I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
Massive's arrest had been the headline news for the next past two days. The headlines mostly touched upon the items that he had stolen and how the Loonatics had valiantly stopped him from taking the trophy from the World Drome. It was unbelievable how pathetic these villains were in this gloomy city. What was the point of being a villain and committing these crimes when their identity wasn't hidden? If she were to count off the number of times that these villains had won against these animals in costumes, they had failed miserably…and these animals were praised for their heroism. Other than their little superpowers, they were just your ordinary rabbits, ducks, coyote, roadrunner, and Tasmanian devil. Well, the Tasmanian devil was quite the different creature from the others considering the great strength he had.
Ever since Fleur Pussycat had come to Acmetropolis, she had only managed to steal twice. First, that beautiful scarf from the stewardess and second, that beautiful necklace that she had stolen from a woman during dinner when she wasn't paying attention. It was a gift to have the stealth of cat and she made sure to use it to her advantage. She heeded upon Pierre's words when he told her not to steal, but she couldn't help herself. Sometimes, this stealing wasn't only to hurt others but a game of cat-and-mouse; and she always made sure that she was the cat. She got up from her lounge chair and walked over to the window to see the gloomy city in front of her. She knew that this was going to be another day and night that she was going to spend alone, thanks to the building of the Max Arena that was keeping her dear fiancé so busy. She let out a light scoff when she thought about that. Of course, work was work but it was getting to be too much to the point where she felt she didn't have a fiancé anymore. In that case, she hoped that he wouldn't mind if she went out shopping for the night. After all women, especially catwomen, needed to do something to cure their boredom.
Over at HQ, Ace and the team had decided to take a break from their training. Massive had proven himself to be quite the tough opponent that a day or two of not training wasn't going to hurt them. Slam, Rev, and Duck had themselves situated on the couch as they watched the highlights of the Basherball games from two nights ago, Tech was busy in his laboratory as usual, and Lexi and Miranda were sitting by the kitchen.
Ace walked over to the two girls and took a seat. "Can I join?" he asked them as both girls nodded their heads at him. "What're we gossiping about?" he asked.
Lexi and Miranda exchanged a look with one another before bursting out in a fit of giggles. "Wow Ace," Lexi said, "I didn't think you'd be curious to know."
"If it's something that affects the team, it's my business to know," Ace said to her.
"We were just talking about the latest fashion trend," Miranda said to him, "seems like casual spacesuits seem to be in fashion."
Lexi's eyes brightened when Miranda said that. In the fashion magazine that she was subscribed to, she had seen a black and pink spacesuit with pointed shoulders and long sleeves that were cut in a V-shape with matching pink rhinestone heels. Oh, she was going to be dreaming of those shoes until she was able to get those hands onto them.
Ace made a face at the outfit that the girls were talking about. "I hope you're not going to make us wear 'em," he said. The last thing he needed was to be seen in a ridiculous outfit. What they had was just fine and he wasn't willing to change it anytime soon.
"When we're playing Truth or Dare, we'll consider it," Miranda nonchalantly said as she looked down at an outfit on the magazine. She tilted her head when she noticed an interesting looking cape that was fit for a superhero, yet feminine enough. The perfect one that she could wear if she wanted to match with Duck. As cheesy as it sounded to her, she also found it just as endearing to fall under the category of matching couples! Of course, Duck might see it as a competition but she didn't care what he thought. Her mind told her to buy it and it was better to have it in her closet than in the store. She pushed back her chair and looked at Ace and Lexi. "I gotta make a quick run to the store. If Zadavia calls," she turned her eyes and looked at Ace, "you know where to find me."
One of the great things about these suits was the telecommunicator. It provided a bit of freedom for the team but also kept them alert if any trouble arose. The moment that Miranda left, Ace turned his head over at Lexi who was deep into looking at the outfit on the page that Miranda had been reading. "You know," Ace said as he looked over at Lexi, "it's a great day outside. You wanna do something?"
Lexi looked out the window, not having considered the weather for the day. Indeed, it was very beautiful outside and it was a shame that they had been spending half of the morning cooped up inside HQ. "I'd like that," Lexi smiled at Ace and then turned her head over to the rest of the team that were gathered at the television, with the exception of Tech. "Should we let the boys know?"
