Before we begin this story, I'd like to give shoutouts to three of Loonatics Rise's latest followers!
My first shoutout is to ZukahaniMultiColor, who followed me three weeks ago! Hope you enjoy this chapter, ZukahaniMultiColor! My second shoutout is to Brayden garry's mod, who followed me twelve days ago! Hope you enjoy this chapter, Brayden garry's mod! Finally, my third and last shoutout goes to my most recent follower, XaralandoWyattWyatt, who followed me yesterday! Hope you enjoy this chapter, XaralandoWyattWyatt! Shoutout to my other followers too, katrupp03 and Juliette Chocolat.
We now return to your regularly scheduled fanfic. Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Attack of the Fuzz Balls
No One's POV
In a house in Acmetropolis, a family was watching a commercial where reporter Michael Exposition's colleague, Kathy Walker, was interviewing a man named Professor Zane. "Professor Zane, why do you think all of Acmetropolis is clamoring for one of your new bio-pets?" Kathy asked. "Well, who could resist such a lovable, soft, playful, creature? Every household should have a Fuz-Z." Zane responded. The commercial ended with a jingle saying, "Fuz-Zs are cool, Fuz-Zs are sweet, take 'em to school for your friends to meet. When you want to cuddle, they'll show you howwww... Gotta get a Fuz-Z right now!" In a household, a young boy was eating a snack and noticed that his Fuz-Z looked hungry. He gave his Fuz-Z a bite, and told it, "I love you, Fuz-Z. You're my best friend." Then, the two went off to sleep. Later, when the boy woke up, he noticed his Fuz-Z was gone! But just after he noticed this, he saw a monster in his bedroom! He ran out of the room and the door shut automatically, but the monster stuck it's horns through the door. The boy ran off, calling for his parents in fear. They all ran from the house and from the monster, which had a dark secret that they didn't know.
Meanwhile, not much was going on at the Loonatics Tower. It had been almost two weeks since their first major mission with the Vikings, and they had been doing fine since then. Ace was in the training room, using his laser vision and the Guardian Strike Sword to decimate some disks. Once he was finished, Lexi and Jeanine entered the room with two Fuz-Zs, one was pink and one light blue. "Hey, look what we got!" Lexi said, cheerfully. Ace turned towards the two after destroying the last hover disks. Then, Slam saw the two Fuz-Zs and mistook them for mini gumball-like treats. But before he could eat them, the girls managed to get out of the way. "Woah, no eating my pet!" Lexi told Slam. "Or mine!" Jeanine added. Slam then hit a huge ray gun, causing it to turn on. The ray then hit Tech, and nearly burned his tail. But the machine was unplugged before it could harm him. Now, back to the Fuz-Zs. "What's that? You bought a new cottontail?" Ace asked Lexi. "No, it's a Fuz-Z. Oh come on, bio-pets are only the coolest trend to ever hit Acmetropolis." Lexi explained. "Yeah? What do you hit it with?" Ace asked. "You don't hit it, you love it. She'll be whatever you want her to be; a glove, a choker, a cuddle walker." Lexi explained. "That's not all; she can also be a wristband, a belt, and even a purse!" Jeanine added. Both Fuz-Zs turned into the items the girls demonstrated when Duck walked in. "Hold it right there, sister!" Duck then leaped over and snatched Lexi's Fuz-Z from her. "How'd you get a hold of one of these anyway? My Fuz-Z's been on back order for weeks. Are you sure this one isn't supposed to be mine?" he asked. Slam then attempted to eat Lexi's Fuz-Z before Duck held it away from him. Lexi then took her Fuz-Z back. "Back off, Duck. Zozo is mine." Lexi said. Duck snickered and asked, "Zozo?" "I like it." Jeanine told Lexi. "What about you, toots? Are you sure your Fuz-Z isn't mine?" Duck asked Jeanine. "Sorry, Duck. Gumball is mine." Duck snickered again and said, "Really, Gumball?" "Yeah, I named her from my favorite anime Mercury Lewis, and her hampire Gumball." Duck and Lexi looked at Jeanine confused. "You know, hampires? Half hamster, half vampire?" They still looked confused. "Ugh, it's an anime thing. You wouldn't understand." Jeanine said, giving up.
