I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
Even though Lexi's birthday celebration had been cut short, the team was glad to have finally arrived back at HQ. Ace's body was still recovering from when he had been thrown to the wall but at least him and the team did not suffer from any critical injuries…well, everyone but Duck. He had been out of his sense ever since Tech had taken the device off him and made no attempts to get out. Ace wondered how powerful that device had been to take out all his energy. Ace looked over at his teammate and noticed the scratches and bruises that even he had suffered through that ordeal. It was not Duck that they were attacking and Ace hoped that Duck understood that once he woke up.
"Slam," Ace said to the Tasmanian devil, "take Duck to his room. Miranda," he looked over at her, "make sure he's comfortable and the moment he wakes up, come and get us."
Considering what had happened between them, Miranda was not going to leave Duck alone. Through all of that, she believed that he wanted someone by his side more than ever and she was willing to do that for him. "Come on Slam," Miranda said as the two of them disappeared in the hall and over to Duck's room.
In the lounging area, Lexi took a deep breath and let out a sigh. She felt she had been living a nightmare when the team faced Duck. That device that had somehow wound up into his head made him look malicious. She knew that Duck, no matter how annoying he was, would never mean to harm them, but she had to do what she needed to protect herself from getting hurt. She looked up at Ace when he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Something on your mind?" he asked her.
Lexi nodded her head. "I still can't believe what happened. It's not like it's a coincidence that device happened to be there when Duck was attacked."
She was quick to catch up on that. Even Ace found it odd that out of all the places that they were in, that device had to be at the Club in Toons. "Tech will figure out what's going on with that device."
"And if he does, then what?" Lexi asked him, "the damage has already been done. I don't know Ace but someone is spying on the team."
Rev, who had been sitting with them at the lounge area, furrowed his eyebrows after what he had just heard. Out of all the villains that he had faced, none of them seemed to have the intellectual capacity to even design a device like the one that they saw. Could it be that a new villain was in the city…and someone that they hadn't met yet? "Whoever-it-is," Rev began, "I'm-just-really-sorry-that-it-ruined-your-special-day."
Lexi took a deep breath and let out a gentle sigh. "Thanks Rev," Lexi said to him, "but that's not the hot issue right now." She hadn't meant to sound inconsiderate, but a ruined birthday party meant nothing to her when her team was in danger. "We gotta get to the bottom of this. I have a bad feeling."
No matter how much they hypothesized of the whereabouts of the device, the only thing that they could do was wait for Tech's findings. As of right now, the coyote had himself locked inside his laboratory and was busy at work. Neither Lexi, Ace, nor Rev were going to bother him on his progress but they were willing to wait on what they found.
He couldn't believe how much in pain his body felt. Duck's eyes slowly fluttered open and his vision began to clear. He felt his bedsheets comfortably wrapped around his body as he slowly began to stir awake. He hissed in pain as he got up to a sitting position on his bed and almost jumped from fright when he noticed Miranda, with her head lying down, by his bedside. What time was it? What was she doing here? And why did he feel like he had been part of wrestling match…and lost at it?
He slowly leaned forward and gave Miranda a gentle poke on her elbow. "Psst," he whispered to her and poked her again, "wake up, Miranda."
She stirred awake and looked over at Duck who was sitting up in his bed. Miranda lifted her head off the bed and tried to smile at him, flinching at the slight pain from the bruise on her cheek. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.
A look of concern crossed over Duck's features when he noticed the bruises and the scratches on Miranda. Did something happen at the club that he didn't know about? Had he had one too many light cocktails that he blacked out? "What…what happened to you?" he asked as he reached out and placed a hand on her cheek.
There was that tenderness that she was familiar with. "Don't worry about it," Miranda said as she grabbed his hand into hers and looked at him tenderly. "The important thing is that you're alright."
I will be if my body stops killing me Duck thought. "Was it bad?" he asked her, "whatever happened at the club?"
It was evident that he didn't know of the events, but Miranda did not want to relive those moments. How would Duck feel if she told him that he had tried to hurt his teammates. Or that he had tried to kill her in the process? "We managed," Miranda answered him, "I…I need to go and get Ace. He wants to talk to you about this."
As she was about to go, she was gently pulled back and she turned around and looked at Duck expectantly.
"It's just something came to my mind," he said, "I'm…." He couldn't believe how hard it was to say an actual apology. He had done it before, but it wasn't sincere as he was trying to be at this moment. "I'm…." Come Duck, say it. It's not that hard. He knew that she was reading into his head and hoped that it was good enough for her, but he knew that she wouldn't appreciate it. "I'm sorry," he finally managed to say to her, "I mean it. I'm sorry how I acted about your…friend." He did not believe one bit that he was just a friend. Who would refer to their friend as being 'hot' in the first place? He looked down at her hand for a mere couple of seconds, seeing that the ring was still there and that gave him some comfort. "I just…don't want to lose you to anyone. You're the greatest thing that has happened to me."
