Note: As it's a new month, that means that the stories that are currently active will be updated. Granted, certain ones won't be activated, but that doesn't mean that they will be forgotten. In fact, they might be updated the next month if they are ignored during this one. There might even be a new story this month, depending on what happens. If I wind up posting it, then keep an eye out for it. Some of my stories tend to be forgotten about or ignored in favor of newer or more popular ones.
As a brief warning, this chapter might contain something scary. It might also contain some blood and gore. If you are the kind of person who scares easily, skip this chapter or wait until the next chapter comes out. If you are alright with scary stuff, then go ahead and read through the chapter. But, remember this: you have been warned. Of course, it all depends on what happens during this chapter.
With that out of the way, it's time for chapter twenty-seven.
Chapter 27: Abandoned
When morning arrived on Acmetropolis, the Mighty Loonatics decided to check and see if there was a crime alert. As it was their first time without a member of the original team, the new recruits figured that they could handle anything. Even if it was something as simple as a bank robbery, they intended on taking care of it as quickly as possible. The team had a one member advantage over the original Loonatics, which would make any mission faster. Fighting a villain their predecessors had faced would be tough, but they wouldn't be willing to let that get to them. If they entered a tough battle, then the Mighty Loonatics would have to give it their all.
As he looked for a crime alert, John found that checking the cameras and looking for information released by law enforcement was somewhat useless. His powers allowed him to detect for anyone who was on the prowl, even though he wasn't a telepath like Diane or Teagan. In fact, the stag couldn't tell if he was actually able to detect anyone or simply detect their shadows. What he did know was that he couldn't read minds, but rather sense for signs of life. Despite this, the cervid intended on finding an evildoer better than any police officer or secret agent. His powers were dark, but he wanted to use them to hunt down those who were darker.
Stepping away from the interface, John saw that his teammates were working around the room. Jack was reading some data that had been collected from Acmetropolis the other night. Klara was helping Lori check and see if each camera was working. Diane was looking through HQ's archived data, presumably to make sure that the Mighty Loonatics hadn't missed anything. Simon was cleaning up the sirens, even though they looked brand new. Teagan was checking each law enforcement website that was on HQ's directory, seeing if there were any updates on them. John only stood back as he watched everyone work, so that they could find anything that he missed.
When the Mighty Loonatics were done in the surveillance room, they decided to head to the living room. They had already eaten breakfast and it was two hours until they would eat lunch. For the time being, the new recruits decided to take it easy. If there was a crime alert, then they would check and see what was wrong. If no crime alert happened, then the team would wait until one struck Acmetropolis. Anything could happen, and it was up to them to protect the innocent and fight evil.
Once an hour had passed, Simon decided to check the news for anything interesting. Considering how the Mighty Loonatics learned about the European Jewel through the media, the greyhound figured that something else could catch the attention of his teammates. He went through several articles, trying to find anything that would interest everyone. Nothing like that caught the canine's eye, so it seemed like such a fruitless search. With that in mind, he put his tablet away, hoping that there would be a crime alert soon. The rest of the team felt the same way, though they weren't as bored as Simon was.
When it was time for lunch, the Mighty Loonatics went to the dining room to eat. Jack was in charge of cooking, so he made a few dishes he had learned from his and Klara's aunt. Once he was finished cooking, he served his teammates, making sure every plate was full. As the team ate, they paid attention to their surroundings, just in case there was a crime alert. By the time they finished eating, the alarm had remained silent, with no crimes active. It seemed like that day would be a quiet one, as if the criminals of Acmetropolis took a day off instead of launching an attack or robbing a bank.
Once it was after 1:00 in the afternoon, a phone rang in the living room. Klara was the one to answer it, seeing as everyone was preoccupied with something. As the phone in-question did not have Caller ID, it was hard to determine who was calling. It could've been a telemarketer or a relative to a member of the team. Of course, it could've been the Mayor calling HQ to remind the Mighty Loonatics about something. Whatever that would be, it wasn't something the team would forget about, considering it was Lori's job to keep everyone updated about certain things.
"Hello?" Klara spoke into the phone.
