Loonatics Tower, Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2773.
"Okay fellas, prepare for a major ass whooping by yours truly," I stated as I aimed my pool cue at the billiard balls while Ace, Lexi, and Sarah watched. I had challenged them to a game of pool as soon as we finished breakfast.
It had been two months since Sarah and I went on our first date and things have been going pretty good between us. About a month ago, I introduced Sarah to Zadavia and the team founder was alright with it as long as we didn't let it interfere with my duties as a member of the Loonatics. Ace, Lexi, and I were playing a game of pool and I was about to hit the white ball while Slam was gorging himself with three crates of grapefruit, Tech was working on a new blaster we started developing, Rev played one man ping-pong, and Daniel was playing an old weather report DVD while drooling at his crush, Misty Breeze, the local weather reporter.
"For fuck's sake Slam! Do you mind, I'm trying to hear Misty's report!" Daniel snapped in irritation as Slam chomped down three grapefruit at once and grinned at him.
"Goddammit! Are you happy now, 'cause now I have to start all over again," Daniel complained as he started up the disk again.
"Finally have the Beam-splitter neutron cannon finished," Tech said as he put the last cover on and admired it until he put it down and added under his breath, "Now to work on the blasters for Slam."
"He's invincible, he's unstoppable, and he's undecidedly the most fantastic ping-pong player ever!" Rev declared as he zipped back and forth to keep pace with the small white ball.
"Looks like you don't have it, Ethan," Lexi stated after she successfully hit the number 3 ball in the upper right corner pocket, causing me to curse under my breath as she added, "Don't worry about it Ethan, 'cause Ace is about to lose too."
"Don't count on it Lex, since you only have a number 7 and 9 balls," Ace shot back with a smirk and got ready to hit one of the two in.
Ace was about to hit the number 7 ball until the doors to the lounge room opened and we were surprised when the Mayor and her security team came in.
"Mayor Melody? What can we do for you?" Ace asked as all eight of us went to see her.
"I just wanted to come by and tell you all that because it is the one year anniversary of when the meteor hit us, the city wanted to present an award for everything you have done for us," the woman explained.
"Really? Where is this taking place?" Ace asked.
"In the city park, at 5:00 pm tonight" the woman clarified.
"Excuse me Madam Mayor, but is it okay if Miss Williams comes with us? She and I are together and I would like it if she came with for support," I suggested and the Mayor nodded.
"Of course. Anyone who is with the Loonatics is welcome to join. Now, I must take my leave so that I can prepare for the speech," the Mayor informed us as she and her security team left.
Later that day, we all got ready for the big event and took our motorcycles to the park with plenty of time to spare since barely half of the seats were filled. As we dismounted and headed to the big wooden stage at the center of the park, Sarah and I kissed, then she went to one of the chairs that were in front of the stage as the rest of us walked onto the stage and waited for the Mayor and everyone else to show up. By 5pm, all the seats in front of the stage were full and the Mayor stepped up to the podium to start her speech.
"...Which is why we are gathered here on this day; the one year anniversary of the meteor's impact. Adjusting to this strange new world has been difficult for all of us," the Mayor began and all seven of us from right to left: Tech, Rev, Ace, Lexi, Slam, Daniel, and I stood at attention even though Slam started to doze off. Luckily Lexi was there to give him a friendly nudge to the ribs with her elbow which caused him to focus. I saw Sarah smile at me and I nodded back slightly while I kept my hands clasped behind my back and my feet close together.
"Fortunately, we had help from seven extraordinary individuals," the Mayor stated as I saw Daniel checking himself out in the mirror in the corner of my eye.
"Oh, God...I get the feeling that Danny is going to boast," I thought dryly as the Mayor kept speaking.
"Who have watched over and protected us. And now to accept this small token of our appreciation-" the Mayor was about to finish as she held out a plaque, but she was rudely interrupted when Daniel snatched the plaque out of her hands and walked up to the edge of the stage.
"Thank you! Thank you! You know, there are so many people in my life who have made this incredible honor possible, but enough about them. As you know, there's a lot of hard work-" Daniel started to ramble while I smiled sheepishly at Sarah and the crowd in embarrassment, and the mallard had his turn to be interrupted when the Mayor forced the plaque away from him as she glared at him.
"This is for the team's leader, Ace Bunny," the Mayor told him sternly as she gave it to Ace, who took it and turned to look at the crowd as they all cheered and Daniel walked away in a slump.
"Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Good thing it's not every day that destruction rains down...upon us?" Ace questioned the last part in confusion just as tiny brown objects came raining down everywhere from the sky.
"Great...a hailstorm and me without my umbrella," Lexi grumbled as she, Slam, Rev, Tech, and I held out our hands to catch the "hail".
"What the...Tech, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I asked my lab partner when I got a good look at the "hail".
"Yeah...guys, this isn't hail, these are rock pellets. They aren't even from this planet...oh fuck me, it's a meteor shower!" Tech cried out in alarm just as the large rocks in question came falling from the sky.
"Oh shit, and I don't think an umbrella's gonna help!" Ace stated just as my eyes widened in horror as people screamed and started to flee in panic.
"Oh Jesus! I need to get Sarah to safety!" I exclaimed just as Lexi blasted a rock that was about to hit us.
"Hit it Loonatics, we got people to save!" Ace declared as I jumped off the stage and ran over to Sarah.
