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.

.

Pink Triangle.

Zadavia ran her hands down her flowing, prismatic cape, then they fiddled with her long, golden hair. She forced them still as she opened a connection to her Loonatics on the planet Blanc. The living room of the Loonatic's home base came into focus. It was a scene that had greeted her many times before. Lexi stood staring out the panoramic window over the Blancian landscape. Danger was posing in front of his full length holographic mirror. And Ace was seated cross-legged on his hovering meditation disk. But there were differences as well that told the Frelengian princess that all was not well with her Loonatics.

"The promises, hollow concessions. And innocent show of affection, touch your hand, a hologram . . .. We used to love one another, give to each other . . . are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? 'Cause I used to know. We used to, we used to, . . . we used to, used to, used to . . .. Is it too late?" Though Lexi wore her EMP3 Music Blaster 5000 earphones listening to the old classic "Friend or Foe" by tATu, she wasn't dancing to the music. In fact, judging by the bunny's halfhearted, sporadic singing along with the techno pop rock, she was quite sad and depressed. "Nothing to salvage. You look away, clear all damage . . .. We used to love one another, give to each other . . . so, are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? . . . 'cause I used to know, are you friend or foe? Love one another, live for each other. So, are you friend or foe? Friend or foe, friend or foe, friend or foe?"

Slam sat rolling a bright yellow, football-sized spiky fruit between his hands before him on the table. He didn't eat it. But the biggest indication was Rev. The roadrunner wasn't zipping around the place or playing a game of air hockey against himself. The roadster sat quite still beside Slam with his arms crossed on the table in front of him and his head resting on them. A scientific paper, "Meteor Spawned Ability Manipulation of Universal Super Strings," stamped with a large red 'uncorrected proof' across it sat on the table beside him. It'd come in the post while the Loonatics were out, and only required Tech's final corrections before it its final submission. It would be a long time before the research paper was published.

Slam reached over and patted Rev on the shoulder, but the speedster shrugged off his teammate. He wanted to be left alone, . . . but he didn't want to be alone. Hence he didn't leave the common living space. "Some-big-brother-I-am. Who's-going-to-lead-Tech-out-of-trouble-this-time?"

After assessing her friends, the Frelengian princess finished the connection so that the Loonatics would know she was calling. The whole situation with Tech was hard on all of them. As she waited for a response, her fingers twiddled against each other. She hid her hands behind her back as Ace answered her call. "Greetings, Loonatics."

"Oh. Hey der Zadavia, what's up?" Ace forced cheerfulness into his voice, but the worry clouding his normally clear blue eyes betrayed him. The Loonatics had been coping fine until their visit to Prison Station Alpha. Seeing Tech just reopened recently mended wounds.

"Thankfully, nothing. I just called to see how your trip to Acmetropolis went." Zadavia's hands sneaked out from behind her back and again smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her royal attire. She was unsure what Tech might attempt to get his name cleared. She and the other planetary leaders could ill afford any scandals if the genius decided to wage a vendetta against them. All pretense of royal aloofness left the princess. "How did Tech take the news of his trial?"

Ace shook his head. "Not well."

"How are you taking it?" Zadavia longed to take her Loonatics into her arms and comfort them.

The Loonatic leader looked around at his despondent teammates. They were a sorry sight. Ace sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Not well."

.

Light years away on Freleng, Optimatus came up to his sister and placed a hand on her arm to get her attention. Once satisfying herself that the turncoat coyote hadn't breathed out threatenings upon hearing about his conviction, Zadavia signed off and turned to her older brother. "What is it, Optimatus?"

"A call from the mayor of Acmetropolis." Optimatus folded his muscular arms, tapping the fingers of his natural hand against the bionic implant of his left forearm. The two women had apparently become quite close friends during Zadavia's exile. He stepped out of the holographic view of the mayor. The portly woman had not fully forgiven him his own previous betrayal of Zadavia. The Frelengian prince hesitated to let the mayor add more troubles to Zadavia's list of concerns, but just maybe helping with someone else's problems would help his sister forget her own. A turn in the women's conversation snagged his attention.