"Hello, this is an automated message from the Acmetropolis Center of History and Preservation." A message played. "If you'd like to hear the recent news, please press '1'. If you want to speak to a representative of the company, please press '2'. If you'd like the hints to this week's crossword puzzle, please press '3'."
Hitting '1' on the phone, Klara waited for someone to speak. It took a few seconds, but she was greeted by another message.
"Alright," a voice spoke, "here's the news: The exhibits at the Acmetropolis Museum are down for maintenance. For the next few weeks, the Aurora Borealis will be in the sky. And finally, the abandoned house on West Street is in need of demolition. If you wish to try and save it, get in contact with the construction company. Thank you for listening."
Once that message ended, Klara put down the phone, right on time for Jack to come in.
"Who was that?" Jack spoke.
"It was just an automated message." Klara said. "It was listing some local news, from a few exhibits needing maintenance and an abandoned house needing to be demolished."
"Abandoned house?" The young man asked.
"Yeah, they said it was on West Street." The preteen said. "It won't be torn down if someone is willing to try and repair it."
Upon hearing that, Jack got an idea. He went to go get the others, so that he could discuss it with them. While it wasn't a crime alert, the young man figured that it would be enough of an activity for the Mighty Loonatics to do. Of course, that was assuming that everyone was willing to help repair the abandon house, if not investigate it and see why it was abandoned.
When the whole team was together, Jack told them his plan for the afternoon.
"So, they're planning to tear down a house on West Street, but I kind of want to do some repairs to it." He spoke. "I'm thinking that we could head in there and see why it was abandoned, so that we could get permission to try and fix it."
"Okay, since when were we construction workers?" Lori asked.
"Yeah, this is the community's job, not ours." John spoke.
"C'mon, guys, this house is part of the district's history!" Jack said. "If we don't save it, then we're letting part of Acmetropolis' history be destroyed!"
"That's not good, sure, but there are some things that need to be gotten rid of." Simon said. "Besides, won't this house be full of rodents, cockroaches and all sorts of rabid wild animals."
"If there is, we can fend them off with our powers." Teagan said. "Look, everyone, we might be superheroes, but our job isn't just about fighting villains. Sometimes, it involves doing our duties as citizens, which includes helping to make sure a house can be repaired instead of being demolished."
"As much as I hate to say it," Diane spoke, "but this might be fun. Like Teagan said, we can fend off attackers with our powers."
"Well, we might need to convince the construction crew to back off until we complete our investigation." Lori said.
"Don't worry, I know someone who works in construction." Jack said. "I can have him convince the others to let us investigate. Now, who's up for some good old-fashioned house restoration?"
"I'm in!" Simon said, raising his hand.
"Might not be as bad as I think it is." John said.
"Let's see what we can do to that old place!" Lori spoke.
"Hopefully, my years of service translate well to construction." Teagan said.
"I've watched my father work with tools before." Diane spoke. "He even allowed me to use some of them, so I hope to help out with the repairs!"
"I won't be able to help out a whole lot," Klara stated, "but I can stay outside, so the rest of you can call me if there's trouble."
"Well," Jack said, "now that we've made up our minds, let's go!"
The Mighty Loonatics went to the elevator, so that they could exit HQ. West Street wasn't terribly far from the building, so they decided to walk there instead of using any flight-based technology. Even though the original team was on Blanc, the new recruits felt as though it would be disrespectful to use their gadgets without permission. Plus, it would be rather disruptive to contact the veterans in the middle of the day. For all the new team knew, their predecessors could've been in the middle of a mission, one where they couldn't risk a distraction. With that in mind, the Mighty Loonatics chose to not use anything other than their powers.
At the end of West Street, a small house sat, having been abandoned for a decade. Its windows had been boarded up, so that no one could break into the house. The door was locked, having been like that ever since its owners left. Outside of the locked door and boarded-up windows, the rest of the house looked perfectly intact, with no other signs of damage on it. It was as if time had no effect on the building, despite being vacant for years. However, no one had approached it, not even to leave flowers or a "For Sale" sign to attract any potential buyers.
