A/N: Hey guys. So this chapter has a different tone to it. Enjoy.
Lori sat in the food court of the mall waiting for her siblings to finish up their shopping. Usually on most days, she's one of the last to finish while Lincoln was usually the first. However this time around she was the first while Lincoln was still shopping. Granted it did help that he had a passion now.
"Hey sis." Luna said when she sits next to Lori. "No sign of our other sibs yet?"
"No. Not yet." Lori sighed.
"I know Linc went to the art store to restock his supplies and he took Lynn with him to help carry it all." Luna reported. "Luan is at the comedy store to get new props after Charles accidentally chewed up some last week. Lana is at the pet store. Lola is getting her tiara cleaned. Leni is getting new clothes for Lily since she's starting preschool soon and mom wants her to actually wear clothes, not a just a diaper. And Lisa is at the science emporium to get new beakers because her old ones broke during a failed experiment."
"Well it could be awhile." Lori sighed. "You know how Bobby and I could be starting college soon?"
"Yeah what about it?" Luna asked as she began to drink her soda.
"Well I'm not gonna be around and lead the team for much longer. So you're gonna have to lead the L-Crew while I'm gone." Lori explained.
Luna spits out her drink before looking at Lori in shock. "You sure sis?" She asks as she wiped her face with a napkin. Lori nods.
"No one else I trust more to do it." She tells her. Luna smiles before getting serious.
"So when we gonna address the elephant in the room?" Luna asked.
"As soon as possible." Lori replied.
"Not that elephant sis." Luna says. "When we gonna figure out who leading when you, me and Luan are gone?" Lori looks at her puzzled. "Don't play dumb sis. We both know I'll be eighteen in three years which means I got at least three years of leading this team to get through give or take a couple months. But here's the thing sis, once I turn eighteen, Sam and I plan on finding a record label and start living our rock and roll dreams. And we can't drop everything on Luan because she has her own dreams she wants to chase. When that happens, you'll be gone. I'll be gone. Luan will be gone. Leni, Bobby and Sam all will be gone. So what happens then? Who takes over the team then?"
"Shit." Lori muttered under her breath. "I forgot about that. We can rule out Lynn because let's face it she's more brawn than brain."
"Whoa now hold on sis." Luna says. "We can't rule out anyone now. First off it's still early so anything can happen. Second off, you know as well as I do that Lynn has been working her ass off lately trying to prove herself. She could very well lead the team especially since she'll be older by then."
"If you say so." Lori shrugged. "But what about Lincoln? He knows more about the superhero business than all of us combine."
"Maybe. Here's the thing sis, Lynn and Linc are really the only two candidates to take over leadership when we leave." Luna pointed out. "But we still have time before it comes down to that." Lori sighs knowing Luna was right.
"Yeah I guess." She says. "For now we take one day at a time." Suddenly the entire mall begins to shake. "What the hell?!" She looked around and saw people were starting to panic.
"Earthquake dudes!" Luna shouted. "And a bad one at that!" They look around and saw the mall's ceiling start to crumble. They saw rubble start to fall towards a young kid who was unaware of the rubble falling towards him. Without hesitation, Luna rushes forward electricity surrounding her body where she then teleports. However when she reappears, Luna is replaced with Amplifier who gets the boy to safety by carrying him away from the falling rubble. Once they're safe the boy looks up at her.
"Thank you Miss. Amplifier." The boy says softly.
"Don't mention it little dude." Amplifier said. "I'm gonna try and find a safe place for you. Hang on tight!"
She took to air and saw people panicking and trying to get to safety. As she scanned the area she saw Crystal Princess waving her arms at her trying to get her attention. Amplifier takes the boy and heads towards her.
"I created a dome to protect everyone!" Crystal Princess shouted. "You can put him in there." Amplifier nods and headed towards the crystal dome where she places the boy in front it who then immediately runs inside after one last hug to Amplifier.
"How many are already in there?" Amplifier asked.
"Ten with more coming." Crystal Princess responded. "Wildgirl sensed that something wasn't right and immediately came to find me. Seconds later, everything was shaking."
"I never thought an earthquake would happen in Michigan." Amplifier said.
"Me neither." Crystal Princess said. "But let's focus on saving the people."
"Already on it dudette." Amplifier says before flying off. While in the air she saw the rest of her siblings rescuing civilians as the earthquake continued. As the L-Crew rescued civilians the earthquake subsided.
"Is it over?" Firecracker asked as he helped a woman to her feet.
"I think so?" Parkour gulped as she held up Scoots on her scooter.
"An aftershock would occur at any moment." Prodigy stated.
"In that case, let's get everyone to safety." Speed Queen ordered. "Get them somewhere where the aftershock won't effect them."
"On it!" The rest of the L-Crew replied and flew/ran off.
Wildgirl goes brachiosaurus raises her neck up to the second floor. Parkour then leaped up there and helped people get on Wildgirl's neck so they could slide down to the first floor.
"One at a time people nice and easy." Parkour ordered.
The citizens and slid down the dinosaur's neck to the tail and Parkour helps them up. "Come on everyone!" Parkour said as she helped everyone up. "This way to the safe zone!"
When a little girl walks up she hesitates. "Miss. Parkour? I'm scared." She says. Parkour smiles and kneels down to her level.
"Hey no worries." She says. "I got ya." She looks up to see if there's a flyer nearby. "Hey Ms. Appear! I could use a hand!" Ms. Appear looks down from where she's assisting an elderly couple get down from the second floor.
"I'm almost done with escorting this elderly couple!" Ms. Appear said right before the platform lowers down to the first floor. Ms. Appear raised her platform up towards Parkour and the little girl.
"Ok I need you to be a brave little girl and stay close to us. You think you can do that?" Parkour asked.
"I think so." The little girl whispered as she held onto Parkour who stepped on the platform while holding her hand.
Ms. Appear lowers the platform with Parkour and the little girl on it. "Are you here with your parents or any family member? If so, we'll find them." Parkour said.
"I was here with my cousin but I don't know where she went." The girl says. Parkour frowns but gets an idea.
"Prodigy! I need you!" Parkour shouted.
"What do you request?" Prodigy asked.
"I need to search for anyone by mind reading. This little girl is concern about her cousins." Parkour said.
"I see." Prodigy says. "Give me a second." She closes her eyes an expands her mind to try and reach as many people as she could.
God I hope my car is ok.
Hope the house isn't too damaged.
I should call my wife and see if she's ok.
I have to find my little cousin quickly.
Prodigy opens her eyes and turns to where the thought came from and sees Dana in the food court looking around frantically.
"Chloe! Chloe where are you!?" Dana shouted. Prodigy lowers herself to the ground by Parkour.
"Excuse me little girl, is your name Chloe by chance?" Prodigy asked.
"Yes." The girl named Chloe replied with a nod.
"Your cousin is safe, but we'll let her know you're safe as we reach her." Prodigy said.
"Ok." Chloe says.
"Where is she?" Parkour asks.
"Food court." Prodigy replied.
"Thanks sis." Parkour said. "Keep an eye on Chloe. I'm gonna go get her." She then ran off to the food court.
She heads to the food court where she sees Dana still looking for Chloe. "Chloe! Where are you?" Dana shouted. Parkour then stops next to her.
"You looking for a little girl named Chloe?" She asked. Dana nods. "Good because we found her."
"Oh thank god." Dana sighed in relief.
"Come with me. I'll take you to her." Parkour said.
Parkour leads Dana to where Prodigy was with Chloe. When they got close enough where they could see Chloe clearly, Dana sped up.
"Chloe!" Dana shouted in relief. Chloe looked up and saw Dana coming towards her.
"Dana!" Chloe shouted tears coming out of her eyes as she ran to Dana who scooped her up into her arms.
"I'm so glad you're safe." Dana said. "Thank you L-crew."
"Don't mention it." Parkour replied.
"I suggest you head to safety." Prodigy tells them. "This place is not safe right now." Dana nods and carries Chloe towards the exit.
"Thank you Miss. Parkour." Chloe called as she was carried out. Parkour smiled as she waved back at the little girl.
"It's moments like these that make me happy that we chose this line of work." Parkour says.
"Indeed." Prodigy said with a sigh. "But we should get back to work." Parkour nods and they head back to helping civilians.
In the center of the mall Speed Queen was directing her siblings.
"Amplifier, we got people stuck in the the music store because of a loose electrical cable." Speed Queen ordered. "See if you can help them!"
"Got it sis!" Amplifier said before flying off.
"Black Ice help Wildgirl get people off the second floor!" Speed Queen yelled. Black Ice nods and heads towards Wildgirl where she creates a large ice slide. "Crystal Princess! Go check the elevators and see if anyone is trapped in there!"
"You got it." Crystal Princess said as she ran off to the elevators.
"Firecracker, keep looking for survivors in the air." Speed Queen said.
"On it!" Firecracker called back before continuing to fly around.
"This is literally insane." Speed Queen whispered. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I just hope I'm handling this correctly." She then hears a groan and sees a man limping out of the store. Speed Queen immediately goes to his side. "Sir are you ok?"
"Hurt my leg." The man says simply. Speed Queen nods and drapes one his arms over her shoulder.
