Well…now there's not much else for me to do. I simply had to set the charges, prepare the detonator, and await the arrival of Tech's friends. Hmmm...Friends. Tech most likely views them as much more than that. He'd probably refer to them as family. They are pretty much all he had for the past couple of years or so. Ok…charges are set. The detonator seems to be in working order too. Perhaps I can use the control room here to monitor how far along the Loonatics are with my…distractions. Yes…this seems like a good option but…I only see Massive, Mastermind, and Weathervane…where's Sypher? I knew it didn't look like his cell was unlocked properly. Must've been because of the power surge. Ah the heck with it, those three alone were sufficient in their role. They kept the other Loonatics busy long enough for me to do what I had to do here. Now it's just a matter of waiting for them to recapture those villains and return here. Looks like it won't be much longer. They seem to be cornering them at the central power core. I wander if they have some popcorn in this joint somewhere. The next few minutes could get very exciting.
"Hey Rip!" Ace exclaimed. "Any ideas as to how to stop the three stooges over there from taking the power core?"
"No worries Ace," Rip replied. "Believe it or not…everything is going exactly as planned. We just need to let them get to the core's outer room…"
"Um…excuse me mister novice field agent," Duck interrupted. "I think the last thing we would want is for those lowlifes to be that close to the power core. Do you not know the chaos that could ensue if they get control of it?!"
Lexi then chimed in, a sense of apprehension in her voice. "As much as I hate to agree with Duck, he makes a good point. What possible reason could you have for letting them get that close to the core Rip?"
"Well…this for starters," Rip said as he revealed what appeared to be a tiny memory card or something to that effect. He inserted it into the communication device built into their suits and started typing. "Now watch as I frustrate Madame big head there," he adds, pointing at Mastermind who is now being projected by Rip's hologram projector along with the other villains. They're already in the outer room and attempts by Massive and Weathervane to breach the door to the inner room with the core have failed. So now Mastermind is attempting to hack into the terminal that controls said door. It should be noted that the terminal and some cameras are the only items in the outer room with them.
"How much longer are you gonna be with that Mastermind?" Weathervane demanded.
"Patience," Mastermind hissed. "I've just about got…wait a minute…this can't be."
"Is there a problem Mallory?" Massive asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.
"It's the encryption program," Mastermind cursed. "It's more advanced than I…no…it's more likely that someone is uploading a new encryption program to keep me from hacking in. It's like nothing I've ever encountered. Everytime I think I've got it, the system…damn!!! Tech is behind this I'm sure of it."
"Well I for one I'm not gonna just stand here while your old boyfriend messes with you mind," Massive said as he went to open the only other door available to them. "I'm going to find…hey!!! What's with this door? It's locked now!"
"That's impossible," Mastermind objected. "As long as there's someone in this room, that door remains unlocked for safety reasons. It would seem that the Loonatics are trying to trap us in here."
Her suspicions were quickly confirmed when they heard the unmistakably whir of the cameras turning in their direction. From underneath those cameras shot Tech's patented Gluco-Gel 9000, immobilizing the villainous trio in a flash. This was all being viewed, and enjoyed, by the Loonatics just outside the building, watching on Rip's hologram projector.
"Whoa…Rip!" Ace exclaimed. "You've been holding out on us. I didn't know we had yet another techno genius in our midst."
"Hey now…techno genius is a bit much," Rip proclaimed. "I still don't hold a candle to Tech and his technical prowess. I'm strictly a cryptography expert. You see I've always had this somewhat strange affinity for numbers. It just kinda evolved into this cryptography talent. I used to drive my friends back at school nuts. They would try to hack into my laptop when I wasn't around and view my personal files. I'd just watch em try for sheer amusement because they never could get past my encryption." He laughs as he recalls the look of frustration on his friends' faces from their failed attempts.
"So Rip…does mom and pop know about all this?" Ace asked while giving a congratulatory pat on Rip's shoulder.
