Acmetropolis prison. The home to many supervillains who have tried and failed to face the city heroes, the unmistakable loonatics. The guards were doing their rounds, checking to make sure no one had escaped.
"Mornin, bob."
"Mornin, joe. So, how's the family?"
"Ah, you know Vicky. I'm always coming up short."
"Hehe. Yeah, I know what ya-" suddenly, there was an explosion, the wall broke and the blast sent the guards flying. The two guards lay stunned for a moment when suddenly a mist came over them and they fell asleep.
Toni was listening to some music and dancing in her cell. She looked at a picture of rev and herself from karaoke. "Oh, revvy, one day you and I will be together again." She smiled mischievously. "Maybe even one day soon." Suddenly there was another explosion and her cell wall crumbled. Salma walked through with an rpg.
"Ooh. How exciting. But you know there's keys, right?" Toni walked to salma.
"I like a grand entrance." Salma grinned then quickly put on a gas mask. Toni emitted a mist as they walked out of the prison, yelling, "You all think I'm a model prisoner. When anyone asks, I was let out on good behavior." All the guards and prisoners replied, "yes ma'am."
After exiting, she popped her head back through the hole and said, "and the holes were made by a runaway bull."
Today, in the loonatics tower, the heart of acmetropolis, the team of superheroes were going about their morning. Rev and Lexi were playing a racing video game and Ace was making a smoothie. Slam was in his room lifting weights and Tech was in his lab as usual.
Duck entered the living room and posed. He waited for someone to notice him and when they didn't, he cleared his throat. Still no one looked. He walked in front of Lexi and revs game.
"Move it! I'm messing up!" Rev yelled.
"Rude! Notice anything?" Duck batted his eyebrows. The game suddenly started playing sad music.
"Duck! We almost had it!" Lexi stood up with clenched fists.
"I grew my hair out! There! My secret is out. Do with it what you will." Duck smirked and walked away. Lexi had to hold back rev from punching him though they were all stopped by the alert sound to let them know someone was at the tower doors. The footage came on screen and much to their chagrin, it was someone they knew. Someone they had met within the last few months but had hoped to never see again.
"Yoo-hoo! Revvy! I'm back!" Toni waved to the camera, smiling. Rev quickly raced to techs lab and hit a button that revealed an array of weapons defending the front door. Rev had rage in his eyes but tech was able to take his hand away in a calm manner and reset the security.
"Phew. I.. heh.. thought you were trying to kill me for a second." Rev raced to the microphone and shouted, "I was!"
"Oh, revvy. Please let me in. I need to talk."
"No!" The loud speaker vibrated.
"Just 2 minutes. I promise I'll leave and never come back if you don't like what I have to say." Rev let go of the microphone and then crossed his arms. Tech looked at him and then opened the door.
"You have 2 minutes." He said through the loud speaker. Toni excitedly skipped in. When the elevator door opened to the top floor, every one was facing Toni with powers on stand by.
"I appreciate the reception but don't get too excited."
"How exactly did you get out?" Lexi asked glaring.
"Well, blondie, if you must know, I got out on good behavior. Apparently, I'm a model prisoner. Anyway, enough chit-chat. We all know I'm not here for any of you." She pushed past tech and Lexi and spotted her target.
"I'm here for handsome." She set her hand under her chin, supporting her elbow with her other arm and fanned her tail back and forth while staring at rev. Rev was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels to try and ignore her.
"Revvy, I can't apologize enough. The dog told me you never got hit with my spray. That all of it was real. If I had known, it would've been different. Well, a little." Rev didn't speak. She grabbed his hand which took him by surprise. "I've never had anyone feel that way about me before. Not for realsies. Will you please give me another chance?"
"Another chance? You tried to sell me!"
"And us." Tech said.
"Yes but that was so yesterday. Today, I have turned over a new leaf. Remember, good behavior?" She batted her eyes.
"You think that's gonna convince me?" Rev raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I was hoping." She laughed nervously. Rev wasn't having it.
"Times up! So sorry. You've wasted your time. I'll escort you out. Goodbye!" Rev was almost in the elevator with Toni.
"Wait! Please! Just one chance! It doesn't even have to be a date! We could just hang out! Rev." She quickly turned to rev before he could completely push her in the elevator. Her eyes looked genuinely distressed as they glistened. Rev couldn't help but bring up all the feelings he pushed down.
"...no."
The elevator closed and toni was left looking devastated. Rev raced back to his room.
