I’m so sorry that it’s taken me so long to update, but I’ve had exams all week and they became my first priority, so in between the time I spent revising, living, Breathing, Worrying, taking a break and school, I’ve had very little time tp work on this chapter.  I hope that it is worth the wait, 26 Microsoft Word Document pages, so it’s a bit of a marathon…For that, I apologise!

The song that is featured towards the end of the chapter is called ‘Ready Set Go’ By A German Band (The Song is sung in English) called ‘Tokio Hotel’ I decided to choose this song over my previous choice of ‘What I’ve Done’ By ‘Linkin Park’ because I felt that the lyrics to ‘Ready Set Go’ fit more with how the story is structured towards the need of the chapter; also, it gave the ending a nice touch.

Speaking of ending, some of you may feel that it had somewhat of an abrupt ending (And beginning), but I felt that I couldn’t write anymore or it would be too long.  I think that having this story as 26 pages long is pushing it a bit, but the chapter does contain all of the necessary detail that I desired, and some action scenes that Yunno* suggested.  So, thanks Yunno*!  I have, hopefully, passed that mile stone, obviously you’d have to be the judge of whether the scenes are good enough, but, I’ll leave you to decide.

*(Yunno From FanFiction.net) 

Also, I have tried to have some of the spotlight on the other characters in this chapter (And a bit in the previous chapter)  I have ‘cut’ the ‘scenes’ at various cliff hanger points within the story to add suspense, and it gives readers an opportunity to see the other groups’ progress within the story!

On that note, I will leave you now to read.  As I have said, I hope the chapter is worth the wait if not, I m sorry.

Enjoy!
.....................................................................................................................................

“Slam and Rev.” Ace turned to the purple clad Tasmanian devil, and the red Roadrunner, “The two of you will stay on the ground floor.  Make sure no-one gets in or out, and provide back-up for any of us if we need it.”

Ace looked at Lexi and Duck and hesitated for a moment, “You two will first work on the second floor.  Get rid of any attackers, and help any of da injured.  Dat goes for all of you.”  He addressed the two groups as he said the last of his command.  “Tech and I will go to da top floor, Tech,” He addressed the coyote, “You need to find da central power unit, and restore power to da buildin’, or at least just da lights.  When you’re done, give me a hand with da other attackers.”

Ace turned his attention to the entire group of six.  “I’ll handle da demands, Lexi and Duck: come up to the top floor when you’re done with your original task.  Slam and Rev will stay on the ground floor and keep an eye out for anyt’in’ suspicious and keep da attackers at bay.”  He looked unsettled, but felt even worse.  He hated it when he had to lead his team into situations like this.  If they were fighting some form of large machine, monster or other threat it was fine; everyone was together and were able to look after each other.  In this situation, it was blind; no lights, smoke and armed men - against groups of two.  It wasn’t the best way to lead a rescue operation, but it was the best they could do.  The Male rabbit drew in a deep breath, readying himself both mentally and physically.  “So you all know what to do?”

All nodded, some were more uneasy than others, but like Ace they did their best to hide their anxiety. 

“Den let’s do dis.” 

--

Duck almost yelped as he fell through the window of the second floor, and narrowly missed a long, shard of sharp glass that was upturned and ready to sever his leg, had he not landed just a few centimetres away from it.  “Geez,” Duck surveyed the dark and cluttered corridor around him as he whispered, “These guys certainly know how to make an entrance.”  He turned to face Lexi as she jumped gracefully through the window and into the room.

“And a mess…”  She too looked at the scene.  Curtains were ripped, pot plants were broken and strewn across the floor, shards of glass littered the floor and few scattered drops of blood lay around them. 

Duck wandered forward by a few steps, while Lexi stayed put, carefully looking around her and Duck to check for the original guards of the building, and any of the attackers.  Once satisfied, she turned her attention back to Duck.

“So, I wonder whose blood this is.”  Duck commented.  He examined some of the drops of blood on the carpet, and kicked some glass out of the way.  “Hopefully it’ll be the attackers’, it’ll make out job easier…”  He looked back at Lexi, and the armed man standing at least two feet behind her, while she stood; completely oblivious to him.

Duck’s eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately took action, “Look out Lex!”  He dived forward from his position, just as Lexi turned around and realised the deadly threat behind her.

Duck quickly grabbed the female rabbit, who was taken by surprise, and with the added force of his jump, he knocked both himself and Lexi out of the way.  Duck was glad that Lexi was as light weight as she was, and he easily was able to force her away as the duo tumbled and landed in a heap on the floor.

After collecting himself, Duck held his head, the room was spinning, or at least that was what it felt like to him.  But what actually surprised him was how comfortable the floor was…kind of.  In places it was okay, but what annoyed him was how bony the light red carpet was…wait, bony?

Lexi grunted from underneath the water-fowl, who soon realised that he had landed on top of her.  He quickly sat up, and on his hands and knees, got off of her and checked to see that she was okay.  Lexi awkwardly sat up next to him, and the two stared blankly at each other for a few moments, catching their breaths.  “Thanks Duck” Lexi finally said. 

Duck shook his head slowly, “Nah, don’t worry; Just following orders.”  He smiled at her, but the sound of a loaded gun made both of their heads turn, and their eyes widened in horror.

The masked man who had already tried to take Lexi out, if not for Duck’s quick actions, now stood before the two Loonatics on the floor, and he chuckled at the sight before raising his gun and pointing it at the two, “Yeah, well I am too...”

--

Slam grumbled as he threw two men over his shoulder and to the back of the room, they landed in a heap and the blow seemed to knock them unconscious.  The Tasmanian devil smiled and looked behind him to check on Rev. 

The mentioned bird was simply running in an oval shape while the attackers within the fiery loop were startled, some of them appeared to already be knocked out, while some attempted to blast the bird away.

Slam considered that Rev was safe from harm, at the speed he was moving it would be difficult for the assailants to shoot him, and Rev could easily move out of the way if he felt that their proximity became too close for comfort.

The Purple devil began his search for any of the guards, he moved swiftly and silently through the dark and smoky corridor, picking up several men as he moved.  Eventually the load became too uncomfortable for the devil, plus, they themselves could risk injury if he were to accidentally drop them. 

Slam activated his tornado, and spun himself out of the building.  He set the men down on the stretchers that had been laid in the park, where ambulance crew attended the injured men immediately.  Satisfied with what was happening, Slam turned around and spun himself back to the mayor’s building. 

He walked up the stairs quickly, but he didn’t check his surroundings like Ace had always made them do.  During missions, the team should check their surroundings constantly, whether to look for crime or people in danger.  Slam always had that in mind, but getting back inside to make sure that Rev was still okay was his primary concern.

As he was about to open the door and join Rev, The purple Tasmanian devil heard a noise behind him, but it was too late; as the last thing he saw was the back of a gun that hit him hard on the back of his head.  And it knocked him out cold.

--

Ace signalled with his fingers for Tech to quietly find the central power unit, and unsheathing his guardian strike sword, Ace prepared to attack.

