*gives Siamese a cookie*
YAYS! My first official 'fight scene!' Not as long as I hoped, but I like it, anyway!
Man, I've been busy today! *falls over*
Chapter 2: "Return of the Menace"

 BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

 Tech glanced up at the computer as it began to beep. "We have an intruder."

 "Who?" Slam asked, stepping behind him.

 "Mastermind." Tech gave a small growl.

 Cassidy was confused. 'Mastermind?'

 "Let's jet, Loonatics!" Ace led the way into the main hall.

.YELLOW TRIANGLE.

 "Ahh.. the Loonatics. I see you found me." Mastermind taunted them as they ran through the door.

 "How about we skip the hide-and-seek game and go straight to the part where we prove that you can't win!" Ace pulled out his Gaurdian Strike Sword.

 "No thanks, how about the part where you si..." seeing Cassidy, she corrected herself, "seven get your tails kicked!" She reached into her pocket and threw out several disk-shaped items which landed on the floor in front of them.

 Duck began laughing. "It's going to take more that bad aim and a bad throwing arm to protect yourself!"

 "I know." Mastermind smirked as the disks began growing into large robots. "Destructo-bots attack!"

 The Loonatics split up into three groups, Tech, Rev, and Cassidy, Ace and Lexi, Duck and Slam.

 Tech glanced at Cassidy. "Need a lift?" He cupped his hands down by his knees. Cassidy nodded and set her foot in his hands. Tech lifted her up and over him, and on top of one of the robots.

 Cassidy ducked to avoid getting hit by the robot's arms. "I'll get this one!" Her hands and eyes glowed blue as she began to melt the robot's body, using her jetpack so she wouldn't get burned by the melting metal.

 "I'll get the next one." Tech's eyes and hands glowed green as he crushed the second robot.

 "My turn my turn my turn!" Rev flew around the thrid robot's middle as fast as he could, and the heat he created melted it.

 Meanwhile, Mastermind searched through all of the machines, searching for a certain one. She paused at one and inspected it. "This isn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it should keep those annoying pests busy for a while."

 Ace and Lexi were cornered by two robots. Ace did the same as Tech and lifted Lexi over his head. Lexi pushed herself off the wall and landed expertly on one robot's head. "Ready, Ace?" She called.

 "Ready!" Ace drew out the GSS and lunged at the robot that Lexi was standing on. A large blast came from it and hit the robot's legs. At the same time, Lexi brain-blasted the head off of it and the other robot. She jumped off as the robots came crashing to the ground.

 Meanwhile, Duck and Slam were being chased by the last two robots. After nearly running into each other, they stood back-to-back. Just as the robots were about to fire at them, Duck and Slam activated their jetpacks and flew upwards. The lasers missed their target and hit the robots instead.

 "Where's Mastermind?" Ace asked as the Loonatics gathered together.

 "This way!" Rev led the way through a maze of machinery, going slow enough for the others to keep up. They froze when they saw Mastermind at the control panel of a small, death-ray-like machine. Mastermind smirked as she pointed it at them and fired. The Loonatics were covered in a white-ish glow and they slowly fainted to the ground as each one blacked out.

(End Chapter)

Chapter 3: "Missing In Action"

 Lexi gave a small shriek as the large hunk of metal came flying at her. Ace dove and did a hand-spring, grabbing Lexi's wrist and pulling her out of the way. Ace landed on his feet, but Lexi went flying into him, and the two tumbled a few feet further.

 "Are you all right?" Ace asked.

 Lexi just noticed that she had her arms around Ace. "Yeah, thanks." Ace smiled at her.

 "Tech, how do you work your powers?" Cassidy asked as she and Tech went back-to-back.

 "Concentrate. Imagine yourself crushing the robot." Tech gave her a reassuring smile. "You can do it."

 "Okay." She murmured, slightly nervous. Cassidy, having been a figure skater for most of her life, knew how to use the ice to her advantage. Unfortunately, being in Tech's body, she was very unbalanced. She easily slid across the ice and took down one robot. She cartwheeled as another robot fired at her. Her hand slid out from underneath her and she landed on her stomach, giving a small groan.

