Author's Notes and Disclaimer: Hello, and welcome to Chapter 2 of "Loonatics Unleashed in: The Secret of NIMH". Don't worry, I haven't abandoned any of my other stories; just putting up this one to hopefully work myself out of a roadblock with one.

Anyway, here's the disclaimer: I do not own the movie "The Secret of NIMH" (owned by MGM/UA Entertainment Co., Aurora Productions, and Don Bluth Productions), the characters of "Loonatics Unleashed" (owned by Warner Bros), or the "Tiny Toon Adventures" character Calamity Coyote (owned by Warner Bros and Amblin).

Recap: To raise everyone's spirits in the middle of a rather boring and frustrating day, Godzooky sends his friends from the 28th century, the Loonatics, as well as Tiny Toon Calamity Coyote, into the world of "The Secret of NIMH". However, it seems not only is this a way to get everyone's spirit's up, but also an adventure to help the Loonatics develop more as heroes. And it also appears that their departure has not gone unnoticed.

Now the group of seven arrives in the book and their adventure begins. But, in keeping with the movie, first things first…


Chapter 2: Mrs. Brisby

In a darkened room, a pair of wizened hands took a stick with a flame, and lit a candle on a desk where a book was placed. It was like a record of sorts; a record that had been kept ever since the place was established. Lately, the events that had been put to paper had been growing uneasy and dark as of late. And this day was a particularly sad one.

"Jonathan Brisby…was killed today while helping with The Plan," spoke an old, breathy voice that carried much wisdom and much sadness in it, the owner of it the same as the owner of the hands that had lit the candle minutes ago and was now writing in the book with a quill pen, the words appearing in a golden swirl of what one might think be magic.

"It is four years since our departure from NIMH, and our world is changing," the voice continued as the hand continued writing. "We cannot stay here much longer. Jonathan…was a dear friend. I am lost in knowing how to help his widow. She…knows nothing of us, or The Plan."

The voice paused a moment as the owner of the voice and hands holding the quill put more ink on said writing instrument.

"Perhaps best that I do nothing at present," the voice breathed. "I shall miss him," the voice sighed as the hands signed the name of the owner to the end of the entry: Nicodemus.

Nicodemus then held up an amulet that held a red, circular jewel, its surface reflecting his own, aged face back at him.

"Jonathan…wherever you are…your thoughts must comfort her tonight," Nicodemus said, as if he was trying to speak to his old friend through the amulet somehow. "She will be waiting…and you will not return."

Nicodemus then placed the special necklace into a small chest, and closed it, saying, "Farewell…my friend."


When Ace regained consciousness, the first thing he felt (and smelled) was metal. He had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes to the part-dark and part-light environment that was apparently the inside of a machine. He then checked himself and saw his own grey-furred hands, felt his own face and long ears; he saw that he was even wearing the same yellow T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers that he had been wearing before he lost consciousness.

Once he was certain that he was still in one piece, Ace looked around and saw the rest of his teammates in various stages of waking up, with Rev, still wearing his red-and-black striped long-sleeved shirt and jeans (no shoes), trying to gently shake Slam, a brown-furred anthro Tasmanian devil wearing a slightly-ripped black shirt with a purple upside-down triangle and rather worn-and-torn-looking jeans, awake.

"Eh, what's up, everybody?" Ace asked. "Ya'll rested?"

"I got plenty of rest, sure, but I don't think it was due to our present accommodations," remarked a cream-colored female rabbit wearing a pink shirt, sky-blue shorts, and white sneakers (that was Lexi) as she redid the lime-colored ribbon she wore around her ears.

A brown-furred anthro coyote wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt under a green T-shirt along with tan-colored pants and brown boots-Tech-then hypothesized, "My best guess is we experienced a slight sensory overload during our first few seconds of transport, and to compensate, we were rendered unconscious."

"Can't you justht sthay that the blinding light knocked usth out?" yawned Duck, the black-feathered anthro mallard still wearing an orange shirt under a jean jacket, jeans, and black-and-orange, rather over-sized sneakers to fit his webbed feet.

"That's what he just said," Rev told Duck, as if it wasn't perfectly obvious.

"Calamity, you OK?" Tech asked the younger-by-numerical-age coyote.

'I'm OK,' Calamity replied. 'Are we in the book?' he then asked.