"That was honestly hard to watch." Lexi said sympathetically. The team then noticed tech on the phone.
"Yup. You're positive? Well, thanks." He hung up the phone.
"So?" Ace asked.
"What she said is true. The prison ward says she got out on good behavior." Tech answered with disappointment.
"Yeah well I don't buy it. Somethings up." Lexi crossed her arms.
"I don't doubt that." Ace replied.
"Think we should investigate?" Tech asked.
"Right now, there's no reason to but we'll keep an eye out." Ace answered, sipping more of his smoothie. "In the meantime, let's focus on rev. Go see how he's doing Duck."
"What? Why me?" Duck asked irritatedly.
"Duck!" Everyone said.
"Fine! Fine! I'm going. Sheesh." Duck knocked on revs door and when he didn't answer Duck opened it. Rev appeared to be listening to music while reading a book.
"It's worse than we thought." Duck came back to the living room.
"What's wrong?" Lexi asked concerned.
"He's reading." Duck said, making fun of her worrying. Lexi glared at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must maintain my perfection."
Meanwhile, in an unknown building salma had been hiding at, Toni came back, enraged, only uttering the words, "do it." Before storming to a large computer monitor. A man came on the screen. "We want it! All of it!" She said to him, her eyes wide with crazy excitement.
"And in return?" The man ominously said.
"You will receive a new batch of spray."
"Perfect. You shall receive the goods soon." He hung up the video call.
"Wait. You're just giving it to him? What happened to this being a sale?" Salma asked visibly miffed.
"Hey, sassy, newsflash: that's not at all what I said I had setup. Besides, if he gets it for free, he'll be more inclined to help me with my plan to win back revvy."
"So you still wanna do all of this for that dumb bird?" Salma asked glaring.
"Of course! Rev is worth anything to me!" She yelled. "I have to know what could be and I will do anything to find out." She started spinning around happily.
"Apparently it's worth our profit." Salma spoke under her breath. She started packing some bottles.
Later, that evening, the loonatics are alerted to a robbery happening within the local bank.
"Loonatics, let's jet." Ace commanded. The team followed and they all flew out of headquarters.
Upon reaching the bank, they stormed in, battle ready, only to see salma with a gun-like weapon and several bags of money being brought over to her by scared bank workers.
"Hey, Salma. How about you drop the weapon and we'll make sure not to drop you when you're put into your cell?" Ace said, eyes glowing red.
"Oh, sure thing. Let me just-" she quickly blasted the pile of money with a strange beam from her wrist cuff and it disappeared. Ace shot a blast but just as it was about to hit her, she pressed a button on her cuff and she waved with a goofy smile as a beam of blue light enveloped her and she disappeared.
"Shoot. I think we need to have a word with a recently released prisoner, don't you?" He said looking at Lexi. She nodded and Tech spoke up, "Hey, guys. I think Rev is ahead of you." They looked and Rev was gone.
"We should hurry." Ace said worried.
Toni was sitting on her couch in the living room of her home, wearing a rouched, fitted red mini dress and reading a magazine with a questionnaire titled, 'Zodiac signs and your plans: why they succeed or fail'.
"Hmmm.. so that's why it didn't work. I'm so definitely a Leo." She laughed when a furious knock could be heard at her door. She smiled and then walked to the door, fixing her hair and outfit before opening the door.
"Re-" She was about to comment at the sight of Rev on her porch but was interrupted by his response, "Don't you dare 'revvy' me! What the heck are you and Salma up to?! If you care for me at all you'll stop! Now." He was incredibly angry.
Toni seemed genuinely scared. "Um.. I thought Salma was in prison." She tried to play it off.
"Oh please." Lexi commented as she overheard the conversation while approaching the door, followed by the others. Toni's expression changed to a glare.
"I'm serious. I have no idea what you're talking about." Toni huffed back over to her couch.
"Cut the crap, Toni! I'll ask one more time. What are you up to?!" Rev snarled. Toni looked like a little kid in trouble. "Honestly, I don't know what she's doing but because she's a former employee, I'll contact her and find out for you." She explained while strolling to the kitchen and turned her head over her shoulder to smile at Rev.
"Ha! Okay, we'll go with that." Tech joked passively.
"BUT!" She shouted with a crazy expression as she turned around to face them. Rev backed away, visibly uncomfortable. "On one condition!"
"Oh, boy. Here we go. Can we just get to the part where Rev says yes and call it a day?" Exclaimed Duck.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!! Fat chance! Nope! I'm not doing it!!" Rev said.