" . . . they say they have the holographic footage." The mayor's slightly exotic features were scrunched in worry, her dark eyes desperately trying to convey to her old friend the whole extent of the threat without actually mentioning it over a possibly unsecured line. There was only one secret that the blackmailer could possibly exploit. It was harmless, really, unless it was made known by the wrong hands. Then she could be in great danger; and through her, all of Acmetropolis.

"But that is not possible!" Knowing the mayor's secret, Zadavia's shock showed plainly in her pale green eyes. First Freleng came under attack by the Music Villain, now Acmetropolis was threatened. Ever since the planetary leaders moved against the traitor, things had been spiraling out of control. Where would it stop? And what was the attacker's ultimate goal? One thing was certain, at this critical time in the galactic political climate, such a perceived scandal could prove fatal to all the ruling regimes. They could not afford political unrest in these perilous times. "Any clue as to who sent the message?"

"Not really." The mayor indicated a report on her desk. "There has been a disturbance on the prison ship, but nothing from the high security section."

"I see. Have the warden step up security anyway. And I'll send the Loonatics to consult with him on the matter." Zadavia's face fell dead of emotion. "Have any demands been issued?"

"No, no demands, at least yet, but . . .." The mayor shuddered slightly, recalling the distorted, voice-gram claiming knowledge of who she really was. The recording was of such a low quality that it actually stuttered.

Off to the side, Optimatus rumbled quietly to himself. Everything seemed to tie in together forming one great, grand scheme. One that made his own previous plans of conquest look like a child's game. The Frelengian prince determined to consult with General Melvin . . . again. The cannonball headed Martian was difficult to read, but he had proven quite the strategist.

Red Triangle.

" 'As-the-prison-warden-in-charge-of-the-general-penitentiary-population,-and-I-am-well-within-my-purview,'-my-eye! I'm-a-galactic-hero,-you'd-think-that'd-count-for-something. I've-saved-their-sorry-tail-feathers-from-dangers-they-don't-even-know-exist!" Rev griped. The speedy roadrunner punched the console of the Orion Class Cruiser as he docked it back in the Loonatics' Blancian port. The Loonatics had been using the Dragon Ship, as they called it, ever since they'd captured it from Optimatus when he was still their enemy. "What-does-that-mean-anyway? If-Tech-was-too-dangerous-to-let-out-of-his-cell-even-for-his-own-trial,-where-would-they-put-him-for-solitary-confinement? They'd-have-to-take-Mastermind-out . . .-and-knowing-Tech,-he'd-like-that. And-Tech-causing-problems-in-the-prison? No-way,-no-how! If-Tech-was-stirring-up-trouble,-he'd-be-out! Yeah,-that's-what-I-should-have-said!"

The speedster shook his head in self-remonstration. Oh, man, how come he could never think of those things on the spot? Rev checked the chronometer before disembarking. The time elapse from when he'd started his little impromptu journey was 16.23 hours. Boy, there was no way Ace and the others hadn't missed him. It was too bad that he'd been unable to convince Tweetums to open a wormhole for him to Acmetropolis.

Rev zipped through the pastoral beauty of Blanc's forest-like cities to the Loonatics' tree house headquarters, then quickly deactivated the security system so he could slip in unnoticed. He was glad he was the one with the internal GPS. It made getting into the lab easier. Despite the discomforting memories of Tech in the place, it was where he wanted to be.

Rev wandered over to the energy processor that he and Tech had photon-lasered from General Melvin's command ship all that time ago when the Loonatics had still lived on and operated from Acmetropolis. The memory made him smile despite the distinct lack of Tech in the lab. The coyote's micro-mechanical cleavage apparatus occupied the central workbench. The lab was remarkably empty and clean despite the pile of gear dumped at a side workstation that needed repair. Lexi's enviro-suit damaged in the Loonatic's recent battle on Freleng topped the pile. The gadgeteer and the inventor hadn't been on Blanc long enough to properly break in their lab yet. Though the circular room also contained the Martian primary processor and parts from Melvin's shuttle that the Loonatics boosted to escape his warship the first time they encountered the little twerp.