A TV screen then came down, showing Zadavia. "You're not going to believe this one, Loonatics, but there's a situation in South Acmetropolis that requires your special attention. A residential zone in the fourth quadrant seems to have a giant spider problem." On the screen, it showed a giant spider and the house from earlier that had been attacked. "Didn't they just spray for giant spiders last week?" Ace asked. "This family barely escaped with their lives." Zadavia explained. "Species? Origins?" Tech inquired. "Unknown and unknown." Zadavia stated. "Forget where it came from. Where's it going? It's not coming here, is it?" Duck asked. "The idea was for you to go there, Danger Duck." Zadavia said. She moved closer to the screen, scaring Duck a little. "Must we?" He asked, frightened. "I'll transfer coordinates and transit. Zadavia out." The TV screen then turned off. "She gets to go out and we get to battle mutant spiders. Nice! Let's jet!" Ace exclaimed.
The Loonatics grabbed their jet packs and flew out of HQ through the hanger doorway. Just as Ace, Lexi and Jeanine were about to fly out, Ace caught the girls with their Fuz-Zs on their wrists. "Maybe lose the wristbands, girls." He told them. "I don't want to leave mine here all by myself." Lexi sighed. "Yeah, Zozo and Gumball can be our mascots!" Jeanine said, smiling. "Uh, how about no?" Ace responded before he took off. Lexi and Jeanine took Zozo and Gumball off their wrists and set them on the table. Both of them looked at their owners with sad eyes. "Aw, you'll be lonely, won't you?" Lexi asked Zozo. A lightbulb then went off in Jeanine's head. "Hey, I know. Let's take them with us as long as they stay out of view from you-know-who." Jeanine motioned. Lexi nodded to Jeanine. They made sure Ace was far away, took Zozo and Gumball, and hid them in their jetpack pockets. Afterwards, they went after Ace.
After searching the fourth quadrant, a giant brown mutant spider crashed out of a nearby building. Duck got hit by the spider and was sent flying. Slam then used his tornado maximizer and grabbed the spider's leg, only to get squashed by the creature. Rev dived in and scooped Slam away, before the spider tried attacking him again. A giant crack then appeared in the road below. Ace told Slam to pull the mutant spider towards a nearby bridge, which Slam did successfully. Rev then flew by in an attempt to distract the spider. Tech, Ace, Lexi, and Jeanine then attempted to remove the port hold in each column of the bridge with their powers. Afterwards, all seven of them pulled the bridge downward. They flew out of the way as the bridge crashed towards the ground. When the dust cleared, the spider was gone! "You gotta be kidding! How did it get out of there?" Ace wondered. The team then flew towards the bridge to get a good look-see. "Very impressive. Itsy-bitsy go bye-bye." Lexi said. "Where did it go, though? It was the height of King Kong, it can't disappear just like that." Jeanine said, snapping her fingers. "There's gotta be an explanation." Tech said. "Oh man, I don't believe it!" The team heard Duck say in shock. He had found a small brown Fuz-Z. "Check it out! I found a Fuz-Z, and this one is mine! Look, I got my own super sidekick. How about Wonderfluff? Oh yeah, that works." Ace then took Wonderfluff from Duck. "Big spider pulls a disappearing act and we find a hard-to-get bio-pet in its place. What are the odds?" Ace wondered. "4,270,867 to 1." Tech responded. "Kind of high on the coincidence meter, don't ya think?" Ace asked. "Aw, come on! You're not trying to pin this on Wonderfluff, are you?" Duck asked. "Until we come up with something better, yeah." Ace then placed Wonderfluff inside a tube. Afterwards, Lexi and Jeanine heard their Fuz-Zs purring in their bags. "Zozo!" "Gumball!" The two walked out of sight from the boys, and took Zozo and Gumball out of their pockets. They both squeaked thank you. "Oh, how can anyone think bio-pets are anything but sweet?" Lexi asked. "Yeah, they're just cute little rays of sunshine." Jeanine said. But then, the two Fuz-Zs leaped out of their hands and started hopping towards the boys. "Zozo, come back here! Zozo!" Lexi yelled. "Bad Gumball! Bad!" Jeanine yelled. Zozo and Gumball leaped towards Duck and jumped into his jet pack's compartment. Wonderfluff then leaped out of the tube, and followed suit. "Sorry, I guess they like me better. Now I have three super sidekicks! How cool is that?"
