Note: Alrighty, I'm pretty bored now. In fact, the coffee that I drink doesn't relieve it. However, it's doing stuff like this that relieves my boredom. Before we move on, I want to say something to a reviewer.
Ron: Well, I would imagine that Acmetropolis has the death penalty. I don't know, seeing as I wasn't even four when Loonatics Unleashed premiered. Stay tuned for the new chapter, buddy.
Now that I've said what I need to, it's time for chapter ten.
Chapter 10: Chasing a Killer
A few days went by after the body of a murdered man was found at the Museum, and the Mighty Loonatics were looking all throughout Acmetropolis for the perpetrator. Needless to say, it was easier said than done. While Diane had her telepathy on, she was unable to detect the killer's mind. In addition, the others were unable to find the man, as, aside from John stating he had a Taurus-shaped birthmark, they didn't know what he looked like. Tech had lent them technology that would help them, but it proved to be futile. After two hours of searching, the Mighty Loonatics reported back to HQ. Once they got there, they saw Tech and Rev standing near the elevator.
"Did you have any luck, guys?" Tech asked.
"No," Klara answered, "we don't know what the killer looks like. Even if John told us that he has a constellation-shaped birthmark, it's not enough information."
"Which makes me wonder," John looked at Tech, "did you check any of the cameras you set up to look for the bastard?"
"That's a good question, given how searching on foot has proven to be inefficient." Diane stated. "I couldn't even sense the murderer with my telepathy!"
"Perhaps, we should check the cameras." Tech said. "After all, we might find something interesting, even if it isn't the murderer we're chasing."
Upon hearing that, the Mighty Loonatics followed Tech and Rev to a dark room that was two floors below the one they resided in. Inside the room was a few surveillance screens, the footage coming from the cameras that were set up all throughout Acmetropolis. The footage playing on the screens hadn't shown much, aside from people simply minding their own business. The Mighty Loonatics watched them with extra caution, intent on finding something that could lead them to the perp they were after. However, Jack looked at Tech, having a bewildered expression on his face.
"How many cameras are even up in Acmetropolis?" Jack asked.
"There's roughly ten-thousand of them in the city." Tech answered. "However, not all of them are on, as I've connected the screens to the cameras I believe would be the most useful."
"Good idea, I guess." The young man said.
"It's not one of my best ones, though." The coyote said. "In fact, there are other ideas that I could've used instead."
"Then why did you go with this one?" The new recruit asked.
"My other ideas could've caused additional trouble to not only Acmetropolis, but also the team." The veteran Loonatic stated.
"Tech-come-quick!" Rev shouted. "We've-got-a-lead! The-cameras-caught-footage-of-a-murder!"
Tech approached the surveillance screens, looking at the main one. Like Rev said, the cameras caught footage of a murder. Said murder involved an old man ripped in half. However, it happened so quick, it looked like the old man simply exploded with no explanation. Near him was someone wearing clothing that concealed their appearance. The person was, no doubt, the murderer. But, was he the same one who the Mighty Loonatics were looking for?
"Odd," Lori spoke, "that old man got killed by the person who was near him, but the murderer didn't have a weapon!"
"Don't lose focus, the murderer might have powers of some kind." Jack said. "Even if he doesn't, we need to take him down."
"That's rather insightful of you, Jack." Tech said.
"He has his moments, despite not being a straight A student most of the time." Klara stated.
"Hey!" Jack said.
The Mighty Loonatics continued to watch the footage taken from the cameras, hoping to see more of the murderer. Luckily, he wasn't completely gone from the screens, as he was then shown walking down the street. However, for a brief moment, he looked around, as if he were afraid of something. Then, all of a sudden, he ran off.
"Tech, what street did the murderer go down?" Simon asked.
"It looks like Jones Street." Tech answered.
"Shall we move out?" Jack asked.
"If the murderer hasn't completely gotten away, yes." The coyote told him.
"Alright, let's go!" Diane said.
Most of the Mighty Loonatics ran out of the room, ready to chase down the murderer. However, John didn't follow them. Instead, he looked at one of the screens, watching the captured footage from the cameras. On the screen, the murderer looked around, then approached a sewer grate. Without warning, the man shrank into his clothes, as if he had melted. Shortly after that, liquid seeped out from his clothes, quickly going into the sewers. John only cracked his knuckles when he saw the strange scene before him, deciding to head out with the others.
"That has to be him!" The stag said to himself. "There's no doubt about it!"
Down in Acmetropolis, the Mighty Loonatics were looking for the murderer. They, except for John, we're on Jones Street, keeping a watchful eye for anyone who looked suspicious. However, those who the team had questioned said that they saw nothing. The pedestrians spoke the truth, as they weren't present when the murderer killed the old man. Nonetheless, the Mighty Loonatics were in a bit of a rut.
"Dammit, the bastard could be anywhere!" Simon cursed.
"We better keep looking," Tech spoke, "unless we want another murder to happen."
"Can you sense for the killer with your telepathy?" Jack looked at Diane.
"Yes." Diane answered.
"Well, where is he at?" Klara asked.
"I know that this is going to sound ridiculous, and all of you might think this is a crazy thing to say, but he's in the sewers!" The Arctic fox stated.
"The-sewers?!" Rev spoke. "We'll-have-to-get-someone-to-open-them-up-so-that-we-can-chase-after-the-murderer-and-catch-him!"
"We won't have to!"
John walked towards the Mighty Loonatics, a ball of dark energy formed in his hand.