"I t'ink it's safe to assume 'yes'," Ace responded. "'Cause I really can't see how we can be anywhere else."

"Well, if we are, then what happens now?" Lexi asked.

As if on cue, an extremely loud explosion sounded off, rattling the machine and sending up smoke, scaring everybody and making them nearly go deaf, especially Lexi, whose hearing was more sensitive thanks to her Sonic Hearing power.

"What on Blanc wasth THAT?!" Duck exclaimed between coughs.

"Well, if we weren't awake before, we are now!" Ace quipped nervously, breathing hard to get his racing pulse under control.

Tech and Calamity began helping Rev calm down from the sudden loud noise as it sent his already fast-beating heart on a rather not-recommended pace and it was getting hard for him to breathe.

"Lex, you all right there?" Ace called. "Can you hear me?!" he called again when she didn't respond.

"Yes!" the female bunny anthro called back. "Aside from getting possibly the biggest headache in the world, I'm fine!"

Slam had only one thing to say about what just happened: "WOW!"

"'Wow' is right, Slam," Tech agreed. "I wonder where that came from and what happened."

Calamity walked towards an edge where there was a drop down into the deeper parts of…wherever they were.

'Based on where the smoke is coming from, I'd say the explosion came from down there,' Calamity observed.

"I hope whoever's down dere ain't hurt," Ace said, leaning over the same edge Calamity was at. "Hello!" he then called. "Hello! Anybody down dere? Are ya hurt?" he continued. "Well, don't just sit dere, guys, c'mon!" Ace beckoned his friends over.

The group of seven then began calling down into the pit, hoping to find some sign of life.

"Hello!" Ace called again.

"Mr. Ages?" called a woman's voice.

Despite being startled by the new voice, Ace, assuming that the new voice came from where the explosion occurred, called back, "Uh, no ma'am, my name's Ace. I dunno any Mr. Ages, but is he down dere wit' you?"

"A-Actually, I'm right behind you…Ace, was it?" the woman answered.

Ace was confused until Calamity got his attention and gestured behind him. Ace turned to find that there was someone behind him; a female, brown-furred, field mouse wearing a red cape. Ace wasn't sure what was more unnerving; the fact that he could actually look this mouse in the eye or the fact that he had somehow shrunk in transit.

"Oh. Sorry, wrong direction," Ace smiled bashfully, slightly embarrassed. "Are you all right, ma'am?"

"Well…yes…" the field mouse trailed hesitantly.

"Are you injured?" Tech asked.

"Oh, no! No, I-I'm fine," she replied.

Rev sighed in relief. "That's good, 'cause there was one lulu of an explosion down there a few seconds ago," he explained, pointing down.

"Oh my," the female mouse breathed nervously. "Are you with Mr. Ages?" she then asked.

"Uh, no. 'Fraid not," Ace answered. "We're new around here. Arrived here last night."

"Then you're all rather far from home," the female mouse concluded.

"Lady, you don't know the half of it," Duck muttered under his breath.

"If you forgive me for asking, Ace, I know you and your friend here are rabbits," the field mouse said, pointing to Ace and Lexi. "And you're a duck," she continued, pointing at Duck.

"Yesth, I am," Duck affirmed, not sure what the point of this was.

"But…I don't think I know what the rest of you are," she said, looking at Slam, Tech, Calamity, and Rev. She then stepped toward the two coyotes and asked, "Are you…some kind of…wolves?"

The guess surprised Tech a little; usually whenever somebody (often a villain) called him something, they called him a dog, resulting in him having to correct them. Being mistaken for a wolf was a bit of a refreshing twist.

Tech chuckled gently and said, "No, no, we're not wolves; we're called coyotes. I'm Tech, and this is Calamity," he then introduced.

'Hello,' Calamity chirped, smiling and waving in greeting before his expression changed to scared when the field mouse expressed surprise. 'Oh no! Tech!' Calamity panicked.

"It's OK, Cal, it's OK," Tech soothed the younger coyote. "I'm sorry, ma'am," Tech began to explain, "but Calamity here can't communicate vocally. He has…the ability to speak with his mind; you can hear his voice in your head," he explained further.

"Oh. Oh yes, yes. His lips didn't move, but I did hear him," she said, although she didn't fully understand. "I didn't mean to frighten him," she apologized.

