FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ever since the meteor had struck Acmetropolis, Tech E. Coyote had found the process of inventing to be a strange one. He was seeing pathways and connections he'd never figured out before, and they always, always worked. It was as if someone had taken the bumbling inventor out of graduate school and said, not quite like that, look, just turn slightly to the right, doesn't that make more sense? Usually, his gadgets came from his own knowledge, but sometimes, it was as if someone was showing him what to do, guiding his paws, and that made him feel a little uneasy when the rest of the team praised him for his inventions.

Uneasiness or no, sometimes he wished that that power applied to other areas of his life as well.

"Listen, Jet," he said into the small phone, "I don't technically get paid in money, not the kind I could send you." Even if I wanted to.

"You could at least call once in a while," his older brother said. "Mom asks about you all the time."

"I bet she does," Tech said, and then cursed himself for saying it out loud. "So how's everything back in the Warren?"

"Sucks. Not like you care."

Beep. Thank the powers. "Hey, I have another call coming in."

"That's okay. I'm sure we'll chat in another six years."

There were at least a dozen things he could have said to that, but none constructive. He sighed, and clicked over to the next call.

"Tech!" The voice was familiar, as all the calls had been that day, and like most of them, he couldn't place it. "Hey, it's Sal! Long time no hear!"

For the first time that morning, Tech's ears perked up. "Sal! What's it been, three years? You back from the pole?"

"I am, and what do I find but my furriest colleague part of a super-hero team! Let me tell you, either you need a new photographer or a new uniform because those things do not flatter you. Primary colors are so fifties. And those gloves and boots--clunk city!"

It felt good to laugh. "If I leave the uni at the base, will you be seen with me in public?"

They met at the Orbital Donut, a balcony cafe on the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper near the university they'd both attended. Sal was writing his doctoral thesis on sociological conditions in the poorer neighborhoods near the poles of the city-planet, but he brushed past that in a sentence and spent the first fifteen minutes talking about his latest flame. "He came to the expedition as a replacement a year ago and oh-my-god Tech, he was gorgeous, and a beautiful mind to match. Sure, he's Sculpted, but what self-respecting gay man isn't, these days?" He swung his shoulders back to show off his perfectly formed chest. "So anyway, he came back with me and is serving as inspiration while I finish writing. And what inspiration he is, let me tell you."

Tech grinned. "I'm really happy for you, Sal."

"So am I." Sal licked his lips. "So what about you? You ever find someone?"

"Nah. I mean, well, kind of. I don't know."

Sal's bushy black hair swung forward as he leaned across the table. "So there is someone. Dish!"

"No, not really. I mean, he's just this guy, and we kinda..." Work together. "...met one day and just hit it off. Physically, you know." And more, lately. "I don't know if it's going any further."

"But you want it to." Sal picked up a donut and chewed on it.

"I don't know. Things are already getting too complicated. Someone found out about us."

"Someone on your team?"

"Yeah."

"The roadrunner? He seems like he'd be the sort to go poking his beak into all kinds of places. With that super-speed and all, he could be in and out before you even noticed."

Tech choked on his coffee and tried not to giggle. "Uh, no, not him. It was, uh, Danger Duck."

Sal rolled his eyes. "You sure can pick 'em."

"I didn't pick 'em. We were pulled together by...oh, I probably shouldn't tell you."

The young man held up a hand. "Say no more, my fuzzy friend. I don't want to be burdened with any trade secrets. Just glad to see you're doing well. This whole superpower thing is pret-ty sweet."

"I guess." Tech remembered another question he'd had for Sal. "Oh, I didn't just ask you here to catch up and talk about our personal lives. I wanted to ask if you observed any effects of the meteor down in the Warren."

Sal shook his head. "There was a tremor, a big one, lots of property damaged. Not too many people killed, though. They're still rebuilding--the few people who care enough to."

"Nothing supernatural?"

"Not unless you count the layer of ash that got all over everything for weeks and was supernaturally resistant to water." He made a face. "But remember, I was half a world away from the impact. You were right at ground zero, kind of."

"Yeah." Tech stroked his whiskers.

"Why d'you ask, Brainy?"

"Just a theory I'm working on." He got up. "I need to hit the john. I'll be right back."

The bathrooms in the Orbital Donut were actually located upstairs, through a door and into a small windowed hallway right underneath the observation platform that looked out over the university. Coming out of the bathrooms, Tech paused at the staircase and then jumped as he felt hands slide around his midriff from behind, and a familiar whispered voice. "Hey sexy hope you don't mind me followin' you here but I thought it'd be better for us to meet somewhere where ol' snoopybeak can't see us and it's a pretty view from here and hey you look real cute out of your uniform anyone ever tell you that course you look cute in it too so..."

Tech giggled and pressed back against the roadrunner's slender form. "Rev, sheesh, aren't you supposed to be on patrol?"

"Yeah I told Ace I was goin' to the bathroom so we only got a few minutes how about it huh?" His hands slid down Tech's hips and felt the warm bulge in front.

The coyote squirmed. "What, here? But..."

"Hey don't worry I locked the door to the corridor and anyway you know me won't take too long and if I know you it's been about three days so won't take you too long either so whaddya say hmm?" His hand squeezed and rubbed, and Tech was getting very hard, not just from that but from feeling the roadrunner's arousal pressed against his tail.

"I don't know..." he said, looking around nervously. "I gotta get back..."

Rev's hand stopped, and came back up to his middle. "Okay pal sorry don't wanna come on too strong you know I just thought since we were both away from the base for once we might catch a little time together but I know it's a little weird doing it out in public like this so no hard feelings?"

Turning around, Tech saw the roadrunner's apologetic smile, and the locked door behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the small balcony looking out over the city, and back at Rev. Slowly, he grinned. "Don't be silly," he said, reaching his paw down to feel Rev's erection. "Of course there's hard feelings. Why don't you go first?"

Rev grinned back as Tech flicked his waistband open and slid his paw around the hard, slender length. "Muzzle?" he said, meeting the roadrunner's eyes.