Those words made her eyes sting. Without any hesitation, she launched herself onto Duck and hugged him tightly, even though he flinched at her affection. She brushed a kiss against his cheek before she whispered, "I love you." She didn't want to leave him, but she had to abide by Ace's orders.
The moment Miranda reached the lounge area Ace and Lexi looked up. With a gentle nod coming from Miranda, Ace got up from his seat and motioned for Lexi to follow him. Once he passed Miranda, he stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. "You're not coming?" he asked her.
"No," Miranda shook her head to him, "I don't want to hear of the events that happened. I…I just can't."
Lexi exchanged a look with Ace and walked up to her. She gave her a gentle smile and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're all glad that Duck is okay."
"That we are," Ace said as he put a comforting hand on her other shoulder, "but before we go talk to him, did you see something in him that can help us and jog his memory."
"There was a voice in his head which wasn't his," she explained, "a voice that sounded demanding. As if he wanted Duck to carry out the deed."
Ace and Lexi exchanged a look with one another. So Lexi had been right, someone was spying on the team. "Alright," Ace said to Miranda with a nod of his head before looking over to Lexi, "let's go and pay Duck a visit."
Once the two rabbits headed down the hall, Miranda walked over to a couch and sat down. All she wanted to do was to let that couch sink her deeper and deeper until she wasn't seen anymore. Her solitude did not last long for Rev Runner zipped over to her side. Without saying a single word, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. He felt the turbulence that went inside of her after what they had been thorough and the only thing that she needed now was a close friend.
The moment Ace and Lexi walked into his bedroom; Duck felt like he was going to be interrogated. There was a look of concern on their faces, but Duck played it off as if nothing was wrong. "I didn't ask for room service," he said to them.
At least we know the real Duck is back Lexi thought, unbothered by the words that he had just said.
"We gotta talk to you Duck," Ace said as he approached the bedside. "Do you remember anything that happened last night?" he asked him.
The only thing that he remembered was walking out of the club after he had a small fight with Miranda. After that, he couldn't remember what had happened. "No," he said to him with a shake of his head. He then furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed a few scratches on Ace and Lexi. "What is going on? First Miranda, now you two?! Was there a fight that I didn't know about?"
He was going to be in for quite the story if Ace and Lexi decided to tell him. "Yes," Lexi answered him with a nod of his head, "and it wasn't pretty."
"Where was I? Why don't I remember it?" Duck asked them.
"Let's just say that you were part of it," Ace began, "but you weren't fighting the villain." He took a deep breath and looked at Duck right in the face, "you were fighting us."
Yikes, a little harsh Ace Lexi thought.
"What?" Duck almost laughed when Ace said that, "that's ridiculous! Why would I fight any of you? I mean, I would if we're training."
"This was not training," Lexi shook her head, "you mean you don't really remember?"
"That's what I said," Duck answered her, "I…I wouldn't fight any of you."
Ace placed his hands on his hips. "If I were to say what happened, would that jog your memory?" he asked him.
Duck shrugged his shoulders. "You can try."
"Alright," Ace said, "we noticed that you were gone and Miranda went out to find you. It wasn't too long when Lexi's super hearing caught a noise outside. The moment we got out there, you had Miranda cornered to the wall and were ready to punch her." He saw Duck's eyes widening when he said that, "when we jumped in to stop you, you started attacking all of us."
Duck shook his head at Ace. "Don't," he said to him, "don't say something that isn't true. I would never hurt Miranda."
Both Ace and Lexi knew that he wouldn't. He had even said that he would never fight his team. He had shown his loyalty to them, through his own way, and that was evident enough for them. However, this was some form of truth that he needed to face whether it was now or later. "I'm afraid it is Duck," Lexi gently answered him, "we know that you would never do something like that. The reason why we're telling you this is if you know anything that could have happened before you did this."
"Tech was able to pull a strange looking device out of you before you…" Ace trailed off when he recounted that event. He looked over at Lexi, who shook her head to him knowing well that he was going to tell Duck that he jumped off the building while holding onto Miranda. "Before you attacked us again."
A device? Duck thought. He looked down at the bedsheets and tried to jog his memory into what he could have seen. He recounted the events that had happened before he blacked out. Dancing with Miranda, that Dan guy, fighting with Miranda, storming out, the back of the club and into the alley. "Yes…" Duck nodded his head, "I remember seeing something coming close to me. Wait a minute…it tried to grab onto me. I managed to pull it away and throw my power orbs at it and…that's all I remember."
Good, they were finally getting somewhere with all of this. "And you don't remember seeing anyone before that thing attacked you?" Ace asked him.
Duck shook his head, "no."
Ace looked down at his wrist as his telecommunicator beeped. "Ace," Tech's voice came through, "I think I found out something about this device…not to mention something off the cameras. You have to see this."
"Coming right down Tech," Ace said. Before he left, he looked up and Duck and gave him a nod of his head. "Thanks for telling us what happened. It's good to have you back."
