Chapter 3: The Birth of a Team

Chapter 3: The Birth of a Team

Thanks to Wormhole Central, the Loonatics Extreme got to Acmetropolis in no time. The original members along with Pinkster, Patricia and Mimi felt that although they now lived so very far from their home world, something... call it fate... seemed to always draw them back to Acmetropolis. It seemed like they were never really gone from it very long so never really got a chance to miss it.

Soaring down into the atmosphere, Tech didn't take long to give orders to the computer to direct them to the World Dome. Only minutes later the Dome came into sight and he landed them besides the building.

They quickly disembarked and smelled the fresh air as they walked toward the entrance. As they approached the huge doors, they were shocked to see them hanging open and no security in sight.

A little uneasy, they stepped through and saw debris on the court and a huge hole in the side of the Dome. A cleaning crew was in the process of picking up and repairing the mess.

At that moment, Leghorn's personal assistant and secretary, G.B. hurried up to greet them.

"Thank you for coming as fast as you could… Leghorn can't get this idea out of his mind and I don't know what to do to calm him down, anymore… But, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is George Barnyard, but you can call me G.B." G.B. said in a rush. "I'm Leghorn's personal assistant, secretary and best friend."

"Nice to meet you, G.B." Ace said then pointed toward the damage, "What happened here? Mr. Leghorn insisted we had to come here to talk to him in person but never mentioned anything about that." Ace questioned.

"Well… Ahh… That's part of what Mr. Leghorn needed to speak to you about. Please… follow me." G.B. said unwilling to give them a hint of what was going on.

Ace and his team followed G.B. through the corridors of the Dome, not knowing where they were going to end up. As they walked, some of them tried to imagine what could be the reason for one of the biggest businessman in this part of the Universe to need to see them privately. Some wondered if the damaged Dome had something to do with it. Duck was especially curious as to what was up.

"Maybe he's going to use our image for a new product of his and he wants our permission… Imagine all the money that we're going to make with the selling of our image rights! I'm going to be… No, we're going to be millionaires! No, no, no… We're going to be zillionaires!" Duck thought to himself, as the images of his face on many products appeared in his mind, making his eyes shine in an odd way.

Finally, they arrived at the door of Leghorn's office. G.B. opened the double doors and let them enter ahead of him. Leghorn was waiting for them, seated on one of the sofas as he finished yet another cocktail he had made for himself. His face lit up with joy when the Loonatics crossed his threshold accompanied by his secretary. He sprang up from his seat.

"Ah… Loonatics! You don't know, I say; don't know how happy I am to see you here!" Leghorn exclaimed in a relieved and enthusiastic voice.

"Errr… We're happy to see you too, Mr. Leghorn. When you told us you had an emergency and needed to talk with us, my team and I came as soon as we could." Ace said, a bit leery of Leghorn's excessive greeting. "By the way, let me introduce you to our newest members. Sylth Vester, Pinkster, Patricia, Mimi, Swift and Tweetums." He said, pointing each out as he named them.

The newest members nodded or waved a greeting. Leghorn looked over the team, new and old, and a little smile crept onto his face. He felt even more confident that the Loonatics would be able to solve his problem now that they had increased in number. After nodding politely at each new member, he quickly got down to business.

"It's really, I say, really good to see that the Universe has six more avengers to protect it. But, where are my manners? Please, come in, I say, come in to my conference room, where we can discuss more privately, the reason why I called you here." Leghorn said, leading the way to a conference room that was through a doorway within his office.

"The Loonatics followed him and G.B. into the richly appointed room and quickly sat down at the huge oak table. G.B. closed the door and sat down next to his boss. As soon as everyone was seated, Leghorn pressed a hidden button beneath the table. A small hole appeared in the centre of the table and a couple of robotic arms started to distribute what looked like samples of products to everyone seated around the table. After finishing its task, the robotic arms returned to their hidden placed within the table and disappeared.

The Loonatics blinked in confusion at the array of products sitting before each of them.

"Lacto-cheese? Cherry Fizzorade? Are these new products that are going to be on sale soon?" Duck asked excitedly.

Slam, sitting to his right, opened the samples and, without hesitation, began to eat them. Within seconds he'd finished and burped loudly.

"Blagrghglagh… Pardon me." He said, blushing a bit in embarrassment.

"Yes… They are some of the new products that are going to be released over, I say, over twenty galaxies in the next few months, that is, if I still get to keep my empire by then." Leghorn said, a depressed look sliding across his face.

The Loonatics stared at him in confusion. What was Leghorn saying?

"Uh...exactly what do you mean 'if you still get to keep your empire', Mr. Leghorn?" Lexi asked for all of them.

