Author's Notes and Disclaimer: Hi there, everyone! You're now on Chapter 5! Congratulations! However, the story's far from over.
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: After meeting Mrs. Brisby, Mr. Ages, Jeremy, and just barely escaping Dragon, Calamity and the Loonatics' first day in the world of "The Secret of NIMH" comes to an end with them meeting Mrs. Brisby's children and Auntie Shrew, them helping their hostess take care of Timothy, and Calamity getting more than he wanted when trying to find out why Duck was so upset. All-in-all, an eventful day that probably could've ended better, but things were straightened out in the end, thank goodness.
And now the Loonatics and Calamity are about to face something possibly scarier than Dragon…but probably not as scary as what they're going to encounter later on. So, without further ado…
Chapter 5: The Tractor
Ace and Lexi woke up the next morning to feeling their ears twitch. They were rabbits, of course, so they had pretty good hearing, Lexi more so, but they weren't sure if they liked what they were hearing.
Rev heard the sound too and cracked an eye open. It went on for a bit then stopped.
Hmm, could've sworn I heard an engine trying to start, Rev thought. He then mentally shrugged and tried to go back to sleep.
Chhr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rmmmm, came the sound again.
Rev sat bolt upright, fully awake now, along with Tech and the rabbits.
OK, definitely heard it that time! Rev panicked.
Calamity soon woke up as well, hearing the engine sound and sensing panic. He looked to Tech and Rev, then looked with them to Ace, who silently told them to get their shoes back on (those who had any) and head out to investigate. The trio obeyed, but before they got far they were met in the main room by a frightened Mrs. Brisby, who had also woken up to the sound.
The four of them waited a bit for the others (Duck was a little groggy) before going outside. They then climbed the stone near Mrs. Brisby's home and Mrs. Brisby sniffed the air while the other seven scanned the horizon.
"What did I tell you?" Auntie Shrew came up from behind them, startling them. "Moving Day!"
"It can't be!" Mrs. Brisby gasped.
"It certainly can!" Auntie Shrew confirmed. "I don't suppose you've packed!"
"But Timmy!" Rev exclaimed in a hushed tone, as if scared to speak any louder.
"The chill in the air could kill him!" Mrs. Brisby told the shrew.
"Well, child, that tractor surely will," she told the widowed mouse. "For the last time, get your children out of here before it's too late!"
The adventure group didn't want to be, but they were scared. And when the tractor engine finally came to life, being scared turned to panic.
The shrew screamed in terror, running off to warn everyone living in the field, knocking Duck over in the process.
"RUN! The plow is here! Run for your lives!" Auntie Shrew screamed as she ran through the grass. "Run! It's Moving Day!"
"The children! I have to get the children!" Mrs. Brisby cried out frantically.
"Ace, PLEASE!" Rev begged.
Ace knew what the roadrunner was asking, and it meant exposing the Loonatics' powers and prompting a lot of questions that they wouldn't be able to answer so easily. Then again, this was an emergency!
"Rev, get de kids!" Ace ordered, going into leader mode. "We'll be behind ya!"
"I'm-gone!" Rev declared, his eyes glowing red as he activated his power.
Before Mrs. Brisby could blink, Rev ran off with a whoosh of air similar to what she had heard the night before on her way home.
"Oh my…!" she gasped as she made the connection.
"C'mon, Mrs. B!" Ace urged her, grabbing her hand. "Everybody, shake a leg! No, Slam! You'll be killed!" he yelled when the Tasmanian devil made like he was going to go stop the tractor with his bare hands. Slam was strong, but he was the size of a mouse; he would be dead before he could stop it. "Hop to it! Retreat! MOVE!"
Everybody soon ran as fast as their legs and adrenaline could carry them, Calamity being practically dragged off his feet because he was shorter than Tech. Meanwhile, all around them the field wildlife were evacuating posthaste as word spread. The Loonatics had never seen such widespread panic since the meteor had hit Acmetropolis, and it was frightening. They all soon met up with Rev and the kids and Auntie Shrew some distance away from the cement block.
"I got 'em, Chief!" Rev reported to Ace. "Those I could move, anyway," he added in remorse.
"You did fine, Rev," Ace assured the avian speedster.
"Go get Timothy!" Auntie Shrew told Mrs. Brisby.
