Chapter 4: Nerdluckian Reception

Chapter 4: Nerdluckian Reception

The Loonatics hurried back to their headquarters and packed enough for two weeks. Each person took one suitcase a piece except for Tweetums who took an unprecedented ten cases. Duck, who normally would take several suitcases, actually settled for one this time. Tweetums team mates grimaced at all the cases he was taking but he didn't care. He always planned for the unexpected and decided to take a third of his wardrobe on this trip.

"I honestly don't know why you're taking so many things with you. We're only going to stay there for two weeks, not two years!" Duck exclaimed, as he watched Tweetums royal guards load his suitcases aboard.

"You never know what might happen, Duck. I have to be prepared, in case we meet an ambassador or someone from the royalty. I would not think to show my little self in front of them without the proper clothing." Tweetums said firmly.

"I still say that it's a waste of space to carry so many things with you." Duck muttered.

Tweetums just ignored him.

After everything was packed and ready to go, Ace gave the order to depart. Tech was already aboard. He had spent the time loading some extra armaments and some spy gear and now waited for the signal to leave. Once Ace gave it, he set the coordinate for Nerdluck into the master computer that was linked to Wormhole Central. Very quickly they were on their way.

From their comfortable seats, the team watched as Tech piloted the ship out of the planet's atmosphere and aimed for the now opening wormhole. The trip to Nerdluck took less than two minutes. Soon they were soaring toward Nerdluck's atmosphere.

Nerdluck was a huge planet with seven moons, one of them was artificial. This was Swackhammer's Colossal Sports Moon, the largest of the moons. Their ship sailed smoothly through the ether toward the moon's atmosphere. As soon as they reached the planet, Tech disengaged the computer and piloted the ship manually through the atmosphere and put it on a level flight path then set the autopilot for their destination.

"It will take us about ten minutes to reach our destination, Ace." Tech informed everyone.

"Excellent, Tech… This will give us time to prepare our strategy. So, have you discovered anything more about the Monstrosity Crushers or Swackhammer?" Ace asked him.

"Well, I wasn't able to find out any new information beyond what we already knew… just some curious facts and the Crusher's profiles, which I think will be very helpful when we plan our game strategy against them.

"Hmm, well not much to go on so I guess we're going to have to dig up some more while we're here. So, let's see what you did get, Tech." Ace ordered.

"Right!" Tech took out a disk he had inside his suit and inserted it inside one of the slots in the computer console. After a few moments, a hologram swirled into being. The five members of Swackhammer's basketball team appeared. Although they were just holograms, they still made the team's skin crawl… the Nerdluckians were really creepy to look at.

"Here they are, guys… The Monstrosity Crushers." Ace said unnecessarily.

"They really look like monsters… the kind you would only see in horror movies." Patricia observed, as she studied the images.

"Yeah, they don't look friendly… so tell us, Tech, who is who in this gruesome group?" Ace asked the coyote.

"Well, first, we have their leader… Blackjack." Tech said as he caused the hologram to pull the image he was describing forward. "He's the brains of the outfit, so to speak. He's quick on his feet and has fast hands as well as being very smart. His signature move is the 'Pump Fake'. This is a pass commonly used by players but his version is a lot more complex." Tech ordered the computer to play a video. Displayed was Blackjack doing his signature move.

"Whoa, now that's nasty." Ace commented, the move was rather brutal and very effective. "So, this guy's the leader, huh? Well, he sure is big…"

"But not nearly as big as that guy, Ace." Lexi said pointing at the green Nerdluckian in the background. "Who is he?"

"That is Bourré… he's the muscle for the team. In fact he's all muscles and no brains at all. According to his profile, his type of game is quite offensive. He has been considered one of the most dangerous players of all times because, when he gets angry, he has enough strength to destroy a concrete wall, with one punch. Blackjack is able to control him and Bourré obeys all the orders he's given and doesn't deviate from them." Tech explained.

