Note: This chapter will be a quick detour from the main plot, as I kind of want to focus on other characters. That doesn't mean that the story will lose focus on the new recruits, though. Before we move on, I have something to say to two reviewers.
Ron: Well, having two teams of Loonatics is better than having one. After all, there can't just be a single team of protectors in the universe.
The White Wolf named Alex: Thanks! I'll keep going, just as long as I don't run out of ideas. I hope that you like this chapter!
Now that I've done that, it's time for chapter seventeen.
Chapter 17: Mission on Neptune
When it was morning on Blanc, Ace had received a call from Zadavia. During said call, she said for him to meet her at the Spacelab. There was a report that the Loonatics' leader needed to see. Knowing that it was urgent, the rabbit did not hesitate in heading to the Spacelab. Before leaving, he had notified his teammates on where he was going, leaving Lexi in charge. Slam was still on Acmetropolis with the new recruits, so they were down a member.
Once he got to the Spacelab, Ace knocked on the door. The moment after he did that, the rabbit saw that the door was open. Knowing that, the rabbit carefully entered the room. Inside the lab was Zadavia, who was looking at a holographic screen. Around her were projections of various planets, including ones that Ace hadn't seen before. He curiously looked at some of them, wondering what they could be like.
"Fascinating!" Ace spoke.
Upon hearing his voice, Zadavia put the holographic screen to the side. She cleared her voice, causing Ace to turn his attention to her.
"Hey, Zadavia!" He said. "Sorry if I'm late!"
"You're not late." Zadavia said. "I got here a few minutes ago, so you're no later than I am."
"How are the rookies doing?" Ace asked.
"Not good." The woman said. "One of them has been taken by a strange creature, and they don't know where it could've taken her!"
"Oh boy!" The rabbit said. "Should we go help them? They could need some backup!"
"Slam's still with them, and their powers keep increasing." She said. "Considering the amount of times they have surprised us, I have a feeling that they'll find their teammate."
"I hope so!" He said. "Otherwise, they'll never see her again."
"I suppose I should tell you why I had you come here, should I?"
Ace nodded, giving his answer. Pulling the holographic screen back towards her, Zadavia let the Loonatic see what was on it. The screen displayed the planet Neptune, which had a satellite floating near it. The data on the screen has been collected by the satellite. It kept going down, to the point where it seemed endless. Once he saw the data, Ace could not take his eyes off the screen.
"There has been a disturbance on Neptune," Zadavia spoke, "and it has been going on for two months. I don't know what could be causing it, so I'm sending you and the remaining members of the team to the planet to investigate."
"We'll head out once we get everything together!" Ace said. "Don't worry, we'll see why Neptune is acting up!"
"Good, but make sure to take Sylth Vester with you!" The woman said as Ace left the room.
Walking out of the Spacelab, Ace made his way back to the Loonatics' new HQ. The moment he got there, he saw Lexi standing next to the door, looking like she was about to open it herself. She stepped out of the way as the buck entered, not wanting to be in his path. Once the leader was in, the doe spoke with him.
"Does Zadavia have a new mission for us?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah," Ace said, "and it concerns Neptune."
"Neptune?" The doe was surprised. "We've never been to that planet before, and no one has tried to terraform it!"
"But today is the day when we go to it." The buck said. "Go get the others, and tell them to meet up in the lab!"
Lexi complied, running off to gather their teammates. Now that he was alone again, Ace attempted to message Slam. The message asked the Tasmanian Devil if he was doing okay, and told him to keep a closer eye on the Mighty Loonatics, knowing that one of them had been taken. Upon sending the message, the buck went into the lab, deciding to wait for everyone. The lab itself was larger than the one from the Loonatics' original HQ, to the point where it could be considered a college classroom. That being said, Ace felt that it was the perfect place for the team to gather.
The door to the lab opened up, which caused Ace to turn his attention to it. By doing so, he watched his teammates enter the room. Tech and Rev were the first to come in, with Rev zooming to his seat. Duck simply Quacked into the lab, choosing to do so instead of walking to it. Lexi entered last, closing the door behind her. Once the remaining Loonatics were together, they waited for Ace to inform them of the mission.
"So, what's the big deal?" Duck asked.
"According to Zadavia," Ace spoke, "there's been a two-month disturbance on Neptune. She's asking for us to check it out and see what could be causing them."
"Neptune?!" Rev spoke. "Gee-I've-always-wanted-to-go-to-that-planet! Do-you-think-that-the-atmosphere-would-be-like-Antarctica? If-not-will-it-be-even-colder?"
"Actually, Rev, it's more like a gas giant." Tech stated.
"Hold on," Duck spoke up, "how can a planet that's mostly made of gas have a disturbance on it?"
"I don't know, Duck, but that's what we're going to find out!" Ace said. "Get ready, guys, because we're investigating Neptune!"