"Please, you and Rev get the children out of here!" Mrs. Brisby begged the shrew.
"Mommy! Revvy! We can't leave Timmy!" Cynthia cried out from Rev's arms.
"We're not going to," Tech said.
"You mean…" Lexi trailed.
"Oh boy," Duck whimpered nervously.
"We're gonna stop dat thing," Ace declared.
"Our best bets are gonna be the sparkplugs and the fuel line," Tech said. "Cause enough internal chaos and Fitzgibbons will have to postpone for a while."
"OK den; Slam, turn on yer Tornado Maximizer and let's jet!" Ace ordered, ready to jump on.
Slam's eyes glowed purple as he activated his power, then began spinning to create a mouse-sized tornado, then the other Loonatics started to leap in so that the wind could carry them, like it did during their first mission against Dr. Dare when they were trying to storm the villain's fortress. Mrs. Brisby, Auntie Shrew, and the three Brisby kids stared in awe at Slam's revealed ability. Tech told Slam to go ahead while he gave Rev some last-minute instructions.
"Rev, listen, get these three and Calamity out of here," Tech instructed.
"Uh, I can't do that with Calamity," Rev said nervously.
"Why not?" Tech asked.
"He's gone," Rev answered.
Tech looked around to find that Rev was right; Calamity had vanished. No, not vanished. Tech looked towards the purple whirlwind speeding towards the massive farm vehicle in horror. Calamity must've hitched a ride on Slam when Tech had loosened his grip.
"I'm going to help them!" Mrs. Brisby then shouted, having recovered from her surprise, and began running in the direction of the tractor.
"Wait! You're out of your mind! BRISBY! Come back!" Auntie Shrew screamed.
"Hold tight, kids!" Rev warned Teresa, Martin, and Cynthia before dashing off.
"Calamity Coyote, when I get my hands on you…" Tech growled as he followed Mrs. Brisby.
"I see a chain! We can get up that way!" Lexi yelled over the rushing wind and the sound of the plow scraping the earth.
"Go for it, Lex!" Ace shouted.
With Calamity giving her a telekinetic boost, Lexi managed to get on the chain, then helped the others up to the top with her and Slam last. They started across the plow and were about at the tractor when there was a bump that made the plow shake and a yelp from behind. Once all six of them recovered somewhat, they looked behind to see…
"Mrs. B!" Ace yelled.
There was Mrs. Brisby, hanging on for dear life on a rope attached to one of the bars on the plow. Tech was not far behind, dangling on a rope above the blades.
'TECH!' Calamity called out in fright, even moving his lips even though there was no voice.
Tech kept hanging on until he suddenly felt lighter, and a slight floating sensation. He recognized this feeling; Calamity was lifting him.
"Hold him steady!" Tech called to his teammates, referring to Calamity.
Tech then let go of the rope and let Calamity's telekinesis take over, giving the young psychic canis latrans encouragement through the psychic link they had. In a minute, Tech was safely with them.
And just in time for Auntie Shrew to join them.
"Brisby! Hang on!" Auntie Shrew called as she scampered along the plow towards the adventure group.
"Oh, no," Ace groaned.
"What?!" Lexi gasped.
"Lady, what are ya doin' here?!" Ace yelled at the shrew.
"Are you all MAD?! What are you?!" she yelled back, looking very freaked out.
"We're heroes, ma'am!" Ace replied.
"And you're gonna interfere if you don't leave, now!" Duck shouted forcefully.
"I'M HERE TO HELP!" Auntie Shrew screamed.
"OK, den!" Ace replied. "Listen up, you hoid what Tech said; our targets are da sparkplugs and da fuel line! So we split up: me, Tech, and Lexi are goin' for de sparkplugs! Duck, Slam, Cal, and, while you're here, Auntie Shrew, get to da fuel line and cut 'er loose! And do anythin' else you can t'ink of along da way; just don't get yerselves killed!" he added in parting as they split up.
"All right, troopsth! Let'sth move it!" Duck ordered, actually competently taking command for once. "Sthlam, you take Auntie Shrew!"
"What-?" Auntie Shrew started.
"Cal, you're with me!" Duck told the young coyote, lifting him up.
'Are we gonna Quack?' Calamity asked.
