Author's note: One thing I forgot to mention was that there is another original character that will be mentioned here. She won't have a major part but it's worth noting. Her name is Cassandra or Cassie for short and she was Cobalt's fiancée. Another character to mention is Vivian Summers and she was a previous love interest of Cobalt's before Cassie. The Loonatics have met her before but y'all will find that out soon enough. Now that should be it for announcements. Time to start this baby in earnest.

"You know I don't mind staying back and helping ya out Tech ole buddy but did you have to pick today of all days when Ace decides to let my little brother Rip go out in the field with him and…"

Rev's rapid-fire onslaught of words was only silenced with a firm grip of his beak by Tech.

"Chill Rev," the techno-genius coyote replied. "He'll be fine. You've seen how well he's been doing in my advanced training simulator. You never mentioned he had such advanced martial arts skills."

"Well I didn't even know and I'm sure our parents didn't know either since they've always thought he was nothing more than a typical slacker teenager and also…"

They didn't even hear me enter. Then again, wormhole travel can be fairly quiet compared to other means of deep space travel. I arrived what I perceived to be the main living area. Nice place I must say. It's also apparent to me that they are not headquartered in Tweetum's palace. This I found out from my earlier trips here. I had been coming here a lot while they were out on missions. I always traveled from their old headquarters back in Acmetropolis. I don't know why I haven't approached him earlier. I just felt that it was necessary to reunite, not till now. I am close to the control room as I here Rev rambling on.

"Look Tech you need to understand that I feel responsible for Rip's well-being and I don't think I could face the folks if something were to happen to him and well you know how it is well actually you wouldn't know since you're parents and only brother are dead and…"

I didn't think it was possible for Rev to stop himself mid-sentence like that. Yet he did and he tried his best to find away to shovel those words back in his mouth. It was like shoveling snow in the middle of a dang blizzard.

"I…I…I am so sorry Tech. That was extremely insensitive of me and must be the worst thing I've ever said to you except for maybe that time when I insinuated that one of your inventions might have been responsible for that nasty blackout in town that one time…"

"It's…ok Rev." Tech responded with more than a hint of sorrow in his voice. "You just were caught up in what you saying is all…I know you didn't mean anything by it. You know I still miss them so much. I try not to think about them too much but at times, their memories come flooding up in my mind. It's Cobalt that I tend to think about more. I never got to say goodbye to him. I fear he may have even been upset with me the day he…" Tech starts to choke up as he recalls the day that changed his life forever, the day he got his powers and lost his loved ones.

"Now…now buddy don't cry. I don't like seeing a grown coyote cry." Rev countered as he tried to comfort his friend. "I would like to know more about Cobalt but you've never ever mentioned him much to any of us."

"Yeah little brother," I reply as I enter the control room. "Why is that? Don't you think your new friends would like to have known a little something about me Elliot Coyote?"

As I figured, poor Tech's eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted after turning around and facing me. Hey wouldn't you if you thought a ghost just spoke to you. He eventually came to and discovered that I was no ghost. No doubt we had much catching up to do but first Rev couldn't help but make a little fun at the mention of Tech's full name.

"Techopolis Elliot Coyote! That's priceless. So that's what the E stood for. It's funny because I always figured you as more of an Evan or Edward or Eckhart but not Elliot."

"It's not that bad a name." Tech exclaimed. "Still you see why I prefer just Tech."

"I've always been more partial to Tech-E myself." Cobalt added.

"That's better than your pet name Cobalt Zachariah Coyote or should I say Cobalt-Z." Tech chuckled.

I just shuttered at the mention of that pet name. "At least yours makes some sense. Cobalt-Z sounds like I should be some hideous cross between a coyote, a Baltimore oriole, and a zebra."

"Eck…that sounds like something The Ringmaster would have created." Rev mentioned.

"You know Cobalt…we need to go down to the living area and chat. As you can imagine I have a ton of questions for ya" Tech said as he put his hand on Cobalt's right shoulder.

"Oh and I want to know so much more about you as you seem at the least equally as interesting as your brother Tech here though that might not be that big of a compliment as Tech can be very uninteresting at times with his extensive vocab…"

"Actually Rev," Tech said holding firm Rev's beak. "I need you to stay up here and be ready to receive information from Ace and the others."

"Ah but Tech…"

"Just do this for me please ok." Tech pleaded. "You'll have plenty of time to get to know my older brother…you and everyone else but for now, I need to speak with him myself ok.