"Sarah, look out!" I notified in alarm just as I saw that a rock was about to hit her.
Sarah screamed in terror just as I tackled her out of danger and we rolled around until I wound up on top of her.
"Are you okay?" I asked her in concern just as I helped her to her feet.
"Yes...thank you, Ethan," Sarah said gratefully and kissed me. I took out a small cube from a pouch on my belt, pressing a button to make it change into a large cannon.
"Take this and start shooting! We need to save these people!" I told her urgently as I gave Sarah the cannon and she started shooting as I formed my hands into mallets and started swinging to destroy any falling rocks.
"Oh! Oh God!" the Mayor yelled in terror as Ace, Lexi, Slam, Daniel, and Tech used their powers to get rid of any falling rocks.
"I thought the weather only called for partly rocky!" Ace quipped loudly as Sarah and I met up with him and the others on the stage.
"Looks like Misty fucking Breeze called it wrong again!" I yelled back as Sarah blasted a rock and Tech created a green shield to block any falling rocks.
"Rev, fetch the Neutron Cannon that Ethan and I developed!" Tech ordered Rev and the road runner sped to home and back in a second with three cannons.
"You didn't say if you wanted the Refracting Neutron Cannon, the Beam-Splitter Neutron Cannon, or the one that goes gah-gah-gah-gah," Rev said as he looked at the arsenal in his hands, and Tech simply grabbed the purple cannon before firing at many falling rocks.
"Haha! How's that for mind over matter?!" Lexi declared proudly after a display of her agility and her Brain Blasting.
Seeing that we were starting to run out of gas, Ace started speaking to Slam.
"Slam, set your spin cycle to suction!" Ace suggested as he kept using his optic vision, and Slam did his cue by creating a huge cyclone that diverted the rocks.
Rev took the opportunity to get people to safety while saying, "All aboard! Rev Runner express coming through! Alright ladies and gents, no need to pack your bags 'cause we're all traveling light!"
The Mayor looked around frantically and she saw a large rock falling down to where she was standing and she screamed, prompting Daniel to run over and quack her and himself to a tree branch, setting her down and standing next to her.
"Have no fear! Mayor Melody, your life has been officially saved by Danger Duck!" Daniel declared proudly, not noticing the branch was cracking due to the Mayor's and his combined weight.
"Well, thanks-" the Mayor started to say gratefully, but the branch broke and she fell down screaming until she crashed into a crumpled heap on the ground and Daniel winced.
"Kinda..." Daniel trailed off in embarrassment, grimacing and and wanting to facepalm himself for what just happened.
Eventually, the meteor shower stopped and we had managed to keep the stones from hurting anyone. Sarah gave me back the cannon as we all examined the destruction.
"Damn...talk about a real fixer-upper. Alright, lets head back to H.Q. so that we can figure this out," Ace suggested as I walked over to the Mayor and helped her up just as her security team quickly approached.
"Thank you," the Mayor told me as she brushed herself off.
"No problem. Get to safety and notify the Governor about this. Have him declare a state of emergency because this is only the beginning," I instructed and the Mayor nodded seriously as she was led out of the park by her security team.
"This isn't over...not even close," I thought grimly as Sarah walked over and I put my arm around her shoulder as we and the others headed to the bikes.
"Okay Tech, Ethan, time to make with the big words," Ace told us while we were sitting in the conference room.
Tech took that as his cue to activate one of the screens that showed the meteor falling and hitting the city bay, making me tense up as horrific memories of that day came back and Sarah leaned onto my shoulder to reassure me, causing me to look and smile at her.
"The Meteor that hit Acmetropolis a year ago was only a trial run," Tech began as he showed a size comparison of Slam, the first meteor, and a meteor that was much bigger.
"Only this one is 500 times bigger than the original," I finished darkly as I changed the picture to show a satellite shot of the giant meteor approaching the planet in the distance.
"Kinda makes ya miss the good ol' days, huh?" Ace questioned all of us.
"Well, if the meteor didn't hit the city, Tech and I wouldn't have met you guys and I wouldn't have met Sarah," I said and Sarah and I kissed.
"Oh gag me...so let me get this straight! When the next damn meteor hits, everyone will have superpowers?! Ha, I don't need that kind of fucking competition!" Daniel exclaimed and I Gibbs-slapped him behind the head for his stupidity, causing Daniel to yelp in pain and he glared at me.
"Wake up and think logically, you dumbass! If that giant fucking thing hits the planet, there won't be anyone left since the planet will shatter and all life, along with us will die!" I lectured sternly until Zadavia's voice sounded out.
"You're absolutely right, Ethan," our team founder agreed as she appeared in holo-mode and continued, " which is why you have to journey into space before that meteor hits Earth."
"Well, don't worry your wealthy little head, boss lady. We laugh at danger: hahahahaha!" Daniel put in the laugh for dramatic effect and added a comment that he was going to regret, "Besides, what's so terrifying about a little space voyage?"
"Well, there's cosmic rays, air loss, engine failure, zero gravity, deadly aliens, black holes, supernovas-" Rev listed as he zipped up next to the mallard, and was cut off when Daniel sighed and looked down in defeat.
"See? Laughing already," Daniel stated nervously as he paled.
"Zadavia out," Zadavia said as she disconnected and we all went to get ready for what could be our last mission.