It took Ace several moments to convince the desert canine that he would be okay without his help, before finally; Tech retreated to a small shaft in the wall.

Carefully unscrewing the screws at the corners of the panel with his magnetic powers, Tech crouched down to avoid being seen and watched Ace.  He wanted to make sure that his leader would be okay; the electricity could wait if need be.

Ace walked quietly, and made sure that he was low to the ground and he couldn’t be seen by the attackers.  He rolled silently in front of a brown leather sofa, just next to a broken pot plant, and carefully, the male rabbit peered over the sofa. 

There were two armed guards either side of a door, the door which lead to the mayor’s office.  Ace considered his options, not that he had many.  He had to make sure that he wasn’t seen by the two men and get them out of the way as quickly and as quietly as he could.  If there was a struggle, someone on the inside of the mayor’s office might hear him and put the mayor’s life at risk.

Breathing almost silently, as he manoeuvred around the sofa, Ace hid himself behind the broad green leaves of the pot plant.  He tucked his ears down and looked again, the two guards had their guns at the ready, and the slightest glance at Ace could set everything off.

Ace was about to strike when he heard a grunt, and the sound of something tumbling down the stairs.  Ace, and the two guards all turned their heads towards the origin of the sound, the two guards mumbled about what it could be, losing interest in what they had obviously been assigned to do as they conversed.

The Loonatic leader would normally have checked to see what was going on, but he couldn’t give his position away when he was so close.  He quickly jumped up, and flipped over the plant, and landed gracefully on the floor.  He stood up properly and prepared himself for battle.  The two guards hesitated, they weren’t expecting that.  One of them reached for their gun, while the other ran towards the bunny, who jumped up, grabbing the man’s shoulders, and kicking him away.  The attacker stumbled and fell, crashing into the sofa behind Ace. 

The other man, who had been busy working his gun, now took off the strap and discarded the item.  He decided to take a different approach to the man preceding him, instead he mimicked Ace’s movements.  If the yellow rabbit moved left, so would he. 

Ace eventually got annoyed with what was happening and began to ponder questions on his mind,  while he tried to outwit the attacker opposite him, ‘Where’s Tech with the lights, surely he would’ve been back by now?  Ace shook off the thought, as he finally was able to scurry to the door.  The attacker quickly dived at him, but Ace was too quick and raised his right leg, and kicked the man out of the way.  The force knocked the attacker into a wall and he collapsed.

Ace sighed with relief and, bracing himself, he slowly and carefully opened the door.  Suddenly, and luckily not before anyone inside noticed the slowly opening door which was only ajar, Ace felt arms around his neck and shoulders.  It was the previous man, the one who had been knocked into the sofa. 

Ace grunted, and with all the power he could muster, he turned himself around slightly so that there was an empty wall ahead of him.  He quickly ‘ran’ up the wall with his legs, and was able to pull himself free from the attacker’s clutches.  Ace quickly slammed the man into the wall, and pinned him there using a leg and an elbow.  After catching his breath, the yellow bunny relaxed his hold on the attacker, who slipped daintily down the wall.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Ace returned to the door, and pushed it open enough for him to creep through, and surveyed the sight in front of him.

--

“Whoa!”  Rev shouted in alarm as the almighty purple Tasmanian devil of the team was awkwardly thrown at him.  The devil’s weight knocked Rev over and he was sent cascading to the floor, Rev only had a chance to glimpse at the four armed men who had thrown Slam at him, before he hit the ground roughly and soon was pinned down by Slam’s weight.

Rev tried to squeeze himself out, but it was too difficult, and he wasn’t strong enough to lift the unconscious devil up just by a few inches to allow him to get out from under him.

The red avian sighed, there was no point in doing anything that would waste his energy, it was futile.  He’d have to wait for Slam to come around before he would be able to move, but in his current position, Rev was stuck.

--

Ace carefully moved into the room, he squatted down and moved carefully behind a desk, no one had noticed him yet, but he still kept on his guard.  Sitting up, but keeping his ears close against his head, Ace listened to what was going on at the other side of the room.

The mayor was sat on, and tied to, her desk chair, but it had been wheeled over to the panoramic wall-size window that overlooked the park below.  The chair was faced away from the window however, where the mayor faced two of the armed men, who had her held at gun point.

Another man was standing by the phone at the mayor’s oak desk; he was sitting on the desk examining files, while another two men were searching through books and files that originally were placed neatly on a dark brown oak bookcase that stretched across the length of the back wall.  Now the books and files lay scattered and broken at the men’s feet, as they continued to search through the items.

Ace cursed silently to himself.  This was going to be more difficult than he had expected, he was up against five armed men with a hostage.  He really could’ve used back up at this point, but Tech still wasn’t back yet, and neither was the electricity.  Where was Tech, and why couldn’t he hear the others, Why hadn’t Duck and Lexi finished yet and come up to give him and Tech aid?  Ace suddenly felt a horrible, sinking feeling wash over him.  Something had gone very wrong; he hadn’t heard the sound of any gun fire…yet, so at least he knew there was till a chance that they were all alive…

Suddenly the door to the mayor’s office burst open, sending Ace crashing to the floor, and into plain site of the mayor, and her attackers.  The yellow bunny quickly rose to his feet and readied himself for any attack, but none of the original raiders were really focused on him, instead they had their eyes focused on the male Duck and Coyote, and the female Rabbit who were tossed onto the floor by two of the guards who had opened the door to ‘dump’ the three anthros into the room.

Ace winced as he saw them all hit the floor, unconscious.  And he quickly turned to glare at the men who had brought them in, who acknowledged the fact that he was there, but did not stay, and as soon as they had entered, they left the room.

“Well,” the man who had been sitting on the mayor’s desk stood up, fiddling with something in his hand, he slowly walked over to Ace.  “The Loonatics, looking as glamorous as ever aren’t we?”  He smiled, eyeing the trio on the floor.

Ace grit his teeth, “Why are you here, what do you want with da mayor?”

“In time, In time.”  He spoke ever so calmly, but Ace considered this; the male rabbit wasn’t too much of a threat with so many armed men surrounding him, and with his team unconscious and unable to defend him, or themselves.

Ace sighed.  He was at his wits end he wasn’t sure how to help the mayor and he didn’t want to do it alone, especially with so much at risk.

“Sit down; we can continue this talk when they wake up.”  The man said, he lazily pointed again at the anthros on the floor, sitting down at another chair; he simply placed his hands behind his head, and waited.

--

Tech and Duck had raised their heads in alarm when Tom had grabbed Lexi, she was sitting right next to them, but the sudden movement had caught them off guard, but they still felt guilty for not making an attempt to help her; and they now glared at the man, they too couldn’t do anything that was too risky to save her.

Tom continued his previous rant, “Is she more important?  Would you help her if you had to choose between all of your team mates?”  Tom only addressed Ace.

Ace Looked between Lexi and Tom, “I’ll cross dat bridge when I get to it…”  His agitation was showing, but also the stress that was tugging at him, if he said the wrong thing; Lexi could be killed, or injured badly.

