Note: Here we are, everybody, part three of four. I admit that I'm going through this city rather slowly, but as a bit of an excuse, I've been busy with all sorts of stuff. I apologize for that, as I tried to get my other stuff done before the end of the month. But, now I'm back on this story. Before we move on, I have something to say to two reviewers.
The White Wolf named Alex: Actually, Diana IS a member of the Loonatics, just a new recruit. I'm not the first person to write a story where the Loonatics get a new member or two, this is just my personal continuity. Stay tuned for more, though.
Timbuk1: That's a good question, man. I mean, I haven't really thought of who would voice Jack, Diane, John, Teagan, Lori, Simon and Klara. But, if you want, can you tell me who you think would voice them.
Now that I've done that, it's time for chapter eleven.
Chapter 11: Regeneration
Back at the Loonatics' HQ, the Mighty Loonatics were talking about what they had faced. They were all mortified at what happened during the fight. Not only was the villain the man who killed John's younger sister, not only did he have control over water, but he also tore Jack's off. Jack was in the infirmary with Tech and Rev, who were tending to him. As for the rest of the team, they were in the living room, speaking about the battle that happened earlier.
"I can't believe that John's sister's murderer was the guy who turned into those water constructs!" Simon spoke.
"The worst part of it is that we can't defeat him, unless we track his movements and find where he's currently at!" Diane stated.
"And if we don't find him, he'll continue his rampage!" Lori added.
"That settles it, we've got to keep training with Toriyama!" Simon said. "Not only that, but we need to improve our powers so that we can take down that creep when he challenges us again!"
"Better yet, Tech can invent something that can protect us from the water constructs and track where the enemy is at." Teagan said.
"That's not going to work!"
Diane, Lori, Simon and Teagan looked over at John, who was sitting by his lonesome. The stag was looking at one of his dark energy constructs, which was crackling with electricity.
"Now that we know what the bastard can do," John spoke, "we shouldn't recklessly go into battle, nor should we put more stress on our bodies than we need to. If we train too hard, and don't let our bodies get the rest they need, we're more likely to lose a battle instead of winning it."
"What are you getting at, Johnny?" Simon asked.
"He means that if we put too much pressure on ourselves, we aren't going to be able to find and defeat the murderer." Teagan said.
"And we'll end up as corpses if we rush into battle without planning ahead." Lori added.
"That's basically what I'm saying." John said.
"So, what should we do?" The fennec asked.
"The next time we fight him, we need to chase after him when he tries to retreat." The stag said. "Once we find him, I advise for all of you to stay out of my way. Not only are my powers dangerous, but I have doubts that the crazed fucker would go easy on you guys. If he has brutally slaughtered people before, it's no surprise that he would do the same to all of us when he wins."
"Let's just hope that we're actually able to corner him." Teagan said.
"That's going to be hard, given how he's likely to be hiding in liquid when we fight him again." Simon stated.
"We'll take him down, don't worry." John said.
"Did you hear all of that, Klara?" Lori asked.
Lori got no answer from Klara. In fact, the preteen was not in the room with her teammates. Alarmed, Lori looked around the room for the girl, hoping that she made it back to HQ.
"Have any of you seen Klara?" Lori asked.
"Nope." Simon answered.
"She was here minutes ago, but now she's gone." Teagan stated.
"Where did she go?!" Lori asked, her voice somewhat full of fear.
"Don't worry," Diane stated, "she's in the infirmary with Tech, Rev and Jack."
"When did she get there?" The fennec asked, calming down.
"I sent her there with one of my portals." John said. "She asked me to take her to the infirmary so she could help out, so I obliged."
"I hope that Jack's okay." Simon said.
"We all do, Simon, we all do." Teagan stated.
Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Jack was sitting on a chair, holding the wounded area that originally held his arm. The stump had been bandaged up by Rev, who did it quick enough that Jack didn't notice what had happened. The young man moaned in pain, although the pain had lessened since the Mighty Loonatics made it back to HQ. Tech was looking through the closet, trying to find a mechanical prosthesis that Jack could use to replace his arm. Klara, on the other hand, stood near Rev, who was patiently waiting for the coyote to find a prosthetic.
