I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
A/N: Thank you for the reviews thus far. So it seems that I had a slight delay on my chapter updates. Apologies on that, but here is the next chapter. I must say, Tweetums...not really my favorite, but I tried to keep it as much as I could within the episode.
Enjoy!
After saving Slam from the Max Arena, the Loonatics had enjoyed a blissful couple of days with the peace and quiet. The whole team had retired early for a good couple of hours of sleep. In the late hours of midnight, Ace was suddenly awoken by a booming noise happening outside of headquarters. He immediately jolted from his bed when he felt the building beginning to shake. "Warning! Warning! Enemy vessel detected."
That doesn't sound good Ace thoughts as he jumped out of his bed. And right when I was having a good dream too. He didn't waste a single second as he met up with the rest of the team in the main room. "Tech!" Ace said to the coyote, "initiate counter defense measures. Lexi, put on your brain blast helmet and get ready to fire. Raise the deflector shields! Slam get ready to launch photon rockets!" Ace commanded his teammates as they seated themselves onto a chair, ready to attack the enemy. He placed on a helmet onto his head and activated his laser vision within the helmet. "Ready to channel laser blasts, now!" With the helmet as a powerful source, he unleashed his laser beams towards his target, which happened to be a missle.
Lexi placed on her helmet and initiated a counterattack with her brain blast. Her power successfully destroyed a missile into thin air.
After Lexi's attack, Slam launched the photon rockets as he hit as many as he could.
The missiles that the other Loonatics missed, Miranda used her telekinesis to course correct their direction as she sent them slamming into another one. She kept her eyes focused on one missile to another but her concentration was cut short when she heard Ace.
"Hey uh," Ace suddenly spoke up, "a certain someone seems AWOL. Has anyone seen the Duck-meister?"
"Don't look at me," Miranda spoke up, "I'm not his mother."
Not this again Ace thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at Miranda's response. Ever since the team had rescued Duck and Slam from the Max Arena, Miranda had not said a word to Duck after what he had unknowingly put Slam through. This whole silent treatment was not good for the team, especially when they had to work together. Ace then turned his attention back to the gride when the missiles attempted to hit their headquarters once again. "Any idea who's using us for target practice?" Ace asked his team. "I'd like to know who's trying to blow us to smithereens."
"From all the villains that we have faced," Miranda spoke up, "this one seems like a professional."
Just then, the door of the main room opened as Duck stood by the doorway in his pajamas. "Hey," he said to the team, "would you mind keeping it down? An action hero needs his beauty sleep, not so much for me but for my fans."
Duck's words were unnoticed by the group as they kept their concentration upon the missiles. Lexi's brain blast shot down one missile followed by Ace's laser beam. "That's the last of 'em," Ace spoke up. Upon him saying that, the headquarters quaked from a beam that was sent out by the enemy. I spoke too soon Ace thought. "Okay Lex let's focus our fire power and take out this tin can!" he looked over at the female bunny that sat next to him.
Lexi gave him a determined nod of her head as they both activated their powers as much as they could within their helmets. Both lasers escaped from headquarters and combined, creating a powerful source, and sending it towards the enemy vessel.
Tech looked at the grid. "It worked!" he said when he noticed the combined blast from Ace and Lexi hitting the enemy vessel.
"Were you and Rev able to get anything on that vessel?" Ace asked them.
Rev shook his head. "No-he-was-too-far-off-the-grid-to-detect," he answered.
Whoever that enemy was, Ace had a feeling that tonight was not the last time that the team was going to see him. His intuition told him that this was probably Deuce but the guy had been sucked into a wormhole and he was who know where? "Okay," Ace said, "good work team."
They got up from their seats and as they were about to head back to their bedrooms to rest, Ace looked down at his telecommunicator and saw Zadavia's image. "Hey Zadavia," Ace greeted her, "didn't know you were awake at these hours of the night. I guess you just got word that our headquarters almost blew up."
That she had but that wasn't the reason as to why she was calling. "I am heading towards HQ right now. There is an assignment that I must communicate with the team."
"We'll get you set up in the meantime," Ace said to her. After communicating about Zadavia's arrival to the rest of the team, everyone get settled by the round table. "Someone go and wake up Sleeping Beauty. He shouldn't miss this meeting."
Seeing that Miranda was not bothering to budge from her place, Slam grinned as he headed out of the room and into Duck's room. The mallard was snoring away soundly whilst whispered in his sleep "I'll save you…Misty Breeze…an interview, moi?" Slam cringed when he heard Duck said that. Looks like someone had been picking up on some French from that awful man that they fought a week ago.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Slam said and shook Duck from the shoulders.
Duck was jolted awake as he blinked a couple of times. When his vision adjusted, he looked at Slam in surprise, which then formed into a glare. "Get out of here Slam, I was having a great dream!" he pulled the edge of his covers across his shoulders and flopped to the other side of the bed.