Well Rev finally relented and took control so that I and ole Tech-E could go down to the living area to chat. I was so glad to get away from that chatterbox but he's a real neat guy for a hyperactive bird. It's so good to be here near my little brother again that I almost forget my current troubles. It always strikes me as funny referring to him as my little brother. I mean the guy is a good four inches taller than I am yet I'm the older one in terms of years. He's always been so tall and lanky while I've been shorter and stockier with a well-built upper body and broader neck thanks to my more athletic nature. Despite our vast differences in physical appearance, we actually share a common interest in the field of science and technology. Yeah he's always been the more intellectually gifted one but there was one scientific area that I excelled in better than he did. That was the field of biochemistry and biotechnology. I guess I was more in tune with the sciences of the body because I was also an athlete. I was an all-star on Acme Tech's basherball team. The little fallen-out I had with Tech all began when I decided to forgo my senior year and turn pro. That's right…though I'm older; he's been in college longer than I have. He's started attending Acme Tech when he was merely fifteen. He always stuck with the opinion that if I had shown more of my own intellectual prowess, I would have been able to start early too.

"Look Cobalt…I wasn't angry at you for that decision. Yes I was very disappointed but I wasn't upset with you. I just thought you had so much potential. Acmetropolis was in real need of more biotechnology-gifted individuals like you."

"Tech…Tech," I sigh. "I was never going to fully abandon my academic goals. In fact, I was going to work out a way to finish the few courses I needed for my degree well before the Acme Rangers first training camp. As you always said, I could use my intellect to accomplish anything. I was going to surprise you with that news at the signing." I take a pause to compose myself as I get ready to share what I came here to share. "Look…Tech…I don't want to get into this whole argument about my education. It's not what I came here for. I wanted to tell you what happened that day. Give you the last moments of our parents, and the last moments of normalcy for you and I as well as a lot of other folks. You deserve to know what happened."

"Yes…I would very much appreciate you telling me about mom and dad's last moments. I would also like to know why you're just now coming to see me. I've felt so alone after that day. Sure I had Rev and the other Loonatics as my new family but…it can't replace the real thing you know. I always thought up to this point that I was all that was left of our family. Oh there was always some hope since your body was never found but…as the days turned to weeks, then months, and finally years…I just gave up hope."

"I know…just bear with me. All will be revealed."

My little play-by-play analysis of those events is…well…not so little. Probably spent a good thirty minutes or so recalling the events of that day. So I'll just summarize the high points of it. First I told Tech about my encounter with mom and dad at the convention center where the signing of new players was being held. I recall them sitting at a table alongside one of the huge picture windows. Very good choice of seating I recall because it offered such a spectacular view of the bay. Sitting with my folks was my fiancée Cassie along with my best friend and fellow soon-to-be rookie from Acme Tech, Drake. Accompanying him was his current girlfriend Paula.

"Whoa…whoa…Drake and Paula? Now I know I've heard those names from somewhere before." Tech had interjected in around that part of my narration.

"Oh you and the other Loonatics got to know them very well." I add. "They just weren't the same folks I remember. You see you knew these two better as Sypher and Weathervane."

Well this peaks my bro's interest a lot. He and the other Loonatics have been battling these foes for so long that they probably never realize they were ever normal everyday people. He comments about how there didn't seem to be anything between Weathervane and Sypher now. I simply offer that both Drake and Paula practically died the day of the meteor along with our parents. They are nothing like they use to be. I'm getting a little ahead of myself though. Anyway I tell him about how devastated I was when I came over to their table and didn't see him sitting there. I wanted my little bro there so badly to celebrate with me that day as well as celebrate the finishing of my degree that I would undertake right after the signing day. I learned that he had scheduled his senior thesis on the same day. Naturally I thought he did it on purpose. Perhaps that wasn't fair of me to assume that but I the time I was angry. I decided to storm off to the bathroom to just splash my face with water to try and cool down and regroup. On my way there I sensed that Cassie wanted to come after me but mom convinced her to just let me go and cool off. My good friend Drake did follow though along with Paula. The next part was hard to narrate to Tech because I was getting misty-eyed and he in turn was starting to tear up and…I'm sure it was quite the pitiful site. I managed somehow to continue recalling the events. I remember hearing the meteor as it passed just overhead. Such a loud roar as it hurdled through the sky. I turn to face back to the window. Drake and Paula do the same. I am completely frozen in shock and horror as I see it plunge into the bay no more than three hundred yards or so away. I somehow manage to instinctively shield my eyes from the blast. I was expecting at any moment to be completely consumed by fire or have the building fall in and crush me. Neither of these happened though I did feel some heat. It was like I was stuck in a microwave and my insides were heating up. I remember thinking to myself that this must be what acute radiation poisoning feels like. I'm now hoping for a quick end at this point as I don't want to die in such agony. I've heard the horror stories of radiation poisoning. I don't die however. Instead I remember opening my eyes and everything seemed all right at first. I was able to stand and I didn't notice anything wrong with me at that point. The convention center was still standing. There was some flooding from the resultant wave that formed after the impact but other than that…all was well. That was until I saw the bodies. The ones at the tables by the big windows were badly burned, probably more internally than externally. They had died instantly or at least I hope that was the case. This included mom and dad as well as Cassie. I though for sure that Drake and Paula were dead as well. They looked like they were. After that, I think I just fell into a perpetual fog. I kinda just wandered for days on end. I wouldn't learn to much later that both Drake and Paula had survived but had been altered greatly. I spent the next few months as a nomad just traveling from place to place. I happened to be in downtown Acmetropolis when Paula was hit with the lightning bolt that finished her cruel transformation into Weathervane. That's when I also found out Tech was still alive.

