I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
It had been hours ever since Tech had dropped off that tick over to the university's laboratory. The results should have been quick unless this type of species required a special kind of test to be run. Tech thought about that, but what other test than gene sequencing could she do if that was the only thing available. After spending some time building another one of his precious gadgets, he set the wrench on the floor and looked at his handiwork. He had crafted a small type of gadget, Retrofire Master Blaster, that whoever squeezed it, the machine would become part of their arm and they could use it as a weapon. A small yet portable form of weaponry. He wondered why he hadn't made this prior. They could have incinerated the ticks in no time.
Rev noticed the faraway look in Tech's eyes and that was an indication that something was going on with the coyote. "What's-going-on-Tech?" he asked as he zipped over to the coyote's side.
"Nothing terrible," Tech said, knowing real well why Rev was asking him such a question. "I was just wondering what is taking Quinn so long with the results. When she took my tests, it didn't take such a long time for the results to be finalized."
"How-long-does-it-take?" Rev asked him.
"Back in the day, it could take up to weeks. Now just a couple of minutes," Tech answered him. "Maybe I should give her call. This is very strange." He walked over to the middle of the table and dialed the number of the university's lab that came up on the phone pad. The tone began to ring on his end and after a couple of rings, he hung up. A bad feeling suddenly began to overwhelm him as he turned around and looked at Rev. "You don't think she's in trouble…do you?" he asked him.
"Oh-I-don't-think-so," Rev said with a shake of his head.
"I don't know, Rev," Tech said to him, "that tick was a bit volatile when we placed it in the box."
"That-insect-is-no-match-for-a-wolf-like-Quinn-I'm-sure-she-was-able-to-handle-it-just-fine," Rev said to him.
First, it wasn't an insect but an arachnid. However, Tech decided not to correct Rev on his little mistake. Second, his intuition was telling him that something was probably going on in that lab that was delaying Quinn. Could it be that the tick had gotten on the loose, one of the teacher's found out about it, and Quinn was being reprimanded for her actions? Tech had warned her prior for going against the school's laboratory code, but she had found her ways around it. He had even let himself be used as a test subject when she ran his blood tests and found out about his powers. I just hope I didn't get her in trouble, or worse expelled.
He began to head out the door of the laboratory and Rev followed him. "Thinking-about-paying-her-a-visit?" the roadrunner asked him.
The coyote turned around and nodded his head. "Yeah," Tech said to him. "I'm just going to let the team know."
"I'll-come-with-you," Rev said to him.
The coyote and the roadrunner walked into an almost empty looking lounge. The only member that was there was Duck and Rev was aware on how unhappy the team was with him. "Where's-Ace?" Rev asked the mallard.
Not having expected anyone to be in the lounge area, Duck was caught by surprise. His expression then turned stoic when he saw those two familiar faces. "Beats me," he answered him with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why?" The last thing Duck needed was to get scolded again and he couldn't help but think that the whole team was against him for not showing up on his mission.
Tech didn't want to go into detail about something that didn't concern Duck, but since he and Rev had to leave and Duck was the only one available, he didn't have much of a choice. "I do need to see a friend of mine on an experiment that she is doing."
Duck folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. "Why is it that you can go and when I do, I get chastised for it?"
Tech and Rev exchanged a glance with one another, knowing that if they were to continue this conversation with Duck, they would be stuck here. It wasn't that Ace was deliberately picking on Duck about his choice to disappear. And it wasn't as if Tech was leaving without anybody knowing.
"I guess I can see that are favorites in this team," Duck mumbled.
Rev's eyes floated to the ceiling. He appreciated any species of birds, but this one was tough to handle. "How-about-I-send-Ace-a-quick-virtual-message-and-we-can-go?" He didn't give Tech any time to answer as he headed over to the middle of the round table, recorded a video explaining where he and Tech were going to go, and headed back to the coyote. "All-set!"
After their encounter with Duck, Tech was glad to be out of headquarters. He had never met anyone that was, for a lack of a better word, whiny about the whole situation. If Tech was in his place, he would have felt embarrassed at first but then would have gotten over it and not made the same mistake. It didn't take long for him and Rev and reach the university's laboratory. Once they got to the perimeter of the building, Tech was surprised to see a group of people gathered outside, both faculty and students and bystanders. "What's going on?" Tech asked one of the students.
The student turned around and looked at the Loonatic. "One of the teachers heard a noise coming from the science lab. When he got there, the place was in shambles."
Tech frowned at that information. Well, that narrowed it down to every laboratory room that existed within that university. "Which science lab was it?" he asked.
"The Genetics Lab," the student answered.
Tech looked over at Rev, knowing well who had been working in there. The coyote then pushed through the crowd of students and proceeded to head up the stairs on the university. He quickly walked past the halls until he reached the Genetics Lab and was shocked at what he saw the moment that he entered the room. Everything was on the floor. Broken flasks, animals on the loose, papers thrown everywhere, and…Tech flinched when he noticed the sight of potential blood that had crusted on the floor.
Rev then joined Tech and he was just as shocked as the coyote to see the status of the laboratory. "What-happened?" Rev asked no one in particular as he looked from one section of the floor to another. "It's-like-she-got-into-a-fight-with-the-tick."
Tech began to search the laboratory for any place that Quinn could be but he didn't find her hiding anywhere. "I gave the tick to her and now it's on the loose," the coyote sighed.
"Don't-be-too-hard-on-yourself-you-were-only-trying-to-help," Rev said as he walked over to the Tech.
"And where could she be?" Tech asked. "It's not like the tick would take her along with it…right?"
"No," Rev shook his head, "that-thing-is-small-compared-to-Quinn!-It-would-take-more-than-just-one-to-take-her-away!"
"But don't you think it's odd that she would abandon the laboratory right after this tick went insane?" Tech asked him, knowing that it was an answer that Rev did not know.
A scream suddenly reached their ears as the two Loonatics headed outside of the university. Rev and Tech didn't hesitate as they rushed down the hall and outside of the university. Before them, they noticed a group of students that had thrown themselves onto another student and was prying someone off him. It took a lot of force to get the person off and when they managed to do so, the perpetrator was thrown to the ground in front of Tech.
Tech gasped when he saw who it was. "Quinn?!"
Shaking her head, Quinn looked over at the voice that had called out to her. Her eyes were bloodshot red and her pristine fur was covered with dirt. On her mouth, he noticed it was stained in red and Tech didn't want to think or know what it was. However, it was an answer that he couldn't avoid when he heard one of the students yell that the victim that she attacked was bleeding.
"Quinn what's gotten into you?" Tech asked as he reached over to help her. Once he grabbed a hold of her arm, she swung her fist towards him and the amount of force that he was hit with sent him flying straight into the wall of the university.
A gasp escaped Rev's beak when he saw his friend assaulted like that and he was grateful for the speed that he was given to get away from Quinn's attack. He ran immediately over to Tech, who was a bit dazed from the attack but was able to regain his strength. "Come-on-Tech," Rev said as he helped him up.
Tech shook his head and looked out in front of him and saw the whole crowd of students beginning to circle around Quinn.
"You may think these precious little animals in costumes have saved you and your little city," Quinn said to them, "don't be mistaken. It's only the beginning!" Her voice sounded demonized, almost as if it wasn't from this planet. With the cryptic message being said, she formed her hand into a fist and slammed it against the pavement with as much strength as she could muster. The chasm that was created, she jumped inside and disappeared within the dark.
Whatever she meant by what she said, Tech knew it wasn't good and he couldn't believe that he had gotten Quinn into this mess. "Rev, we need to get Ace and the team…now."