Fine, he was going to have to try a different approach. He grabbed a hold of Duck and threw him over his shoulder and walked out of the room with him.
"Hey!" Duck yelled as he tried to squirm away from the Tasmanian devil. "This is no way to treat an action hero!" He then felt his feet contacting the ground and he faced the team that was gathered at the round table.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Duck," Ace said, "you're five minutes late."
Duck gulped when he noticed Zadavia's presence in headquarters. Oh great, a meeting at the late hours of the night. He made his way towards the round table and took his usual seat next to Miranda who didn't bother to look at him. Duck rolled his eyes at her attitude and then looked over at the computer screen where the image of an aged woman stared back at them.
"Loonatics," Zadavia spoke up, "I have a very important assignment for you. Now that everyone is here Your Highness," the woman smiled to the aged woman.
"I am Queen Grannicus from Planet Blanc, deep in the Merrie Melody Galaxy. We're about to be attack and so desperately need your help!" she pleaded to the team. "The only way to stop the invasion is for the rightful heir to take the throne."
Duck let out a loud yawn. "So what does that have to do with us?" he asked.
"I'd like you to meet the heir to the throne," Zadavia then spoke up as a small hovercraft that was in the shape a tiny house hovered in front of the team. The drapes opened from the hovercraft and a small bird in royal garments was perched on a small couch playing a little game. "Presenting Royal Tweetums." Zadavia had hoped for the little one to have been more attentive but seeing how engrossed he was in the video game that he was playing, Zadavia gently cleared her throat. "Royal Tweetums?"
Just like a small child who had been caught, he put away his game and looked up at Zadavia and got up from his couch.
"Where?" Duck asked when he caught sight of the little bird, "all I see is a scrawny looking bird."
Zadavia let out a sigh. How embarrassing for one of her teammates to insult royalty like this. "This is the heir to the throne," she emphasized.
"I'm only three and a half parsecs old," Tweetums said.
Duck rolled his eyes at that. "Royalty isn't what it used to be," he said as he turned his back on the little bird and tried to get some more sleep.
Miranda let out a scoff at Duck's words. "Please excuse my fiancé's rudeness, Your Highness. It seems that thinking before speaking isn't one of his strengths."
Duck opened an eye and glared at Miranda when she said that. "So is not jumping to conclusions," he fired back at her and received a glare in return.
"Anyway!" Ace jumped in before a fight broke out between them, "I have a hunch that our feathered friend had something to do with our rude awakening."
Zadavia bought the palm of her hand towards Tweetums and he jumped on top of it. "There are forces that don't want Tweetums to reach Planet Blanc."
Tweetums shivered. "Dark and very mean forces."
Zadavia placed Tweetums on the table next to the Duck. "Somehow they have managed to track our every move. That's why you are needed to make sure that the destination is reached."
Duck stretched and let out another loud yawn. "What's the big deal about one puny planet run by one puny prince…or should I say princess?"
Tweetums glared at Duck and placed his hand on his hips. "Hey!"
Miranda would have punched his shoulder for saying that but with Zadavia physically present, she didn't find the motivation to do it.
No matter how many times Zadavia had reprimanded Duck for his insubordination and attitude, neither she had the strength to continue. "The last time Blanc was invaded," Zadavia said as an archived video showed up on the screen, "the universe was plunged into an intergalactic war that lasted for fifteen hundred years."
"How come every time the universe is plunged into war it lasts fifteen hundred years?" Duck asked.
Ignoring his question, Zadavia looked down at Tweetums. "The royal family was exiled. Now is the time for Tweetums to return to the throne or risk another war."
There was no way that was going to happen. Ace stood up from his chair. "We proudly accept the mission!"
Tweetums jumped and clapped his hands with enthusiasm. "Oh goody!" he said, "I like him. You," he pointed at Duck, "I'm not so sure."
"Duck, Slam, Miranda, and me will drop off Tweetums with Queen Grannicus. Lexi, Tech, and Rev stay here and watch our backs. We'll take Optimatus's old ship," Ace said.
Duck gasped. "But that belonged to the bad guys! It still gives me the willies."
"Wow," Miranda spoke up, "so much for your hero name. Not so much of a Danger Duck…are you?" she got up from her seat before Duck could say anything back. "Let me know when we're ready to board," she said to Ace before walking out of the meeting.
Ace bowed his head to the table.
"Is there something that I ought to know?" Zadavia asked the team.
Ace had debriefed Zadavia on the Max Arena and the illegal fights run by Pierre Le Pew. However, he had not said to her about Slam and Duck's involvement. The last thing he needed was for Zadavia to drag Duck through the mud and suspend him for his immature action. "Just a little miscommunication between them," he spoke up before Duck was able to answer and he could tell from the corner of his eye that Duck was about to jump into the conversation and potentially ruin it.
"Whatever miscommunication it is, clear it up soon," Zadavia said as her eyes bore onto Duck, "this is an important mission that we must not fail. I shall leave Tweetums in your care. Ace, let me know how the mission goes."