'I'm still learning,' Calamity explained. 'There are a lot of people who aren't comfortable with my abilities, and I try to respect that, but…sometimes habit and curiosity don't make it easy.'

"Well, I don't mind, Calamity," the field mouse smiled motherly, making Calamity smile as well. "What about your other friends?" she then asked, addressing Tech. "He looks like a bird, but not any bird I've ever seen," she added, looking at Rev.

"My species are called roadrunners," Rev explained before Tech could. "My name's Rev." he chirped.

"Nice to meet you, Rev," the field mouse chuckled, Rev's cheerful personality making her smile.

"And dis is Slam," Ace gestured to his brawny friend. "He's what's called a Tasmanian devil. But don't let the name or his size scare ya, ma'am," he added. "Slam here is real gentle giant."

As if to help prove Ace's point, Slam did a gentlemanly bow and uttered a hello.

"Hello," the field mouse replied.

"As for the rest of us," Lexi spoke up. "My name's Lexi. And that's…Daniel Duck," she finished, deciding to use Duck's civilian name.

"Everybody callsth me 'Duck'," Duck added.

"I see," the field mouse replied.

"I'm sorry if we're not who you were lookin' for, Mrs…?" Ace asked.

"Elizabeth Brisby," the field mouse introduced herself. "You can call me 'Mrs. Brisby'."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Brisby," Ace said.

"Who is this Mr. Ages you're looking for?" Lexi asked.

Mrs. Brisby suddenly got a look on her face like she remembered something very important.

"What is it?" Lexi asked, concerned.

"I need to see Mr. Ages! It's an emergency! My son's very sick! Mr. Ages!" Mrs. Brisby called out.

"Must be the doctor around here," Tech surmised.

"And-just a thought-but do you think that…?" Rev trailed off nervously, pointing a thumb back toward the ledge.

The same thought suddenly occurred to everyone else and soon the others were calling for Mr. Ages with Mrs. Brisby.

"With our luck, thisth Misthter Agesth isth probably in piec-th-esth by now," Duck mumbled.

"Mr. Ages! Is anybody home?" Mrs. Brisby called.

"Go away!" called a cranky, elderly voice from below.

"Looks like you were wrong, Duck," Lexi smirked to the anthro mallard.

Duck only gave a deadpan stare.

"Mr. Ages!" Ace called.

There was loud clang.

"What is it?!" the voice, presumably Mr. Ages, called back.

"Mr. Ages, may I please speak to you?" Mrs. Brisby called again.

"What?!" Mr. Ages asked.

"I said, may I please speak-" Mrs. Brisby started.

"Look!" Rev exclaimed as Mrs. Brisby gasped.

Everyone turned around to see an elderly mouse, Mr. Ages himself, climb up, coughing while doing so.

"-with you?" Mrs. Brisby finished. She then sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! I'm so glad you're home!"

"Uh…are you all right, sir?" Rev asked.

"I'm fine!" Mr. Ages coughed. "You…strange-looking…strange-Oh! Confounded machine!" he grumbled, ignoring Rev. "You never know when it's gonna up and blow!"

Tech smiled and scratched the back of his head and neck in embarrassment.

"Yeah…I…kinda know the feeling," he said slowly, remembering the times he had the misfortune to be caught in the blast zone when some of his own inventions blew up in his face.

"Oh, really?" Mr. Ages asked rather sarcastically. "What are you; an engineer?"

"I'm a scientist, actually," Tech replied.

"Oh, that's…that's wonderful. Just wonderful. Just what this world needs," Mr. Ages grumbled, his tone still sarcastic and…was that bitterness?

"Um, Mr. Ages?" Mrs. Brisby spoke up, trying to get the elder mouse's attention. "I don't suppose you would remember me…" she said, slightly nervous.

"Yes, you're Mrs. Brisby," Mr. Ages replied. "And I'm sorry about your husband's death," he continued, cleaning his glasses.

That piece of information surprised the seven newcomers and they conveyed looks of condolence in the widowed mouse's direction.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…" Mr. Ages said, climbing back down.

"Um, sir?" Lexi called.

"Hey! Where're you going?!" Duck shouted.

"Hey, waitaminnit!" Rev yelped.

"MR. AGES!" everybody called.

