Loonatics Unleashed:
"Silent Conspiracy"
(This story is post Season Two – after the cartoon series.)
Rated T for Intrigue.
Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and ½ Century, Looney Tunes, and all related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Other references, lyrics and quotes belong to their individual artists, authors, copyrights, or trademarks.
The wormhole dropped the Loonatics right below the orbits of the pink and blue banded planet's three moons. The equatorial moon had a contrary orbit, spinning opposite from its sister moons and making wormhole placement tricky. As soon as the Loonatics exited the wormhole, Tweetums back on Blanc closed it down. They would have to call for another for the return trip.
At a signal from Ace, the Loonatics fired up the boosters in their black and signature colors all-environment suits to fall rapidly through the sky to the surface below. Seen only in holographic projection before, Freleng was far grander than the anthromorphs had imagined. Deep within sheer chasms, sparkling seas cut great swaths across the rich, burnt umber ground. Grand Alabaster cities; all spires of marble, sapphire, and gold raised to the dusty rose sky, the bastions of the ancient civilization set as jewels amid the elegant, verdant forests. Golden bridges spanned crag and city to city. And set within the very walls of the canyons themselves, the history of Freleng was written in great gold glyphs that sparkled in the light of the twin suns.
The Loonatics angled their descent towards the great citadel, domed in crystal, where Zadavia's and her brother's thrones sat. Great golden statues depicting warriors of a bygone age stood sentinel from its roof. But as they descended, the illusion of Freleng's peaceful beauty shattered. The streets were filled with the hue and cry of unrest. Rank upon rank of dread techno-forces marched upon the citadel whose dome was already cracked. The massive steel-blue robots each sported an inverted triangle on its chest plate, marking them as Freleng's elite defenders. The Loonatics braced for attack, but the rampant forces ignored the heroes, intent only on reaching the hated monarchy. The five anthropomorphic protectors swooped down to land on the sloped promenade beside four lone figures valiantly defending the citadel. Greetings were brief, and introductions were nonexistent.
Most of the Loonatics didn't know the ebony beauty, tall and slender, standing behind Zadavia and Optimatus; though they immediately recognized the short, cannonball headed Martian beside her. They'd encountered General Melvin before as enemies. Laser fire scattered the heroes and Zadavia cast a wall of prismatic energies from her hands deflecting the barrage away from her Martian guests. Optimatus sent out shafts of pastel lights from his hands to demolish his own rogue robots. Ace signaled his team forward, saving his questions about the royal siblings' choice of allies for a less lethal moment.
Lexi's long, pink ears cocked. Was that music she heard? The bunny stared incredulously out into the city were throngs of protesting Frelengians were treating the riots as if they were no more than a great, outdoor concert. Rings of pink energy walked themselves up her ears so she could better hear, but Ace interrupted, extending his guardian strike sword and leaping to engage the techno-forces that threatened them. The pink hued bunny shut down her super hearing to save them from the clash of battle and, powering up her brain blasts, followed her leader.
Danger Duck launched a set of power eggs at the attacking robotic soldiers scattering the techno-forces like ninepins. He quacked behind two other of the armed forces, ready with more eggs. He was just glad he had come in his Loonatic's uniform and not the Blancian full knight gear that looked more like a jester's outfit than a knight's attire as the royal feather duster had wanted. It still surprised the mallard that Ace had come to his rescue, intervening as leader of the Loonatics and telling the royal pain in the tail that right now he needed Danger Duck of the Loonatics rather than Sir Duck of the Blancian court. Though the yellow tweety bird had been imperiously demanding, the tiny ruler of Blanc had gazed kindly at his Loonatic friends. Danger suspected that Tweetums kept them to familiar routine as the only moral support he could offer them during their crisis. Unable to keep his mind on his task, Danger muttered to himself as he readied to throw his eggs. "With brain power like that, Tech was bound to get into trouble."
The two techno-force robots spun, knocking Danger back into the wall as thoughts of his rogue teammate distracted him. As Danger scraped down the wall, his black environmental suit shed orange bits of reinforcing as well as his shoulder Loonatic patch. Tech had created it to withstand everything from the harsh radiations of space to the crushing pressure of deep sea diving and everything in between. At least the impact didn't crush him.