"Well, it's a long story… Let's just say that I've got a problem, I say, a problem that is quite complicated and, well, I need your help to solve it. So before we go any further, let me just show you what's happened… G.B., the lights, please!" Leghorn grunted unhappily. G.B. turned off the lights and a huge TV screen appeared from behind one of the walls, turning itself on.

On the screen, images of what had been recorded inside the Dome appeared and they saw the team that had beat the Acmetropolis Hurricanes and the Glavatron Tridents in just a couple of minutes. None of them dared to say a word about what they were watching, not only because they did not know what fully happened, but also because there were no words that could describe the situation in a rather simple way. Finally, when the video stopped, Leghorn sighed and stayed silent.

"Wow that was really something, eh… Mr. Leghorn, just who were those guys?" Ace asked.

"Those were the Monstrosity Crushers, the team, I say, the team that beat my Acmetropolis Hurricanes and tonight's opponents, the Glavatron Tridents." Leghorn said grimly. "They appeared out of nowhere and beat both teams at the same time! As soon as they had done that, their manager appeared. It was Swackhammer the IV, my business rival. He came up to me and said I'd made a bet with him, a bet I say and he'd come to collect. The bet was, if his team beat my team I would turn over my entire empire and as you have plainly seen… I lost!" He exclaimed, waving his arms angrily.

"But… why did you even make, much less accept, such a bet, Senõr Leghorn?" Swift asked in shocked surprise.

"I was completely drunk at the time the bet was made. I don't remember, I say, don't remember doing such a thing… although, when I drink too much, I do stupid stuff I can't remember. This is the just the latest one…" He grumbled.

"If you were drunk when you made that bet, why didn't you just get it thrown out? No bet is binding when made by someone under the influence of anything." Patricia asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Patricia's right… I'm sure that Mr. Swackhammer the IV will understand that the bet can't be binding and be willing to let it go." Ace said also confused as to why this was a problem at all.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that" Leghorn said gloomily, sinking back down into his seat. "According to Nerdluck laws, this being where the bet was made, the bet is legal… I say legal and I can't do a thing about it. My rival gets my empire!" He said flatly.

"S-s-s-so where do we… where do we… where do we… And what does that h-h-have t-t-to do with us, Mr- L-L-Leghorn?" Pinkster asked, quite intrigued with all this.

"Well, those "Crushers" obliterated my team in no time, as you saw in the video footage. Swackhammer has given me another shot at keeping my empire… why, I'm not certain, but anyway that's how it is. If I can find another team with the strength, stamina, and determination to beat his team, I get my empire back." Leghorn said. "So I thought about you guys. I know that you are quite… I say quite busy keeping the Universe safe and all but if you could see your way to helping me by being my new basketball team, I would be very grateful to you all, my friends." He said pleadingly.

"In other words, you are asking us to be your team and beat the crud of those muscle mountains, in a basketball match, right?" Duck asked just to clarify what they were being asked to do. He was a little reluctant, not seeing how they could profit by doing this.

"Yes… The rematch will be in the Swackhammer's Colossal Sports Moon, in Nerdluck, and it will be his team against mine. If my team wins I not only keep my empire but I get ten percent of Swackhammers as well. But if I lose again, my empire is gone again but permanently…an empire that took two centuries to build. That's why I asked you for your help. Of course, I'll understand if you have better things to do. But remember, I say, remember, that I think you're the only ones who can beat them… If I don't come up with a new team soon, I'll lose by default to Swackhammer.

"Hmm… We need to have a discussion amongst us, first, if you don't mind." Ace said cautiously. Everyone had a stake in this and he refused to make a decision this important without hearing his team's opinions on it.

"Certainly… G.B. and I will be outside, waiting for your decision." Leghorn said, hope in his voice.

As soon as Leghorn and G.B. closed the door, the Loonatics gathered round and began discussing their options.

"Well, guys, this is an interesting pickle Mr. Leghorn has gotten himself into but what I want to know is, should we help him get out of it?" Ace asked, withholding his own opinion for the moment.

"Well, I think it's a waste of time! We're super heroes, not basketball players!" Duck said with a snort of disgust. "And here I thought he was planning to put my face on one of his new products."

"Typical Duck! Thinking about yourself instead of the problems of others!" Lexi said in annoyance. "Now unless you have something worthwhile to say bout whether to help Mr. Leghorn or not just zip it!"

"Well, though Duck is being typically selfish, Lexi… I'm afraid he is right about one thing. We are super heroes not basketball players. In fact, I haven't played the sport in years… come to think of it… last time I played the game was in high school." Tech said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that's probably true of most of us but heck, they are going to train us and we have helped Mr. Leghorn once before. What's wrong with helping him out again? I mean, come on… it's only a single game after all." Ace said shrugging his shoulders.