“Answer me.”  Tom looked and sounded like a mad man as he pulled Lexi closer to him, and pointed the gun this time, at her chest, “You’ve got someone’s life on the line!”  He smiled cynically.

Ace sighed, he looked at Tech and Duck with pity as he felt the secret flow from his lips, “I’d save her…”

Tom smiled, “I thought that would be your answer.”

New forms of agitation now coursed through Ace.  Not only was Lexi in grave danger, but that man had crossed the line; he had made him verbalise a secret that he hadn’t given much thought to before, he knew that Duck and Tech understood, and that was the answer Tom wanted to hear anyway.  “Why do you want to know anyway?”  Ace hissed, he glared at the man, and he could barely hold back the temptation to shoot the man with his laser vision, but that would only cause mayhem.

“I was just wondering.”

Ace now looked both confused and annoyed, “Then what do you want Lexi for?”

“I guess it’s just one of the best ways to get an answer out of you…and to get you to do whatever I damn well please.”  He briefly looked down at Lexi, who was shaking with fear, and then over to the two men at the book case.  “Hey Shane” He called to the previously unnamed man as he held Lexi by the arm, “Watch them, will you?”  He gestured to the three anthros on the floor.  Shane walked over, with his gun at the ready.

“Sure thing boss, can I ask where you’re going with this lovely young lady here?”  He placed one of his free hands on Lexi’s chin, but she roughly moved her head away with a snarl.  Shane scoffed, “Have fun.”

“Trust me,” Tom looked down at the now enraged Ace on the floor, “…I will.”  He grinned, as he pulled Lexi away forcefully.  She did her best to fight his pull, but he was too strong, and the hold he had on her restricted her movement; sadly for her, she couldn’t stop him from pulling her into another room…

--

Rev sighed with exhaustion. 

He and Slam had finally taken down all of the men.  The two stood back to back, panting and sweating.  Eventually the two sank to the floor to collect themselves; they had been fighting for a long time.  All of their surroundings were broken, some beyond repair. 

The attackers had a lot of backup, and the two finally were able to get rid of them all.  But it was a pain staking process; they were hungry, thirsty and were very tired.  If there was another ambush they could be in trouble.  They didn’t have enough stamina to face up to more.

--

“Where did he take her?”  Ace demanded, he had to fight the urge to stand up, he couldn’t though; the three Loonatics had Shane’s gun trained at them, and Ace couldn’t afford to have any fatal mistakes being made.

Shane smiled, “Into another room.”

“Why?”  Duck glared at Shane with a hostile look that the others had never seen before.

“Because.  He’s the boss, I don’t ask questions; I follow orders.”

“Yeah.  But you knew why, what’s going on?”  Tech asked in a quiet but intense voice that was so typical of him.  He looked at Shane severely, reading him; his expression, his attitude.

“Why don’t you go and find out yourself?”  Shane smirked.  He had them there, they wouldn’t and couldn’t do anything, and seeing them suffer was enjoyable for him.

Duck snarled, “Don’t think we wont!”  Duck hastily teleported and leaped onto Shane once he had rematerialized, and tackled the man to the ground, the waterfowl kicked the man’s gun out of his hand while Ace and Tech, who had been delayed due to shock, quickly sprang into action. 

Ducking and rolling, flipping and kicking; the three Loonatics fought long and hard to rid themselves of their foes, as quickly as possible.

Ace landed next to Tech, a man quickly running towards the male rabbit and preparing himself for attack. 

“Ace, find Lexi…go help her.  I’ll take care of things here.”  Tech whispered to Ace sternly.

“T’anks Tech” Ace smiled, and patted him on the back.  “Good luck!”  And he quickly ran to the room that Tom had pulled Lexi through, carefully and quietly, he opened the door, and slipped into the darkened room.

The obscurity of the room daunted Ace, who became exceedingly worried for Lexi’s safety.  She had already gone through the trauma of a similar situation before, and was in fear of it happening again just a few days ago.  If it happened again, Ace wasn’t sure how much she would be able to take.

Ace heard movement towards the back of the room, it was quiet and the movement sounded small and hushed, and Ace feared that something bad was happening to Lexi. 

Cautiously, so that Tom wouldn’t hear him, Ace edged closer to where he heard the noise, as he moved he heard it again.  This time it was accompanied by the sound of a slap and someone breathing out loudly.  Both anger and curiosity brought Ace closer to the origin of the sound and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to attack.

A gap in the curtains illuminated some of the room, but only in small patches that revealed objects in a bluish tint, it was only about a metre and a half ahead of him that he saw the scene that was unfolding ahead of him.

Tom had Lexi pressed against a wall, with his hands running up and down various areas of her torso, mainly around her chest, while he had his gun against her side and his lips pressed against hers while Lexi tried her best to keep his hands and lips off her, but not aggravating the dangerous man when he had a weapon against her.

Ace was outraged.  How dare he do that to her!  He was glad he came when he did, at least Lexi wasn’t in too much of a bad way, but had he come later she might have been; Ace was about to attack when he heard Tom speak to Lexi.

“So, I wonder what you’re little friends are doing right now.  Obviously they have more things on their minds than helping you.”

We were running though the town
Our senses had been drowned
No place we hadn't been before

Lexi glared at him, “They’re doing their job.  If I needed help I would’ve called out by now.”

We learned to live and then
Our freedom came to an end

Tom gave her a look of disbelief, “Really now?”  He gestured his head towards the gun, “You would’ve risked being shot to call out for help?”

We have to break down this wall

“Anything’s better than being here with you.”

Too young to live a lie
Look into my eyes

“Really?  I’m sure I can make it worth your while.  It’s not like anyone else is gonna come to help you anyway.  They probably don’t even care.”  Tom raised an eyebrow, before he went to her lips again.

“You sure about that doc?”  Ace tapped Tom on the shoulder and sent him a menacing glare before his fist met Tom’s face.

Ready, set, go it's time to run
The sky is changing we are one
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down

 “Don’t ever say that again.”  Ace shoved the man onto the floor before checking on Lexi. 

Don't you turn around

 She had begun to cry and Ace put a hand on her cheek to wipe away the tears.  “Don’t worry Lexi, I’m here now.”  He cooed as he pulled her into a hug.

We are looking back again
On loneliness and pain
Never been so wide awake

Lexi found comfort in the hug, and momentarily forgot about the man, until she realised that he was approaching Ace from behind, with the back of his gun ready to strike the male rabbit’s head. 

Breathe slowly in and out
somewhere beyond the clouds
I can see the morning break

Too young to live a lie
Look into my eyes

“Ace move!”  She screamed.

Ready, set, go it's time to run
The sky is changing we are one
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down

She pushed Ace out of the way and ducked.  The gun swung near her, barely missing her shoulder as Ace swiftly grabbed the man’s shirt and pulled him away from her.

Don't you turn around

Ace kicked him in the stomach and the man sank to his knees, but not before he pulled Ace’s leg, making the rabbit fall hard on his back.