Ace's eyes bounced over to the couch. They were too engrossed within the game that they were probably not paying attention at what was going on around them. "Nah," Ace said, "they'll be fine." He then turned his eyes over to Lexi, "where should we go?"
Lexi pushed back her chair and tapped her chin. "Hmm," she hummed out and thought of a place they could go. There were so many things in Acmetropolis that she wanted to go to, but with Ace being around her, she wanted to make sure that it was extra special. He didn't need to know why she did it, only that she knew her intentions behind it.
Ace was thinking the same. They had gone to the movies; they had gone to the park. He could take her to a restaurant but it would be later in the day and he didn't want to take that step suddenly. It just didn't feel like the right moment to do so. "Hold that thought," he said to Lexi as he walked over to the couch where Rev, Slam, and Duck were gathered. Thank goodness that a commercial break came on so he could talk to the roadrunner. "Hey Rev," Ace asked as the roadrunner turned his attention towards him. "What's that place where you got us those fancy desserts from?"
Rev's smile slightly faltered at what Ace was referring to. "Oh," he said as he tried to find his enthusiasm, "are-you-talking-about-Crème-De-La-Crème?-She-gave-me-those-desserts-for-you-guys."
And they were delicious Ace thought, assuming that he was thinking of the right place. "Thanks," he smiled at Rev.
"You're-gonna-go-there?" Rev asked him.
"I was thinkin' about it," Ace said to him, "you haven't been there in a while. I was hoping to get more of those desserts."
Rev let out a nervous chuckle. Considering the conversation that he had with Michelle that day, he didn't want to be a 'distraction' for her. "We've-just-been-very-busy-lately," he said to Ace, "but-when-you-go-there-say-to-her-from-me-will-you?" Even if he tried to brush it off that what she had said didn't bother him, he couldn't help but miss her. I-really-need-to-get-this-out-of-my-head Rev thought to himself.
If this was like any other day, Ace would have asked Rev to come along. However, he felt that he needed some time alone with Lexi. "If I run into her, I will," he assured the roadrunner as Rev gave him a nod of his head and headed back to the group. Ace walked back to Lexi and said to her, "I found just the place."
"Oh?" Lexi perked up upon his words, "where to?" she asked him as she got up from her seat.
"It's a surprise," he smirked.
Their walk to Crème De La Crème had been very pleasant. The weather had held out wonderfully and the small bakery was a far enough where they could get their steps in. Lexi stopped as she looked up at the name of the bakery and a small smile came upon her lips. "Hey, isn't this the place that Rev kept talking about?" she asked.
"Yep," Ace answered as he held the door open for her, "interesting how different it looks now than from what Rev told us." He watched as Lexi walked in and the moment that he stepped in, he was welcomed by a very sweet aroma that filled the bakery. He joined Lexi who was standing in front of the counter and looked at the items on the menu with a confused expression upon her eyes. "Anything you fancy?" he asked her.
"I wish we bought an interpreter," Lexi said as she turned her eyes towards Ace, "I can't understand what half of this even means."
Ace squinted over to the menu and just by reading those words, he thought he was going to catch a headache. "Eh…let's look over at the display case," he suggested as he walked over to where the desserts were displayed and looked. "You would think that they sold carrot cake here."
His attention was caught when a chuckle came from behind the display case as a female roadrunner popped up and smiled at him. "Not-in-here," she brightly said to him, "carrot-cake-is-not-French-it-was-said-to-have-originated-from-England.-Here-everything-is-inspired-by-French-desserts-hence-Crème-De-La-Crème."
Even though Ace was used to Rev's quick speech, why did he find it difficult to keep up with these roadrunners. He noticed Lexi joining him as she smiled at the roadrunner. "No wonder some words looked a little familiar," she said as she joined them, "why type of desserts do you recommend? Our team has tried your macaroons and they were amazing!"
Michelle blinked when she Lexi said that. Did she just say team? "I-I-can't-believe-that-I'm-finally-meeting-the-rest-of-the-team!-What-an-honor!"
"Eh there's more of us," Ace said to her, "Rev says 'hi' by the way."