Duck folded his arms across his chest. Zadavia may have delt with Miranda before, but it was a whole different situation with him. She was stubborn sometimes and getting through to her was like getting through a brick wall. No matter how hard it took to break it down.
"On it," Ace's voice rang out as he gave Zadavia a firm nod of his head and watched as their boss left. He took a deep breath and looked at his team, to see if there was anything else that they needed. Under Lexi's command, he knew that both Rev and Tech could take care of everything at headquarters. "Slam, Duck, let's get Miranda and get on that ship."
Ace watched as Duck and Slam walked out of the room. He motioned his head towards Lexi to follow him. He watched as she got up from her seat and followed him to a secluded area where they would be away Rev and Tech's sight.
"How do you feel about all of this?" Lexi suddenly broke the silence between them. The idea that Ace would be heading off into space, without her, made Lexi weary. She shivered at the thought when their spaceship blew up and she thought that Ace had died. What if this turned out to be the same situation…or worse?
Ace let out a small sigh at her question. "The thought of heading into a planet that's already being invaded…" he trailed off and gently shook his head, "I just worry for the little guy."
A small smile came upon Lexi's lips. Ace had a good heart, but this was out of their control. Their mission was to return him back to his planet. Whatever happened there…Lexi only wished that everything would go smoothly for Tweetums. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed Ace into a hug and buried her face against his chest. "Just come back soon," she said to him and she felt his arms wrapping around her.
Ace hugged her tightly and he hoped that she didn't take it as the last time that she would see him. Out of all his teammates, he had kept a cool and calm composure in whatever situation they had been in. With Lexi, he knew that he could be himself and he was glad that he was able to do that even before they had agreed to be more than teammates. When he felt her arms starting to become loose, he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared at her green eyes. "You know I will."
Optimatus's ships hovered into space as Ace, Slam, Duck, and Miranda had gathered at the front. "We'll be running a selected crew so it's important that everyone sticks to their duties," Ace spoke up, "naturally, I'll be the pilot. Slam will be in charge of the engine, weapons, and kitchen."
At the word 'kitchen' Slam drooled delightfully at the thought of being surrounded by food. Duck flinched when he was drenched by Slam's drool and Miranda giggled at the enthusiasm that Slam showed.
"You'd better leave some snacks for us there, big guy," she said to Slam.
"And Duck and Miranda, you'll both watch Tweetums," Ace said before he headed out the room with Slam.
Duck was taken aback by his responsibility while Miranda's lower beak slightly dropped. That sneaky rabbit! she thought and folded her arms across her chest. It wasn't that she had issues with taking care of Tweetums, she was still upset with Duck. She folded her arms across her chest and looked over at Ace's disappearing figure until Tweetums came out from his little hovercraft home.
"Oh boy, oh boy!" the two ducks looked over at Tweetums, "you two are the lucky ones!"
Duck didn't appreciate that he was stuck with the canary. "Hey!" he argued, "I'm a trained warrior. I'm a mean lean fighting machine. Not a babysitter!"
Tweetums raised an eyebrow and looked at Duck. "I'm not a baby, I'm three and a half parsecs old."
"Yeah, I heard you the first-time nugget. It wasn't that interesting then," Duck dismissed Tweetums and the little bird was left by glaring at the male duck.
Miranda looked from Duck and then over to Tweetums. She didn't know how many times she was going to have to apologize for Duck's attitude. "Sorry about that," she said as she knelt towards Tweetums and was at eye level with him. "For someone that three and a half parsecs old, you sure have some spunk, don't you?" She reached out with her finger and gave his head a little rub.
Tweetums closed his eyes in appreciation at her gentle touch and nodded his head to her. "I have to, otherwise my kingdom would be in big, big, big trouble."
"The kingdom of what?" Duck then spoke up when he heard Tweetums say that. "An egg?"
Tweetums sent Duck another glare and Miranda gently face palmed at what he said. "Duck!" she exclaimed as she got up to her feet, "just…stop…talking." She let out a sigh and looked down at Tweetums, "it will be one long ride to get you there. How about a little something to eat?"
"I'd like that," Tweetums nodded his head to her with a smile upon his beak. "And then Mr. Duck can give me a bath."
Upon hearing his name being mentioned, Duck's eyes widened. "What?! Give you a—no way is that happening pipsqueak!"
Miranda folded her arms across her chest before she took her leave for the kitchen. "Someone has to do it. He is royalty after all."
Duck whipped around and looked at her as she walked away. "Then why don't you do it?"
"I'm already on kitchen duty," she called back and disappeared from Duck's sight. Once she was a good distance away from him, she couldn't help but chuckle after Tweetums's suggestion. That was going to be quite the sight to see, as well as hearing Duck's constant complaints. Just as she took a turn into another room, she stopped by the doorway when she noticed Ace's figure disappearing from the screen and Slam eating away in the refrigerator. Another chuckle escaped her lips as she looked at the Tasmanian devil. "Have you left some things for us?" she asked as she approached the refrigerator.
