*DISCLAIMER*: All of the respective characters, plots, settings etc. are the property, both intellectual and non, of the respective owners of Loonatics Unleashed IP (Warner Bros. Animation) I am IN NO WAY with the owners, creators or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
The sky was dark on the day of the funeral. A crowd of people had gathered to celebrate the life of a hero. The Loonatics were at the front of that crowd, ringed around the grave site. As the coffin was lowered in, silence abounded. Ace, Lexi, Tech and Rev still hadn't come to terms with the loss of their team member Slam. The priest stood as the coffin reached the bottom of the hole.
"Today we honour our fallen. Slam paid the ultimate price in the line of his duty." His voice was flat, no emotion escaped. "Now to say a few words… Ace." Ace had dreaded this moment when he realised he would have to say something. He moved over to stand beside the priest, his black suit slightly dishevelled.
"Uh, ok. Slam…Slam, he was… he was my friend first and a team member second." In stark contrast to the priest, Ace's voice trembled with emotion. "H-He sacrificed himself for the team. Everyone knew him as the guy with the biggest appetite. When you got to know him, as the team did, he was the nicest person you could have met, always looking out for everyone. We'll miss you Slam, buddy." The sentiment echoed throughout the onlookers.
Ace moved back to stand with the rest of the team. As he looked at Slam's coffin lying in the hole, Ace thought of how he would never see his friend again. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought of all the times Slam had been there for him. Lexi, seeing Ace tearing up, gave him a consoling hug. As soon as he felt Lexi hugging him, he simply broke down in her arms. Lexi could only hold him as he wept uncontrollably into her shoulder. She knew exactly how Ace was feeling, Slam had been such an integral part of their lives ever since they had become The Loonatics. Having recovered somewhat, Ace let go of Lexi, breaking their contact.
"eh… thanks, Lex, I needed that." Lexi smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly
"Yeah, me too." After the funeral service had ended, the team remained at the grave, each uttering their own personal goodbyes to their friend. Once they had finished, their next task was to pack all of Slam's personal belongings and sending them to his parents. They took their time, carefully packing all his things away, stopping as they shared memories of Slam. The packing having taken the majority of the day, the team celebrated their comrade well into the night. They returned to the tower, each going their separate ways. It had been a long day and they all just wanted it to be over.
Two months passed, and the team had mostly recovered from the loss. Slam's room had been locked off, Ace barred anyone from entering the room. Apparently, Zadavia had sent out for new Loonatics to join them. Ace had consulted with the rest of the team and agreed that any new candidates would be psychologically screened and subjected to rigorous training before they would be considered. This had been good for the team as it allowed them to focus on the upcoming arrivals, instead of wallowing in grief. Ace worked with Lexi, Duck and Rev to create and run the training course for the physical component of the test. Tech focused his efforts on the program used to screen the candidates. They had gone through many hopeful applicants, most of them miserably failing the physical training course. Some only tried to flirt with Lexi.
One particularly bold applicant had 'tripped' when he walked past Lexi. As Lexi helped him up, he cheekily asked for her number. She had smiled sweetly before she broke his hand and informed him that she wasn't looking for anybody. Tech took the tearful guy to his lab, giving him a cast and escorting him out of the tower. They had not had a candidate that had passed any of the tests.
"Maybe this one will be different," Ace baulked as Lexi appeared next to his chair. He had just been looking at each unsuccessful candidate, scrolling through disinterestedly. She must have guessed what he was thinking about.
"I doubt it, we've gone through a lot of people,"
"Yeah, there has been a lot," Lexi gave a sly smile "you never know, maybe this one will be cute." Ace gave her a quizzical look.
"Really? That's what you're looking at?"
"No! it's just a bonus, that's all." Ace rolled his eyes and went back to scrolling through the failed candidates. Unfortunately, she noticed. "Don't you roll your eyes at me Ace Bunny!" Ace smiled, still scrolling.
"As long as we get someone who isn't there to just hit on you and can actually past the physical obstacle course… I'll be happy." Lexi appraised him. He was still a little shaken up by Slam. There had been a couple of candidates that were fit to take the psychological screening, but Ace had flat out refused. He told them they were just not the right fit for the team. That was nonsense. He just didn't want anyone else dying under his command.
"Ace..." she placed a hand on his arm, "Slam doesn't blame you. The team doesn't blame you. I don't blame you." Ace stared straight at the screen. His arms shook slightly.
"I can't get it out of my head. Explosions everywhere, those robots running us down into the ground. I'm on the ground, bleeding and bruised, staring one of them straight in the eyes. He raises his weapon, ready to fire," his voice trembled as all the emotions he felt came rushing back. "Next thing I know, Slam's lying face down in the dirt with a massive hole in his chest, bleeding out beside me." Lexi didn't interrupt or try to reassure him, she just listened as he let it all out.
Clearing his throat, Ace stood up and placed the tablet back in its rightful place. Looking around, he noticed just how unkept the tower had become.
"Hey Lex, you mind getting everyone else in here? Can't be making a bad first impression on our newest possible applicant." Noticing the change of tone in his voice, Lexi quickly gathered everyone around the table as Ace relayed instructions to the team. Within minutes they were up and about, working on making the tower look brand new. After hours of tireless work, Ace called a halt to inspect their handiwork.
"Alright gang, this looks pretty good. Even if I do say so myself." Everyone was beaming proudly. This was the first time since Slam's death they had all worked cohesively as a team. They had finally moved on and a comfortable silence fell over them. The harsh 'ping' of the elevator arriving shattered it. Everyone turned as the elevator doors slid smoothly open and a snow-white bunny strode confidently out. He took in the Loonatics immediately and offered a casual, lopsided grin.
"Hi, you're the Loonatics, right? I'm Jason, your newest member."
Note: Thanks for reading please review and let me know what you think and if you want to see more. If you like this try my other stories Let's get out of here, Better Late than Never and my other chapter based story Expendable