We all did what we could to prepare for this big mission as the day and night dragged on. Sarah, Tech and I worked on the Tech E. Coyote and Ethan Matthews Space Stream 8000, a space ship that looked like a replica of an old movie UFO, and we finished fast with the three of us working together. Sarah and I left the Lab and headed to the Training Room so that I could train extra hard to prepare for the worst case scenario. After meeting Ace inside the room, the two of us worked hard against holograms of robots while Sarah was watching.
"Coming to you Ace!" I declared as I stretched and coiled my arm around a robot, tossing it to Ace who sends it crashing down with an ax kick.
I met up with Ace and we nodded, merging into a hybrid form of a bunny and human as we used our elasticity and optic blasts.
"Engaging anti-gravity sensors," the computer droned as we backflipped to a table with weapons, and we grabbed a black and red pole to smash a robot with a hard jab.
We wrapped our torso around a robot like a snake and we crushed it just as Lexi came into the room.
"Couldn't sleep you two? I usually count sheep, but that's just me," Lexi announced as she pushed a few buttons, turning off the holograms and we landed on the ground as we separated into our normal forms.
"This is the biggest mission we've ever been on. Gotta be ready for anything," Ace stated while he did a few martial arts moves with the staff. Lexi tossed towels at us so that we could wipe off our sweat.
"He's right. We don't know what we're walking into, so we need to prepare for the worst case scenario. Murphy's law states that 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong' so there is no telling what could happen while we're up there," I stated as I wiped off the sweat from my face and Sarah walked over so that she could kiss me.
"I'm sure it'll be fine because you two always land on your feet," Lexi reassured.
"I've had a lot of practice," Ace stated seriously as the large yellow triangle on his suit glowed.
Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2772, 20 minutes until meteor strike.
"Oh God, no!" A young blond haired woman screamed in terror as she was cornered in an alley by a large robot.
"Destroy humanity, destroy," the robot droned as it stopped and analyzed its prey. A gloved hand tapped its shoulder, and it turned around to see a bald man with tan skin wearing a red t-shirt, blue vest, gray gloves, and blue jeans that were tucked into gray combat boots.
"Sorry bucket boy, not today," the man taunted as he made a 'come get me' gesture with his hand and he went into a fighting stance.
"Destroy humanity, destroy," the robot repeated until a voice called out.
"And...cut!" the voice ordered and the robot stopped as the director of the movie set walked over to the human actor and praised, "Oh ho ho! Van, babe! Faboo! Hahaha, take a break while we shoot the fight scene, hmm? Haha!"
The actor known as Van nodded as he walked off set and the movie director yelled, "Where the hell is that stunt rabbit?!"
"Yeah, that would be stunt bunny," Ace told his boss smartly as he walked over with a head mask and wearing the same clothes that Van was wearing.
"Whatever. Now, as we rehearsed, hmm?" the man suggested rather rudely with an uncaring expression.
"Whoa whoa, slow down there, Doc! See, I've got some ideas you're gonna love. Now, when the robot comes at me, how about I do some some of these, huh? Some of these, hyah! And a couple of these!" Ace offered while showing off some moves, but the movie director was not amused at this and leaned into his face with an irritated glare.
"Um...no. You see, I am the director, which makes me the boss, which means you do the scene the way I tell you to do the scene," the movie director told him smugly as he picked up the mask that Ace had dropped and shoved it into the Ace's hands before walking away.
Once the movie director gave the go-ahead to start the fight scene, the robot grabbed Ace by the ears before he could put on the mask and put him through a world of agony while he was making noises of pain from the robot beating the hell out of him. Eventually, the robot prop let go of him and Ace stumbled forward, his costume in tatters and his ears painfully bent. Ace let out a groan as he wobbled and fell to the ground with a crash, sitting up with a wince from the bruises and the black eye that were started to form. Strangely, he felt the ground start to shake.
Suddenly, a ball of light came falling from the sky and everyone ran in terror as Ace looked up. To his horror, he saw that the light was a meteor.
"Oh shit!" Ace exclaimed as the meteor hit the bay nearby and a shockwave started destroying buildings and sending cars along with people flying as it approached.
Ace staggered to his feet and ran just as the movie director let out a girly shriek. Ace was sent flying and hit a building hard, blacking out from the pain as rubble buried him.
"It's showtime," Ace stated as Lexi, Sarah, and I left the Training room.
The three of us walked until we wound up in the conference room and saw Daniel looking out the window just in case there were more meteor showers.
"Any sign of more meteor showers, Danny?" Lexi asked as we approached.
"Nope, but the fit and handsome superhero stands calm yet focused, confident that should danger arise, he is ready to protect the lives of his-" Daniel answered her in a dramatic way, but he was cut off by Sarah.
"A simple no would've sufficed, Daniel," Sarah said irritably while crossing her arms and asked, "Have you always been like this before you met the others?"
"Stoic and resolved to be the best superhero ever? Why yes. Seems like yesterday," Daniel said as the orange triangle on his suit glowed.
Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2772, 18 minutes before meteor strike.
"The bronzed and handsome lifeguard sits calm yet focused, confident that should danger arise, he is ready to protect the lives of his-" Daniel monologued to himself as he sat on the lifeguard's chair, and got interrupted when the real lifeguard came over and lifted him out of the chair by his shirt.
"Yo Danny! Quit screwing around! Get out of my fucking chair and do your damn job! Pool boy! Oh, and make sure you use the net," the human male said as he shoved a net into Daniel's hands and pushed him to a corner of the pool.
