Ch.10: Power- Danger's Rise
Days passed, and it seemed like, slowly, that the city of Acmetropolis was beginning to return back to normal. Much of the damage had been repaired and heart-pounding terror forgotten, thanks to the combined efforts of both humans and toons.
Not long after they had been dismissed from the hospital, Lexi, Ace, and Tech had volunteered to help with the relief efforts, lending a hand wherever they could. They got introduced to Rev and Slam, and even had the pleasure to meet the lady working to cover this restoration project, Zadavia herself.
It was quite stunning to meet what many considered one of the wealthiest women in the entire city. Ace could still hardly believe that it had occurred.
Zadavia generously thanked all of the toons present and handed them each a card, saying that if they had any trouble finding work after everything calmed down, they were welcome to come to her and discuss a new project that would hopefully continue to keep the city safe.
None of the toons knew how to react to the offer, and agreed that they would each take time to consider it.
Ace huffed to himself, sighing, priming his hand to twist the knob so that he could open up the front door. He was meeting with his new friends today to discuss what plans each of their futures may hold.
Would it be for the better, or would it be for the worse?
Well, one thing for sure, after living through anti-toon sentiment and a meteorite disaster, what harm could it possibly do?
Meanwhile, far away, in another part of the city, Duck was enjoying a day alone, sitting in his adopted parents' house, thinking over the meteorite incident that had occurred days before.
Something strange had been bothering him ever since that day. An insistent, nagging feeling that something with himself was not right. Perhaps it had something to do with his perilous journey home just minutes after the impact.
He had landed in one of the worst anti-toon sections of the city after all, where danger lurked in every nook and cranny, so he had to be extra cautious to head back home. Even though the criminals were likely still shaken and confused from the unexpected impact, it had not taken long for Duck to recover, so he assumed the same could be applied to them as well.
He was right.
Not long after, when he was just about ten minutes away from reaching the edge of the anti-toon zone, a can kicked its way into Duck's path, making him stand shocked still.
Slowly, Duck started to turn around, worrying as he saw dark, threatening figures starting to creep out from the shadows. A small group of thugs have recovered, and were now aware of the toon in their midst.
Duck panicked, spinning around to sprint quicker towards the exit while the three humans gave chase. The exit was still far away, and Duck racked his brain viciously for plan to stand his ground and fight back. He wasn't normally one for confrontation, but it looked like he may not be given a choice in the end.
Two of the three humans had weapons, flanking the one person left in the middle armed with nothing but her fists.
Duck immediately focused his concerns on the two men with weapons first. Right now, they were the bigger threat.
In his mind, Duck really wished he had something defend himself with. Anything! Powerful enough to blast and push these thugs away. He also wished he could teleport himself closer to the safety zone and leave all of this danger behind.
Unknown to the mallard, his wish was about to be granted as, unnoticed by him, his hands and eyes started to glow orange.
The woman thug paused, stunned, while her male companions deterred for second before rushing in with their weapons to charge.
"Wai…," the female thug almost got out when Duck suddenly thrust out his arms, blasting the two thugs away with beams of large, orange energy that shot out of his wrists.
The two men were immediately knocked out after colliding with opposite walls, but before anyone left standing could process what awesomeness had just occurred, an orange flash consumed Duck's body teleporting him away to the edge of the anti-toon zone.
He was out of danger. He had reached safety. The glow disappeared. And Duck was left wondering what the heck had just occurred.
Coming out of his flashback now, Duck could still hardly believe it. Somehow, during the brink of disaster, superpowers had been gifted to him nearly overnight.
This was a miracle only cartoons could dream up, that it took a while to believe that it had actually happened in real life. But after a few private sessions practicing and experimenting with his new skills, Duck finally accepted that this was actually happening and deduced that the meteor was most likely the cause.
While exciting, it was scary too. Toons were already hated enough in the world, and it would cause a riot if one were discovered with powers after a near devastating event. With that thought, what if others had gotten powers too? And would he turn out to be good or evil, or torn apart by government scientists at the end?