"Bingo, kiddo!" Duck confirmed.
"You're going to what-? OH-O-O-O-O-O-OH MY HEAVENS!" Auntie Shrew screamed when she saw Duck, with Calamity in tow, disappear with a strange sound and a flash of light, then reappear in the same fashion by the gas tank.
Auntie Shrew then found herself screaming some more when Slam picked her up and carried her to the same location.
Meanwhile, deeper inside the tractor at the sparkplugs, Ace and Lexi were standing by for Tech to remove the distributor caps from the sparkplugs.
"Ready, Tech?!" Ace called.
"I'm gonna feel this for a while," Tech groaned to himself. "Yes!" he yelled aloud. "Watch out now!" he warned, pulling the first distributor cap.
Electricity sparked out of it, making it arc wildly, but Tech kept going, even when he got hit a few times, his Molecular Regeneration hard at work. He even threw in some magnetic pulses from time to time. Ace and Lexi used their Laser Vision and Brain Blasts in tandem to damage the released caps.
Finally, on the last cap, there was one electrical blast Tech couldn't avoid, and he was hit, sending him toward Ace and Lexi, who got out the way.
At the fuel tank, Calamity had a momentary lapse in concentration when he felt Tech in pain, but he shook it off, knowing Tech's Molecular Regeneration would kick in soon and refocused his efforts back on disconnecting the fuel line.
'Guys! One more pull on your end and I can do the rest!' Calamity told them. 'Just watch out for the fuel when it leaks!' he warned.
"You heard the other geniusth! One more time!" Duck commanded.
The duck, the Tasmanian devil, and the shrew gave their all in that pull, but it was enough.
'Watch out!' Calamity warned.
Duck Quacked out and Slam grabbed Auntie Shrew and set her back on the machine just as Calamity telekinetically gave the fuel line one more tug. The fuel line flew off and the fuel sprayed out.
Duck's group reunited with Ace's group who, aside from a rather frazzled-looking Tech, were in one piece.
"Dis is our stop!" Ace remarked as the tractor slowly came to a halt.
"Hang on, Chief," Tech said. "Just one more…"
Mustering up what strength he could, Tech sent a magnetic pulse through the tractor, which made a few more unknown parts come loose.
"That'll oughta buy Mrs. B a week, at least," Ace guessed. "Let's get her, then jet outta here!"
The adventure group and Auntie Shrew jumped off the tractor, then went to the plow section to find Mrs. Brisby still hanging on.
"Mrs. B!" Ace called.
"It's stopped!" Tech told her.
"Brisby!" Auntie Shrew called, climbing up to get her. "Come on, come on," she told the widowed mouse.
All eight of them hurried off into the grass so that they wouldn't be spotted by Farmer Fitzgibbons, who tried turning the engine over a few times before noticing something.
"Of all the rotten luck!" the human farmer muttered. "Fuel line's cut, distributor caps are all missing, and it looks like almost every part in the engine needs replacing! I'll never the field plowed at this rate!"
Meanwhile, once safe, everybody sat down to recover from the harrowing experience.
"I'm…I'm surprised," Lexi panted, trying to talk to Tech. "That…That you're not…Well, not…"
"Exposed after that blast?" Tech finished for her, choosing that word carefully. "Well, remember, Duck and I have specially made clothes stylized to our powers, like our suits are. That way, when we teleport or regenerate, we don't end up…well, in an embarrassing situation."
"Thank goodnessth for that!" Duck blurted out.
'You were hurt, Tech,' Calamity said, concerned.
"Yeah, but I'm fine," Tech started. "You, on the other hand…"
Calamity gasped.
The other Loonatics perked up, wondering what Tech was doing.
"Were you INSANE?!" Tech shouted. "You scared me! You could've been killed out there! I have the ability to regenerate, you don't! If anything happened to you, I'd never forgive myself! You've got a brain, Coyote! Use it!"
'I'm sorry,' Calamity said contritely.
"You'd better be! Why did you go off like that?" Tech asked.
'I came on this adventure to be part of the team, right?' Calamity asked.
"Right, but-" Tech started.
'And that means sharing in the risk, something I've done before, right?'