"Great Jupiter, you people! What do you want?!" Ages demanded, coming up behind them.

"Mr. Ages, I know you don't like visitors, but this is an emergency, please!" Mrs. Brisby begged.

Before anybody could respond or volunteer any new information, another explosion rocked the machine, knocking everybody off their feet and sending Mr. Ages tumbling down.

"Not again!" Duck whimpered before he fell down on his back.

Mrs. Brisby took off after Mr. Ages, with Rev, Tech, Calamity, and the others close behind. Mrs. Brisby was able to stop herself before she could fall down a shaft, but Rev hit his brakes a split second too late and found himself teetering over the edge. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain where his tail feathers connected with his body and he was pulled back onto his rear with a pained yelp.

"Sorry, Rev!" Tech exclaimed, revealing that he was the one who had grabbed Rev's tail feathers.

However, Rev wasn't going to accept the apology without getting some words in first.

"TE-E-ECH! What-have-I-told-you?!-I've-told-you-once,-I've told-everybody-else-a-hundred,-hundred,-hundred-times: NEVER, EVER, EVER GRAB MY TAIL FEATHERS!" Rev yelled, his voice going into its regular head-spinning speed and getting quite shrill.

"Well, if he didn't, you would've have quite a nasty fall," Mrs. Brisby patiently pointed out to the irritated roadrunner.

Rev looked back at the shaft and had to agree with her. So, taking some deep breaths and deciding to get over the indignity of getting his tail feathers grabbed and pulled on, he accepted Tech's apology.

"But my rear's gonna sore for a bit," Rev added in a grumble, as if to alert Tech to the consequences of his action.

"Klebrarghgarbahg Ages?" Slam asked.

"What?" Mrs. Brisby asked in a confused tone, not knowing Slam's language.

"Slam's wondering what happened to Mr. Ages," Lexi translated.

The answer was given when some coughs sounded off that belonged to Mr. Ages, who had luckily fallen into a basket attached to a pulley that functioned as a sort of rudimentary elevator.

"Mah-(cough)-Madam, that is an emergency," Mr. Ages told the female mouse, pointing down the shaft for emphasis, before pulling on the rope, sending the basket up to the top of the shaft where Mrs. Brisby and the others were waiting.

"Oh, Mr. Ages, my son Timothy is so sick," Mrs. Brisby frowned.

"You sure it'sth not justht a…a head cold or…or sthomething?" Duck asked, starting to feel a pit of genuine anxiety form, something he was unaccustomed to.

"Oh, no, it's a little more serious than that," Mrs. Brisby told him.

"Timmy? The one with the spider bite?" Mr. Ages asked as he continued to reel the basket and himself up.

'Spider bite?' Calamity blurted, rather alarmed.

Well, considering how small mice are compared with how big spiders could get…

"Yes," Mr. Ages replied to Calamity without looking at him before replying to Mrs. Brisby, "Oh, just give him some pepsissiwa root, and-"

"A what root?" Duck asked before Mrs. Brisby interrupted.

"No! No!" Mrs. Brisby cried out desperately, grabbing Ages' shirt and shaking him. "He's sick with a fever!"

"It's that bad?" Lexi questioned the female mouse, now very concerned.

A nod was all she got, but it was a confirmation.

"Well…I suppose I could fix up something," Mr. Ages replied to the widowed mouse, while also recovering from the vigorous shaking.

"Oh, thank you," Mrs. Brisby said to the elderly mouse.

"What are his symptoms?" Tech then asked, his genius mind already at work on a diagnosis.

"Excuse me, Mr. Whoever-and-Whatever-You-Are!" Mr. Ages snapped at the older coyote. "Who's she asking here, me or you?!"

"I'm just trying to help!" Tech snapped back.

"Oh, you two, please! Please, don't fight!" Mrs. Brisby begged. "I can tell you both. Really."

Tech took the suggestion with a satisfied nod, but there was some more grumbling from Mr. Ages before he conceded as well.

"Oh…Oh, all right," Mr. Ages sighed. "Follow me…And all of you. The lot of you, come along. But don't touch anything! Understand?" he added sharply.

The adventure group and Mrs. Brisby gave their word.

"All right, now…(heavy sigh)…it's going to be a tight squeeze, but I think we can manage it," Mr. Ages said as his eight visitors joined him in the basket.

