Yo dudes, sorry it took so long to post this, I've been crazy busy the last few days. You knowhow with a roller coaster you're just sitting there and then you start to slowly move forward or shoot forward (depending on the ride)? Well, that's how my life is going right now so please bear with me for a while. I'll get a schedule going so you're not sitting on pins and needles for my next post…though you're probably not doing that anyhow so in that case just ignore that last part XD

One thing before you continue with the story though. This was originally made to be centered around Lexi, and after reading this chapter you'll understand why. But I never ment to place it under her name because I wanted this to be accessible to the people who read my first story, "My Name is Fear", and I wanted to make it easy for them to find and all that. So if the jump from Lexi to Duck is confusing…yeah, that's why I did it. Over all, the trilogy is a Duck centered story, but each book focuses on different characters…last one was Duck, this one Lexi, and next is looking like it'll be…I don't know yet lol but anyhow, I'm supper tired and it's like midnight and I have no idea what I'm saying anymore and so…yeah…enjoy the chapter and R&R!

Chapter 4: When it rains it poors

Black eyes glared at them through a wire mesh window.

"I will get my paws on that little birdy one of these days." The cat promised through gritted teeth.

"You keep telling yourself that." Said Duckk, smirking at the pussy cat in the kitty kennel they were using to take him away. Sylth Vester hissed.

"Duck, stop annoying the bad guy." Tech scolded. "We really don't need anyone else after us right now."

"Hey, Duck, you wanna hit the mall? I hear there's a sale." Lexi prompted as she and Duck landed back into the hanger at HQ.

They had just gotten back with the others. Silth Vester had been attempting to get his paws on Prince Tweetums, again, and the Loonatics had to protect him,again. Duck especially was called for seeing as how he was Sir Duck. As much as he loved being more important than Ace, Duck had to admit that being a knight under that pesky prince wasn't the way he imagined things to be if he ever got that honor. The tiny bird was annoying, intrusive, and had as much common sense as a sack of bird seed…which is probably why he grew on Duck after the initial shock wore off.

"Sure, I heard the new SB5 is out." He said, refering to the latest Sonic Boo Music Player.

"Cool." She said as Ace rolled his eyes. For the life of him, he couldnt understand why his best friend needed to keep buying the hottest, latest gadgets. Especially seeing as how he needed Tech's help the majority of the time to figure out how they worked.

"Rev, Slam, you guys in?" she asked, turning to them as they climbed out of the ship. Slam nodded but Rev shook his head.

"Tech and I have a dinner with my parents tonight."

"Wow, have you finally let 'em in on the two of you?" she asked. A quick, nervous look between the two Loonatics told her they hadn't. "You guys, they're gonna find out sooner or later." She scolded.

"Rip knows and he's been trying to help us break the news. We were planning on telling them tonight." Tech said. "But…you know how delicate the situation is, Lexi. Whith their 'coyote issues', his parents more or less hate me."

"No-they-don't." Rev said with an exasperated sigh. "They-just…just-need-to-get-to-know-you-is-all." He smiled reassuringly at his boyfriend.

"Glad to see one of us is still trapped in optimistic fantasy." Tech mumbled. "Come on, we have to get ready if we're gonna make it." He walked off, Rev following him still trying to convince him that his parent's weren't mortally petrified of him.

"Good luck!" Ace called after them. He leaned over and kissed Lexi on the cheek. "I'm off ta take a nap, I'm beat." He said as he walked out as well. He gave Duck a playful punch on the arm. "Catcha lat'a, man."

The other three grabbed their jet packs and took to the skies.

A week had passed since they had gotten the news of Mastermind, Sypher and Massive's return. None of them were going anywhere alone, but nothing had happened yet either. They were starting to feel that they might be in the clear after all and that they were worrying for nothing.

"Hey, Lexi, why is that guy staring at you?" Duck asked as they got smoothies from a vender in the food court. They were about ready to leave for the day, the sun was low in the sky and most of the stores were closing. Lexi looked over her shoulder and felt her heart stop.

"How long as he been there?" she whispered, her whole body turning numb with fear.