Right outside the house stood the workers for a construction company. They had been told to tear down the abandoned house in case no one came by to try and save it. However, they were surprised that it took a decade after the house had been abandoned for it to be condemned and ready to be torn down. No one really knew why it had suddenly been vacated, only that the owners had left it without warning. The family who lived in the house weren't unknown to the public, which made it all the more puzzling as to why they would just leave their house and let it rot away instead of selling it. No one asked them, but they feared that the answer would be something sinister.
For years, there had been rumors about the house and why it had been abandoned. One rumor was that there were corpses inside the house, as if a serial killer had been hiding the bodies of their victims in the house, not knowing that anyone lived inside. Another rumor was that the family was under the witness protection program, constantly having to move to avoid the criminal who they witnessed committing a crime. They would have to move again when the criminal arrived in town, but not before erasing all ties to the house. A rather bizarre rumor was that the family was part of a race of shapeshifters, having to move when someone found out the truth. Whatever the reason, the house still needed to be torn down.
"Alright, guys, you ready?" A worker spoke.
"Ready." Another worker said.
"Let's tear down that abandoned enigma!" A third worker said.
"Hold on, guys! Don't tear it down yet!" A voice rang out.
Upon hearing that voice, the construction workers expected to be greeted by a group of protesters, primarily a bunch of hippies. However, they were greeted by two humans and five anthropomorphic animals. The animals were an Arctic fox vixen, a stag, a Greyhound, a fennec vixen and a mallard. It didn't take long for the workers to know who these people were: the Loonatics' new recruits. None of them had interacted with the new team, so it felt odd to see a group of seven wearing the familiar outfit of the heroes who defended Acmetropolis in the past. Whatever the reason, a worker spoke to them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. "Shouldn't you guys be defending the city or something?"
"Actually, there's no crime today." Diane spoke. "We're here to try and fix this house."
"You guys can't go in there!" Another worker said. "You need a permit to do stuff like this!"
"Doesn't being a team of superheroes mean we're allowed to do things for the community?" Simon asked.
"Yeah, we save the day from time to time!" Jack spoke. "We should be able to help out with the old house!"
"They do have a point." A worker said. "After all, if they didn't fight evil, we wouldn't be here."
"Alright, we'll let you in." The lead worker said. "However, one of you has to take a communicator and one of you has to stay outside with us."
"I'll stay here with the workers." Klara said. "The rest of you should go inside."
With Klara deciding to stay outside the house with the construction workers, the Mighty Loonatics decided to enter the house, so that they can see if anything could be fixed. In the process, John grabbed a communicator from a bin near a bulldozer the workers were intent on using. The plan was for him to keep contact with those outside, while he and the rest of the team searched the house. Jack was tasked with using his psychokinesis to unlock the door. If that didn't work, then someone else would have to pick the lock, though that depended if anyone on the team knew how to pick locks. Diane, Lori, Teagan and Simon were supposed to act as a lookout, just in case there was something dangerous inside.
Upon seeing the house that was about to be torn down, Lori's eyes widened. The building in front of her was a place that she knew well. None of the fennec's teammates seemed to be familiar with it, though it was probably because they had never visited before. In fact, they seemed more focused on entering the house instead of asking her questions about it. Diane wasn't even using her telepathy to read her teammate's mind, her eyes focused on the door. While she would've considered it rude for a telepath to root through someone's brain without their permission, Lori wished that Diane would use her telepathy on her.
In front of the door, Jack focused, his eyes fixated on the lock. He began to use his psychokinesis to move the lock, trying his hardest to get the door unlocked. As he focused, the young man heard the sounds of metal creaking and gears moving. The house was one of the few left in Acmetropolis that had mechanical locks as opposed to electric locks, which made it feel like something from the 20th century. Despite that, it was easy to unlock, as Jack heard the sound of the lock popping, meaning that the door could be opened now. When that was out of the way, he took a step back, allowing John to head to the door.
Pulling the door open, John held it and had the rest of the team enter before him. Klara was with the construction workers, agreeing to keep contact with her teammates so that she could know if they needed her. With that in mind, John was the last to head into the abandoned house, pulling the door behind him. Despite the Mighty Loonatics being short a member, the stag figured that six people working on the building from the inside would be enough.