"Don't worry I got you." Speed Queen assures him. "Multiple Girl! Give me a hand!"
Multiple girl runs up to Speed Queen and the injured man as he puts an arm over her shoulder. "Are you with someone?" Multiple Girl asked.
"No. It's just me." The man said.
"Ok. We'll get you help." Multiple Girl tells him before making a clone of herself that takes Speed Queen's spot. "We'll take care of him. You stay here." Speed Queen nods as the two Multiple Girls help the man get too safety.
"Wonder how everyone else is doing?" Speed Queen says. "Better go check. Crystal Princess first."
Speed Queen runs towards Crystal Princess who is prying to open the elevator doors with a crystal crowbar. "Ok hang on. I'm gonna get you out of there." Crystal Princess said as she opened the elevator door to reveal Paula.
"Oh thank God." Paula gasped as she stepped out of the elevator. "I thought I was going to be trapped in there forever. Thank you Crystal Princess."
"You're welcome." Crystal Princess says with a flip of her hair. "Go to safety." Paula nods and starts to make her way out on her crutch. Speed Queen stops her.
"Do you need help?" She asked. "The floor is pretty messed up down there." Paula looks out at the floor and sees all the large cracks in it.
"Um, if you could." Paula said. Speed Queen nods and waves up to Firecracker who comes down.
"Think you can carry her to safety?" Speed Queen asked gesturing to Paula. Firecracker nods.
"I should. Soothsayer has been doing some strength training with me so it shouldn't be an issue." Firecracker replied. He picks Paula up bridal style. "Don't think too much into this because I have a girlfriend." He then flies off.
"I need to check on the others." Speed Queen said and ran off.
She dashed around the mall to make sure everything was going smoothly. Amplifier finished helping the people out of the music and went to help Firecracker in the air. Black Ice and Wildgirl were almost finished helping the people get down from the second floor with the assistance of Parkour and Ms. Appear. Prodigy had made her way outside with Greenthumb to assist with the wounded with Greenthumb providing plants to substitute as bandaged till paramedics arrived. Multiple Girl and her clones were busy checking on everyone to make sure they were ok.
"Alright. Looks like everything is going good here." Speed Queen says with a smile. She then hears sirens in the distance. "Sounds like the calvary is on it's way." She then raises her voice. "Alright L-Crew let's finish up here!"
"But what about the rest of the town?" Multiple Girl asked.
"We'll get to the rest of the town." Speed Queen said.
"We should head back to base." Amplifier suggested. "It'll give us a better idea on how bad it is."
"Agreed." Speed Queen says. "Once the emergency workers show up, we head to the base." The rest of the team exchange a glance before reluctantly nodding.
When the paramedics arrived at the mall, the L-Crew left and headed to the base. When they arrived they saw that it was a mess.
"At least the base is still standing." Firecracker says. They head inside and everyone cleaning the base. Road Hazard as Fury and Petty were working on removing rubble off of the L-Jet while Armor was moving the damaged crates out of the way with Genarocker while Surge and Mr. Cuddles swept up the mess on the ground while Soothsayer repaired the base.
"You guys felt that earthquake too!?" Armor asked.
"We sure did." Speed Queen said. "We were at the mall when that happened. Luckily everyone is safe."
"Wouldn't go that far." Mr. Cuddles says before heading to the monitors. He taps on the keyboard and images of Royal Woods popped up causing everyone to gasp. Royal Woods was heavily damaged in the earthquake with fissures in the ground, buildings looking like they were about to fall over and rescue workers trying to find survivors. "City is damaged, there's no power and cops, firefighters, paramedics and rescue workers are trying to find survivors."
"Oh my God." Speed Queen says. "I thought it was bad at the mall but this, this is ten times worse."
"Ryker is already assisting with Search and Rescue in the city." Soothsayer informed them. "I told him that we'll join up with him soon."
"The army is also showing up to assist in Search and Rescue." Mr. Cuddles added. "But I bet they won't mind a bunch of metas helping out."
"Bet they won't." Amplifier agreed. Everyone then looks expectantly at Speed Queen waiting for her orders with Fury and Road Hazard switching places. Speed Queen takes a deep breath and gets serious.
"Daniel, is L-Monster good to go?" Speed Queen asked. Daniel smirks.
"You know it Speedy." He says.
"Good. We'll use L-Monster to get us to the city." Speed Queen says. "Listen up. I want as much supplies packed up as possible. Mostly medical. There's gonna be a lot of injured so we need to help out as much as we can. Soothsayer, I think it's best that you come with us and help heal the wounded. Once we find all the survivors, you can repair the city but not before. Save your strength."
"As you wish." Soothsayer said with a bow but had a proud smile on his face.
"Another thing." Speed Queen continued. "When we get down there, I'm shifting command to Haggar." Everyone looks at her shocked. "Look we've never done anything like this before so I wouldn't even know where to start. That's why Haggar is gonna take command and tell us where he needs us. Understood?" Everyone nods. "Good. Let's get to work!"
"Right!" Everyone said in unison.
In the city, Ryker along with a few police officers and firefighters were about to lift a large piece of rubble that was blocking a building.
"Ready boys?" Ryker asked and everyone nodded. "Lift with your legs!" They then proceed to work together and lift the rubble enough to move just out of the way of the door allowing people to get in and out. They place the rubble down with grunts of relief. "Good job everybody." The officers and firefighters nod at him and then head inside the building while Ryker stayed outside it taking in the city. "Some mess this is. Lot's to do but where to start is the question." He hears footsteps and sees Haggar walking up next to him.
"That's always the million dollar question isn't it." Haggar says. "Be we always figure it out. Any chances the L-Crew show up?" Ryker is about to answer when hears a vehicle in the distance.
"I think that answers your question." Ryker said gesturing to distance. Haggar turns and sees the L-Monster making it's way towards them. All the rescue workers see this and stop what they're doing as the monster truck get closer.
"The L-Crew has arrived." Haggar said.
The L-Crew have exited the L-Monster and Speed Queen walked towards Haggar. "Chief." Speed Queen replied.
"Speed Queen. Should I bring you up to speed about the situation." Haggar said. "No pun intended."
"My team and I are aware of the earthquake." Speed Queen replied.
"Well that makes things easier." Haggar says. "Anyways the city is a mess as you can see however there are issues all over right now. We got fires downtown that firefighters could use some help containing. The power plant is down and needs a recharge so to speak. We got search and rescue teams looking for survivors and we got a lot of injured. On top of that we're struggling to get medical supplies from the hospital." Speed Queen thought carefully after Haggar finished off listing the issues that the city was currently facing. She then went down the list of her team to see who was best suited for each job. After a few seconds she figured it out.
"Alright. Firecracker and Black Ice, head downtown and help deal with the fires." Speed Queen ordered.
"Right." The two say in unison before running off.
"Amplifier, you head to the power plant and get it up and running." Speed Queen says. "Take Genarocker with you in case it's more of a technical thing."
"Rock on sis." Amplifier said before suddenly scooping up Genarocker bridal style catching her by surprise. "Never got to do this with you before." Genarocker smiles and wraps her arms around her neck.
"Then let's fly." Genarocker says with a kiss on the cheek. Amplifier then takes off.
"Prodigy, Multiple Girl, Greenthumb and Soothsayer. You four will help with the wounded." Speed Queen tells them. "Plus if necessary, Multiple Girl can send clones to help rescue if needed."
"We will help any way we can." Prodigy said before her group joined the paramedics.
"Road Hazard, I need you to be our hospital runner." Speed Queen continued. "You're the best driver we got and only one I trust to do this."
"No worries." Road Hazard said as he climbed into the L-Monster. "We got this." He then drives off.
"Everyone else is on search and rescue." Speed Queen says. "Wildgirl you work with the dogs." Wildgirl salutes and runs off. "Parkour you're with Surge. Armor you're with Crystal Princess and Ms. Appear. I having you as a team of three because we're short a few fliers."
"Fair enough. These two can handle the ground stuff while I handle the high stuff." Ms. Appear says. Speed Queen then turned to Petty and Tongri.
"Hmm. Usually I put you two with Amplifier or Genarocker but they're at the power plant." She says thoughtfully. "But you two are too valuable to sit on the sidelines. What to do?"
"I can take them." Ryker offered. "Don't got no super strength so the big fella would be a big help. As for the tiger, they say animals can sense natural disasters so having these two with me would be extremely helpful." Speed Queen nodded at him gratefully.
"Excellent. I'll stay here with Haggar, the fire chief, lead paramedic and commander in charge of the soldiers and help manage the teams. Plus I could get to places faster if one of the other teams need help. That being said, everyone let's get to work!"
"On it!" The L-Crew replied as they all ran off.
"You sure you can handle this?" Haggar asked.
"I'm sure." Speed Queen replied,
"This ain't like fighting metas, Speed Queen." Haggar reminds her. "This is literally life and death." Speed Queen sighs.
"I know. Which is why we can handle it." Speed Queen assures him. "Trust us."
"If you say so." Haggar said. "I've seen my experience in this sort of ordeal before,"
"I know." Speed Queen says. "That's why I'm hoping you'll guide me through this." Haggar looks at her surprised before nodding.