"Yeah it'll be faster than paw and besides you got such a good one like that and such a way with that tongue of yours if you don't mind oooooh..." He panted as Tech dropped to his knees and wrapped his lips around his length, curling his tongue around it. The coyote perked his ears and wagged his tail as Rev panted, gathered breath and fidgeted from one leg to the other, making a clicking sound on the tile floor that sped up as Tech did. His hips shivered quickly, thrusting his shaft into and out of the coyote's muzzle, and at a certain point, Tech stopped trying to move at all, just flicked his tongue up as the roadrunner's tip sped past it over and over. He rested one paw on the bird's vibrating rear and enjoyed the sympathetic motion as Rev squeezed his shoulders and panted out strings of words. "Ooh Tech you're so hot I can't even tell you best I ever had and just love the feel of your fur too it's nice and soft like your tongue I'm tryin' to slow down tell me if it hurts but it'll be over pretty soon now..." Indeed, his feet were a blur of motion, dancing across the floor, the clicks merging into a low buzz of sound. Tech could still count the individual thrusts; his lips still stroked the hot flesh as it slid in and out, so he knew Rev was holding back. "Oh man getting closer Tech just keep it there like that I'm getting closer and closer and coming coming..." The roadrunner sucked in a breath and then moaned, his hands tightening on Tech's shoulders, and the coyote tasted the warm splash of seed on his tongue. He pulled Rev's hips against his muzzle, struggling to contain the roadrunner's motion, and licked and swallowed. The scent of bird filled his nostrils as he drew in a deep breath and pressed his fingers into the warm feathers under Rev's tail.

"Uhh...whoo." Rev moaned, tightened, and then leaned forward against Tech, panting fast. "Wow I almost lifted off there pal for a quick one that was awful good now get ready cause I gotta take care of you and then get back across town before Ace starts to wonder where I am."

Tech laughed softly, and rather than stand, leaned back on his elbows, uncurling his legs from under him and stretching them out. He undid his belt and pants while Rev pulled his up, and watched his shaft pop up into the air as the roadrunner knelt down between his legs. "Good you're nice and ready just the way I like you now let's see what we can do with this."

"You can do whatever you want." Tech leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling and panting softly as Rev's delicate hand curled around his length. The touch of the fingers on his skin thrilled him, and he had to admit that here in this public corridor, even with the door locked, it was exciting. Exciting but safe, like a roller coaster. His mind wandered as Rev's fingers teased him and his hips squirmed from side to side, and he reflected on how a roller coaster appealed to the part of you that wanted to be scared, and he wondered if there were anything he could build that would duplicate that experience, except for arousal, and then he figured that the holovids did that, with all the pretty movie stars strutting around. None of them were critters, though, which was why the Loonatics in general preferred adventure or comedy to romance holos.

Rev's fingers were stroking faster now, and Tech's muscles were trembling in response. He thought about warning Rev not to get his uniform messy, and decided to trust the roadrunner, and besides, he didn't really want to talk, not with his breath coming faster and his paws scrabbling on the tile as he spread his legs and wagged his tail. Rev was making his fingers vibrate, and the sensation coursed through Tech, from the tip of his hard shaft down into his hips and out to his paws, toes and fingers curling inwards, and up to his muzzle, clenched shut as he moaned through it.

Short, hot breaths came fast through his nose, and though he tried to quiet the moans, he wasn't able to. His stomach muscles tensed, his legs knotted, and he felt the surge of pleasure building in him as Rev kept stroking, the ecstatic tension almost unbearable. His body shuddered, seeming to gather itself, and his arousal jumped, pushed, surged, paused for a gasping moment, and then peaked with a convulsive moan deep in his throat.

He felt nothing but the tremors in his aching member at first, and then realized that Rev's fingers had been replaced by the roadrunner's warm beak, closed around his length, the slender tongue licking as Tech covered it with spurt after spurt. Rev kept on licking, until Tech squirmed away from him, lying back on the tile and panting.

"Oh, gosh," he said. "Oh my."

"Mmm." Rev snapped his beak shut, and Tech saw him lick around it. His fingers started to pull Tech's pants up around his hard member. "So who you gotta get back to I didn't know you knew anyone here at the university still it's not a date is it cause if it is then you prob'ly shoulda said no to me just now."

"No...not...a date..." Tech panted. "He's a friend...called me after...that article."

"Oh yeah that article I got like a dozen voicemails after that from people wanting money or interviews or something so I just deleted 'em all I don't have time for that."

"I answered the phone...Sal just got back...wanted to meet up for coffee...we used to hang out here a lot."

Rev patted the hard bulge in Tech's pants. "Well let this go down and you'll be okay to go back and meet him you'll have to tell me about him when we're back at base now I gotta run Ace is gonna think I have diarrhea or somethin' but thanks it was great and I definitely think we should get out more often."

"Thank you." Tech sat up and then, because Rev's beak was right there, gave him a kiss. Rev kissed back, brushed Tech's ears with his wing, and sped off.

Tech remained on the floor until someone knocked at the hall door. "Just a second," he said. He smoothed his shirt and pants down and got up. "Sorry," he said to the blonde who was waiting to get in. "Didn't realize this locked."

"What happened, you fall in?" Sal said when he got back to the table.

"Sorry. There was, um, a line." Tech let his gaze drift off to the window. He wondered where Rev was on patrol.

"Oh. My. God." Sal leaned forward and peered at him. "You just got some in the men's room!" he whispered.

Tech felt his ears flush and he folded them down. "What?"

"You did!" Sal laughed and looked around. "So are you going to introduce me?"

"I...what are you...I mean..."

"Come on, Tech. Who got you your first gay critter porn holo, huh? Who stayed up with you keeping your ears out of the toilet after the Tri Kap party? Who told you all about his amazing night with Jeffrey Sherkey? I told you about my boyfriend."