Her smile brightened when Ace extended Rev's greetings. It had been a long couple of weeks when she had last seen him and she was beginning to miss him. "I-miss-that-silly-roadrunner-tell-him-to-come-and-visit-soon-but-I-guess-with-all-these-missions-you-guys-have-been-busy-busy-busy." She turned her attention back towards the display case and tried to find something, other than macaroons, for Lexi and Ace to try. "Let's-see-we-have-Crème-Brûlée-Profiteroles-Clafoutis-Éclairs-oh-here-we-go!-I-recommened-Petits-Fours-you-can-have-a-sample-of-all-these-little-desserts!"
"With a cup of café au lait," Lexi added and got a look from Ace, "what?" she asked him with a shrug of her shoulders, "it's not like that one was difficult to figure out."
"Coming-right-up!" Michelle said to them, "you-two-go-ahead-and-make-yourselves-comfortable."
Ace guided Lexi towards a seat by the window. It was a pleasant area where the rays of the sun seeped through the windows and into the bakery. When Lexi took her seat, Ace caught sight of the sun's rays brightening her hair even more and bringing out the green color of her eyes. He couldn't believe it but it made her even more beautiful. Keep it together Ace he thought to himself not only is she your teammate but she's cool too. If he was to screw this up, he knew that she would kick his butt…leader or not.
Lexi took a deep breath as she stood straight in her chair and peeked out the window as she caught sight of cars hovering by and citizens walking past the bakery. She thought that it was very sweet of Ace to have taken them out on a day like today instead of staying at HQ. A part of her wondered why he had decided to do it, but another part of her told her to not even question it. There was no need to go off on assumptions that could end up on ruining something that was already perfect. She looked up when Michelle zipped over by their table with the selection of petits fours and her cup of café au lait.
Ace squinted at the small desserts. "These looks interesting," he said as he picked up a small éclair and bit into it. He felt that he made the right choice in choosing that one the moment he felt the sweet cream in his mouth.
Lexi chuckled behind her coffee cup as she looked at Ace's expression. "That good?" she asked him, "better than a carrot cake?"
"Nah," Ace smiled, "a carrot cake is still number one on the list. I would put this on to number three."
"Whoa," Lexi smiled before she took a sip of her coffee, "I didn't know your list of desserts were competitive with one another."
Ace leaned back against his chair and let out a gentle sigh. "In today's world, ya gotta be competitive."
Their backgrounds were completely different but it held the same meaning. With Ace's determination to make it big on the screen, he had a lot of people going up against him that he had to fight through. As for Lexi, the spot on the cheerleading team, she had to fight through the remaining of the cheerleaders that wanted the same. Now, those people would want to fight for the spot that they had.
"Now we're competing against villains," Lexi commented as she reached towards the plate for petits fours. "Who's been your favorite to beat this far?"
Ace had expected to be speaking about something else other than the job that they did. Both being in this line of work, what else would they talk about other than the job that they did? The first two missions that they had; he wouldn't put those on the top tier list after their outcome. However, only one of them stood out the most to him. "Gunnar and his goons were a fun to joke around with," Ace smirked as he thought of the moments where he messed around with them. "How about you?"
That was quite the difficult question. She didn't like the first two missions that they had, Gunnar and his henchmen were just annoying, there were days when she missed her little bio-pet ZoZo, and the last couple of missions that they had, she was glad that she was able to have her feet on the ground and not be that strange, mutated frog-skunk hybrid. Now she wouldn't consider a comet to be a villain but it was quite the challenge to bring it down. "The comet," she said to Ace, "now I know it wasn't a villain but it served as a reminder of what we are meant to do."
It was important to have a reminder every now and then. There were moments where Ace missed the freedom that he had prior to being a superhero. There were nights where he wanted to be lying in his bed and lounging with a piece of carrot in his mouth and not be worried about getting pummeled by a villain. The last mission that they had with Massive, he was glad that he didn't break any bones from the punch that he had received. Though his injures were compared to poor Tech who had to suffer through getting severely hurt and using all his energy to regenerate.
Now there was that silence that hovered between them. He couldn't believe that they had worked together for a year, and yet he didn't know what to talk with her about. He couldn't ask her any personal questions. He had learned about her when they were with their teammates, but any intimate questions he thought that he would be blowing it.