Leave it all behind you now
The final wall is breaking down

Tom was ready to finish the male rabbit off as he reached for his gun, but Lexi kicked it away from him and ran to help Ace onto his feet. 

We are what it's all about
Nothing can stop us now

Receiving no response from her partner, Lexi got onto her hands and knees to try and communicate properly with the rabbit.  Ace soon sat up, and upon realising that Tom had recovered his gun and now had it trained on the two made his instincts take over as he pulled Lexi behind him, effectively using his own body to shield her from the gun. 

I promise you right know
I never let you down

But Ace wasn’t ready to be shot and killed yet.

Ready, set, go it's time to run

A long, hot beam of laser knocked the man to the ground and effectively made him lose consciousness.

The sky is changing we are one
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down

Don’t Turn Around

Upon hearing the noise, Lexi crawled out from behind the rabbit, “Why did you do that?”  She whispered to Ace as he wrapped his arms around her.

Ready, set, go it's time to run
The sky is changing we are one
Together we can make it while the world is crashing down

“It was me he wanted, I couldn’t bare to see you get hurt because of me.  I love you Lexi.”  Ace pulled away, again, removing the salty tears form her eyes, “Even if it was you he wanted, I wasn’t gonna let him shoot you, even if you survived it I wouldn’t want to see you suffer or die, I wouldn’t be able to carry on.”

Don't you turn around

Lexi drew in a deep breath and smiled at him, “Thanks then…”

Don't you turn around

“Yeah,” Ace smiled awkwardly, “Thanks for helping too.  Now lets get out of here, it’s givin’ be the creeps after what he tried to do with you in here.”  Ace stood up and took Lexi’s hand.  “Let’s go home.”  The two opened the door fully and were met with a bright light. 

Daylight. 

Don't you turn around

Natynicky wrote:

---

your welcome my dear 

I can't wait for the next chapter!

It's nice to see Acexi fans are still out there and still making this pairing possible 

these days all you see is AcexOC RevxOC DuckxOC(no offense Emily!) you get the picture 

---

I know!

But Emily still rules!

Natynicky wrote:

---

P.S. hurry up with the next chapter! 8D

---

 I shall try!

Easter Break starts after friday (1 day to go!!!!!!!)  So I'll have 2 weeks off, of course I have hwk to do, but I will endeavour to get another couple of chapters written and posted! 

But, spring is here in England, so I'll probably be spending time outside, with friends and going for a run, so I won't be spending all of my time on my laptop...I hope     =S 

But, I have a rough plan of what I need to do for the next couple of chapters.....and I already have two further ones written!!!!  So posting...hopefully will not be as delayed as it has been.  But, as you may be able to tell from the content of the chapter and its length (With previous ones too)  they do take a long time to plan, write and edit.

But, I will try my best!

~PG~

I’m sorry that this chapter took a long time to write, but I’ve had time off form school, and I’ve had homework to do, and it’s just been chilling out.  By the new chapter is here!

I understand that this chapter isn’t exactly very exciting, but I can assure you, especially in the next three chapters or so, things will start to get a lot more interesting!

 
WARNING! - THERE ARE SOME INNUENDOS IN THIS CHAPTER


***

The Loonatics waved off the mayor as she was loaded into an ambulance for psychiatric care after receiving quite a shock in the mayhem of the situation at her office. 

Though many of her guards were also being loaded into the emergency vehicles for more physical treatment at one of the city’s nearby hospitals, they would still have to undergo medical checks, undergo treatment for shock and also be retrained and questioned by authorities after the situation was not carried out as it should have been.

The attackers were also being handcuffed, and loaded into the back of police vans, ready to be sent to the Acmetropolis Subterranean Prison, where they would too be analysed by psychiatrists, and questioned by the authorities for their actions.

“Well gang, dat was some good work today, from all of ya.”  Ace smiled as the Loonatics turned back to face each other, their leader praised them each individually:  Slam and Rev for their endurance and ability to follow orders despite their longing urge to check on the well being of their fellow team mates. 

Duck.  For his quick thinking when he and Lexi were originally on the second floor; where the waterfowl saved Lexi’s life after pushing her out of the way of an attacker who had been sneaking up on her from behind.  And also for his quick actions at disarming Tom and launching a surprised attack on the rest of their new found foes after becoming tired of being a ‘sitting duck’. 

Tech was praised for his determination, making sure that Ace was going to be okay when the two were on the top floor and the coyote had to leave the bunny’s side to restore power to the building. 

Lexi was praised for her bravery, though she felt that she didn’t deserve her leader’s commendation, Ace had convinced her that although she was taken somewhere against her will which was a traumatic experience for her, after being held a gun-point and not crying out for aid or putting herself at risk, she showed excellent valour even in the life-threatening situation that she was in. 

“I’m proud of you all, and I’m sure da mayor is too.”  Ace smiled, he glanced down at the built in watch on his uniform’s wrist cuff, “Well, its gone 5:00, we should probably head back home, you guys are gonna need to get ready if you want to make it to da Basherball stadium before shoot off at 7:00.”  Ace activated his jet pack, the rest of the team following suite, and the six superheroes of Acmetropolis flew home together.

--

“Come on already Rev!”  Duck called from the main room as he, Slam and Tech stood in their casual clothes; ready to go to the Basherball game that had been Rev’s birthday present from Duck. 

The waterfowl was wearing a Blue and white striped shirt with denim blue jeans, he also had the four tickets in his black feathered hands as he stood with his arms folded over his chest; tapping his foot impatiently.

“He’ll be here in a minute, he was last to take a shower remember.”  Tech reminded the bird, he had looked back at the waterfowl after he had finished talking with Ace and Lexi about their mission.  The Bunny duo stood by the sofa, away from the group.  The desert Canine was wearing a green button-up shirt, with the first two buttons left undone, and a pair of blue jeans or natural brown fur. 

Slam was also in casual clothes, revealing his brown fur too.  The Tasmanian devil, wearing a multicoloured striped polo shirt with jeans, grumbled out loud to the assembled group, “Ehuipo ijdfj Rpfpg dhrpny cjcpd, wdfe stidf going?”

“Trust Me Slam,” Duck flipped through the tickets as he spoke, before looking up and addressing the Tasmanian devil of the team, “If Rev’s mauled by a bear, we’re still going to the Basherball game.” 

Slam gave Duck a toothy grin, but his brown fur was soon blown by the wind shear that was made by the team’s fastest member, running from his room and stopping still by the door where the four anthros stood waiting.

“Sorry-guys-I-know-it-took-a-long-time-but-I-couldn’t-find-my-camera-I-was-looking-for-it-every-where-and-I-was-paniking-because-I-didn’t-want-to-be-late-so-then-I-took-lots-of-time-to-find-it-because-I-was-worrying—about-being-late-and-us-missing-the-game-and-then-having-you-guys-getting-annoyed-with-me-but-then-I-remembered-that-it-was-on-my-bedside-table-after-I-had-taken-it-out-of-my-bag-after-the-camping-trip,-and-my-bedside-table-was-kinda-the-last-place-I-expected-to-have-it…so-I-kinda-didn’t-look-there-until-I-was-about-to-give-up-and-get-going,-but-then-I-found-it-so-we’re-good-now!”  Rev grinned.

