Everybody on the team was worried about Duck. He'd been in the gym area for a good fifteen minutes and wasn't letting up on his rough treatment of the punching bag. Everyone but Ace had tried to calm him down, but all were met with either cussing or a very stern "BACK OFF"... Ace decided enough was enough. He HAD to intervene.
...Big mistake.
A POWERFUL right hook knocked Ace senseless, leaving him on the floor. As Lexi dragged him away from the clearly infuriated Duck, Tech voiced an opinion that everybody agreed upon: "Let's give him some space until he calms down..."
(THREE HOURS LATER...)
Duck had tired himself out; having left the gym area, he'd now barricaded himself in his room with a clear warning not to even ATTEMPT to talk to him.
"I don't know what's gotten into him; this isn't the usual happy-go-lucky, arrogant Danger Duck that we're used to..." Tech said, rubbing his chin in thought. Rev sped in at that moment, holding a media disc he'd found; it was labelled, "ENOUGH". Lexi recognised who had written the label.
"That's Duck's handwriting!" she exclaimed, snatching the disc from Rev's grasp and inserting it into the command console.
"This message is for my fellow Loonatics Unleashed teammates... If I even care to call you such anymore.
I have had enough.
Enough of the teasing,
Enough of the insults,
and ESPECIALLY enough of being under-appreciated!
Don't you DARE deny that you're guilty of any of these things, especially YOU, Ace! None of you is innocent...
Tech E. Coyote... You of ALL people should realise that my abilities can't be replicated through scientific means, thereby making me an irreplaceable team member...
Rev Runner, I would have thought that we'd share SOME common ground being that we both came from less glamorous beginnings than the others... I guess we ALL live and learn.
Slam Tasmanian... What is there to say? I thought we were friends... I suppose I was mistaken since even YOU poke fun at me consistently.
Lexi, you may pretend to care for the rest of the team, but you're just as self-absorbed as you believe me to be!
And Ace... You're just despicable. The leader of a team should show respect to ALL that follow him! Just because you're Zadavia's favourite, you think you can treat me like dirt! There's a particular "C"-Word that describes people like you, but I'm not gonna give you the satisfaction of hearing me say it...
This is my final message to ALL of you: Get bent and go to Hell...
A gunshot rang out from Duck's room. Everyone looked to each other in disbelief; had Duck just done the unthinkable? Rushing to the room, Tech used his ferrokinesis to force the door open. Duck was dead. There was a hole through his temple and a pistol in his hand. He had a smug grin on his face and a crumpled-up note in his hand.
Shakily pulling the bloodstained note from his hand, Lexi tearfully read it aloud.
"Who's laughing now, jerks? See how far you get without me. -Danger Duck..."
In the days to come, the team would indeed fall apart; Acmetropolis remained safe. Without any intervention from the Loonatics Unleashed, the world remained safe. The loss of Danger Duck still haunted the entire team, however. Especially Ace, who would continue to blame himself for the mallard's suicide. In the end, he too would commit the act... Just so he could atone.
(TEN YEARS LATER...)
Lexi had been braver than the others; she had sought psychiatric help the week after Duck's suicide. In the years that followed, Rev, Tech, and even Slam would all give in to their guilt. But not Lexi; she was too stubborn to die. Ten years after the mallard's death, Lexi visited the graves of the ex-Loonatics Unleashed. Placing individual flowers indicative of each member's signature colour, she felt ready. She held the guardian strike sword while Zadavia and Optimatus watched.
"Seppuku..." she whispered as she placed the sword's tip to her chest. A single tear ran down her face as she plunged the blade through her body. Now, it was over. Zadavia and Optimatus would be the only ones left to tell the tale of the Loonatics Unleashed; a tale that ultimately ended in tragedy...
- THE END