Slam pulled away from the refrigerator and allowed Miranda to have full access before he devoured whatever was left in there.
"I would like to make something for His Royal Highness before we get there and…it seems like we have two slices of bread," she said as she pulled out two slices from the fridge and looked at Slam.
Slam rubbed his arm with his hand and let out an apologetic grunt. "Whoops…" he bashfully said.
Miranda waved her hand dismissively in the air. "No worries, I'll think of something." She stuck her head back in the refrigerator and was glad that there were some assortments that she had to make a sandwich. She was glad that Tweetums didn't have such a finicky taste when it came to food, otherwise he would have been tasting some of her terrible cooking skills. "There," she said as she placed the top of the sandwich onto the rest and carried the plate with her, "the fridge is all yours Slam."
Upon those words, she heard Slam not wasting another second as he threw himself inside the refrigerator and devoured what he could find. As she made her way back to the room, she stopped by the doorway when she noticed Duck kneeling on the floor and scrubbing Tweetums with a small toothbrush. Tweetums was happily singing in the bathtub.
"That does it!" Duck yelled and threw the toothbrush onto the floor. "Bath time's over!"
Well, it was an adorable moment while it lasted. Miranda let out a sigh and approached the two of them.
"But you were doing such a great job," Tweetums said as he came out with a bath towel wrapped around his tiny waist. He turned around and wiggled his tailfeathers at Duck, "even if you missed a spot."
Duck flicked Tweetums back to the bathtub.
Miranda placed a hand on her waist. "Really Duck?" she asked him, "is this how you're going to act around your own kids?"
Duck shook his head and whipped around to face Miranda. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he threw his hands in front of her as if she was going to attack him. "Kids?! Who said anything about kids?"
"Uh I did. Just now," Miranda answered him. When she saw that shocked look on his face and let out a groan. "Honestly. After engagement, comes marriage—"
"Then comes a baby in a baby carriage!" Tweetums chirped as he popped his head from the bathtub.
Duck turned his head at Tweetums. "This conversation does not concern you pipsqueak!" he exclaimed.
Tweetums rolled his eyes over to the plate that Miranda was holding. "Ooh is that for me?" he asked her and she nodded her head. "Oh goody. You can put that on the table over there," he said as he pointed to an empty table and Miranda did as he said. "Oh Mrs. Duck—"
"We're not married yet," Miranda pointed out to Tweetums. Not to mention that such a formality made her feel old.
"What do you think about making the song that I sung with Mr. Duck my planet's national anthem?" he asked her, "and I was thinking that Mr. Duck would want to sing it with me."
Why?! Duck simply asked himself. "Forget it," he then said to Tweetums, "I don't do duets."
"You shouldn't feel sad just because you have a bad voice," Tweetums innocently pointed out.
Duck scoffed as he folded his arms and turned his back on Tweetums. "I happen to have a great voice. I just don't want to sing your stupid little song."
Miranda raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Singing in the shower does not account for a great singing voice Duck."
Duck blushed underneath his mask when she said that. Even though he thought of himself as an amazing singer, the idea that Miranda heard him in the shower was a little…intrusive, yet they had been living together for a while so some things were not meant to be kept a secret.
"Only one of us is royalty and only royalty gives orders," Tweetums pointed out as he dried himself with the towel, "you can either sing or change my diaper."
Oh boy Miranda thought.
"Ha!" Duck exclaimed and whipped around, pointing at Tweetums. "You're not wearing a diaper." The towel that Tweetums had just used hit him directly in the eyes.
"True," Tweetums said and placed his hands on his hips. "But I can and I will make sure it needs to be changed."
Miranda couldn't contain her laughter. She couldn't believe how mischievous the little prince was and the fact that Duck had been the chosen one to be dealing with all of it. It seemed like karma had its way of coming back to Duck through all the nonsense that he had pulled onto the team. "He got you there, Duck. He really knows how to negotiate."
It took all of Duck's will to keep himself from losing his temper. "You're despicable," he said to Tweetums as the little canary batted his eyelashes at the Duck, knowing well that he finally had him cornered. "So, what are the stupid lyrics?" Duck asked him as he knew that he didn't have any other choice.
Seeing the look of excitement on Tweetums face made Miranda smile. There was something precious about birdlings and the way their eye lit up when they admired something. Even though Duck was hostile towards Tweetums, Miranda felt that Tweetums appreciated his company. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her video phone and directed it towards Duck and Tweetums.
"What are you doing?" Duck asked her.
"Capturing this adorable moment on video," Miranda answered him. Adorable moment and blackmail if he gets on my nerves she thought.
Duck rolled his eyes to the ceiling as Tweetums began to count off into their duet. With a bored tone of voice, Duck followed along.
"Come on Duck," Miranda pressured him, "put some heart into it."