Rev scowled at Danger's disparaging comment. He had to concede, though, that it might possibly be true. The speedster pulled out a power screwdriver like the one he'd used last time the Loonatics fought the techno-forces when General Deuce was trying to take over Blanc. Rev zipped around small knots of techno-forces unscrewing the bolts from the robots. It didn't help his concentration any to note that he was using the technique that Tech had suggested for disabling the robot attackers. In his distraction, the roadster missed a few spots. One of the robots, having lost its gun arm, picked it up in its other hand and continued firing. "Funny-how-things-change. Optimatus-was-the-enemy-and-now-he's-one-of-the-good-guys;-while-Tech,-who-was-always-so-concerned-about-protecting-people-is-in-prison-as-a-traitor. Funny,-but-not-really. Who's-laughing? Not-me,-that's-for-sure. The-thing-is,-really,-there-is-no-one-out-there-smarter-than-Tech. Someone-might-have-access-to-more-technology-than-him-like-when-we-first-encountered-wormhole-technology,-but-he's-just-plain-brilliant. Tech-always-could-break-into-and/or-do-anything-he-set-his-mind-to. But-that-still-doesn't-mean-he's-a-traitor!"
"I, I guess. And after all, he's only held on suspicion of espionage; and prison isn't that bad, right?" Lexi sounded unsure even to herself. The doe bunny angled her shoulders, using the four pink blade-wings sprouting out of the back of her suit to fly above the battle. Tech had outdone himself in their enviro-suits' design. Unlike their old jet packs, the retractable, knife-like wings allowed for hands-free aerial, spacial, or aquatic navigation. She charged a halo of pink light around her ears and brain blasted a row of techno-forces that escaped Optimatus' light energy attack. "It'll be like Tech taking a vacation from the lab."
"Nngblkkrrn. Gblaa vacation." The skepticism etched deeply in Slam's voice. He saw a one legged techno-force robot swat the distracted girl bunny from the air before toppling over. Lexi landed hard, the slender blade-wings of her suit snapping off as she rolled across the ground. The purple hued Tasmanian devil powered down his tornado maximizer ability and brought up his thunder mode. Twin cyclones spun from his hands, ripping up the mechanical soldiers that threatened to crush the stunned bunny. Of all the Loonatics, Slam seemed to be dealing best with Tech's betrayal. Of course, the Tasmanian devil's usual stress outlet was in his fighting, so it was hard to tell. If anything, coming to grips with his traitorous teammate made the devil more effective than usual.
Having recovered from his own mishap, Danger quacked over to Lexi then quacked her behind Zadavia and set her down beside the Martians. The black and orange mallard snorted. Even though the short Martian was armed, General Melvin only protected his queen from attacks that got through Zadavia's weakening defenses. The Romanesque space warrior did nothing to help with the actual battle. Danger quacked yet again, this time to reappear by a slightly overwhelmed Rev Runner. "Sure, Techy will be back before we even get a chance to miss him."
Rev forced a false smile. It was too late for that. But missing his friend-brother was not the only pressure squeezing his heart. While the roadrunner found no evidence that proved Tech false, what he DIDN'T find was any indication that the coyote genius was innocent. The roadrunner just hoped he wasn't called as a technical expert witness at Tech's trial. Rev avoided a sneak attack by flying out of the way, the flames of the speedster's passing melting the optics of his would be attacker. The roadrunner cut around and landed by his disabled assailant, a puzzled look crossing his face. The speedster placed a feathered hand on the chest unit of the towering robot, his gadgeteer tendencies coming to the fore. "Vibrations? No,-it's-music! I-know-in-the-movies-that-they-use-music-scores-to-set-the-tone-for-the-audience. I-should-know,-I-watch-enough-of-them. But-who-ever-heard-of-real-villains-going-around-playing-their-own-scary-theme-music?!"
"Rev! Watch where you're talking!" Ace snapped the warning even as he curled into a roll to avoid an attacker of his own. The Loonatic leader swiped with his guardian strike sword to cut the feet out from under the mechanical horror.