"The man we're chasing after didn't go into the sewer by any normal means." He spoke. "I saw footage of him melting into the sewer grate, which makes me believe that he has the ability to turn into water and control it. With that in mind, we need to stay back from the sewer grate and beat him when he gets drawn out."
"I don't think that's going to work." Teagan spoke. "The murderer might attack us without hesitation."
"That being said, it's better to get away from the sewers instead of staying near them." Simon stated.
"We won't have time!" Diane gasped.
The Mighty Loonatics, Tech and Rev looked at Diane.
"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked.
"The murderer is about to pop out of the sewers!" Diane stated. "We won't be able to escape before he arrives! We'll have to fight him!"
All of a sudden, a giant hand came out of the sewers. It was made of water, with the sun shining through it. Before it could slam down on them, the Mighty Loonatics moved out of the way. However, several more hands made of water came out of the sewers. Upon seeing them, Jack, Diane and Lori began to attack them. Despite that, more hands spawned out of the sewers.
"C'mon, we have to help them!" Klara said as she rushed to help her teammates.
"Right!" Simon followed the preteen over to Jack, Diane and Lori.
Tech, Rev and John only kept their distance, not even following Teagan as she ran over to the others. The three only watched as their teammates fought against the water constructs that shot out of the sewers. However, out of nowhere, a voice rang out.
"So, I've got some meddling kids out to get me? Challenge accepted!"
John growled as he heard that voice. He immediately began to charge up a ball of dark energy in his hand, hoping to hit whoever the voice belonged to. The stag could tell that the voice belonged to the murderer, and it made him angrier. He dreamed of making the criminal suffer for his past actions, including being responsible for the death of his sister.
Fire the blast! A sinister voice echoed in John's mind. Make him pay for Adrianna's death! If your friends get in the way, kill them too!
The moment another water construct came out of the sewers, John fired a dark energy blast at it, which destroyed it.
"What the?!" The murderer's voice rang out. "Who threw that?!"
"That was me, you fucking bastard!" John shouted in anger.
All of a sudden, a water construct floated out of the sewers and moved towards John. The construct then turned into a head, its watery eyes locking on to the stag's.
"So," the construct spoke, "you're the older brother of that doe I had some fun with a year ago? I'm not surprised that you look so pathetic, considering how cute your younger sibling was."
"I'm pathetic?" John retorted. "Says the man who is currently hiding in the sewers! If I'm pathetic, than you're a coward!"
"How's this for a coward?!" The head shouted.
Without warning, Diane gasped, freezing in her tracks. Another water construct shot out of the sewers and launched towards the Mighty Loonatics. In response, the team did their best to avoid it and defeat it. Despite that, the construct turned into a blade and swung towards them, with Simon as its target. Before it could hit the gray hound, Jack pushed him out of the way. Unfortunately, the young man wound up having his arm sliced off from the attack. He screamed as he covered the stump, with the others rushing over to his aid.
"You didn't have to push me out of the way, Jack!" Simon cried. "I could've taken the hit!"
"It would've killed you, I had to get you out of the way!" Jack yelled.
"Don't worry, we'll get you to the infirmary!" Tech said as he ran over to the group.
"Oh-boy-Zadavia's-going-to-be-mad!" Rev said as he zoomed over to his teammates.
Back to John, he was still speaking with the water construct. The stag wasn't shocked or even upset, he was furious. He stood in silent anger as the killer laughed through the construct.
"Looks like your friend failed to catch the wave!" The construct gloated.
"You really think that you can just talk down to us?" John spoke. "Then let me tell you this: my teammates aren't going to keep me from turning you into mincemeat! If it's the last thing I do, I'll make a coward like you pay for everything you have done! You hear me, you bastard?!"
"Good luck, boy." The killer spoke through the construct.
The construct broke apart, allowing the water to flow back into the sewers. After that, John found himself meeting an angry pair of eyes. Those eyes happened to belong to Klara, who was glaring at the stag.
"What was that?!" The preteen shouted. "My brother nearly got killed by that creep and you let him escape?!"
"At least we know what the bastard's powers are now." John stated.
"Are you kidding me?!" Klara was practically fuming. "You risked our lives to find out the killer's powers?!"
"Relax, I'm sure that Green Boy over there has an invention that can heal your brother." The stag said.
Klara calmed down for a bit, letting out a sigh. However, the preteen was still mad at John.
"Your quest for revenge is going to get us killed, you know that?" She asked.
"Forget it, let's head back to HQ." John said.
The Mighty Loonatics then went back to HQ, deciding to regroup for the time being. Once they got there, Jack was taken to the infirmary by Tech and Rev, with Klara offering to help them. As for the rest of the team, they went to the training room in order to prepare for the next battle. John didn't join them, however, as he sat in the living room, creating a ball of dark energy in his hand. While looking at it, the stag thought about his sister, Adrianna. He could remember the time they spent together, from watching movies to playing together. The moment John got to his memory of hearing about her murder, the dark energy in his hand crackled with electric sparks.
"Adrianna," he spoke to himself, "for years, I have promised to make your killer pay with his life. Now that the opportunity has presented itself, I'm going to slaughter the bastard without mercy. If I don't, I might be joining you soon."
Note: And that's it for the second part. I didn't intend on seriously injuring one of the new recruits in this chapter, but they need to grow as a team and learn that there are serious risks when it comes to being superheroes. Nonetheless, they've got a new villain to battle. Will they beat him? Will John have his revenge on him? Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!