Rev and Tech had been studying the Martian technology and reverse engineering it. Though the runner admitted that it was mostly Tech doing the studies. The genius had to advance an entirely new field of subatomic particulate physics merely to cover the energy transferal parameters of the Marian energy processor. The scientific advances earned him much prestige in the science communities of several systems. Tech now understood the principles involved in Martian energy technology and he had even gone as far as to design one of his own that relied on magnetism as an alternative catalytic initiator. It was actually superior to what the Martians used, being safer and more cost effective. But the real problem was the raw resources required.

"It's-sad,-really. The-Martians-need-power-to-get-the-resources-that-they-need-to-generate-more-power. The-more-planets-they-accumulate,-the-more-resources-that-war-like-race-requires-to-maintain-them,-which-in-turn-requires-more-conquests-to-provide-the-needed-resources. After-millennia-of-such-aggressive-policy,-the-Martians-have-so-many-enemies-that-they-don't-dare-power-down-even-if-they-want-to-for-fear-of-being-destroyed." Rev shook his head. It was quite the vicious cycle. While working on the energy processor, the two lab partners' main problem was the massive energy production that the Martians were capable of generating. A good portion of this was their readily available resources from their thousands of conquered planets. Resources that, quite simply, neither the Loonatics nor the premier planets, namely Acmetropolis, Blanc, or even Freleng, could access.

Rev picked up a spanner and began tinkering with his buddy's prototype. Tech hadn't finished with it yet. The gadgeteer sighed. Unfortunately, Rev couldn't even really keep up with the battle damaged on the Loonatics' existing equipment, much less have any hope of actually coming up with something new. Then renewed determination set the roadster's features. "I-bet-if-I-could-solve-the-energy-problem-for-the-penitentiary,-then-Tech-wouldn't-be-getting-himself-in-trouble-and-he'd-be-available-for-me-to-visit."

Ace stood in the doorway, leaning against its frame. The Loonatic leader entered the lab in time to hear the last of what the roadrunner said. Though Lexi had said nothing, the yellow bunny noticed when her ears suddenly perked up and decided to act on the hunch that the speedster was back. "Where ya been, Rev?"

"Uh,-here? Well,-not-all-the-time-here,-but-at-least-recently-here-I've-been-here." Rev jumped at the sudden intrusion of his leader. The gadgeteer dropped the wrench, his heart racing. He only avoided smashed toes due to his super speed. Man, no wonder Tech never liked him to sneak up on him while he was working. "Heh,-heh,-heh,-there-certainly-is-a-lot-of-work-to-do. I've-been-trying-to-repair-stuff,-but-I-still-seem-to-be-falling-behind-in-the-work."

"Ya tried ta visit Tech." It was half statement, half accusation. Ace rubbed the tension from his eyes. Ace didn't need super enhanced vision to see that Rev was fudging. "We decided dat we weren't going ta do dat."

"No,-YOU-decided! Not-me. Tech-is-my-friend . . . my-brother. Even-if-he-is-evil-now,-you-can't-expect-me-to-abandon-him!" Though he still hated being scolded for visiting the 'enemy,' Rev braced himself for the inevitable confrontation with Ace.

"Rev, matters of confidentiality were breached." Ace didn't like abandoning Tech any better than Rev did, but there were serious consequences that, as guardians of the universe, they had to consider. The rest of the Loonatics joined the bunny and roadrunner, trying very hard not to widen the rift between the two, but to somehow bring them all together. "We have ta . . .."

"Well,-confidentially,-I-think-it-stinks!" Feeling his eyes sting, Rev took off running as fast as he could. But even he couldn't really say what he was running away from.