“Yeah, let’s get going already then.”  Duck announced.  Ace and Lexi approached the group of four to give them their goodbyes as they departed.

As he was about to follow the group out, Tech turned back to the bunny duo, “The game starts at 7:30, we’ll get dinner there so we’ll probably be home by 11:00.  So, I guess we’ll see you then...or in the morning…”  The coyote eyed the duo suspiciously before leaving Ace and Lexi home alone.

--

“I don’t see why they all look at us so…suspiciously whenever they leave the two of us alone.  Why are they so concerned about what we’re gonna do when they’re not around!”  Ace sighed as he sat down on the sofa roughly; he looked back at Lexi as she walked down the small set of steps and hesitantly sat next to him as he put his arm around her. 

“Well you know,” Lexi sat forwards so she could look back at Ace, “They’re just concerned…I mean, with the whole…me being a girl…and you being a guy…stuff can…happen…”  She blushed and redirected her stare to her feet.

Ace smiled and leaned forwards, grabbing her and pulling her back against him while she giggled.  “…yeah well stuff has happened…”  Ace whispered into her ear quietly.

Lexi smirked and rolled her eyes, she stood up and stretched out.  “I’m gonna go and take a quick shower…I’ll be out soon, and then I’ll make a start on dinner.”

Ace looked up at her, surprised, “Oh…ok den, I’ll be in da trainin’ room den.”

Lexi looked at him quizzically, and then awkwardly began to step backwards, “…Okay then…I’ll be back soon…”

Lexi looked at the male bunny intently as she moved, before finally coming to a halt, “Ace, what’s wrong?”  She sighed as she walked back over to him and into his embrace.

“It’s just dat…”  Ace moved backwards slightly, so that he could look into her eyes as he spoke, Lexi mimicked his movements and stared up at him, “…I was kinda hopin’ you and I could spend some more time together, you know…now dat we’ve finally got a chance to be alone.”

Lexi stared at the ground somewhat guiltily, “Well…I guess a shower can wait ‘til the morning.”  She smiled up at him.   “Sooooooo, what are we gonna do?”

Ace looked at her blankly, “Umm….I’m not sure….”  He blushed, while Lexi smiled at him.  She looked over to the kitchen with a small sigh.

“Might as well make dinner, I suppose.”

Ace gave her a pitiful look, “Y’know Lex, you and I could go out for dinner, save you cooking…I know you don’t like to.  I’ll buy.”  He smiled at her.

Lexi turned her head back to face him and frowned, “No Ace.  We’ve already been out for dinner not so long ago,” She hesitated, thinking of that evening….and night, “It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Well, if you insist, we’ll split da check.”

In an annoyed fashion, Lexi blew away a stray hair from in front of her eye and sighed, “But…”  She started.

Ace rolled his eyes before pressing a finger to her lips, hushing her, “Come on Lex, It’ll be fun.  We could see a movie afterwards too…or somethin’, just da two of us, and we won’t have to worry about da others interrupting anythin’…”  He smiled, kissing her in the place that his finger had been.

Lexi drew in a deep breath, he had her there.  He was good when it came to persuasion, “Fine then.”  She smiled.

“Dat’s my girl,” He smiled as the two walked out of the main room and into the corridor to access their rooms.

Lexi abruptly turned around and looked at him when they neared their rooms, and gave him a confused stare, “Don’t ever say that again” She shook her head as she spoke before smiling up at him.

Ace, realising he had just made a fool of himself, looked down, “Sorry” He replied, smiling; he looked back up when he felt her lips on his cheek.

“Don’t be sorry.”  She said softly as she pulled away, “See you in a few!”  And she turned and went into her room.

Ace put a hand on his cheek, and grinned, “Yep.”

--

“Alright ma’am, you might experience some post traumatic stress after the incident today, but I doubt you have suffered any cerebral problems, so I think you’ll be just fine.”  The doctor pulled the small torch away from the woman’s eye sight.  “You weren’t injured and your vitals still look good, so I think all you need is a good night sleep and you’ll be fine.”  He stood up, allowing the slightly plump lady to rise as well.

The Mayor fixed her skirt and hair before addressing the tall, young, blond doctor in front of her, “Thank you, Doctor Mason.”

The man smiled, “Any time.”

The Mayor looked around the private office she had been sitting in.  Her Doctor, the one standing ahead of her, was one of her most trusted associates; he had helped her through many predicaments.  Especially after the shock of the meteor landing in Acmetropolis, and all of the stress that came with it for the Mayor.  He was a good friend to her too. 

She looked around the room, as her doctor filed away x-rays from previous patients, her eyes landed on a family photo that sat on his desk.  There were several actually, some hanging on the walls, and some placed on shelves. 

This particular photo was a photo of him, a shorter blond haired girl, with a larger family standing on the right of the photo.  There were two, peach-tanned coloured and almost identical (if not for the hair colour and style) rabbit anthro girls, who looked about the same age as the human girl.  One of the girls was hugging the human girl and was smiling, the other, a blond haired rabbit who the Mayor could vaguely recognise, was sitting on a rock with another smaller rabbit anthro.  Behind the initial group, were four male rabbit anthros, who looked to be older than the two twins.  The four were all wearing smart white shirts and trousers, with some badges on them, as well as naval hats.  They were all smiling.  Just in front of them were two other rabbit anthros.  The Male, looked to be the same height as the other four, whereas the woman standing next to him was somewhat shorter.  They all had smiling faces and were standing in a forested area, where the tips of distant canyons could be seen behind them, as well as the setting sun.

The photo made the Mayor smile.  She turned to look at some of the other photos that were dotted around the room; they all seemed to have a selection of the same people in them; Doctor Mason and the four naval rabbit Anthros, the two anthro twins and the human girl, the youngest rabbit anthro being held by the human girl; and the bunny couple standing together.

The Mayor smiled.  “So how’s Leah?”  She asked, turning to face Doctor Mason.  “Is she still working in Utah?”

“Er, Yeah.”  Doctor Mason looked back and smiled.  “Yeah, she’s working hard.  She finally got the certificate.”  He looked at the photo of the human girl.

The Mayor looked at him, confused, “What certificate?”

“Oh,” Doctor Mason looked up, “She’s trained to be both a doctor and a surgeon.  She’s really lucky, and I’m proud of her.  It takes a lot to be able to get into both of those medical fields.  I’ll probably bid for some leave soon so I can go back and visit everyone, so I can congratulate her properly.  I only got the call this morning.”

The Mayor smiled, “Well…the next time you speak to her, tell her I said congratulations.”  She picked up her hand bag and eyed her watch, “Well I had better get going.  I need to feed the cat at home, cook some dinner.”