Tech bent over, beckoning Calamity to him, then proceeded to carry him piggyback style.

"So, who are you all, where did you come from, and when did you get here?" Mr. Ages then asked the seven newcomers as he pulled on the rope to take them down into the shaft.

"Oh, this is Ace, Lexi, Duck, Slam, Tech, Calamity, and Rev," Mrs. Brisby told him, pointing to each of them. "They're a long way from home and only got here last night."

"I, uh…I hope ya didn't mind us snoozin' on yer front porch, sir," Ace told Mr. Ages sheepishly.

"Oh, that's all right," Mr. Ages said unconcerned. "I don't know how you all managed to get here, but I'm certainly glad that you seven didn't run into Dragon."

"Drahgen?" Slam growled in question.

"No, Dragon," Mr. Ages repeated. "I just hope you children never meet him; he's a vicious, fiendish cat. He could gobble you up before you could blink."

Well, not all of us, Ace countered mentally.

Calamity looked at Mrs. Brisby, feeling sadness in her thoughts at the mention of Dragon.

'The thought of Dragon upsets you,' Calamity noticed.

"Ye…Yes," Mrs. Brisby replied, looking very upset.

Calamity signaled Tech that he wanted to get down, then did so and went to Mrs. Brisby. There was some hesitation as Calamity forced himself to not let his curiosity take him over and as he considered his next question.

'Is it OK if I…ask what happened?' the grey-furred coyote asked hesitantly.

There was some hesitation on Mrs. Brisby's part before she answered, "Dragon…He…He…He did…something… terrible."

Calamity didn't need to look far for the answer; Mr. Ages had mentioned Mrs. Brisby's husband's death earlier and concluded that that was what it was.

'I'm sorry,' Calamity cooed, giving the widowed mouse a hug.

The others gave their condolences as well.

"So, you're all far from home, you say?" Mr. Ages asked, changing the subject.

"'Fraid so," Ace confirmed. "Don't really have a place to stay, either. If it ain't too much of a bother, Mrs. B, is it OK if we stay at your place?" he asked. "And if dere's anythin' we can do ta help around da house…"

"Well…I don't think it would hurt," Mrs. Brisby answered. "And I would appreciate the help."

"T'anks," Ace said.

"Thank you," Lexi said.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Brisby," Tech said with a polite bow of his head. "Now, about your son's symptoms…"

"Oh, yes, yes. Just how high is his fever?" Mr. Ages asked.

"He's burning hot to the touch," Mrs. Brisby began to list.

"Hmm…Yes," Mr. Ages replied.

"He's soaking wet with perspiration," Mrs. Brisby continued.

Definitely sounds in line with a fever, Tech thought, but I have a feeling there's more…

"And there's a raspy sound when he breathes," Mrs. Brisby then said.

"A raspy sound, you say?" Mr. Ages asked.

At the mention of raspy breathing in addition to the fever and perspiration, Tech and Duck tensed up. Something about this list of symptoms was way too familiar. For Tech, it brought back the memory of the letters he had gotten from a friend of his older brother when Tech's older sibling came down with the very symptoms listed by Mrs. Brisby. For Duck, it brought back the memory of a very sad day at the orphanage.

'Tech? You OK?' Calamity asked out of concern.

The older coyote nodded, shielding his thoughts from the younger. Could Mrs. Brisby's son have…? There was only one way to know for sure.

"Uh, Mrs. Brisby? Does your son have a chill?" Tech asked as they exited the basket once they reached the bottom of the shaft.

"Yes, he does," Mrs. Brisby replied.

"Pneumonia," Tech whispered in fear just loud enough for Mr. Ages, Mrs. Brisby, and Lexi to hear.

"Hmm…Have you wrapped him in a blanket?" Mr. Ages asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Brisby replied.

"And you are keeping his head elevated to help him breathe better?" Tech asked almost too quickly.

"Why, yes," Mrs. Brisby answered, rather amazed at Tech's question.

Mr. Ages then led them to a doorway that had the sign "Not Welcome. Go Away" above it.

"Sthome welcome mat," Duck muttered to himself.

"Now step inside, but keep your hands to yourselves!" he warned them. "I'm right in the middle of…something, uh, very important."

"Yes sir," Tech nodded.