"Look, I, uh, he's not...I mean, I can't, he just stopped in and he took off." His ears felt blazing hot and he looked around at the other tables to make sure nobody was listening. They didn't appear to be, but that didn't mean they didn't have miniature directional mikes and invisible earpieces.

Sal covered his mouth and giggled. "Hee hee hee. Oh, Tech, it makes me so happy. I thought you might never know the small joys of sneaking a quickie in a public restroom."

"Sal!" Tech picked up a piece of bread and chewed at it.

"Really, Tech, it's good for you to live a little. There's more to life than books and wires."

Tech fidgeted with his silver, picked up his tea, and sipped at it. "So your research was going well?"

"Went well. It's over now." Sal grinned at him and leaned back. "You really don't appreciate how lucky you are, you know?"

"I know, I know," Tech said, shifting to accommodate the warmth in his groin. "But I can't believe there are that few people having passionate sex. I'm more interested in your research."

"I was talking about my research," Sal said. "So it's passionate, is it?"

"Oh. Well, I got a call from my brother this morning. So I am appreciating how lucky I am."

"Ah." Sal's grin faded slightly. "Thanks for putting me in touch with them. They were helpful."

"Good."

"So, what did you want to know about my research?"

Tech hesitated. "Did you run into Ralph at all, when you were down there?"

Sal frowned, and shook his head. "No. I haven't talked to him since he was arrested. I didn't even know he was back there."

"I don't either. I was just wondering." He fiddled with his fork, and he could feel Sal's question. "You know, I should be getting back."

"You sure?" He nodded, and Sal stood. "Well, let's do this again. It's great to see you, and I would like you to look over some of my research when you have a chance."

"Absolutely." They shook hands and walked out to the lobby.

"And I want to meet this boyfriend of yours," Sal said, poking him in the shoulder.

"He's not..."

"I know, I know." Sal grinned. "I still want to meet him."

"I'll see what I can do." Tech watched as Sal got into the elevator.

"You're not parked in the garage?"

"Nope." Tech grinned, and pointed upwards.

Sal shook his head. "You are really getting into this superhero thing." He chuckled as the doors closed. "See ya, Tech."

Should've asked him, Tech told himself as he walked up to the roof. What could it have hurt? He's the only person you know who's been down to the Warren, who's objective enough to get the info you're looking for. But he was nervous about talking about his theory, which was nothing more now than elusive connections bouncing around in his head.

Preoccupied in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the bright red light blinking on the console of his one-coyote miniplane until Zodavia's voice echoed through the speaker. "Tech, get back to base. I need to brief the team on a new threat."

"On my way," he said, which she undoubtedly knew, because she had a tracker in the jet, and he wasn't able to go any faster than he was already going, so there was really no point to her call at all. "And why," he said aloud to himself, "does the whole team always end up having to respond to every new threat?"

The cockpit was too cramped to try to put on his uniform, so he had to wait until he got back to base to change. Stripping down, he touched his sheath and couldn't restrain a grin and a shake of his head, wiping a little residual stickiness from it before sliding into his smooth-fitting lycra. As he snapped the buckle shut, he felt the circuits in the lycra activate and the force field surround him. It subsided when it detected that it was within the base, but the green glow remained as he walked into the main room.

"About time, Tech," Ace said, looking up from the center console where glitters of rainbow were already announcing the arrival of Zodavia's avatar.

"Yeah, where you been?" Duck said. "Rev's right here."

Rev looked bored and didn't say anything. Lexi gave Duck a look. "We know where Rev is."

"Yes, but I wasn't sure Tech did." Duck folded his arms and tried to give Tech a knowing smirk, but the coyote wouldn't look at him, instead taking a seat at the table beside Rev with the other brightly colored heroes and looking up at the rainbow.

"Loonatics," Zodavia announced.

There was some guy causing trouble over in North Haverbrook, apparently, just a guy with a gun, only not. He'd already taken out police and several onlookers. "So why do we need to get involved?" Ace said.

"Nobody can get near him," Zodavia said. "You will have to figure out why, and neutralize him."

"Can't get near him?" Duck said. "What, does he smell as bad as Slam?"

Slam spat something that sounded like, "Showers are for sissies," but Tech could have just been imagining that. Zodavia continued, unruffled.

"Ace, take the team to the North Haverbrook City Center tower. The local police have cordoned it off. Neutralize the gunman and report back here."

"Sure thing, Zodavia," Ace said.

"What kind of gun does he have?" Duck said. "Is it a super-blasto-matic? A death laser? A magneto-radial displacement spectrum atomic cyclotronic power energy blaster?"

Tech rolled his eyes. Trust Duck to ask the right question in the stupidest possible way.

"I don't have that information. You'll have to determine that yourself. Zodavia out."

"Of course we have to do all the work," Duck said as the rainbow glitter faded out. "Tech, you figure out what he's packing. Lexi, you see if you can hear anything. I will coordinate the operation from the plane."

"So," Lexi said to Ace. "What's the plan?"

Duck folded his arms and scowled.

They piled into the jet, Tech taking the pilot's seat while Ace and Lexi sat up front, discussing strategy. "Twenty-two minutes to North Haverbrook," Tech said.

In the seat next to his, Rev stretched his long legs out and winked when Tech looked at him. Tech eyed the roadrunner's legs and raised his eyebrows appreciatively. Rev let just the tip of his tongue show at the edge of his beak. Tech reached for his seatbelt buckle and mouthed, "twenty minutes," suggestively.

"Ahem." They turned to see Duck looking back at them. Rev looked at the ceiling of the jet and whistled a couple notes, while Tech turned back to his console, ears burning. At least Slam, in the seat next to Duck, was busy scratching himself and hadn't noticed anything.

"All right, team," Ace said. "Duck and Rev, you go check out this nutjob. Youse guys can get outta the way fastest. Rev, distract him while Duck quacks in behind him. If you can take him out, great. When you chicken out, at least try to see what he's carrying."

"Hey," Duck said. "I just don't see why I have to do all the work on this team all the time."