Doctor Mason seemed to be lost in thought, but he turned to face the Mayor quickly after he had snapped out of his thoughts.  “Er yes.  Okay, but take it easy, get plenty of rest and I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

The Mayor looked at him thoughtfully, “I...might be able to grant you some leave, so you can take some time off.  You should be able to see your sister and friends again, especially after she’s achieved something like that.  I’ll see what I can do.”  The Mayor gave him a quick smile before leaving his office.

Doctor Mason smiled, he sank down into his chair and stared fondly at the group photo and began to muse over everything.  The Mayor was always true to her word.  And with her kind of authority, and all of the things he had done to help the woman, it was inevitable that he would be able to go back to Utah.

He picked up the photo and looked over it fondly, remembering everything, all of the good times, how much he missed his sister and friends.  He scanned his eyes over all of the faces in the group photo, remembering everyone and it made him smile, knowing he’d see them all soon as he continued to look.  But his smiled slowly withered away as his eyes rested on one particular person.

He frowned as he put the photo back on his desk, lent back in his chair and sighed.  “Now it would be even better if everyone would be back home when I got there.  It would be just like old times again.  Everyone, together.”  He shut his eyes briefly and let his gaze rest on the ceiling when he opened them again, “Why’d you have to get a job where it was difficult to leave the city?  Why can’t you come back home for a visit Lexi?”

--

“Okay, seats J22-J26.”  Duck announced as he eyed the tickets and looked along the row labelled ‘J’. 

The Mallard cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the two people blocking his way to the central seats in the row.  Startled, the couple stood up, allowing more room for the four Loonatics to walk through, awkwardly, but still.

At the end of the small line of anthros, Tech put on an apologetic smile, and spoke quietly to the couple as he walked past and sat in his seat, “Sorry about him…”

The coyote wasn’t exactly one for sports, especially live sports.  But, being in a team of athletic anthros made it difficult for him to object to things like his.  He never was good at sports in school…or ever.  He had a fast working metabolism, so he was always thin.  But he never did do much physical…stuff unless it was necessary…or he was forced to like in high school.

Tech slumped in posture; he’d just have to endure it.  It was Rev’s birthday present anyway.  He had somewhat hoped that when he had offered his ticket to Ace, that the grey bunny would have taken his offering, and the coyote would have been back home in the quiet, relaxation of his Lab, or, maybe watching a movie or something with Lexi.  This was just plain boring.  Tech didn’t even know the rules of Basherball! But he couldn’t just get up and leave, Rev would be torn.  The bird spent so much time trying to get his desert friend to leave the confinement of his lab that Tech actually had improved his hearing and ‘sixth sense’ techniques because of the amount of times that the red bird had literally pulled him from his lab after sneaking up on him.

Whenever someone looked at him, Tech would just have to smile and pretend that he was enjoying himself.  Maybe he could just analyse the angles that the ball would have to be shot at for it to successfully penetrate the spiralling goal without being intercepted by another player before it reached the goal, or bouncing off of it. 

Or he could study the power that the ball was shot at, and work out how the techniques and strategise of the players would have to be improved if they wanted a one hundred percent chance of winning.

Tech smiled.  Physics was fun.  All of the angles, formulae and mind-boggling theories were fascinating; how someone would have had to sit and work out how the universe was created, or what it is expanding into, whether the universe in fact one of many in a giant multi-verse; or whether the universe had different dimensions that would explain the concept of worm holes and increased gravity fluctuations. 

At least this would give the scientist something to ponder while pretending to be interested in the game.  He knew that if Rev ever found out that Tech wasn’t paying any attention to the game, and in fact the coyote was devising hypothesis’ he was as good as…hurt.  But at least the coyote was actually at the game…right?

--

I’m, once again, very sorry for the long delay!

But, this chapter, as I have told Siamese, is very long, and is hopefully worth the wait!

Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, tis very interesting….especially towards the end…

CHAPTER 20

EDIT: If you struggle to read the weird curly font which is used in a 'letter' later in the chapter, copy and paste it into a word document (e.g.) and change the font...or you could read that part in the uploaded chapter at www.fanfiction.net.  Just in case it's difficult, as the letter is quite an important part in the story!
--

Lexi yawned and stretched out as she entered the kitchen area where the rest of the team were seated, she had just taken a shower, but was obviously the last one to have done so; it somewhat annoyed her, but she stepped into the room nonetheless.

The team all gave her the usual ‘good morning’ that they always did, but as usual, they continued either eating their breakfasts, or preparing it.

Ace walked up to the female bunny, kissed her on the cheek, before whispering to her, “Where’d you go this morning, I couldn’t find you?”

Lexi smiled and rolled her eyes.  “You’re so paranoid.  I went to take a shower, it…kinda would explain the wet hair.”  Lexi pointed to her dripping blond hair, and then to the blue town that she held in her left hand.

Ace smirked, “I guess it would.”  He walked back over to the bench to collect the toast that had just finished cooking, a loud bell chimed, informing him that it was still in need of being collected from the futuristic toaster.

Lexi gave her hair a quick rub with the towel, to get rid of any excess water, before sitting down at the table with the rest of the team.

Tech, who was sat next to the female rabbit, looked at her with a concerned expression on his face, “Lexi, are you okay...you look…annoyed?”

Lexi smiled at him, “I’m fine.  My hair’s just bugging me, I swear the moment I stop thinking about it it’ll frizz up, and then it will have my undivided attention until I sort it out.  Seriously, I think it’s just an attention seeker.”

Tech smirked at her, “Sure.  That’s not crazy at all…”

“Thank you Tech, really.  Did that Basherball game mess with your head or something?”  Lexi too spoke sarcastically to the other; she took the morning newspaper from the coyote’s hands so that he would have some incentive to answer.

“Probably.”  He replied as he took a sip from his glass of orange juice, finding this an adequate answer, Lexi gave him his newspaper and stood up, smiling.  Tech watched Lexi as she got up to make her own breakfast; she slowly walked to the fridge and retrieved the carton of cranberry juice.  Turning around, she got a glass out of a cupboard and poured the red liquid into it, the actions didn’t go unnoticed by Duck.

“Cramps again, Lex?”  He smirked, “has it been a month already?”

Lexi froze, and glared at him.  “Yeah, thanks Duck.”  She replied sarcastically, “Way to make a person feel uncomfortable...” She turned back to her glass and took a sip from it, cringing as the vile tasting liquid stung her taste buds.

“Keep your comments to yourself, Duck.”  Ace glared at the water fowl, sending him a warning.

Rev eyed all of the commotion, “Oh-boy.”  He frowned as he spoke quietly to himself, until an envelope that was resting on one of the benches caught his attention and he hastily ran over to read who it was for.  “Hey-what’s-this, -or-who-is-it-for?”  Rev held up the white envelope in the air, the rest of the Loonatics turned to look.

Ace stood up and walked over to the bird, “Oh, dat.  It came last night.  It’s for all of us.”

“ghdjd dfhkdfjl sfhsj it?”  Slam grumbled, before picking up a large stack of pancakes and consuming them.