 Tech ran up to her. 'My regeneration powers or not, I'm not going to let her get hurt.' He slid in between the robot and Cassidy. His eyes and hands glowed light blue and he quickly melted the robot.

 "Tech! Cassidy! Look out!" Rev shouted, noticing another robot, sneaking up on them. Before either of them could react, they were suddenly swept up by a purple blur. Rev set them down, safe and sound, several feet away.

 Tech just realized that he was holding Cassidy. He quickly set her down. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

 Cassidy, slightly flustered, just nodded.

 Mastermind raised her eyebrow at this. "Awww... I see you have yourself a new girlfriend, eh, Tech? How rude of you not to introduce us." Tech just growled at her.

 "Okay, gang, huddle up." Ace called into his communicator. "I've got a plan."

 "But I'm the leader!" Duck whined.

 "Can it, Duck! Tech, Cassidy, Lexi and I were close to being badly injured! I think it's time for plan B. Now, Rev, Cassidy, I need you to distract the robots while Tech, Slam, Duck and I melt the ice. Then, Lexi, use Duck's powers to gather up the water and hit the robots with it."

 "Okay!" Rev and Cassidy nodded and performed their half of the plan.

 And so, the team set to work. Ace, Tech, Slam and Duck made quick work of the ice. Lexi followed behind, gathering the water into large 'water bombs' and then fired them at the robots. The robots short-curcuited and fell over.

 The Loonatics then grouped together again. Mastermind was nowhere in sight. Tech clenched his fists. "She got away again."

 "Neutronalizer!" Slam yelled, pointing towards the machine.

 "At least she left us the dangerous machine." Lexi said.

 "But she took away the brain-switch machine! We need to switch back!" Rev panicked. Tech and Cassidy checked over the Neutronalizer.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

 "Uh, Tech. Cassidy. What's that beeping noise?" Ace asked.

 Tech muttered something under his breath. Cassidy began explaining. "Mastermind pushed a button she shouldn't have."

 "What button is that?" Lexi questioned worriedly.

 "If you press it, then you have thirty seconds to get out before it explodes..... and it only has twenty seconds left." Tech calmly said.

 "We're doomed! Completely and utterly doomed!" Duck began to panick.

 "Yeah, cool and calm under pressure." Lexi rolled her eyes. Slam nodded in agreement.

 "Can you disable it?" Ace asked.

 "Ha! Is water made of hydrogen and oxygen molecules?!" Tech folded his arms. Everyone except Cassidy stared at him blankly. Tech's face fell slightly at their non-existing answer. "Yes, it is. We can do this. Right, Cass?"

 Cassidy bit her lip nervously, but seeing Tech confident in her gave her confidence a boost. "Yeah!" Both coyotes started typing away at the control panel of the machine.

"15 Seconds" The machine announced. Ace, Lexi, and Slam exchanged nervous glances, Rev began biting his fingers, and Duck continued to freak out.

 "10 Seconds"

 "5 Seconds" Tech shook his head. "Everyone run! It's not working!" He grabbed Cassidy's wrist and followed the others towards the door.

 "1 Second... 0.." Nothing happened. Tech stopped, confused. "Huh? It should of exploded already!"

 "I, personally, prefer not being blown to peices, thank you." Duck commented.
 
 "That was so I could get you seven in range again." The door in front of them opened and revealed Mastermind and the brain-switch machine. Not waiting for a reply, she fired at them. Everything went black for the Loonatics.

 Tech's eyes flickered open for a moment, just long enough for him to see Mastermind dragging away an already-unconscious Cassidy. He struggled to get up. "Cassidy..." Tech groaned as he hit the ground again and everything went black.

(end Chapter)

I wonder... have any of you noticed that Tech is the only one who calls Cassidy, "Cass?" *hint* *hint* *is brick'd*

Chapter 5: "A Freind In Need"

 Ace's eyes blinked and slowly opened. The memories of the past day flooded his mind. He immediately felt his ears. Much to his relief, Lexi's ribbon was no longer there. "It worked!" He knelt beside Lexi. "Lex, Lexi! Wake up!"

 Lexi sat up. "Ace? You're you again!"