Tech and Rev rolled their eyes to each other. Ace ignored him. "Tech, you'll have cameras on Duck and Rev so that even if they don't notice, you'll be able to see something they might miss. Lexi will try to get close enough to hear what he's sayin'. Slam and I will stay here."

"That's basically exactly the same thing I said," Duck said, folding his arms and leaning back.

"If you leave out the intelligent parts," Tech said in an undertone, and Rev snickered. Lexi flashed him a grin from the front of the plane too. Bending back over his controls, he pretended to be plotting a course--something the computer was doing automatically--while sneaking sideways looks at Rev, currently stretched out in a way that showed off his slender body nicely. The coyote adjusted the fabric of his uniform around his crotch, feeling his sheath harden, and grinned. Down, boy, he told it. I can't be horny again already. This was the first mission since he and Rev had deepened their relationship, and he was determined to be as efficient as ever.

The town hall, for a center of government, had pitiful facilities. Tech chose to stay in the jet, because the onboard portable fusion generator had more power than was available from the building's outlets. He activated Duck and Rev's uniform cameras and ran through the tests, and then had an idea. "Hey, Rev. C'mere a second, there's something wrong with your camera."

He hadn't finished the sentence before the roadrunner was standing in front of him, rigidly at attention. "Yessir Tech wouldn't wanna run out without all my gear in proper working order what's wrong with it?"

"Just need to tweak something here." He watched Rev's monitor until the green circle of his fingertip covered the screen, and he felt the roadrunner's breathing against it. "Be careful," he said under his breath, rubbing gently.

"Always am don't you worry," Rev whispered, with a wink and a lopsided grin, and before Duck could get his pained exclamation out, Rev was at his side, talking more loudly. "C'mon Duck whaddya say there's evil out there for us to take care of so let's get on the move."

Duck looked pointedly at Tech. "Is my camera working okay?"

"It's fine," Tech said.

"Stop stalling and get out there," Ace said.

"Stalling? I am not the one who is stalling," Duck said. "Tech just..."

"I was right here," Ace said. "I know what he did. Now get!"

"But you don't...gah!" Duck threw up his arms and fitted his arms into his flying cape, which automatically billowed out behind him. "For a leader, you sure don't know much."

"Less chat, more scat," Lexi said, getting her own flyer on. "Come on, Duck."

As they crowded into the airlock, Tech heard Duck say, "I am a duck, not a cat. You don't say 'scat' to a duck..." The airlock doors closed, unfortunately, before Tech could hear what one did say to a duck.

"Hey, Tech," Ace said. "Do you think Duck's been acting a little strange lately?"

"Just lately?" Tech grinned.

"Stranger than usual, I mean."

"I haven't noticed. But then, I try not to notice him."

Ace cocked a finger in his direction. "Good point." He flicked a switch on his own console and set one of Tech's hovering microphones in front of him. "Duck, Rev, Lexi, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, boss."

"No problems here but I gotta say North Haverbrook is a dump don't these people have any civic pride I almost tripped a dozen times already."

"I think they got other things on their mind than garbage detail right now, Rev. Duck? You there?"

There was a pause, and then over the speakers: "Yes, I'm here."

"He's on the roof of that apartment building a mile away. Rev, you..."

"Already on it chief I got the location locked in and as long as there isn't a couch in the street or something we should be there in about ten seconds."

"T'anks for slowin' down for Duck and Lexi." Ace grinned. "How's the cameras woikin', Tech?"

Tech had been looking only at Rev's, cringing as every obstacle in the street appeared and vanished. He felt like he were playing some old-time video game where he was a passenger rather than the driver of a racecar. If he hadn't left his Freeze-Frame Specs in the lab, he could've put them on, though of course then he would miss most of what Rev was seeing. "They're working fine," he said.

"Let me know when Duck's in position."

"Make sure Rev gets there first," Tech said. "And hope the guy doesn't have eyes in the back of his head."

"Right. Slam?" The devil looked up. "Get ready to jet over there in case we need to bring down the building he's in. I don't wanna do that, but if we have to..."

"Rah guh rah!" Slam agreed.

Tech went back to watching Rev's monitor, ducking as the view darted through streets and alleys. "Ace, tell Rev to vary his speed, too. If he keeps a constant velocity, the guy could anticipate where he'll be."

Ace relayed that, and Rev chattered back, "Thanks for the tip Ace but no way is anyone gonna be able to tell where I'm gonna be heck I don't even know from one second to the next."

"Tech says..."

"Oh Tech said it sure thing sorry didn't realize." The view on the monitor became more jerky instantly, as Rev speeded up and slowed down, in addition to darting from side to side.

"That's better," Tech said.

Ace gave Tech a mock-angry look. "I know you're da brains, but does he have ta rub it in like that?"

"They're getting close," Tech said. He was having difficulty remaining focused. He wanted to view Rev as just a teammate doing a job, but he kept remembering the roadrunner's touch on his stomach, the beak against his muzzle, and when he remembered, he worried that Rev was going to put himself in danger with his cocky attitude.

"I see the building going to go make some noise now," Rev said over the speaker. His monitor went crazy, disorienting Tech until he realized that Rev was running up the side of the building across the street from the shooter. They could hear him yelling, "Hey ugly betcha can't hit me can you I bet you're as blind as you are stupid!"

The coyote's eyes flicked to Duck's camera, showing the top of the apartment building a mile or so away. "Ace, tell Duck to get closer. I can't see anything."

"Duck, get closer."

"I'm working on it!" Duck squawked back. His monitor blinked out and back several times, bringing him, by Tech's calculation, about thirty-one feet closer. "How's that?"

Rev was still chattering. "Whoops missed me boy you sure are no good with that peashooter are you what'cha shooting anyway blanks?" He lowered his voice to say, "Hey Ace how much longer I gotta do this for?"

Ace looked at Tech for his answer. "He's gotta get on the roof, even if it's just for a second," the coyote said.

"Duck, or Rev?"