"Speed Queen it'll be my genuine pleasure." Haggar says.
Wildgirl who has morphed into a bloodhound is sniffing the area for any survivors. "Anything sis?!" Parkour cried out.
"Nope!" Wildgirl called back.
"Nothing up here either." Surge said from above. She then sees an area where a few a highway bridge collapsed. "Highway bridge not to far from us. That'll be a good place to look."
"Good idea." Parkour said from the ground. "You better head down over there. I'm gonna double check the area."
"Right." Surge says before flying off.
"I'm gonna keep sniffing around here just in case." Wildgirl said before trotting off.
Surge flew down towards the highway to see the destruction the earthquake has left. "Damn." She said as she begins to look around. "Hello?! Anyone here?" Surge shouted as she looked around.
"Is someone out there?" A voice called from within the rubble. The voice was then followed by multiple voices.
"Don't worry I'm here to help." Surge assures them. "Just gotta figure out how."
"Please hurry!" One voice shouted among the rest of the pleading voices.
"Ok think Surge. Think." Surge said to herself as she looked around.
"Hey Energy girl! You need some help?" Surge turned as saw rescue workers running towards her.
"Yeah and the names Surge." Surge responded.
"We're here to help you get these people out and loving again." One of the rescue workers stated.
"Great. Let's start with some of those people over there!" Surge replied.
"Right. Don't worry! We're going to save you!" One of the workers told the civilians. "Surge, can you help the civilians stuck on the higher spots?"
"I'm on it!" Surge nodded and flew off to the higher spots.
She flies into the air and sees civilians stuck on the rubble. She then flies down and grabs one where she then carries them to safety. She then repeats the process until everyone is safe.
"I got them all." Surge said. "But I'm going to do another fly around and make sure I didn't miss anyone."
"Good idea." One of the rescue workers said. "We'll look after the people you already rescued." Surge nodded and flew off towards where she rescued the people. As she's flying she sees a couple people waving up at her. Flying in closer she recognizes them immediately. Her aunt Frida and uncle Carlos.
"Tia Frida and Tio Carlos!" Surge gasped. "I have to save them." Surge flew down towards her aunt and Uncle as Frida was balling her eyes out.
"The earthquake came out of nowhere! I'm worried about my children!" Frida shouted.
"Don't worry dear." Carlos assured her. "I'm positive they're safe."
"What about Ronalda and Roberto?" Frida cried. "We haven't heard from them in hours!" This caused Surge to stop in her tracks.
"Has it really been that long?" Surge wondered. She checked her watch and saw that two hours had passed since she left the house that morning. "I mean it hasn't been that long but I probably still should've called when the earthquake hit. I'll call mom after I save Tia Frida and Tio Carlos."
Surge flew down towards Carlos and Frida. "Look honey, it's Surge!" Carlos said.
"Surge! Oh thank goodness!" Frida sighed in relief.
"Are you two ok?" Surge asked.
"We're fine but we'd be better back on solid ground." Carlos told her.
"I'll give you guys a lift." said Surge. "I'm gonna have to carry you both is that okay?"
"Whatever gets us to safety." Carlos responded with Frida nodding in agreement. Surge grabs Frida first and carries her to where she dropped the other civilians. She then flies back and repeats the process with Carlos.
"There. Are you two ok now?" Surge asked.
"Of course. Thanks to you." Frida tells her.
"Don't mention it." said Surge as she flew away once she gets away from her Aunt and Uncle, she lands far away from and pulls out her phone and makes a call.
"Ronnie Anne!? Is that you?! Are you and Bobby okay?!" Maria panicked over the phone.
"Yeah we're ok." Surge says. "We're in a safe zone until someone can take us home."
"Oh thank God." Maria said with a sigh of relief. "I was so worried when I didn't hear from you after the earthquake hit."
"We're alright, no injuries and all." Surge said. "But Bobby is worried about Lori."
"If he's worried who knows how worried their parents are." Maria says. "Listen mija, stay safe. I gotta get back to work treating the wounded. I'll see you at home. Love you."
"Love you too mom. Bye." Surge said and hung up. "Don't worry mom, you're not the only one who's helping out." She then flies off to search for more survivors.
Not far away, Parkour was working with rescue workers to clear out wounded stuck in a building.
"Come on out everyone!" Parkour said as she helped an old lady out of some rumble.
"Thank you dear." The old lady says before sitting on the ground. "In all my years I don't think I've ever seen a situation like this." Parkour sighs and looks out to the damaged city.
"I know. That earthquake was something else." Parkour said.
"That's not what I'm talking about dear. I'm talking about young people like yourself stepping up to help out." The old lady says catching Parkour off guard.
"Well it's what me and the rest of my siblings do." Parkour replied.
"Well you are setting a wonderful example for young'ns who look up to you." The old lady says. "Never think that what you do doesn't matter because it does."
"Wow really? I never thought I would inspire people." Parkour said.
"It's amazing what young people can accomplish these days." The old lady says. "Better get back to work dear."
"I will." Parkour said as she ran back to the rescue workers. "That's everyone."
"Alright good. Thanks Parkour, I don't know what we would do without you." One rescue worker said.
"Don't mention it." Parkour says. The workers nod and start walking away.
"Bet your parents are real proud." The other rescue worker said as they walked away. Once they're gone, Parkour's smile turns to a frown.
"They would be, if they knew." She says with a sigh. She then heads over to help worker clear out some rubble.
Firecracker and Black Ice are trying to control the fires downtown with Black Ice, she shot some ice beams at some of the fires. "Any progress brother!?" Black ice exclaimed.
"Not much." Firecracker grunted. "There's just so much of it." He presses his watch. "Mr. Cuddles, you got anything that help deal with these?"
"Don't worry. I've been watching and I already messaged for help." Mr. Cuddles told him. "He'll be there shortly."
"Great." Firecracker says until he realizes something. "Wait did he say he?" Suddenly a vortex of ice and snow appears out of the sky. After a few seconds disappears leaving a familiar figure in it's place.
"Gasp. Jack Frost." Black Ice gasped.
"Good day mates?" Jack greeted. "You need any help with these fires?"
"Honestly yes." Firecracker said,
"Alrighty then." Jack says as he prepares his staff. "Time to get down to it."
The three got back to putting out the fires, even with the help of a powerful being like Jack Frost. Jack managed to put out an either fire on building with one ice blast from his cane.
"Nice going Jack!" Firecracker shouted as he absorbed the fire. "We'll have these out in no time."
"You can count on it mate." Jack responded. "Anyway to receive redemption."
"Yeah I can relate to that." Firecracker said as he absorbed some of the flames. "But it took a long time for me."
"Honestly for me it's more about redeeming myself from a previous failure." Jack says. "The failure to stop the wildfires will stick with me for the rest of my life. This is my redemption from that by preventing another place from going through what Australia did."
"Yeah I remember how upset Lana was at that." Firecracker sighed. "She barely ate her meals and barley slept."
"Same here." Jack says. "But that was mostly because I was still fighting the fires."
"Well this time we're gonna put out the fires in Royal Woods. Together." Firecracker said.
"That's the plan mate." Jack says as he continued to blast fires while Firecracker absorbed them. Meanwhile, Black Ice was struggling.
"Damn it." Black Ice groans. "My ice isn't doing anything."
"You need some help?" Jack asked.
"Sigh. Yes." Black Ice sighed.
"Want a suggestion sheila?" Jack asked and Black Ice nods. "Lower the temperature of your ice. If you do that, your ice won't be effected by the fire as much."
Black Ice nodded and shot an icy blast and this time it managed to put out a large flame. "Huh it worked." Black Ice said.
"Hmm. You got a lot of potential sheila. We'll talk later." Jack says before going back to work. As they kept working on the fires with the firefighters, a firefighter ran up to Firecracker.
"Firecracker! We got someone trapped on the third floor!" The firefighter called out.
"I'm on it!" Firecracker said as he flew up to the 3rd floor. "I'm here to help you!"
"Help me!" A voice shouted from one of the rooms.
Firecracker flew into the buidling and landed on the floor. "Where are you!?" Firecracker shouted.
"In the kitchen!" The person shouted. Firecracker flies towards the kitchen and sees a girl with her leg pinned under some rubble. "Help!"
Firecracker runs towards the girl and attempts to lift the rubble off of the girl with all of his strength. "Come on!" He grunted.
"Please hurry!" The girl begged.
"C'mon Firecracker you can do this!" Firecracker tells himself. With one last effort he lifts the rubble just enough that the girl can slide her leg out. Firecracker then picks her up and takes her out of the building to the EMTs waiting. "Here you."
"Thank you Firecracker." The girl said as the EMTs took her away. Once she's gone, Firecracker looks at his hands and turns them into fists.
"She almost died back there." Firecracker tells himself. "I have to get stronger. I'll talk to Soothsayer later to see if he can help me."
"Brother." Black Ice said as she and Jack Frost flew towards Firecracker. "The fires are put off."
"Good." Firecracker says. "I guess we should help with search and rescue."
"Indeed mate." Jack responded. "Still a lot of work to do."
"Then let's get moving." Firecracker says. The three then head out into the city.
