Loonatics: United

Episode 49: Cataclysm (part 13)

While running through the long, dark hallway of the mothership, Tech noticed that the green lights at the sides of the ceiling were glowing stronger at each step they took. "We must be close." Tech sighed repeatedly as he was starting to get fatigued.

"How are you so sure?" Duck inquired, also having noticed the increased brightness of the hallway's lights. "It could be a trap, you can't always have all the answers just because you're a gen..." They both stopped hurrying when reaching a black door with technological, glowing green patterns on it, Tech aimed his hand at the recognition pad, activating his magnetic powers and turning it a bit, he manipulated the strange device and with a final twist, he managed to open the doors, which slided upwards quickly and revealed the control room, a huge cockpit with several consoles with big buttons over them. Tech smirked and looked at Duck, who frowned a bit and returned him the glance. "Just...don't say anything."

They entered the place and approached the frontal console with careful steps. Tech studied it with intrigued glances. "Interesting, their design is based solely on three-dimensional icons."

Duck raised an eyebrow, also looking at the big, odd buttons. "How is it remotely interesting?" He sighed and looked at Tech, "You're boring me already, you know?"

Tech ignored Duck's statements, he reached for one of the buttons and touched it. "Not only that." He reached for another couple of buttons, which were bigger than his hands. "These are too big for them."

Duck rolled up his eyes and crossed his arms. "So?" All of a sudden, the room began to tremble, and from several holes on the ceiling, the walls and the floor, scaly tentacles with claws exited and tried to reach for the two Loonatics.

Tech gasped. "Look out!"

"Got it!" Duck readied an orb and threw it at the tentacle that was about to catch him, making it to back away a bit.

"It must be the leader!" Tech said.

Suddenly, inside a big, transparent tube in the middle of the control room, which was connected to the ceiling and the floor, the face of a reptile, with pointy features and a golden crown appeared in holographic form. "Indeed." The deep voice sounded loudly inside the control room. "Behold, Zer-Urax, king of the Seliptir! King of the planets! I shall take what is mine and I won't let you ruin the plans of my race!"

Tech put a straight face and raised his arms, pointing upwards. "Well, let me tell you something." He readied his powers. "You should look elsewhere..." He manipulated the control room and started to clench his fists, bending the holes from where the tentacles were exiting, crushing them and making Zer-Urax to growl and groan with pain. "This planet is taken! Snake!" He kept squeezing the alien's tentacles, then he glared at his comrade. "Duck, look for the hostages!"

"This ship is immense! How am I gonna do it alone?" Duck complained.

Tech gasped as Zer-Urax was putting a bit of resistance. "There's no time for questions! Just do it!"

"What do you want me to do? Teleport to every single spot of the ship until I find them?!" Duck asked.

"You know the answer to that!" Tech moved his hands a bit forward while focusing on the holes around the tentacles.

Duck sighed. "Why do I always have to do the boring stuff?" He disappeared after a brief orange light.

Tech put his hands closer one from the other and with a scream of effort he lowered his arms and managed to almost close the holes entirely with the bents he did with his ability, forcing the alien's tentacles in. He knew that would only keep the creature busy for a while so he rapidly activated his comm. "Boss, we need help up here."

"Got it, Doc." Ace replied. "What's the matter?"

"We've found the leader, I've sent you the location. Duck is looking for the hostages." Tech responded.

"I'm glad to hear good news already." Ace stated. "Hold on, Lexi and I will join you soon." With that, Ace ended the communication and stood up from the couch, as he was in the lounge along with Lexi, Quentin and Peyton. "Come on, Lexi, Tech needs our help." Lexi stood up then he glared at Peyton. "Keep us updated about Heather's state, okay?" Peyton nodded. Quentin, who was sitting next to her, lowered his gaze even more, ashamed, thinking about the troubles he had caused to them, not being able to fully believe they were actually helping him and his girlfriend. Ace nodded and turned, then approached the wall next to the kitchen and opened the windows with the press of a button, then he activated his jetpack and exited the HQ followed by Lexi, en route to the mothership.