 "Yeah! And so are you!" He hugged her. She did the same. Both stopped when they heard a small groan come from Tech as he picked himself up.

 Tech looked around, attempting to answer the question in his head. His heart fell when he realized it was true. Mastermind kidnapped Cassidy. She was nowhere to be found.

 Ace realized why Tech was upset. "Where's Cassidy?"

 "Mallory."

 A few moments later, Rev, Duck and Slam woke up. They were both happy and relieved to know that they were themselves again.

 "Can you find Cassidy?" Tech asked Rev.

 Rev closed his eyes. "Yep! Found her!"  He opened them again.

 "Let me see."

 Rev hesitated. "I don't think you want to."

 "Let me see her." Tech's voice was edgy. Rev nodded and his eyes glowed red. A light shone from his chest. Tech bit his lip in frustration when he saw Cassidy, still unconscious. Her eyes flickered open. She sat up and glanced around the dark room in confusion. Tech could hear the fear in her voice as she called out, "Tech? Rev? Lexi? Ace? Anyone?"

 Lexi scratched her chin in thought. "Why did she kidnap Cassidy? I thought
that she would go after Tech.."

 Although the others were confused at this, it was easy for Tech to put the clues together. 'She is after me. She knows how I feel for her. She's using Cassidy to get at me. When I get my hands on her, I'm gonna...'

 "She look scared." Slam's voice cut off Tech's thoughts.

 Ace nodded. "Yes, she does. But, she won't have to be, cause I've got a
plan..."

.BLUE TRIANGLE.

 "The prisoner has awakened." A robot's voice announced.

 Mastermind turned around in her chair. "Perfect." She smiled. "Bring her here." She ordered. The robot left. 'Good thing I always have a back-up liar.'

 The robot returned a few minutes later practically dragging a black-and-blue clad coyote. Although she was absolutely terrified, Cassidy fought against her restraints, attempting to shape-shift out of them, but all to no avail.

 "If I were you, I would save my energy. Those chains are specially designed to inhibit your powers." Mastermind walked up to her. "But, he did always like the spirited ones..." She added.

 'Who is she talking about?' Cassidy thought. "What do you want?" She
growled.

 "Oh... just a little revenge. And I'm using you as bait."

 "Ha! The others will be able to notice that before they even try to break in."

 "I know... but I'm counting on Tech to come and rescue you."

 "Tech? What does he have to do with you wanting revenge?"

 Mastermind raised her eyebrow at this. "Hmm... it seems like he hasn't told you much.."

 'Told me what?'

 "Well, we have somethin' to tell you!" Both girls turned to see Ace, Lexi, Rev, Slam, and Duck standing nearby.

 Duck stepped forward. "Let her go and nobody gets hurt!"

 "I don't think so.." Cassidy gave a sharp yelp of pain as Mastermind grabbed hold of her ear. "Come any closer and Heidi here will be experiencing some permanent pain!" Just then, someone's foot came in contact with Mastermind's back, sending her flying.

 Cassidy turned around in suprise, but smiled when she recognized the pair of lime green eyes that met hers. "Tech!"

 Tech smiled at her. "Did you miss me?"

 Mastermind glared at Tech. "I will soon be rid of you mutts and your pesky freinds!"

 "Coyote!" Tech and Cassidy returned.

 "Destructo-bots ATTACK!" Mastermind stood up and ran for the door. Tech followed her, and soon had her cornered. He pulled out his gluco-gel gun.

 Mastermind gave a small chuckle. Tech blinked. 'What did she have for
breakfast?'

 "Looks like you have a hard choice to make." Mastermind pointed at one of her robots. Cassidy was struggling to free herself from the robot's grip, and the robot had his laser gun pointed at her.

 Tech gave a small gasp. "No...."

(end Chapter)

AWAH! You bought Bobby back!

(Hugs Bobby and Bindi.)

"Come on, Cassidy, please wake up." Tech whispered.

Just then, the med-lab doors opened, and Rev came in, carrying two mugs of coffee. He handed one to Tech. "Here, I thought you might need this, seeing as how you stayed up all last night with Cassidy."

Tech took the hot liquid gratefully. "Thanks, Rev."

