I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
Ace and the rest of the team climbed out from underground and they were met with an applause by the citizens of Acmetropolis. Cheers, words of congratulations, and pats on the back were given to them as they passed by the group. It was a sacrifice that Ace was certain none of them wanted to do, but the sacrifice of one person saved the lives of thousands. The Loonatics were then met with a group of reporters as they began to fire away questions and thrust their microphones over to them.
This type of popularity was something that they were going to have to get used to. Now was not the time to be asked questions, especially when they had someone that had fatally died. Tech tried to shield his eyes away from the photographs and was glad that Rev was there and shielded him from the reporters who were trying to get his photograph.
"Nothing-to-see-here-people!" Rev said and tried to sound polite but he had to put his foot down. He knew how much pain Tech was going through. The first time that he had met Quinn, he thought that the two were an item but never spoke out his thoughts. There were some things that meant to be kept a secret and at that time, Rev knew that it wasn't any of his business to ask.
The swarm of reporters was worse than the ticks that they had to face. Ace took a deep breath and stopped in his tracks. Perhaps giving them some form of news would keep them satisfied. "Alright docs!" he said as he looked from one reporter to another, "I'll take your questions, but first, I don't want any of youse to ask my team member, Tech, any questions." He turned around and looked at the roadrunner who was still shielding Tech from the reporters. "Rev," he said to him, "take Tech and Quinn to the local hospital. They'll take care of her there and once they do, go immediately to HQ."
Rev nodded his head. "You-got-it-come-on-Tech," he said as he guided the coyote away from the reporters who still didn't understand the concept of privacy.
"Now," Ace said as the reporters turned their attention to him. "What can I answer for you?"
"What is the status of those ticks?" a female reporter asked him, "is the city still in danger? Is there something the citizens of Acmetropolis need to do?"
"My team and I followed the head of the colony, which unfortunately happened to be embedded in this host. It is safe to say that the leader has been killed and won't be bothering Acmetropolis," Ace answered.
"What about the host?" a male reporter jumped in, "what happened? She looked dead."
Ace bit his lower lip upon that question. He couldn't believe the insensitivity that these people had just to make a story and a quick buck. Taking a deep breath and trying his best not to send this reporter a glare, he opened his lips to answer. "No comment."
He proceeded to walk forward with the rest of the group following him. Once they were out of their earshot, Ace turned his attention onto them. "If you have any families or friends around here, attend to them. Make sure that they are doing alright."
Lexi nodded her head to Ace. She was sure that her parents and Andrea were doing well. She had spoken to them last night before her parents left for their vacation and Andrea who left to go visit her parents with Hunter. That was a worry that was off her list. Slam and Ace didn't have anyone living in Acmetropolis for them to call. As for Duck, he had been waiting ever since this mission was over to go and pay Miranda a visit. He looked over at the rabbit, wanting to ask him but he couldn't find it in his voice to do so.
Ace noticed the look on the mallard's face. There was pleading in his eyes and the rabbit gave him a simple nod of his head, knowing what he wanted to do.
A look of surprise crossed Duck's face and then gratitude. Thank you! he thought before he took off to go to the local hospital. When he arrived there, the hospital had done a decent job in making sure that none of the of the ticks entered. It was almost as if it was a normal day. He passed by the halls, looking for that familiar room until he saw her by the window in a sitting position with a tray of food in front of her.
He breathed out a sigh of relief and entered her room. "Knock, knock," he said as he knocked on the door and she turned her head to look at him. "You're finally awake."
A smile of admiration came upon her beak as Miranda held her arms out towards him and she felt his arms wrap tightly around her. "Duck," she said, "you're okay and…wearing a costume?"
That's right. Miranda was not aware of his new abilities and status as a superhero. "I'm not just a pool boy anymore," he said, keeping a hold of her hands and looking her eyes. "I've been promoted to a superhero."
Miranda tilted her head to the side. "Is this one of your little fantasies to make me feel better?" she asked him.
"What? No," Duck shook his head. "The meteor that hit this place weeks ago gave me powers and then I was recruited into a group. Did you hear about the whole tick situation?" he asked her.
"Uh yeah," Miranda said, "but they managed to stop them from getting inside."
"There are no more ticks," Duck said to her, "we defeated them and there's no more." He looked at the remote control that was on the bedside and reached over. He hoped that Ace's interview had been transmitted on television. The moment he opened the television, there was a highlight of the events that occurred and a video camera was able to capture Lexi Bunny fighting against the ticks. Why hadn't the camera caught him in on the action? He was about to make a comment on that when he realized that on their first mission, he hadn't been there.