"Oh come on, revvy! Just one little date! Three- No, two hours tops!" She smiled hopefully.
"I don't like it either but she's the only one we know who can get in contact with Salma, whether she was in the first place or not." Ace explained.
"Please." She grabbed rev's hand. "Just a chance to see what would be now that I know your feelings were real. Not because of a stupid love mist." She looked down sadly.
"Ffffffine! But only because we need to find and catch your little grunt! And we get this over with tonight!" Rev sped out and back to the tower. The loonatics followed toot suite, last leaving being Lexi who had some words to share with Toni before departing.
"if I find out your lying and are behind this whole thing again, I promise you this time you will wish you were back in a prison cell." Lexi stated sternly.
"That's a nice threat and I welcome the challenge. I'll get a lucky rabbits foot out of it. But alas that's not the case." Toni slammed her door and Lexi left.
Salma was counting her money in their lair when Toni stormed in. "You disobeyed me!" Toni yelled.
"I took some cash. So what? Just makes up for the payment you didn't collect from our client." Salma grinned.
"Do not do it again! Don't forget, you work for me!" Toni yelled and stormed back out. Salma rolled her eyes and then noticed the computer. She took it upon herself to call their client.
"This is Dr. Fortius. To what do I owe the pleasure?" His silhouette was the only thing on screen.
"How long before our leverage is done?" She asked smiling.
"About 3 hours. And you have my payment?" He asked.
"Let's just say it will be apprehended by the end of the night." She snickered.
"Extraordinary. I will be unstoppable after acquiring the source."
"and I get 65%?"
"Why, of course. I never go back on my word."
Back at Toni's house, Rev knocked on her door and immediately picked her up after she stepped outside.
"let's get this over with." He raced them to a movie theater. "Oh, no. We're doing something else. I won't be able to talk to you at a movie." She stated.
"Yeah, that was the point." He snapped back. She looked around. "We could go to the mall!! We're already here anyway so why not?"
"What?!" Rev said, his wallet anticipating the horror of maxed credit cards. "Come on! It'll be fun to window shop!" She exclaimed running to the mall that held the theater. Rev (and his wallet) sighed in relief. Once inside she immediately headed for the comic shop. Rev was surprised. He assumed she would go to the perfume store.
"Gasp! Look! The masked marauder is fighting Queen Cocoa in the new issue!" She pulled him inside and they explored the incredibly huge store. Rev thought to himself, "don't fall for it. Don't fall for it."
After reading and looking at all the collectibles, Rev was starting to ease up. Soon she took him to the makeup store.
"I love makeup! I consider it art." Rev was perplexed.
"Really?" He asked.
"Of course! Your face is just a canvas! You prime it, you blend the colors, just like painting!" Rev was actually quite happy and having fun. It intrigued him to learn how excited she could get over, well, everything. As they ventured through the clothing stores and pet stores and the rest of the mall, Rev and Toni shared laughs, memories of things from childhood, and a little insight into their families. Eventually they found a haunted house style activity in the mall.
"Ooh! Wanna do it?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Heck yeah! Let's go!" They raced in and after paying, went through a maze filled with animatronics of famous monsters and terrifying decorations. At some point, they got separated. "Toni?" Rev looked around and then he was suddenly pulled by something. In the corner of the room, Toni had pulled Rev in for a kiss. After she continued on, Rev couldn't slap a goofy grin off of his face.
They made their way to the food court and sat down to eat. "I've had a wonderful night! I hope you have!" She excitedly exclaimed before munching on her sandwich.
"it's been even better than I could've imagined! The comic book store was awesome! I can't believe we found the exclusive version of crusader quack and I loved the scary tour!" He paused for a sec, nervously rubbing his neck. "I especially enjoyed that one part." She blushed. "Aw, revvy. What are you talking about?" He became scared. "Ha! Im kidding. You should see your face! I liked that part too." Suddenly they heard screaming.
"Everyone comply and no one gets hurt." Salma was at the front of the mall with a small army of robots. They began gathering things from the stores and disappearing with them. Salma spotted Rev and Toni who came to investigate. "Ah! My form of payment."
"You played me again." Rev said. Toni couldn't see his face but she saw a tear fall to the floor and it sent a shiver down her spine.
"I swear to you I didn't! I mean, I can kinda explain what's going on but I-" Just then, a robot hand grabbed Toni and pulled her in. Rev was confused and as he raced to a robot and punched it, He hit a button on his wrist watch that notified the loonatics.