Rev pulled out his power screwdriver again. With blinding speed, the roadster dismantled the techno-force robot and extracted its radio control unit. So faint that he couldn't really even hear it over the sounds of battle, the thing was definitely vibrating rhythmically. Rev checked his internal GPS for Lexi's location so she could see what was playing, but in doing so he inadvertently made himself a target by remaining still too long.
"Focus, people! We got a job ta do!" Alternating the use of his laser vision and swordsmanship, Ace kept himself and his team from serious injury as he assessed the battle. Though his team was still in one piece, they were making too many mistakes due to distraction. All the Loonatics kept hoping that Tech's betrayal was really some sort of sick joke or bizarre test or just a nightmare that they could all wake up from, but it just didn't end. Failing to heed his own advice, Ace was flung forward from a shot in the back.
Optimatus reflexively caught Ace as the bunny flung into him, his partial bionic implants catching the Loontaic leader with more than natural strength. The tall Frelengian's one non-mechanical brow furrowed as an irritating sensation nagged at the base of his skull. Then the prince continued his light force barrage, but now, his bolts were inexplicably directed against his sister. "Funny, is it not? How someone of my power has need of allies? Or my sister either for that matter. Have you never questioned why someone such as Zadavia, who can survive the ravages of space without protection, who can command the energy of Light to form shields or to blast ships and robots to smithereens would have use of you and your pathetic little powers? Do you not grow tired of being pawns for her to use and discard at her whim? She even makes you wears the Felengian inverted triangle on your uniforms, marking your servitude. She has no real need of you except as pawns for her little political games."
Stunned as much by Optimatus' vicious verbal attack as he was with the Frelengian's power assault, Ace stared a moment in disbelief. Why was Optimatus suddenly attacking Zadavia? And why was he still treating the Loonatics as his friends? It wasn't true that Zadavia thought of them only as pawns. She was their friend. She cared for them. If anyone wasn't to be trusted, it was her older brother. It wasn't until an errant blast crumbled the support of a gigantic statue atop the council building causing it to tumble down on them that Ace snapped back to reality. Extending the four blade-wings of his enviro-suit, the sword wielding bunny shot up to meet the falling statue. Through a series of sword swipes and kicks, he deflected most of it, but not all. "Rev, grab Zadavia! Slam, Duck, get Lexi and da Martians! I got Optimatus."
Danger quacked over to the threesome, pausing to strike a heroic stance as he came to the rescue. His delay gave Slam all the chance he needed to scoop up Lexi and spin through the crystal doors into the council chamber. Annoyance etched the mallard's face until he caught his first good look at the exotic, Egyptian-esque beauty of Queen Tyrr'henia.
"Hummina, hummina, hummina!" Dazzled into speechlessness, Danger nonetheless managed to scoop up the tall Martian queen in his arms as rubble from the falling statue cascaded around them. He quacked her to safety, leaving Melvin to fight his own way into the citadel. Danger set the queen gently on her feet, gazing up into her luminous violet eyes as he did so. "Your life has just been officially saved, fair lady, by Danger Duck!"
Zadavia didn't notice the debris raining down on her. Neither did she notice Rev tugging at her arm nor hear the anthropomorphic roadrunner urging her to safety. Her gem green eyes were locked onto her hated brother, her only thought for his destruction. A chunk of alabaster fell, cutting the Frelengian princess' cheek, but she paid it no mind. All her will, all her focus was in shooting out streams of deadly Light from her hands.
"Meaning-no-disrespect,-Zadavia,-but-this-is-just-plain-nuts! We-have-to-get-outta-here! I-mean-I'd-totally-understand-if-you-hated-your-brother-for-betraying-you. Though-maybe-not-really-since-Tech-betrayed-us-all-and-it-hurts-like-crazy-but-I-don't-exactly-hate-him. Though-I-sure-am-going-to-kick-his-tail-if-I-ever-catch-up-to-him-so-maybe-I-do-understand-but-just-moments-ago-you-and-Optimatus-were-both-on-the-same . . .-whoa!" The black and red clad roadrunner dashed against the princess carrying both of them out from under the falling statue. The golden scythe from the warrior statue of a-time-gone-by clanged to the ground, its curved blade impaling the walkway where they stood just moments before. Larger pieces of crushed marble and masonry continued to pummel the promenade. Without stopping, Rev scooped up the domed headpiece from one of the dismantled techno-force robots and plopped it, helmet-like, on Zadavia's head to shield her from the falling rock. "Am-I-glad-you-decided-not-to-blast-me-for-interfering,-even-though-you-looked-like-you . . .."