Duck turned to look at the man. He was older, maybe in his late 40's or so. A mop of greying blonde hair fell to his shoulders, thin whispy bangs falling in his watery blue eyes. A scruffy bierd and mustache made him look unclean and older than he was. He was short, wore jeans, boots, and a black t under a dirty grey zip up sweat shirt. He gave Duck the creeps.

"I noticed him earlier, when we were in Sync, and then again whenwe we went to La Mar." he whispered back. Slam glared over at the stranger.

"(He followed us in when we first got here.)" he said. "(Who is he? You want me to toss him out?)"

Lexi shook her head, not even smiling at Slam's offer. "Let's just go." She said, tossing her smoothie into the nearest trash can. "Duck, when we get out of here, quack us somewhere as far as you can."

Duck looked confused. "Why?"

"So he can't follow us." She said matter-a-factly.

"Oh." Comprehension hit him and he nodded.

Rev sulked in the pasanger seat of Tech's car.

"Rev, I'm sorry, but that was torture." Tech said softly. They were driving home. The dinner had not gone well.

"I-know-my-parents-are-old-fassioned,-but-they-wou ldn't-even-listen." Rev sighed. "How-are-we-going-to-tell-them-when-Mom's-hell-ben t-on-setting-me-up-with-the-daughters-of-her-quilt ing-pals?"

"Well, I could've handled your mom if your dad hadn't been giving me the evil eye all night. If Rip hadn't sat on the other side of me I think your old man would've skinned me right there and then and you all would've enjoyed a nice coyote casserole."

"No-we-would'nt-of,-Tech,-my-family's-vegitarians. -would've-just-given-you-to-the-neighbor's-dog-as- a-chew-toy." Rev said comfortingly.

"Your family is really twisted." Tech said, shaking his head.

Tech and Rev started walking up to the living room, expecting to let Lexi know that they had failed, again. But they hadn't gotten to the door when they heard loud voices coming from behind it. Tech grabbed Rev's arm and yanked him to a stop. He gestered to him to go on the other side of the door. The two stood with their shoulders to the wall, Tech taking his blaster out from under his black suit jacket and Rev taking his out from under his red pollo glanced at Rev,a nervous glint in his caramel eyes. Rev nodded atTech to go ahead and the two of them burst through the door, guns at the ready.

The room froze.

Ace, Duck and Slam were holding out their own blasters, Lexi was trying to point her's over Ace's shoulder but he kept pushing her back. Tech and Rev scanned the room before realizing that their team was the only living thing there.

"What the hell are you doing?" Duck asked, not lowering his gun.

"We-heard-voices." Rev explained, not lowering his own weapon. "Loud-ones."

"We thought you guys were in trouble." Tech expanded.

"Why da ya have ya guns out?" Ace asked, not moving.

"We just told you, Chief, we thought you were in trouble. Why do you have your's out?" Tech asked.

"Because ya have ya's out ready ta blast us ta Kingdom Come."

"This is stupid." Said Lexi, finally breaking free from Ace and stepping out from behind him. She holstered her blaster and at last so did the boys.

"Why were you guys yelling? You scared Rev and I to death." Scowled Tech as he smoothed his black tie down. He looked over at Rev who was twisting the end of his shirt.

"Yeah-we-thought-the-Evil-Kenevil-gang-finally-dec ided-an-attack-or-something." He said nervously. "What-were-we-supposed-to-think?"

"They didn't, but someone else did." Growled Ace. He slammed his blaster onto the table and sat down heavily on the coutch. "Tell 'em, Lex."

"I was followed by a guy at the mall. … He's my step father." She wasn't looking at any of them.

She and the two boys had just gotten back and Duck told Ace about the man stocking Lexi. When Ace asked Lexi if she knew him, all she said was 'Him'. Duck had described the man and Lexi's reaction. Ace had figured it out and it was his outburst that Tech and Rev had heard.