As soon as Ace said that, the remaining Loonatics got ready for the mission. Before leaving, they gathered the equipment that they needed, from weapons to explosives. Getting out outfits that would protect them from space and the atmosphere of Neptune, the team put them on, agreeing to turn on their oxygen before heading to the planet. As they did that, Sylth Vester came into the room. He tilted his head, curiosity filling his mind.
"What are you guys up to?" Sylth Vester asked.
"Zadavia gave us a new mission, so we're getting stuff together." Lexi said.
"A mission?" The cat asked. "Where are you guys going?"
"The planet Neptune." Tech said. "We've got these outfits on in order to protect us while we're there."
"Can I go with you?" He asked.
"Actually, I was about to have someone get you." Ace said. "But, since you're here, you can go with us."
"Oh, goody!" The feline said, clapping his hands.
Now that Sylth Vester was in the lab, Tech decided to make an environment suit for him. In order to make sure that the outfit would fit on the cat, the coyote made a few adjustments to it. Once that was out of the way, the remaining Loonatics went to the teleportation device that was installed in their HQ. Said device was installed once the team had finished moving to Blanc.
"Tech, set a course for Neptune!" Ace ordered.
Typing in the coordinates for the planet, Tech opened a wormhole to Neptune. Before it could open from the device, the Loonatics turned on their outfits. Duck instructed Sylth Vester to do so, as he didn't know how it worked. The outfits activated, protecting the team from the harsh effects of space and the atmosphere of Neptune. Now that their protection was activated, the Loonatics waited for the portal to activate. It let out a greenish blue glow, engulfing them.
After a minute in the portal, the Loonatics found themselves on Neptune. Now that they were on the planet, the team took out their environmental scanners. The scanners didn't pick up anything at the moment, meaning that the team wasn't close to where the disturbances were happening. Knowing that, they decided to look around, seeing if their scanners would get a stronger signal. They even turned on their Zoomatrixes, knowing that Neptune wouldn't be easy to walk on. As they flew, the Loonatics spoke to each other.
"Alright, let's spread out!" Ace spoke. "We gotta look for where the disturbance is coming from! We'll meet up when we find it!"
Nodding in agreement, the Loonatics split up, going to different areas of Neptune. However, Sylth Vester didn't leave Ace's side. Rather, he floated closer to the rabbit. The tomcat looked cautious of his surroundings, as if he could see where the disturbances were happening.
"You do know that it's a bad idea to split up in situations like this, right?" Sylth Vester spoke.
"What do you mean?" Ace asked.
"I mean that this is a planet that we could get lost on!" The tomcat said. "Even if the team has split up in the past, missions on a planet like this are dangerous! If we split up, we'll die!"
"Don't worry, I can call on everyone if something goes wrong." The buck said.
"Alright, but I'm staying by you." The feline said.
Ace nodded, allowing Sylth Vester to follow him. The two were flying above the surface of Neptune, having their scanners on. In order to see through the surface, they turned their flashlights on, hoping that the light would reveal something hidden. With that out of the way, they continued flying over the planet, intent on carrying out their mission.
Lexi and Duck were flying south on Neptune, intent on finding a reading. So far, they hadn't been able to find one. Their scanners were on, but they weren't making a single noise. Taking hers out, Lexi waved the device around. She wasn't getting a reading, but she could see the meter move. It was barely a centimeter, but the arrow had moved.
Duck took his scanner out, but didn't get a reading on it. Turning around, he saw Lexi holding hers. Curious, the mallard flew over to the doe, wanting to read what she had. By doing so, the waterfowl noticed how the arrow on the meter barely moved on hers. He let out an annoyed sigh. Not only was the team on a wild goose chase, but looking for the disturbances, if there were any, was taking too much time.
All of a sudden, Duck heard something. It sounded like interference, joined by a mechanical movement. Knowing that it was his area scanner, the mallard took it out. Looking at the meter, he saw that the arrow had moved an inch. It shook, not knowing whether to go up or down. The avian was excited, knowing that he found something.
"Did you find anything?" Duck asked.
"Not really," Lexi spoke, "you?"
"Yeah, and it's coming from the west!" The mallard said. "Follow me!"
As much as Lexi doubted him, she wound up following Duck. While doing so, a ticking noise started up. Taking out her area scanner, Lexi saw that the arrow was moving. The more she moved, the more the arrow went up. With that in mind, the doe continued to fly with her teammate, hoping that they would find something. The moment they did, she intended on contacting the others.
Duck stopped flying, only floating in place. The mallard looked at his scanner, trying to see where the meter was at. Lexi flew over to him, curious as to why he was doing so. Her meter was still out, so she was able to what the results were. Holding their scanners side by side, the rabbit and the duck saw that the arrow on the scanners were almost to the top. The two looked at each other, happy that they had managed to find where the disturbances were.