In the infirmary, the monitor in front of Rev displayed several types of data like energy lectures and processed information, he continuously switched his gaze from the monitor to Heather, who was now wearing a hospital gown, comparing the information showed on screen and the assumptions he could come up with while glancing her and the robotic arms that were just above her, ready for Rev to give the order through a command. "It will work." He looked at her for a longer moment, nodding slightly. "It will work."

Ace and Lexi approached the ship with their jetpacks and started to look for entrances, searching in opposite directions, flying under its black and golden surface. They then met back, rather frustrated. "Nothing." Ace expressed.

Lexi sighed. "Same, there's no way in."

Ace thought for a moment, studying the ship's design, still unable to find any possible entrances. "Then we'll have to make one."

Lexi nodded and readied her power, aiming upwards at the ship, same as Ace. "Ready?" Lexi asked.

Ace waited a bit, focusing his power, then nodded. "Ready!"

"Couple blast!" Lexi shot at the ship's surface along with Ace, the rays of their powers met right in the middle of their way and created a powerful beam that collided with the ship for a couple of seconds, then its strength and heat made a hole on that area, after a brief noise of destruction. They entered the ship, getting in a long hallway, Ace pressed a button on his wrist, maintaining his direction as the beeps and rumbles of the device in the cloth of his suit told him they were approaching Tech's location.

"Get ready, Lexi." Ace said. "We are getting cl..." He dodged a metal scrap that came flying from the control room, as the doors were open. "Woah!" He exclaimed and entered the control room, as well as Lexi, flying more slowly and glaring at Tech fighting with Zer-Urax, unsettled by the green, scaly tentacles that tried to crush him. "Doc! What is that?!" Ace inquired.

Tech kept throwing the alien screens, buttons and other metallic stuff he could control with his magnetic powers. He glanced at his boss briefly then returned his gaze to the tentacles. "Less questions!" He squeezed a pair of tentacles with a wire, Zer-Urax let out a scream of pain. "More action!" Tech turned his hands a bit, twisting the cable even more.

Lexi smirked. "With pleasure." She lowered herself down and deactivated her jetpack then activated her brain blast and began to shoot at several tentacles, incinerating them, increasing the alien's suffering. Ace was doing the same with his laser vision, having also gotten his feet on the floor, kicking some upcoming tentacles in the process, while Tech still attacked the alien with scraps and wires.

Slam was in the HQ, inside the lab's warehouse looking for the explosives, he had arrived with such hurry that he didn't notice that Rev was in the infirmary helping Heather out. When approaching the rack meant for weaponry, Slam reached for a huge, heavy toolbox that was at the top of the rack, lowering it with almost no effort. He opened the plastic box and found what he was looking for, enough bombs for the job, gray and flat, with a red led over their surface. He growled with a smirk and closed the box, carrying it and rapidly exiting the warehouse. Before he could reach the lab's door, he heard a scream, the one of a woman, which came from the infirmary. He lowered the box with explosives and rushed towards there to see what was going on. He entered the infirmary and growled with confusion when seeing Heather sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall, crying with hopelessness. Rev was standing in front of her, turning when hearing Slam's growl.

"What are you doing here?" Rev raised an eyebrow.

Slam growled again, stating he heard a scream, then he gasped when noticing Heather's robotic legs, fully metallic, with an accurate anatomic design.

Rev looked back at Heather, with an empathetic look. "She is in shock. It'll be hard for her to get by."

Slam was still very confused, growling with intrigue.

"Some time alone will do good to her." Rev replied, then he gestured at the infirmary's exit, walking by Slam, who then followed him.

Right when Slam and Rev got out of the infirmary, Quentin entered, running, with his sight on the infirmary. "Love!" He exclaimed worriedly.

Peyton entered after him, also rushing as she chased him. "Wait! You can't go there!"

Rev rapidly got in Quentin's way, leaving a red trace behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "She is okay, Quentin. She is fine." He turned back a bit then looked back at Quentin, who had a bit of relief in his eyes after hearing Rev's statement. "She is well, but she needs to rest."