Startled at the runner's vehement outburst, but not really surprised, Ace sent Danger after him. The short black and orange mallard quacked out, tracking the roadrunner on his com-link's Quack Finder, but he was back even before the residual quacking teleport energies could all disperse. He held out Rev's red communicator in his hand. "He ditched it."

Ace again rubbed his eyes against the headache building behind them. "Slam, go bring Rev back. We have ta come ta an agreement." Though reasonably mild mannered, Slam was a predator. The Tasmanian devil should have little trouble hunting down the avian even without a homing beacon. Then Ace remembered when Rev first discovered Tech's betrayal and the damage done to the base. "No, wait. On second thought, bring him ta da virtual trainer. We'll meet ya dere."

Yellow Triangle.

Lexi programmed in the most idealistic scenes from the four premier planets: the central park of Acmetropolis, the pastoral countryside of Blanc, the sparkling seas of Freleng, and even the red crags of Mars. Showing Rev just what they were fighting to protect seemed like a good idea to the pink bunny. She felt Ace's blue eyes on her and she looked up from her programming with a smile. "Visual Aids," the pink and black clad bunny supplied in response to Ace's unspoken question.

Ace nodded, but Danger Duck just scoffed. "Yeah, right. Bringing Rev to come play in the rumpus room; a fat lot of good that's going to do. If I were leader, I wouldn't put up with him sneaking out. No siree, I'd have strict order and discipline."

"Can it, Duck. I'm da leader of dis group and I'll handle it." Ace began wondering if his little 'chat' with Rev would have to expand out to include others of the Loonatics, but before the yellow bunny could decide to make it into a group activity the door slid open. A ruckus sounded from the hallway.

"Let-me-go,-you-overgrown-marsupial!" Slam dragged Rev into the virtual trainer, kicking and screaming all the way. Rev didn't have many offensive capabilities, only his super speed and the flames that it at times produced. Still, the speedster wasn't actually angry at Slam and he didn't want to scorch the Tasmanian devil in his after burn. Once inside the training room, Slam released his hold on the roadrunner. Then the devil stood in the doorway, blocking the exit.

"Dat's enough, Rev." Ace approached his recalcitrant teammate. "We're gonna settle dis right now."

Slightly intimidated by Ace's implied threat, Rev took off running through the virtual landscape. He knew if he could gain a little time to calm down, he'd be able to better face his teammates. With Ace pressing the issue now, however, the roadster feared he would end up doing or saying something that he would come to regret. The supercharged roadrunner sped over the sparkling waters, his speed kicking up virtual spray without letting him actually sink. He raced up rosy cliff faces and between trees and statues. All the while muttering to himself . . . though the acoustics of the training room carried his complaints to the rest of the Loonatics. "What's-so-bad-about-seeing-Tech-anyway? Its-not-like-I-was-going-to-bring-him-a-file-baked-in-a-cake-so-that-he-could-escape-or-anything. I-mean-man,-are-we-so-worried-about-our-public-relations-that-we-can't-risk-being-seen-visiting-him? If-anything,-I'd-think-it'd-only-harm-our-image-to-cut-off-our-genius-from-any-good-influence-that-might-help-reclaim-him. But-NO,-'we-decided,'-yada,-yada,-yada."

A tight frown etched Ace's face at the criticism. It was one thing to vent ones feelings, but it was an entirely different matter to just complain and work up even more indignation. Annoyed at Rev's flippancy, Ace fired up his laser vision to try and slow the runner down enough for them to actually talk things out.

A virtual bush exploded in a ball of flame, neither Ace nor Rev quite knowing if it was the bunny's laser or the roadrunner's scorching speed that ignited it. Ace lowered his optical output to below normal sparring level. He really didn't need to add injury to insult. Minor blasts lit up the various areas in the trainer, but no more virtual damage was incurred.