Duck glared towards the video phone and he caught her laughing behind it. Get me out of this misery he thought to himself.
When their duet was over, Tweetums shook his head. "I agree with Mrs. Duck," he said to him, "you do need to put some heart into it."
"I sang with you," Duck snapped, "you happy now? Are we done?"
Tweetums could have pressured him into singing some more but he felt that he was going to get the same result. "All finished," he said to him and disappeared inside his little hovercraft to change in a new set of clothing.
Miranda turned the video phone towards her direction and replayed the video. A giggled escaped her beak. Tweetums was into the song while Duck looked miserable. "I thought it was cute."
"Just delete it," Duck told her as he sat down on the couch and pulled a magazine to keep himself busy from dealing with the little bird.
"No way," Miranda said, "this is something great to show the kids."
Duck flinched at the mention of that word. He was aware that something like this was bound to happen sooner or later…and he hoped it would be much, much later. "Hopefully by then you forget about this moment…or find a new phone."
"What was that?" Miranda asked when he heard his mumbling.
He was glad that he had not been thinking those words. "Nothing," he said and hid his eyes behind the magazine just so he wouldn't feel her death glare onto him. The pictures on the magazine caught him attention that he barely noticed Tweetums pacing back and forth. "That's right," he agreed with what was written on the magazine, "ducks do make the finest leaders. Must be because of their rugged good looks."
"Hey!" Tweetums suddenly chirped and tried to get in front of Duck's vision, "when are you going to show me around the ship?"
"I believe the expression is when something freezes over," Duck said.
"Duck!" Miranda snapped and hit his arm with the back of her hand, "watch your mouth."
Tweetums was not at all fazed by Duck's words. "Oh please Mr. Duck," he begged him, "give me a tour and I won't make you clip my big yellow toenails."
"Forget it Mustard Stain," Duck said and pushed Tweetums away with his foot, "you're staying put until we reach that ridiculous planet of yours and there is nothing that you will do that will get me to move."
Miranda shook her head at Duck until she noticed a noise coming from the other side of the room. "Ooh look at all these fun places to hide. Bye-bye." she heard Tweetums's voice.
Duck gasped as he jumped out of the couch. "Expect that!" He frantically began to look around the furniture and any object where a bird could be hiding. "Heir to the throne…little heir…Miranda help me, please!"
Just then, Ace's figure appeared on the television screen, causing Duck to halt in front of the screen. "Hey what's up Duck, Miranda?" he asked as he looked at the two of them. "Checking in to see how things are going."
"Things couldn't be better," Duck jumped in, "why wouldn't they be? You think that I wouldn't take care of one pint-sized yellow bird?"
"It's just that the universe would be placed in great jeopardy if anything were to happen to the Royal Highness," Ace explained to Duck.
Miranda slowly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She was glad that Ace couldn't pick up on Duck's franticness. "The little guy is in good hands, don't you worry," she assured Ace and the screen shut down.
Duck turned his back at the screen. "Royal pain in the butt is more like it. That yellow fuzzball has to be around here somewhere. Come on, help me look," he grabbed Miranda's arm and pulled her along with him.
Miranda suddenly planted her feet on the ground and pulled her arm away from him. "Isn't he your responsibility, Duck?" she asked him.
Don't do this now Duck thought. "I didn't ask to be the babysitter."
"Neither did I," Miranda pointed out.
"Okay, fine!" Duck snapped, "neither of us asked to look after the little bundle of misery! But can't you please just help me find him! You heard what Ace said and if anyone finds out about this I won't be the one in trouble, but both of us will. What would the universe think if I let the heir to the throne out of my sight?"
"You always make it about yourself Duck," Miranda pointed out, "aren't you getting tired of that?"
"No, why should I?" he asked her. Even though he gave himself a lot of self-love, it didn't make him heartless no matter who else thought of it.
"Ooh what's in here?" Tweetums's voice echoed from the hallway.
Duck was glad that Miranda didn't have the opportunity to answer that question. He didn't even want to know. He took off into the direction to where he heard Tweetums and watched him enter another room. "Oh no!" he exclaimed when he saw the signs 'Danger, Keep Out, and High Voltage.'
Miranda looked over Duck's shoulder and her eyes widened. "Oh that's not good."
"You think?" Duck said as he looked inside the opened room and slowly walked inside. The last thing that he wanted was to come out looking like a fried duck but he didn't want the heir to the throne to be fried either. He swiped his hand to his right and the lights turned on in the room. "Oh great, this is just where bird breath would go."
Miranda followed Duck as she looked around for the little bird. Even though she was still upset with Duck, she hoped that Tweetums wouldn't give him such a hard time.
"I wonder what's up here," Tweetums suddenly said as he hurried over to a platform that was covered with many wires.
Anger boiled through Duck when he saw the little bird. Everything looked like a game to him no matter how dangerous it seemed. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna—"
"Oh goody," Tweetums jumped up and down when he saw Duck, "a game. Now we'll see if you can catch me!" he jumped through the gaps from the wires effortlessly as Duck was right behind him.