"T-T-That m-m-may be… T-T-That m-m-may be… T-T-That m-m-may be… We c-c-can explore t-t-t-that weakness and u-u-use it to our a-a-advantage." Pinkster said confidently. "W-W-What's his s-s-signature move, Tech?"

"Well, in Bourré's case, it's the "Give and Go" move, which consists of passing the ball to a partner and then running as fast as you can to receive the ball back. It's definitely one of the most effective moves in the game." Tech said.

"Then, what about the girls, genius?! I bet that those two don't have the strength to smash a fly, let alone throw a ball!" Duck said sarcastically as Tech enlarged the holograms of the two female members of the Crushers.

"If I were you, Duck, I would think twice before saying that…" Tech warned.

"I think he should think twice before saying anything and not just that, you know, amigos?" Swift laughed, giving everyone a knowing look, making Duck angry because he didn't know why they were all looking at him like they knew something he didn't.

"Oh yeah?! Why should I think twice when it comes to talking about those two girls?!" He demanded angrily.

"Because they may look like beautiful roses, but they have thorns, really spiky thorns, if you catch my meaning… This one here is called 21 and she's quite good when it comes to blind-passes, so called because she's able to confuse defenses with them. Her signature move is called the 'Hook Shot'. A devastating shot that, because she's so tall, she never misses. As for the other female, she's called Poker. She's as mean and powerful as Bourré, but she's smarter, and doesn't really need anybody to give her orders because if given the shot, she'll work without the need of anyone's assistance. Her signature pass is the "Slam Dunk", one of the most appreciated and fantastic moves that a player can do. Most of the time, when she attempts her signature move, she slams the ball into the basket so hard she breaks it." Tech said grimly.

"Beautiful and dangerous, now that's a nasty combination!" Sylth said with guarded admiration for his future opponents.

Duck just grumbled to himself as he stared at the deadly beauties.

"So who's the pink one, Tech? I would really like to know since he looks too much like a gremlin, although they were nothing more than the fictional beings created for a movie, I think that one would be a perfect match if they had really existed. Except for that hair of his, it makes him look like a Mohican, a really bad haired Mohican, who looks like a pink gremlin!" Rev babbled in his hyper-speed way.

"This "little guy" here is called Baccarat, Rev. He's the fifth and last member of the Monstrosity Crushers and though he might not look like the most dangerous of the team, he is the quickest and most difficult to catch. His signature move is the "Around, Back, and Through", or just "ABT", and he's probably the only one on the team who can do it, because he's really fast, and almost unbeatable when it comes to this pass." Tech said.

"So you're telling us that even without the need of absorbing other people's abilities, they're still five tough cookies. Hmmm… This is obviously going to be a lot harder than we thought at first." Mimi said thoughtfully.

"Blrhalahlghrgall… Definitely tough cookies!" Slam agreed solemnly.

"Yeah, you're right about that, Mimi. Fortunately, we have a special weapon that they don't have." Ace said confidently.

"And what would that be, Ace?" Lexi asked, giving her leader a frown.

"Simple, Lexi, its Tech! If there's a person in this universe who can come up with a way to stop them, it's him." Ace said firmly, and then turned to the coyote. "By the way Tech, have you thought of anything to stop them?"

"Well, I have to admit that I've been giving it some thought and I think I've come up with the solution to our problem but I'll need some time to develop it. I'll keep it secret until it's time to use it so that no one finds out about it." He said cautiously.

"That is quite thoughtful of you, Tech. That way, those bad, bad basketball players won't have anything to use against us!" Tweetums said excitedly.

"I second that, chicken fingers! You never know what these guys could come up with just to win this game!" Sylth admitted.

Suddenly the computer gave a warning beep. Tech knew this meant they had reached their destination. He quickly switched to manual control and cruised over the landscape. As they passed over, they could see the moon had a large area that was industrialized, with many factories located in one area. The rest of it was for entertainment; casinos, hotels, arenas for other sports and a surprisingly large number of stadiums that were huge. The Loonatics had never seen sport infrastructures so massive in their life. Compared to these, the Acmetropolis World Dome was nothing but a kiddie-ride.

