Cold Ice and Hot Rods

Part 1

Nosedive Flashblade felt the wind whip through his blonde hair as he rode across the desert on his duckcycle. Exploring different regions of this planet called Earth had become one of his new favorite pastimes since the hockey season ended. Sometimes he could convince his teammates from the Mighty Ducks to join him, but today, he was on his own, exploring the Salt Flats of Utah.

Man, the sun really burns out here, Nosedive thought as he wiped his feathered forehead with his hand. Even after living on Earth for over a year, I'm still a duck from a cold planet. I could really go for some ice right about now.

A diner appeared in the distance, and Nosedive turned towards it. He parked his duckcycle and hurried inside.

"Hey, I'll take whatever you've got that's cold!" he said eagerly when he reached the counter.

A short man with white hair stared back at him in surprise.

"I knew there were aliens out there!" he suddenly exclaimed.

Nosedive sighed.

"Whatever, man, can I have some water or not?"

A lone figure in a booth to the left stood up and cautiously approached them. Nosedive turned and saw that this human had blonde hair, and he wore a white shirt marked by a star with flames.

"Are you a Vandal?" the newcomer asked suspiciously.

"A what?" Nosedive repeated. "Dude, I'm just a very thirsty duck."

The stranger studied him, still hesitating, but after a moment, he seemed to relax.

"Sorry, I've just never seen a duck your size before."

"Then I guess you don't watch hockey very much, do you?" Nosedive scoffed. "We play in Anaheim."

"Vert Wheeler," the young man said as he stuck out his hand. "You'll have to excuse, Zeke. He gets a little excited about aliens."

"That's great, but I'm still thirsty," Nosedive said, starting to feel desperate.

Zeke filled a glass with ice and water for him, and he handed it to Nosedive, who chugged it quickly.

"Thanks man, I'm Nosedive Flashblade. And yeah, I'm an alien, but that doesn't stop me from saving this planet now and then."

Vert started to ask a question, but a strange voice coming from a device on his wrist interrupted him.

"Is that your alien communicator going off again?" Zeke asked.

"No," Vert said quickly. "I told you. It's a high-tech watch from Japan. But it is time for me to be going. It was good to meet you, Nosedive. See you, Zeke!"

Vert quickly hurried out to a car that was parked outside, and Nosedive happened to glance over at the booth where he had been sitting. A wallet lay forgotten on the seat.

"Dude, you forgot your wallet!" Nosedive called as he grabbed it and rushed outside.

But Vert was already driving away in a car at a high speed. Nosedive hopped on his duckcycle and drove off after him. Vert already had a huge lead on him though. It was all Nosedive could do to keep him in sight.

The chase continued until Nosedive saw Vert drive into a garage. Still following him, Nosedive rode in on his duck cycle, but once inside, he saw Vert enter a strange door. Nosedive waited until his chance came, and then he took his duckcycle through the door as well.

He soon found himself, not in an old garage, but in a high-tech room with strange lights that rested below the garage above it. Nosedive climbed off his duck cycle to get a better look, but he was quickly met by several humans in wearing colorful armor.

"Who's the bloke in the costume?" a young man with a British accent asked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Looks like an intruder," a dark-skinned woman said warily.

"Whoa, I'd prefer to think of myself as a good Samaritan," Nosedive said as he raised Vert's wallet. "This guy I followed left this at the diner."

Vert Wheeler appeared from behind the other humans, but he was no longer dressed in a t-shirt. His red armor gave him a more impressive appearance.

"Guess I left in kind of a hurry," he admitted taking the wallet from Nosedive. "But this is supposed to be secret headquarters."

"Hiding your headquarters underground? Already done that, man," Nosedive laughed. "We have one in Anaheim. But you guys need better security."

"A valid point," a strange voice agreed.

Nosedive turned to see a blue alien floating behind them.

"Sage, this is Nosedive from the Mighty Ducks," Vert explained. "He says they also try to save the world."

"I have never heard of your efforts in the multi-verse," Sage said.

"The what-verse?" Nosedive said. "My team and I just try to keep wackos from taking over the world from Anaheim. One of them is a very nasty Saurian overlord."

"I have heard of the Saurians," Sage admitted. "You must be from the planet called Puckworld judging by your anatomy."

"Are you sure he's not a Vandal?" Spinner asked. "I'm not sure he should be down here, seeing all of our stuff. What if he's a spy?"

"He's not a spy," AJ said enthusiastically as he joined the other humans. "He's a hockey player! I saw a couple of the ducks' games on TV. You guys are great!"

"Thanks," Nosedive said. "So what do you guys do down here?"

AJ turned to Vert.

"Can we show him?!"

Nosedive watched as five amazing vehicles raced around a track. These humans had incredible motor skills.

"Dude, I have to try this!" he shouted as he ran for his duckcycle.

After starting it up, he raced out onto the track with the others and fell in beside the human called Zoom on a vehicle called The Chopper. The two began to race each other. One would pull ahead slightly, but then the other would catch up.

"Finally, some real competition," Zoom said with a laugh.

When the race ended at the finish line, both vehicles crossed at the same time.

"If Wing was here, he would love this," Nosedive said as he came to a stop, but then he shook his head. "Well, maybe not, but I love it!"

The other humans, Battle Force 5 – as he had learned they were called, joined him and Zoom. They had explained their mission to him, and Sage had shown him some cool things about the multi-verse that Nosedive had not known.

"So you guys get to protect the multi-verse by battling with these awesome rides," Nosedive said as he looked around. "That's so cool!"

"And their efforts are needed again," Sage said as she came among them. "A new Battle Key has been activated, and Krytus will go after it. He must be stopped."

"Who's Krytus?" Nosedive asked.

"Bad news," Zoom said. "That's what he is."

"Krytus is my twin brother, but he is evil," Sage explained. "He was once imprisoned in the Krypt Zone, but he has been set free to destroy as he wishes."

"The Krypt Zone? Is that anything like dimensional limbo?" Nosedive asked. "Cause that's where our bad guy came from."

He must not get the Battle Key," Sage said, turning to the Battle Force 5.

"He won't if we get to it first," Vert said. "Agura, Sherman, Spinner, Stanford, and Zoom get ready to head to the Battle Zone. A.J. and Tezz, you're on Hub duty!"

They started to disperse to their positions, but Nosedive called out,

"What about me? I'm not used to sitting on the bench for this kind of thing."

"Your vehicle would need an upgrade before you could go," Vert said. "And we need experienced drivers."

Nosedive was about to protest, but AJ called him over to watch the action with him and Tezz.

"I can't be benched already. I'll prove I can do something to help them!" Nosedive said to himself.