"Well, what do you know?" Duck arrogantly spoke. "I managed to locate where the disturbances are!"
"In that case, I'll contact the others." Lexi said, taking out her communicator.
Meanwhile, Tech and Rev were flying around, trying to look for where the disturbances were coming from. While Tech was simply flying, Rev was practically zooming. The roadrunner was going so fast, his scanner wasn't working. As for the coyote, he hadn't gotten a reading. After a bit of speeding, the avian stopped in his tracks. He looked at his scanner, finding that he hadn't gotten a result.
"Tech-have-you-gotten-a-reading?" Rev spoke. "I-haven't-yet! Can-you-explain-why?"
"For starters, you're going too fast for it to work." Tech said. "Also, we're not in the right area."
"This-is-going-to-be-harder-than-we-thought!" The roadrunner said. "Not-only-is-the-planet-larger-than-the-ones-we've-been-on-but-we've-got-limited-time-here!"
"Don't worry, Rev, we'll find out where the disturbances are coming from." The coyote said. "Even if we don't find the cause, at least we can still find data on them."
Rev smiled at Tech, feeling reassured. Before they could do anything else, static came out of their communicators. This was followed by a distorted voice. In order to fix the feedback, the two hit the tuner on their communicators. After that, the coyote and the roadrunner listened to the call they had received.
"Guys, it's Lexi!" Lexi's voice came out of their communicators. "Come quick! Duck and I have found where the disturbances are coming from!"
A few minutes later, the Loonatics (minus Slam) had regrouped to where Lexi and Duck were. In order to make sure that they were at the right location, everyone took out their scanners. By doing so, they saw that the meters were at their highest position. With that in mind, Ace and Tech took out gadgets that would help them dig into Neptune. As the team investigated, Sylth Vester felt a chill go down his spine.
"Do you guys feel that?" He asked.
"No, what?" Duck asked.
"It feels like something is approaching us, but I don't know what." Sylth Vester said.
Beneath the Loonatics, the surface of Neptune began to move. As that happened, their scanners went haywire. The arrows on the meter couldn't move farther, but they still tried to move. The team was in alarm, knowing that they weren't alone. Whatever was causing the disturbances, it clearly wasn't Neptune's weather. No, it was something else, like a monster.
"Look out!" Sylth Vester gasped.
Without warning, a tentacle burst out of Neptune and lunged towards the Loonatics. As if on instinct, the team dodged it. Ace, Lexi, and Duck attacked the tentacle, giving it all they had. However, their attacks did nothing to it, as if they were attacking nothing. Rev zoomed around it and threw punches and kicks, only for him to get hurt. Tech tried firing a blaster at the tentacle, only for each round to be deflected.
"What the hell is this thing?!" Lexi asked.
"It's a Neptune Kracken!" Sylth Vester cried. "I've heard rumors about them, but this is the first time I've seen one!"
"Wait," Duck said, "there's life on this planet?! It's not even close enough to the sun!"
"And it doesn't have the right atmosphere and environment for any living creature!" Ace said.
"Then maybe it's something that hatched on Neptune!" Sylth Vester said. "I don't know, I've only heard rumors about them!"
"Well, whatever it is, we need to defeat it!" Lexi said.
The tentacle lunged at the Loonatics again, trying to grab them. The team dodged, using their Zoomatrixes to fly to the side. They attacked again, giving it their all. As before, everything they threw had no effect on the tentacle. However, it drew itself back, slowly falling down. It began to sink into Neptune, essentially retreating.
Sylth Vester got an idea. It was a stupid one, but he felt that it would work. The tomcat climbed onto the tentacle, intent on following it to whatever it belonged to. As he did that, the Loonatics were shocked. The team wanted to yell at him for putting himself at risk, but something told them that he was onto something. He did, after all, look determined to grab onto the tentacle.
"C'mon guys, follow me!" Sylth Vester said.
"You heard the cat, everyone!" Ace said.
The Loonatics then followed Sylth Vester as he was on the tentacle. In order to see better, the team turned on their search lights. As they followed the tentacle, they noticed that it was retreating to a cave. This was odd, as there were no reports of a cave on Neptune in the past. Even those who took expeditions on the planet were never caught up in a weird situation like this.
Upon entering the cave, the Loonatics made sure to leave their search lights on. Their meters had stopped moving, but that didn't mean that it was over. Following the tentacle through the cave, the team watched as Sylth Vester looked behind him. The tomcat gasped, having found something. Hearing him, the Ace gestured for his teammates to keep their light on the feline. The tentacle stopped moving, meaning that they were near the Kracken.
Coming up to the tentacle, the Loonatics looked up, with their search lights allowing them to see the beast that was in front of them. Laying before them was the Neptune Kracken. As the name implied, it was a massive squid-like creature that looked as big as a house. It was silver in color, which contrasted with its green eyes. The creature had enough power to kill anything that came near it, just as long as they were going to fight it. Knowing this, the Loonatics kept their distance, with Ace gesturing for Sylth Vester to come over to him.