"You had to bring the Fuz-Zs." Ace scowled at Lexi and Jeanine, who both smiled embarrassed and blushed. Just then, the girls heard some sound coming from inside Duck's backpack. "There's a party going on in your backpack." Jeanine told Duck. "I never go out on the field without some chocolate ab-inducer bars. Ooh, they must be really hungry." Duck pulled the Fuz-Zs out of his backpack, but their eyes started to glow. Duck yelped in pain as he felt their new clawed feet and dropped them. The three Fuz-Zs grew spikes on their heads and developed razor sharp teeth. As this happened, their owners watched with concern. "Zozo?" "Gumball?" "Wonderfluff?" Lexi, Jeanine and Duck called out to their respective Fuz-Zs. Zozo, Gumball and Wonderfluff continued to change. They grew in size, developed clawed arms and legs, fangs that could make a vampire blush, and glowing eyes with an extra one on their forehead. They weren't Fuz-Zs anymore. Now, they were giant mutant spiders.
Zozo, Gumball and Wonderfluff had unleashed their true forms and started approaching the Loonatics. "I'm not sure Wonderfluff has had all his shots. Anybody wanna buy a bio-pet cheap?" Duck asked. "Duck!" Ace yelled. They all ducked for cover. "What?" Duck asked. "No, dude! Duck!" Jeanine yelled. Duck realized what she meant, but before he could get down, he got swatted away by Zozo and was sent flying. The spiders tried to swipe the gang with their claws, but the Loonatics scampered. Wonderfluff struck Ace with his hand, sending Ace into a wall. He got off the wall quickly, and ordered the Loonatics to attack. However, Lexi stopped him. "Wait!" "Hey, what gives?" He asked her. "That's Zozo. Be careful with her. She's had a rough day." Lexi told him. Just then, Zozo cornered the two bunnies. Just before she attacked though, Slam charged towards her. However, Zozo grabbed Slam and brought him to her mouth to make him lunch. He then punched Zozo in the face to save himself. Meanwhile, Gumball was about to attack Ace nearby. In order to save him, Jeanine stretched her arms out to nearby pillars and began to convert herself into a human slingshot. Once she had walked backwards enough, she let go and came flying towards Gumball. She then made her hand into a huge fist and yelled to her former Fuz-Z, "Hey, Gumball! Eat this!" She punched Gumball, knocking the spider down to the ground. Ace was impressed. Jeanine just said, "I didn't know I had it in me." Meanwhile, Wonderfluff was about to make an attack, but he clutched his head and shrank. Then, he turned back into a Fuz-Z. Zozo and Gumball turned back to normal too. All three Fuz-Zs bounced back into Lexi, Jeanine and Duck's hands.
"What's gotten into these powder-puffs?" Ace asked. "Something powerful." Atop one of the nearby buildings, Zadavia appeared on a billboard. The Loonatics then flew up to the billboards with their jetpacks. "Powerful, but easy to get a hold of." Ace said. "Good point, Ace. The boy with the first Fuz-Z fed it a whole stash of chocolate candy before going to bed." Zadavia stated. "And our Fuz-Zs ate Duck's chocolate!" Lexi added. "Of course! Something like this happened in Mercury Lewis. Whenever Mercury's hampire Gumball ate sparkium crystals, she would turn rabid and go on a psychotic rampage! Though, she would always turn back to normal." Jeanine explained. Her teammates and Zadavia stared at her, confused. "Season 2, Episode 20: Sweet Mayhem?" The stares continued. "Ugh, it's an anime thing. You should watch it to get it. Though I wouldn't recommend it, twenty-two minutes I'll never get back." Jeanine then lightly coughed. "Zadavia, Professsor Zane was the one who found Fuz-Zs. Can you give us some information about him?" She asked. "Professor Zane's laboratory is located in the seventh quadrant. Just east of the industrial center." Zadavia responded. "The guy who invented these hairballs better know a way to cure their sweet tooth, because Acmetropolis is crawling with them." Ace said. He was right. Almost everyone in the city had a Fuz-Z, and that could be dangerous if they were exposed to chocolate. "It's gonna take a miracle to gather up all these Fuz-Zs. I can grab half of them, but we're gonna need something really amazing to gather up the rest of them." Rev blurted out. He was right. They had to hurry before Acmetropolis became infested with giant mutant spiders.