Lexi picked the ends of the napkin that was under her coffee cup. Why couldn't she find the courage to say something to him and start a conversation? She wished she was able to find a topic to talk about but if they conversed about a movie or a book, who even had time for that, it would only last for a couple of minutes. Speaking of movies, they made it look so easy when it came to going out on dates. Whoa, wait a minute! This was not a date but a friendly outing with the leader of the group…at a dessert shop…with only her. At that sudden realization, even though she tried her hardest to push it away from her mind, she felt her stomach somersaulting. Taking a deep breath, she was able to control her breathing.
Maybe this wasn't a great idea Ace thought as he looked down at his hands. Maybe he ought to consider asking Duck…scratch that, that would be a terrible idea and he knew that he would never live it down if Duck knew that Ace had an interest towards Lexi. He then looked over at the little plate and noticed that they had finished the little desserts. "Ya wanna head back to HQ?" Ace asked her.
So soon? Then again, it wouldn't be a terrible idea. Neither of them had made the effort to continue a conversation with one another. Why did she had a feeling that once they got back to HQ, they were going to be talking nonstop with one another than what they were doing now? "Sure," Lexi said to him. She had hoped that it wouldn't end so fast but next time when they decided to head out, perhaps catching a movie first and then heading into a restaurant would be a better idea. The one thing she hoped for was that this little unofficial date didn't ruin the way that she felt for him.
…and he hoped just the same.
The sun had set and it was starting to get dark out. Miranda had lost track of time of how long she had been shopping but at least she had managed to find that cape, only it looked darker in real life than it did on the magazine. Curse these false advertisements! It was the twenty-eight century and they couldn't have found a color that was the same as the one in the magazine? Whatever, it was going to have to do. Now, she had to get back to HQ otherwise she was never going to hear to end of it from Duck.
She carried her bags down the street and noticed that some of the stores around her and already closed. "Whoops," she said to herself as she proceeded to walk down the street. How did the time go from twelve in the afternoon to ten at night? The only thing that she was relieved was the fact that Duck hadn't reached out to her nonstop. She headed past a jewelry store and then stopped when she caught sight of a strange looking figure from within. She peeked inside and her eyes widened at what she saw.
Over at HQ, Duck paced back and forth as he looked down at his telecommunicator to see if he had any calls from Miranda. So far, zero.
"Duck, calm down," Tech said to the mallard as his eyes were getting tired from following his steps back and forth, "I'm sure that she is fine."
The moment Tech said that, Ace looked down at his telecommunicator and noticed a call coming through from Miranda. "What a coincidence," he said as he held his wrist towards his lips, "what's going on Miranda?"
Duck stopped his pacing and ran towards Ace to listen into what was happening.
"Ace," Miranda said, "I was just about to come to HQ but there's a robbery happening at a jewelry store about fourteen blocks away from us."
"Any authorities around?" Ace asked her. With today's technology he was surprised that none of them had been alerted.
"No," Miranda said with a shake of her head, "although…oh God, one of them looks like he's been stunned." Her eyes then looked up when she noticed a black figure standing on top of the staircase and looked down at the robbers.
"Hang on, Miranda," Ace said to her, "we're coming."
The slender woman looked down at the three robbers that were sloppily getting as many jewels as they could. They didn't even notice her presence when she slipped through one of the windows and that was the plan that she had been hoping for. She silently held onto the top of the railing and looked from one robber to the next. "Amateurs," she suddenly said with a crisp French accent.
One of the robbers jumped in place and then looked over at the source of the voice. "Hey!" he called over to his sidekick and held their weapons towards her.
How predictable she thought as her eyes looked through her mask from one robber to the next. "Don't you boys have anything better to do than coming to my little playground?" she asked, "je n'aime pas partager."
The robbers didn't answer as they began to shoot at her. The number of bullets that they sent towards this mysterious woman, they thought that they had got her but when the smoke cleared, she was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she go?" one of the robbers asked as he held tightly onto his weapon and pointed it from one direction to the next.
"Point that elsewhere!" the other robbers yelled at him. "Grab what you can and let's get outta here."
A set of heels clacked behind them as this woman blocked their path. "Going so soon?" she asked, "but I wanted to play." As one of the robbers was close to her proximity, she delivered a very strong punch towards his face, sending him stumbling backwards and falling onto the floor.