"What?" Zadavia's mind cleared as the irritating hum in the back of her skull subsided . She shuddered as she forced herself to think logically through the irrational hate coursing through her. It took a concentrated effort but she managed to squelch the nagging. "Why am I fighting my brother?"
Seeing Rev's success with Zadavia, Ace scrounged a second head plate from the pile of scrap robots. The bunny jumped into the air, performing a flip as he plunked it on the tall man's head. Then he proceeded to calm down Freleng's ruler. At least the ruling siblings' little spat had cleared the promenade of the techno-forces. Ace led Optimatus inside to the others.
Zadavia couldn't see a thing due to Rev's speed, but she felt secure cradled in the roadster's arms. The Frelengian princess saw her rescuer rapidly blink his eyes to clear them of the emotion welling up in them at the mention of fighting one's brother. Zadavia's own memory drew back to the time when she had taken Tech as her 'plus one' to the Cosmic Abyss concert. She'd just learned that he was trying to get out of the lab more and thought it an excellent way to help him in his social undertakings. A sob shook her. Though being so much taller than the anthropomorphic roadrunner made it awkward, Zadavia lowered her head to bury it in his shoulder. She knew that Tech would be found guilty. Her own testimony would condemn him. Zadavia's tears joined those of the avian streaming back into thin shreds of vapor as they shattered on his supersonic jet stream. Zadavia murmured words of self-condemnation, but she couldn't hear herself through the helmet on her head. "I wouldn't blame you for not liking me very much right now. I don't like me very much either."
Rev ran several laps around the citadel. Ostentatiously to check for stray techno-forces, but in reality giving them both a chance to reign in their raging emotions before joining the others in the main audience chamber. The high ceilinged audience chamber sported stone arches covered in ancient runes. Majestic statues depicting a long line of Felengian protectors, complete with guardian strike swords, lined the hall. The royal Frelengian symbol of an inverted triangle was portrayed prominently over the twin thrones. Zadavia reached up to remove her makeshift helmet, but hesitated at seeing the others' frantic gestures. She frowned. The helmet must be well insulated. She couldn't hear a thing.
After a brief consultation with the others, Rev ripped off his wrist communicator, and faster than sight, inserted it within Zadavia's helmet. He had the helmet off and replaced before she could go ballistic on them again. He then did the same thing to Optimatus' helmet with Slam's communicator. It wasn't an elegant solution, but it worked. "Apparently-while-they-were-waiting-for-us,-Optimatus-took-off-his-helmet-and-started-going-nuts-again-so-whatever-is-causing-the-riots-must-still-be-out-there. So-it's-better-that-you-keep-your-helmet-on-to-insulate-you-from-it. And-the-communicators-will-let-you-hear-what's-going-on-as-long-as-Ace-or-Lexi-or-Duck-has-theirs-open. I-can-do-without-my-communicator-because-I-can-use-my-internal-GPS-to-track-my-teammates-and-Slam-is-tough-enough-to-survive-almost-anything-even-if-he-gets-separated-from-the-rest-of-us."
"T'anks, Rev, for da explanation," Ace cut in. "Now could ya hush fer just a moment an' let me t'ink?"
"Of-course,-Ace,-you-know-me,-I'm-never-one-to-keep-talking-when-asked-to-shush. I-know-some-people-never-know-when-to-keep-their-beaks-shut,-but-not . . .." Rev's words were suddenly muffled by a yellow furred hand gripping his beak closed. Annoyance etched the roadrunner's face, but he fell silent.
Ace's contemplation was interrupted again. This time by the rich, melodious voice of the Martian queen.