"Understood," Rev chirped.

"I understand," Mrs. Brisby said.

"Oh, do you?" Mr. Ages asked before taking them into a laboratory.

The group made note that some of the items were rather large, most likely things that would look small from their normal size, as they followed Ages to a work table.

"Look at this mess…Oh, shoo, shoo, go on!" he then complained, tossing a ladybug off the table like a cat in Calamity's general direction, forcing him to jump back a bit.

"Sheesh!" Duck exclaimed in disgust at the bugs. "Thisth pla-th-ce hasth more bugsth in it than a rotten log! Or one of Tech'sth computers."

"Hey!" Tech exclaimed at Duck's jab.

"Tell me about it," Mr. Ages muttered absently.

"This is some lab you've got here. Very impressive," Tech complimented, addressing Mr. Ages.

"Well, it's not much," Mr. Ages said in response. "I've had to make do with what I found, but it is rather well-done, to say the least."

Tech then looked over at Rev and cleared his throat, making Rev turn around and show his friend that his hands were behind his back, not touching anything. Tech rolled his eyes, remembering the times Rev sometimes fiddled with his inventions, one of those times having near-dire consequences.

Mr. Ages then cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.

"I'm afraid your friend…uh…" Mr. Ages began, forgetting Tech's name.

"Tech, sir," the brown-furred anthro coyote clarified.

"Tech. Thank you, yes. Your friend Tech was right…your son has pneumonia," Mr. Ages announced.

"Pneumonia?" Mrs. Brisby asked worriedly.

"Is it serious?" Lexi asked, equally worried.

"Um, pardon me," Duck spoke up, "but for thosthe of usth not well-worded in distheasthes, justht what isth pneumonia?"

"Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by viruses or bacteria that can cause the air sacs in your lungs to fill up with fluid," Tech answered gravely.

Calamity's eyes widened and he covered his mouth in fear.

"Yikes," Rev uttered, looking rather scared.

"It's not uncommon, but you can die from it," Mr. Ages told the group as he mixed powders and herbs into a bowl, grinding them up with a pestle.

Lexi gasped. Ace tensed. Slam whimpered. Duck gulped.

"Oh please, dear God, no," Mrs. Brisby whispered, scared.

Tech wrapped his arms around himself, and thanked his and his older brother's lucky stars that the latter had survived his bout. Now, if Timothy could pull through…

"Your son must stay in bed," Mr. Ages instructed Mrs. Brisby. "Bundle him up. And, uh, keep his head elevated, you said?" he asked Tech. "Ah, yes," he then said when the latter nodded.

Mr. Ages then pulled a string running over his head, making a flame above light up, catching everyone's attention for a moment. A Bunsen burner situated near the ceiling turned to high, heating some fluid inside a large flask. A tube ran from the flask as the fluid expanded, forcing a single drop out of the tube before the older mouse caught it in his bowl.

"Not to go outside…" Mr. Ages then advised Mrs. Brisby.

"But how long must-" Mrs. Brisby began.

"Three weeks," Mr. Ages and Tech said simultaneously before the latter cleared his throat in apology and allowed the former to speak. "He cannot be moved for…at least three weeks," Mr. Ages said as he continued mixing.

"Especially in this weather," Tech added. "I had noticed a chill in the air when we were outside."

"But Moving Day is nearly here," Mrs. Brisby frowned.

"Moving Day?" the adventure group asked amongst themselves.

"You asked my advice and I gave it to you," Mr. Ages stated bluntly, continuing to mix a powder together and knocking a few things over in the process.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Brisby apologized.

"He must stay in bed," he added with emphasis. "Now, mix this, uh…this…this powder in…in a broth. Make him drink it," he instructed, holding up the bowl then pouring the contents into a packet envelope. "It'll bring down the fever."

There was a quiet sigh of some relief from the seven visitors.

"Oh, bless you sir," Mrs. Brisby said thankfully.

"And bless yourself, you'll need it," Mr. Ages told her before handing her the envelope and dismissing her. "Now, you must excuse me…You know the way out."

"Of course," Mrs. Brisby replied.

"We'll go wit' her; we're practically goin' de same way, anyway," Ace said.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ages," Lexi said as the said mouse led them to the door.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Rev piped up, smiling.

