Loonatics Revamp Rise of the Loonatics Episode 1 (Saved)

Chapter 9

Rev gasped as he woke up, his heart racing at a speed he never thought could be possible. With a ragged breath, he lifted his head from the floor, the memories of what happened earlier flooding in his mind. There was an earthquake, and before he and his little brother were able to evacuate, Rip tripped and hit his head and passed out on the floor, and then Rev fell from his hoverchair and fainted as well. He glanced at said chair, only two feet from him, now on the floor. For some reason the earthquake might have affected the propulsors, maybe even broke them.

The roadrunner was trembling, but for some reason, he knew it wasn't because he was scared. He could feel every inch of his being tingling, like every second some kind of burst of energy occurred in his veins. His heart continued to beat at a maddening pace, so much it almost hurt. Worried, he wondered if it was an after-effect of passing out and if it would stop.
Rev heard someone groan and looked at Rip, whose body began to move. A wave of relief washed over him as he watched him slowly bring himself to his knees; his little brother was alive!
But before he could truly rejoice, Rev heard an ominous cracking sound from above. He raised his eyes toward the ceiling, now fragilized by the catastrophic seism from earlier, and whose fiber-cement boards were threatening to fall. Three of them, all above Rip, began to break and slip from their position. The oldest Runner gasped.

"RIP, WATCH–OUT!" he yelled.

His little brother, still drowsy, only had the time to lift his head and see the ceiling fall in his direction with no time to react.
A burst of energy seized Rev's entire being; before Rip could be buried under the heavy fiber-cement boards, he got on his feet and ran to him at a speed that could not be humanly possible. He grabbed his brother by his waist, and both escaped just in time. The oldest roadrunner nearly tripped as he came to a stop a few feet away, short of breath with the rush of panic but relieved to see Rip look at him back in awe.

"Are–you–okay–Rip?" Rev asked, not realizing something was weird with the way he talked. "Oh–thank–goodness–you–aren't–hurt–badly–because–I–would–have–been–so–so–so–upset–if–something–happened–to–you!"
"R-Rev..." sputtered his brother to get his attention, but it seemed the oldest Runner couldn't stop talking.
"I–have–no–idea–what–just–happened–but–it–seems–there–had–been–an–earthquake–in–the–city–and–judging–by–the–fragilized–structure–of–the–school–it's–clear–it's–not–made–to–resist–those–kind–of–thing–so–anyway–we–should–really–get–out–of–here–and–get–you–checked–just–in–case–you—"
"Rev!" Rip interrupted him before he could say more. "You're... you're...!"
"I'm–what?"
"You're standing!"

Rev blinked, confused before he looked down at his legs. It took him a minute, but when his train of thoughts finally processed what just happened and what was going on now, he was left speechless for a moment.
He ran to save his little brother. And now, he was standing on his two feet; and even if they were weak from all those years of not being able to move, his legs could carry him no problem. He could feel the joints and the muscles – a sensation he had forgotten – and, to be sure he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, he put a hesitant hand on his knee. And he felt it.
A sob escaped his beak and tears of joy gathered in his eyes. Never in his life would he have imagined he would regain the ability to walk, and yet there he was, standing on his two feet like some kind of miracle.

"I..." he hiccupped, tears falling on his cheek. "I-I–can... I–can–walk–again!"

Through his watery eyes, he could see his little brother's face lighten up a little, something he didn't witness for a very long time. There was something between joy and relief flashing in his eyes.

"Y-yeah," Rip said with clear emotion in his voice, "you do...!"
"Oh–boy–oh–boy–oh–boy...!" Rev beamed, even if he was still crying, "I–can–walk! I–can–run! I–can... I–can..."
"You can talk really fast too," Rip pointed out.
"I–do! Oh–wait–what," his big brother stopped on track, finally noticing his way of talking. "Oh–you're–right! I–have–no–idea–why–I–talk–like–that–but–it's–weird–because–it–feels–like–my–speech–doesn't–match–my–thoughts–really–well–like–I'm–processing–everything–at–the–same–time–so–I–don't–really–know–what–I'm–saying–but–speaking–of–fast–did–you–notice–I–ran–to–you–at–a–speed–that–shouldn't–be–possible—"
"Wow, yeah, I noticed, but please dude breathe!" Rip interrupted him once again, worried Rev would go on an endless rant.
"S-sorry," Rev excused himself, trying to go back to a slower pace, but it somehow felt difficult to do so. "I-I have no idea why I'm talking like that... or why I can run super-fast... or–why–I–can–use–my–legs–again–and–I'm–certainly–not–going–to–complain–about–that!"
"Or why your eyes are red now," the youngest brother noticed, frowning.