"Tech-did-you-find-one-yet?" Rev asked.
"Not yet, but I'll tell you when I do!" Tech stated.
"Well-speed-it-up!" The roadrunner said. "I-don't-think-that-Jack-can-wait-for-much-longer!"
"Rev, he hasn't bled to death, he's fine!" The coyote stated. "If you want to look through the closet, you can!"
"Okay!" The avian said as soon as his lover stepped out of the way.
The moment Tech stopped looking, Rev immediately zoomed over to the pile of prosthesis. The coyote saw Klara standing near the closet's entrance, watching Jack.
"Shouldn't you be keeping your brother company?" Tech asked.
"He'll be fine." Klara said.
"How?!" The coyote asked. "Need I remind you that his arm got snapped off by an angry fountain?!"
"Just calm down and watch." The preteen stated.
Rev stopped looking in the pile of prosthetic limbs as he heard an ethereal noise. Noticing that Tech and Klara were looking at Jack, the roadrunner also looked at him, believing that he was the cause of the ethereal noise. The young man's body began to glow, an orange color slowly surrounding his face and arm. Without warning, the light became an explosive flame that surged off of him, nearly engulfing his entire body. After a minute, the light dissipated, with the sound abruptly stopping. To Tech and Rev's surprise, Jack's arm was back, looking brand new.
"That's much better!" The young man proudly stated.
"What was that?" Tech asked.
"How-did-you-do-that?!" Rev excitedly spoke.
"He regenerated." Klara said.
"Regenerated?" The coyote and roadrunner looked at her.
"It's when our bodies quickly heal up in response to serious injury or death." The preteen said. "Trust me, this is the tenth time he's regenerated."
"Can-you-do-that-or-can-only-your-brother-do-that?" Rev asked.
"Practically everyone in our family can regenerate." The girl said. "We're only half-Jarlons, after all."
"Jarlon?" The roadrunner asked.
"I never thought that we would ever meet one of them." Tech stated.
"Don't be surprised," Jack said, "one of our ancestors was a Jarlon who was sent to live among humans."
"What-are-Jarlons-anyway?" Rev asked. "Are-they-aliens? Are-they-vampires?"
"Jarlons are a race of demon, Rev." Klara said. "There are some who live among humans, while most live in Mozunia. Our dad is one-third, with most of his blood being that of a human's."
"You're-halves-and-your-father-is-one-third?" The roadrunner asked. "How-did-that-happen?"
"Our mother is a full Jarlon." Jack said.
"How many regenerations does a Jarlon have?" Tech asked.
"Fifty," Klara answered, "but we can regenerate for an infinite amount of times once we reach level fifty. Ironic, I know!"
"But-are-they-born-with-powers-or-are-they-powerless?" Rev asked.
"Jack and I were born with ours." The preteen said. "As far as I can tell, every member of the Jarlon race is born with powers."
"Do you think that you can tell us more about your heritage sometime?" Tech asked.
"That's fine with me." Jack said, then turned his attention to Klara. "How about you?"
"We'll have to ask dad for any info on our ancestors." She said. "If not, we can look for books on the Jarlons."
"Is there anything else you want us for?" The young man looked at Tech and Rev.
"No," Tech said, "you can leave."
Jack and Klara walked out of the infirmary, going to join their teammates in the living room. Now that they were alone, Tech and Rev cleaned up the pile of prosthesis, putting it back in the closet. After that, Tech took out his communicator.
"What-are-you-doing-Tech?" Rev asked.
"I'm sending a message to Zadavia." Tech said. "I think our turn to watch over the new recruits is up."
"Who-do-you-think-Zadavia-will-pick-next?" The roadrunner asked.
"It's up to her," the coyote stated, "Zadavia will tell us who's coming to Acmetropolis when she decides."
"Well-when-you-send-the-message-feel-free-to-join-us-in-the-living-room!" Rev said as he sped out of the infirmary.