Duck heard those little devilish giggles and reached out with his arm and grabbed onto a small orb that was hidden within the wires. "Gotcha!"
"What do you have there Mr. Duck, a present for me?" Tweetums asked as he sat down by one of the wires and away from the platform.
Duck had been trying to pull onto the object, thinking that it was Tweetums, until he looked up and saw a device that was spewing out electricity.
Miranda gasped when her eyes followed the device. "Oh God," she said and then looked over at Tweetums who made his way over to the red button on the other side of the device. She then looked over at Duck, who pled to Tweetums to not touch the red button.
"I'm a very curious birdie," Tweetums said, "and when I'm told not to touch something, there is only one thing I can do." His hand hovered over to the red button.
"No, no, no!" Miranda said as she ran over to Tweetums.
Too late. Tweetums had pressed on the red button and the electricity surged through Duck, causing him to get free from the wires but powerful enough to daze him.
"You ought to be more careful, Mr. Duck," Tweetums said and then looked over at Miranda, who ran towards Duck to make sure that he was alright. There was something that he didn't understand about these two adults. First, they seemed angry with one another and then the next, she was all over him. There were just some things that he couldn't understand. "So what game would you like to play next?"
Duck whipped around and growled at Tweetums. If only there was a game that would keep him still until they reached their destination. An idea suddenly came to his mind as a smirk made its way to his beak. "I have an idea for a game," he said, which got the little bird's attention.
"Ooh what is it?" Tweetums asked him.
"You ever played house?" he asked him only to get a 'no' as a response. "You don't know what you're missing kid. Come on."
Tweetums followed Duck and Miranda tilted her head to the side. It never crossed her mind that Duck would suddenly propose a game. She was not at all pleased that Tweetums had hurt Duck, even though he was just a fledgling and did it unintentionally. When she walked back into the room, she saw Duck locking Tweetums inside his hovercraft as she heard the little bird say,
I don't think I like this game."
"Tough turkey!" Duck said with his hands on his hips, "you're staying put until we reach your planet…and just to make sure," he held up a lock and chain and wrapped it around the hovercraft.
"Whoa," Miranda said as she looked at his work, "you're really grounding him aren't you?"
"You're funny," Tweetums said, "but it's not easy keeping me in one place."
"You can flap your beak all day. Those locks are impenetrable," Duck stated and walked away from the hovercraft. He let out a sigh and felt an incoming headache making its way. Placing his fingers on his head, he rubbed the spot where that searing pain was coming from.
Miranda stood in front of him. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
"No!" Duck immediately answered her, "I can't get that pesky voice outta my head, I have an excruciating headache, and I lost more feathers with this fuzzball than anything I have ever been through!"
Pushing away her anger with him, Miranda could see that he had grown tired. Who knew that taking care of a small bird would turn out to be exhausting? Miranda had not put a lot of effort than Duck had. "Don't worry," she said to him, "it's only temporary."
But where did that stay with her? She thought back to what she had asked him if this was how he was going to act around his own kids. He had been taken aback by it and she wondered if he respected her wishes to even have them. If she did and he didn't…where would they stand in their future together?
"I hope so," Duck suddenly spoke up, "it feels like it's taking forever. Once we get back to HQ, I'm gonna need a long—ahh!" he yelled as an object crashed against the ship and both ducks were sent flying across the room.
Duck shook his head and lifted his head from the ground. He gasped when he noticed the hovercraft lying on the ground free from the chains. "Heir to the throne?!"
"Oh boy!" Tweetums cheered, "I've always wanted to see a big space battle close up!"
"Uh-oh!" Duck jumped on his feet and then stopped in his tracks when he saw Miranda trying to get up from the floor. "Miranda, you okay?" he asked her and she nodded her head. "Come on, he escaped from his cage."
The two of them left the room and into the hallway. Duck peeked into the other room when he heard Tweetums's voice and saw him standing inside the garbage chute. "No!" he yelled, "not the garbage chute!"
"What are we going to do?" Miranda panicked.
Duck quickly changed into his spacesuit and teleported outside of the ship. He looked from one place to another but had no luck in locating Tweetums. "I wonder where that walking appetizer went," Duck said. Before he could teleport himself, he felt a force grabbing onto him and pulling him towards another ship.
Looking from inside the ship, Miranda's eyes widened at what she had seen. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," she turned her attention over to Tweetums who looked out of the window with her.
"Poor, poor Mr. Duck," Tweetums said.
At least there was one relief that the heir to the throne was alright. However, the idea of Duck being trapped in that strange looking spaceship did not make her feel at ease. "Now how are we going to get Duck?" she asked.
Tweetums looked over at her and noticed the forlorn look upon her face. "Since I am royalty, it is up to me to save my new best friend."
Even though this bird had proven to be a great challenge for Duck, it was extremely adorable that he considered Duck to be his new best friend. "And as his fiancée, it is also up to me to save him."
