrop from her face and continued to walk down the sidewalk. Her nose twitched to the left and right as she sniffled.
Come on Lex his voice echoed through her mind. Stay for a little while.
She remembered smiling at him. I will be back tonight she assured him but I have to go back to my teammates in case we get a call.
He had given her a skeptical look. She didn't like that look. It made him seem out of character and unloving. Liar he sneered at her.
Lexi was shocked when he said that. She would never lie to him. What? she asked him, obviously confused.
He had rolled his eyes at her. I always see you flying around, being a superhero and whatever, but you are always next to a certain bunny.
Who Ace? she asked as her eyes brightened with nervousness. Oh yeah, we're just friends, that's all.
He had raised his fist and punched her on the arm. Lexi stumbled backwards as she put her hand on her arm. She looked up at him as he approached her. He glared at her. Let that be a warning he had said as he walked away from her.
Lexi had gotten away from that apartment as quickly as possible. What had gotten into him? He had never done that to her before. She was speechless when he had done that. Her arm still ached but not as much as her heart did.
"There you are," a voice said behind her as Lexi halted and turned around. In font of her was a brown colored rabbit who was a foot taller than her. He was wearing jeans with a black belt buckled around the waist, white sneakers, and a jersey shirt with the number thirteen on it.
"Oh hi Shawn," she greeted him.
"You seemed to have left in such a hurry," he told her, "was it something I said?"
Yes Lexi wanted to say everything what you say hurts me! she wanted to scream. "No," she lied. It was better to lie now ratter than tell the truth. "I was just running a bit late," she said as she looked behind her. "I'm sorry but I have to go now," she said as she turned around.
Her boyfriend Shawn, reached out and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her towards him as her body crashed against his. He put his nose close to her hair and sniffed it. "Just don't do it again," he said as he released her grip.
Lexi grabbed her wrist and massaged it. She looked as he backed away from her and headed down the street.
"Glad you can make it," another voice that she recognized said. She turned around and saw Ace Bunny standing there. She smiled at him as the pain in her wrist subsided. "I don't mean to get into your business, but are you feelin' okay?" he asked her. He could sense that something was up. He had worked with her for a long time and he had picked up on her body language. Whenever she fidgeted with her fingers, that showed that she was nervous. He looked at her hands and saw that they were fidgeting.
"Never better," Lexi said as she masqueraded her sadness with enthusiasm.
Ace gave her a nod as he let her proceed inside the headquarters. Ace looked behind her as she entered. He heard a voice on the other side of the building. He walked over to the voice and peeked from the wall. He saw a brown rabbit talking on the cell phone. He squinted as he saw his fist clenching.
"Listen here you little tramp and listen good," he snapped, "you better be home by six or I'll knock you down," he threatened.
Ace furrowed his eyebrows at him. He gasped at what he heard next. "I love you too Lexi," his voice had gone from harsh to soft. "See you in a few hours," he said as he shut the phone and disappeared from the street. Ace put his back against the wall. He had known that Lexi had a boyfriend. She had confessed this to him, but a boyfriend like this.
After she had told him that she had a boyfriend Ace was heartbroken. He secretly had a crush on her. He had hoped that she would have the same feelings for him but the conversation had changed that. He only ended the conversation with a smile, a hand on her shoulder, and a I am happy for you Lex sentence. After that, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
Hey girl, you know, you drive me crazy
One look puts the rhythm in my hand
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's goin' down
Ace proceeded into the headquarters. When he entered the lobby, he saw Lexi standing there with her mask off and a pocket mirror in one hand. Ace could see her honey colored fur. She was a honey bunny for a reason but not just her physical looks. She was actually very sweet to them. Ace's mouth dropped when he saw a small bruise under a right eye. That black and purple smudge ruined her wonderful fur tone. He saw her applying some powder that hid the bruise well. He couldn't understand who she would do that. She had a mask and that would hide it better than the make up. "All set?" Ace asked.
Lexi jumped. "You scared me," she said as she quickly hid her pocket mirror in her pocket and put her mask on. She hoped he didn't see that. "You didn't see anything on my face did you?"
Ace folded his arms across his chest. "The bruise under your right eye? I saw that."
Lexi let out a sigh. "I was hoping you didn't."
"As leader of the group, it is my job to make sure that you guys are okay," he told her.
"I'm fine," Lexi told him. "I just hurt it somewhere."
Or he did it Ace thought. That reaction that Shawn had done was he was on the phone with Lexi, was clear to Ace that he did not treat women the way they should be treated.
Cover up with make up in the mirror
Tell yourself its never gonna happen again
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you
At six o'clock exactly, Lexi left the headquarters and headed towards Shawn's apartment. Little did she know that Ace was following her. He made sure that he was as quiet as a mouse so Lexi's bionic hearing wouldn't pick up on his footsteps. He suddenly stopped when he saw Lexi talking to the same rabbit that he met.