Upon entering the house, the Mighty Loonatics could not help but be shocked by their surroundings. The area they were standing in looked like a living room, but there was no furniture or electric devices of any kind. It just looked like no one had ever lived in the house, let alone a family. However, upon looking at the walls, the team saw that the wallpaper looked ripped, with claw marks on a side wall. Something had to live in the house, but no one could've done that to the walls. If there was a creature inside, then the new recruits needed to get it out of the house and work on the repairs when it was gone.
"Man, even for an abandoned house, this place looks empty!" Jack spoke.
"Did anyone even LIVE here?" Simon asked.
"Someone did, but they must not have owned any furniture." Teagan said. "They took it with them, perhaps?"
"Let's look around and see if there's anything that needs to be cleaned up." Diane spoke.
"Aside from the torn wallpaper, this room is clean." Jack said. "The kitchen, perhaps?"
"That's usually a room that needs to be cleaned in an abandoned house, other than the bathroom." John spoke. "Diane, you, Simon and Lori go there, while Jack, Teagan and I look for any other rooms on this floor."
Nodding her head, Diane led Simon and Lori to the kitchen, which was right next to them. As they did that, John had Jack check to see if there was a room next to the stairway that led up to the second floor. Teagan was tasked with looking for a room on the opposite side of what was the house's living room. In the process, she saw a door next to where a Television set likely was. As such, the mallard had Jack and John come over to her, just in case there was something that needed to be dealt with behind the door. If there was, then the three of them would have to deal with it. Diane, Simon and Lori would have to give them a hand if need be.
While in the kitchen, Diane and Simon began to look around. Lori only stood in the doorway, memories starting to flood her mind as she looked at the room. It had been years since she was inside of the house, so being back in it was something she never thought would happen again. No one else on the team shared the fennec's feelings, having never stood in the house before. With that in mind, she hoped to tell them why it was a relief to be in the house. Perhaps, the moment would come when Diane and Simon took a break from inspecting the kitchen.
Nostalgia on her mind, Lori decided to look for the dumbwaiter. From what she remembered, whoever wanted to use it needed to pull on a cord to either send it upstairs or downstairs. However, the fennec could not remember where the cord was. As Simon and Diane were preoccupied, she decided to look for it herself. The long-eared vixen opened the cabinets behind her, checking to see if the cord was inside any of them. While she did that, her teammates continued to look through the kitchen, so that they could make sure it was alright.
"Okay," Diane spoke, "the fridge is empty. The freezer is empty as well."
"The sink's clean," Simon said, "but there are some old cleaning products underneath it."
"It would seem that the previous owners wanted it to be ready for potential buyers, but had it abandoned when they couldn't find anyone who would buy it." The Arctic fox said.
"That, or they decided to leave for the country." The Greyhound said. "What do you think, Lori?"
Lori did not answer, as she was currently looking for the cord to the dumbwaiter she remembered being as part of the house. Simon tilted his head to the side, while Diane slowly approached her preoccupied teammate. By the time Lori stopped looking in the cabinets, she turned around and saw the Arctic fox standing behind her. The fennec jumped, but calmed down, knowing that doing that would lead to a confrontation.
"Geez, Diane, you scared me!" Lori spoke.
"Simon asked you a question." Diane stated.
"Oh." The fennec said. "Well, his guess was rather close. In fact, the homeowners who abandoned this house left for the country because the father of the family got promoted."
"How do you know that?" Simon asked.
"You must've been close to them." Diane said.
"Diane, why not use your telepathy on my mind?" Lori asked.
"I just want to be kind and respectful." The Arctic fox stated.
"Fill us in on why you know about the previous homeowners." Simon spoke. "Were they friends of yours?"
"More than that." Lori said. "I lived with them for years, and I moved out with them. They weren't just friends, but rather mentors who taught me right from wrong. In fact, you can say that they were not only friends, but also family!"
Looking at each other for a moment, Diane and Simon knew that it wouldn't take a genius to decipher Lori's words. In fact, it didn't take them long to figure out why she was close to the homeowners of this old house.
"This was your house." Diane spoke. "You must not want it torn down because it's special to you."
"Actually, I didn't think that this house would be the one to get torn down." Lori spoke. "However, now that we're here, I need to find something that I left here when I moved out with my family."
