Loonatics: United
Episode 30: Demise
Tech and Susan were doing the last adjustments to the wave cannon they had been working on as Ace and Lexi were in front of them just watching, Tech walked away from the machine then returned carrying a pilot seat, he put the black colored seat on the floor and Susan lifted it to attach it to the motorized cannon, it was a capsule shaped vehicle with black, mate paint and large, purple lines designing its sides. As Susan finished soldering the seat to the vehicle, it had now space for two people, they had already installed one of the two seats the cannon needed.
"How does it work?" Ace asked while glancing at the vehicle with a subtle look of admiration, the mate paint over the metallic surface was something he certainly found pretty garish.
"With Lexi's abilities and the actual status of your mind, these helmets will act in conjunction with the vehicle to generate a charge that you will shoot towards her once ready, if my theory is correct, that would fill her mind with such mental burden she'll find it hard to recover from that attack." Tech explained after taking a pair of shiny, black helmets from the floor.
Ace nodded as Tech handed him his helmet. "How many chances do we have?" He said while studying the device.
"As long as Lexi keeps firing her brain blast in the helmet, the cannon will have enough charge to do a plenty of tries." Tech explained then looked at Susan to confirm the work status, she nodded while pressing a red button over a remote she held, the vehicle started to float over the lab's floor, emitting a dim, purple light from its bottom.
"I'll do whatever is necessary." Lexi expressed then she put on her helmet, which let her ears to come out and only her eyes could be seen through the face shield.
They had moved the vehicle to the hangar, the outer gates were opened, ready to let the team go. Ace got near the weaponized vehicle. "We can't afford to lose more time." He put on the helmet carefully and placed a hand on the vehicle's surface.
"You'll pilot, Ace, but with the helmet you are also providing the weapon your actual mental structure, that's why we need you to maintain stability so the charges can stay harmful for her." Tech advised, then crouched slightly to teach Ace the basics of the wave cannon as his boss sat down in the vehicle's seat. "The steering wheel is designed to make precise movements, down there you got a pedal that activates with immediate contact, I made sure to make this machine as intuitive as possible." Tech explained then walked a few steps away from the vehicle, Lexi sat down in her respective seat next to Ace's, Susan then pressed another button on the remote and the vehicle's only window closed automatically.
Ace looked at Tech through the window. "Thanks, back us up as soon as you arrive at the stadium." His voice sounded rather distorted by the helmet's mouth vent.
"Don't worry, we'll be there, I'll inform you when we deactivate the field so you can get in." Tech responded.
Ace nodded. "Do it fast, Tech, see you there." He didn't hesitate to push the pedal and make the vehicle move fast towards the exit through the stored machinery. He and Lexi got out of the hangar with a young sunset in their sight.
Tech turned around to look at the others. "Now it's our turn, we'll reconfigure the magnifiers to establish their original settings then I'll take Jack with me, once that is done you´ll rush to the stadium, understood?"
"How do we counter attack her when we arrive?" Rev asked.
"Yeah, Lexi will be inside the cannon and our bracelets are out of charges." Duck added.
Tech scratched his chin while briefly walking in circles. "They won't be necessary, we'll use them just as protection, the best we can do there is to distract her." He looked at Rev and Duck. "Have you practiced the energy halo?"
"I think is ready, we have spent hours trying to perfect it." Rev responded.
Tech smirked confidently. "Then that will do, and be careful with your leg, Duck." He turned his gaze to Slam. "I'm counting on those punches of yours." Slam growled cockily at his comment. "Great." He looked at his girlfriend and walked towards her. "Could you give me a moment?" He asked his teammates, who nodded at him then gave them some more space.
"Listen, Susan, if I don't get…" Tech got interrupted by a sudden kiss of hers.
Susan smiled at him. "You'll be fine, I know you so well to even doubt of it."
Tech grinned. "I hope so, but if things go wrong anyways, hide on the lab's panic room, I beg you to do it, that woman is dangerous."
Susan lowered her head for a moment then nodded and looked at him as she understood his worries. "I will."
Tech smiled again then he hugged her. Their embrace lasted for a brief moment then he slowly broke the hug. He looked again at his comrades. "Let's jet, boys."
Ace lowered the steering wheel to get the cannon and themselves next to the active field that surrounded the stadium. "We are here, Tech, I'll wait for your signal." Ace said, the helmet had a direct connection to his suit's comm.