Lexi continued to stare at the rug. She had let Ace in on her past, but she really didn't want the others to be in on it as well. She hadn't even really remembered it till the creeps had injected her with that damn fear syrum. Now, she was finding it hard to forget it again. She hated herself for being this weak, but he had been the very last person she'd expect to run into at the mall. Why had he been there? As long as she'd known Mason Dale he never went to the mall. He never went anywhere unless it was a bar, liquar store, and occasionally work. Of corse when he was out and about, he made sure he was the perfect image of the loving father and husband. Today had been the first time she saw him out in public looking as he usually did at home. She would've bet her powers though that if he had spoken to her he would've had that same damn charm that makes it easy to believe he was a saint. She would've perfered Massive over her step father. She lifted her gaze. They were all staring at her, waiting for her to explain why she was so afraid.

"Anyways, he didn't even say anything so it's not that important." She smiled at them all and then turned to Tech and Rev. "So how was dinner?"

"Uneventful." Tech said. "His parents wouldn't let us get a word in edge wise. Stop avoiding the situation at hand." He glared at her and she felt her face burn. Tech, out of all of the men she had ever met in her life, had been the best father figure she'd ever had. He was only two years older than her, but most times it seemed more like twenty. How could she explain to him of all people what that monster had done to her? She stared hard at him, tears filling her eyes before she could stop them. She wanted him to just know. Be the true father she never had and just know what had happened. She wanted him to be able to read it in her eyes. He stared back, trying to understand what it was she was trying to say. A dim light went off. "Rev, take Slam and Duck and double check the security system. I have a feeling that we need to start being exta careful." He didn't think there was really any need to do this, but he wanted those three out of the room while he spoke with Lexi. He figured Ace already knew so he wasn't going to ask him to leave, but Lexi might. She didn't.

When the other three were finally out, after a few protests and confused looks, Tech walked over and gently sat Lexi down next to Ace who wrapped a protective arm around her.

"He hurt you, didn't he." Techstated, squatting down infront of her so he was looking up at her tear soaked face. She nodded.

"Bastard beat and raped her everyday since she was little till she graduated highschool." Ace snarled through gritted teeth.

Tech stared, dumb founded. He knew that pedifiles would only go for prepubescent kids, it was rare, really rare for a predator to keep at it once puberty hit.

"He'd only do it when he was drunk and he'd either hit my mom so hard she passed out or if he couldn't quite finish with her." Lexi wasn't sobbing, though tears still slid down her face. "So, it wasn't literally every night, but it felt like it."

Tech felt a serge of hate rise up in him. Lexi was so strong, so much like one of the guys, that if it wasn't for her tears and the look on Ace's face, he wouldn't believe she was so venerable inside. She was his number one fan right after Rev. She always was interested in his latest inventions even if she didn't understand half of what he said. She had been the first one, aside from Zadavia, that tried to help him make the adjustment after joining the team. There were times where she was like his little sister and other times where he felt more like a father to her. He felt like that with most of the team. This was one of those times where some parental instinct was being tapped into. He wanted to crush this guys head in and then tear his throat out if the pain didn't kill him first. He mentally shook that desire out of his head and rose to the coutch and sat on the other side of her.

There Lexi sat, her boyfriend on one side, the closest thing to a father she would ever have on the other.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Tech asked her.

"When I left home after high school." She whispered. "It wouldn't have been so bad if Duck and Slam hadn't said they had seen him following us all over the mall. They hadn't really noticed till Duck pointed him out. He was staring right at me, not saying anything, just staring." She shivered. "I knew that look. He hadn't wanted me to leave. He hadn't wanted me to leave but I had to. I couldn't let him keep doing that to me…he wants me to go back to him. I saw it in his eyes. He found me and now he's going to try and take me, I know it." She was talking almost as fast as Rev, her words starting to stumble over each other as she hugged herself as tightly as she could. Ace and Tech looked ateach other over her head. They came to a silent agreement.

"From now on," Tech said firmly.

"ya don't go anywhere 'less one a us is wi't ya." Ace finished.

"I wanna know how he found me." Lexi asked, starting to feel a cold chill run through her. "It's been five years."

"I don't know. But we wont let him do anything, we sware." Tech wrapped his own arm around her, noticing as he did so that she was shivering. "Lexi, look at me." He said gently. She didn't move.

"Lex?" Ace asked. Tech removed his arm and slid down in front of her again so he could look at her. Her eyes were distant and unresponsive, she had gone into shock.