Amplifier and her team have arrived at the power plant as Amplifier sighed. "The last time I was here was during the blackout." Amplifier said.
"Oh you mean the blackout that scared your brother and caused him to run into your room scared?" Genarocker says slyly.
"Hehe. Yeah." Amplifier says with a nervous chuckle. "Want me to put you down now?" Genarocker looks at her with pout.
"And here I was just getting comfortable." Genarocker said. "But first a tip for the ride." She gives Amplifier a quick peck on the lips before getting out her arms. "Let's head inside." She makes her way into the power plant leaving a blushing Amplifier.
"Yep. She's definitely the one." Amplifier whispered before following Genarocker inside.
"Ok we need to return power to the town, let's find the power core and give the juice to the town." Genarocker said.
"You know it." Amplifier said.
When they arrive at the generator area they see the workers already trying to fix it.
"C'mon you stupid piece of junk." The worker growled
"Hey dudes." Amplifier said. "Don't worry, we got the power!"
"Amplifier, Genarocker! Thank goodness you two are here!" One worker said.
"We have a situation." The manager of the plant said to them. "The generators have no power and the earthquake caused our whole system to go down."
"So it's an electrical and tech problem." Genarocker mused. "Huh. Speed Queen called it. Well we can't recharge the generators until we get the system back up because we don't want to overload it. So the best course of action is to get the system back up and then charge the generators." Once she finished, she saw Amplifier and the workers looking at her astonished. "What?"
"This is the kind of thing I would hear Prodigy say. Not from you." Amplifier said.
"Have you been studying engineering?" One of the workers asked.
"Well when I got my powers I figured it'd be best if I knew how machines work. So in a way yeah. I studied a little engineering." Genarocker replied.
"That's impressive." Amplifier said.
"Ok you think you can help us okay?" One of the workers asked.
"Of course." Genarocker replied. "Babe, I'll work on getting the system back online. Meanwhile you head to the generators." She then remembered who she was talking to. "I mean if that's OK with you boss?" Amplifier looked at her confused before remembering that she's one of the leaders of the L-Crew.
"Yeah that's cool." Amplifier says. "Let's get to it." She then goes with the workers to the generators. "That was so awkward."
"Yeah that sure was." One of the workers said,
"I don't get it." Amplifier says. "Is our relationship affecting how I lead or am I just overthinking it?"
"My guess is you're overthinking it." One of the workers replied,
"Her and I are gonna have to talk after this but for now, let's get these generators up and running." Amplifier said.
"Good idea." One of the workers replied.
"Hey Genarocker tell us what we need to do!" Amplifier said.
"Well first I need to get the system back online so just give me a minute." Genarocker says. She places her hand on the power plant's system mainframe where circuits inside light up blue causing all the monitors to turn on. "Ok. System is online. Amplifier I need you listen carefully. Because the generators were completely down you need to charge them up to a specific point. So when we say stop, you gotta stop charging the generators back up. Got it?"
"Yeah." Amplifier said still trying to process what Genarocker just said. "I got it."
"Alright. Start charging up now." Genarocker tells her. Amplifier nods and her hands start sparking. She then places them on the lead generator and begins to charge it. "Ok everything is looking good. Alright Amplifier in a few seconds take your hands off the generator."
"You got it!" Amplifier shouted as she charged the generator.
"Alright Amplifier stop charging now!" Genarocker said,
"Got it!" Amplifier says immediately taking her hands off the generator.
"Alright that generator should give us enough juice to at least power some of the city." One of the workers said.
"We should let the hospitals know so that they can treat their patients." Another says.
"There's still a lot of work that needs to he done here." The supervisor said to the two metas. "Think you two would be willing to stick around longer?"
"Of course," Amplifier said.
"Yeah we can keep an eye on a few things." Genarocker said.
"Then shall we get to it?" The supervisor asked.
"You got it dude." Amplifier responded.
Meanwhile back with Speed Queen and Haggar. "Ok Amplifier and Genarocker just got the power back online." Speed Queen said.
"Good. That should help at hospital at least." Haggar says. "Speaking of which, have you heard from your biker friend?"
"Not yet." Speed Queen replied. "I'll give him a call." She presses her watch. "Road Hazard, what's the status on picking up medical supplies from the hospital?"
"Working on it Speedy." Road Hazard responded as he drove towards the hospital. "Roads ain't in the best condition right now."
"I know they aren't. But the hospitals need those medical supplies ASAP!" Speed Queen stated.
"I've seen roads that are more rocky than this!" Road Hazard said.
"Well then it shouldn't be a problem then!" Speed Queen told him.
"I also had the Road Rage! But instead I got this monster truck!" Road Hazard reminded her. "Look I see the hospital coming up. I'll grab the supplies and bring them back."
"Fine. Just be careful." Speed Queen says in a softer tone before hanging up. Once she hangs up, Road Hazard sighs.
She disrespected us!
"No she didn't Fury." Road Hazard tells the symbiote. "She's just stressed that's all."
That doesn't give her the right to yell at us.
"She's a teenager! This is her first time dealing with this problem!" Road Hazard exclaimed.
Should children really have to carry this type of burden?
Road Hazard respond. He just sighs as they pull up to the hospital. "Honestly I don't know. But I do know this, these kids have proven their worth several times over. So I ain't gonna take anything Speed Queen says to heart."
Alright if you say so,
Road Hazard exited the L-Monster and ran towards the Hospital doors. "I need medical supplies!" He shouted.
Maria Santiago steps out of one of the hospital rooms and sees Road Hazard standing in the lobby. She hesitantly approached him.
"Sir, can I help you?" She asks. Road Hazard looks down at her.
"I'm here to pick up medical supplies for the medics in the city." Road Hazard told her.
"Of course. Follow me." Maria said as she started to walk away with Road Hazard not far behind. As they walked through the hospital, they passed a room with an open door. Curious, he peeks inside to see a man covered in burns lying in the bed unconscious. He looks at the name on the door.
"Jameson Hewitt." Road Hazard read.
Mean anything to you?
"Nope. Name rings no bells." Road Hazard answered. "But he looks like he's seen better days."
"Quite tragic isn't it?" Maria says joining Road Hazard at the room. "He was one of the victims from that terrible city wide fire caused by that Firecracker clone. He's in a coma but at this rate, he might never wake up."
"Can't you just pull the plug?" Road Hazard asked. Maria shakes her head.
"We need permission from a family member but the only family that he has that we know of is currently in the Dungeon." Maria explained.
"That poor guy. The man is badly burn to a crisp and the only family he has is in prison." Road Hazard said.
"It pretty sad. I can't imagine what would happen if he wakes. He would be in pain from the burns." Maria said.
Fire is bane to all existence.
"No argument here pal." Road Hazard says. "The only good fire is from Pyro. But we got business to take care of." He looks down at Maria. "Now about those supplies."
"Right. Just give me a minute and I'll have it ready." Maria said as she ran off to the get the supplies.
"Right." Road Hazard says. "Let's see what help we can provide here while we wait."
Sounds like a plan.
Downtown Ryker, Petty and Tongri were walking through the city looking for civilians.
"I don't see anyone here." Ryker said.
"Neither does Petty." Petty replied.
Ryker looked down at Tongri who's nose was on the ground. "Got anything?" He asked the large cat. Tongri lifts his head up and shakes his head. "Figures. Oh well. Let's keep moving." They keep walking and they see a couple men with a van trying to move it with no luck. "You fellas need some assistance?" The two men look up and see the cowboy, rubber monster and tiger coming towards them.
"Actually yeah." One man said. "This van has a bunch of supplies for the search and rescue teams. But as you can see we have a problem." Ryker looks at the back of the van and sees the back wheels stuck in a fissure.
"Petty. You know what to do." Ryker says. Petty nods and approached the van. He then grabs the back of the van and lifts it out of the fissure. "There you go gentlemen."
"Thanks for the help." The second man said.
"Don't mention it." Ryker said.
"Petty happy to help." Petty said.
"Hey if you're looking for civilians, there was tipped over bus blocking a door of a building down that way." The first man told them pointing down the street.
"Thanks." Ryker said as he tipped his hat as he Petty and Tongri walked away,
"Cowboy have plan?" Petty asked. Ryker chuckles.
"Of course I do. The plan is to save the people." Ryker responded. "That hasn't changed. Once you move the bus, I'll head in and make sure everyone gets out safely."
"Petty got it." Petty said and ran forward.
"So impulsive." Ryker says with a sigh. "I can see why Speed Queen wanted me to keep an eye on him."
Tongri looks at Ryker with a concern look on his face. "Yeah let's go help him." Ryker said as he and Tongri follow after Petty.
When the two arrive they see Petty already working on moving the bus away from the building.
"Fear not Petty is here to help." Petty said.
"Petty! You can't just run off like that!" Ryker scolded. Suddenly Tongri's ears started twitching and be immediately flattened himself to the ground before leaping onto the bus. "That's not a good sign." The ground then started shaking again. "Damn it! Must be an aftershock! Petty make sure that building doesn't come down!"
"On it!" Petty shouted as he ran towards the falling building and held it back.
"Everyone, off of the bus now!" Ryker exclaimed.