Once he was alone, Tech typed his message and sent it to Zadavia. The coyote hoped that it would travel to Blanc, especially since he had been working on the communicators and improving them for dimensional contact. After he made sure that the message traveled, the canine went to hang out with the Mighty Loonatics. After all, it was his last night to watch after them with Rev. Then, tomorrow, another member of the original Loonatics would come to mentor the new team.
Back on Blanc, Zadavia had received a message from Tech. The message detailed what had happened during the time Tech and Rev spent with the Mighty Loonatics. While she was shocked that Jack got terribly injured in battle, she was more shocked to see that the young man regenerated the lost limb, having regrown it like how a lizard regrows its tail. The woman was even mortified to hear that a deranged murderer was on the loose. While the new recruits were going to chase after him, Zadavia hoped that they wouldn't. After all, the killer had already murdered the relative of one of the Mighty Loonatics and severed Jack's arm, which meant that he would do worse to the rest of them.
"Zadavia, are you there?" A familiar voice asked.
Turning around, Zadavia saw Lexi approaching her. The doe was in her uniform, complete with a utility belt around her waist. Her left sleeve had a rip on it, but she was unhurt. The moment she came up to Zadavia, Lexi engaged in a conversation with the mystic woman.
"Lexi," Zadavia spoke, "we've got a problem. The Mighty Loonatics are currently chasing after a serial killer down on Acmetropolis."
"A serial killer?" Lexi asked.
"Yes," the woman said, "and he's a very dangerous individual. In fact, he's killed a relative to one member of the team, John Feliciano, and seriously wounded one of his teammates, Jack Nova."
"I hope that Tech and Rev are taking care of Jack." The doe said.
"They didn't need to, Jack regenerated." The mystical being said. "His sister, Klara, informed them of their regenerative abilities, and that they belong to a species of demons known as Jarlons."
"Jarlons?" The rabbit asked.
"Yes, the Jarlons are a species of demon that have existed since Earth's beginning. I don't have a whole lot of information on them, but I hope that Jack and Klara are pure of heart."
"Don't worry, Zadavia, I'm sure that they aren't evil."
"It's not just them that I'm worried about. I'm also worried about John. His powers include the manipulation of dark energy, and I could sense instability inside of him. Chances are, he might turn evil if he's pushed to the breaking point!"
"Oh boy, looks like Ace or Slam will have to restrain him if he gets like that!"
"Actually, Lexi, it's your turn to keep the Mighty Loonatics in check."
Lexi was silent for a moment, then regained her words.
"Do you really think that I can watch after a team of new recruits?" She asked. "I mean, what if there's a repeat of what happened the last time they fought that creep?"
"That only happened when he was able to overwhelm them." Zadavia said. "With your help, Lexi, the Mighty Loonatics might defeat the murderer. However, I'd recommend staying out of John's way."
"Got it!" Lexi said as she began to walk off.
Before she could leave Zadavia by herself, Lexi stopped in her tracks and looked at her mentor.
"By the way, what's the murderer's name?" The doe spoke. "I don't think we know who he is."
"His name is Howard Jaffe." Zadavia stated. "He has been arrested twice, but he's broken out. Not only is he a serial killer, but he's also a kidnapper, rapist and thief. If you encounter Jaffe, take him down with all your might!"
"Don't worry, Zadavia, I'll be fine!" Lexi said as she cracked her knuckles. "Besides, I've got until tomorrow to meet up with the rookies."
"Right, but be sure to keep them in check, especially John." The woman told her.
"I will." The rabbit said.
After that, Lexi walked away from Zadavia. Now that she was alone, Zadavia looked up to the stars, thinking to herself.
This might be the most dangerous mission the team has been on, let alone a team of new Loonatics. She thought to herself. What if I'm leading them to the slaughter?
Note: Welp, not only do we now know the name of the murderer, but we've gotten more background information on Jack and Klara. I really shouldn't rush character development, but I just want to expand on everyone, revealing more about them. I hope that you guys are okay with that. Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!