The other two robbers charged towards her but she was quick enough to leap into the air. She jumped behind them and grabbed both by the bags that they had on their shoulders. She pulled them back, relieving them of the bag of jewelry, and sent them crashing against the wall. "Bonne nuit," she said to the two men and knocked them out.
Now that these men had gone off to their little dreams, it was time to do a little bit of shopping. She picked both bags that she had relieved from the robbers and looked from one glass case to the next. That necklace that had a panther decorated in silver jewels as it rested on a woman's neck with its paws in the front. She held out her hand towards the necklace and was about to reach it when…
"Step away from the jewels!" she heard a voice behind her and slowly turned around to see who it was.
She smirked as she fully faced the Loonatics. However, they had managed to get in here, and ever so silently, was something that she wondered. She thought she had shut the window after she entered. Her eyes looked from one superhero to the next. Oh this was going to be fun…especially since three of them were bird species. "And who do we have here?" she asked, "the Loonatics, oui?"
"That would be us," Ace said said as he got in position and was ready to attack. "At least you made the hard work easier for us," he said as he motioned over to the three robbers that were knocked out on the ground.
"And who are you?" Duck suddenly spoke up, "some crazy cat lady?"
Lexi made a face as she looked at the outfit that this woman was wearing. "How clichéd can you get?" she commented.
An elegant chuckle escaped her lips as she looked at the duck. "I might just be your worst nightmare Monsieur Canard!"
Duck didn't know what she had just called him but he was going to be insulted by her words anyway. "Then dream about this!" he said as he threw a set of powered orbs towards her.
She was quick enough to grab the necklace and jump out of the way before the power orbs attacked her and hit the display case behind her.
Whoa Ace thought as he looked up and saw how far she had jumped from them.
Two can play at that game Lexi thought as she crouched on the ground and jumped towards the thief. The moment she jumped up, she used her brain blast towards only to have it hit a mirror that this woman had positioned and ricocheting back. Lexi felt her side being hit by her brain blast until she saw it ricocheting off the ground and towards Duck. "Duck, duck!" Lexi yelled at the mallard but he wasn't quick enough and got hit by her brain blast on his tailfeathers.
"Ouch!" Duck yelled, "quit doing that!"
Rev spotted a flight of stairs that led to the second floor of the store. Using his speed, he ran towards them woman was quickly as he could. "Now-you-should-know-that-stealing-is-not-just-illegal-but-immoral-you-can-go-to-jail-for-a-one-year-maximum-on-this-misdemeanor-but-if-you-don't-mind," he stopped right in front of her and took a hold of the bag, "I-will-take-that-yeowch!" Rev yelled as he stumbled back and placed his hand over his beak. He looked at his hand and noticed that there was blood on it. "You…you-scratched-me!"
"Awh," she looked at the roadrunner sympathetically, "Je suis désolé for causing such a catastrophe."
"Was that a pun? What an excuse to be funny," Miranda cringed, rolled her eyes, and then looked over at Slam. "Slam gimme a lift," she said to the Tasmanian devil as she ran towards him jumped onto his hands. He catapulted her towards the second floor and she landed right next to Rev. "Hey Kitty Litter, you forgot to duck!" she emphasized as she used her telekinesis and opened a drawer, sending it towards her.
The force of the drawer was quick, but she was even quicker as she grabbed a hold of it and swung it words Rev and Miranda. They were bit by the drawer and were thrown back to the first floor of the shop. Rev fell on the floor and Miranda fell on top of Duck.
"Now…" Duck seethed through the slight pain from Miranda's fall as he tried to get up, "who's the one making puns?"
"Oh, shut up Duck!" Miranda snapped, angered that she had been bested by a woman dressed in a cat costume.
"Tech," Ace said to his teammates.
"On it chief," Tech said as he used his magnekenesis and levitated a series of necklaces. He connected them together, creating what looked like a whip as he lashed it towards the woman. He watched as the series of necklaces wrapped around her waist and he pulled her down.
"Nice one Tech," Ace smiled at the coyote.
This ought to be good she thought. She had her fun with the birds, now it would be interesting that she was up against a dog. She felt her body being tugged towards him and that smirk never left her face. "Bon chien!" she smirked as she swiped her foot under Tech.