The people start getting off the bus one by one with Ryker's assistance as Petty held up the building. Once the bus was cleared, Ryker turned his attention to the building.
"Keep holding that building Petty!" Ryker ordered as he and Tongri ran inside. "We're gonna find more civilians!" Petty let out grunt as he held up the building. As Ryker and Tongri ran, Ryker held up his watch. "Speed Queen, could use some help checking a building that's about to come down because of the aftershocks."
"Right. Sending Ms. Appear, Crystal Princess, Surge and Armor to your location." Speed Queen told him.
"Better tell them to hurry. Not sure how long Petty can hold the building up." Ryker responded.i
Petty was starting to struggle to hold the building. "Petty losing strength." Petty said.
"Hang on big guy. Help is on the way!" Ryker shouted.
"Petty!" Petty turns his head and sees Ms. Appear, Crystal Princess and Armor coming towards the building. As they're running Armor coats his body in stone before assisting Petty in holding up the building.
"You two hold up the building. Crystal Princess and I will help Ryker and Tongri in evacuation of the building." Ms. Appear ordered.
"Already on it!" Armor grunted.
Ms. Appear and Crystal Princess ran up to the bus and see Ryker helping some old lady down. "Just in time." Ryker said.
"What's up?" Ms. Appear asked.
"Head into the building in case there are people inside." Ryker told her. "Tongri and I can handle the bus. But be quick. Not sure how long they can hold that building in place."
"Right. Let's roll Crystal Princess." Ms. Appear said before they ran into the building.
"Hello?! Anybody here?!" Crystal Princess questioned.
"Is that Crystal Princess?" One of the citizens asked.
"Yeah it's me and Ms. Appear!" Crystal Princess shouted,
"Help us! We can't get out!" Another's citizen shouted.
"Don't worry. We'll get you out of here." Ms. Appear promises. The building suddenly lurches. "And we should hurry. Petty and Armor can't hold the building forever."
Ms. Appear forms a platform under her and Crystal Princess and lifts them off of the ground to look for any citizens. Crystal Princess got off of one floor as she hears banging on the door, she forms a crystal crowbar and pries the door open releasing two citizens so far.
"Got two." Crystal Princess announces. Ms. Appear forms a Forcefield blade and slashes a door freeing three more citizens.
"Got three more. At this rate we're not gonna get everyone out in time." Ms. Appear says. Her watch then goes off. "What's up?"
"I got everyone off the bus." Ryker told her. "So me and some search and rescue workers gonna come in a give you two some help."
"Alright sound good." Ms. Appear says. "In that case, Crystal Princess and I will head to the higher floors. You guys stick to the lower levels."
"On it! Let's get searching!" Ryker shouted.
Within the next few minutes, the L-Crew and rescue workers went through the building searching for the rest of the civilians trapped inside and escorting them outside. However the longer they were in there, the more the building lurched.
"Damn it. I swear it feels like this building will be coming down any second." Ms. Appear says.
"Well we better hurry then." Ryker said back. "Bottom floors are cleared out. How much you got left?"
"Just the top floor." Crystal Princess reported.
"Hurry before the building falls down!" Ryker said. Ms Appear and Crystal Princess reached the top floor and the citizens all got onto the platform as Ms. Appear lowers them all down.
They all exit the building as Armor and Petty sees them. "That's everyone!" Crystal Princess stated.
The two nod and let go of the building. As soon as they let go, the building begins to lean.
"Wait. This isn't no better." Ms. Appear realized. "We're still in range of where it will fall!"
"Mierda." Armor cursed. "Everyone move!" Everyone starts running when a giant ice blast hits the building freezing it before an ice column is created to keep it from falling. Everyone looks at it confused when Jack Frost lands behind them.
"You mates alright?" He asks.
"Never better." Armor groaned.
"If I didn't show up, you would have been flatten like a pancake." Jack said,
"Not wrong there." Crystal Princess agreed. "That was terrifying."
"No kidding." Ms. Appear agreed. "But we're not done yet. Still got work to do."
"So where to next?" Armor asked. "Are there any other citizens trapped in buildings or cars?"
"Hold on mates." Jack says. "Slow it down a bit. You just finished clearing out a building. Take a breather." However his words fell on deaf ears.
"Maybe downtown would be a good place to check up on." Crystal Princess suggested.
"What about the Homeless District?" Armor asked. "Has anyone checked their yet?"
"Mates?" Jack tried again but nothing.
"Don't bother." Ryker tells him. "They ain't gonna listen. They believe that they gotta save as many as possible but they gotta learn they can't save everyone."
"But ain't gonna stop them from trying." Jack finished as they continued to watch the three talk to the rescue workers.
Back with Speed Queen, she as running back and forth monitoring the rescue teams and the wounded. "Ok Crystal Princess, Armor and Ms. Appear have just rescued citizens with Ryker's team." Speed Queen said.
"Excellent." Haggar says. "Just got off the phone with the fire chief. He says that the fires are out thanks to your team and a blue Australian."
"He's a friend." Speed Queen assured him. "He's helped us a lot in the past."
"Good to know." Haggar said. "Anyways apparently he stopped a building from falling so that's good. Your biker friend also came back with some medical supplies. He just dropped them off and then left to head to the hospital again."
"Great. So far so good." Speed Queen says. She then feels her phone vibrating causing her to pull it out and check it. "Huh. Motion sensors detected movement at Lynn's table."
"The restaurant?" Haggar asked and Speed Queen nodded. "Love that place. Me and the wife head there every other Thursday for date night. I'll send some officers to go check it."
"No worries. I'll run over and see what's up." Speed Queen tells him. Without another word, she speeds off.
When Speed Queen arrived at Lynn's Table, she saw that the lights were on and door was open.
"Alright. Let's see what scumbag broke into dad's restaurant." Speed Queen muttered. She heads inside and immediately hears humming from the kitchen. She heads towards the humming and when she gets in there she sees Lynn Sr. preparing the stove. Noticing that her father hasn't seen her yet, she clears her throat.
"Oh Speed Queen thank goodness you're here!" Lynn sr said.
"Is there a problem Mr. Loud." Speed Queen asked with a voice that sounds like she was doing a deep voice.
"Yes. There's actually a couple things." Lynn Sr. says. "Firstly I'm worried about my kids. My wife and I haven't heard from them since before the earthquake and we're getting worried."
"Oh I'm sure they're fine." Speed Queen says trying to assure her father. "If they were at the mall they're probably fine because we helped evacuate everyone." Lynn Sr. still looked unsure.
"It's just not like Lori not to call." He tells her. "I guess all I can do is hope that she's looking after her sisters and brother." Speed Queen doesn't respond as she doesn't know what to say.
"Was there something else you needed?" She asked. Lynn perks up a little.
"Oh yeah. See I wanted to make some food for the rescue workers but I could use some help since I'm on my own. Heck I'm lucky I was able to get here at all." Lynn explained with a chuckle. Speed Queen is about to offer to find someone to help him but a new idea came to mind.
"Mind if I help you?" Speed Queen offered.
"I can really use the extra help and speed." Lynn sr said. "Grab an apron and a hairnet and get cooking."
Speed Queen did as ordered and put on the apron and hairnet. From there she proceeded to use her super speed to grab ingredients that Lynn Sr. requested as well as using her speed to help prepare the food such cutting ingredients, mixing ingredients (which she only did once with super speed after accidentally making a mess) and putting them on plates.
"Nice work. If I had to guess you know your way around the kitchen for someone who fights crime." Lynn sr said.
"Well my team and I have hobbies outside of saving Royal Woods." Speed Queen replied.
"Heh. You remind me so much of my oldest." Lynn Sr. says with a chuckle. Speed Queen starts sweating.
"In what regard?" Speed Queen asked nervously.
"Well you both are born leaders." Lynn tells her. "Lori has been the leader of her siblings for their entire lives. They always come to her for advice and she happily gives it. I know that she's keeping her siblings safe throughout this entire crisis. I just wish she'd call." Speed Queen looks away guilty before taking off the apron and hairnet.
"I'm gonna go get some people to help bring the food." Speed Queen tells him. Then without waiting for a response, runs out of the restaurant. When she's sure no one is around she pulls out her phone and dials her father's number. After one ring, he answers.
"Lori!? Thank God you called! Are you alright? Are your sisters and brother alright?" Lynn asked frantically.
"We're fine dad. We're at the safe zone, they're all scared and confused." Speed Queen said.
"Ok I know you haven't deal with an Earthquake. But just keep them calm!" Lynn sr replied.
"I'm doing my best." Speed Queen says. "So they're not letting us go home till they're sure it's safe. So we're gonna stay in the safe zone for now."
"That's fine honey." Lynn Sr. assures her. "I'm just happy you're safe."
"Is mom safe too?" Speed Queen said.
"She's in a safe zone near her work." Lynn sr replied. "You have nothing to worry about."
"That's good." Speed Queen said with a tear starting to form in her eye. "We'll see you when this is all over."
"I'm looking forward to it honey." Lynn Sr. says. "Stay safe. Love you kiddo."