Tweetums jumped away from the window and to the ground. "Then let's hurry Mrs. Duck, we don't have any time to waste."
The two of them quickly changed into their spacesuits and Tweetums jumped onto a small hovercraft.
"You wouldn't happen to have one that's just a little bigger would you?" Miranda asked as she looked at the small hovercraft that Tweetums was standing on.
Tweetums pressed a button on the hovercraft as it increased in size, though his side still provided the right amount of height that needed to steer the vehicle. "Hop on Mrs. Duck," he said and she did just as he told her. The two of them headed out of the spaceship and towards the vehicle where Duck got trapped.
Tweetums grabbed onto a handle and with slight luck, it was unlocked. "Ooh it's unlocked," he said, "not very smart in this neighborhood."
At least it was their luck that they were able to get inside. She trusted that Tweetums knew where he was going and it wasn't long until they reached a room where they saw Duck trapped in a forcefield with the perpetrator that had abducted him.
Miranda raised an eyebrow as she got a look at whom the perpetrator was as she saw him putting back his helmet on his head. "The guy that took Duck is a cat?" she asked and let out a sigh. Great, at least this one is not in a ridiculous catsuitshe thought, but she didn't know how powerful this villain was.
Tweetums smiled when he looked at Duck. "None other than Sylth Vester," Tweetums said, "but that Duck is sure a good friend. He's confusing the putty tat and making him think that he doesn't like me."
This bird was quite the master in twisting words around. "You think that little buddy," Miranda said, "but how is that going to help us save Duck?"
A little mischievous smirk appeared on Tweetums's beak as he held up a paperclip. "By this of course," he said and jumped in his little hovercraft. "Stay put Mrs. Duck, I got this covered." He headed over to Duck to ensure him that he was going to set him free. He then hovered towards the back of the spaceship where he short-circuited the energy that was coming from the force field, freeing Duck.
Duck let out a groan. "Can I sink any lower? Freed by the makings of a finger sandwich."
"Oh that's really nice Duck," Miranda spoke up.
"I was very worried about you Mr. Duck," Tweetums said, "you shouldn't wander off like that."
Suddenly a shadow hovered over Tweetums followed by a malicious laughter. "Uh-oh, I tawt I taw a puddy tat." He was swiped too quickly from Sylth Vester and Miranda flinched when he saw him place the bird in his mouth. Using all the strength that he had, Tweetums was able to pry the cat's mouth open. "I did! I did taw a putty tat!" he jumped away and landed in front of Duck's feet. "You are a very, very bad puddy tat tying my friend like that."
If I hear the word 'puddy tat' one more time Miranda thought as she watched Sylth Vester recovering from the feathers that he was coughing up.
"Kiss you feathery butt bye-bye!" he said as he directed a gun towards them.
"Oh yeah?" Duck said, "jump on, I'll get us outta here." He grabbed onto Tweetums and placed him on his neck and took a hold of Miranda's arm.
Sylth Vester pulled the trigger of his gun but Duck teleported away before they were hit. The three of them hid behind on object and Tweetums noticed Sylth Vester coming their way. "Are you sure you're an action hero?" he asked Duck.
"You got any other better ideas?" Duck asked him.
Tweetums rolled his eyes and jumped onto the control panel and noticed a red button labeled as 'danger.' "What does this button do?" he asked.
"Sufferin' succotash!" Sylth Vester yelled, "whatever you do, don't touch the red button."
Miranda's eyes looked over at Duck. "This kid is obessed with red button," she said.
Tweetums looked at Sylth Vester nonchalantly and then down at the two ducks. "He don't know me very well, do he?" he asked and then pressed on the red button with his foot.
"Self-destruct sequence activated," a voice on the intercom said, "the ship will self-destruct in ten seconds."
Duck grabbed onto Tweetums and Miranda and teleported out of the ship. When they made it out, the spaceship blew up and the three of them escaped as quickly as possible. "How about that?" Duck said, "at least I didn't get the worst of it!"
"Watch out!" Miranda yelled and pointed in front of Duck, who was hit with Optimatus's spaceship. He frame was glued onto the spaceship for a couple of seconds before it slid down.
"I'll rescue you, Mr. Duck!" Tweetums called out and headed down towards Duck and pulled him inside the ship.
The rest of the journey had gone smoothly the rest of the way. When all three of them had appeared inside the ship, Ace had went in and checked on them. This time, he was glad that they were all there. After Miranda and Tweetums had left to save Duck, he had checked in and had been shocked to see that the room was empty. Now that they were back, he didn't want to know of the details. With Lexi, Tech, and Rev being over at HQ and helping them remotely while they were being attacked by Sylth Vester, he couldn't wait to head back home.
Now that they finally arrived at Planet Blanc, Ace was glad that they met with Queen Grannicus to hand back Tweetums. "Here you go Your Highness, safely delivered as promised."