Using the GPS, they tracked the position of Mr. Leghorn's ship and followed the signal. After a while, they finally reached the meeting point. This was in the biggest stadium located on the planet and was, of course, called 'Swackhammer's Interglactic Colosseum'. It had a very futuristic design but it still bore some twenty-first decorative motives on it. It was so brightly illuminated that they could see its name in huge holographic red letters from a great distance

"Well, Swackhammer sure loves to see his name in everything that he owns" Ace said with a snort, as he looked at the building and its huge red holographic letters. "Are you sure this is the place, Tech?"

"Absolutely, Ace. According to the GPS, Mr. Leghorn's ship is parked down there. I'm sure that he'll be expecting us." Tech assured him as he headed down and soon was parking their ship next to Leghorn's.

After shutting down the engines, Tech opened the main doors and everyone disembarked. Swift and Rev were the first ones out. Rev was really excited about seeing such a huge building. Swift thought it was amazing too but not as much as his friend because there were building this huge on his home world Mexicool. The rest of the team ogled the structure in admiration… impressed by the size of the building and its architecture.

"The only way Swackhammer could have built something like this is if he was really rich. This place could hold 50 Acmetropolis World Domes inside, or even more." Lexi whispered to Slam standing next to her.

"Blagrhagalagh… Really rich!" He commented, duly impressed.

"Rich or not, he's not going to impress us, guys. We came here on a mission so we need to stay focused and let nothing distract us" Ace said, grabbing their attention. Suddenly he was interrupted by a familiar voice that came from behind them.

They turned and saw Leghorn, followed by G.B., walking up to them.

"Thank God, you've arrived, I say, arrived safely, my friends. Swackhammer was starting to think I was joking when I said that I'd contracted… I mean, I've asked you, I say, asked you to be my new basketball team." Leghorn said, laughing a bit in relief.

"So, tell us, where's the big cheese who owns this place?" Duck asked, obviously referring to Swackhammer the IV.

"He's inside, I say, inside, waiting for us, along with his team. I think he'll be quite surprised when he sees you, guys! But, don't just stand there, come on, follow me, follow me." Leghorn said urgently as he led them back where he had come from.

Following Leghorn, who seemed more excited than a bee inside a honey hive, the Loonatics, followed by G.B., quickly entered the building through the VIP entrance. They were guided to a large room. It was decorated with the most expensive and most refined objects that money could buy. The walls were painted in gold. The marble columns had the most incredibly carved drawings they had ever seen. Sitting around the room were statues of diamond in every corner, a beautiful chandelier was hanging from the ceiling and a thick red carpet covered the entire floor.

One side of the room held long tables filled with the most delicious appetizers and refreshments a person could find in that part of that galaxy. Sitting next to one of the tables, drinking a glass of champagne and smoking a cigar, was Swackhammer the IV, waiting for them. Leghorn led the Loonatics to his opponent and introduced them.

"Swackhammer… here's my new team, the Loonatics Extreme. I bet you were wondering, I say, wondering if I was blowing smoke, right?" Leghorn crowed, smirking at his rival.

"I have to say, Leghorn, I never thought you would be able to afford to contract a team such as them, you know? So these are the Loonatics Extreme, huh? It's a pleasure to meet you all." Swackhammer said with a cynical smile on his face, as he blew a cloud of smoke into the air, which hit Ace in the face, making him cough.

"It's really… cough, cough, cough… a pleasure to meet you too, sir… cough, cough…" Ace choked from the smoke.

"I've heard much about you and your team, my rabbit friend. You have done some extraordinary things in your home world and now you are prepared to play basketball for Leghorn, am I right?" He asked.

"Yeah, you could say that…" Ace said easily.

"Well, then, I'm sure you won't have any problems beating my team, especially with your powers, heheheh." Swackhammer laughed. "Please, enjoy my hospitality. This was made for you, my friends. I'm sure you're hungry. When you've finished eating, I'll introduce you to my team. I know they are looking forward to meeting you just as much as you are looking forward to meeting them."