"Hello," Lexi said as she tried to give Shawn a hug.
"Don't touch me," Shawn snapped as he pushed her away, "I told you to be here at six. It's 6:05!" he said as he lashed his wristwatch at her.
"But I left at six," Lexi defended herself, "and I was on my way here."
"Sure," Shawn said as he rolled his eyes, "or you were talking to that rabbit!" Just the thought of Ace with Lexi angered him. He wanted Lexi to be his. He had no trust in her and he made sure that she knew that in the worst way possible.
"You don't trust me?" Lexi asked as she put a hand on her chest and looked at him with a hurt expression.
That question made Shawn furious. He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the wall. Ace cringed when he heard a thud.
Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Ace peeked over as he found Lexi's body on the pavement. Why can't she just leave him? Why doesn't she defend herself? Ace thought. He had the urge to run over and scoop Lexi in his arms but he saw Shawn dragging her into his apartment.
Ace put his back against the wall. He let out a puff of breath as he sunk onto the pavement. Never in his life had he imagined Lexi getting such a treatment. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth when he thought of Shawn.
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day the world's gonna end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found
The next day, Ace got a phone call from Lexi. "Hey," he greeted her as he left the living room so the others wouldn't hear, especially Duck. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lexi said. Her voice sounded deep and shaky. She sounded like she was holding back her tears.
"You don't sound fine," Ace said, "is everyting okay?" he asked her again.
"I-it's fine," she stuttered, "I just called to say that I can't make it today."
"What?" Ace said as his eyes grew wide. Throughout his years with Lexi, she was always ready to save the city with him...and the rest of the team of course.
"I just can't," Lexi said, "I'm really sorry Ace but I'm not feeling well."
"Okay if you're sure," Ace said as they both hung up. If she's not comin' here, I'm gonna go over there.
Ace assured the rest of his teammates that he was going to be back. He left Tech E. Coyote in charge and much to Danger Duck's disappointment, he began to complain.
Ace walked down the street and arrived to Shawn's apartment. He walked up the stairs and knocked on a door. The door clicked open as Lexi appeared.
Lexi gasped when she saw Ace standing there. Her green pupils grew wide and her hand clenched the doorknob. "Ace, what are you doing here?" she whispered as if anyone was going to hear her.
"Just came to check up on ya. It's the leaders duty," Ace told her.
"Since when?" she asked.
"Since now," he answered, "why are you still wearing your mask?" he asked her as he saw the black fabric on her face.
Lexi mentally kicked herself. She had put it on to hide the horrible bruises that Shawn had given her yesterday. She couldn't think of a clever answer to his question. She looked behind her to make sure that she was alone. Shawn had left and he wasn't going to be back in a few hours. "Can you keep a secret?" she whispered.
"Yeah," Ace answered. Lexi pulled him inside the room and closed the door. He was dragged over to the couch.
"Tech, Duck, Rev, and Slam must never know about this," she said as Ace uneasily nodded his head. She reached over her mask and pulled it off. Her lush blond bangs fell on her left eye when the mask was taken off. Lexi pulled the bangs away from her eye and revealed it to Ace.
Ace couldn't help but gasp. Her whole eye was black and blue and the side of her face was swollen. To Ace's view, it was amazing how much the black mask hid. He didn't even notice her swollen face before she took off her mask. "He did this to you?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.
Lexi gave him a small nod. She couldn't understand why Shawn was acting like this to her. Did he hate her? Did he not trust her? Was he giving her tough love? What is the meaning of that? "No one can know about this," she said.
A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
Every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever you will surely drown
I see what's going down
"I get why you want me to keep it a secret," Ace began, "but why do you hang out with this guy if he's hurtin' ya?"
Lexi was silent for a moment. The reason why she was with him was because he threatened to kill her if she ever left him. Then he would go after her friends. She knew that her friends would handle it but she couldn't risk it. The door suddenly swung open as Shawn walked in. Lexi quickly put on her mask before he noticed.
I see the way you go and say you're right again
Say you're right again, heed my lecture
"I didn't know we had guests," Shawn said as he looked at Ace and gave him a false smile.
Ace stood up along with Lexi. He had the urge to run over and tackle him but he felt Lexi's hand squeezing his arm. "Actually," he began, "I was about to leave," he said as he walked out the door. "Nice to meet you by the way," Ace said to Shawn with a fake smile. He walked out the door and heard the door softly shutting behind him.
Ace pretended to walk down the steps. He heard something crash in the room. He put his ear next to the door and heard Shawn screaming at Lexi while she was weeping from his verbal abuse. Ace glared as he heard those barbaric words being thrown at Lexi. She was a good bunny and she didn't deserve those words. Why was he treating her this way?
Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day the world's gonna end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found
The noise subsided and all that was heard was Lexi's crying. Ace couldn't help but feel that this was his fault. He scolded himself for not being too quick to notice that his best friend was suffering. He scolded himself for coming here in the first place. He couldn't take it anymore. He put his hand on the doorknob and pulled it open. The door swung inward as a saw a pink and black colored bunny crumpled into a corner. "Lexi," he said as he ran over to her.
Face down in the dirt she said, "this doesn't hurt."
She said, "I finally had enough."
Face down in the dirt she said, "this doesn't hurt."
She said, "I finally had enough."
Ace gathered her in his arms and hugged her. Her body violently shook. There was a red smudge on the side of her mask that was coming out of her right nostril. "I'm here for you," Ace said as he rocked her back and forth, hoping to calm her down.
One day she will tell you that she has had enough
It's coming round again
"Look who it is," a voice said behind Ace.
Ace turned around and saw Shawn. He gently put Lexi's body by the wall and stood up. "What's up doc?" he said as he glared at Shawn. He began to approach him. "So you are the one that has been hurtin' my friend?"
"Buddy," Shawn said as if it was a normal day, "ever heard of tough love?"
"Do you feel like a man when you push her around?" Ace challenged him.
Shawn took a step towards Ace. "It's not my fault that she doesn't understand the meaning of tough love."
Ace folded his arms across his chest. "You are not lovin' her. You're hurtin' her."
"Says who?" Shawn said, "she loves me. Don't you?" he asked as he looked at her. His eyes read 'you better say yes.'
Lexi didn't say anything but she looked at him, her body still shaking.
"DON'T YOU?" he screamed as he got in front of her and made her jump.
Ace pulled him back as Shawn shook him off and glared at him.
Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day the world's gonna end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found
Shawn clenched his hand into a fist and launched it at Ace. Ace jumped out of the way and pretty soon, the two rabbits were fighting with one another. Ace grabbed Shawn's fist with his hand and swiped his foot under Shawn. Shawn fell on his back as Ace jumped on top of him.
"You hurt my best friend," Ace said as he squeezed Shawn's wrists, "and now I'm gonna do that same with you!"
Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day the world's gonna end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found
Shawn threw Ace off him. Ace fell to the ground on his back as Shawn got on top of him. He punched Ace across the face. Ace let out a hurtful moan for the punch came down onto him with a lot of impact. As Shawn raised his fist again, a pink orb flew towards him. The orb hit Shawn right in the chest as his body crashed against the wall. Shawn shook his head and looked at where that orb came from. He saw Lexi standing on her feet and something pink was forming between her ears. "Why you little-" Shawn yelled as he ran to her and grabbed her wrists.
Lexi struggled to free herself from him. She threw him off her. Shawn stumbled backwards but Lexi was not letting off this easily. He could mess with her but nobody messed with her friends. She punched Shawn across the face as he fell down on the couch. She put her hand on his throat and was about to hurl another punch at him when her arm was held back by Ace.
"Just leave him," Ace gently told her as he glared at Shawn, "he ain't worth it."
Lexi looked down at Shawn and saw that he had a frightened look on his face. A look that Lexi had never seen before when she had been with him. He looked almost human. "That's the same way I felt," she hoarsely said to him, "just be careful who you're dealing with," she finished as she released his throat.
Face down in the dirt she says, "this doesn't hurt"
She says, "I finally had enough"
"Let the cops deal with him," Ace said as he handcuffed Shawn and took him to prison.
Later in the day, Ace and Lexi were heading back to the headquarters. "How are you feelin' now?" Ace asked her.
"Much better now that he's in jail," Lexi answered him.
"He will stay there for a long time. I made sure of dat," Ace said.
Lexi gave him a smile. "Thank you," she said, "for being there."
Ace put his hand on the back of his head. "What are friends for?"
Lexi stood up on her toes and gave Ace a kiss on the cheek. Ace blushed a little and so did she. "You truly are a superhero. My hero," she said with a smile.
Ace nervously chuckled. "And you are a good hero too. You know," he began, "I always had a crush on you. Even when you were with him." He knew that he was going a little too fast with her but now that Shawn was nowhere to be seen and possibly never heard from again, he thought that he should give it a try. Even if she rejected him, he was fine with it.
Lexi was surprised when he said that. Her lips slowly curved into a smile. She wished she had noticed sooner before all of this happened. Before she was with Shawn, she did have a crush on Ace, during her relationship with Shawn, she only liked Shawn but didn't love him. "Same here," she said as she grabbed his hand and tangled her fingers with his.
Now she felt safe. From one bad romance, she entered a good one. A relationship that she knew would last forever.
The End