"Use the net...use the net. Fucking hell, talk about a waste of talent," Daniel grumbled as he used the net to search for anything that was out of place. He fished up a diaper and groaned in disgust.
"Egh...another treasure from the deep," Daniel muttered sarcastically just as a woman came over with her baby and she snatched the diaper before she walked away.
"Oh God, just put me out of my fucking misery!" Daniel snapped in frustration just as the ground started rumbling. Daniel let out a noise of confusion when he saw a light falling from the sky, only for his eyes to widen in horror when he saw that the light was a falling meteor that hit somewhere in the distance and a shockwave quickly approached.
"I was kidding! I was just fucking kidding!" Daniel chanted in panic and screamed in terror as he was sent flying through a department store window and blacked out.
"Well, I gotta hand it to you Danny. You sure as hell have gone a long way since diaper duty," Lexi remarked as we watched Daniel shake his head.
"You got that right, toots. You got to be fearless when you step into the spotlight like me," Daniel stated arrogantly as he thumbed himself and crossed his arms smugly.
"I know what it's like to be in the spotlight," Lexi said quietly as the pink triangle on her suit glowed.
Acme University, Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2772, 19 minutes before the meteor strike.
"Welcome everyone to this year's tryouts for Acmetropolis University spirit squad. As you know, the competition is particularly tough this year, so super good luck to you all," the head cheerleader encouraged while waving her pink pompoms. She looked at the clipboard the boy next to her was holding and said, "First up, Lexi, um, Bunny?"
"Okay Lex...don't screw up," Lexi thought as she approached anxiously.
"Anytime you're ready," the head cheerleader said irritably.
Lexi performed by doing a handstand, front flip, a small moonwalk, spinning counter-clockwise on one foot, moving both fists diagonally to either side of the position of her feet, another flip, and finishing with a split and raised arms. That performance won over the other competitors and two of the three judges.
"Holy shit! I've never seen anything like it! She's even better than you!" the male judge with short brown hair and glasses told the head cheerleader, who was perturbed as the female judge with green hair clapped.
"That was a cute routine Lexi, but I'm afraid you don't have what it takes," the head cheerleader stated condescendingly.
The two judges did a double take at the girl as the other competitors booed and hissed and Lexi was looking truly depressed, wondering what she did wrong as the building started to shake violently.
"Oh my God! What the fuck is that?!" the male judge questioned in panic as the ceiling started caving in.
Everyone screamed and ran for cover as Lexi quickly got up just in time for the rubble to crash into the gym, and the shockwave killed a few people while those who were still alive were blown out of the building. Lexi was sent flying and she hit her head as she crashed through a wall, blacking out in the process.
"I'm ready for this mission, and I know I'll be as brave as you, Danny," Lexi declared as she looked at Daniel.
"Dare to dream Lexi...dare to dream," Daniel said as Lexi, Sarah, and I left the room.
Sarah and I separated from Lexi and went into my room so that we could have privacy. We laid down on the bed and held each other close while I felt tense.
"Are you okay Ethan? You feel tense," Sarah asked in concern.
"Sorry...it's just that, well...I'm scared," I admitted and Sarah looked at me in surprise.
"Scared? What's wrong?" Sarah inquired.
"It's just that...I don't know what's going to happen when we go up there or how things will turn out. Just those two things are enough to terrify me and there's a good chance that we might not all come back from this mission," I explained and Sarah held my left cheek with a hand.
"You and the others will do fine. You and your friends are the Loonatics, who have fought very nasty people and monsters in the past," Sarah reassured me.
"That's the thing, we didn't ask for this fucking life. We didn't ask to get these gifts and have this enormous responsibility thrown upon us. Hell, before the meteor hit, I was just a college student trying to make a living...we were all normal everyday people with normal everyday lives that had something extraordinary happen to us, and now we are trying to save an entire planet from being destroyed," I told her.
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll be there for you," Sarah vowed, then she kissed me and moved on top of me.
We kept locking lips and making out as I caressed Sarah's slender form, our passion getting more heated until my com-link rang and we let out a groan as Sarah got off me and flopped beside me just as I answered.
"Yes, what is it Tech?" I questioned.
"I just wanted to call you and say that the ship is ready for deployment," Tech told me.
"Okay, let the others know. I'll be right there," I stated, then shut off the com-link and got up off the bed.
"Ethan, is there anything I can do to help while you and the others are gone?" Sarah asked me, and I put my hand on my chin thoughtfully until I had an idea.
"I know. How about you monitor the situation here and let us know if you notice anything suspicious," I offered and Sarah perked up.
"That sounds good. Sure, I'll do that," Sarah agreed as she got up and we kissed once.
"Then it's settled," I said as we left the room and headed to the roof.
"So, uh, Tech, Ethan, how are you two going to get us up to that space rock?" Ace asked us and Tech and I grinned as we stood in front of the ship that was covered by a large tarp.
"Presenting the Tech E. Coyote and Ethan Matthews Space Stream 8000!" Tech declared proudly as he pulled the rope that was connected to the tarp, and it fell away to show everyone the ship.
"Kind of a little retro, don't you think?" Daniel criticized while Tech was twiddling his two index fingers.
"No. In fact, it's just what we need to destroy that meteor," I clarified as I took out the ship's blueprints to show him and the others the device.
Tech, Ace, Lexi, Rev, Daniel, Slam, and I got into the ship, and Sarah and I waved at each other as Tech and I started the ship.