Back at the tower, the Loonatics were getting ready to confront Professor Zane. "I bet Tech has a few toys we can use." Ace told the others. "I give you the Exovac 2400-X." Tech pressed a button to open the door behind him. Behind it was a really large vacuum. "Wow, Tech!" Ace said in astonishment. "It's the ultimate urban vacuum." Tech explained. "Now, what in the world made you come up with this?" Ace asked. "Try eating with Slam. Not pretty." Tech responded. "Ugh, never do a pie eating contest with him. Seriously, he eat 5,000 of my Granny June's blueberry pies!" Jeanine said. She didn't need visions to know how eating contests with Slam could end. Rev then began to run around the Exovac, observing it. He babbled and sped around the Exovac before returning. "I get it. So you're saying this machine sucks. Fuz-Zs, that is." Ace said. Then, the door opened and they exited with the Exovac. That sounded weird. Anyway, while they were there, Ace began tasking the gang. "Lexi, you, Jeanine and Duck go warn this Zane guy. He could be in danger from his own creations. The rest of us will work on rounding up the furballs that are still out there." Lexi, Duck and Jeanine had used their jetpacks to arrive at Professor Zane's laboratory. "Looks like no one's home." Duck said. But Lexi's supersonic hearing begged to differ. "No, someone's in there. I can hear breathing inside." Lexi said. "That both impresses and scares me." Jeanine commented. "Show-offs." Duck commented. As a result, Jeanine pounded him on the head and he briefly yelped in pain. Then, the three walked inside. "Hello? Professor Zane?" Lexi called out. "We've come about your bio-pets. We have reason to believe that they're very-" Jeanine started to say, but then they heard a sound. There were three giant mutant spiders there! "Well, looks like they've had their chocolate today." Duck said. "I hope that's all they crave." Lexi responded. "Great. Three fuzzballs turned freakshows. It can't get worse from here." Jeanine said, sarcastically. Then, they heard Professor Zane. "It can. Not only do they love chocolate, they also have a taste for duck, and rabbit and human. And guess what? It's feeding time!" Professor Zane cackled.
Meanwhile, the boys were working on sucking up the Fuz-Zs. "Vacuum capacity: good. Suction: stable." Tech calculated. Ace then began talking. "How you doin' back there, Slam?" the bunny asked. Slam was controlling the vacuum and aiming for it to catch the Fuz-Zs. Meanwhile, Rev was speeding by kids, collecting their Fuz-Zs. "Excuse me! Scuse me! Coming through! You-mind-if-I-borrow-this-for-a-while-Sorry-this-is-a-no-fuzz-zone!" He yelled as he sped past the citizens. However, one teenager hid her Fuz-Z behind her back as the Exovac and Rev came by. But, Rev used his global positioning to track it. "Hmm, I'm picking up something on my internal sensor." Then, he sped by the girl and took her Fuz-Z. "Yes-there's-one-remaining-biopet-Hello-Maybe-you-should-think-about-getting-a-cat-instead-if-you-really-want-something-to-cuddle-with-cute-and-furry-but-of-course-cats-don't-do-tricks-they-can-be-so-picky-so-if-you-don't-mind-bye!" Rev babble before he sped away with the girl's Fuz-Z. "Mission accomplished. How are things on your end, Lex?" Ace said through his communicator. But, no one answered. "Lex?" Still no answer. "Duck, ya read?" Nothing! "Jeanine, what's goin' on over there?" Still nothing. "I've got a bad feeling. Let's ditch the fuzzballs for now, Tech, and bug out!" They headed back to HQ, dropping the Fuz-Z filled compartment on a launchpad before flying away. "Switching to Turbovac Jet Mode." Tech said. Then, the Exovac blasted away. "Hey, wait up!" Rev yelled before speeding after them.