"Uh…" Tech hesitated, remembering Calamity telling him how he and Gina had gone up against Hexxus in FernGully. It had been very dangerous, almost as dangerous as what they had just gone through.
'And helping the team, right?' Calamity continued.
"Yeah…"
'So, even though I realize it was for my safety, you would have me…'
"It was for your safety," Tech pointed out.
'…be useless?' Calamity finished.
That stopped Tech. That word; useless. An adjective describing a person having no ability in a specific activity or an object that didn't fulfill its purpose. Or used to describe someone that always seemed rather extra. Like Rev used to think of himself as back on Acmetropolis in the early days of the team; he was the odd one out, the only one without a long-range attack, making him only good for quick transport, or a distraction. When he was able to get in close combat, he felt lucky. Of course, that changed when Zooky came along and taught the roadrunner a few new tricks that made him like an actually active member of the team. And then Rev also started bringing his gadget-making skills to the forefront, making him quite an assistant in the lab, along with Zooky, of course.
Then, when the Darkness engulfed their home, along with their friends, families, and their benefactor, the entire Loonatic team felt useless; they didn't fulfill their purpose. Instead, all they could do was sit and watch, then get transported back to the past as a "last hope". In a way, deep down, they were still feeling pretty useless now.
'I said something wrong, I'm sorry,' Calamity spoke up. 'Better to be useless than dead, right?'
Tech said nothing; just sighed, then scooped Calamity up into a tight hug.
"Just…think before you leap on the Tasmanian devil next time, OK?" Tech asked quietly.
'OK,' Calamity answered.
"He'll come back tomorrow," Mrs. Brisby whimpered.
"No way, we banged that thing up good," Duck disagreed.
"I wish Jonathan were here," Mrs. Brisby said as she began to cry.
"Well, he's not," Auntie Shrew bluntly told the emotional field mouse. "Stop it!"
"Hey, give the lady a break! She almostht lostht her life there!" Duck defended. "And stho did we, for that matter," he added, gently patting Mrs. Brisby on the back.
"Stupid! The lot of you, stupid!" Auntie Shrew muttered, now referring to the adventure group. "What kind of place did you even come from with all those…uh…whatever they were! You wouldn't be with the rats, would you?" she asked suspiciously.
"We don't know any rats," Lexi told her. "Unless you count the criminals we've defeated back home," she added in an undertone.
"We use these special abilities to help," Tech added. "You saw Rev use his to save Teresa, Martin, and Cynthia. And you saw the rest of us use ours to stop that tractor! Do you think that's suspicious?"
Auntie Shrew just hummed.
"What am I going to do?" Mrs. Brisby asked once she calmed down.
"We'll think of something," Auntie Shrew told Mrs. Brisby.
"And we'd better, 'cause that bit o' sabotage we did ain't gonna last forevah," Ace pointed out. "Eventually, ol' Farmer Fitz out dere will get dat t'ing fixed up and it'll be back plowing the field up again. 'Sides, I don't wanna ruin da efforts of a man makin' an honest livin'. We need a solution that works in da long-run."
"The young buck is right," Auntie Shrew agreed. "Now, come on, let's get out of here," she suggested, leading Mrs. Brisby and the group away from the still tractor and plow.
After a moment of walking, Auntie Shrew said, "The Great Owl would know what to do about this."
"The Great Owl?" Duck asked, thinking that he had heard the name somewhere before.
'Martin mentioned the Great Owl last night,' Calamity pointed out.
"Just who is he? Besides an owl, obviously," Lexi asked.
"One of the wisest animals in the woods," Auntie Shrew answered. "You…and your friends…must go see him," she then told Mrs. Brisby.
The adventure group looked at Auntie Shrew in shock. Was she actually suggesting that they go with Mrs. Brisby to meet this owl?! Which was what they had in mind?!
"Oh, I couldn't do that; owls eat mice!" Mrs. Brisby gasped.
'And, not to add to the downer, also other rodents, bats…' Calamity began to list.
"Oh great, stho thisth "wisthe creature" of yours could justht add usth to histh dinner listht before we even get a word in!" Duck groaned, not liking the prospects.
"Well, show a little courage, the lot of you! We're fighting for Timmy's life!" Auntie Shrew exclaimed to them.
"She's right, guys; we can't let de little guy down!" said Ace through the crystal ball that Nicodemus was using to observe the outside world through.