Quentin's breathing slowed down, but was still full of worry. "What happened? I heard her scream."

Rev sighed. "When she woke up and noticed her new legs, she got very scared. She needs time to recover."

Quentin let out a subtle gasp. "New legs?"

"I did everything I could to save them but the damage was too high." Rev explained. Quentin lowered his head, walking away from Rev and getting in front of the table at the center, resting his hands over it. He hit the table with his clenched fists and started to cry in a deep, guilty silence.

Slam glanced at Peyton and approached her, growling with a smirk, thanking her for staying. He crouched a bit and kissed her.

Peyton smiled back at him and took his hand, she then glared towards the infirmary and gasped softly. "Rev." She pointed at the infirmary, from where Heather was exiting from, struggling to walk with her new legs.

Rev got on her way quickly. "Heather, no, you need to recover!"

Heather growled and pushed him. "What have you done to me?!" She said with a broken voice.

"He saved you." Quentin walked towards them, approaching his girlfriend. "You should be thankful." He glared at Rev, then back at Heather. "I know I am."

Heather was still upset and unsettled, frowning, with tears on the corners of her eyes. "Just look at me." She looked at her robotic legs. "I'm no longer myself."

Quentin got closer to her and put both hands on her face, then he rested his forehead on hers. "You're, sweetheart." He kissed her and began to cry again and hugged her. "I thought I had lost you forever."

Heather hugged him back. "My life is done, Quentin. It's all over now. I won't move on." They both broke the hug slowly, then Heather tried to take a step forward, almost losing balance. "Look." She looked at his eyes. "It's so difficult, to take a… a single step..." She sobbed.

"I'll be at your side, at every step you take." Quentin took her hand, then a confirmation sound came from the infirmary.

Rev ran fast towards there and returned with them. "They're ready."

Heather looked at him. "Who are ready?"

Rev chuckled. "Your legs."

Heather got confused, then she tried to walk again, this time doing so normally, with no major struggle. The tears on her eyes ran down over her cheeks, she let out a soft, spontaneous chuckle of hope and happiness. She took a couple of steps towards Rev, raising her gaze to see him. "I'm sorry." She said. "I..." She blinked for a pair of seconds, letting more tears to fall. "Sorry for...getting mad with you." She glanced at him again, smirking. "Thank you."

"It's okay." Rev smirked back at her. He looked at the wall at the bottom of the lab, next to the warehouse, pointing towards there. "Now run."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"You heard me." Rev looked at her. "At my signal."

Heather looked at Quentin, with doubt, he just gave her a cheerful nod. She got in a ready position, then Rev snapped his fingers and she ran towards the wall, incredibly fast, seeing the lab in a blurry way for a split of second. She gasped with amazement, breathing in and out rapidly, then she looked around her and glared at the others, who were at the other side, finding out she had gotten there very quickly. Heather was shocked by the speed of her task, looking at Rev. "What was that?"

Rev crossed his arms and smirked cockingly. "I took the liberty to add some...tweaks to your new legs." He rushed towards the table and lifted a chair then threw it at her. "Think fast!"

Heather gasped and kicked the chair instinctively, destroying it into several pieces. She now was doubly amazed. "But..." She turned her gaze from the pieces of chair over the floor to Rev, who was smiling at the results of his invention. "Why?"

"Heather." Rev put a straight face. "They need you." He looked at the window. "People are suffering out there, now you have the chance to fight for them." He looked back at her. "The question is...whose side are you on now?"

Heather didn't respond, she walked towards the window and looked at the people on the street, suffering, screaming and being taken. She thought for a long moment, then she looked at Rev. "I will fight for them."

Slam received a transmission on his comm. "Slam! Where are those bombs?!" He gasped when remembering and rushed towards the box with bombs and grabbed it, exiting the lab hurriedly.

"Go, then." Rev told Heather.

"Alright." Heather replied with commitment. "But I'll need to get changed first." She glared at the hospital gown she was wearing.

Rev nodded. "Just hurry. We have a planet to save."