Loonatics Revamp Rise of the Loonatics Episode 1 (Saved)

Chapter 18

This time, when they walked around the military base, there was no soldier to surround them. It was only the six of them and Colonel Raccoon, going deeper and deeper in the corridors. It could have been worrisome, but now Ace had the Guardian Sword back and the guarantee someone was watching over them and would intervene if something went wrong.
They finally arrived before an elevator. Which was strange, considering the place was supposed to be an underground base. Colonel Raccoon put his hand on the panel beside the metallic door, activating a scanner that analyzed his fingerprints.

"Access granted. Welcome, Colonel Jason Raccoon." a speaker near the elevator voiced, as the doors opened.

It was big enough to fit at least ten persons inside, which was great because Slam took a large portion of the space by himself. When the metallic doors of the elevator closed behind them, the machine asked for their destination:

"Please select a floor."

"Floor 134."

"Confirming ascension to floor number 134."

Ace exchanged a skeptic look with Lexi, who stood beside him. He did not need her telepathy to know she, too, found it strange a supposedly hidden underground base had 134 floors. It was twice as tall as any over buildings in Acmetropolis!

The elevator began its ascension, with everybody inside settling in almost comfortable silence. Ace and the rest of his future team still apprehended what was about to come, and the Colonel's presence still made him feel uneasy, but he knew the worst of the day was behind him. Telling his father off once and for all also felt... good, in a way. He was sad they couldn't separate on better terms, but Nao had to understand his son wouldn't take his disapproval anymore. He had to show him he could stand for himself. Even if it meant tearing their relation further.
The elevator had windows, but all they could see through the glass, for now, were dark walls surrounding them. The only way for them to know how far they were from the ground was the numbers scrolling on the screen just above the door. And they were scrolling fast, meaning this escalator was going up rather quickly. It felt like Ace just had to blink and the number would be gone from 28 to 32. It was rather impressive they couldn't feel the velocity inside.
It still took a moment, but when the number reached 133, to everyone's confusion except the Colonel's, the elevator stopped.

"What's goin' on?" Duck asked worriedly. "Is it malfunctioning?

"No," the middle-aged raccoon answered calmly. "Just wait for a moment."

So they did. Thankfully, it didn't take long before the machine spoke again:

"Activating electromagnetic field; continuing ascension."

Little dots on the sides of the lift lighten up, maybe confirming something had been activated. The elevator continued to go up again. Suddenly, lights filtered inside the small space; it came from the windows, and Ace could see through the glass they were not enclosed anymore. They were outside, and the light was coming from the setting sun.
Surrounded by what he assumed was the electromagnetic field, the elevator hovered above a city, keeping a steady pace to reach its destination. The six young adults looked at the panorama spreading before their eyes, and their faces lightened up as they realized they knew this place...

"But... It's Acmetropolis!" Lexi exclaimed.

Indeed, those buildings could only belong to their dear city. From there they could see Acme University and the remnants of what used to be the sciences faculty, where they carried out their first rescue mission as a team. They recognized the hills surrounding the city, where Ace's house was located, as well as the coasts and the blue sea where, if they looked closely, they could distinguish half of the meteorite standing above the water.