Tech paused. Rev could certainly get up to the roof, even if just for a fraction of a second, and he was more likely to do it than Duck. Tech could always rewind his monitor footage and pause it to see the info he needed in one or two frames. But that would put Rev in more danger. "Duck," he said.

"Duck, get closer. You gotta get on the roof."

"I'm trying to figure out where his blind spot is," Duck said.

"Just quack in and quack out."

"Don't tell me how to quack."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

Tech watched Duck's monitor as the apartment building flickered closer and closer, until he could see the guy and the long silvery gun he was holding. He frowned, studying it more closely. The guy was sighting along it, moving very fast, and Tech had no doubt what his target was. Duck stopped on the roof of an adjacent building, two stories lower so Tech couldn't see the guy any more, and his voice crackled over the speakers again. "You want me to just egg him out?"

"No, just get up and back so we can get a look at him."

Rev's voice crackled through the speakers as his monitor lurched. "Hey I heard that one come really close you guys wanna tell me when I can get outta here it's starting to get a little uncomfor--" Tech was watching his monitor as he stopped talking, and saw the dizzying view swing around crazily. He thought he saw a silver flash cut through the air just in front of the monitor.

"Tell Duck to get up there now!" he yelled to Ace. "He's getting too close to Rev."

"Duck, go now," Ace said. "Rev, get outta there!"

"What?" Duck reacted to the second order after he'd already popped up to the roof.

As Rev's monitor straightened out and showed the streets whizzing by away from the apartment, and the roadrunner chattered, "Bout time guys hope this was all worth it I'll be back in a few seconds," Tech shifted his eyes to Duck's monitor and saw a bald man turn, appearing to look right at Tech through his monitor. His eyes were black and it seemed to take him no time at all to swing around a long silver cylinder. Tech saw a flash a moment before the monitor shimmered and showed a different rooftop.

"He got it," he said.

Ace nodded. "Good work, Duck." He cocked his long ears. "Dat's funny. He'd usually respond to something like that."

Duck's monitor wasn't moving. Tech stared at it and an uneasy feeling crept up his back, lifting his fur. "Tell Rev to get back there." He replayed the images he'd seen in his mind and those connections snapped into place. "He's gotta get Duck back to the ship."

"What's the matter?" Ace said.

"Just get him back there! We don't have much time!"

"Right. Hey, Rev! You gotta go pick up Duck. Lexi, try to keep this joker occupied to cover Rev."

"I gotta go back figures Duck couldn't pull it off okay what's the matter with him?" Rev's monitor spun so quickly it made Tech a little queasy.

"Tech?"

He looked at the monitor, then back at Ace. "I think the guy has a neural disruptor."

They could hear the crackle of Lexi's brain blasts through Rev's speaker. Tech held his breath as Duck's monitor lurched and then showed the underside of Rev's beak. Buildings whipped past on both monitors simultaneously. "Come on, Rev," he said under his breath.

"What's a neural disruptor?" Ace asked.

Tech kept his eyes on Rev's monitor. He could see the orange glow of Duck's uniform at the bottom edge of it. "Experimental weapon they were working on in one of the university labs a decade ago. Government contract. It took me a second to recognize the gun, but I'm sure that's what it is. It fires tiny projectiles about this long," he held up two fingers an inch apart, "with circuitry embedded that overrides the subject's parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in temporary paralysis and permanent brain damage in a matter of ten minutes."

"Well, this is Duck we're talkin' about," Ace said, but didn't smile. "How long since he got hit?"

"One hundred thirty seconds."

"Slam, open the airlock. Override it if you hafta."

"Raw gaw bah!" Slam punched the airlock button and then wrenched the inner doors apart. Klaxons went off as a red blur streaked into the ship and screeched to a halt in front of Tech. Rev dropped Duck to the floor.

"I think somethin's really wrong with him he didn't say a word when I picked him up or when I banged his head against the airlock which was a mistake honest can you fix him Tech I got back here as fast as I could without hurting him I swear I did."

"I think so." Tech knelt beside Duck and brought out his portable scanner. "Get an oxy mask and an adreno pill. Once I get the projectile out, we'll need to administer the adreno as soon as possible to get his systems back to normal."

Ace stood up, but Rev beat him to the storage locker and came back with a pile of boxes. "I got the oxy mask right here should we put it on him now or wait til you're done and what color box is the adreno pill in oh never mind here it is." He was throwing boxes over his shoulder, scanning the words as he did.

Ace and Slam ducked the rapid-fire barrage of boxes to stand next to Rev. Tech was already scanning the duck's prostrate form. "If any of you see a silvery sliver, let me know," he said. "The scanner should pick it up pretty quickly, but..." It beeped in his paw. "There it is."

The sliver was embedded in Duck's wrist. Tech reached over with a pair of tweezers and grabbed it, pulling slowly until it slid free. "Give him the pill and put the mask on him now. Slam, hold him, he might twitch a bit when he gets the pill."

The devil flopped down on Duck as Ace dropped the pill in his beak and lifted his head, pouring water in after it to make him swallow. Rev clapped the oxy mask on as Duck's body shuddered under Slam's weight. His free hands glowed, and a moment later his gooey eggs were spraying all over the cabin. Tech had just gotten the sliver sealed into a sample tube when he was knocked over, his chest dripping in heavy, glowing goo. Ace and Slam were sent flying as well; only Rev managed to dart out of the way of the projectiles. "Hey!" Ace yelled. "Duck!"

Duck's eyes shot open. He looked around and then vanished with a sizzle.

"Dat's just great," Ace said. "Might 'twitch a bit,' you say. Tech, can you get dis stuff offa us?"

"Not without my lab tools," he said, pulling at the sticky mass. "What an inconvenient time for Duck to hit his targets."

"Well, da ship won't take off with the airlock busted." Ace worked his way to the control panel just as Lexi came in through the shattered airlock.

"Omigod, what happened in here?" She looked at the airlock and the glowing masses of goo. "Did Duck explode?"