Back at the labratory, Lexi, Duck and Jeanine were confronting Professor Zane. "So you knew all along chocolate mutated the Fuz-Zs?" Lexi asked the professor. "Knew? I made sure of it." Zane told her. "My first two Fuz-Zs weren't supposed to transform so soon. Not until I completely flooded the entire city with biopets. One pulse from my electric leash, and the savage beasts are under my control." Zane finished. "So you wanted all the Fuz-Zs to take the Chocolate Express to Creatureville at the same time and tear Acmetropolis apart!" Lexi concluded. "Sounds like someone's mommy didn't buy them enough choccies when they were wittle." Duck taunted. "Yeah. Is that why you're doing this, just because of a sugary sweet? That's stupid on multiple levels." Jeanine told Zane. "Oh, you're just as naive as the Acmetropolis Science Council. Imagine. Firing me because they thought my experiments were too dangerous! They never appreciated me or my genius. My..." Zane said before Jeanine interrupted him. "Insanity? Craziness? Am I getting close?" she asked, sarcastically. "Hardly. I decided Acmetropolis needed to see firsthand what I am capable of." Zane began to explain. Hey, that rhymed. Anyway... "When the meteor hit Acmetropolis, the impact opened all kinds of visions." "Including the ones in your brain, Mr. Zane?" Duck asked. "I discovered these delightful creatures. Their biology was perfect, what with the experiments I had in mind. Experiments that led to the Fuz-Z." He then finished his flashback. "So cute and cuddly until they have a bit of chocolate. Then, the only way to stop them is with this." Zane said while pointing to the mind control device. Just then, the spider began to bring Lexi, Duck and Jeanine into its mouth. But then, the Exovac arrived. "See? Too much chocolate'll make you sick." Ace said. Lexi, Duck and Jeanine then escaped the spider's clutches. Ace, Tech and Slam joined them. Professor Zane pulled a lever, breaking multiple containers filled with Fuz-Zs. "Oh, dear me, what kind of host have I been? Would anyone care for some chocolate?" Zane asked, deviously. "The effect is temporary, but the more they eat, the longer it lasts." Zane pulled the lever again, opening a door that spewed out hundreds of thousands of chocolate candies.
"Then no more chocolate for them! Slam, Rev, time for a little candy run!" Ace told them. Slam then activated Tornado Mode and started spinning around some of the chocolates, gathering them in the tornado. As for Rev, he used his super speed to grab as many chocolates as he could and then speed out of the lab. After two tries, Ace yelled, "Duck, the control box!" "What about it? Oh right!" Duck then activated an orb, and threw it at Zane, knocking the control out of his hands. Duck then grabbed it while Zane was distracted. Just then, Zozo fell out of Lexi's pocket and started heading towards the chocolate. "Zozo!" Gumball and Wonderfluff did the same. "Gumball, come back!" "Wonderfluff, no!" Jeanine and Duck yelled. The three Fuz-Zs began munching. Zane had gotten the orb remains off him, and lunged at Duck for the controller. Unfortunately, Zozo, Gumball and Wonderfluff had transformed. One spider grabbed Lexi, but Tech used his magnetism to tie the spider's legs together with metal. The spider began to fall on Duck and Zane, but they moved out of the way in the nick of time. Zozo then grabbed Lexi and Tech. Thankfully, Jeanine spotted them and used her flexibility to knock Zozo out, making her drop Lexi and Tech.
Meanwhile, Ace had knocked the remote out of Zane's hands. But before he could activate it, a spider monster grabbed him and made him drop the remote. Zane started running towards the remote. But, Ace wasn't gonna let that happen. "Not so fast, Zaney!" Ace used his laser vision on Zane, causing the professor to slip and fall. Ace then managed to free himself from the mutant spider. He then took the remote, and gained control of the Fuz-Zs. "No snacking, guys. You'll spoil your dinner!" Ace told the spiders. "My babies!" Zane whined. Later, as punishment for causing the Fuz-Z mayhem, Professor Zane was sent to Acmetropolis in a cell all by himself. Well, he got what he deserved.