"Love you too dad." Speed Queen said he voice slowly breaking. She then hangs up the phone. She looks around to make she's alone before dropping to her knees and begins to break down into tears. As tears rolled down her face, she didn't hear someone approaching her.
"Speed Queen?" Speed Queen looks up and sees Haggar looking at her with concern. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." Speed Queen lied quickly wiping away her tears. "C"mon. We should get back to work." She tries to walk past him but he puts a hand out in front of her.
"No chance. Not until you tell me what's wrong?" Haggar tells her. "Look I may not be your teammate but I still got two good ears that are willing to listen because right now, you're not in the right state of mind to do anything right now. So that being said, talk to me."
"I'm I'm. Not able to deal with this!" Speed Queen admitted with her voice breaking. "My siblings and I were able to deal with supervillains, fires, robberies and other threats to the city. But not an earthquake! I don't know how to handle this! I'm not sure how to handle any situation like tornados, wildfires and other disasters! I'm just lost in this problem!" Speed Queen said as she slid down to the floor and started crying.
Haggar places a hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at him. "If you want my opinion, you're doing fine." He assures her. "If I'm being honest, there's really nothing that can help you prepare for something like this. Sure they can do simulations but nothing can prepare you for things like this. You kids do more for this city than anyone can ask of you. You all handle the bad guys that we can't. Even at the risk of your own lives." Speed Queen looks at him in shock before look back at the ground.
"Our parents don't know we're doing this." Speed Queen admits causing Haggar to look at her surprised. "We've kept it a secret for so long that's it's become second nature. But lately, it's been getting harder."
"It's going to be alright Speed Queen. I'm new to this too. But I have to do this." Haggar said. "You know how hard it was to tell Mrs. Santiago that her husband died?"
"I believe it." Speed Queen says. "Sometimes I think about telling them. I know we've talked about it enough. We actually had a long conversation over when we were in North Dakota."
"You're uncertain if you want to tell your parents about your jobs are you?" Haggar asked.
"Yes. I don't want them to worry about me or my siblings." Speed Queen replied.
"I guess that would be the hardest decision a hero has to make." Haggar says. "You want to tell them but you don't know if you should because they might try to stop from doing your hero work."
"Yes. My dad still sees me as his little girl. He tears up every time anyone mentions that I'm going to collage." Speed Queen said.
"Heh. Sounds like my girls." Haggar tells her. "One is eighteen the other is twenty-one. Doesn't matter how old they are or where they are, they'll always be my little girls. It's our job to worry about them because if we didn't we wouldn't be good parents would we? Your father and mother are no doubt the same way. But if they are truly as supportive as you say they are then they're gonna support you on what you and your siblings are doing because deep down they know that they can't stop you. But that won't stop them from worrying about you because that's their jobs. Because they love you."
"That's great advice." Speed Queen said, "But I want to tell my parents the truth when the time is right."
"It's up to you kid." Haggar says. "Now let's get going. There's still a lot of work left to do."
"Right." Speed Queen said as she gets back up. "Thanks chief."
"Anytime kid. Anytime." Haggar says.
The L-Monster arrived back at the base camp and Road Hazard got the Medical supplies from the back. "I got the medical supplies." Road Hazard said.
"Excellent." Prodigy said as she started unloading the medical supplies with her telekinesis. "These will definitely help with the injured." She looked over and saw Multiple Girl giving orders to five of her clones who all saluted before running off. Multiple Girl then came over.
"Speed Queen called and told me to send clones to Lynn's Table to get some food that was made for the people working the earthquake."
"The fires are all out out." Firecracker said as he, Black Ice and Jack Frost came in.
"It wasn't easy putting them all out." Jack said.
Ms. Appear, Armor, Crystal Princess, Ryker, Petty and Tongri come walking over.
"Got a bunch of people out in the Homeless District. Sadly they refused to leave so there are a few medics taking care of them there." Ms. Appear reported. "And Jack froze a building that was about to go down which was pretty cool." She then chuckled at her pun. "But seriously, that was too close for comfort."
"I'm guessing Luna and Sam got the power back up and running." Firecracker said.
"Right you are." Genarocker and Amplifier said as they entered the lair. "Sam's a bigger egghead than Lisa." Amplifier chuckled.
Prodigy glares at her. "No one is smarter than me." She says.
"So far everything is looking good though." Firecracker said. "But we're not done yet. We should head back out there." Everyone nods in agreement and starts to head outside when Speed Queen appears in front of them.
"No. We're not going back out." Speed Queen told them much to their surprise. "Ryker told me you guys aren't resting and we're no use to anyone if we're exhausted."
"But Soothsayer can just replenish our stamina." Parkour argued. Soothsayer doesn't respond. Instead he waits for Speed Queen to speak.
"No. Soothsayer still needs his energy to heal the worst of the injured we well as fixing the city." Speed Queen says with authority. "We will go back out there but not until we rest. My orders as well as Haggar's."
"You want us to rest?" Ms. Appear asked.
"We can get the job done faster if we let Soothsayer heal us." Armor replied.
Speed Queen took a deep breath before looking back at them. "My orders are that you all rest." She says sternly. "This is no longer up for discussion."
"Ok fine." The rest of the siblings replied.
Speed Queen starts to make her out as the rest of the L-Crew got settled in to rest. She stops next to Jack at the entrance. "Make sure they don't try to sneak out." Jack smirks at her.
"No worries Sheila." He assures her. "I'll make sure they stay put."
"Thanks Jack. I don't want them to overwork themselves." Speed Queen said.
"I understand Speed Queen. They're only human." Jack said.
"No argument there." Speed Queen says. "I gotta a couple things I gotta check on and then I'll come back to check on them." She then steps outside. She then hears footsteps following her causing her to stop in her tracks. "I take it you want to talk Soothsayer."
"Of course Lori. What do you want to talk about?" Soothsayer asked.
"You've been quiet today." Speed Queen comments. "Not usually providing your words of wisdom or sage advice. You also didn't say anything when Lynn said you could fix their stamina. Why is that?" Soothsayer sighed as he looked out to the city.
"You've had everything under control." Soothsayer tells her. "There was no need for me to say anything because you had things handled." Speed Queen looks at him shocked.
"You really have all this faith in me." She says with a chuckle. "Part of your training I take it? To help me be a better leader?" Soothsayer looks at her with a mischievous smirk.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Soothsayer said. The two laugh before looking out at the city.
"I want to go to the Temple for a few days." Speed Queen says out of nowhere. "I need more training. Don't get me wrong Soothsayer, your training is good."
"But you need training only Miros can provide." Soothsayer finished. "Yes I figured this would happen. When do you wish to leave?"
"About a week from now." Speed Queen answered. "Got to set some things up before I go."
"Very well. You should let your siblings know about your departure." said Soothsayer.
"I will." Speed Queen promises. "But not until this whole mess is finished." She gestures to the city. "I trust that Luna can lead the team in my absence."
"Indeed." Soothsayer agreed. "And she'll have Luan helping so things should be fine."
"I'm sure they'll do fine." Said Speed Queen.
"I'm sure they will." Soothsayer agreed. "But why now? Why do you feel like you must go to the Temple now?" Speed Queen sighed.
"Johnny." Speed Queen answered. "When we fought them last he was able to dodge all of my super fast punches. All of them. On top of that he was able to counter everything I threw at him. I know that we're gonna fight the Terror Crew again. But I need to make sure I'm faster before that happens. And if there's an issue here and you all need me back, I'll return immediately."
"Just don't push yourself too hard. I've heard you nearly ended your life after your second encounter." Soothsayer said.
"I won't let that happen. I know what I'm doing." Speed Queen said.
"Good." Soothsayer says. "The L-Crew have a bright future Lori. And they need you to lead them to it."
"I know Soothsayer. I won't let you or the L-Crew down." Speed Queen said.
"Most importantly Lori, don't let yourself down." Soothsayer told her. Speed Queen nods.
"I won't." She says. "I should check on them." She heads back into home-base where she's greeted with interesting sight. The entirety of the L-Crew fast asleep.
Multiple Girl was sound asleep with Greenthumb in her arms completely out. Next her was Amplifier with an arm around Genarocker who leaned into her touch. Ms. Appear laid on the ground using Tongri as a pillow which the tiger didn't seem to mind as he was curled up around her. Parkour laid on one side of Firecracker while Surge laid on the other side, both leaning on the eleven year old pyro. Normally her sole brother would complain but he was also fast asleep with his head resting on Surge's. Black Ice slept in her usual position near Armor who she was practically using as a pillow but Armor was too sound asleep to notice. The twins and Prodigy slept with Petty who had his arms wrapped around them protectively has he slept. Speed Queen smiles as she watched her family get their much needed rest while also resting in each other's comfort.
"I won't fail you guys. That's a promise." Speed Queen whispered to herself.
After a couple of hours of rest, the L-Crew proceeded to get back to work with search and rescue.
"Did we check downtown completely?" Haggar asked.
"Firecracker and Wildgirl said they did along with a few dogs and workers." Speed Queen replied.
"That's good to hear." Haggar said. "You seem to handling this all well."
"Yeah just needed a break, but we're all rested." Speed Queen replied.
"Good to hear." Haggar says. "Anyways, I think should check uptown. I don't think we did a full sweep there."