"I agree with Ace… I can't remember the last time I played the game either but I think that whenever a person asks for our help, it's our duty to help, whatever the situation might be." Sylth said strongly. "Besides, those Monstrosity Crushers don't look very friendly."

"Sylth's right! Did you see the teeth on those guys? They looked like Freddy Kruger's razor claws or piranhas! Of course, with those teeth, I'm talking about really huge piranhas, or some kind of huge shark that is just waiting for someone to sink their teeth in someone. And those eyes… they look liked the eyes of a bunch of maniacs! Come to think of it, they should be named Monstrosity Maniacs, and not Monstrosity Crushers, because although they crushed the competition in a matter of minutes, they have that maniac look in their eyes, which makes them really scary!" Rev said in his usual fast paced speech.

"They really had an evil look about them though the girls looked a bit friendlier." Mimi observed. "They may be strong but I think with out abilities we could take them out easily enough."

"I'm afraid that's an inaccurate summation, Mimi. According to my research into the Nerdluckians, there is a small fraction of their population that is capable of copying the abilities of their opponents simply by touching them. Some centuries ago, the entire species had this ability but it has gradually disappeared from the gene pool so now there are very few being born with the ability today. I would make an educated guess that the Monstrosity Crushers is made up of these rare few with the talent. I believe the strategies and abilities they used to defeat Mr. Leghorns teams were not their own but stolen from other teams. If my theory is correct, then whoever tries to challenge them will find it difficult if not impossible to defeat them because they will be using the talents of their opponents against them." Tech told them seriously, a look of concern on his face.

"But, isn't that… you know, illegal, Tech? To use that power to copy other people's abilities sounds almost like that those nasty players are cheating." Tweetums exclaimed, repulsed by the thought of someone cheating to win no matter what the sport.

"Unfortunately, according to the rules of the game, it's not illegal for them to use the abilities natural to ones species. In other words, what they are doing is completely legal Tweetums." Tech said unhappily.

"Well… If they're that good, how come they aren't playing in the IBA League? I've never heard of them, until now." Duck asked, frowning.

"Because they play in other leagues, including the Nerdluckian Basketball League, or if you prefer, the NBL… It's one of the toughest leagues in that part of the Universe, and although they have the talent to overcome any team that is in the IBA League, they have never tried to enter in it. Plus, they only play with teams from other leagues when Mr. Swackhammer wants a piece of the fortune from the owner of a specific team." Tech said grimly.

"T-T-Then that m-m-means that what Swackhammer is d-d-doing isn't the… isn't the… isn't… it means that w-w-what Swackhammer is d-d-doing to Mr. L-L-Leghorn, he's already d-d-done to others." Pinkster said outraged. "T-t-t-t-hat's unethical and borders on blackmail."

"Blagrgalagahlgh… You're right!" Slam blurted, slamming a fist onto the table.

"Soo, we're finding out a lot about this Swackhammer the IV that's really underhanded. You know what guys? I think this has just become exactly what our job is… fighting injustice and it's becoming very obvious that Mr. Leghorn is getting shafted." Ace said, becoming angry himself. "Tech, what else you got on this creep?" He turned to Tech and asked.

"Give me a second, chief." Tech muttered as he researched further on his computer. "Got it! It says here Swackhammer is descended from a line of successful businessmen. His family's empire began with his ancestor, Swackhammer the I, who built huge amusement parks, all over the Milky Way and beyond… "Moron Mountain" being the largest. His family created an empire that covered nearly every industry out there, from mining to state of the art computer technology. Swackhammer the IV has focused his energies on sports. He owns nearly two dozen teams, including the Monstrosity Crushers. He attended school to become a lawyer and he's considered a very shrewd one. His profile shows an individual who is always in control, whether in court, managing his teams or making new deals."

"Sounds like a very cunning and smart individual. Not an easy person to beat." Patricia said thoughtfully.

"To me it looks like Mr. Swackhammer loves the game of taking others for a ride. It's probably the only fun he has in his life… making life miserable for others while making incredible amounts of money and power for himself. It's obvious to me that he's using his usual tactics to take Mr. Leghorn's empire." Ace said musingly. He paused a moment and stared around at his team.

"I say we help Mr. Leghorn keep his empire. While we're training, we investigate this Swackhammer character and see if we can dig up evidence that what he's doing is illegal. We win the game and maybe get lucky and stop this guy cold… preventing him from ever doing this to others again. What do you say?" Ace asked.

The team thought about it a moment, looked into each other's eyes to see what they might be thinking then Lexi spoke up.

"I agree! I think this guy is dirty and we need to stop him. Count me in!" Lexi said bluntly.

"I'm in! I'll begin researching a way to keep those Crushers from copying our powers and look into Swackhammer's dealings more and see what I can find." Tech said firmly.