"Thank you Ace," Queen Grannicus smiled at him, "now you can do me one more favor." She placed her scepter in front of her lips and said, "drop your weapons."
The four Loonatics were taken aback by that order and before anyone was able to react, the throne turned around and a bandaged up Sylth Vester appeared. "Do as she says, I got an itchy trigger finger." He pressed a button on his throne and every single weapon that was installed was directed towards the Loonatics.
"What's going on here?" Duck asked.
"It seems that Queenie was in cahoots with Sylth Vester all along," Ace said, "not only did she launch the attack on our HQ, but she was the one jamming our signal and feeding whiskers here the location of our ship."
"That's right rabbit," Queen Grannicus smirked, "there is no way I am turning the throne over to some small bird. I've been running things here just fine."
Tweetums glared at the woman before him. "You are a bad, bad queen and just for that you're off my court."
"Oh," Queen Grannicus spoke, "and you are off my planet…permanently! Finish them off!"
Upon her order, Sylth Vester directed the weapons towards the Loonatics and fired at every single one of them. He circled around the Loonatics, making sure that he had finished them off permanently. When the smoke cleared away, he noticed their figures still standing there, flicking on and off. "Not exactly the sharpshooter I used to be," Sylth Vester commented when he still saw the Loonatics there.
"No," Ace said from behind him, "I'm afraid you were just blasting away at our holograms." He raised his sword in the air and saw both the queen and Sylth Vester trying to escape, "Queenie you are dethroned!" he said and stabbed the ground with the sword. The energy from the Guardian Strike Sword followed the queen and Sylth Vester and formed a force field around them, trapping them from within. From the spaceship, a stream of Gluco Gel escaped the ship and wrapped itself around them.
"If it wasn't for Duck's brilliant scheme to have Sylth Vester capture him, I never would have put it together," Ace said.
"That wasn't my brilliant scheme," Duck said, "I mean, was that my brilliant scheme?" he then wondered.
"Sylth was so busy with Duck that he had no idea he was being monitored by Tech back at HQ. Tech traced who the puddy tat was talking to back to Queenie," Ace continued.
"Yeah!" Duck cheered, "it was brilliant right? Sometimes I even impress myself."
Miranda shook her head and let out a sigh. Good old Duck. Even though his narcissism could get in the way, he always managed to show what he was on the inside.
After Sylth Vester and Queen Grannicus were taken away, and with Tweetums rightfully placed back on the throne, the Loonatics were ready to head back to HQ. However, Tweetums did not want them to leave without getting something in return for the help that he had received, especially from someone whom he considered as a best friend. "You may approach Mr. Duck," he said.
Ace, Slam, and Miranda curiously looked over as Duck walked towards Tweetums and watched as Duck knelt before him and bowed his head. "For acts above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby knight you, Sir Duck." He hit Duck with his scepter three times.
Duck groggily got up from the floor and mumbled incoherently. "What kind of perks does a knight get?"
Miranda bought her hand against the side of her head and leaned over to Ace. "I think we ought to rescue Duck now that we have the chance. He's gone through so much already."
"You sure about that?" Ace smirked at her, "he doesn't want to go through the glorious duty of knighthood." Even her glare was not enough to make him flinch. Giving her that infamous smile of his, he walked towards Tweetums. "How about another time Your Highness? We must get back to HQ."
Just as he was spoiled, he could also be reasonable. "I will hold you to that Mr. Bunny. Have a safe trip."
The moment that the four of them reached HQ, Ace was overjoyed that they were away from space. The first thing that he did once he got back was check in on Lexi. "Guess who's back?" he called over and opened the door to the training room.
Lexi dabbed a towel over her face from the intensive training that she was partaking in. "Ace!" she called out as she ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. She couldn't believe that she greeted him with all that sweat but she had been waiting for his arrival. "I'm so glad that you're back!"
"Hopefully nothing was too difficult down here," Ace said.
"Only Tech and Rev bickering with one another…nothing that I couldn't handle," she said to him with a small smile upon her lips. She was glad when the mission was over as well. She couldn't take any second of those two arguing over the littlest thing. "Something did come in the mail before you guys came."
"Oh yeah?" Ace asked as he rose an eyebrow. "Who's it for?"
"It's for Duck," Lexi said, "I placed it under his bedroom door when he came back. Don't know what 'proprietary information' is in there but—"
"WHAT?!" Duck's voice echoed from his bedroom, down the hallway, and into the training room.
Ace and Lexi looked at one another as they quickly headed out of the room and over to where Duck was pacing back and forth.
"No, no, no," he said with a shake of his head. "This can't be happening to me! I was just knighted for crying out loud! No, I was hit too many times on that head from that bird, I must be reading this wrong," he looked at the paper again and then let it fall from his hands, "no, I was reading it right!"
"What is going on Duck?" Lexi asked him.
Miranda picked up the paper from the ground and read it thoroughly. "Oh no Duck."
"I'm getting sued," Duck whimpered.