"So you found out about me only because you were following up on Paula." Tech interjected yet again.

"Yeah…I had not located Drake but I heard he survived. I was interest in following up on Paula because of her strange behavior and her uncanny ability to control the elements. That's when I first started to figure out that maybe the radiation from that meteor strike had altered the genetic material of some folks. That gave me hope that you may have survived and sure enough you did. When you arrived with the other Loonatics to try and get the situation under control, I wanted so badly to run up to you and embrace you. It felt so good to know that I wasn't the only one left in our family."

"So what kept you from reuniting with me then and their…well…besides the fact we were occupied saving the city at that point?" Tech asked.

"I was afraid. I knew how much Paula had changed after her exposure. She seemed to forget all about Drake and became obsessed with the weather. She was originally working towards being an investigative journalist. We all knew she would've made a good one. She just wasn't the same Paula Hayes I knew and I worried that you…most likely didn't even remember me."

"Didn't remember you!" Tech exclaimed with obvious hurt in his light green eyes. "I never forgot about you or our folks. I felt so guilty for surviving the whole ordeal. I might have gone insane like Drake and Paula had if it weren't for Zadavia and the other Loonatics."

"I suspect it was Zadavia that helped ensure that you and the others didn't loose your sanity after the exposure."

"Too bad it didn't seem to work for Duck." Tech chuckled, eliciting a smile from me as well.

"Look Tech…there is something else you should know. It is why I'm here now."

Well I finally tell him why I wanted to meet with him now. I had to inform him that I was dying. He must have sensed it in my odd eyes (I have a blue right eye and a brownish-green left eye) because he immediately began to tear up again. Boy did he ever let loose when I told him. I can't stand to see anyone cry, especially my little brother. I always end up crying as well. Can't say I blame him though. He just found out I was alive and now I'm telling him that I will be dead most likely after six months. Turns out I wasn't as untouched by the radiation as I thought. I had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Dang cancer. Even in the 28th century, it is still an incurable menace. I tried to find a way to cure it but I couldn't. I managed to add some time to my now shortened life. Still I can't hold off the inevitable. So I hoping that maybe he could use his molecular regeneration power to help. As I feared he was reluctant. He feared that it would only make things worse. At this point though I don't care the risk. I just want him to try but he just can't bring himself to do it. Before I could continue pleading with him, Rev lets Tech know that Ace wanted to speak with him. He composes himself and goes to the control room. Rev is nice enough to stay and keep me company. I don't really want it right now though. The moment had come that I feared. I had to enact my plan B. As much as I knew it would kill me inside, I know had no choice. I will try and make this quick.

"So I couldn't help but overhear some of the stuff you were telling Tech though really I had been standing in the entryway for a good ten minutes or so hanging on to every word and I just want you to know that I'm sorry to hear about your…Hey! What's that?!" Rev said upon seeing my switchblade knife. Damn I didn't want him to see it. Gotta think of something quick.

"Oh this old thing? It's a real relic. Dates back to probably the late 20th century…maybe early 21st century. Found it on a little archeological dig. Don't know why I've held onto it for so long. Guess it's kind of a good luck charm."

"Well I must say that I've never seen anything like it before well I mean I have heard of them but I've never actually seen one up close. It's kinda cool and anything can make a decent good luck charm if you…" Rev is stopped cold by what happens next.

You see I used my biological knowledge to make this as quick a death as possible. Also as quiet a death as possible. While Rev was busy rambling, I got behind him and put him in a choke hold. Afterwards I thrust the blade of my knife into his upper back. The blade does what I intended it to do. It collapses the lungs to prevent any scream and it punctures the heart. How fast his heart beats it didn't take long for him to bleed out. I was actually scared by the fact I didn't show much emotion after the act. That was until I looked straight ahead. We were in front of a damn mirror. He managed to mouth the word Why before he fell dead. That really got to me. All I could do was say sorry. I pulled his body away from the mirror and waited for Tech to arrive.

"Hey Cobalt…has Rev done talked your head off yet…Rev…oh no Rev…What the hell happened to you!!!" Tech cried as he bent down to see if his friend was still alive.

When he confirmed that Rev was dead, I could sense his fear. As far as he knew, someone killed Rev and may have taken me. Before he can leave the room, I grab him and repeat my deadly action that fell Rev. I'm careful to make sure that I'm not in front of a reflective surface. I wouldn't want my brother's final memory in this lifetime being the image of his older brother…stabbing him in the back.

Author's note: I know it may not seem like it right now but I assure you that there is a method to all this madness. So Tech and Rev fans, don't crucify me just yet. Just be patient with me and I assure you that you won't be disappointed. Till next time. Peace.