"If only no he just went nuts after Tech saved his life by giving him the adreno pill and you shoulda seen him he like leaped up off the ground and was spraying his eggs everywhere I tell ya it wasn't easy to dodge 'em and then he just looked all crazy and poof he quacked outta here and we haven't seen him since so now we hafta figure out how to get this ship home cause we hadda destroy the airlock to get Duck here in time to save his life and now of course the ship won't take off any ideas Tech?"

Rev had been darting around the ship and stopped in front of Tech. The coyote grinned at him, remembering a time not too long ago when he'd have wanted to slap the roadrunner after that kind of outburst. Now Rev was giving him an expectant look and he wanted to meet those expectations. "I could levitate the ship back to base, but we'll have to stay low so we don't get depressurized. If the rest of you want to take your backpack flyers back, I can manage the ship."

"Dat's okay, Tech," Ace said. "I don't feel like bein' seen like this." He had been hit along the left arm, which was now pinned to his side. Poor Slam had been hit directly in the face and was now trying to chew his way free, with little success.

"All right. Get in your seats, then." He strapped himself into his own, and focused on lifting the whole jet off the ground. It took enough concentration that he didn't think about anything else until they were back at the base, though he did see Rev and Lexi standing in the open airlock waving to gawking onlookers as the ship floated past, and thought he should tell them to be more careful, but it was taking most of his concentration to keep the ship from smashing into buildings. Rev zipped over to his side at one point and asked if he needed anything.

The roadrunner's hand on his shoulder gave him confidence. He grinned up at the anxious bird and shook his head. "Thanks."

The task got easier as they neared the isolated tower, and the other buildings seemed to fall away from the ship. Ace worked the locks and Tech floated the ship into it, letting it down to the floor a bit harder than he'd intended and then sinking back into his chair. His whole body ached.

"Nice job, Tech," Ace said.

"You can say that again Ace who else coulda gotten us back to base safe like that amazing job Tech you rock." Rev grinned, running from Tech to the airlock and back, and then out into the base.

"Jeez, settle down, bird," Lexi said, stepping out around the red blur into the hangar.

"Hey Tech tell me what you need from the lab and I'll bring it back so you can get degooed I know what your workbench looks like so you just need to tell me what drawer it's in and I'll have it back here faster than you can say 'Hey Rev could you get the stuff I need?'"

"That sounds great." Tech didn't really want to get up, between the goo weighing him down and the fatigue from levitating the ship. "The solution on the second shelf in the green jars, and the magnetic protein destabilizer in the third drawer down, left side."

"You got it buddy." The last word faded out as Rev tore off to the lab, returning a second later with his arms full of the supplies. Tech used the destabilizer to get rid of the goo, and the cleaning solution to wipe traces off their uniforms.

"I wonder where Duck disappeared to," Lexi said, just as they returned to the common room.

"The question is," Duck said from the center table, "where did all you disappear to?" He had his arms folded, and overrode their attempts to answer. "I mean, there I am risking my life against this crazy gunman and I take care of him all by myself and it must have been a terrible strain because I blacked out and woke up here at the base and all of you were gone! Didn't anyone consider how that would make me feel? You people are so wrapped up in yourselves. We're a team, though you wouldn't know it from how I do all the work."

"Duck," Ace said, "shut up. You're starting to sound like Rev."

"Yeah you really need to take a breath once in a while and anyway you got shot and Tech got the needle out of you and brought you back from the dead so you should be thanking us instead of goin' on about how we don't do anything for ya cause that gets old after a while not to mention you shot up the ship with eggs and we busted the airlock getting you back on board so Tech had to levitate the whole ship back all by himself and that wasn't easy let me tell you so just pipe down okay?" Rev delivered this speech from various points all around the room.

Duck's head spun around trying to follow the red-suited bird, and eventually he gave up. "Will someone who speaks English please translate that?" he said to the others.

"You got shot," Tech said. "Rev risked his life going back to pick you up off the rooftop where you fell, and we had to have Slam damage the airlock of the ship to get you back in, not to mention like Rev said, you threw eggs all over the ship."

"And Tech saved your life," Ace said.

Duck turned to look at the coyote. His breathing seemed to be returning to normal. "I think I would remember lobbing eggs all over the ship."

"You were hit with a neural disruptor. It's normal for your short-term memory to suffer minor damage when something like that hits, so I'm not surprised you don't remember the eggs. We had to give you an adreno pill, which is why you feel so hyped up. The pill reverses the effects of the neural disruptor by balancing out the depression of the parasympathetic nervous system with a shock to the sympathetic nervous system." Tech trailed off when he saw Duck's beak hanging loosely open.

"I said, someone who speaks English," he said.

"The guy shot you and you woulda died if Tech hadn't gotten the neural thingy out an' given you that pill," Ace said.

"And I don't remember it because..."

Ace turned to Tech. "Remember the part about getting it out soon enough to prevent brain damage? I don't think it woiked."

"Someone else explain it to him," Tech said. "I need to get started on figuring out why this got through our uniforms' force screens and preparing quicker countermeasures for the next time we run into this guy."

"Next time? So you didn't finish him off?" Duck stared at them.

"We were too concerned with getting you out of there safe," Lexi said.

"Yes. Well." Duck looked around, and finally dropped his head. "Thanks."

"Yer welcome," Ace said. "Let's call Zodavia and report."

"Can you do it without me?" Tech said. "I really want to get started on this."

"Sure," Ace said. "Go ahead."

Tech walked down to his lab, but when he flopped down in his desk chair, he pulled out the sample tube and just stared at it. He could see reddish stains on it, and he thought about how much of that was his fault. Had he been worried about Rev enough that he'd pulled him out too soon, leaving Duck a sitting...well, duck? Had he acted in the best interests of the team? Had his relationship with Rev almost cost Duck his life? They joked about him, but Tech didn't want to get anyone killed. They dispatched opponents with such ease sometimes that it was easy to forget the danger they all put themselves in every time, the need to work together as a team. He turned the sample tube over in his fingers and thought as the metal rattled against the plastic inside.