Looking up at the Neptune Kraken's eyes, the Loonatics saw that it looked rather tired. In addition to that, they could see that the creature looked malnourished. It looked like it hadn't eaten in days, to the point where it was dying. Seeing this, the Loonatics knew that they had a conundrum: Not only was there a Kraken behind the disturbances, but it was slowly starving to death. How were they going to move it, let alone get it out of the cave? This was going to be difficult.
Knowing that there were rescue teams back on Acmetropolis, Ace decided to message one of them, hoping that they would help the Kraken. After a few minutes, the buck got a response. The captain of the rescue team said that his comrades would be there as soon as they could. What was keeping them from arriving immediately was that they didn't have the right equipment for dealing with Neptune's environment. Once they got it, the rescue team would be there as fast as they could. Despite the mission being urgent, Ace told them to take their time.
Ten minutes later, a ship landed on Neptune, having arrived through a teleportation device on the ship. Out from the ship came the rescue team, who arrived with the equipment that they needed. Stepping aside, the Loonatics let them approach the Kraken. Being cautious, the rescue team did a checkup on the massive creature. Once they got done, they approached the team of superheroes.
"So, what's wrong with that giant octopus?" Duck asked.
"The big guy is just out of his natural habitat." The Captain of the team said. "All he needs is food, rest, and a better place to live."
"Where you gonna find a place with the right requirements?" Ace asked.
"We'll be taking the Neptune Kraken back to Acmetropolis with us." A member of the team spoke. "Hopefully, the zoo will be fine with a new addition."
"Want us to go with you?" Tech asked.
"We can handle it, Loonatics, but thanks for the offer." The Captain said. "It is nice to see you again, even after the new team moved in."
Moments later, the rescue team with the Neptune Kraken, using their transportation device to get back to Acmetropolis. Realizing that their oxygen supply would be running low at any moment, the Loonatics knew that they had to call a portal back to Blanc. Using his communicator, Tech activated the device in HQ, which opened a portal above the team. One by one, they went through it, with Sylth Vester being the last to go through the portal. Now that they were back at HQ, they were ready to relax for the rest of the day. That was until Zadavia came in, holding a clipboard in her hands.
"Well, someone's decided to check on us!" Duck said. "So, Zadavia, have you come to get a good look at this heroic figure?"
"I've come for intel on the mission." Zadavia said.
"The disturbances were caused by a Neptune Kraken who was as big as a house!" Tech said.
"A Neptune Kraken?" The Frelengian asked.
"Yeah, the poor guy was hungry and tired, so we called for a rescue team to take him somewhere better!" Ace said.
"And I was the one who found it!" Sylth Vester said.
"What baffles me is why it was on a planet like Neptune in the first place." Zadavia said. "Something tells me that it was put there as a distraction."
"Who would put a Kraken in an environment where it wouldn't survive in as a distraction?" Lexi asked.
"I don't know," she said, "but keep your eyes open, Loonatics! If someone is causing trouble as a distraction, then they are planning something big!"
"We will!" Ace said. "And we'll search for the guy, no matter where he is!"
Zadavia then left HQ, leaving the Loonatics and Sylth Vester alone. The team was on edge now, knowing that there was a possible threat to the universe on the rise. With Slam still on Acmetropolis, they were down a member, which made things harder. Not only that, but the new recruits were in a conundrum of their own. Asking them for help was out of the question, as they needed to find one of their teammates. The Loonatics had to make do with what they had for now, as they had to keep an eye out for whoever was calculating his steps.
Slam, Ace thought to himself, I know that you can't hear this, but keep an eye out for anyone who might be causing all of these crazy events! If possible, bring the new recruits with you if they want to come to Blanc!
Meanwhile, a cloaked figure was standing on the roof of a building in Acmetropolis. He was watching a ship coming down from the horizon. The ship was coming in for a landing, given how it was slowing down. Upon seeing it land safely, the figure let out an annoyed sigh. He shook his head, feeling disappointed by what he had seen.
"So," he said to himself, "they've managed to find the Kraken that I transported off of Jupiter. The original Loonatics must've gotten readings from the massive bastard while he was on Neptune. Worse yet, Zadavia was more than likely on that planet!"
The figure clenched his hands into fists, becoming infuriated by what was happening. However, he calmed down and gave a soft chuckle.
"But I suppose that they were stalled from finding out my true plans." The figure said to himself. "Not only that, but they're down a member. And, to think, he's on Acmetropolis helping the new recruits look for their friend. This should be fun."
Note: Oh boy, what could be his master plan? Will the Loonatics be able to stop him? Will the Mighty Loonatics find Diane before it's too late? Tune in next time for a new chapter. Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!