"Wow," Miranda said as she looked at Lexi's abilities in dodging the ticks and then firing them with her brain blast. "She's quite good."
"Yeah, but not as good as me," Duck said as he shut off the television and threw it on the bed. "But what I'm saying is true!"
If she was to compare Duck's costume with Lexi's, they were almost identical only the triangle on the chest was a different color. "And what do they call you?" she asked him.
"Danger Duck," he answered her, proudly puffing up his chest.
A chuckle escaped her beak. "Well, it's better than Stranger Duck," she said as her eyes looked at him up and down once more. She couldn't help but think that he had looked handsome in that outfit and she was glad that she had finally awoken from her coma to see him. "How badly were you hit by the meteor?" she asked him.
Duck shook his head to her. "Didn't feel a thing," he answered her. Thank God my feathers were intact though he thought.
Miranda frowned and tilted her head to the side. That was strange. She heard those words and yet his beak didn't move. "That's…great!" she said, not believing him. Anyone that was within the radius of the meteor likely had some form of injury.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"From what I can remember," Miranda said, "after we practiced, we were about to head into the bus. Olivia noticed the light coming towards us and the rest of the girls fled. We were stuck there and the shockwave lifted us off our feet. I don't know what happened to Olivia but the doctor's told me I had been in a coma for weeks," she took a deep breath as she looked at Duck and put a hand over her head. "I'm just glad I didn't lose my memory."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have known me," Duck said.
Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Please, with your personality I would've recognized you in an instant and forgotten about everything else."
Even if that was the case, those were weeks that Duck never wanted to experience again. You have no idea what I've been through he wanted to say to her.
"What?" Miranda asked him.
"Huh?" Duck said in return.
"What did you say?" she asked him.
Duck frowned at that question. "I didn't say anything." Is she starting to lose it?
"Hey!" Miranda exclaimed, "I'm not losing anything. What did you say? It sounded like you said, 'You have no idea what I've been through.'"
He did think about those words but he most certainly didn't say them out loud. "I think you should lie down and relax," Duck said as he gently placed his arms on her shoulders and gently pushed her back on the bed.
Miranda allowed him to do it but she wasn't feeling tired. She was just confused that she was able to hear words without anyone speaking. What was going on? She looked over at Duck who was adjusting her blankets and picked up on him thinking I hope she gets out of the hospital soon. "I will," she answered him.
Duck stopped tucking her in and looked at her. "You will what?" he asked her.
"Be out of the hospital," she answered him, "next week."
After transferring Quinn over to the doctor's, Tech knew that there was nothing that they could do to revive her. He didn't even want to think where they were going to put her until the day of her funeral. Her parents were not in Acmetropolis and he couldn't bear the idea of calling them and saying that their daughter was dead.
If it had only been me and not her! he thought, feeling guilty that he had put her into this mess. He sat down on one of the chairs. There was nothing that was waiting for him here. He could just get up at any moment and leave but he just wanted to be alone with his own thoughts.
Rev had a lot that he wanted to say. Anything to console his friend, but those were just going to be words. They were enough for a consolation, but this was a deeper wound that there wasn't any number of words to make him feel better. Therefore, the roadrunner gave him the space that he wanted. He suddenly looked up when he noticed Duck walking down the hallway and he stopped in his tracks when he saw Rev and Tech.
Duck had never seen a calm and confident coyote looking so defeated. He walked up to the both of them and before he went over to Rev, he stopped in front of the coyote and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tech didn't immediately react. He slowly looked up and gave Duck a halfhearted smile before looking down at the floor. You'll be okay Duck wanted to say to Tech before he walked over to Rev. "He doesn't look too good."
Rev agreed and whispered, "I-know-poor-guy-I'm-just-letting-him-stay-for-a-bit-before-heading-back-to-HQ.-I-should-go-pay-the-family-a-visit."
Duck nodded his head to him. "You go, I'll stay with him."
Rev was taken aback but this sudden kindness. It wasn't like Duck to willing offer to do something like this and…it was very sweet of him to do so. Perhaps he does have a heart after all Rev thought. "Duck-that's-very-nice-of-you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Duck waved his hand in the air, "don't push it."
Rev gave him a bright smile and then zipped over to Tech. "I'll-meet-you-at-HQ-Duck-will-stay-here-with-you.-Stay-strong-my-friend," he said to the coyote before heading out of the hospital.
He wanted to stay strong. However, even something so strong would have its moments of vulnerability. Tech took a deep breath as he was lost in his thoughts once again and he didn't notice the tear that slid down his cheek on onto his uniform.