"Humph…if they do know about it, they didn't find out from me. I can just hear my dad now. He'd probably be all like cryptography and intelligence work…no future in it whatsoever…I mean it's bad enough that your brother is an unpaid universe defender…how is the family business gonna continue to thrive at this rate and blah…blah…blah." Rip proclaimed, sounding a little sad despite the laughter that his impersonation of his dad brought to the others.
"I don't think you give your parents enough credit Rip," Lexi added, placing a comforting had on Rip's shoulder. "I'm sure they would be proud of you just as they are with Rev.
"Mutter grumble mutter grumble Rev?" Slam asked in his usual unintelligible speak.
"Yeah…Have you told Rev about any of this?" Duck translated.
"Actually…I never have revealed this to him either. Truthfully…" Rip begins chuckling as he says this. "I think he might feel a little threatened about me having this talent. He already seems slightly annoyed about me joining your group."
"Oh he's just being protective of his little brother is all," Ace added. "I'm sure he's glad you decided to join us and I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear about your ability…"
He was interrupted with an urgent transmission from Zadavia. The fact that Zadavia was contacting them was big enough a concern. She rarely kept in touch with the Loonatics once she left them to rule Freleng with her brother Optimatus. The obvious grief and distress on her face left no doubt that something was terribly wrong.
"Loonatics," Zadavia addressed them through her tears. "I have some…very tragic news to share. Even though I haven't been in contact with you since my departure, I've been monitoring your progress regularly and I've also been monitoring your health. I fear I have lost the life signal for…Rev. I haven't confirmed this yet but my scanners all check out. The only conclusion is that…Rev is dead."
"Oh no," Lexi cried. "That can't be true. HQ is too well-protected. Could it have been some kind of accident in Tech's lab? For that matter, what about Tech? He's the only other one of us with Rev at HQ."
"I've been so busy trying to confirm Rev's passing that I haven't checked back for any other…Oh no…no…Tech!" Zadavia cried out and began to sob.
"No need to fill us in," Ace added with great sadness in his eyes. "Your latest response just confirms what we all feared. Tech is dead too. All right team…we have to get back to Blanc and find out exactly what this is all about. Zadavia…Will you be able to meet us there? I'm thinking you're gonna want to be a part of this investigation personally."
"I'll be making my way there just as soon as I end this transmission. Zadavia out."
Well this is unexpected. I should have realized that Zadavia would be monitoring the health of the Loonatics. I'm surprised it took her this long to find out. Her scanners' signals must have an extremely long journey to Freleng from Blanc. Well I hadn't anticipated having to deal with Zadavia along with the rest of the Loonatics. It shouldn't change things too much for me. Neither of them can afford to do much while I have these charges in place. They will have to give into my demands or their HQ and the central wormhole hub will be doomed and thus the whole universe will be thrown into chaos…well more chaos than normal for the universe that is. I just wish there was another way. I didn't want to harm anyone, let alone kill my younger brother and his close friend. It's amazing what folks are capable of when desperate and backed into a corner. Well no going back now. Maybe there'll be a chance later if all goes well. Time to go down to the living area and prepare for the arrival of the mourners. I go and sit Tech and Rev's lifeless bodies on the couch and wipe the remaining blood from around their mouths. I then kiss my brother's long snout and simply mouth the words I'm sorry. I tell him…that it will all be ok soon. Everyone and everything will be back to normal real soon. I'll make sure of that.
Author's Notes: I know these are shorter chapters than most of y'all would probably prefer. It's just the way I write. I don't like long drawn out chapters. I like to hit ya with short bursts a little at a time. Keeps the suspense building up in my opinion. As ole Bugs Bunny would say, "Ain't I a stinka?" I'm having fun with this piece. That's kinda scary considering the darkness of this particular story. Maybe I'm channeling my inner dark, brooding Goth personality here hehehehe. Oh and for those who actual read my profile, I'm happy to report that my dad's surgery went well. I all continues to go well, he'll be back home by the end of the week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna try to watch some Inauguration coverage on the internet. I do want to be able to say that I viewed some of history in the making despite having to be at work. It's a slow day anyway. Take care everyone.