Well, you're not going to put our name on the sports world, without me, fearless leader… I'm going, because my fans will never forgive me if I don't help you out." Duck said, already imagining the idea of being remembered as one of the best stars in the Universe.

"Blaragahglgh… I'm in!" Slam said.

"We're totally going to be heroes! I mean, we already are heroes, but we will be considered heroes in more than just that way. We'll be basketball stars and of course, it will be fun to play that sport, even if the game is for real rather than just for fun. I don't know if I told you guys, but I'm actually a good basketball player and I'm really excited to go on this mission! Also, I'll help Tech dig for information on this guy." Rev said excitedly.

"Well, I may not be as excited as Rev, but you can count on me… Take me to the ball game, my friend." Sylth said with a grin.

"If the good old putty tat is going then I shall go too… I must be there to represent not only the Loonatics but also, to represent my beautiful little planet!" Tweetums said firmly, giving Sylth a look.

"I-I-I'm also… I-I-I'm also… I-I-I'm also… You can c-c-count on me, too. If D-D-Duck's going, then, I'm r-r-right behind h-h-him." Pinkster said with certainty.

"Me and my sister are ready to go and kick some alien butt, Ace!" Mimi said with a fist in the air.

"And play basketball too, you know!" Patricia chimed in.

Nearly all of them were in agreement except for Swift. Throughout the discussion the little Mexicoolian mouse had kept quiet as he listened to everyone have their say. Concerned, Ace looked at his team mate.

"Eh...you've been awfully quiet there, Swift. Is something troubling you?" He asked.

"Ah...well… I… I have to say I've never played this game called basketball before. I will do my best to learn and be an effective part of the team. I'm just not so certain that I'll be very good." Swift said a little self conscious.

"I have no doubt that you'll learn quickly and be very good at it. Never fear!" Ace said encouragingly. "Just remember, these guys are dangerous and it will really be more like fighting their powers than actually playing the game. We are going to need all our skills and team work to defeat them but I'm determined that we will win and beat them at their own game." Ace declared as he stood up from his seat.

The rest cheered and got up to follow him out the door to the waiting pair outside the room. Leghorn and G.B. stood up quickly when the Loonatics came through the door toward them.

"So what is, I say, what is the decision?" Leghorn asked anxiously.

"We're going to help you, Mr. Leghorn. We don't know how to play basketball, at least not at a professional level, but we're willing to learn." Ace told him.

"Wonderful, that's the best news I've gotten in a long time. As for not knowing how to play, don't you be worrying about that. I'll personally arrange a trainer to teach you how to play and all the tricks that exist. I know you'll do your best to beat those Monstrosity Crushers." Leghorn said gratefully.

"So… what are we getting paid?" Duck piped up.

"Duck!!" The others roared at him in disgust.

"Heh heh! That's okay, I say, okay, folks. You'll be paid exactly what I pay my top teams. Also I'll be providing everything you'll need while you're in training for the next two weeks. By the way, you'll be training on Nerdluck… that was one of the rules Swackhammer stipulated as part of the deal." Leghorn explained.

"Not that we aren't grateful, Mr. Leghorn, but we'll just allow you to pay for our accommodations on Nerdluck, and nothing else." Ace said firmly. "So, when do you want us there?" He asked.

"Tomorrow would be perfect! The sooner you start training, the better. Once again, my friends, I thank you for helping me in my time of need." Leghorn said.

"No need to thank us, Mr. Leghorn. We're just doing our job." Lexi said, waving off the thanks.

"In that case, I'll see you tomorrow in Nerdluck, my friends. I'm sure you all have to pack up everything you need for the trip." Leghorn told them then turned to his assistant. "G.B., please escort them to the exit, if you don't mind."

"No need to trouble yourself, sir. We can find our own way out. Thanks. See you tomorrow." Ace said politely.

The Loonatics exited the Dome and made for their ship. As they boarded and took their seats, Patricia asked something that had been puzzling her.

"Ace, why didn't you tell Mr. Leghorn that we intend to investigate his business rival while we're trying to win the game for him?" She asked.

"Mr. Leghorn has enough on his mind right now and its better that he doesn't know. He can't accidentally spill info if he isn't aware of. Someone might overhear and tattle to Swackhammer and I don't want to give that guy anything he could use against us or hide what he might be planning. Call it a precaution if you will. I intend to keep one step ahead of him as we do our investigation." Ace told her. "So from here on out, keep your eyes and ears open. Also watch what you say to each other, make sure no one can overhear you!" He cautioned them. "Especially you Duck!"

"Hey! I can keep a secret just as well as you can!" Duck objected angrily.

The others just rolled their eyes knowing that wasn't true. Tech started the engines and they were soon heading for space once more.