The Loonatics gathered up all the Fuz-Zs and returned them to their home. Eventually, the time came for Lexi, Duck and Jeanine to say goodbye to Zozo, Wonderfluff and Gumball. "Time to go." Lexi said. Zozo began to cry. "Aw, come on. You'll be much happier there. No deranged scientist to mess with you and no chocolate, let's hope." Lexi told Zozo. "I salute you. You've been a brave soldier, Wonderfluff. I also fear you, but let's not go there now." Duck told Wonderfluff. "Well, Gumball. I guess this is goodbye. But, I wanna give you a little gift." Jeanine pulled a small headband with bat wings on it, and put it on Gumball. "There. Now, you'll always be my sweet monstrous little hampire." Gumball smiled and cuddled with Jeanine one last time. The three then let go of their Fuz-Zs. Tech then activated his communicator and Zadavia's hologram appeared. "Congratulations, Loonatics. Thanks to your efforts, Professor Zane's nefarious operation has been shut down. Take the rest of the day off. You deserve it. Zadavia out." Her hologram then disappeared. "You know, Fuz-Zs are so over. I've already moved on to the next big thing: take a look at this!" Duck said as he pulled out a small box of toys. "A little what?" Lexi asked. "Oh, a little hamster playhouse." Ace said. "No, a little flea circus." Duck corrected. "I don't see any fleas. Also, why is there a hole in the box?" Jeanine asked. "Well, I'm not sure, toots. Where are the fleas?" Duck asked. It turned out they were munching on his feathers and skin. Duck yowled when he felt a flea bite him. "I think I found them!" Duck then began scratching his butt in pain. Everyone found it funny, except Duck.
Later, Jeanine turned on her laptop and accessed Anya for their daily video chat. Anya looked a bit sad. "Hey, Ans. What's up?" Jeanine asked. "Oh, nothing. I'm sad that all the Fuz-Zs are gone. I got one too, and I named her Skystar. The weird thing though was that she went missing two days after I got her." Anya said. "Weird." "Yeah, I know. How was work today?" Anya asked. "Good! I had to say goodbye to my Fuz-Z too. I miss Gumball already. But, the fight against Professor Zane was so exhilarating. While we were fighting Lexi's, Duck's and my Fuz-Z on a bridge, Gumball was about to eat Ace. But, I managed to knock her out with a giant punch to the face." Jeanine explained. Anya lightly grimaced, but then went back to smiling. "Well, that sounds like something that could go in a romance novel." Anya said. "I know. Speaking of which, can you keep a secret?" Jeanine asked. "Yeah. Apart from when you peed on yourself in daycare." Anya said before she burst into laughter. Jeanine frowned and said, "Girl. Not funny." Anya then said, "Sorry. I just can't help myself. Now, what is it you gotta tell me?" "Well, there's someone I've liked for a while." Jeanine started saying. "Yeah, go on." "Well, he's eighteen and he's really kind, funny and smart." "Cool. Where does he live? Is he foreign?" "No, he lives in Acmetropolis." "Okay, what's his name?" Anya asked. Jeanine knew this could hurt Anya, so she tried putting it the gentlest she could. "Well, um, he's..." Jeanine started to say. "He's... who?" Anya asked. Jeanine took a deep breath. "Well, he's... he's Ace." Jeanine said. Anya looked shocked. "Really?" she said. Jeanine nodded. "Yes, really. Look, I know you like him, but I do too. Is that okay with you?" Jeanine asked. "Yeah." Anya smiled, but it didn't sound like she was happy. Jeanine then tried to break the mood. "So, how's it been at home?" Jeanine asked. "It's been..." Just then, Anya yelled and started grabbing onto her head. "Anya, what's wrong?!" Jeanine asked. "I don't know. My head just burns all of a sudden. It's like someone stuck an arrow through it." Anya said in pain. "Well, if you don't feel well, maybe you should hang up. We'll talk later." "Ok, bye. Ow!" Anya said as she hung up. Jeanine thought that was weird. Why did Anya have that headache right after Jeanine told her about her feelings for Ace? She didn't know. So, she just watched Mercury Lewis to get her mind off the situation, but it stayed on her mind for that whole day.
Note: Hey guys! Great to see you! I know you might be wondering about Anya. Don't worry, there'll be an explanation for the headache soon. Also, Mercury Lewis references could appear later on during the fanfic. I hope you like my adaptation of Attack of the Fuzz Balls! Next up will be the Cloak of Black Velvet. There's one big announcement I'd like to make. There's gonna be a Loonatics Rise spinoff series coming soon. It'll be called Loonatic Villains. It'll focus on villain backstories, and what inspired them to become bad guys. The first issue will focus on Professor Zane. Hope you enjoy it just as much as Loonatics Rise. Also, note that Loonatics Unleashed does NOT belong to me. If it did, people would still be talking about it today. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hope you enjoy the first chapter of Loonatic Villains!