"What is it?" Simon asked.
"It's a housewarming gift that I wanted someone who wound up moving in to see." The fennec said. "However, I left it in the dumbwaiter and I need to find the cord that opened the door."
"What's a dumbwaiter?" The Greyhound asked.
"It's a small platform that was used to send certain objects to people without having to travel up the stairs or a ladder." Diane said. "In essence, it was a miniature elevator."
Lori went back to looking in the cabinets, thinking that she might have missed the cord to the dumbwaiter. As she looked in there, Diane and Simon looked in other areas of the kitchen. It was rather hard to look for it, as the cord could've been hidden in an area no one would think to check. For Diane, she had to use her eyes, as her telepathy couldn't detect for inanimate objects, only living organisms. Simon didn't have it any better, as the kitchen didn't look like it had any secret compartments that the cord to the dumbwaiter would be kept in. Lori wanted to find it, but she feared that she and her teammates would be unable to.
After a little bit of searching, Simon saw something on the wall. It was hanging out of a small hole, but it was big enough for him to see it. What the Greyhound saw looked like a piece of string, but with a bead on the end of it. This was probably the cord to the dumbwaiter, but it could've also been a random object that was supposed to be part of something different.
"Lori, Diane, I found something!" Simon spoke.
Stopping what they were doing, Diane and Lori went over to Simon. They say that he was looking at a string hanging out of the wall. While Diane looked rather unamused, Lori took a closer look. However, she was happy to see it, knowing what it was. Grabbing it in her fingers, the fennec pulled forward, causing a panel in the wall to slide upwards. Behind it was complete darkness, with no light inside.
"Is that the dumbwaiter?" Simon asked.
"Yes," Lori said, "and I hope that what I left is still inside."
Reaching into the darkness, Lori began to look around. Diane and Simon were behind her in case she got stuck, so that they could pull her out. After a minute, the fennec stepped backwards, nearly stumbling out of the dumbwaiter. Luckily, Simon was quick to catch her, helping her to the floor. With their teammate out of the compartment, Diane and Simon were ready to see the housewarming gift that she had left behind years ago. By looking at Lori's hands, they could see that the gift that was left in the dumbwaiter was ... a lunchbox?
"That's it?" Simon asked. "You left behind a lunchbox?"
"There must be more to it than that." Diane said.
"Well, I left something inside of it." Lori spoke. "Wanna see?"
Before Simon and Diane could answer, they heard Jack calling out.
"Guys, come quick, we found something!"
After leaving the kitchen, Diane, Simon and Lori saw a door standing open. The others had gone through it, by the looks of things. Whatever was behind the door was something interesting, hence was why Jack called out to them. Whatever it was, the three did know. Lori had been in the room before, but had never seen anything that would interest anyone. If anything, the room would look rather boring to anyone who dared to enter.
Taking a step through the door, Diane saw Jack, John and Teagan crowded around something. As if he knew she had actually come into the room, Jack gestured for the Arctic fox to come over to him. Simon followed, curious as to what his teammates were looking at. Lori remained out of the room, thinking that everyone was excited about something that wasn't such a big deal. The fennec had been inside before, so it was nothing new. Little did she know, something was awaiting the Mighty Loonatics.
With all but Lori having arrived, Jack had Simon and Diane take a look at what he had discovered with John and Teagan. Looking down, the Greyhound and the Arctic fox saw a hole in the wall underneath a chair. The hole was rather small, looking like something that would be made by a wild animal. However, it was larger than something a rodent would make, instead looking like it was made by an opossum or raccoon. Despite that, the hole was a perfect circle, which wasn't something a wild animal could've done. It just looked like someone used a hole saw or drill bit to build the hole, but without knowing what they wanted to use it for.
"It's just a hole." Diane spoke.
"Yeah, but why was it made?" Jack asked.
"More importantly, who or what could've made it?" Simon asked.
Lori stepped into the room, causing everyone to turn their attention away from the hole.
"What are you looking at?" She asked.
"Come here, you need to see this." Teagan spoke.