The Loonatics were a little leery of such a grand demonstration of good will by Swackhammer. From what they had found out about him, he was a scoundrel of the worst kind but at this moment he was behaving like a perfect gentleman.

Ace couldn't help but be suspicious but kept his feelings hidden and played it cool. He turned to his team mates.

"Well, you heard, Mr. Swackhammer, guys. Dig in!" He told them.

That was all they needed to hear. Every Loonatic decided to try every type of food that existed in the room. Slam looked like a garbage disposal throwing everything he could down his throat, without even tasting it. The others, decided to take it easier, and started by tasting the delicious sweets, then moving toward the other dishes, that looked delicious.

Robot waiters appeared and asked what they would like to drink. Ace and Lexi asked for a glass of carrot juice, while Mimi, Patricia and Sylth asked for a glass of milk. Tech and Rev decided they would have something more rich and asked for two vanilla milkshakes. Swift decided that he would have an icy mojito, while Slam decided that he would have a huge jug of cherry soda to go on with a delicious cherry pie he was eating. Finally, Duck and Pinkster decided they would have a glass of the finest and most expensive champagne they had in the place, although Pinkster hadn't really wanted any but Duck forced him. He felt they were being treated like super basketball stars they had better act like ones.

After they had eaten, Swackhammer conducted them through the immense labyrinth of tunnels and stairs. They had no idea where they were, or where they were heading to, except that they were going up.

Finally, they passed by a huge a window and could see the interior of the building. They were on the top of the building. When they looked down, it felt like they were on the ridge of a canyon. Thousands and thousands of seats covered the balconies, arranged in five rings and down at the bottom of the rings was a huge basketball court.

As they looked around they noted some builders on the ceiling, soldering a few things. Tweetums became quite interested and decided to ask what they were doing up there.

"What are those little old men doing up there, Mr. Swackhammer?" He asked politely.

"They're repairing the upper infrastructure of the Coliseum. My team usually plays with such ferocity, that the Coliseum shakes a lot causing some of the beams and ceiling tiles to crack. We have to check for damages every week and make repairs so that none of the ceiling will fall on our spectators." Swackhammer explained.

"Isn't it kind of dangerous for the people to be sitting up here if the ceiling could crumble down on them?" Lexi asked in concern.

"No need to worry, my dear. As you see in the corners there..." He pointed to some strange black boxes located about every ten feet above the fifth ring of seats. "Those contain sophisticated warning devices that will activate a shield should the ceiling begin to crumble preventing any accidents. My greatest objective is protecting the public and entertaining them." Swackhammer assured her proudly

He gestured for them to continue on and, after walking for another few minutes, they reached a huge elevator and entered it. It went down and when the doors opened again, they found themselves stepping out onto the huge court.

The view from down here was amazing and completely different from the one they had from upstairs. The view itself made them all feel so tiny and insignificant. Ahead of them as they walked across the court were the five members of the Monstrosity Crushers.

The team was resting on the benches, talking to each others. They seemed quite relaxed and only noticed they had company when they noticed the smell of their boss's cigars. Blackjack turned his attention to the group that was walking up to them.

"It's the boss!" He commented, getting up, his team following suit.

"Hi there, Blackjack! I'm here to introduce you to the team you're going to be playing against in two weeks. Meet the Loonatics Extreme." Swackhammer told his captain, gesturing to the team coming up behind him.

The Crushers studied the Loonatics silently. The Loonatics did the same. They couldn't shake the sensation of being looked over by a bunch of predators. No one said anything until finally Swackhammer spoke up.

"So, what do you think of them?" He asked in a more sinister voice. A definite departure from the one he'd been using with the Loonatics. It sent shivers of warning down their spines.

"Are you telling us that we are going to play against these puny little guys, boss?!" Bourré asked with a snort of derision.

"Who are you calling "puny", ugly?!" Duck snapped, insulted.

"What did you call me, bird?!" Bourré snarled as he stepped up and shoved his angry face into Duck's.