"Oh shit, Ethan. If only the fellows back at the Acme Tech institute could see us now," Tech told me with a grin and I nodded in agreement as the green triangle on his suit glowed.
"It'll work, we know it," I stated as I pressed the ignition button, and the panels on the ship opened before we took off.
"Perfect takeoff," Tech said as we headed into space.
"Tech, Ethan, nice work," Ace praised us.
"It may be retro, but it's cool," Lexi commented.
"Yeah, cool...for a flying dinner plate," Daniel insulted, and I shot a glare at him for a second before focusing back on flying.
"Dad...if you were here, would you be proud?" I thought as the silver triangle on my suit started glowing and I recalled the last day I spent with my father before he went missing.
Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama, June 20, 1994.
"Okay son, the principle of aerodynamics is that you need the right speed and propulsion so that the plane gets enough lift to take off, understand?" my dad asked me.
"Yes Daddy," I said while we were building a remote-controlled toy plane and I asked, "Daddy, are we going to see uncle M.J. tomorrow when he plays?"
"Of course Son, and I'm sure he would be happy to see you again. Now, let's see if this thing will work," my Daddy mumbled the last part as we set the plane down and Daddy handed me the controls.
I pushed a button and the propellers spun as I moved one of the levers. As I moved another lever, the toy plane took off into the air.
"I did It! It's flying!" I cheered in excitement as my Daddy ruffled my hair.
"Good job son, ya did it!" my Daddy congratulated me as we watched the plane flying around in the air.
"Daddy, I don't want this to end. Do you think we could do this every day when you are not busy?" I asked him innocently.
"Sure Son, because I don't want this to end either. Now, it's starting to get dark, so we need to get home," my Daddy told me as I brought the plane down and we walked back to the car.
"I love you, Daddy," I told him as we put the plane inside the trunk.
"Aww, thank you. I love you too, Son. Now lets get home before it gets dark," he told me as we got into the car Daddy drove us home.
As I was sat in the back seat, I wanted my Daddy to always be there for me, not knowing that this was the last time I would ever spend time with him or see him ever again.
"I love you Dad...and I hope I find you one day," I thought solemnly as we headed into space, and I contacted Sarah.
"Sarah? This is Ethan. Do you read?" I asked into the communication's hub.
"Loud and clear. How are things on your end?" Sarah asked.
"It should be a smooth ride from here, but keep scanning just in case," I instructed as the ship left the atmosphere and Sarah okayed me until we approached a meteor shower.
"Brace yourselves, approaching light meteor shower," Tech informed us just as Sarah contacted us.
"Guys, I'm detecting some strange energy readings that are fast approaching your location. Be on high alert," Sarah notified us just as the ship started shaking.
"Is this your idea of a smooth ride?" Daniel stated as the ship was shaking and the worst thing happened-the engines stopped working.
"Uh, Tech, Ethan, why does it sound like the engines just stopped?" Ace asked us nervously.
"Maybe we are just hearing things?" I said uncertainly and prayed that I was right, but I had an ugly feeling in my gut that I was dead wrong.
"Uh, well, that would be because the engines just died," Tech stated with a nervous laugh and we all started screaming as the ship flipped and turned uncontrollably on its way back down to Earth.
"Oh fuck...gonna hurl!" I cried out in distress as I felt bile starting to come up, but I forced it down.
"I think I just threw up in my bill!" Daniel groaned uncomfortably as we kept falling.
"Don't you dare throw up in here! This ship is brand new!" I exclaimed warningly.
"We're fucking dead! Completely and utterly fucking dead!" Daniel cried out in complete panic as he looked out the window.
"Sarah, can you hear me?" Tech spoke into his com-link.
"Oh thank God! What the hell is going on up there?! The scanners are saying that the ship's engines are dead!" Sarah exclaimed in alarm.
"No time to explain. I want you to upload a copy of the control system software so we can reboot the system," Tech instructed her calmly and we waited until the ship powered up just as we were about to hit the city streets.
Before we became street pizza, I quickly navigated the ship out of danger while Daniel screamed in sheer terror.
"We're all dead!" Daniel yelled until he saw that we were out of danger and said, "Oh."
"Okay, now it should be smooth sailing from here. Thanks, babe," I told the last part to Sarah on the com-link.
"No problem," Sarah replied.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hope this is the good smooth as opposed to the bad smooth," Daniel retorted irritably but I ignored his complaining as we reached the asteroid belt.
"Once we get through the asteroid belt, we should see our target," Tech said as we flew through the space belt.
"If our damn target doesn't see us first," Ace commented as he kept looking out the window and Rev went to defend Tech from the negative remark.
"Hey, you don't have to worry about that Ace, because Tech, Ethan, and Sarah have plotted us a course that allows us to avoid any contact with any large object and if anybody can do that, It's my favorite scientists Tech, Ethan, and Sarah," Rev defended as we were currently in the thick of the space belt and he casually added, "And besides, the statistical probability of an impact of even here in the asteroid belt is fairly minute-"
"Watch out guys, I'm picking up more strange energy readings coming your way!" Sarah interrupted urgently on our communications hub just as we were starting to be pelted by space boulders.
"Rev, you want to recheck those numbers?" Ace suggested as we kept getting pounded.
"Then, uh, recheck why those rocks are using us for a punching bag?!" Daniel exclaimed in frustration and I went to put in my theory on why this was happening.
