Brax soon took Ratchet into a training zone before the doors opened. "Well, good luck." He told the Lombax before shoving him into the room.
"Huh?" LJ blinked. "Wonder what he meant by that...?"
"Welcome, Cadet!" Captain Qwark's voice said before the floor raised up with them.
"Whoa! Goin' up." Akito commented.
"And here I am without a helmet... Or a seat-belt." Lexi commented.
They soon stopped right then and the windows lit up to show Captain Qwark with some others monitoring them.
"Let's get you into your new proto-suit," Captain Qwark smiled. "Your proto-suit is the most advanced combat armor on the market. And it comes in all the latest Fall colors!"
LJ gave a whistle. "Hochi-Machi... Wait'll Kimberly gets a load of ME..." he remarked.
"Sweet!" Ratchet smiled.
"Hmm... Not bad..." Akito admired the new look. "This might be a bit better than the Loonatics uniforms."
"Only by a little." Lexi replied.
"A neural sensor in your helmet reads your thoughts and telequips the desired weapon into your hands," Captain Qwark instructed, nearly sounding like a video game tutorial. "Try equipping your Combuster."
"Um... Okay. Combuster..." LJ replied.
Ratchet tried as that sounded simple, but nothing happened for him.
"I think your combuster thingy might be broken-" Lexi called up to the others.
Eventually, it began to work.
"There you go!" Captain Qwark told them.
'Combuster equipped.' The computer stated.
"Wicked." Ratchet grinned.
"So awesome!" LJ grinned back.
"I'm there with ya, buddy." Akito agreed.
"The Combuster is the backbone of the Rangers' arsenal, allowing you to hit targets in a short to medium range." Captain Qwark stated informatively.
"Ooh, Mommy like!" Lexi grinned.
Ratchet soon tried it out, though it looked a little awkward on his first time.
"This is embarrassing." Cora muttered.
"You're telling ME." Brax nodded.
"The Alpha Disruptor fires a deadly stream of plasma, allowing you to hit multiple targets at once." Captain Qwark informed as another tool was shown.
"Hey, that'd be a whole lotta fun with me especially with how fast I go." Rev commented with a smirk.
"Ooh, baby!" LJ grinned as he attempted to fire it.
Ratchet fired his, but he seemed to bounce around as it fired all around.
"See? He's got it," Captain Qwark told the others. "...Sort of."
"YAAAAAAAAAH!" LJ screamed as he was flung around by the Disruptor's force.
"This little baby's the Negotiator," Captain Qwark then introduced the next weapon. "Fires multiple long-range, high-impact rockets. Great versus heavy armor."
"I think I got it." Duck said as he tried it out for himself. He fired a few shots... Which immediately came back at him. He yelped from that and lost a few feathers in the process.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" LJ winced.
"Typical Duck..." Akito sighed.
"He just never learns." Ace added.
"Buzz Blades!" Captain Qwark then displayed.
Ratchet fired it...but it came back, so he had to dodge. But then half the platform fell off.
"The Warmonger." Captain Qwark introduced.
Ace soon began to shoot the weapon before smirking in success. He then yelped and hopped off the platform as the shots came to shoot right back at him. The others had to run and dodge to avoid the shots.
"I dunno. The Spiral of Death?" Captain Qwark soon said as he started to sound bored.
Slam started to shoot the spiral blade before shooting at all angles, trying to be careful.
"RUN FOR COVER!" LJ yelled as he ducked and hid.
"I don't think Slam's the best person to look after that thing!" Chip yelped.
"No kidding!" Zofia replied.
"Fusion Grenade?" Captain Qwark then presented.
LJ collapsed in a heap at that. Ratchet tossed the grenade and it bounced back and exploded on him.
"Oh, he's gonna feel that in the morning..." Lexi cringed.
"How am I doing?" Ratchet muffled as he was pressed against the glass before sliding down.
"Pretty cool about this for someone who just got humiliated in front of his idols." Chip commented.
"In short, not bad!" LJ replied.
Meanwhile, Clank continued to explore the office as Elsira did her own thing.
Tech, meanwhile, was admiring Elaris. "I gotta say... This is an awesome set-up..." he remarked. "But you're pretty awesome too."
"Oh, thanks," Elaris replied. "I don't mind it as much as the last guy who had this job: Dr. Nefarious. Drove him crazy. Literally. He turned evil."
"That guy looks like he could give Dr. Cortex a run for his money." Felicity commented.
"Or Dr. Robotnik, even..." Tech noted.
"Oh, Tech, you know Robotnik?" Estelle asked out of surprise and interest.
"Yeah, I heard of him. Used to be a brilliant scientific genius until he learned that this organization called G.U.N. killed his grandpa and cousin, then stole his grandpa's experiment: the ultimate life-form, Shadow the Hedgehog." Tech explained.
"Yeah, that's basically it." Felicity nodded.
"Ah. Good, then." Tech nodded.
"But don't worry," Elaris told them with a chuckle. "It won't happen to me."
"Well, that's a bit of a relief." Jenny commented.
"No kidding! Especially since Mallory was totally bonkers..." Tech sighed.