Rev frowned when he saw the sad, worried look on his friend's face. "Don't worry, Tech, I'm sure she'll be fine, besides, you said that she did wake up for a second and she's still breathing, that's all gotta count for something, right?"

Tech smiled a bit. "You're right. Those are all good signs, but I can't help but worry. It's been almost two days."

Rev smiled and hooked his arm around Tech's neck and pulled him down, his other fist messing with Tech's hair. Tech chuckled slightly at Rev's attempt to cheer him up. But, he caught something out of the corner of his eye, and pulled away from Rev.

Rev sat upright."What is it?"

"I think she's waking up. I saw her move." It happened again. Cassidy's head tilted to the side.

"YAY! I'll go tell the others, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, Rev disappeared.

Tech sat beside her, stroking her cheek, hoping to coax her into waking up. Cassidy's head tossed a couple times, but her eyes didn't open.

Rev went barreling out the med-lab doors and crashed right into Ace and Lexi, who were headed into the opposite direction. "SorryguysbutI'mgladibumpedintoyouGoodnews!Cassidy'swakingup!I'mgonnagogetDuckandSlamOkay?Bye!" He disappeared again.

Ace and Lexi blinked. They hadn't caught a word the roadrunner had said. They guessed that it had to do with Cassidy, so they headed for the med-lab. When they entered, Tech looked up at them. "She's not completely awake, but getting there.".

Cassidy opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred and she couldn't see anything. She heard a female voice. Believing it to be Mastermind's, she began to growl. "What did you do to Tech?"

"What are you talking about?" The voice asked

"You know what I'm talking about, Mastermind!"

"Mastermind? Cassidy, Tech's right here. It's me, Lexi!"

Cassidy's vision cleared, and she could see Lexi and Tech were standing over her, looking worried, and Ace standing nearby. "Sorry, Lexi. I just, couldn't see anything."

"That's okay."

Tech gently felt Cassidy's forehead with his hand. "You must have gotten hit harder than I thought."

Then, Rev, Duck and Slam came in. Rev ran up beside her. "How are you feeling Cassidy?"

"Other than the fact that my head feels like it was hit by a pillowcase full of bricks... I'm fine." Cassidy attempted to sit up, but she felt dizzy and weak.

Tech put his strong arm around her back to keep her from falling over. Cassidy's ears went back and she winced in pain. Tech looked alarmed. "What hurts?"

"It's nothing."

"No it isn't. Tell me."

Cassidy gave in, too weak to fight Tech's protective nature. "My right arm is a little sore."

"I know for sure it's not broken, so I'll wrap it to support it. You'll have to take it easy for the next couple of days, though."

"That means no evil butt-kicking, Cassidy. You don't want to injure your arm further." Ace instructed after Tech had finished bandaging Cassidy's arm.

Cassidy nodded meekly. "What about Mastermind? Where is she?" Cassidy asked.

Rev, forgetting that Cassidy was unconscious when they captured Mastermind, began to freak out. "NO! SHE HAS AMNESIA! CASSIDY! DO YOU REMEMBER ME?!!" He shouted, grabbing her shoulders.

Tech pulled Rev away. "Rev, calm down, panicking won't help."

"Yes, Rev, I know all of you." Cassidy assured him.

"And, to answer your question, Mastermind is where she belongs." Ace answered.

"You've had a minor concussion, nothing serious, thank goodness, so the best treatment for this is some rest." Tech advised.

"Come on, gang, let's let her get some sleep." Ace led everyone except Tech out the door.

Tech walked over to his desk and moved some papers around, and when he turned around again, Cassidy was already asleep. Her ears were folded flat against the back of her head. Tech smiled. 'Man, she looks cute when she does that.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as Ace and the others walked into the main room of HQ, Zadavia's hologram appeared. "Hello, Loonatics. I just wanted to congratulate you again on your successful mission. Mastermind is safely locked up, and the heads of the top-secret lab are in your debt. And, how is Cassidy?"

"Much better. She just woke up." Ace informed her.

"Great. Zadavia out." Her hologram disappeared.

Lexi scratched her chin in thought. "Is it just me, or has Tech been acting... strange, lately?"