“Yeah…” Duck looked from the Tasmanian devil, to the bunny, “Well, open it then.”

Ace scowled at the waterfowl.  He then turned his attention to the small white envelope in his hands; he walked over to the table with the others and sat down next to Lexi’s vacant seat, before she sat down too.

Carefully, as to not damage whatever was inside, Ace opened the small envelope, inside was a rectangular disc.  It wasn’t very large; it looked to only be roughly fifteen centimetres in length, seven in width and maybe less than two centimetres in height.  It had a small bluish screen on the front, which lit up as soon as Ace had a proper hold on the item.

Neat writing started to form on the holographic screen, as a French accented man spoke the words that were writing themselves on the screen:

_

Dear Loonatics,

       I, Pierre Le Pew, invite you to a formal dinner at my new mega structure, situated in the centre quadrant of the city.

Quality French cuisines will be served, as well as a selection on drinks, quality entertainment, and a chance to explore and enjoy the new five-star resort.

I would be delighted if you could attend this ‘get together’ as you might call it, it would also present you with a chance to meet others of        Acmetropolis’ elite as well as offer you a memorable evening out.

The address of the resort is enclosed on the back of the envelope, from which this invitation came, and I must ask that you bring this when you arrive; as this acts as your ticket to enter the building.

Please dress formally and I hope to see you tonight.

       Yours sincerely,

                Pierre Le Pew

_

“Pierre Le Pew?”  Duck spoke for all of the team when he said this, “You mean the creepy, sleazy French dude who tricked me and Slam into entering that illegal fighting arena, which almost made us lose Slam?!”

“Yes Duck.”  Ace replied monotonly.

“Hey.  I remember seeing the commercial for that place!”  Lexi announced.

“You do?”  Ace looked at her quizzically, “When?”

“That time you guys went out for dinner and I stayed home, remember?”

Ace nodded his head in confirmation.

“Our names were on the guest list of the advert.”  She looked around and suddenly felt awkward.  “…I... just thought… that it would be... Interesting…. to point out...”  She grinned sheepishly, “…So, what do we do?”  Lexi asked, as she looked around the group of males, searching for an answer to her query.

“I don’t know.  This…thing is tonight.  Are we gonna go, chief?”  Tech asked, through examining the messaging device.  ‘Fascinating’ he mused.

“I…I’m not sure.”  Ace replied, “I mean, dat guy is a total creep.  He tricked Slam and Duck, almost getting Slam killed, and he threw you off a balcony like…a week ago.”  Ace turned to Lexi as he said this.

“Wait, -he-threw-you-off-a-balcony?-when-did-that-happen?”

“When Ace and I went out for dinner…you know, that time…”  Lexi replied to the red fast-talking bird.

“Well…it might be cool to go y’know.  Free French food, drinks and a free chance to see the cool hotel...thingy.”  Duck considered.  “I mean, how often do we get invited to this kind of thing?  I mean, we save the world like…all of the time, and this is like the first time that they’ve ever let us go to some big prestigious event?”

“I guess…”  Ace thought out-loud, “But what it it’s a trap?”

“It seems like he’d be spending a lot of time and money on a trap to catch a bunch of superheroes, Ace.” 

“Lexi?!”  Ace looked at the female next to him, in surprise, “Are you saying that we should go?”

“No...Well, I’m not sure; I mean….I don’t know.”  She sighed.

“Well…I guess it couldn’t hurt?”  Ace rubbed the back of his neck in thought.  “But we do need to interrogate those guys from yesterday down at the subterranean prison.  Dat’s our first priority, if it runs overtime; we still have to do our job.”

“Fine.”  Duck sighed.  “Let’s get it over with already.”

--

“VISITORS APPROACHING.  KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FEET AWAY FROM YOUR CONTIANMENT FIELD”

The booming voice of a prison officer over a loud speaker addressed all of the criminals as the Loonatics descended to the ground floor of the Acmetropolis Subterranean prison in an elevator. 

They were now on the ground floor. 

The floor above the contained the more dangerous criminals, the likes of Mallory Mastermind, Massive, Sypher and Weathervane were all contained in ‘prison bubbles’ which were able to withstand their special and unique abilities and prevent them from escaping.

The ground floor was where dangerous criminals were kept which needed interrogating by the Loonatics.

The Loonatics all moved quickly on the moving platform, which transported them across from the elevator shaft, to the prison cells.  What they were ‘levitating’ over, was a massive ditch, used to deter villains who try to escape and enter the elevators, the only means of escape.  The moving platform brought them more and more closer to the men who had tried to kill them all on the day before; it gave some shudders to see their faces again.    But they did their best to keep their composure and remain calm in front of the men.

Quietly Lexi looked outside of her door, making sure that no one would see her, she quickly slipped out of her room and knocked quietly on Ace’s door.

Naturally, the grey rabbit let her in, greeting her with a smile and a kiss, “Hey Lexi…” Lexi looked at the grey bunny, seeing what he was wearing.  He had on a Black pair of smart trousers, with shiny black shoes, a white shirt, a yellow bow tie and a black jacket with a yellow strip of ribbon that lined the bottom on the sleeves.  His bow tie was still undone as he took in her appearance.  Lexi smiled up at him, before walking past him.  

“So, I’m guessing all of the guys have their signature colour on their suits…like you?”

“Yeah, I t’ink so.  I’m not sure; I haven’t seen any of dem yet.”  Ace replied.  He walked back into his main room where Lexi was, as he began to tie his bow tie.

 “Ace, could you…can you zip me up?”  She turned her back to him, indicating to him that her dress was still undone at the back.

“Oh, sure.”  Ace stepped forwards and pulled up the zipper.  He wrapped his arms around her small waist, resting his forehead on the back of her neck.  He then turned her around so that she could face him.  He looked her up and down before smiling at her, keeping his arms around her waist as he pulled her against him.  “Hey, you look nice.”

Lexi gave him a look of disbelief, “You think?”

“Yeah.”  He was smiling as he kissed her.

Lexi pulled away and chuckled, “Right.”  She replied sarcastically.  “This, is why I hate dresses.”  She looked down at herself, obviously focusing on something that Ace hadn’t noticed.

“What?”  He shrugged his shoulders.

Lexi looked up at him, “Do…do...you think…that…this dress makes my hips look too wide?”

Ace smiled at her, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him.  “No.  I think you look just beautiful.”

Lexi half smiled up at him, “Really?”

Ace sighed and rolled his eyes, “Yes, now stop worrying about yourself.  I told you this last night, you look great.”

“Thanks Ace.”  She smiled, kissing him, “Anyway, we should go to the main room and wait for the guys.” 

“Err, yeah.  Once I’ve done up my bow tie.”  Ace replied as he put his arms up behind his head.

Lexi looked at him strangely, “What are you doing?”

“Tying a bow tie, what does it look like?”

“Usually you don’t put your hands behind your head though, Ace.”

“Yeah…”  Ace grinned sheepishly at her, “I decided to take the easy way out.”

“How so?”