Walking over to her teammates, Lori turned her head towards the wall. Needless to say, the fennec was shocked when she saw the hole in the middle of it. She had lived in the house for years and had never seen it before. Not only that, but it was one of the cleanest homes in Acmetropolis, with no mold or household pests having infested it. By looking at it, Lori could tell that something managed to infest her childhood home. If that was so, then the Mighty Loonatics needed to do was find it and get it out of the house.
"Was that there before?" Simon asked.
"No." Lori spoke. "But something had to make it."
"Who wants to bet that whatever made the hole also scratched up the wallpaper in the living room?" John asked.
"There's no doubt about that." Jack spoke. "But what could've done that? It definitely isn't a rat."
"Rats come in a variety of sizes, Jack." Teagan stated.
"I'm just saying that whatever's inside the house could be anything." The young man said.
"In that case, we need to find it and get pest control." Diane said. "Let's go upstairs."
The Mighty Loonatics walked out of the room, intent on going upstairs and finding the alleged creature that had made the abandoned house its new home. Before anyone could go upstairs, Teagan took out several pairs of leather gloves, so that her teammates would use them to handle whatever was upstairs. Once they had put each pair of gloves on, the team began to go upstairs. Diane was the first to go upstairs, as her telepathy would've allowed her to detect the apparent wild animal. Teagan and Jack followed, so that they could give their teammate a hand. Simon and Lori went up immediately after them, leaving John by himself.
Before John could go upstairs, he heard static coming out of the communicator the construction workers had given him.
"Guys, are you there?" Klara's voice came of the communicator.
"Yeah, we're here." John spoke into it. "There's a creature inside the house and we need to go find it. In the meantime, have someone call pest control. We might need them to corral whatever's moved in here."
After that brief conversation, John followed his teammates upstairs, intent on getting this job done as quickly as possible. Once he got upstairs, he saw that everyone was looking in an individual room, checking to see if the creature was inside any of them. Jack and Simon were checking the bathroom, even going through the cabinets and drawers. Diane was looking in what was the master bedroom, checking every last area in the room. Teagan was looking through a closet, moving around boxes and bags that were left behind once the house was abandoned. Simon and Lori were checking a room with massive windows and bookcases, presumably a sunroom. None of them seemed to be having any luck.
Knowing that standing around and doing nothing wasn't an option, John looked for a room that everyone else had missed. Walking through, the stag noticed that all the doors had been left open. That is, except for one right at the end of the hallway. On his right was a white door with slight residue on it. By looking more closely, John could see that there were some smudges and what looked like torn paper. Clearly, there were stickers on it at some point, but whoever removed them did not get them off without ripping. It wasn't hard to determine that this room belonged to a child.
"Everyone, over here!" John spoke.
Leaving each room they were searching in, the Mighty Loonatics went to where their teammate was standing. As they walked near John, the team noticed the door he was standing next to. Once she saw it, Lori's eyes widened, as she knew what this room was. Diane and Teagan began to pick up something from inside, having sensed something from the rooms they had searched. If what their telepathy sensed had rushed into the room, then it wasn't something normal. No matter what it was, the Mighty Loonatics needed to be cautious.
"It's my old room!" Lori spoke.
"Good to know," Simon said, "but is the door locked? It's closed while the other doors were standing open."
"It shouldn't be." The fennec said. "My dad said that rooms should only be locked when we have something private to do."
"We shouldn't head in just yet." Diane spoke. "I'm picking up something moving around inside."
Being close to the door, John could hear scampering from inside Lori's old room. Not only that, but there was a strange noise, which sounded like squeaking. Whatever was inside, it seemed to be a rodent or something that was similar to one, like a squirrel. It didn't seem like anything that the Mighty Loonatics would have to be cautious about, but the look on Diane's face said otherwise. The team knew that they needed to enter the room, but wanted to be careful. All it would take is one wrong move, and the creature inside would probably attack them.
"Move aside, guys." Lori spoke, reaching for the doorknob.
Twisting the doorknob, Lori pulled the door open, allowing her teammates to take a look inside her old room. It was practically empty, aside from a few old posters that looked dusty and torn. However, the Mighty Loonatics were mainly focused on finding whatever had made its home inside of the abandoned house. Jack decided to look inside, with the others promising to step in if he got attacked. After a few minutes, the young man's eyes widened, having caught something. It nearly caused him to stumble back.