"Hey cutey how's it goin' down here we reported to Zodavia and we'll probably have to go find this guy but for now he's layin' low so we got the rest of the day off and Duck's in the infirmary getting checked out and Ace and Lexi went off to well you know so I just thought I'd come down here and see if there's anything you need and to say that I thought you were pretty terrific today the way you saved Duck even if he doesn't remember the rest of us sure will and we won't hesitate to remind him believe you me so you think maybe he'll leave us alone now?"

"Thanks," Tech smiled. "I appreciate that. I don't know about Duck. I mean, this is Duck we're talking about. Who knows?" He didn't mean it to come out quite as distant as it did, but the guilt was still weighing on him.

Rev cocked his head and walked around behind him, putting both hands on his shoulders and squeezing. "You okay there is there something wrong anything you wanna talk about?"

He considered it. The strong hands felt good on his tired shoulders, and he wanted to unburden himself further. But he'd only recently felt comfortable with Rev in this new dynamic, and the prospect of introducing guilt into the equation worried him. Would Rev suggest breaking everything off? Would he be upset that Tech was taking things so seriously? Would he say the coyote was worrying too much? Tech wanted to figure out how he felt before broaching the subject with Rev. "Nah," he said. "I'm just trying to figure out this problem."

"Probably best for you if I don't stick around then and distract you huh I got plenty of other stuff I can be working on I guess like maybe going down to the danger room and running drills or playing that game you made me I'm stuck on this one level but I know I can beat it with a little more time and I'm just babbling on right now so I should get going sorry about that." He gave Tech a quick affectionate peck on the top of the head and another squeeze on the shoulders.

"Actually," Tech said, "if you wanted to keep rubbing for just a couple minutes."

"Oh sure thing and I'll shut up so you can concentrate just go ahead and let me know when you want me to stop."

"Thanks." Tech closed his eyes as Rev kneaded his shoulders. "That feels great."

He only took advantage of the roadrunner's generosity for ten minutes or so, because he couldn't work his microscope while he was being massaged, and he needed to look more closely at the weapon. Rev waved cheerfully and then zipped off to the danger room, and Tech opened the sample tube, letting the problem at hand push aside the question of his own actions.

The needle was a fascinating puzzle in and of itself. The nano-circuitry was nothing special, of course, but it was embedded in a polystructural xion matrix that was exceedingly difficult for him to pin down. He tried to measure its energy output or intake, but his results varied so much that he kept throwing them out until he realized that they were matching the intensity of the measuring device, and then the connections snapped together in his head.

"Of course," he murmured, "the polystructural xion matrix senses and initiates a feedback loop based on proximate energy sources and matches them to facilitate intrusion past any protective energy field."

"Does that mean something in English?"

He looked up and blinked to clear his blurry vision. Lexi was looking back down at him. "Where did you come from?"

"I heard you babbling and realized we'd all forgotten you came down here. Are you, like, okay?"

Her pink ears twitched. Tech flicked his own. "I think so. I'm making good progress."

"You want something to eat?"

He waved toward the fridge. "I've got food here."

"Yeah, but you're not eating it."

"It's only been what, an hour?" His stomach growled, warning him that his estimate of time might be off.

She stared at him. "It's been a day and a half. Listen, maybe you better get some rest."

"I'm fine. I just need to run a few more tests."

"But--"

"I'm fine." He bent back to his bench and tried to ignore her.

She sighed. "Tell you what. I'll send Rev down."

That got his attention. "What? Why, uh, I mean, what would he have to say that would change my mind?"

"Oh, Tech." She giggled. "I hear lots of stuff. Don't worry, I think it's cute. Doesn't make a difference to me." She left him bemused and scratching his head, his train of thought completely disrupted.

He'd only just turned himself back to the study of the weapon when he felt two hands on his shoulders and heard the roadrunner's voice in his ear. "Hey cutey Lexi says you haven't actually slept or eaten or anything in a while and she seemed to think I could do something about it so is it true and if it is then you gotta get out of his lab pronto because I am not gonna let you waste away like that."

"I'm fine," Tech said, and just then his stomach growled.

"Hey I'm not Lexi and even I heard that you better eat something cause otherwise you're gonna faint I had an uncle who didn't eat for a week and he passed out in the middle of a meeting at work only they thought he was just sleeping so they left him there for another day before anyone realized what was going on anyway if you really want to solve this problem you need food and rest and I'm gonna make sure you get it got it?" Rev punctuated his patter with squeezes to the coyote's shoulders, which Tech realized were aching again.

"I think Lexi knows." Tech said, leaning back even though he really wanted to continue his research.

"She probably knows a lot of things but I guess you mean about us since she asked me to come down here and talk to you and winked when she said it but she didn't care and I don't think she's gonna be a jerk about it like Duck is and by the way he said something to me last night again but I just said 'next time maybe I'll leave you on the roof' and he shut up so that felt pretty good let me tell you." Rev kept working on his shoulders while he talked. "So what d'you say gonna take a break and get something to eat and get some rest or do I have to take more drastic measures?"

"What drastic measures?" Tech craned his neck around and saw Rev's grin. "You know, coyotes can go a while without eating. I really need to keep working on this a little more. I'm at a really critical--"

He barely saw Rev's movement, but the hands on his shoulders lifted and he heard his fridge door slide open and shut. When he started to say "really" he was lifted and carried through the corridors of the base, and before he finished the word "critical" he was being deposited on a soft bed. He looked around and saw holos of the desert on the wall, cacti on small shelves around the room, a poster of Trick Daly on his basherball bike, a few models of different kinds of aircraft, and a glove and ball lying on the floor. Rev stood over him and dumped the energy bars he'd taken from Tech's fridge on his stomach.

"Now you're gonna eat those while I stand here and watch you and then you're gonna sleep and I'm gonna lock the door yeah I know you can rig the lock and get out but I'm trusting you not to cause you need your strength and that guy hasn't come back yet so we got some time you got that?" He folded his arms and looked sternly down at the coyote.