Another splash of laser-light impacted at his feet and Rev swerved again. Then his internal GPS screamed. Looking up, Rev realized that Ace was herding him into a corner. Reversing his course, the speedster dashed against the yellow bunny. Just before impact, Rev swerved again and literally ran circles around his leader.

"Duck! A little help here!" Ace stumbled dizzily, then shot his laser eyes at the ground in front of the roadster again in an effort to block him.

"What? You're the leader. I thought you said you could handle him." As amusing as it was watching Ace and Rev play 'all around the mulberry bush,' Danger finally decided to lend a hand . . . or more accurately, an egg. It wasn't often that Ace admitted that he needed the mallard, and Danger wasn't about to loose the opportunity to rub it in his face. Recognizing the circle stumble play that he and Rev usually executed together, Danger wound up a tar egg and tossed it into the speedster's path. The sticky tar stuck to the roadrunner's feet only briefly until his fiery speed burned it off, but it slowed Rev enough for Ace to tackle him.

The two tumbled with the momentum, as the impact of the bunny knocked the roadrunner off his feet. Lexi cringed and frantically altered the virtual landscape opacity so that Ace and Rev would breakthrough without bodily damage. They came to a screeching halt and Ace pinned down the roadster using a hold that Slam had taught him. "Dis ain't about da Loonatics' reputation. We're big enough to handle a little bad P.R. It's about da success of our missions and keepin' people safe! Ya know as well as da rest of us dat Tech presents a real and present danger. He's smarter dan alla us put tagether and if we compromise security, even unintentionally, we could topple not only Zadavia's rule but alla da planetary governments. Is DAT what ya want?"

" . . . no,-but-I . . ."

"Look, Rev, its only until t'ings settle down and we straighten out dis mess." Ace hopped off the fowl and hauled Rev to his feet.

"I-can-go-after-they're-resolved?" Okay. Rev was ready to listen now.

"Yeah."

"And-you-will-come-visit-him-too?"

"Yeah." Ace glared at Danger, silently warning him not to take exception. "We all will."

"I-get-to-write-to-him-now,-though." Rev continued the bargaining process. Having a pop who was a salesman did have its advantages.

"Fine. But only once a week."

"And-. . .."

"Stop!" Ace said firmly, getting a bit exasperated at Rev. "Now promise me dat you won't go sneaking off ta visit Tech no more."

"I-promise."

"You promise what?" Ace prompted. "Hands in front, where I can see dem. And no crossing yer fingers or nothing. Dis is a REAL promise, Rev."

Rev scowled a bit. Ace had seen too many of his promises to Tech about not touching his stuff. Defeated, Rev pressed his hands flat on the virtual trainer's console, his head and tail lowered. "I-promise-to-obey-your-rules-regarding-Tech-until-we-get-this-resolved-or-until-you-lift-the-ban."

"Atta boy." Ace clapped his hand on the runner's shoulder.

"Or-until-until-next-quarter-starts." Rev hated giving promises with no outs. His pop used accounting quarters to manage his business. Perhaps he could do the same.

"Rev!" Ace scolded. Then the Loonatic leader threw his arm around the roadrunner's slight frame and guided all his teammates out of the virtual trainer.

"But-couldn't-I-go,-just-once,-to-let-him-know . . .."

"NO!"

The roadrunner's face was unusually somber as he pulled away from his teammates, leaving them in the living room. The roadster continued on to the main command center and set about reactivating the security measures that he'd turned off when he came in earlier. Rev considered how easily he walked back into the base after his attempted visit. If he could, then Tech could blindfolded. He could run the security protocols, but Tech wrote them. The gadgeteer started work on upgrading security. He had to be ready for the coyote. Why would Tech be in solitary confinement if he wasn't causing trouble? Hmm. If Tech was intent on escape, he WOULD escape. Rev had no doubt about that. "And-when-you-do,-'little brother,'-I'm-gonna-hunt-you-down-and-pound-some-sense-into-you!"

Red Triangle.