Tech grunted when her feet contacted his ankles and he fell onto the ground with thud. She rolled across the floor and became loose from the necklace chain. Tech had his hold on the other end of the chain. She quickly wrapped the necklace around his wrists and before Tech could react, he gasped when she pushed him towards an electrical outlet. The chain contacted the outlet and he felt his body starting to burn before he was turned into a pile of dust.
"Tech!" Ace yelled and then growled as he faced the woman. As he was about to go and attack her, Slam twisted into a mini cyclone and proceeded to head towards her.
Her heels were planted to the ground as she smirked at Slam. She wasn't going to let his strength get the better of her. She formed her hand into a fist and slammed it against a glass display case. Every single piece of jewelry that were there, she let it fall on the floor causing Slam to lose his balance and fall to the ground. "Oops," she said, "my bad."
Ace ran towards her and jumped past the floor that was littered with jewels. He jumped in front of the woman and noticed the shocked look upon her eyes. She wasn't quick enough to react as he grabbed a tight hold of her wrist and pushed her towards the wall. Anyone that messed with his team, they were messing with him. "You're under arrest," he said to her.
"Cats are free creatures," she said to him, "they're not to be kept in cages."
With her free hand, she swiped her claws against Ace's cheek as he let go of her and stumbled back. He felt blood seeping from his wound and then felt a rush of pain on his back when she kicked him, sending him flying towards Lexi.
"Au revoir perdants," she said to the group, "seems like you're no match against La Chatte Cambrioleuse."
Duck glared as she was about to head out of the door as if she owned the jewelry store. He teleported away from the group and then in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. He held one arm in the air with the power orbs ready to strike towards her. "Take one more step and you'll be egged," he threatened her. "But I will take this," he said as he grabbed a hold of the bags with his free hand.
"Hands off you créature de volaille dégoûtante!" she snapped at Duck and pulled the bags towards her.
Duck had no idea what she had just said but he was not going to let himself be insulted. "Hey! That's Danger Duck, to you!" He directed the palm of his hand towards her but she was quick to dodge as a power orb flew from the palm of his hand and towards the team.
"Watch-out!" Rev yelled as he pushed Miranda out of the way only for the power orb to hit Tech who had managed to regenerate after getting electrocuted.
Duck clenched his teeth as he attempted to hit her with the power orb once more. "Allow me to make this easy for you," she smirked at Duck and grabbed him by the collar of his suit. She flung him towards a display case and he crashed against the glass before falling on the ground.
Miranda's beak dropped as she clenched her hands into fists and directed her eyes towards whatever objects she could find. From the broken glass that was on the ground, she levitated them from the ground and sent them towards the thief.
Both Lexi and Ace gasped at what they saw. It was important to subdue a villain but to use glass to kill them was not what they had signed up for.
Miranda growled as she stood up from her feet and was about to run towards the woman. "Get back here you—" she felt her body falling onto the ground when Lexi jumped towards her and they both crashed onto the ground. The glass fell back to the ground, cracking into tiny pieces. "What are you doing? You let her get away!"
"You were getting angry!" Ace pointed out as he helped her and Lexi off the ground. It had been an issue that he had seen when he trained her from the start. If she hadn't been able to control it, then they were going to be the ones who were going to be charged or worse thrown in jail just because a team member couldn't control her anger. How was the city going to trust them after that?
"She hurt Duck!" Miranda yelled at Ace, "what would you do if she did it to someone you care about?" She didn't give him a chance to answer as she ran towards Duck and knelt beside him. Out of all of them, he was the one that was covered in scratches.
"Ugh," Duck suddenly groaned as he moved his head from one side to the next, "did we get her? Can we go home now?"
Whew Miranda let out a mental sigh of relief when he moved. Thank God he's alright. She helped him off the ground and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him flinch at her hug.
Ace placed the tips of his fingers on his temples. He couldn't believe that they had been unsuccessful at capturing this villain. Just when he thought they were going to have a relaxing night, it had turned out to be a disaster. Ace directed his team into arresting the three robbers that had been knocked out ever since they had arrived and to help the guard that had been stunned. There was another thing that crossed his mind. He wondered what Zadavia had to say about this strange villainess…that is if they had any file on her.