"Jonathan…your wife, I fear, is in desperate trouble," Nicodemus said. "And I fear these visitors and their powers may not be enough, no matter how strong they are now. A visit to the Great Owl may indeed be profitable. Go to the Owl, then, Mrs. Brisby," he said in a tone as if calling to her through his crystal ball. "Go to the Owl, young visitors. Go there!"
"Calamity? Calamity? Cal?" Tech called to the named coyote, as he had stopped and was now just standing there as if in a trance.
"Hey, you awake dere?" Ace called, having noticed the holdup.
Calamity shook his head and blinked a few times as he came back to reality.
"Eh, what happened dere?" Ace asked. "Ya looked a little out of it for a minute."
'I…I don't know,' Calamity admitted.
"Did you sense something?" Tech asked.
"The farmer?" Duck queried nervously.
'No, no. It was…It was a voice. I heard a voice,' Calamity answered.
"You sure?" Ace asked.
"Well, remember Ace; Lexi here can hear sounds miles away, that's pretty good. But Calamity can hear and sense thoughts; and that's a special kind of super-hearing if used properly and in the right conditions," Tech told the grey rabbit. "Maybe Calamity picked up something from far away."
'No, I wasn't even looking,' Calamity shook his head. 'It was like…it was reaching…reaching for me.'
"You mean someone was trying to communicate with you?" Lexi asked.
'Yes, I think; he seemed more intent on sending an instruction than establishing a dialogue, though,' Calamity said.
"'He'?" Tech queried.
Calamity nodded. 'It was male. Sounded weary, old; full of wisdom and age. But it was rather soft; he's probably far from where we are.'
"Well, what did he say?" Ace asked as the six of them started walking again.
'He said that we should go see the Great Owl,' Calamity responded, trailing a bit.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked.
'He said something else, but I don't know if you'd like it,' Calamity replied unsurely.
"Aw, we can take it," Duck said confidently.
Calamity paused a bit before deciding. 'He sounded…worried. About Mrs. Brisby. And he said "these visitors and their powers may not be enough",' he memorized.
"Stho?" Duck asked, not quite getting what Calamity was saying.
'We're visitors here,' Calamity clarified.
Duck stopped in his tracks. "Whoa, wa-a-ait. Wa-a-ait-wait-wait-wait-wait. Hold on a sthecond," Duck said, not believing what he was hearing. "Are you sthaying thisth old guy isth doubting usth?!"
'It didn't sound like doubt,' Calamity said. 'He sounded more concerned than anything else.'
"Why would he be concerned that our powers wouldn't be enough?" Lexi queried. "For that matter, how does he know about our powers at all?"
'"These visitors and their powers may not be enough, no matter how strong they are now'," Calamity recited.
"Well, sthounds to me like we've got more work to do," Duck said. "Can't let these superpowersth get rusthty."
"I don't know, Duck. Somehow, I have a feelin' that even if we do train our powers more, it still wouldn't be enough," Ace mulled.
Slam grunted in confusion.
"Well, what elsthe could we do?" Duck questioned.
"Well, when we had our foist run-in wit' Sypher back home, we had to rely on our natural skills," Ace remembered. "And ever since then, Zooky's told us to train those as much as we do our powers. Maybe dat's de key."
"Hmm, that would work," Tech agreed.
'But-and this is a long-shot, forgive me-what if that's not enough, either?' Calamity brought up.
"Yeah, then what are we left with?" Lexi asked.
"I dunno," Ace said quietly.
"For once, I don't know the answer to that, either," Tech admitted.
"Is…everything all right back here?" Mrs. Brisby asked, having gone back to find them when she realized that they weren't following anymore.
"Uh, yes, ma'am," Ace answered. "Sorry if we worried ya."
"Um, Ace?" Mrs. Brisby began as the seven of them started walking. "I…want to ask you something. About your…?"
"Uh-oh; here they come," Duck intoned nervously.
"Hm?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"Eh, well, ya see, Mrs. B, we've…kinda been expecting this," Ace explained. "Being asked about our…special abilities."
"Oh, I see," Mrs. Brisby nodded. "I was wondering about your abilities, or your…powers…I think you also called them?"