"Hold on, whenever something happens to us, Sarah informs us that she is picking up strange energy readings, so I'm getting the feeling that something is doing this to prevent us from stopping the meteor," I told everyone, and they all looked thoughtful.
"You're right Ethan, but let's stop the stone projectiles hitting our baby first. Everyone into your inter-cosmic spacesuits," Tech instructed.
"Do we get our choice of colors?" Lexi questioned with an eager expression.
"Well no, but it'll keep you from imploding," I remarked as I stood up to show a metal backpack and walked over to the center of the ship. A light turned on and I was covered in a thin blue membrane as I added, "Voilà, and it locks in freshness."
Tech, Ace, Lexi, Daniel, Slam, and Rev followed my lead and got covered in the spacesuits as I got ready.
"Wait, where the hell is Slam?" Ace wondered when he noticed that we were one team member short, and Lexi looked out the window and chuckled.
"He's already outside slamming away," Lexi pointed out as we saw Slam hitting space rocks with a club made of stone.
"Fore!" Slam declared as he whacked a boulder away, laughing as he hit another boulder and added, "Five!"
"I haven't seen Slam have this much fun since his wrestling days," Lexi commented as Slam kept swinging.
"Batter, batter, batter! Swing batter!" Slam cried out in glee, not knowing that he was about to be hit from behind by a large boulder.
"Holy shit! Heads up Slam!" Ace tried to warn him, but he was too late when Slam got clocked from behind and was sent floating.
Ace, Lexi, Daniel, Rev, and I left the ship and went to help him as I saw the purple triangle on Slam's suit glowing.
Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2772, 13 minutes before meteor strike.
"And now this week's raging fight of the millennium your favorite, Carlos The Conqueror!" the official announced as he gestured to a man with a prosthetic metal left arm, who was wearing a blue, yellow, and red outfit. He raised his arms and the crowd cheered.
"And his opponent. The Terror From Somewhere, Twisted Spinner!" the ref declared as he pointed to Slam, who leaped down from the top rope and slammed his fists down with a determined growl, The ref gestured the two men to come close.
"Remember you furry freak, make it look good when you lose," Carlos whispered to Slam in a French accent once they got close enough, implying that Carlos expected to take a nosedive so that it would make him look good.
"I'm gonna win!" Slam argued at the man, already vowing that he would play the game honorably; taking a dive was not honorable, it was dishonest.
"Just take the fall, you fils de pute!" Carlos snapped in irritation but Slam let out a garble that almost sounded like a "Hell no!".
"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Tasmanian," Carlos apologized while offering a handshake.
Slam took the handshake and was taken off guard when Carlos spun around and threw Slam into the ropes. The Devil launched off the ropes and was sent crashing to the floor of the ring.
"Argh! Okay asshole, if that's the way you want to play it!" Slam garbled angrily as he stood up and glared at the dishonorable man who was soaking in the crowd's praise.
Slam retaliated by jumping up and landing on the man's shoulders, using the momentum to send Carlos out of the ring with a flip. The man went crashing right into a trio of fellow wrestlers who were cheering for Carlos just as the stadium started shaking and a ball of light passed just above until it crashed into the bay nearby.
"Huh? Pretty," Slam mumbled in awe at the ball of light, but his eyes widened in horror when the building started falling apart and collapsing around everyone.
The crowd, ref, and the wrestlers screamed as they all frantically tried to get out while security led them to the exits, but a shockwave came out of nowhere and sent them crashing into walls and through windows. Slam was running in terror as he tried to get away, but just as he left the stadium, he was sent flying and bounced off a parked car, crashed through a wall into a nearby building, and blacked out from the agony that ran through his body.
"Alright slugger, way to save the day," Daniel congratulated Slam as he put a large arm around his shoulder and Slam wiggled his fingers in greeting.
"Alright big guy, let's get you back to the ship," I said as I put Slam's other arm around my shoulder. Daniel and I took the devil back inside the ship with the others right behind us.
After heading back inside, we took off our spacesuits and continued to track our target.
"Meteor dead ahead," Lexi informed us and the object in question came into view.
"Holy shit...seeing it on a satellite video is one thing, but to see up close and-" I started to say in awe, but one of the jagged rocks at the bottom of the meteor struck the ship and we all went topsy-turvy.
"Oh God! Are you guys sure that we can destroy that fucking thing?!" Daniel cried out in alarm as Tech and I stabilized the ship.
"Yes. To insure destruction before it reaches Earth, Ethan, Sarah, and I designed this device which will amplify Ace's laser by a full factor of, you guessed it, googol," Tech explained as he showed the specs of a periscope, which was at the base of the ship.
"A goo what?" Daniel questioned in confusion and Rev humored him.
"A googol is a numeral one followed by a 100 zeros which were invented by American Mathematician Edward Kasner, born 1878, died 1955. And the reason they call it a googol was because Edward asked his nephew, who was 8 at the time, what name he would give a really big number-" Rev explained as he was rocking his chair and he got cut off.
"Okay! Yawn! Really bored now! Stop, for fuck's sake!" Daniel groaned out in exasperation and Rev started glaring at him for being cut off so rudely as we flew up to where we could see the surface of the meteor.
Ace activated the periscope and moved his chair in front of it.
"Here goes nothing," Ace declared as he gripped the handles and looked through the scope.