Toni struggled. "What the heck are you doing, you moron?!"
"I don't work for you anymore. Have fun being a science experiment." Salma answered with a wicked smile. Toni pleaded for help from Rev before being enveloped in a blue light and being whisked away to who knows where.
"And I think it's time that I get out of here. Goodbyyyyeee!" She stated in a sing songy voice. The loonatics arrived just in time to see Rev race to go in for a punch. He made contact with Salmas face and disappeared along with her and her robots.
"Rev!" Tech shouted. It was too late.
"Great. Now they're both gone with Rev and we have no idea where he is." Duck stated.
"Not exactly. Rev helped Tech install gps devices into all of our wrist watches." Lexi perked up.
"Good memory, Lex. Let's get back to the lab and track them down." Ace commanded.
Meanwhile, in an underground facility, Salma had put all the robots in charge of storing her money and belongings into a giant vault in the lair. She was also on a video call with Dr. Fortius arranging to return to him along with the robots and Toni.
Being given the cold shoulder as they sat in a prison like -cell, Toni began yelling at Salma as she paced around like a crazy person.
"You back-stabbing, traitorous, BIT-" she was cut off.
"Aw. Such sweet nothings. I mean it. They mean nothing. You're just merchandise, lady." Salma continued inputting coordinates into the computer.
"You're selling me?!?" Her eye twitched.
"Doesn't feel good, huh?!" Rev shouted at her.
"Rev, I had no idea what she was doing. I had her go to the bank but she wasn't supposed to steal anything. I only did it to go out with you. I promise you. I-I.." she thought for a moment as to what she could say to get him to believe her. "I swear on that kiss, revvy." Rev looked up at her finally.
"So you were let out on good behavior?" Rev asked hopeful.
"uh..well, no, but I had nothing to do with this. I'll return to the prison. If we ever get out of here that is."
"Would you two shut up already? You make me wanna gag. To think you chose that thing over money. Pathetic." Salma yelled.
"Yeah we think you're pretty pathetic, too, Salma." Ace's voice could be heard. She gasped and looked back. The rest of the team had broken through the walls of the bunker they had set up in. She growled, "Get them!" She began to run toward the back as the robots dealt with the team.
"Oh, no. Not this time." Duck uttered and quacked past the robots to give chase.
Ace had cut a robot in half with Lexi jumping off of his shoulders high into the air, using a well timed brain blast and axe kick to destroy the robot in front of her. From the computer, Dr. Fortius could see everything unfold.
"Recall! All of you! And don't forget my purchase!" He shouted into a mic from an unknown laboratory. The robots tried to go for Toni but were unable to apprehend her as slam smashed the only robot still in the bunker before it could get to them.
"That's not good. At least we stopped them. We'll have to find out what's going on with those robots another day." Ace stated.
"Where is Salma?" Lexi scanned the room. Suddenly Duck quacked in with Salma handcuffed.
"Don't worry. The great and handsome duck was here to save the day." He smiled as he praised himself. Tech tried to look at the computer for info but the computer fried itself as soon as a key was pressed. Slam unlocked the cell and Lexi stormed over, ready to brain blast Toni.
"Bring it, Floppy!" Toni smiled crazily. Rev quickly stepped in the way.
"No, we are not fighting. She had nothing to do with this Well, almost nothing." Lexi was annoyed and crossed her arms as Toni smiled and stuck out her tongue. "But she did escape her cell." She slumped.
"Come on, revvy. Do I have to go back?" She gave him kitten eyes.
"Yes. Yes, you do." He answered.
Later, as Salma and Toni were being escorted to the back of the police van, the team asked Rev what happened and he explained. Suddenly Toni was next to him with two police officers.
"Promise you'll visit, revvy?" She asked.
"I promise." She blushed.
"Au revoir, loonies!" She said before they closed the door. As it sped away, Ace and tech couldn't help shake a bad feeling.
"We may not have to worry about Salma and Toni, well for now at least, but where'd those robots come from? They're not robotic engineers." Tech stated.
"I have a feeling we're going to have a run in with them again in the future. And it's gonna be a lot worse. Whoever it was, they made off with some of Toni's spray." Ace explained. The entire team looked concerned and exchanged glances.
Meanwhile, in the laboratory of Dr. Fortius, the robots had appeared with several bottles of super pheromones.
"Finally, with these in hand, my military robots will deem any planet the winner of war." He began to laugh maniacally.
That's all folks!