"You…hoird dat much?" Ace asked, her question catching him off-guard.
Ms. Brisby nodded.
"All right den…" Ace sighed. "Well, ask away."
The widowed field mouse had so many questions about her new friends'…powers she almost didn't know where to start.
"These…powers of yours, were you born with them?" she decided to ask first.
"Oh no, no, ma'am; we earned them," Ace answered.
"Although, we weren't quite expecting to earn them," Lexi added, looking back in memory.
"Yeah, dey did kinda get thrust upon us," Ace remembered. "We used ta be six ordinary people livin' an ordinary life, making an ordinary livin', when suddenly, in flash of light-BOOM!-we got powers!" he said, deciding not to divulge the full details; she'd have certainly thought they were crazy and get more confused.
"Oh my!" Mrs. Brisby gasped in amazement. "What about Calamity? Did he get his…power…through that…flash of light?"
'Oh no, I was actually born with it,' Calamity clarified for her. 'I just never used it before, until some time ago. And I'm still trying to fine-tune it some.'
"Oh, I see," Mrs. Brisby replied.
'I've been using my psychic abilities, or "powers of the mind", as I've often called them, for a long time now, but it's not easy. Sometimes…incidents occur, like…what happened last night,' Calamity added.
"Oh," Mrs. Brisby nodded in understanding. "Well, what about all of you? I mean, what are your powers?" she then asked the five Loonatics.
"Well, my power's all in my baby-blue eyes," Ace grinned. "Gives me better eyesight, and somethin' else too. I'll show ya if I can," he added, looking around for something to use before spotting a small, shallow stream of water running across the path. "OK, picture this little brook as a wide river, or any large gap," he instructed. "So, we need a bridge. I'll use dat tall blade of grass over dere," he said, walking over to it. "Watch."
Ace's eyes glowed yellow, and a blink later, beams shot from his eyes, cutting the blade of grass down and creating a bridge. Mrs. Brisby gasped loudly.
"Ooh, sorry Mrs. B," Ace apologized as his eyes returned to normal.
"Oh, it's…it's all right, it's all right," she assured him as she got her breath back. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asked.
"It used to when I foist got it, and it still does a little," the Loonatic leader admitted. "But it doesn't hoirt much anymore; I'm kinda used to it. All of our powers have mostly become second-nature to us by now."
"Do your eyes always glow like that when you…?"
"Huh, y'know, you're da one other person 'sides Calamity dat's noticed," Ace said. "It's called Laser Vision. Dat's what those beams are: lasers."
"Laser Vision," Mrs. Brisby repeated slowly.
"But that's not all I got. I have a natural skill that I woik on just as much:" Ace then began to demonstrate some impressive fighting movements. "Dey're called martial arts," he explained. "Mainly used for defense, but real handy if I need to get into close combat wit' somebody."
"Amazing!" Mrs. Brisby exclaimed. "Are those the same moves you used last night, Lexi? At the millpond?" she then asked the female bunny.
"Oh, you mean this?" Lexi then started walking on her hands, then went into a flip, landing on the grass bridge. "No, those are some different moves altogether," she said.
"I also have dis," Ace added, pulling what looked like a handle out of his pocket, which soon revealed itself to be a collapsible sword. "It's called de Guardian Strike Sword," he explained to the awed mouse. "I've had it for a while. Real handy for weapon-to-weapon combat if necessary. Key woid necessary," he repeated with emphasis.
"Necessary," Mrs. Brisby repeated quietly. "What about your powers, Lexi?" she then asked.
"Mine's in my ears," Lexi replied. "Here, I'll power up a little and show you."
She then proceeded to tap into her powers, her eyes glowing pink. Between her ears, a pink ball of energy began to form, then went away as Lexi powered down.
"It's called a Brain Blast," she explained.
"Is it like a…power of the mind?" Mrs. Brisby inquired.
"If you want to look at it that way, I guess so," Lexi thought. "I do have to concentrate my thoughts for it to work."
"Can Calamity do it?"
'Oh no, I can't,' Calamity told Mrs. Brisby. 'My powers of the mind aren't as…flashy. No offense,' he said to Lexi.
"None taken," Lexi giggled. "I do admit, it does look kind of flashy. I also have what's called Sonic Hearing," she added, pink rings traveling up her ears as she activated that particular power. "That means I can hear sounds from great distances away, or even inside a person."