"Tech, is she okay?" Ace asked, concern rising in his voice ands slowly turning into panic. That wouldn't help. She was already clammy and her breathing was starting to gain speed and become shallow. Tech needed to act now before it got serious.

"She's fine, Ace, calm down." He rose and pulled his jacket off. He wrapped it securely around her before he lifted her in his arms. "I'll go lay her down, she's in shock but it's not too bad, and it won't be as long as she's in a calm surrounding. She'll be fine." He made sure she wasn't going to fall, one arm around her soulders and the other under her knees; her head rested on his chest, eyes continuously wide and distant.

Tech carried her to her room and tucked her into her bed. He gently removed her mask,boots, gloves and untied her hair ribbon.

"Calm down, Lexi, you're safe." He whispered, looking lovingly down at her. He pushed an extra pillow under her knees,gently removed his jacket, and drew the covers up a little more snug around her still shaking shoulders. He turned to leave her to getsome rest but something grabbed his arm. He looked around and saw that she had reached out, a distant look still in her green eyes, silent tears still falling down her already soaked face.

"Please…" She whispered, the word stuttering as it came out. He turned back around and grabbed the chair from her small desk. A pink, pass-word incripted journal lay on top of the smooth metal, a glitter pen sitting on top of it. He sat by her side, holding her hand. She kept talking to him, unaware of exactly what she was saying but knowing for some reason she had to tell him more. She talked until she drifted off to sleep, her breathing calming down as she sank further into the dream world.

Fifteen minutes later, Tech walked back out to the living room,is white sleeves rolled up to the elbows, tie at half mass and his jacket over one arm. He saw the other three sitting with Ace looking grim. Ace hadn't given them any details, just that Lexi's step father was a bastard and that Lexi was fine, just needed to get some rest; that seeing her step father after five years had just been a huge shock. He also made it clear that under no circumstance's should she go out without Tech or himself accompanying her. No one argued. They were all too worried about Lexi to argue. Now, they turned their concerned filled gazes to Tech.

"She's asleep, for now. But this isn't over. And she did have a valid question. How did that son of a bitch find her? She even went under a legal name change to avoid him."

"She did?" asked Duck, looking shocked. Tech and Ace nodded.

"She just told me before she passed out. Her real name is Hana Alexis Dale, but to keep that creep from following her around, she just started going by Lexi Bunny. Bunny isn't an uncommon name, just look at Ace, how likely is it that two team members who never met before the meteor struck would have the same last name and not be related? but yeah, she's gone through a lot to disappear." Tech sighed, walking over and sitting next to Rev who put his head on his shoulder as Tech rubbed his arm absentmindedly.

"She'll be okay though, right?" Duck asked, looking uncertain, like a little kid who just heard that one of his parent's was sick.

"Course." Ace sighed. "Ya know how strong she is, Duck. Mememb'a d'at poor sap who tried ta 'hook up' wi't her last year 'n could'nt take no for 'n ans'a? I bet ya any'tin d'at he still has a headache. She scared me d'at day." He laughed softly. "Naw, Lex can take care a herself."

Tech didn't say anything but he knew, and suspected Ace knew too, that this time it was different. Lexi could physically handle herself, they've all seen it first hand, but in this case her mental state is crushed. He knew that when it came to Dale, she still felt as powerless as she did when she was a kid. That was the kind of control predator's had on their victems…until their victems spoke out against them that was. He knew that now she finally came forward she would get better and really start to heal from it…but until that day came she was going to be like putty in his hands whenever he so much as looks at her. On top of the other three after them, this was the last thing she needed going on right now. He sat there in the living room with the others, not saying another word, until dawn the next morning, waiting for Lexi to bounce out of bed, dancing to her music as always and asking what was for breakfast. She didn't.

Ever wonder how butterflies got their name? Seriously…I mean I can understand the 'fly' part…but butter isn't colorful or graceful or anything like butterflies…weird…wait, end of chapter right XD told you I was beat…anyways…

I feel so bad for Lexi ;-; she doesn't deserve that…but Tech's SOOO sweet in this chapter, no? Let me know how ya liked it and see what drama takes place next…trust me…this story is JUST STARTING to twist and turn…it makes my head spin lol not good seeing as how I'm the one writing it ;D