She was running as fast as her tired legs could manage. Thick shackles danced around her thin ankles, threatening to trip her. Behind her she could hear the stomping of the monitors as they pursued her. If she could just get to the snowy forest, she'd have a chance. One of the cuffs slapped around her left ankle, making her sprawl into the snow. She cried out, panic taking over her senses. She couldn't be caught; she couldn't be taken back to them.

She stumbled to her feet, ignoring the biting cold of the snow and started running again. She was almost there. She could make it. She was going to make it. Then a slap of metal slammed her in the back and head. She went down hard on a block of ice, the wind knocked out of her. The same metal hand that had slapped her picked her up by the hair making her yell. She was raised to meet those evil mechanical eyes. Inside she knew she had been caught; dread filled her. She hadn't escaped, she had barely been free for ten minutes.

…..

"With barely three minutes left on the clock, we have to wonder if the Mighty Ducks will pull through and score a win tonight!"

Duke tried with some difficulty to block out the announcer's voice booming over the speakers above their heads. Must the humans make a point to say the obvious on everything? As if the fans can't see that the Bears are a hair from winning this game.

"Watch this," Nosedive, the team kid of the ducks was revved. He shot Duke a grin that told the older mallard the kid wasn't going to settle for losing.

Duke readied himself for the inevitable. They were going to win.

...

"Nice maneuver Dive," Wildwing was pulling off his uniform, a slight grin on his beak. "Like we haven't seen that one before."

"Nah, that was something new for the ladies, incase any of them were watching." Nosedive flashed Mallory a smile who snorted.

"What ladies?"

"My secret!" Nosedive snapped. "You got your fan mail and I got mine, mmkay?"

"Yeah, okay." She turned back to her locker.

Amused, the ducks headed down below the Pond, each splitting off to do their thing. Feeling a headache coming on, Duke went to his room, quietly slipping away from the others. He thought he was in the clear until he heard his name called.

"Duke?"

He sighed and turned to see Tanya coming towards him.

"Are you alright?" She looked at him with concern.

"I'm fine, just tired." He started to back away to his room.

"Well, if you need anything, just ask."

"Will do," He paused at his door, "thanks Tanya."

She smiled. "Sure."

…...

She woke, stiff from her head hanging at her chest. She was chained to a steel chair in a small cramped cell. Stretching her beak, she felt the dried blood crack a little.

"Oh good, you're awake."

A tall thin figure marched up to the cell bars, staring down at her with distaste.

"Did you really think you'd get away?"

The reality of her predicament hit her hard. She really had been unsuccessful in her escape. She was back in the clutches of this evil person, and no one was going to help her. A tear slide out of her black eyes; the sensation irritating the black and blue bruises.

"That's right, just cry like the little bitch you are." The figure came forward, leering. "I think your little stunt has to be punished. No food, no water." The person marched away.

Her voice rasping, she managed to get out, "Lucretia."

The figure paused.

"Please."

Lucretia tsked and then laughed. "Screw you." And slammed the door shut.

...

ONE MONTH LATER

Duke woke up to the extremely obnoxious blaring of Tanya's alarm clock two rooms over and down the hall. Being an alien had its uses, especially with being physically stronger than any of the naked, non-beaked creatures on the Earth. However being an alien did not suit well when his exceptional hearing picked up on alarms at four in the morning on the only day that any of the Mighty Ducks had to do what ever they wanted. Which on this particular day Duke wanted to sleep; nothing more, nothing less.

Groaning to himself, he turned over, wishing Tanya would shut the freakin' thing off. Then he realized it wasn't Tanya's alarm but Drake 1.

"Damnit," he growled as he got up.

…..

"Take that lizard lips!" Nosedive was yelling over the noise of shots being fired from both duck and Saurian.

Duke ignored the teenager and focused on not being killed. Wraith was hurling fire ball after fire ball, some getting dangerously close to him and Mallory who happened to be next to him. "Watch out kid!" Duke slammed into her, taking her into a roll with him as the boxes she and he had been behind erupted into a fiery blaze.

"Didn't see that one coming did you ducks?" Siege sneered.

Wildwing grabbed the Saurian in a headlock, "see this coming?" He hissed.

Siege grinned. "No, bet you didn't." He gripped the duck behind the neck and threw him over his head and into the ground. Wildwing let out a 'oof' as he hit the hard cement ground on his back. Cackling, Siege activated his teleporter and disappeared.

"Damnit!" Mallory snapped. "Why is it they always get away!?"

"We'll get them Mallory, Wildwing promised.

"When? When this frickin planet gets toasted by that sleazy bag Saurian?" She kicked a piece of the still burning box, making it sail across the warehouse; it hit two oil drums startling a figure who jumped up and began to run.

"OIY!" Nosedive sprinted after the person before anyone could stop him and pounced on them, driving them into the ground hard. The ducks heard a woman shriek and quickly ran over to the two.

"Dive, come on." Wildwing pulled his brother off the creature huddled on the ground, shaking. He stopped, his hand still on his brother's shoulder, shocked. It was a duck and not just any duck.

"Lucretia?"

The female duck looked like her but her hair wasn't purple, it was a brownish-blonde.

"That traitor!" Mallory started forward but Wildwing blocked her.

"Wait." He looked down at the female duck. Something was telling him this wasn't Lucretia, despite the look-alike. He hunched down to her level, her large doe eyes staring back at him, clearly frightened. "Come. We'll help you." He put a hand out to her.

Instead of taking it, she shied away.

"Come on." He reached out and slowly to not spook her, helped her up. Upon standing her up he saw she wasn't wearing anything but a X-large ragged sweatshirt that she swam in.

As the ducks clustered around the female and eventually led her away from the warehouse, Lucretia stepped out of the shadows.

"Phase Two is complete my Lord. I'll let you know when Phase three has begun."