"I can give a full sweep of uptown within a minute." Speed Queen stated.
"We both know that ain't gonna work." Haggar said but sees she's already gone. "And she's gone."
Speed Queen ran towards Uptown at high speed and began her search of the area. So far she has found no survivors yet. "There's got to be someone here." Speed Queen thought.
As she's running she sees a familiar trenchcoat sticking out among the damaged city. "No way." Speed Queen stops in her tracks and sees that it is indeed Replicate standing outside a damaged building.
"Speed Queen." Replicate said curtly without looking at her.
"Replicate." Speed Queen greeted with the same tone. "What brings you out here?"
"Waiting for Quill to finish up casing out the building for survivors." Replicate answered simply.
"So you're helping out after the Earthquake hit this town too?" Speed Queen asked.
"Yes, just wanted to make sure no one was hurt." Replicate said.
"Should I assume you've been busy?" Speed Queen asked.
"Finished Downtown earlier." Replicate says simply.
"That explains a bit." Speed Queen said. Quill then comes walking out of the building carrying an old man.
"Found this old man." The spiky meta said. "He lost his walker so I carried him down the stairs." Replicate nods. Quill then sees Speed Queen next to his partner. "Oh hey Speed Queen. Some mess huh?" Speed Queen nods.
"Yeah but we're making do." She responds. Quill nods.
"We should get going." Replicate growled. "There's a medical tent not far from here. We can drop the old man off there." Quill nods and the two start walking off. "Speed Queen. This training you're doing." He turns to look at her. "I look forward to see what you bring to our next battle." Without waiting for a response he turns and continues walking away.
"How did he know about my training?" Speed Queen asked. "Nevermind I need to prepare myself."
Hours went by as rescue workers did a final sweep of the city to make sure everyone was safe. Speed Queen even had Carolborg fly around and scan everything to make sure that everyone was safe.
"Carolborg said that everything was cleared out." Speed Queen told Haggar.
"Well that's good to hear. Still Feels weird to have her on own side." Haggar said.
"It's a whole rehabilitation thing." Speed Queen says.
"Indeed." Prodigy added. "Our lawyer assists her with the rehabilitation process. He's considering starting a rehabilitation program for our enemies in the Dungeon."
"But that's a thing for a later date." Speed Queen says. She turns to Soothsayer. "You ready?"
"Indeed I am Speed Queen." Soothsayer nodded as he rubbed his hands together. "Let's restore this town." Soothsayer said and with a clap of his hands the town of Royal Woods began to be restored to it's former glory.
"Damn. No matter how many times it happens, I'll never get used to that." Haggar says. He turns to the L-Crew. "Good job out there. You saved a lot of lives." However Speed Queen shook her head.
"No. We just followed your lead." Speed Queen tells him. "Take all the credit. We don't need it." She turns to her team. "We're heading back to base to debrief and then we're heading home." She turns to Haggar. "See you around Chief." The rest of the L-Crew all nod at him before turning around and walking off towards the L-Monster.
The L-Crew have arrived back at the base and exited the L-Monster. "Alright let's get this meeting started." Lori said.
"Right." Luna says standing up. "Ok. So earthquake hits, we spring into action, we save everyone in the city, put out the fires and repaired the power plant. Not much to it dude."
"True. We did good today." Lori tells them. "Did something that we've never done before and learned as we went along. That's real hero work. Good job everyone." The rest of the team nod before they start to get up from the table to leave. "Meeting isn't done guys." Everyone stops in their tracks and sit back down. "I have an announcement to make. Starting tomorrow, Luna will be leading the L-Crew for the next few days."
"What?!" Luna exclaimed. "Why are you placing me in charge?!"
"Are you quitting the team?" Leni asked
"Everyone calm down." Lori ordered causing everyone to stop shouting. She took a deep breath a looked at all the faces of her team. Some were angry that she was apparently leaving. Some were understandably upset. Others were surprised. Those being Ryker, Jack and Daniel. Soothsayer remained silent as Lori continued. "I'm only going to be gone for a few days because I'm going back to the Temple of the Eleven Masters." Everyone looks at her shocked.
"Why?" Lola asked. "When we were there last time, they said that we were done."
"They also said there's always something else to learn." Lana added. "But why are you going back now at all times? Especially with the Terror Crew still causing problems."
"Simple. They're the reason I'm going back for more training." Lori told them. They still looked confused. "Johnny is getting faster and learning new tricks to fight me with. I'm wondering if Miros has some tricks to teach me to help even the playing field."
"What if Miros says no?" Lisa asked.
"I'll find a way." Lori said.
"But we need you." Lynn told her. "You're our older sister and our leader. We need you here!"
"I get that but I promise I won't be gone long." Lori promised them. "Only a few days. I promise."
"You promise?" Leni asked.
"I promise. Luna your charge until I get back." said Lori,
Luna hesitates before sighing. "Alright." She says. "Can't say I'm happy about this but I'll do what I gotta do." She then approached her older sister and leader. "But you better come back stronger. You got that?"
"I promise. It won't be like when I tried to get stronger and beat Johnny the first time." Lori said. "It's gonna be with real training."
"Good." Luna says. "And I promise you this team will be better than ever when you come back." Lori smiles and nods.
"Alright everyone meeting adjourned." Lori says. "Now time for one more mission everyone."
The Louds have reached home and they all have concerns on their faces. Lori sighed and opened the door, the Loud siblings entered the doorway where they see their parents sitting on the couch.
"Kids!" Lynn Sr and Rita exclaimed as they got up from the couch and hugged their kids tight.
"We were so worried!" Rita exclaimed. "When you didn't call us after the earthquake hit, we feared the worst!"
"We're so happy that you're ok!" Lynn Sr. cried.
"We're fine dad. We were all in the safe zone thanks to the L-Crew." Lori said.
"They did a great job during an earthquake." Lana said.
"They sure did." Lynn Sr. agreed. "Speed Queen actually helped me at the restaurant. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that the eleven of you are safe. That's what matters."
"That's great to hear." Lori said. "We're glad you guys are safe."
"We're sorry we didn't call you." Leni says. "We completely didn't think about it."
"Yeah. We didn't know if the house was still standing." Lana said.
"Or if mom was alright?" Lola stated.
"Well the house is fine." Rita assured them. "Surprisingly. If there was any damage I'm sure the L-Crew's wizard friend fixed it when he fixed the city."
"Well that's good." Lynn said with everyone voicing their agreement.
"Well why don't you all head upstairs while I get dinner sorted." Lynn Sr. tells them. "We'll talk more then." The kids nod and start heading upstairs.
"Kids. Quick question." Rita says stopping the kids in their tracks. "Which relief area were you at?"
"We were at the one near the mall." Leni said.
"Yeah. That one." Lincoln said.
"Really?" Rita asks with a suspicious tone. "You weren't anywhere else?"
"Nope." The kids say in unison with no hesitation.
"Lori did you made sure the rest of your siblings were with you?" Lynn Sr asked.
"Yes dad, they were with me at all times." Lori said.
"You didn't go anywhere else?" Lynn Sr. asked. "Not even even for a few minutes?"
"Nope. We were together the whole time." Lori tells him. Their parents stare at them causing the kids to sweat. After a few seconds they back off.
"Well then. Head upstairs and make sure your rooms are still in one piece while I start dinner." Lynn Sr. says in a more chipper tone. "We'll call you when it's ready."
"Ok thanks!" The Loud siblings said and walked upstairs. Once they were out of sight, the Loud parents both look at each other.
"You think they're lying?" Lynn sr asked.
"If so, Lola would be telling us." Rita pointed out.
"True. But recently she's been acting off also." Lynn Sr. told her. "She also seems to be hiding something and whatever that is, they're all hiding it." They both continue to look upstairs.
In Lori and Leni's room, the siblings were all gathered.
"Ok. Let's cut to the chase." Lori says getting right to it. "I think mom and dad suspect something."
"Yeah I doubt they believed us about being at that relief centre." Lincoln said.
"Yeah I feel like they're catching on to us." Luna said.
"I don't like this." Lynn admitted. "It's hard enough keeping this secret from them but now that they suspect something it's going to be even harder."
"So are we back to asking the age old question now?" Luan asked. "Are we going to tell them?" The room goes silent as they all contemplate the question as well as the answer."
"If we tell them how would they react?" Luna asked.
"Getting grounded and being forbidden from Crime fighting?" Lynn answered.
"Constantly worrying about us fighting crime." Lana added.
"Yeah. A lot of cons." Lori said with a sigh. "Does anyone have any pros?"
The rest of the Loud siblings looked at each other and Luna shrugged. "Well maybe our powers can be helpful around the house?" Lola shrugged.
"Perhaps." Lisa says. "Another pro is that the burden of trying to keep this a secret will be lifted off our shoulders."
"Well that's two pros so far." Lori said. "Anyone else?"
"Lola would be free from the burden of tattling." Lana pointed out.
Lola opens her mouth but immediately closes it realizing she wasn't wrong.
"Three pros." Lori muses.
"I got a con." Lucy announced. "Them worrying more."
"Yeah that could be a problem. You know how sensitive dad is about Lori leaving for college." said Luna.