"Uh, guys, you might want to see this!" Jack spoke.
Having Jack step aside, Diane saw what he was looking at. Simon and Teagan followed, the creature inside immediately catching their eye. Eventually, John took a look, wanting to see what was inside. Needless to say, they were all surprised to see the wild animal who had taken up residence inside Lori's old bedroom. As they looked inside, Lori was standing nearby, eager to see what was living in the house that was once her home. If it was something dangerous, then the Mighty Loonatics needed to get rid of it.
When her teammates moved away from the door, Lori decided to see what was living inside her old room. By looking through the doorway, she could see a furry lump of brown and black lying on her bed. It was a raccoon, and it was moving around, as if it were trying to get comfortable enough to take a nap. Needless to say, Lori was surprised that the house's new resident was only a single procyonid.
"A raccoon?" She spoke. "Hopefully, pest control can deal with it."
"Hold on, the signal I picked up from the master bedroom is moving towards your old room!" Diane spoke.
"The one I sensed in the closet is moving in that direction as well." Teagan said.
All of a sudden, more scampering was heard, this time in the ceiling. One of the ceiling tiles in Lori's old room was pulled back, then two more raccoons came out of the ceiling, climbing down by using a coat rack. They joined the third one who was on the bed, apparently being its kits. When they were all together, they threw ringtails cuddled up, falling asleep soon after.
"I think they're a family." Jack spoke, taking another look in the room.
"Then moving them will be harder than we thought." Lori said.
"Don't worry, pest control can handle a family of raccoons, especially feral ones." John said.
Looking at the raccoons for a moment, Lori was beginning to have second thoughts about what her teammates were considering. If pest control arrived to take care of the situation, then the raccoons would likely be killed. However, none of them seemed to want to hurt anyone. If anything, they had found a home and wanted to live in it until the end of their days. The house might have been her home when she was a little girl, but Lori knew that it was time for a new family to live inside. All that she needed to do was convince everyone to change their minds.
"Guys, can I speak to you for minute?"
A few minutes later, the Mighty Loonatics came out of the abandoned house, intent on speaking with the construction workers. Klara was nearby, so she decided to leave her teammates be. However, Lori approached her, so that they could talk in private. The fennec explained the situation about the house's new residents, then said that something else was about to happen. Klara wondered if it meant that her teammate's childhood home was going to be rebuilt instead of fixed, but something told her that was not the case. They would only know when pest control arrived.
The moment a pest control van parked near the abandoned house, John went to speak with those inside of it. He told them to find a way to move the raccoons out of the house until something was done with it. A worker went inside and collected the raccoons, making sure that they were in the same cage and not separate. From there, the construction workers began to work on the abandoned house, using their tools to remove certain parts. Whatever they removed would be replaced, as they had the right equipment to fix the areas that were now bare. The Mighty Loonatics decided to leave them be, considering how they had work to do.
A day later, the Mighty Loonatics went to where construction was taking place. Once they got to where the abandoned house was, however, they were surprised. The windows were no longer boarded up and looked brand new. As for the walls, new siding was used to make the building more presentable. In addition to that, it had gained an extension, having a new floor. The door had been replaced as well, having been changed from one with an old-fashioned lock to a modern one. In front of the house was a sign that said the following:
Acmetropolis Raccoon Sanctuary
Raccoons will be tended to, cared for, and treated as members of society.
While Lori was a bit sad that they ultimately couldn't save her childhood home, it was difficult to feel upset in a situation like this. Her teammates got to see it for themselves and they managed to convince the construction workers to turn it into a sanctuary for raccoons. Once it was an abandoned building, now it looked brand new. By seeing this for herself, Lori knew that the past had to go by to make room for the future, so she smiled. Things were looking brighter because the Mighty Loonatics had managed to get an old building turned into something new.
Note: It might not have ended on a fantastic note, but that was the new chapter. Also, there was no new story published this month, but there's always next month. In the meantime, will the original Loonatics be able to find out who has been trying to keep them distracted? Who is the mysterious figure watching the Mighty Loonatics? Will both teams be forced to fight him? Can they find out who he is?
Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!