Ace fired his strongest attack through the scope and a massive beam struck the meteor, causing a massive explosion. Smoke covered the area where the meteor used to be.
"Holy shit! Ace, you did it!" Lexi cheered in victory.
"Holy shit! Ace, you didn't do it!" Daniel corrected just as the smoke cleared up, and the rest of us looked through out monitors to see the meteor still standing without any damage sustained.
"What the hell?! That blast only peeled off a layer of atmospheric dust! That's fucking impossible! No known mineral in existence can withstand that kind of punishment!" I exclaimed in shock.
"Maybe Ethan, maybe. But if we don't find another way to stop that thing, then Earth will be nothing more than a big pile of atmospheric dust," Ace stated as he turned the chair to look at me with a grim expression.
"Guys, we got to take out that meteor before it hits the planet," Lexi pointed out with a worried look and I knew that if we didn't succeed, everyone we cared about, along with all life on the planet would die.
"No more Earth?! No more gloomy dark skies?! Oh God, whatever will we do?!" Daniel cried out in horror and wept dramatically until he stopped and casually asked, "So, what planet do we move to next?"
I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing a little forcefully as I said lowly, "We're not out of the game yet. And Daniel, did you forget that people we care about, including my girlfriend, are down there, and that they will all die if we don't stop that meteor?"
Daniel gulped a little as I gave him a hard stare, feeling very pissed that our vain team member was considering on abandoning our home and the 8 billion lives that inhabited it.
"Ethan...I've been thinking about your theory about something being behind all of this and I think you might be right. First the saucer conked out, then those asteroids came after us, and now that hunk of rock turns out to be laser proof. Time for plan B," Ace said with a raised index finger.
"Next time, let us start with plan B," Lexi commented as we all stood up from our chairs.
"We land on the meteor, plant some charges a precise stress points, and get the hell out of dodge before the big kaboom," Ace told us as several charges that looked like upgraded pieces of dynamite came up from the floor.
"Okay everyone, put on your inter-cosmic spacesuits. Come on," Rev encouraged as we put on our spacesuits and grabbed spare bags from compartments so that we could put the explosives in them.
"Okey-dokey Rev, you're the fastest so we're counting on you to plant most of the charges," Ace instructed as he handed Rev a bag filled with loads of explosives.
"You can count on me Ace. They don't call me the speed demon of Acmetropolis. But of course I haven't always been the fastest, but that's a different story as it happened a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time ago," Rev ranted as the red triangle on his suit started glowing.
Quick Wrap Sandwich Shack, Acmetropolis, California, March 7, 2772, 5 minutes before meteor strike.
"We guarantee a free lunch in 30 minutes. You have 5 minutes to get there or I'll take it out of your pay," An overweight bald man wearing an apron threatened Rev, who saluted and grinned.
"Don't you worry Cookie, I'm on it," Past Rev vowed in a much slower speech and took the bag of food.
Rev left the fast food building and added, "Rocket blades, don't fail me now!"
Rev used his roller blades with built-in rockets to move fast throughout the city streets and took a shortcut by grinding on a train. Rev sped past a few men working on a section of road, and he ignored their shouting as he arrived at his destination and ran up all 22 steps, breathlessly stopping in front of a man wearing a security uniform.
"Quick Wrap Sandwich Shack...we deliver in 30 minutes or your meal is-" Rev started to say and was cut off by the unamused human.
"For free. My watch says one minute past 12; you're late," the man pointed out as he looked at his watch.
"Well, your watch must be fast because-" Rev tried to deny, but was cut off again when the man grabbed the bag of food and glared at him irritably.
"Better move faster next time, dickhead," the man retorted and went into the government building, leaving a crushed Rev outside on the steps.
"But...but I won't get paid," Rev said depressingly as he turned away and looked down crestfallen.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking and Rev gasped in shock as he looked up and saw a meteor falling from the sky. The space rock crashed into the bay and a shockwave fast approached as it destroyed buildings, and sent cars along with people flying.
"Oh, Jesus!" Rev cried out in terror and used his roller blades to try to escape, but he was sent flying by the force and blacked out when he crashed through an office building window.
"You won't have to dock my pay this time, Cookie," Rev blurted out after being quiet for a little bit and Ace and I looked at him in confusion.
"Uh, Rev, who the hell's Cookie?" I questioned my spaced out teammate, and Rev snapped out of it.
"What? Who? I mean Ace!" Rev stammered out and I had an idea.
"Ace, I copied Rev's super speed last year, so how about the two of us work together to plant the charges," I offered and Ace nodded.
"You have a point Ethan, 'cause that would make things go a lot faster. Alright team, you know what to do," Ace said as the ship landed on the meteor and we all left to carry out the plan.
"Is it too late for plan C?" Daniel questioned as we all separated.
"Suck it the hell up, Danny!" I called out to him as I used my super speed to move around the meteor.
Daniel flew to his location and landed as he checked his holo-map and saw that he was at the place to set the charge.
"X marks the spot for the big kaboom," Daniel muttered to himself as he put the holo-map away, taking out an explosive and placing it carefully as he monologued, "Now, the brave space ranger positions his charges. If he's off by one micron, the entire mission will fail."
Daniel felt a presence behind him and he slowly turned his head to see a tendril in the shape of stone.
"Oh, crap..." Daniel squeaked and started dodging the tendril's swipes until he was caught.
