Loonatics: United

Episode 73: Depredation

Inside a big meeting room with black and white aesthetic, a cougar and an akita dog were arguing, the cougar was wearing a lab coat. "Charles…just give a chance, this is the work of my life." The cougar said.

Charles, who was wearing a light gray suit, let out a sigh and stood up from the chair he had been sitting on, one of many across the large table. "We built this company to help people, Derek. To make medicine, equipment, treatments…not weapons." Charles looked at him with a straight face.

"But…" Derek sighed with frustration and rubbed his face. "This is necessary, Charles. They could protect the planet."

Charles stood silent for a moment. "That role is filled already."

Derek made a gesture of disdain. "Those super mascots? And why if they rebel? Who will protect us?"

Charles shook his head. "Derek, just forget it. I'm not greenlighting those monsters of yours, that's my final response."

"Monsters?!" Derek pretended to be offended. "They are my best creation yet!"

"That changes nothing." Charles kept glaring into his eyes for a moment then he just returned to his spot, sitting down while checking some documents over the table's black surface. Derek was frowning at him, he started to take off his name tag, which had a photo of him and the company's logo on it, 'NovaLabs Inc.' It hung from his neck by a chain. Charles rapidly stood up and grasped his arm. "What you think you're doing?" He looked at him with a pleading yet menacing look. "This is our company, remember? I need you here."

Derek kept looking at Charles, with the same frown. He shook his arm strongly, forcing Charles to let him go. He finally took off his name tag and dropped it on the floor while walking away from Charles, exiting the meeting room with no more words to say.

A few months later

Duck was listening to hard rock while laying on a couch at the lounge, tilting his head continuously by the song's rhythm. The earphones were connected to a sphere shaped music player that laid on his chest. He was getting lost in the lyrics and the strong guitar sounds, the drums and the screams, until he just heard how his earphones got pulled out from his ears, thing that hurt him enough to make him gasp. He looked up and saw Tech's face of satisfaction. "Get up. It's our turn to make breakfast." Tech walked towards the kitchen.

Duck put down his media player and got into his feet effortfully. "Can't you just make it yourself and tell Ace that I helped you?" He said while following his comrade.

"Very funny, Duck." Tech said when they both arrived at the kitchen. "Any ideas?"

"Well, let's just give 'em cereal, it's still breakfast." Duck proposed.

"Absolutely no cereal." Tech opened the doors of the cupboard. "That's what the boss said."

"Yeah, I know." Duck was taking out some cutlery from a drawer. "You should already know that I don't play by the rules."

"Whatever, Duck." Tech yawned while searching between the several boxes and cans of food. "Maybe tuna…with, uhm…something." He took four cans, holding them with one hand.

"You say you're a genius but you can't think off a good plate with that?" Duck inquired while looking in the fridge.

"I'm a genius, that has nothing to do with this." Tech closed the doors and headed to the sink. He began to wash the tuna cans with a sponge. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Yup." Duck arranged a bottle of mayonnaise and a pair of lemons over the bar's black surface.

Tech looked at the ingredients that Duck had gathered and just raised his shoulders while expressing acceptance. "I guess that should work." He dried the cans with the towel and placed them on the bar, opening them one by one. "Do we have, uhm, tomatoes? Onions, maybe?"

"I don't know, let me…" Duck checked the fridge's inside again and found what Tech had in mind in the last drawer. "…yeah, one of each." He took them and closed the fridge's door.

"Those should be enough." Tech said. "Just put them with the rest." He left the open cans on the bar and crouched a bit to reach the small doors below it, opening them and taking a big transparent bowl. Tech put it before the cans then he began to pour their content in it.

Duck observed how Tech filled the bowl. "You think that would be enough for, well, you know?"

Tech sighed and let out a brief chuckle. "He is always eating anyway, so, even if we owned the city's fish farms we would never be able to feed that guy completely."

Duck chuckled. "You're right." He opened the mayonnaise and took a bit with his fingers then ate it. He also grabbed the tomato and munched it. "His stomach must be like a bottomless pit or something." He spoke with his mouth full.

"Duck, you're disgusting." Tech took the bowl and approached his comrade's side of the bar, putting it right before him. Duck yawned and with a knife he started to cut the two vegetables the best he could while Tech supervised the task.

Later, the six heroes were taking the breakfast Duck and Tech had prepared, sitting together at the kitchen's table next to the window. "Good job, you two." Ace said with his mouth full. "Thanks."

"Well, it's not like if we had a choice." Duck said. "Your welcome, still."

"I think this is a very good idea. It gives us a sense of service." Lexi looked at Duck firmly after her statement.

"I agree and it's also kind of exciting to have no idea of what you're gonna eat well except if it's your turn to prepare breakfast of course." Rev opined.

Tech took a cracker from the bowl at the middle and put some tuna salad over it then began to eat it. "To be honest, it was hard to beat yesterday's breakfast." He looked at Ace and Lexi. "You really did a good job on that one."

Duck raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? That outlandish burned bread?" Lexi shot her brain blast at his shoulder, making him to yell. "Hey! I was being honest!"

"Well, no one asked you." Lexi said, pretending an upset tone in her voice.

Slam growled after eating three crackers at the same time, expressing discontent.

"Relax, big guy, tomorrow is your turn." Ace said. "There you can make the meatiest, greasiest breakfast of all time for us."

Slam smiled and grunted with concur and subtle excitement.

"Just not that greasy, Slam. I wanna keep my shape." Lexi warned.

Duck yawned and stretched then stood up. "Bon appetite, guys. I'm gonna take a nap."

"Duck…" Tech said to keep him from leaving. "…the dishes…"

Duck sighed. "Right, sure…I forgot." He sat down again, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, the table trembled. "Woah." Ace said with a cautious glare, expecting another shake. "O…kay." He said and kept preparing his next cracker. Another tremble came, this time stronger. Ace dropped the cracker over the table. "Uhm, Tech…"

Tech nodded and got into his feet. "I'll check the seismograph." He left quickly. A new, way stronger tremor came, making the dishes and bowls to jump violently over the table.

"Uhm, we should…" Lexi pointed at the door while standing up.

"Yeah." Ace replied and walked away from the table followed by the others. They exited the kitchen and then Tech approached them hurriedly.

"This is no quake, boss." Tech informed. "It's something worse."

People ran and screamed with horror in Acmetropolis' main streets, where a parade had been taking place, there were flying cars that had been serving as floats for the parade destroyed on the concrete along with dead dancers dressed with light gray disguises, which were covered with star shaped glowing stickers. Pedestrians that had been enjoying the spectacle also laid lifeless over the ground. The creature responsible for the massacre was an unknown beast, with a red, scaly rhino body, a long lion tail and the head of an alligator. The beast destroyed the vehicles with ease, throwing quick head impacts, killing anyone that got on its way with its strong deadly bite, soldier or civilian.

"Boss! Our weapons are usel…" The soldier wolf got instantly killed between the beast's jaws before completing his phrase through his comm.

The Loonatics arrived at the situation with their jetpacks, looking at the destruction and dead the beast was creating. "What the heck is that?" Ace inquired with worry while looking at the fear inducing monster. They saw how a group of A.R.M. soldiers got decimated by the beast's unforgiving jaws, the shots of their rifles didn't even scratch its hard scales, their brief yet terrible screams made an echo in the alleyway they were in. There were several injured people laying dangerously close to the unfortunate event. "Duck, Rev, look for the injured and take them to the furthest hospital." The two birds nodded at his command, flying away immediately. "The rest of us." Ace was flying directly towards the monster with a glare of conviction. "Kill that thing."