I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
It was true. He needed to get out more. The last couple of days that Tech had spent in his laboratory, building devices, and watching them malfunction was enough indication to him that he needed to get out a HQ for a while. Playing chess with Rev the previous day, with the rest of the team watching him, had been fun but it wasn't something that he was going to keep on doing whenever he wanted a break. These past couple of days that Acmetropolis had been quiet, he was able to catch up on as much work as he could but wound up opening new projects for himself. He felt that a superhero could never be too prepared. The last device that he had created consisted of spitting out a rope that would wrap around an opponent's body, only it would squeeze them whenever they moved. Perhaps it was for the better that the device had malfunctioned. Ever since his professor had labeled him as 'mad,' that was a title that Tech had been wanting to get away from…and he didn't want to seem that way in his friends' eyes either.
Finally concluding that he needed a little break, he walked out of his laboratory and headed at the lounge. He wasn't surprised to see that the room was empty. Ace and Lexi had been spending time with each other, which to Tech was no surprise considering how they looked at one another. Duck and Miranda were in their own little world, while Slam and Rev were mostly keeping to themselves. Slam always found something to entertain himself with but Rev had been making Tech feel a bit worried for him. Even though two of their teammates were happily enamored with the other, he could see that the roadrunner felt a little left out…and perhaps still thinking about Michelle, even after she had called him a 'distraction.'
Tech truly appreciated the friendship that he had with Rev, but he was not going to get involved in this. Rev could take care of himself. It wasn't long until Tech decided to head out to HQ and into the cool air of the afternoon. At least the streets of Acmetropolis looked normal than they had been many weeks ago. After the team of defeated Weathervane, Sypher, Mastermind, and Massive they had caused a lot of destruction to the city but with the help of the citizens as well as the Loonatics volunteering, they were able to bring it back to the way it once was. This time, Tech made sure that the prison cells where the villains were transported were impenetrable that not even a wormhole could get through it. Not that they would have a problem with that now that Optimatus was nowhere to be seen or heard.
As Tech walked past the Crème de la Crème bakery, he stopped when he noticed a familiar roadrunner in there, speaking with none other than the owner herself. Ah-ha Tech thought, not even attempting to hide the smirk off his face I knew it. So Rev was not over Michelle. Still, his thoughts on Michelle were unlikely to change even if she attempted to make friendship with him.
Just then, a thought penetrated his mind. He was guilty of letting Quinn cross into his mind whenever he had his moments of solitude. That was one of the worst things about spending time alone. His mind sometimes wandered even to the darkest of times that he had suffered through. Three of them being the meteor, Quinn's death, and Black Velvet. Still feeling that shame that he had left himself fall victim to Black Velvet, he also felt the same for not visiting Quinn after a year had passed. Perhaps it was time for a visit.
The walked down the block and took a left turn before he found himself standing in front of the gates of the Acmetropolis gravesite. He remembered Quinn's site the day that Lexi had led him there and he didn't waste any moment to find it. When he arrived at Quinn's site, he felt his heart thundering against his chest. Taking a deep breath, he tried to control his emotions, and the fact that his legs were almost turning into jelly.
Come on Tech said to himself pull yourself together. After the first time he had seen her here, his knees had crashed to the ground and he had cried his eyes out. Thank God for Lexi being there with him and then taking him back to HQ. He didn't think he would have been able to get through it on his own without her support. Now that he was by himself, he had to remain strong not only for himself, but for her as well.
There were so many things that he had wanted to say to her that never got said…yet he wondered if it had been the same for her. He took a deep breath and sat down in front of her tombstone, looking over at her name and the date of her birth and death. The question what if came into his thoughts.
What if she had been hit by the meteor's radiation? What if she had the ability to regenerate like he could? What if he hadn't bought that tick to her? What if he had the courage to tell her how he really felt about her? Would she still be here?
"Oh…" a voice said behind him as Tech whipped around and noticed a wolf standing behind him. She wore a long beige trench coat with blue jeans and a white sweater. In her hands, she had a bouquet of flowers. "Hello," she greeted him.
Tech jumped to his feet and faced the female wolf in front of him with a surprised expression in his features. "I'm…I'm sorry," he apologized to her, "I—I didn't think anyone would be here."
She looked from Tech and over to the tombstone before looking over at him. "I didn't think I would be here either," she said to him. "It's been so long since I last visited my little sister that she's probably wondering where I've been." She placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the headstone and placed her hand on top of it.