Before, Duck wouldn't have accepted this as a form of sincerity but considering the events that had happened, he didn't know what to think. "I want to come and see it," Duck said.
"Oh," Lexi spoke up, "Duck I think you ought to—"
"I want to come," Duck interrupted her and threw the sheets off him. He staggered to his feet but he was willing to face that device after what had happened. He couldn't believe that he had let some piece of technology get the best of him. And for what? To wreak havoc onto his team?
The three of them exited out of Duck's bedroom and headed towards Tech's laboratory. "Alright," Duck said as he found some strength and marched inside, "where is that hunk of metal? I got a few words with it."
Tech rose and eyebrow and looked up at Ace, who only gave him a shrug of his shoulders. That was a clear indication that Duck was finally back and that he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "That hunk of metal has been destroyed," Tech said to him, "I didn't want it to get loose in HQ. I pulled this memory chip from the device and what I saw was shocking. It seems that whoever designed this, has implemented all our photographs in the device. I think that's one of the reasons as to why the device was able to recognize Duck."
Duck let out a light scoff. "I know that I am irresistible, but what business would that device want with me?"
Tech closed his eyes and resisted the will to give a huge eyeroll after what Duck had just said. "If it's not obvious enough," Tech began, "I hypothesize that the device is a form of mind control. That's why you acted out of character back in the alley."
It was getting very frustrating for Duck that his teammates were saying this without him remembering.
"But that's not all," Tech said, "I hacked into the Club in Toons security cameras in the alley and was able to pick up on someone. I couldn't get any facial recognition but…you may not want to see this Duck."
Duck glared at the coyote. "I'm the one that went through this," he said to him.
Not just you but all of us Tech thought as he rewound the security image and Ace, Lexi, and Duck gathered around him. From behind the group, Ace was able to spot out a silhouetted figure as it ran away from the fight and deeper into the alley. Even in the twenty-eighth century, security cameras were not sophisticated enough to pick up on dark shadows.
Duck's eyes followed the events that were unfolding in front of him. His features softened when he saw himself trapping Lexi into tar, throwing Tech and Ace against a building, throwing a car towards Slam and Rev, but the last image that broke him was when the saw himself punching Miranda and throwing her and himself off the building. He felt as if he had lost all sensation in his body and he pulled away from the screen.
"Duck," Lexi said as she walked up to him, "it's over now. We're all fine, you didn't mean to hurt anybody."
Even if her words were true, he had. He had hurt his teammates and his fiancé and he didn't know if he would ever forgive himself for falling into such a trap. He was a hero and he hadn't been vigilant enough of his surroundings to stop this from happening. Without saying a word, he walked out of Tech's laboratory and walked down the hallway. As he passed by the lounge area, he stopped when he noticed Rev sitting next to Miranda. From what he could see, Rev was consoling her after the events.
He should be the one consoling her and yet, he wound up hurting her to the point where he had almost ended both of their lives. Duck took a deep breath and found the courage to step into the lounging area.
Hearing his footsteps, Rev looked over his shoulder and stood up on his feet. "Duck-you're-okay!" he exclaimed.
If it had been Duck, he wouldn't be as enthusiastic as Rev was. However, deep down he appreciated how much his team cared for him and his wellbeing. "Why wouldn't I be?" Duck asked him.
"Well," Rev began and Duck regretted the moment that he asked such a question, "aside-from-a-device-sticking-in-your-head-and-you-attacking-us-I-would-think-that-you-would-be-really-really-really-really-really-tired-but-its-good-that-you're-back-on-your-feet."
"Can I have a moment to speak with Miranda?" he asked the roadrunner before he went into another long conversation.
"Oh-yes-absolutely-I-was-thinking-of-catching-up-with-Tech-and-what-he's-found-I'll-leave-you-two-lovebirds-alone!" he zipped out of the lounging area and disappeared from them.
Thank God Duck thought when Rev disappeared. He looked over at Miranda and took in the bruises and scratches on her face…the ones that he caused. He sat down and gently put his hands on her face. "I saw it," he said to her, "I saw the security footage of…what happened." He felt sick to stomach seeing himself acting out in such a malicious way.
"It wasn't you Duck," Miranda said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I knew that it wasn't you."
"But I did this. I did this to the team and I did this," he said as he gently brushed his thumb over her bruise, "to you."
Miranda did not want him to suffer through this. They couldn't undo the events that had happened and the only way they could get through this was to take each day step by step. "It doesn't matter," she said to him, "you think that it was you but I know that it wasn't. That wasn't Duck. Because the Duck that I know has an ego bigger than his head but his heart is in the right place."
"Hey! My ego is not bigger than my head," Duck said to her.
A light smile formed onto Miranda's beak when he said that. She kept her arms wrapped around him and snuggled close to him. "I beg to differ," Miranda said to him, "but your heart is the biggest."
Others may disagree with her, but Duck didn't care. Out of all this, everyone was fine and no one suffered any fatal injuries. He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her close to him. He couldn't remember the last time when they cuddled like this, but he was glad that they found the proper time for it.