"That makes her especially useful if someone gets hurt; she can monitor most vital signs in the absence of medical equipment," Tech put in.
"That's wonderful," Mrs. Brisby whispered, amazed.
"Thanks," Lexi said humbly. "And, like I said, I can also hear things miles away. For instance…I can hear Auntie Shrew huffing and puffing about six feet ahead of us. And she's calling for you again," she added with a giggle before doing an impression of Auntie Shrew: "Brisby!"
Mrs. Brisby couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, that's incredible!" she managed to say.
"Her power or her impression?" Ace smirked.
Lexi reached up and mussed up the fur on Ace's head.
"Hey!" he groaned playfully, making everyone laugh again.
The group of seven crossed the grass bridge before they continued their conversation.
"You've seen Rev's Super Speed," Ace said.
"Yes, and heard it, too. Last night, while you, Slam and Lexi were walking home with me," Mrs. Brisby clarified.
Ace groaned in embarrassment, caught.
"Yeah, 'bout that…Sorry for fibbin' like dat, Mrs. B," Ace said apologetically. "But it really wasn't a good time for all those questions," he tried to explain.
"I understand," Mrs. Brisby smiled. "It was a rather eventful evening," she giggled.
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Ace asked, chuckling. "You've seen Slam's, too," he reminded her.
"Oh yes," Mrs. Brisby remembered. "You called it a Tor…nay…do…Max…" she enunciated.
"Tornado Maximizer," Ace helped her out.
"Tornado Maximizer, yes, thank you. When he spun and became that…um…"
"I t'ink "whirlwind" is the woid you're lookin' for," Ace suggested.
"Yes, I think."
"He's also super strong, but most of dat muscle he got even before he got his powers," Ace continued. "When he was a fighter."
"Champ," Slam said.
"Is that good?" Mrs. Brisby asked him.
"Uh-huh!" Slam nodded, smiling.
"Guessth it'sth my turn," Duck volunteered after there was a pause. "Well, I can Quack-uh, teleport, that isth," he clarified. "I can go from Point A to Point B justht like that," he said, snapping his fingers. "That'sth how I got out of the river and rejoined you guysth yesthterday."
"That strange sound," Mrs. Brisby realized.
"Ooh, you heard that, huh? Hoo, boy," Duck sighed. "Yeah, basthically I have to have a visual referen-th-ce in my mind for it to work, then I disappear with a sound and a flash of light and reappear the sthame way. Handy for sthplit-sthecond getawaysth. Here, I'll show you."
Duck then looked ahead on the path. Nothing too far ahead, maybe a foot or so. His eyes then glowed orange as he tapped into his Quantum Quack, then teleported to a foot ahead of the group and back.
"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Brisby said.
"I've alstho got thesthe:" Duck then carefully activated his Power Eggs, making what appeared to Mrs. Brisby fire appear on his palms, scaring her a little. "Whoa! It'sth OK! It'sth OK!" Duck exclaimed, terminating the Eggs then showing her his hands to prove they weren't hurt. "Sthee, no harm. I call them my Power Eggsth. Tech has more complicated name for them but I think we'll usthe 'Power Eggsth' for sthimplic-th-ity's sthake. Basically, I conc-th-entrate my power into my handsth, then they become whatever I want," he continued. "Uh, unfortunately, I sthtill have a little trouble with that part sthometimesth," he admitted.
Ace, Lexi, Slam, Calamity, and Tech were amazed to hear Duck explain his powers to Mrs. Brisby, and he didn't sound like the braggart he usually was. What was going on here?!
"Then there'sth one more that I actually found by acc-th-ident," Duck continued. "Basically, I sthick my handsth in water, make like I'm going to usthe my Power Eggsth, and I end up manipulating water. I call it my Aqua Densthe; real useful for s-th-ituations near water."
"Most impressive," Mrs. Brisby said.
"Thanksth."
"As for me," Tech began, "I can manipulate magnetic objects-anything metal."
"Like the tractor?" Mrs. Brisby asked.
"Or at least its metallic parts; that's what I did a few minutes ago," the brown-furred coyote explained. "I also have a regeneration factor. If I get hurt, I immediately heal," he added.