Duck shivered at the thought, and hoped with whatever came next Acmetropolis was prepared. Change had come, and the whole community was definitely in for one heck of a ride.
Meanwhile, over elsewhere in the city, the big dark eyes of Eddicus stared, watching over his employees as he observed them experimenting in his secret lab.
The sample of Zadavia's power he had purloined after the meteorite disaster was now calmly being analyzed through a tube, suspended in a solution that was meant to conduct its internal energy into greater amps of strength, as power source to reach the sinister goals that Eddicus had in mind.
For a long time this sample had been denied to him, but now that Eddicus had it he was determined reconstruct it and use it for his schemes.
To world of Acmetropolis, Eddicus Enterprises might seem like standard, harmless business empire, but secretly, they were more, much more than humans or toons could ever dream to be.
Yet, before the true nature of their company could truly be revealed, appearances had to be kept up to keep suspicions at large, pushing shady business cleverly to the side.
"Boss" suddenly said an employee approaching from behind Eddicus " your daughter and husband are here for a visit and we have reports that suggest that radiation from the meteor strike may have caused changes in some individuals from Acmetropolis."
"Which individuals?" asked Eddicus.
"Toons Sir," said the employee.
"Toons?" said Eddicus.
"It's still speculation Sir" said the employee " but on the day of the meteor strike, one of our 'associates' said that they encountered a Toon in a dangerous zone and he used some sort of powers to teleport and blast them away."
"Hmmm," said Eddicus " did they get a good look at the Toon?"
"Some sort of duck Sir," said the employee.
" A duck?" thought Eddicus " It couldn't be…,"
Thoughts consumed Eddicus as he walked away to meet his daughter and her husband in the office up above. The couple had adopted a duck anthro for a kid. There couldn't possibly be a connection, could there?
And if there was, what horrors or opportunities could it bring?
"I'll keep it secret for now until I know for sure" thought Eddicus " but if it's true that Toons are changing, Zadavia will find out, and my 'grandson' might be more useful than he seems."
Meanwhile, down at the café, Ace had arrived for the meet and greet he and his new friends arranged a couple of days before.
"Hey!" greeted Lexi, as Ace pulled over a chair in order to sit down with them " Glad you could make it. You're a little late, but we've only just finished about how much everything has changed after the strike."
"Yeah" said Ace " that sure was a crazy experience. Guessing that the university is still closed?"
"Yeah" Lexi nodded " I think I would feel safer taking online classes now. Things weren't really great during school anyway. I don't think I'll return even if they decide to reopen the building for the semester again."
"Well it's impossible for me to return" stated Tech in defeat " I doubt that the professors would allow me back in just so that I can graduate. That's why I'm seriously considering taking up Zadavia on her offer. Put my technical skills to work for the city at least."
"Slam and me are considering that too" said Rev " Both of our jobs were horrible anyways and Zadavia is like, virtually, one of the richest people in Acmetropolis. We could do a lot of good under her wing."
"It would probably pay more than being a stunt rabbit," Ace thought, then he turned to speak to Lexi. " Are you considering this as well?"
"Well" said Lexi " yes, but I'm a little concerned on what she'll ask us to do. Toons aren't very popular in Acmetropolis, so why approach us with a job opportunity so soon after a disaster has occurred?"
"I see" said Ace, crossing his arms " You're right, it does seem a little suspicious,"
"If we never try to accept though" said Tech " we'll never discover if her intentions are true or not."
"Good point" said Ace, thinking for a moment "Guess there's nothing left to do but take the risk. If everyone agrees, let's go over tomorrow and talk to Zadavia together. Things have changed so there's nothing to lose."
Let them all see how different their futures were destined to be.
Back at Eddicus Enterprises, a silent heart beat, resting in preparation that she would one day emerge. Emerge and seek revenge on the Toons who had placed her here. Into the hands of a devil that had his own agenda in mind.
Humans may have played a part as well, but Toons were the main cause. Their existence created nothing but suffering, and that's what the anti-toon movement was about.
One day, the world would come to understand the motive behind her vengeance, but until that day comes, her followers would just have to sit and wait, praying for her return.