"Hmm... That's strange." Elaris said.
"What's up?" Jenny asked.
"I'm running a simulation based on the fragments we located from each destroyed planet," Elaris informed. "Each one is missing a famous landmass."
"Interesting," Tech nodded. "You would think someone who blows up planets might just destroy it completely. This is getting weirder."
"Well, perhaps the pieces are still out there," Clank suggested. "There is a lot of space in space."
"I guess, but it's worth bringing up to the captain, don't you think?" Elaris replied.
Tech snorted. "Like he's gonna listen. The guy has a thick skull," he replied. "If I were captain, I'd listen to you."
"That would be a refreshing change of pace." Elaris flashed him a smile.
Tech blushed. "I know, right?" he replied.
"Out of the way!" Captain Qwark's voice called out.
"Hey!" Ratchet's voice added.
"I don't like the sounds of that." Estelle frowned.
"Duck. And. Cover," Tech advised. "NOW!"
"Why?" Jenny asked.
"Trust me!" Tech replied.
They all soon ducked for cover to see what he meant. Captain Qwark soon flew in with some of the others, though Akito didn't need a jet pack as he could fly fine on his own.
"WAHOO!" LJ whooped as he rocketed through the hole, wearing a jet pack. "Sorry, guys."
Zofia let out a small sigh to that, but didn't say anything.
"Just relax!" Captain Qwark grinned as he hovered beside Ratchet and the others who had their own jet pack, except for Akito. "Everyone, stay calm! Something epic is happening!"
"Yeah! We got jet packs!" LJ whooped. "Now I can fly at last!"
"Yeah, flying's pretty fun." Akito smiled to him.
"I understand..." LJ nodded. "How come my dad can fly, but I can't?"
"Maybe you just don't have that gene?" Akito shrugged. "I mean, my dad's a Wiccan, but me and Estelle have Wiccan magic while Vincent doesn't."
LJ grumbled. "But Dad said that he got his powers when he turned 13. I figured I'd at least get them a little earlier..."
"Well, you know, you can't have everything." Akito shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm well-aware of THAT..." LJ rolled his eyes with a snort.
"Maybe I am. What's your point?" LJ replied, beginning to glance at his jet pack control pad.
"You don't have to be so jealous and bitter all the time," Akito told him. "Can't you just have fun with what you have?"
"Sound advice," LJ replied. "Maybe I'm just mad at myself for not joining in earlier."
"It's going to be okay." Akito replied.
LJ sighed. "I guess. I'm just kinda PO'd that I gotta do all this catching up to you and the others. Who knows how long THAT'S gonna take?"
"I don't know, but if you keep acting like a Grumpy Gus, you might as well just go back home." Akito stated.
"No, no, I'm sorry!" LJ replied. "I wanna stay and do this. Really."
"Do you promise?" Akito asked him, sounding mature for once.
"Cross my heart!" LJ nodded, drawing his finger across his chest in an X shape.
"All right then." Akito replied with a small nod back.
"That's the stuff," Captain Qwark smirked. "Flying in the air like a majestic bird, a majestic bird who knows every fighting style. Watch the master." he then turned around and began to fly off.
LJ rolled his eyes and just left the room.
"Captain, Elaris and I-" Clank spoke up.
"Can't talk." Captain Qwark told him.
"Have some information-" Clank continued.
"Doing a flyby." Captain Qwark replied, ignoring him.
Tech sighed. "Toldja he wouldn't listen..." he sighed.
Ratchet seemed to laugh along with Captain Qwark.
"Sir! If you could come down and speak to us for three minutes-" Elaris tried.
Tech just sighed. "I do admire her persistent nature, though..." he whispered.
Some of the others glanced to Tech before having slight smirks on their faces. Eventually, a fire alarm beeped along with some sprinklers going off from some smoke.
"And there are the sprinklers," Captain Qwark told them. "But, hey, good news! You already have a mop, huh? So, there's that."
Everyone rolled their eyes at that.
"Please! If we could have just a minute to discuss our findings." Clank piped up.
"The only thing I'm interested in finding is the Hall of Heroes cafeteria," Captain Qwark replied. "Let's go, Cadets. It's three floors, and it's Meatloaf Day!" he then told the others before flying off. "Meatloaf!"
"I don't even like meatloaf..." LJ remarked as he came back in and shut off his jetpack.
"I'm more of a steak fan myself." Akito replied.
LJ gave a chuckle. "Same. Though, I did some thinking, amd I came to a conclusion that there are worse things than missing out."
Ratchet just felt excited and soon flew after Captain Qwark to go and get something to eat.
"What I realized is that...if I keep holding on to my grudge over missing out...I might turn into as much of a blowhard as Qwark. And I know I SO don't want that. So...from the bottom of my heart: I'm sorry, cousin Akito." LJ sighed as he hugged his cousin.
"Hmm..." Akito paused for a moment and then hugged LJ back. "Alright."
LJ smiled as he and his cousin hugged. "Sides... At least this way I can learn for myself AND do stuff you guys haven't gotten to yet!" he remarked. "So sometimes, maybe I could teach YOU!"