“It’s a clip on.”  He showed her the two clips at the end, looking much like the ‘hook and eye’ clips that you find on bras.  “Even though it’s supposed to be easier to ‘tie’, it still doesn’t make it…”

Lexi smiled at his actions, “Come here…”  Ace did as he was told, Lexi’s next actions took him by surprise, she swiftly moved her hands behind his neck, and simply did up the bow tie without even having to look.  “There you go, done.”  She grinned.

Ace smiled, “But how did you..? Never mind….T’anks.”  He took her by the waist and kissed her, before leading her out of his room.  Lexi stopped suddenly.  “What is it, Lex?”

Lexi smiled back at him, “I just need to get my jacket…and bag.  I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, okay den.  I’ll be out here.”  Ace watched Lexi disappear into her room, her door automatically closing behind her. He sighed and waited. 

“What are you doing?”  Came a voice from behind the rabbit, Ace turned around and was met with the sight of Duck, wearing a suit similar to his own, but with an orange strip of fabric lining the ends of the sleeves as well as an orange bow tie around his neck; rather than yellow.

“Just waiting for Lex.”  The grey rabbit relied, simply.

“Uh…huh?”  Duck muttered suspiciously, as he passed the bunny and walked into the main room, tripping down the steps as he did so.

Ace couldn’t help but snicker as he watched the water fowl tumble down the small set of steps, and land in a heap on the floor.

Duck shook his head before standing up, and facing the rabbit, “You’re despicable.”

Ace smirked when the mallard walked away, but with a slight limp.  Ace turned back to face Lexi’s door, just as she opened it to leave her room, turning off a light as she left.

“So, are you okay now?”  He asked, taking her hand.  She was now wearing a small pink jacket that matched the waistband on her dress, with a smaller bag which hung off of her shoulder, and tucked itself between her torso and her arm.

“Yep.  I’m good.”  She smiled; she gave him a quick kiss before he led her out of the corridor, and into the main room, where the rest of the team stood waiting.

“Wow-Lexi-you-look-really-nice!”  Rev commented as he ran up to the two bunnies, like Ace and Duck, he too had on a suit where the bow tie and sleeve ends were red, his signature colour.  The same with Tech and Slam.

Lexi half smiled at his comment, and the ones that came from the rest of the team who all smiled at her, including Ace.  “Umm, Thanks…guys.”

Rev put his hand on her shoulder, smiling, “Aww-Lexi,-don’t-look-so-embarrassed!”  He turned back to the rest of the team, “Anyway-we-should-go.”

Lexi smiled back at him, “Yeah.  The cab’s here….or whatever we’re using to get to the place.”

“How’d you know that?”  Duck asked her quizzically.

Lexi rolled her eyes and pointed to her ears, “Super hearing, remember?”

“Oh yeah..!”

--

Surprised at the vehicle that was sent for them by Pierre Le Pew, the Loonatics stood outside of the shiny black limousine, awe struck, they hadn’t expected that.

Soon, after becoming impatient, the Limousine driver, who had been standing by an open door to the car, waiting for them to get in, cleared his throat.  “Umm, would you…like to get in, so that we can leave?”

Blinking away his thoughts, Duck was the first to move, “Oh yeah!  So this is what the life of luxury is like!”  He said triumphantly as he stepped inside.

Ace was the next to enter the vehicle, followed by Lexi, Tech, Rev, and finally; Slam. Once they had their seatbelts fastened, the driver shut the door, and returned to his own seat, where he began to drive.

“This is…cool.”  Tech smiled.  He was impressed, which was how the rest of the team felt.  He grinned, “I’ve never been in a limo before.”

The rest of the team nodded in agreement.  Obviously before becoming superheroes, none of tem had really been in any position where they had been driven in such a vehicle.

“What about you Ace, Isn’t your dad like…famous?”  Lexi asked, resting a hand on the grey bunny’s knee.

“Okay….yeah, I have been in a limo…a few times.  But dat was when I was really little…before I went to live with my uncle.”

“Oh.”

--

“Bonjour…monsier…Ace, Tech, Rev, Slam…and…Duck” Pierre shook hands with the five male Loonatics when they entered the massive building.  They all stopped, waiting for Lexi.

“Ahh!”  The French man said happily, “And Mademoiselle Lexi.”  He kissed her hand, “You look….how you say….beautiful tonight.”  He smiled at the female bunny.

Lexi smiled back at him, after she had walked back to the main group and was out of sight of Pierre Le Pew, her smile turned into a look of mock disgust, “Aww man!”  She wiped her hand on her dress, “Now I have to sanitise my hand!”

Ace smirked at her before putting his arm around her waist.  The Loonatics were lead to a circular table, with a white table cloth on it.  The layout on their table was the same as those of the others in the grand hall.  There was a candle at the centre of the table, a large selection of cutlery at everyone’s place, neatly folded napkins in the space where their plate would soon be, and each place had a crystal wine glass to the right of ones’ seating place, there was also a small glass where ice cold water was, water that had obviously been poured from the crystal jug that was placed by the candle.

“Wow!”  Duck commented, looking around the massive hall, “I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said ‘Grand Opening’, this place is huge!”

The mallard was correct.  The room was predominately marble finished.  The beautiful and expensive stone was everywhere.   The floor, the walls and even on the ceiling, crystal chandeliers hung from various points on the ceiling, the light shimmering and sparkling in the tiny glass beads.   Also, in various positions around the hall, there were palms, planted in sandy brown pots.

There was a stage at the front of the room, with a podium that was completely dwarfed by the size of the room, there was a bar area towards the left of the stage, where waiters in smart waistcoats and bow ties, white shirts and long black trousers…similar to the attires of most of the men in the room, minus the jackets.  Waiters also served drinks to the tables, as well as taking early orders of food.

Ace pulled out a chair for Lexi as she was about to sit down, luckily the female rabbit noticed that it had moved before she sat down on it.  “There you go Lex.”  He smiled.

Lexi sighed and sat down, waiting for the grey bunny to take his place next to her on her left, when he did, she turned to face him.  “Ace, you know you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.”  He smiled, “But I wanted to”

Lexi rolled her eyes and took a sip of water; Tech took up a seat to her right, he sat next to Slam, who was next to Rev, whose seat faced away from the stage.  On the roadrunner’s right was Duck, and to his right was Ace.

“Well-isn’t-this-nice,-this-is-a-great-way-for-us-to-have-some-fun-as-a-team,-it’s-great! –And-have-you-seen-how-fancy-this-place-is-it’s-amazing,-who-would’ve-thought-that-we-would-ever-get-invited-ot-this-kind-of-thing.  Well...actually,-I-don’t-know-who-would-of-thought-that-we-would-be-invited-to-this-kind-of-thing,-so-don’t-mention-any-names, ‘cause-otherwise-we-might-be-here-forever-y’know?  I-mean,-think-about-how-annoying-it-would-be-if-someone-kept-saying-names.  They-would-just-be-talking-and-talking-and-talking-and-talking-and-talking…”