Sister? Had Tech heard her correctly when she had said it. "I didn't know she had a sister," Tech said more to himself than to her.
There was a forlorn smile upon her lips as she got up to her feet and turned to look at Tech. "Before she died, we didn't talk much to each other. I was always traveling and never made the time to speak with her."
Tech could see that there was guilt in her eyes for not reaching out to her sister more, but the past couldn't be changed.
"But what about you?" she asked as Tech looked at her, "how did you know Quinn?"
"I was her tutor back at Acme Tech University," Tech answered her. "I tried to help her with her classes, but she changed her major into something that she liked." And just as she was doing well in it, she was gone in an instant he wanted to add but he bit his tongue from doing so.
A small smile formed upon her lips when Tech said that. "And…do you know how she died?"
Tech frowned when she asked him that. "You don't know?" he asked her.
"No," she shook her head, "my parents wouldn't let me talk to her." Her eyes fell back on the tombstone as she gave it a gentle nod of her head. She couldn't believe how overprotective her parents had been of Quinn. She would have suffocated if she had been in her younger sister's shoes. "'Loving daughter of Wilford and Rose Wolf.' They wanted to make it seem like I don't even exist."
Tech blinked when she said that. "I don't know if I should say this," he said to her, "but they blamed me for her death," he said and looked down when she turned her attention on him, not even wanting to see the expression that she had on her features.
"Why?" she asked as she looked at Tech, "what did you do?"
"Well," Tech began, "I am one of the superheroes of this city. It's my job to protect it. We had a tick invasion and when I was able to catch one of them, I gave it to Quinn to see if she could find its origin and something that would help us defeat it. The tick penetrated in Quinn's mind, took control of her body, and killed her when it escaped." He couldn't believe how insane his encounter sounded to someone who was not familiar with this city, but it was as blunt as he could get.
She placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes never moving away from Tech's. So that's why he looked a bit familiar. Before she had come to graveyard, she noticed a poster when she passed one of the store windows and he happened to be in there. She then shook her head at the thought of her parents and how discourteous they had been. Instead of respecting their daughter's colleagues, they controlled who was able to come to her funeral and couldn't. "I'm sorry," she finally said to him. "I'm sure that Quinn was more than willing to help you out."
"She was," Tech said, "but I feel like I failed her."
"No," she said with a shake of her head, "from what I can tell, you were doing what you thought was necessary in saving your city. Quinn is not the type of wolf to turn down anyone asking for assistance. I'm sure that she did all that she could before…" she trailed off and took a deep breath.
There was no need to even say those words, but it was the truth that they couldn't escape from. "Anyway," she broke the silence between them as she looked at Tech. "I didn't have the pleasure in getting your name. I'm Amber Wolf," she said as she held her hand towards him.
At least someone in Quinn's family was willing to speak to him rather than shun him. He reached out and gently grabbed her hand. "I'm Tech E. Coyote," he said to her.
A smile lingered upon her lips when they shook hands. "I'm glad that my sister was able to be with someone…other than our parents."
Be with? "No, no," Tech shook his head, "Quinn and I…we were never…that is…" he stuttered.
"Really?" she asked, shocked upon this revelation. "I thought there was something between you two."
"Just friends," Tech quickly answered her.
"Well," Amber said as a little chuckle escaped her lips, "I'm glad that she had someone in her life that made her happy at least." Even though she hadn't spoken much with her sister, she knew how much suffocation she had gone through with her parents.
Tech felt his stomach drop. Never did he believe that he would ever hear such words like that. "It's the least I could do," he said to her.
"You really live up to the title of a 'superhero,'" she said to him, "I will be staying in this city for a little bit."
"Where will you be staying?" Tech asked her.
"The Acmetropolis Plaza Hotel," Amber answered him as she pulled out a card from the pocket of her trench coat and handed it over to him. "If you would ever like to reach out for a cup of coffee or something, you can reach me there. I'd love to learn more about you." She looked at him up and down, taking in the features of his outfit and the appearance that he had. Even though Quinn was only friends with him, her little sister certainly had good taste when it came to canines. "See you later."
The moment she turned around, Tech thought that the curls from her hair gently stroked the tip of his nose. Don't even go there! Tech scolded himself. He then looked down at the card that she had given him.
Out of all the places, it had to be right by Quinn's site. Whether this was a message that she was sending him or something that was purely coincidental, Tech thought that this was too good to be true.