"Sounds incredible," Mrs. Brisby said. "All of your powers do."
"Yeah, well it wasth no picnic getting usthed to them," Duck said. "Or losthing them."
"Duck's right," Ace told Mrs. Brisby when she gave a look of confusion. "We did have an occasion where we lost our powers. Only our natural skills, what we had before, were all dat were left."
"So, when you did, Duck couldn't teleport, you couldn't use your Laser Vision, Rev didn't have his Super Speed, Slam couldn't become a whirlwind, Lexi didn't have her Sonic Hearing," Ms. Brisby listed. She then turned to Tech. "And you…"
"If I had been seriously injured during that time," Tech said slowly. "…I would've…actually died."
"Oh Heavens!" Mrs. Brisby gasped in horror.
Calamity hugged Tech's leg.
"It was…a rather scary time for us, me especially," Tech continued. "Once I figured out what had happened, it was like…I was suddenly face-to-face with my own mortality. I had grown so used to being able to regenerate that losing it was a shock. But, luckily, we got them back," he finished.
"And we learned two t'ings that day: Not to take our powers for granted, and to always keep our natural skills just as sharp; who knows if ever run into another situation where our superpowers don't woik?" Ace said.
"Very responsible," Mrs. Brisby said.
"All part of helping keep the balance, Mrs. B," Ace told her.
"Well, now that that's all settled, what's next?" Lexi asked.
"We meet up wit' Rev and de kids back at the house-he'll likely take them back dere now dat de tractor is stopped-we get somethin' to eat, update Rev on our situation, then, later in de day, we head for de Great Owl's place," Ace replied.
"Um, justht how are we going to get there?" Duck asked.
"Well, I have an idea," Ace said slowly. "But I dunno if you're gonna like it, Mrs. B."
Well, I can guarantee she won't. Anyway, that's another chapter done. And now Mrs. Brisby and Auntie Shrew have witnessed the Loonatics' powers, but only Mrs. Brisby herself gets the privilege of learning more specific details about them, such as how they got their abilities (the Loonatics' from the comet, while Calamity's are natural). To learn more about that event, as well as learn about the backstories of each of the Loonatics, then I recommend watching the "Loonatics Unleashed" episode "The Comet Cometh". To see where I got the idea for Slam carrying three of his teammates and Calamity to the plow, I got it from the episode "Going Underground".
For those of you who know "Loonatics Unleashed", I'm sure some of you have wondered why when Tech regenerates or when Duck "Quacks", how their uniforms manage to stay on; well, my theory (as given by Tech) is that their suits (as well as their civilian clothing), were designed with a material that is specially stylized to their owner's powers. That's my theory, anyway.
Anyone spot the references I made? If you did, great job!
I promised that more details about what the Loonatics are doing in the 21st century would be revealed, and well, here they are; it appears that this Darkness spread into their time and swallowed it, and only by some form of time transport were the Loonatics able to escape it.
I also brought up something I've been finding a lot whenever I look around at fan stuff for "Loonatics Unleashed": In the series, all the Loonatics have offensive attacks that go from long-range to melee…well, all but one. Yep, believe it or not, Rev Runner is the oddball of the group with no offensive attack of his own (although he does manage to land a kick once or twice), leaving him being mostly the navigator, the distraction, and the team's morale booster (considering who's giving him his bright personality, I can't say that's a surprise). I can imagine that might have made him feel a bit out-of-place at first, and when he got his powers temporarily taken away by Sypher, I can only imagine how helpless he must have felt. Being close friends with Rev, Tech would notice something like this.
But anybody get the feeling a sore spot was hit here? Offhand, I know most of you will say Calamity got off too easily, but he's apparently faced a foe scarier than Farmer Fitzgibbons' tractor and survived, so can you blame him for wanting to help the team?
Speaking of Calamity, it seems he's managed to make some sort of contact with Nicodemus, who apparently knows about him and the Loonatics, and is concerned that the Loonatics and Calamity aren't strong enough yet for what lies ahead. The group has ideas about where to improve, but where do you think they mostly need to improve before they become stronger?
Next time, Calamity, Mrs. Brisby, and the Loonatics go to see the Great Owl…and guess who'll be getting them there.
Until then, please read and review. Thank you.