"I called you "ugly"… Haven't you seen yourself in the mirror lately? Because you really ugly, ugly! Besides, you look like a despicable guy!" Duck said fearlessly.

"Oh, then do you know what you look like, Duck? Dinner!" Bourré said with a deep growl, his look one of a wolf studying his next meal.

Duck shifted a little nervously but didn't back down.

Before anything could happen, Blackjack roared a command. "ENOUGH! Bourré! Get back where you were and don't get any idea." He ordered firmly, shoving his team member back.

"Yeah! Get back to your place, or next time, I'll teach you a thing or…" Duck stupidly began to taunt.

Suddenly, someone put his hand on his Duck's beak and clamped it shut. It was Pinkster, who saw that if Duck didn't shut up, they all would get into trouble.

"S-S-Stop it, Duck, or you will b-b-be… or you will b-b-be… or you will b-b-be… or you will get us all into t-t-trouble." The pig hissed at him, forcing his friend to calm down before he would release his bill.

Annoyed by Duck's behavior, Ace quickly spoke up to smooth over the moment.

"I'm sorry for what Duck said. He can be a little annoying, sometimes, doc." He said.

"No worries." Blackjack said easily. "Bourré gets angry over just about anything. Still his comment was right… you're a bunch of puny little guys!"

"Little packages can be just as dangerous as big ones. Don't underestimate us!" Patricia said plainly.

"Wow! The kitty has spunk as well as claws," 21 commented in amusement. "Listen up, sister, you don't know who you're messing with."

"Really, why do you say that?" Tech said mildly.

"Have you ever heard of the 'Dream Team'? Well we're the 'Nightmare Team'!" Poker bragged with a dark laugh.

"Yeah, the 'Nightmare Team'!" Bourré snickered evilly.

"What kind of a nickname is that for a basketball team, anyway?" Sylth asked arrogantly, pretending not to be impressed by their airs.

"A nickname that is only used by the best basketball team in the Universe, pussycat! But you don't get it do you? We're the Monstrosity Crushers! M-O-N-S-T-R-O-S-I-T-Y C-R-U-S-H-E-R-S! We have this name because we crush teams like yours and eat what it's left of them for breakfast!" Baccarat growled from his perch atop 21's shoulder.

"Now, now, now… Wait there, I say, wait there a second! Why don't you all just keep all the energy that you're wasting by arguing with each other and use it in the game in two weeks? What do you, I say, what do you say?" Leghorn interrupted, attempting to break up the hostility before anyone started to trade blows.

"I agree with you, for once, Leghorn. They should keep their energies for the big game, that is, if your team knows how to play, of course." Swackhammer said with a sly questioning grin.

"Don't worry we'll know what to do." Ace said calmly.

"By the way, where are we staying?" Duck asked casually.

"Why, you'll be staying here, my friends. The Swackhammer's Intergalactic Coliseum is not only a basketball stadium but a hotel as well. Only VIP's are allowed to stay but since you are the visiting team, I'm happy to accommodate you while you're here. Besides it will be more convenient for you since you will train here as well. There are more than ten basketball courts besides the main one." Swackhammer told them.

"But I had already reserved, I say, reserved rooms in the Nerdluck's Ritz for them." Leghorn objected. "I'm sure that they don't want to impose on you, Swackhammer."

"It's okay, Mr. Leghorn. We would be delighted to stay here, Mr. Swackhammer. As you say it is closer to the practice court for us." Ace said smoothly, turning to his team and giving them a small wink. Being here would allow them to spy on Swackhammer and the Crushers more easily.

"There, you see, Leghorn? Even your team agrees with me. So with that settle, you'll please excuse me and my team. We've some issues we need to attend to. One of my robot servants will escort you to your quarters in a minute or two." He told them politely as he walked off followed by his team. "I'll see you all tomorrow." He said over his shoulder.

As they moved off, Ace and his team followed them with their eyes. None of them really trusted the owner or his team. Now they knew the Crushers were as bad as they seemed. They would have to be on their guard at all times.