"Danger, is it?" Tyrr'henia ran her dark fingers through the shorter mallard's equally black unruly feathers that spiked up on top of his head. She was most impressed with the handsome Loonatic's rescue. Teleporting, quacking as he called it, had been . . . exhilarating.
"Actually it's Danger Duck. But you may call me Duck." Danger leaned forward, ignoring the daggers that Melvin the Martian was glaring at him. The mallard lowered his voice flirtatiously. "All my friends do."
"Duck, then." Though the queen had no visible mouth with which to smile, Tyrr'henia's eyes sparkled. "I have noticed that here on Freleng, only the ruling monarchy have super powers . . . as is proper. Might does make right, after all. But you are most impressive with your spectacular powers. You, perhaps, should be royalty as well."
Danger nearly melted on the spot when Tyrr'henia trickled her fingers down the side of his face to trace around the edge of his beak. He seemed to be having a hard time breathing. He lightly cleared his throat. "Yes, well, with ducks' natural rugged good looks, we do possess a certain nobility."
"That is quite enough, Duck." Zadavia scowled, not at all pleased with the Martian queen's interest in one of her Loonatics . . . even if it was Danger Duck. Neither was she pleased with Tyrr'henia's insinuations that she and her brother used their powers for dominion. Indeed, the Frelengian princess wasn't pleased that the Martian queen invited herself to Freleng for a visit at all, but she couldn't refuse the royal visit without causing insult. She and Optimatus had just agreed to allow Queen Tyrr'henia and her one officer to come down, when out of nowhere, massive descent gripped the entire planet. The Frelengian people revolted, holding massive protests and riots, while the military openly rebelled. Zadavia would have accused the Martians of involvement except for the fact that Queen Tyrr'henia was in just as much danger as she and Optimatus were. Even the Martian flagship was currently in orbit around the far side of the planet and was unable to come to their assistance.
Ace looked briefly around the august assemblage of royalty before him, but decided that proper court protocol was beyond him. "Eh, so Zadavia, whose out dere trying ta rain on yer reign?"
"That is the odd thing, Ace. It's been utter chaos. No leader has stepped forward. There have been no demands, no reviling against the laws, not even any complaints about our leadership or policies." Zadavia's beautiful green eyes clouded with sadness . . . and with a touch of something else. Agitation? Fear? . . . Guilt? Her thoughts drew unwillingly to the coyote she'd helped to imprison. "Just chants of hate against my brother and myself."
"Nngbl ppptttt kkrrn the robots?" Slam asked.
Optimatus brushed a long strand of violet hair from his bionic eye and studied the Loonatics nodding agreement with their brutish teammate. Though they seemed to understand the purple Tasmanian devil, he'd only caught the word 'robot' in all that garbled mess. Still, it was fairly obvious what the anthromorph meant. His words sounded odd coming over the communicator in his makeshift helmet. "Members of the Frelengian High Council attacked us in the audience chamber. We barely had time to contact you before they brought the roof down on us with some sort of sonic weapon. Apparently, when we escaped to the promenade, the minister of defense overrode the control of my techno-forces and sent them after us. The last I saw of the council, they were heading into the city to join the riots."
"Hmm. Sonic attack . . . not all that uncommon in some parts of the cosmos." Melvin placed a hand to his non-existent chin, his military training automatically coming to the fore. "Of course, I found it most effective against the Chiroptera people of Chiroptia and the Delphinidae people of Cetacean IV."
"Enough, General Melvin." Though queen Tyrr'henia's voice held imperial command, the gentle hand on his shoulder spoke volumes. The Martian queen breezed through the faux pas. "Pardon the General's indiscretion, my dear Frelengians. He is perhaps a bit too . . . enthusiastic . . . in his work."
"Sound, eh?" Ace turned to his team as his suspicions firmed in his mind. They had encountered a musical villain once before. He took the radio control module that Rev had taken from one of the attacking robots and handed it to the pink bunny beside him. "Lexi, see what you can hear."
The control unit had no speakers, but with as much as it was vibrating, it didn't need any. Pink nimbus rings of energy walked up Lexi's ears and the vibrations resolved themselves into the tune that the Keyboard Man had tried to turn into Freleng's national anthem. The overly pompous music wasn't the only thing she heard. "Ace! It's Rupes Oberon! He's embedded subliminal messages into the song. One is of discontent of Zadavia and Optimatus. The other is in his own praise as a musician."
