Loonatics: United

Episode 19: Magnanimous

The Ampere Theater was surrounded by several reflectors which were aiming their almost tangible light to the cloudy sky, making the complex even more visible against the already bright city of Acmetropolis in the wake of the night. The big holographic screen over the entrance advertised an event about science and technology, which was about to begin. The theater's inside was illuminated by glowing blue, little rivers which went all the way from the floor to the ceiling of the place, the seats in front of the glowing stage were black and semi-spherical, the theater's capacity was full. Tech made sure to get the places in the first line for him and his friends. "Isn't this exiting?" Tech asked with his gaze at the front.

"Oh sure, I don't have anything better to do than listening to another science freak like you in my Friday night." Duck crossed his arms.

Ace chuckled. "Come on Duck, he just wants to see his girlfriend."

Tech looked at him. "She is not my girlfriend! She is an old coworker and I find her work pretty interesting."

"Yeah? So what's her conference about?" Lexi asked.

"Uhm, you see, well, scientific stuff, complicated things you wouldn't understand." Tech turned his gaze back to the front, then he noticed them looking at him with a grin of mockery. "What?" He looked at them with a straight face. "Come on! I'm serious, we worked together that's all." His eyes widened as the lights dimmed while he saw the shadow of the scientist who was walking towards the front of the stage. "It's her; it's her! Shut up, now!" He mumbled warningly and then focused on the person that was now right in front of the stage, the lights over the stage got brighter and revealed the woman holding the microphone, she was a deer who wore a lab coat over a black dress and she was also wearing small glasses and high heels. She began to speak after the brief cheering that the audience gave. "Thank you, thank you very much to everyone, for the ones who don't know me, I'll introduce myself, my name is Susan Sanders, I am just here to give a slight introduction to this congress, which as you may know is about sustainable technology, something I am specialized in by the way, thanks to Acmetropolis' University, so that's basically why you got me here. Okay, something the majority of people tend to separate is in one side, the technology, research, whatever you want to call it, and in the other side is the nature, the biosphere, all of that stuff, well, let me tell you that this two things can coexist in total harmony, contrary to what most of the people believe, this can be simplified in one single concept, that nature doesn't have to adapt to our scientific discoveries, but vice-versa, we cannot deny technology, it is impossible as we are in constant evolution in that matter, since the beginning, but something we can actually do is to make our creations with a level of conscience that would permit us to interlace them with nature cohesively, the challenge is to discover how, but I believe Acmetropolis is still in time to solve that matter and follow this model." Susan chuckled. "I don't want to bore you more so, please, have a happy congress."

Susan went down the stairway next to the stage while the people applauded and the remaining lights of the theater went on. "Excuse me." Tech stood up and walked by the team to approach Susan on her path next to the seats. "Susan." Tech managed to get in front of her. "Amazing speech."

Susan's eyes widened and she moved her glasses a little bit as she was surprised at seeing him. "Tech? Hi! It's been ages!"

"Well, I wouldn't say it that way because that is technically not…" Susan's brief hug interrupted Tech's words.

"Same old Tech, I'm very glad to see you, I heard you became some sort of a hero." Susan said.

Tech smirked. "Sort of, certainly, but the credit is not all for me, it's been a six people job, actually."

"Amazing." Susan smiled. "Are they here?"

"Yes, they are over there." Tech pointed at his friends who had been glancing at their whole conversation without subtlety. They both walked towards them. "Team, this is Susan Sanders, an old, co-worker from the institute." All of them stood up from their seats.

"It's a pleasure, Ace Bunny." Ace shook her hand while the rest of them greeted her casually.

"The pleasure is mine." Susan replied.

"Tech talks a lot about you." Ace gazed at Tech with a grin.

Tech blushed a little bit. "Certainly your name could've come up in a few conversations we had about regular themes like previous work experiences, people, science, stuff like that."

"Interesting." Susan turned her gaze towards Tech and smirked at him. "So, all of you have powers?" She glanced back at the rest of the team.

"I prefer to call them, gifts, you know because we don't like to presume or anything like that, we have to be humble, like always." Duck responded.

Lexi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Duck? This morning you said that all the people of Acmetropolis should admire the greatness of your superior abilities."

Duck pretended to chuckle. "I was kidding, Lexi, looks like humor sense is an ability the meteor couldn't give you, unfortunately." He gasped as he felt the bump on the head that Lexi gave him. "Ouch!"

"Now that's funny." Lexi chuckled.

Suddenly, pieces of concrete started to rain over them as the place trembled, thick branches with leaves were breaking through the walls and the ceiling began to shatter. "Watch out!" Tech exclaimed as he pulled Susan to prevent a piece of ceiling from hitting her.

"I'll stop whatever those things are, the rest of you, protect the people!" Ace hurried to get below the group of branches that was getting in violently, he began to incinerate them with his laser vision, but he noticed that new branches were breaking through seconds after he did so. "I didn't plan to do gardening today."