"Hold on, boss." Tech said from the other side of the line. "Just one more minute."
"Understood." Ace responded then he looked at Lexi. "Are you ready?"
Lexi looked him back. "You know I am." She turned her gaze to the front and started to focus on her ability.
Ace hesitated to keep speaking, he then found courage to do so. "I am sorry, the things I did and said." He sighed. "They weren't…"
"I know, Ace." Lexi took his hand. "I know." She gave him a look of empathy.
The field suddenly started to deactivate, it's spherical form was slowly disintegrating until it disappeared. Ace received a transmission from his comm. "Boss, it's done." Tech had recovered Jack from above the field with the help of his jetpack.
"Good job, we are getting in." Ace pushed the pedal and began to move the vehicle towards the stadium's inside, they went through Mourn's purple sphere and she noticed them immediately, letting out a scream of agony. They were still holding each other's hand, Ace interlaced his fingers with hers and tightened his grip as fear started to invade him. Mourn threw a dark wave towards the vehicle but Ace managed to evade it as he moved the steering wheel with his other hand to the right. "Lexi, it's our turn."
Lexi closed her eyes and started to shoot her power inside the helmet, then the vehicle's tip started to glow pink, Ace noticed it and started to look for the steering wheel's fire button with his thumb, he then felt it and pushed it hard when he aimed the vehicle at Mourn then a huge, pink charge went out of the cannon-vehicle and it hit her with strength. She cried out loud as she was thrown by the force of the attack, she landed heavily on the holo-field, her outside started to open and show the young female fox Tech had seen before.
"No, she is mine, I am her!" Mourn said with a voice of struggle as she tried to get up.
Ace gasped. "Did you see that?"
"She is just a girl, she is like, inside of her." Lexi stated. "She is a hostage."
Ace looked through the window and looked at the people who were suffering under Mourn's mental attacks. "So them."
As Mourn got into her feet, she tried to start floating again but was suddenly hit by an energy sphere, which sent her again to the field's holographic surface. Duck teleported from where he was flying with his jetpack to the field. He appeared in front of Mourn then took a few steps backwards. "Rev! It's time!"
Rev landed on the other side of the field then started to run in circles around her, caging her on an opaque, red blur. "Duck, throw'em now, she is starting to recover!" Rev ran away from the phenomenon he had created around Mourn then Duck started to throw spheres to it, the red blur started to change its color as the spheres mixed with it, Mourn was inside of the blur looking at her sides with desperation, she was too weak to throw a wave to destroy it so the blur suddenly collapsed and made explosion, damaging Mourn badly.
The colorful and powerful phenomenon had vanished, but Mourn was still there, on her knees, holding herself with both hands on the blue surface, gasping and looking at them. "She is not going…" Mourn's head opened slightly and revealed again the young girl inside her. "Back." Mourn said as her head rejoined.
Slam growled and jumped towards her then punched the holo-field heavily with his fist, making her to scream and land a few meters away from him.
"Be careful!" Tech stated as he hovered over the situation with cautious eyes.
"You!" Mourn got into her feet again. "You are not rival for me!" She started to form a purple sphere between the palms of her hands.
"Again, Lexi!" Ace commanded while pointing the vehicle towards Mourn, then Lexi used her power again and the cannon got recharged, Ace didn't wait more to shoot the charge towards her, it hit her stronger than the last time and sent her to a wall which immediately broke with the impact, Mourn fell to the ground again, she lifted her arm as she laid there, which started to open and reveal an orange furred arm, with its hand pleading for help.
Tech headed towards her rapidly, impulsed by his jetpack, he then took the girl's hand as he got his feet on the field. "You can do it, come on." He started to pull her, making the young female fox to come out of the dark skin that had been covering her, he managed to see her face. "It's okay, just look at me." The girl got her other hand out of her previous form and took Tech's arm, Tech started to take several steps backwards to get her completely out of the obscure body, which was trying to stop him from doing so as it was pulling the girl's shoe with struggle, Tech gasped as he gave a final pull, getting the girl completely out of Mourn's body, which then just stopped moving. They both ended on the ground, Tech and the girl then lifted their backs slowly. "It's over." Tech looked at the girl. "She is gone."