"Yessir." Tech couldn't help grinning. He unwrapped the first energy bar and ate it, chewing slowly because now that he was lying down on a soft bed, he realized he was pretty tired. "I didn't know you were into airplane models."

Rev glanced over at the models. "I like to do 'em when I'm bored I try to see how long it takes me to do 'em but there haven't been any really interesting ones since the Dragonfly X541 that one was cool it had two sets of wings and three sets of stabilizers and the model had a real working engine I needed to buy a whole new toolset to put the engine together and wow! it was powerful enough to get into orbit and I kinda lost track of it but it was still the coolest thing in a while and it made me wanna ride in the real Dragonfly only they decommissioned the last one two months before the meteor hit so I won't ever get to do that and don't stop eating!"

Tech laughed and finished the second bar. "That's pretty neat," he said. "Did I tell you I got to walk through a Dragonfly?"

Rev's eyes widened. "No you'll have to tell me about it sometime but," here he grinned, "no more tricks to try to stay up you're going to go to sleep and believe me I'm going to check in the lab and if I see you there I'm going to bring you right back here so don't even think about it just get a good night's sleep okay?" He pointed a finger at Tech.

"Sure," Tech said. He yawned, to punctuate the point.

"All right then I'll see ya in the morning or something don't worry about me I'll nap on a couch if I get tired just sleep." He grinned and then darted out, closing the door behind him.

Tech lay back in the bed and inhaled Rev's sharp, familiar scent. It was so nice to be worried over and fussed over, and he actually closed his eyes and yawned again with every intention of going to sleep. He only got up to turn off the light, and found himself standing by the light switch looking down at a cactus. Its sharp spines reminded him of the projectile in the lab, and that reminded him that he'd put Duck in danger, and that part of the reason he had was because of this relationship he had with Rev that was making him feel so good. And that brought back all the guilt, and even though he went back to bed and lay down with the lights off, sleeping after that was out of the question.

Fifteen restless minutes later, he snuck out of the bedroom and made his way up to the lab. He didn't want Rev to worry about him, so he took some of his measurements and diagrams and the notes he'd made on the force fields in their uniforms. He could cross reference them there from his bedroom, and hopefully Rev wouldn't look for him there if the lab was empty.

It was going to be tricky modifying the force fields to reject the weapon's projectiles, and he'd gotten through about two and a half hours of calculations and hypothesizing before the door to his bedroom swooshed open. In the second it took him to look up, the world spun and rushed around him and he found himself lying on Rev's bed again, looking up at an angry roadrunner.

"Come on Tech you promised you'd get some sleep not go sneaking off to your room again what do I gotta do to make you take care of yourself huh?"

"I ate," he protested. "I just couldn't sleep."

Rev sat on the bed next to him. "Why not?"

Tech found himself unsettled by the short question and the concern in Rev's eyes. "I just can't leave a problem like that alone." The roadrunner didn't say anything. "It's a really tricky thing. You know, it almost killed Duck, and it shouldn't have been able to get past the force field. If we're going to take him on again I need to make sure the force fields can stop it so I don't risk anyone's life again."

"You couldn't have known about the device so you couldn't really have known you were risking Duck's life I mean sure we gotta assume we're in danger every time we go out but those force fields are pretty reliable and you can't beat yourself up over that so just relax and get some sleep and tackle it in the morning." Rev put a hand on his stomach.

"No, I mean..." He caught himself, but not in time. Rev tilted his head again, his topknot dipping to the side. "Nothing."

"Hey now that's not gonna fly come on give it up what's eating ya you've been acting all weird since we got back so come clean cutey okay this is me here right?" The roadrunner's fingers rubbed his stomach.

Tech looked up at him. "I feel like...like I called you away too soon. Cause I was worried about you. And I left Duck to get shot at. I should have stuck to the plan."

Rev was quiet, his expression not revealing anything, and Tech felt all the worries come rushing back to him. But when the roadrunner talked, his voice was softer. "Gee Tech I had no idea you were really worried about me I guess I see what's eating ya but you know we're a team and we both looked out for Duck when we had to I really don't think it made that much difference that guy was pretty dangerous and if Duck'd been a little faster he wouldn't have gotten shot no matter what I was doing really what I'm trying to say is thanks thanks a lot for worrying." He leaned over and touched his beak to Tech's muzzle. "But you can stop worrying now so you can get some sleep and I think to make sure you don't sneak out again I'm gonna have to take your uniform off."

"What?" Tech had been enjoying the kiss and the surprising relief he felt from sharing his guilt, and from Rev's sensible reaction to it. Before he had time to react further, Rev's hand was unfastening his pants and then both hands were pulling them down.

"Don't worry I'm not gonna start anything I know you're tired and we'll have time for that later but I feel like if I leave you here you're just gonna get up and go wander around again and I am determined to make sure you get some rest so get those hips up and let me take this uniform off and then you stay here and sleep." Despite his statement, Rev did let one of his hands cup Tech's sheath as he slid the pants down the coyote's hips, but it only lingered there a moment before going back to pull off the lycra pants.

"You don't really--come on, Rev." Tech laughed as the roadrunner pulled his pants over his feet and he felt the warmth of the force field vanish. He looked down at his brown fur and shook his head. "All right, all right." He stripped his shirt off and handed it to Rev, who folded it quickly and stood up.

"Okay now get in bed and get to sleep and I'll be back in about eight or ten hours to check on you and you better not leave this room 'til then or else."

Tech grinned. "Or else what?" He wagged his tail against the bed.

Rev's eyes flicked to the tail and back, and he grinned. "Or else I won't be here when you wake up to make it worth your while to listen to me." He winked, and then walked deliberately to the door and out, closing it behind him.

Tech rolled over onto his stomach, pulling the covers over him and rubbing his bare fur into the soft sheets. He pressed his nose into the pillow, inhaling Rev's scent again, and this time when he closed his eyes, they stayed closed.