"Screw this, I'm quacking out of here!" Daniel declared and did just that, only he accidentally quacked out of his suit and discovered that he couldn't breathe.
"Oh God, no air, bad fucking idea!" Daniel choked out as he comically swelled up like a hot air balloon, and he quacked back into his suit that was hanging on the edge of the tendril.
"Now, where was I?" Daniel questioned until he saw that he was hanging onto the tendril and added, "Oh, right."
While Daniel was busy getting slammed to the ground by the tendril over and over, Ace and Slam were about to place an explosive onto their spot.
"Okay, let's get these babies planted," Ace said to Slam, who chuckled in response.
Just before they could start setting the explosives, they were suddenly sinking into the ground and they struggled until Ace held out a hand.
"Don't move!" Ace told Slam and used his optics vision to blast the rock around Slam to free him.
Slam returned the favor by jumping high and using his tornado power to pull Ace out of the ground and they flew back to the ship.
Meanwhile, Lexi was flying into a cave and she was about to place her explosives.
"Time to blast you out of orbit," Lexi muttered as she placed the explosive.
Suddenly, Lexi heard a noise and looked behind her, only to start displaying her agility and Brain Blasts when the cave started to collapse. Lexi managed to get out by doing cartwheels and front flips until she raised her arms in victory.
Tech was standing at one spot of the meteor when I showed up fast with one explosive.
"Done already?" Tech asked me.
"Just one more to place down. I figured we could place two together to give it a little more oomph," I said as I placed the explosive down and suddenly our bombs started counting down.
"Oh shit, something set off the timer!" Tech notified me just as Rev rushed over and took the bombs.
"Be right back!" Rev said as he passed us and I felt panic rush through me when I looked at my wrist computer.
"Shit Rev, get rid of those fucking things! They're about to explode!" I warned the speedster of the team urgently.
Rev did a u-turn and tossed the bombs, but they bounced off of some invisible force and both explosives landed in the hands of me and Tech, the two of us looking at each other with dull expressions.
"Fuck...not again," We said together in a surprised/dull tone until the bombs exploded and the smoke cleared up to show our spacesuits still intact, but we looked charred all over with bloodshot eyes.
"Agh...didn't need that..." I groaned out in pain just as Rev came zooming over.
"Fuck me, did you see that?! It stopped in mid-air, man! How do you guys explain that? But really guys, thank you for saving my life," Rev said to the two heaps of insulated ashes, and we looked at him.
"A pleasure as always..." Tech and I squeaked out as we reformed, despite being in so much agony. I groaned a little as the others arrived without Daniel.
"Tech, Ethan, you guys put the boom in 'kaboom'," Lexi quipped and I shot her a withering glare for her remark.
Seeing that we were one team member short, Ace contacted Daniel on his com-link.
"Hey, uh, Danny, care to join us?" Ace questioned humorously and we heard Daniel screaming and struggling against something.
"Shit! I'll be right there!" Daniel yelped as the rest of us went into the ship and waited.
"The other charges are about to blow!" Tech informed us and our worry grew at that news.
"Danny!" Ace exclaimed in alarm as our teammate showed up and flew into the ship.
"Tech, Ethan, get us the fuck outta here!" Ace ordered us, and I piloted the ship as it got away from the explosion, the seven of us breathing out a sigh of relief.
"Well, what do ya know, it worked," Ace commented after looking out the window, and Tech and I took offense to his lack of faith.
"You say that like you're surprised," I remarked with a slight look of irritation as Zadavia contacted us.
"Congratulations team, Earth is breathing a big sigh of relief right now," Zadavia praised us.
"Hey there, boss lady. Didn't think we could do it, huh?" Daniel challenged.
"Oh Daniel, I always have faith in the team...well, most of the team," Zadavia said.
"Huh, is that aimed at him or someone else?" I questioned our team founder, who looked hesitant.
"You don't want to know," Zadavia remarked, giving me a copped out answer while Ace looked thoughtful.
"Huh, the mission may be accomplished, but this whole thing has got me thinking...what was causing so many problems on this mission? There's something big going on. Something really, really big," Ace theorized and I nodded.
"You're right Ace. My theory about something being behind this is looking more and more likely," I agreed as we approached Earth and added grimly, "We may have stopped the meteor, but something tells me that this isn't over."
Unknown to us, we were being watched by a man with purple hair and cybernetic implants, who was piloting a large red and black ship around a planet. The man hit the console in frustration at the failure of his plan and he started muttering about how his sister had made a fool out of him yet again.
"Twice, I have attempted to destroy Earth. The first time; I misjudged the meteor's affect. The second attempt was just demolished by those Acme heroes...but the third time, the third time will be the charm," the man vowed and started laughing darkly, knowing that he would be successful next time and that he would have his sister at his feet, begging for mercy.
"Ahh, feels good to be home," Ace said as we left the ship and went back inside the tower.
Sarah came walking over as we entered the living room and she kissed me.
"I knew you and the others would do it," Sarah told me as we held each other close.
"I'm just happy that we are all okay," I mumbled in response just as Ace spoke to me.
"Hey Ethan, do you want to play a one on one pool game?" Ace asked me.
"Sorry Ace, Sarah and I need some time alone," I refused and Ace nodded in understanding.
Ace gestured us to go, and Sarah and I went to my room. I took off my team uniform, leaving me in a tank-top and boxers as Sarah took off her clothes. We laid down on the bed, the two of us holding each other close as we fell asleep.