"Now that I think about it, he has been really protective of Cassidy." Duck noted, acting innocent.

"And when I went into the med-lab, he looked very upset and he said that he was worried." Rev added.

"You don't think..."

Ace shook his head. "Nah, they're both too shy for that. Besides, we'd know, if any of us, Rev." He glanced at Rev. "You don't happen to know anything that might answer our questions, would ya?"

Rev shook his head, too. "Nope, they haven't said anything to me."

"Anyone else?" Lexi, Duck, and Slam all shook their heads, as well.

"Oh, well. It's probably just my imagination or something." Lexi sighed. 'Too bad, cause they do look cute together.'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Tech walked into the lab. Much to his suprise, he found Cassidy in there, busy typing away at the computer. He set his hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Cassidy jumped slightly and turned around. "Oh, hi, Tech. I'm feeling much better, thank you."

"So... what are you doing?"

"I...um..."

Tech glanced at the computer. "Doing research...on Mastermind." He noted.

Cassidy blushed slightly. "Yeah... I just was curious to know why she became a villain."

Tech turned away from her. "My stupid mistake..." He muttered.

Cassidy barely caught what he said. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Tech didn't respond. He pulled a small key from his pocket and unlocked the bottom drawer of the desk. Inside were several items, amoung them a lab coat and a pair of glasses. Cassidy guessed that they were from Tech's years at the Institute. 'I always wondered what he kept in that drawer.'

Tech pulled a picture out of the pocket of his lab coat, then sat down on the desk. Cassidy sat beside him as he showed her the picture. "That looks like you... and... is that Mastermind?"

Tech nodded. "From before."

"So... what happened?" She saw Tech's face twitch. "Oh, I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, then I understand." She apologized.

"No, it's okay. I guess you should know.." He paused. "When I was at the Institute, I tutored Mallory. She was a great student, learned quickly, was willing to work - she kinda reminds me of you. But, one of her inventions was built to steal the brain waves from all the greatest scientists and give them to her. When I learned about this, I had to stop her. I informed the police, and she was arrested. Ever since then, she's been after me, wanting revenge. Because of me, she's a villain."

Cassidy set her hand on his shoulder. "Tech, you can't blame yourself..."

Tech cut her off. "Yes, it's my fault, Cassidy! I could have found a better way to deal with the situation. I could have talked to her, or something. But, I didn't! Becuase of my stupid mistake, Mallory's a villain, and you could have been killed!"

Tech's outburst caught Cassidy off gaurd, but her expression softened. "But I'm fine now, and why is that?"

Tech was silent, not sure how to answer her.

"Because you did what you thought was best. And, as far as I can tell, that's what you did for Mallory. Besides, she chose to become evil. She could have chosen to forgive you and understand why you did what you did, but she didn't. It was her choice."

Tech was silent for a few seconds, then he smiled at her. "You're right. I'm letting her get to my head. Thanks, Cass. I guess I needed a good slap in the face." He chuckled.

Cassidy giggled. "And I'm just the girl to give it to you."

Tech's one arm reached up to hug her, but dropped when Cassidy's stomach growled. She put her hand over it and blushed. "I guess being unconscious for two days works up an appetite."

"I guess so."

"Well, I'm gonna go get some breakfast. Later, Tech." She hopped off the desk.

"Okay. Bye, Cass."

Cassidy turned to look at him. "Tech?"

Tech looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Thank you, for what you did for me the other day. It was very brave of you."

Tech smiled. "You're welcome."

Cassidy turned and continued to walk out of the lab, but paused at the door. She glanced over her shoulder. Tech had sat down in a chair and was working away at the computer. She smiled at him before silently blowing a kiss to him. She then left the room.

Tech glanced down at the picture in his hand. He carefully tore it apart and tossed the pieces into a trash can. Tech reached up and turned on the dusty, old radio that sat on one of the shelves. He was just in time to hear the last few words of a song.

Why don't you kiss her?

THE END

Thank you all for your many luvely comments! I enjoy reading them! Stay tuned for my next story, "Ace and The Ice Cream Toothache!"

Now... *skips off to watch LU*