She had black lipstick, her hair was black and she had a long fringe covering one of her eyes, she was wearing a black dress and her right ear had a piercing on it. She looked perturbed and had her gaze locked on the remains of Mourn. She suddenly felt a hand patting her shoulder then looked at Tech who was smiling at her. "How?" She said with a broken voice. "Is this, true? Am I free?"
"You are free now." Tech started to stand up while helping her to do so. As they both got into their feet, they noticed that the people around them in the stadium started to get back to normal.
The young fox gave him a thankful look. "I am Praise, not Mourn, not that monster, I'm Praise Padmore." She smiled with a tear on the corner of her eye.
"It's a pleasure, Praise, I am Tech." He extended her hand but Praise hugged him with no warning.
"Thank you, thank you very much." Praise said with a lump on her throat.
"It's nothing." Tech said reassuringly, after a moment, they broke the hug. He looked at his comrades, who were looking at him with pride. "Back to the HQ."
The night had come. On the HQ's lounge, Praise, Susan and the Loonatics were sitting on the lounge's couches, listening the young girl's story. "I was in my house, well, if you could actually call that hole a house, I had an agreement with my parents, they started to fight and yell, I couldn't take it anymore and locked myself inside of my room, then everything went dark and my house got destroyed, they died but somehow I survived, I know I woke up years later but I had already turned into her, that monster, I, she, we, I don't know, I remember we were seeing my destroyed home after we got out of the rubble a few days ago, with satisfaction, with pleasure, knowing they were both dead."
"The meteor." Ace said. "It was the same thing that gave us our abilities, it affected everyone, Praise, one way or another."
"I guess no one noticed the ones who lived on the marginated zone, I don't know why it took me so long to wake up." Praise said.
"Maybe she, or that thing was like in some kind of gestation phase, I'm sorry how old are you?" Rev asked.
"By this time I should be much more older but, she kept me young, like the day of the incident years ago, so I guess I am still twenty." Praise said.
"Intriguing." Rev replied. "I didn't think we would ever find another one affected by the meteor.
Ace sighed. "Well the important thing now is that is over." Ace stood up. "Tell me, have you got family? Uncles, or something?"
"My parents were my only family." Praise let out a subtle chuckle. "I'm glad they are gone."
Ace showed a look of concern. "Don't worry, I, I will contact some friends who could help you."
"What about the black mass we left at the stadium?" Duck said.
"Hill will keep it safe on The Eye's base." Tech responded. "They've taken care of that already."
Susan took Praise's hand as she was sitting next to her. "Things will change for the better, you'll see." She said in a reassuring tone.
Praise had her gaze on the window, she sighed then looked at her. "I hope so."
Ace was in the kitchen, with his comm facing his snout, waiting for a response. "Active Risk Management, what can we do for you?" A male voice responded.
"Matt, hey, it's Ace, I need a favor, you don't have to do it if you don't want to but." Ace sighed. "It would be of great help."
The next day, on the offices of A.R.M., Matt and Anne's security company, Matt was sitting on an executive chair in front of a large desktop inside of the main office, its walls were plain white and had a few plants decorating it, Matt had his legs stretched and both hands behind his neck. Anne opened the door behind him and entered the office. "How is she doing?" Matt asked as she got next to him.
Anne sighed. "It's hard for her, but I think she'll get by soon, I told her to work on the map designs of the city, she's got a notable talent for that."
Matt nodded and adopted a more formal posture on his seat. "She is young, that's all, Praise will be a great asset, I'm sure about that."
"I told you those extra rooms were a good idea." Anne stated.
Matt smirked. "You are always right, hon."
Someone knocked the door all of a sudden. "Come in!" Anne said, then a female, black furred cat opened the door and entered the office shyly. She wore a red sleeveless shirt and a pair of dark gray tights.
"Uhm, hi, I am here for the pilot job." The cat said with a soft tone.
"You are at the right place." Matt put both hands over the desktop. "First things first, what's your name."
The cat rubbed her arm gently. "Peyton." She looked at them with insecurity. "Peyton Pussycat."
Author´s note: I hope you enjoyed this phase of the saga, I can´t be grateful enough with you for the support you´ve shown to the story, you are awesome :D. I´d been planning to introduce Peyton for a while, you´ll see much more of her on the next chapter. Stay tuned to see what´s next for our heroes!