"A-subliminal-message-is-a-signal-embedded-in-another-medium,-like-sound,-designed-to-pass-below-the-normal-limits-of-the-mind's-perception. In-certain-situations,-these-messages-can-negatively-or-positively-influence-subsequent-later-thoughts,-behaviors,-actions,-attitudes,-belief-systems-and-value-systems." Rev volunteered the information. "Though-in-this-case-I'd-definitely-say-it-was-a-negative-influence."
"Just as I thought." A grim smile etched Ace's face. "And dat egomaniac just couldn't resist putting in a plug for himself in da subliminal codes along with da hate message of Zadavia and Optimatus. He must be piping it out all over Freleng ta turn yer people against yas!"
"Nngbl kkrrn not affected." Slam looked around, but there was no Tech to consult.
"Good point, Slam. How come only Zadavia and Optimatus freaked out and not any of the rest of us?" Danger asked.
"Well, obviously as Martians, we are not so easily swayed by sub-aural messaging." Melvin smirked at some private joke. "No ears, you see. As for these others," and here Melvin turned a disapproving eye on the Loonatics, particularly Danger Duck, "I seriously doubt that any of them are high enough on the evolutionary scale. One must have a mind in order for mind games to be effective."
"Hey!" Danger protested.
Zadavia placed a calming hand on the mallard's shoulder. "It is because you are not native Frelengians and therefore your physical make-up is just enough different that it's not affecting you."
Optimatus shook his head, still contemplating the logistics of the feat. "But it's impossible to achieve worldwide coverage. Not only would Rupes need access to a universal code chip, but he would require colossal power . . . like what Zadavia or I have."
"Well, if the shoe fits, Optima-potato," Danger folded his arms across his chest. "No matter what Zadavia says, once a traitor, always a traitor."
"And that's not all," Zadavia inserted herself between Danger and her brother before the two could start their own private little war. "We do have power grids large enough here on Freleng, but Rupes would also have to have a way of channeling it into the primary entertainment lines."
"Eh, Zadavia?" Ace had a nasty thought. Channeling high levels of power was exactly what Rupes Oberon had achieved earlier when he'd stolen Zadavia's powers. "Where is da cosmic guitar?"
Zadavia's already pale complexion blanched. How could she have forgotten the guitar that Rupes forced Tech to create when the Keyboard Man turned to evil in jealousy!? "It's in evidence lockup with the mannequins and other instruments confiscated from Rupes Oberon."
"Well, I bet buttons to quasarliniums that it ain't there now." Danger planted his fists on his hips and glared at Optimatus. "That was real smart. What kind of idiot locks an all powerful instrument in with an evil band?"
"MY kind of idiocy, Duck." Annoyed, a flush replaced Zadavia's pallor. She had put them together, not considering them a threat.
"Oh, uh. Heh, heh," Danger stammered. "Honest mistake. Anyone could have done that."
"Of course." Queen Tyrr'henia agreed soothingly. "But know, my dear prince and princess, the Martians stand ready to bring order again to your lovely kingdom."
" T'anks, but not necessary, queenie." Ace flashed Zadavia a reassuring smile. "I t'ink I just figured out da problem."
"Oh, darn. I had so been looking forward to bringing Freleng under Martian Martial Law." Disappointment shone in Melvin's eyes. The general was tired of political games, he longed to just swoop in with his battleships and take over.
Frowning severely at the small cannonball headed alien, Zadavia turned to her heroes. "I'm afraid that simply stopping Rupes might not be enough. Optimatus and I were under the subliminal messages' influence only briefly, and I am still struggling against its conditioning. The rest of Freleng has been subjected to his musical mayhem for many hours. I fear lest the damage done is irreparable."
Lexi place a comforting hand on the princess' arm. She stole a suspicious glance at the Martians. Such social upheaval could easily play into the queen's and her general's hands. "Don't worry, Zadavia. We'll come up with something."
Pink Triangle.