"Yeah don't remind me." Lori said.
"So what do we want to do?" Leni asked. "Last time we talked about this we said we weren't ready. But now that everything has happened with the earthquake, Armageddon and the Multiverse thingy what do we want to do now?"
"Should we tell them now or at the right time?" Lucy asked.
"We can't tell them now after the Earthquake." Luan pointed out.
"Ok ok. Everyone relax." Lori ordered getting everyone's attention. "Do we want to vote on it? If we vote yes, we'll tell them. If we vote no then we'll wait longer."
"So how are we going to vote?" Lincoln asked.
"Simple. Those of you who think we should tell mom and dad, go to my side of the room. Those who think we shouldn't, go to Leni's. I will be the deciding vote. Alright everyone think of your decision and think carefully. This is a big decision we have to make which will effect us for the rest of our hero career. So take your time."
Lola got up and walked towards Lori's side of the room. "Go figure you would want to tell mom and dad." Lynn said.
"They're excepting me to tattle," Lola stated,
"Honestly Lynn we should be impressed she lasted this long." Lincoln pointed out.
"It's just getting harder to keep it a secret." Lola told them. "If we told them, the pressure of trying to keep it a secret would be lifted and it wouldn't be so stressful." Everyone shrugged before going back to contemplating their vote. Lana then got up and much to everyone's surprise she joined her twin in Lori's side.
"When I was sick I had to constantly be on guard when I sneezed and transformed." Lana told them. "If we told them, I wouldn't have to worry as much."
"I guess that's a good point." Lincoln said.
Luan gets up and walks towards Leni's side of the room. "Sorry guys. But I feel like it's not time to tell them yet." Luan said.
"Ok. We got our first no." Lori says. "Who's next?"
"Me." Lincoln replied before standing up and joining Luan. "I know I was all for it before but now I just don't know if the time is right."
"At least it won't like the vacation fiasco." Lola grumbled.
Lynn got up and walked towards Lori's side of the room. "Sorry guys but if mom and dad find out about my unbreakable skin they would be worried and start asking questions." Lynn said.
Lisa got up and walked towards Leni's side of the room. "As much I like to confess I was responsible for our powers, but I really don't want to suffer the consequences of my actions." Lisa stated.
"Three yes and three no." Lori pointed out. "Interesting. Who's next?" Leni stands up and much to everyone's surprise she walks over to Lori's side of the room.
"I almost died fighting Armageddon and also lost the ability to have children." Leni says sadly. "Mom and dad deserve to know why I can't give them grandchildren the normal way." Everyone looks down in sadness but no one makes a move to switch sides. Lucy let's out an audible sigh and joins her siblings on the don't tell side.
"They worry about me enough as it is with my late night strolls." Lucy told everyone. "I don't want them to worry more."
Lily crawled over to the don't tell side. "Wow I was not excepting that." Lori said.
"Same here." Lisa comments. "It seems our minor sibling feels like telling our parents is not the best option right now."
"So it's just me and Luna I guess." Lori says looking at Luna who was still deep in thought.
"I see the issues with both options dude." Luna admits. "But if I'm being honest, keeping this secret has been getting harder and harder to a point where we've almost outed ourselves a few times. Maybe it's time they knew." She heads to the tell them side. "Well sis, you're the deciding vote."
"So let it be." Lori sighed as she looked at both sides of the room.
Lori looked at both sides and contemplated her decision. On one hand there were merits to telling their parents their secret. But on the other hand there was a big risk in telling them and things could easily go wrong with their parents knowing.
"Come on Lori. Don't you want mom and dad to know the truth." Leni said.
"It's not time yet Lori. We'll tell them the truth at the right moment." Lincoln said.
"Enough!" Lori shouted. Silencing everyone. "Telling them or not telling them is a major decision. But I have taken all your reasons taken all that into consideration. I think that even though telling them would make it easier I think that the time isn't right at this moment. That's why I vote we don't tell them as of right now."
"If you say so. We won't tell them." Lola said.
"But when will we tell them?" Lana asked.
"Soon." Lori answered. "How about after we finally take down the Terror Crew? Once we take them down then we'll tell mom and dad. Sound good everyone?"
"I'm cool with that." Luna said.
"Fine by me." Lincoln said as the rest of the sisters nodded.
"Ok. Everyone but Luna and Luan leave." Lori ordered. "I want to talk to you two real quick." Everyone shrugs and walks out of the room leaving the three leaders of the L-Crew alone.
"What's up sis?" Luna asked.
"Are you two sure you're okay with me leaving for a few days?" Lori asks them. "Because I'll stay if you want me too."
"We'll be fine Lori." Luan said.
"You got nothing to worry about that." said Luna.
"Are you sure?" Lori asked again.
"We're positive." Luna assured her. "The team will be fine. And if we need you, we'll call you back."
"Ok if you say so." Lori said. "Just try and make sure Royal Woods is still standing."
"We promise Lori." Luna said.
"Ok so the plan is two leave in about two days." Lori told them. "That should give me enough time to get everything in order."
"Alright sounds good." Luan said.
"Yeah and besides once you're gone. You got nothing to worry about." said Luna.
Lori smiles and shakes her head. "That's where you're wrong." She says. "I'm your older sister. I'm always going to worry about you guys." The three then hug. "You two go do what you do. And tell Leni she can come back in."
"You can come back in Leni." Luna said as Leni opened the door.
"Ok you girls done with your meeting?" Leni asked.
"Yeah we're done dude." Luna said as she and Luan walked out.
"You sure you have to leave Lori?" Leni asked.
"Yes Leni. But I'm not leaving right away. Besides I need to catch up to Johnny so we can defeat him and put the Terror Crew behind bars." Lori explained.
"I know." Leni said. "I hope it works out for you."
"You and me both." Lori replied.
A few days passed and the L-Crew were gathered at the base to see Lori off as she was about to leave for the Temple of the Eleven Masters.
"I'll be back sooner or later." Lori said.
"Just be careful babe." Bobby said as he and Lori hugged.
"I will." Lori promised him before turning to her siblings. "You guys sure you'll be ok while I'm gone?"
"We promise Lori." Luna said.
"Royal Woods will still be around when you come back." Luan said.
"I'm counting on you to make sure that happens." Lori says with a smile. "Also don't be afraid to call me if things get a bit much."
"We'll be fine Lori." Lola said.
"You got nothing to worry about." Lincoln said.
Lori smiles at them and pulls them into a group hug. "I love you guys." She says. After a few seconds they separated. She turns to Soothsayer. "Alright. I'm ready to go."
Soothsayer nodded as Lori walks towards him, she looks back at the rest of the L-Crew and smiled. Then with a flash of bright light Soothsayer teleports himself and Lori away.
Lori and Soothsayer stood outside the Temple of the Eleven Masters after Soothsayer teleported them there.
"Thank you Soothsayer." Lori says. "Take care of my siblings, ok?" Soothsayer nods.
"You have my word." Soothsayer promises her. "Remember, when you're ready to come home, let me know." Lori nods and the two hug before Soothsayer teleports away. Once he's gone, Lori makes her way up the stairs of the temple. Once she makes it to the entrance, she sees Miros waiting for her.
"Returned you have." Miros says.
"I have." Lori said as she bowed to her master. "Please Master. Train me to be better. I need to be faster. Faster than I've ever been before." Miros looks at her and nods.
"Then train you I shall." Miros replied. "Much work there is. Come. Begin now we will."
"Ok what's there to learn?" Lori asked.
"Lots to learn. My dear." Miros smirked,
"Then let's get to work." Lori said as Miros led her to one of the many rooms in the temple.
At Tetherby Industries, Andrew Tetherby watched as his security along with Xander and Helios cleaned up the mess caused by the earthquake. Xander was moving the more heavier stuff while the rest of the clean-up detail cleaned everything else. As they were cleaning, a scientist runs up to Tetherby.
"Sir. We have an emergency." He said panting. Tetherby turned to look at him while motioning him to continue. "He got out." Tetherby's eyes widen before narrowing them.
"Show me." He ordered. The scientist leads him to the lab where a giant cage sat. However the door was ripped off and there was also a hole in the wall. "This isn't good."
"He could be anywhere in the city." One scientist said.
"This could be a disaster for us." Tetherby said. "We need to find him and placed him back in his cage!"
"Should we send Xander and Helios to find him?" The scientist asked. Tetherby nods.
"Tell them that they must find him before the city finds out about this." Tetherby tells him. The scientist nods and runs off. "If anyone finds out about this, I'll be ruined. They must find him soon."
Smoke: Hey everyone. Now I know this was not what you excepted. Well we wanted to do something different than fighting a villain. Sorry that it took so long I was busy on my end with work and my cousin's wedding.
Zachlor16: Yeah we hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter we'll go back to the normal formula of fighting villians. Also don't worry Lori will be back. She's not going to be gone forever.
Smoke: Yeah we're not writing her off or anything. We're just giving her a break. Kind of like the show where she went off to college. I got nothing else to say. What about you Zach?
Zachlor16: Just that the next two chapters are two that we've been looking forward to so we'll see you then.
Smoke: alright please read and review.