"Thank you once again," Mrs. Brisby began.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo. Go on now. Go on," Mr. Ages urged the eight of them out.

"Thank you so-" Mrs. Brisby said before the door was slammed in her face. "-much. Goodbye."

"Stho much for gratitude," Duck grumbled.

"I'm really sorry," Mrs. Brisby apologized. "He's a very private man and he-"

"Doesn't like visitors," everybody else said along with her.

"But at least you got the medicine for your son," Lexi pointed out.

Mrs. Brisby nodded, holding the special packet close to herself.

"Well, shall we venture home?" Ace asked with a friendly grin.

"Of course," Mrs. Brisby chuckled. "Follow me, please," she instructed the group. "And stay close. The farm field can get very dangerous."


And…done! So we've met Nicodemus (briefly), Mrs. Brisby and Mr. Ages and the group has learned about Mrs. Brisby's son being sick, which apparently has brought up some bad memories for Tech and Duck. Just a little bit of backstory I decided to add. And it seems Mr. Ages doesn't like the fact Tech is a scientist. Wonder why…

Now, the trivia: If anyone reading the descriptions of the attire of the Loonatics hasn't noticed, Slam and Rev are the only ones without footwear. In Slam's case, there aren't exactly a lot of shoes for someone that big; plus his ancestor never really wears footwear (in fact, he hardly wears anything). In Rev's case, however, that was by choice; he's not really into wearing shoes, preferring to feel the ground under his feet.

And yes, Tech has been called a dog, much to his chagrin, mostly by Mastermind. I won't say anything more about Mastermind, but to find out more, check out the "Loonatics Unleashed" episode "The Menace of the Mastermind". And to see just what sort of consequences ensued from Rev messing around with stuff in Tech's lab, check out the episode "It Came From Outer Space". And yes, according to the series, Danger Duck is an orphan; certainly caught me by surprise when I found that out.

I'm sure some are you are wondering about the "younger-by-numerical-age" bit; well, Tech and the Loonatics may be from the 28th century, essentially making them chronologically much younger than Calamity, by their numerical age, some of them are a bit older than him (Ace, Tech, and Slam). Also, just to clear up the "Daniel Duck" bit, when the Loonatics came to the 21st century, they had to pick civilian names to distinguish them from their superhero forms (normally superheroes don't walk around in their hero costumes in public unless it's for an event or something). I honestly have to credit Author iwolf208's story "The Comet Cometh Revisited" for the idea of aliases and the story "Stranger" by Author Jessi the Fangirl for giving me inspiration for Duck's first name, although I lengthened it to Daniel. Some of the aliases I picked because I could "wrap" them around their normal names: "Jason" for Ace, "Alexis" for Lexi, and "Trevor" for Rev. For Slam, I picked "Samson" because of one of his powers being super strength, and Samson from the Bible was exceptionally strong as well. Tech...was a little challenging. I wanted something that was close to his real name, but sounded smart, too, but it seemed nothing fit, so I ended up breaking an age-old mold and giving him the civilian name "Teague". I know, lousy, right?

Now, little funny moment I had writing this: When I typed the lines where Mrs. Brisby, Calamity, and the Loonatics all shout for Mr. Ages at once and then he says, "Great Jupiter, you people…", I couldn't help but laugh; can you imagine all eight of those voice actors shouting at once and then Mr. Ages popping up annoyed and saying that line? Also, can you imagine the looks on the adventure group's faces when that first explosion goes off? Whoo boy! XD

OK, getting on a more serious note, regarding the questions asked to Mrs. Brisby regarding Timothy's pneumonia, a question is asked if Timothy's head is being propped up to help him breathe better. A true story: When my mother was younger, she had contracted pneumonia and had to have her head propped up with pillows; at one point she wasn't and she almost died, forcing Babci (her mom, my maternal grandmother) to leave the class she was teaching to help her, which is why I added the question. Scary, huh? Thankfully my mom is alive and well.

And as for what happened to Rev a bit earlier…well, it actually gets explained a bit more in a later chapter, but do you think you can't expect those kind of effects when one possesses super speed?

Next time, Mrs. Brisby and her visitors meet a certain crow and end up facing Dragon. And then, it's backstory time where we learn about the families of Calamity and the Loonatics; more specifically, their siblings.

Until then, please read and review. Thank you.