"Get behind me!" Tech said to Susan, she followed his command, then Tech used his magnetic power to gather some of the theater's metal to create a little, improvised fortress over a group of citizens, he did it just in time to protect them from a huge piece of concrete that shattered as it hit the fortress' roof.

Duck was destroying more falling pieces of ceiling with his orbs. "Why do bad things have to start with a quake all the time?" He approached a group of people and held them, then he teleported along with them a few meters next to the point where a piece of concrete smashed the ground.

Slam did his tornado all over the theater and gathered more heavy rubble from the air and threw it outside of the complex.

Rev was pushing people out of dangerous spots with his speed as he avoided the branches that had managed to pass through the floor and the pieces of concrete that were still falling. "This would be my idea of fun if we were just playing a classic videogame at the arcade about falling rocks, are there still arcades in Acmetropolis? That would be nice and those things are kind of cheap, but I better concentrate because this is no game of course."

Lexi was next to Ace trying to uncover the emergency exit as she was destroying the branches that were blocking it with her brain blast, but she couldn't manage to open a way out as the branches grew exponentially. "What kind of fertilizer did these things have?"

"Not one of ACME's, I believe." Ace aimed his laser vision at Lexi's brain blast which was barely destroying the branches, a little sphere of heat formed briefly when their powers crossed and then it pulverized the branches. "Get out, fast!" Ace commanded and plenty of people began to exit towards the city from the temporary path that they had opened.

The ceiling had fallen completely, the people who were still among the Loonatics inside the ruins of the theater looked scared and unsettled as they saw a bear approaching the place, who was wearing a black armor with green and yellow, glowing lines over it and a strange, blue sphere attached to the zone of the chest, the bear was moving above all of them as he generated branches from the ground with rays that he shot from his gloves, those branches were helping him to stay and walk in the air as he controlled them to simulate a floor below his feet. The bear glanced down at the crowd. "People of Acmetropolis, fear do not, as your city shall be freed from its ancient burden." He exclaimed.

"You will be afraid when you know my fury! Whoever you are." Duck prepared a pair of orbs over his hands.

"Oh, I apologize, I am Magnus Maxfield, future savior of this planet." Magnus lowered the branches that were supporting him to get nearer to the crowd and the Loonatics. "Sorry about the, aggressive entrance, but I have always believed in direct messages."

Ace took a step at the front. "And what would that message be?"

Magnus began to hover around held by the branches he continuously generated with the rays of his gloves. "Industry, mechanization, growth, things this city stands for, nothing special compared to the places I've been in, but yet, remarkable, the steel defeated us, with no right to do so, and I've come to take back what was denied to us a long time ago."

"I hope you fight as good as you talk." Ace said as Slam thundered his fingers and growled.

Magnus sighed sarcastically. "Why do you people always recur to violence and aggression?"

"You started it, big guy." Lexi ran towards a branch that led to the top where Magnus was after she had jumped over a few pieces of rubble, she jumped and climbed over several branches as she shot her brain blast towards Magnus, but each time she tried he joined branches in the shape of a shield to cover from Lexi's attacks, Lexi was holding from a branch with one hand, Magnus didn't hesitate to hit her strongly with a huge branch, she gasped and fell after letting go off her support, then Slam caught her right on time.

Slam growled with worry while carrying her over his arms then he lowered her down gently.

"I'm fine Slam, thank you." Lexi laid over the ground. "Nothing a long nap can't fix." She tried to stand up but her arm ached. "Ouch!" She rubbed her arm. "And an analgesic."

Tech was throwing scraps of metal with his powers towards the huge trunk Magnus was standing over, but it was thick enough to resist the attacks. "A little help here!" Slam did his tornado all around the trunk then Rev ran at full speed towards it and punched it with no effect, Ace was shooting his laser vision at the center and Duck tried to teleport where Magnus but when he managed to get before him, Magnus hit him with a branch and while falling, Duck teleported to the ground with no major harm.

One truck from The Eye arrived with reinforcements, the three wolves that got down the vehicle stood before the structure below Magnus. "Alright, party's over, get down here right now if you want to face the gentle side of justice." The leader of the group said through a megaphone, then the three wolves who were backing him up got in position and aimed at Magnus with their weapons.

"I'll let you know the harsh side then." Magnus aimed his fist towards the spot where they were standing, and blue rays began to exit from his gloves to the ground, suddenly a group of sharp branches with spikes grew violently from below the soldiers and went through them, leaving them lifeless instantly.

The crowd started to run scared and horrified after seeing that scene, Ace and the rest had stopped trying to break into the trunk, Ace looked at them after he had contemplated the event. "Loonatics! Fall back!"

"What?!" Lexi questioned.

"But boss, we can face this…" Tech got interrupted.

"Fall back! Is an order!" Ace commanded and flew away with his jetpack.

"Tech, what is happening?!" Susan said with anguish.

"Just hold tight." Tech embraced her then activated his jetpack and left the place, he and the rest of the team followed Ace towards the tower.

Magnus grinned as he watched them flying away. "Your time has come, Acmetropolis."