"Heh," Akito replied. "I guess we'll have to see..." he then smirked a bit. "If I'm not too busy in The Wonderbolts Academy."
LJ smirked. "Lemme guess, another zany adventure?" he asked.
"Well, not yet, but maybe someday." Akito smirked back.
LJ shrugged. "I'll be looking forward to that day, then." he replied.
"Have fun with that." Akito commented.
The electricity seemed to run down a bit.
"Do they always treat you so poorly?" Clank asked the woman with them.
"Oh! No! ...Yes." Elaris replied.
Tech sighed. "It's not right, how little they value scientific genius like yours."
"That's just how my life is sometimes." Elaris replied.
"Well... I'm sorry." Tech replied.
"It's fine..." Elaris told him as she walked off with a sharp sigh. "I don't need pity."
Some time had passed and eventually, it seemed like everybody knew Ratchet's name as a Galactic Ranger. Tech still felt guilty about how much Elaris was neglected by her own teammates, and worried that if things kept going how they were, she would fall onto the same path as Nefarious. The others soon walked around town.
"Hm, it's almost as if Ratchet got famous overnight." Felicity commented.
"Yeah. He's the new face of the Galactic Rangers organization!" LJ added.
"Boy, for a big city, the people here sure are friendly." Ratchet smiled to the environment.
"And rather loud." Clank commented.
"Kinda reminds me of good ol' Acmetropolis." Ace replied. "How about you, Tech?"
"Ah, don't bother asking him," Duck replied. "He's too busy thinking about his science whiz girlfriend~!"
"Huh? What?" Tech asked.
"I rest my case." Duck smirked.
LJ just shook his head with a smile.
"I just got some things on my mind, okay?" Tech replied.
"It would be nice if you had a lady friend, Tech." Akito smirked.
"Yeah, it WOULD be cool..." Tech smiled.
Akito and Estelle chuckled to the coyote who rolled his eyes to that.
"Still, I don't like that they mistreat Elaris," Tech sighed. "She's beautiful and smart, and by Jones, she deserves better!"
"Yeah, Elaris is treated rather unfairly," Jenny replied. "Do you think maybe she'd like Acmetropolis?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure, but maybe that would be a good idea." Tech shrugged, though had to admit that it sounded nice.
"Maybe you could talk to her later," LJ suggested. "When she's feeling better emotionally."
"Yeah, I think I will," Tech nodded. "I used to think maybe Mallory would be the one for me... Until she came out as Mastermind."
"Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do," Duck advised. "I've had my share of girls in my day. I was quite the ladies duck in my childhood neighborhood before I was mysteriously taken away."
"What neighborhood?" Felicity replied from memory. "You came from an orphanage and got adopted!"
"Exaggeration." LJ nodded.
"Hm... Quite..." Duck replied.
"Hey, you told us," Felicity reminded him. "That's where Pinkster came from."
"Pinkster?" asked LJ curiously. "Anybody care to explain? Preferably the abridged version?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Felicity said. "Pinkster was an old friend of Duck's. We met him once as Loonatics."
"He tried to help us out, but turns out he was just making us look bad, and he turned out to be evil unlike his ancestor, Porky Pig," Akito said. "He was raised by a couple of villainous mobsters. He promised to return someday, but luckily, we haven't seen him since."
"Awesome! Possible sequel set-ups!" LJ grinned. "Maybe we could even have another showdown with that Weathervane character, too!"
"Eh, I just hope it goes a little easier from training," Vincent said bashfully. "At least we got to find out a little more about Mom's past because of WeatherVane."
"Cool!" LJ grinned. "But I'm gonna get tougher before we meet her."
"Would you like some help?" Akito smirked. "I know a bit of moves from masked wrestling from my old friends, Rikochet, Buena Girl, and The Flea."
"Hehehe... Yeah, that's a cool idea." LJ smiled.
"All right, we're all set then!" Akito smirked. "I just love having someone to wrestle with in my spare time when I'm not training my Pokemon. Sometimes I spar with Estelle's boyfriend though."
"Sounds cool by me!" LJ replied.
Akito smiled back, feeling excited to hear that.
"Wow! Look at that!" Ratchet beamed as he pointed to a billboard.
"Hey, that's YOU!" Ace remarked.
"It sure is." Lexi commented as she took a look with him and the others.
"Well, whatya know, guys? I'm famous!" Ratchet smiled.
"Yes. Though I am sure it is exciting, my cultural database shows that fame is highly overrated and ultimately not rewarding," Clank replied. "Would you agree?"
"Eh, no WAY!" Ratchet replied. "All my life I've wanted to be known for great things, and now I get to!"
"Hmm... I expected that reaction," Emi commented. "Reminds me of Ash when he was younger before we met Pikachu."
"Really? Wow..." LJ remarked.
"Oh, yeah, Ash was very different when we were younger," Emi replied before looking to Felicity and the Fudo siblings. "Long before we met you guys."
"Whoa..." LJ noted. "This is WAY more backstory than I get from the anime!"
"I have quite a story myself," Emi replied. "I never knew about it until recently."
"Ah, I read THAT one." LJ nodded.