"Hey booby, what's happening?" Phil Palmfeather greeted in a slick
voice as he answered his office phone, which had been mercilessly ringing
as shrilly as possible. The rather corpulent gentleman sat in a well-
furnished office, the golf clubs hidden from view. He smiled into the
phone; his large and soft chin was wearing the classic smile he used, as it
had become his own personal trademark. He had heard that the customer could
hear a smile in the voice if he answered it with a smile, and took this to
be sacred, no matter how agitated he was. He idly ran a finger through the
small brown ponytail at the back of his head.
"This is Mr. Palmfeather correct?" Another man's voice asked. It sounded like a stoic, crisp tenor.
"Yeah, or it's not Tuesday, booby," Phil chortled back, reaching for his coffee and leaning his feet back on his neat desk. He took a sip.
"Good, Mr. Palmfeather. I don't know if you've heard of me, but I am Mr. Jack Diggory, the agent of EbonyAmber," the man said, introducing himself.
"Pleasure," Phil said, listening, looking through the resources in his mind. EbonyAmber sounded vaguely familiar. It could have constituted a deja vu feeling… a funny sensation that tickled the back of his mind.
"Now, EbonyAmber hasn't done anything public in a while, so I would like to make an offer to you for mutual advantage," Diggory continued.
"Sure, let's do lunch and heckle it out," Phil automatically suggested. Doing business over lunch was always a plus.
"I was just about to offer- my treat," Diggory laughed. "Shall I meet you at Black Angus then?"
"Excellent place, booby," Phil smiled, accepting the free lunch.
"Great," Diggory said. "I'll meet you there in an hour, alright?"
"Great, until then. Hasta la Vista, Booby," Phil said, and hung up before doing a quick look up in his 'entertainment' ads.
'EbonyAmber… EbonyAmber…' he thought, searching before he came across an ad for one of her CDs. He then made a few calls, learning that just the year before, she had been one of the hottest, most versatile young artists who composed most of her music. Her manager wanted to hook a mutual publicity thing with His Ducks!
'Phil, you're going to make a fortune,' he told himself ecstatically, opening a closet in his office to reveal more of his blue suits, dress shirts and purple ties with orange bursts. He then selected one and changed into it, deciding to be clean and tidy. He combed his hair, put it in its usual ponytail then paced, waiting for time to hurry.
*~
Phil sat down in a booth a hostess escorted him to. The restaurant wasn't very crowded: always a good thing. No loud prattle to shout over; they could schmooze in peace. He drummed his fingers against the table impatiently, looking around, not quite knowing whom he was expecting. His stomach growled impatiently as a waitress carrying one of the house specials walked past. It smelled rich of beef and sauce.
'Patience' he thought, patting his paunch belly subtly, hoping it would comply to wait a half hour more. He then went back to drumming on the table to distract himself from concentrating on his hunger pains.
"Are you Mr. Palmfeather?" A familiar voice asked hopefully.
"Sure am," Phil said, looking up. A clean-shaven, light brown-haired, thin man stood before him in slacks and a royal blue shirt with matching tie. They complemented his eyes.
"Hi, I'm Jack Diggory," he said, extending his hand. Phil shook it vigorously, greeting Jack with a wide smile.
"Booby! Have a seat; we've got business to do!" Phil gestured before sitting down and folding his hands. "Now, what kind of mutual publicity did you have in mind?"
"Well," Jack began, but was interrupted when the waitress came up, much to Phil's aggravation.
"Welcome to Black Angus. My name's Marie. May I start you off with something to drink?"
"Coffee, regular, please," Jack said and Phil said the same. Marie excused herself to retrieve the coffees. In her absence, Phil pounced back on schmoozing.
"Okay, Booby, back to publicity," Phil said, sounding crisp and genial.
"Ebony hasn't been active in a while, but as you probably know, she's been big in the past-"
"Huge!" Phil agreed, bluffing and bluffing well.
"You are the Anaheim Mighty Ducks manager, so I was thinking that, even though you're big enough as it is," Jack started.
'Nice, he's done research,' Phil thought, studying Jack's negotiation.
"I was thinking Ebony could attract more fans for both you and her by singing the national anthem at every game for the week, then entertaining at half time shows—you know, in between period times. Probably after practice and a little before games too."
"Nice, but what do we have to do?" Phil asked, looking for catches.
"Only room and board," Jack replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "That's it."
"So she'll help the ducks attract her fans and help entertain duck fans. I like it. She'll sing a bit before, the national anthem, a song in between second and third period, then a number after the game if the ducks win, so the fans won't up and leave, having seen her."
"Fair enough," Jack smiled. "Now I figure we'll split the earnings seventy-five (that's you) to twenty-five (that goes to Ebony), for a week's worth of games total. Fair as well?"
"Booby, you're cheating yourself, but… as they're your terms, we accept," Phil said, feeling triumphant. "So we've got to figure out where she'll live for a week's worth of games. Tell ya what; gimme your card, and I'll talk to the guys about Eb staying at the pond for a while. I figure 'bout two weeks. Whaddiya say?" Phil asked, smirking slightly.
"Perfect," Jack said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his card carrier. He took one out and handed it to Phil who put it in his breast pocket.
"Now, how about some grub, booby?" Phil asked, amiably. "After all, we didn't come here JUST to do business." A catchy song came on the radio, full of life and energy with a touch of oriental feel.
"This is Ebony," Jack said, watching Phil's fingers tap to the beat. Phil smiled.
'This is going to be good,' he thought.
*~
Nosedive Flashblade walked into Captain Comics, greeting Thrash and Mookie with a high five (or four, in his case).
"Yes! Watch out kiddies, the Divester's here! Come to Papa, my little bodacious bookies!" Dive cooed walking straight to the comics. For a seventeen year old, Dive was slightly shorter than most, coming in at five feet, seven inches. His shoulder length blond hair tickled his necked as he skimmed through the latest comics. He picked a minor one up and squinted at miniscule writing. He brought it so close it was practically resting upon the brown patch on his beak.
"Yo, Dive, we got a store for ya back here. Dude, first of the line," Thrash grinned, as Dive was their best customer as well as their friend. The yellow duck turned to face his friend. Thrash was a grungy type of teen, with twinkling eyes and wild brown hair tied back in a pony tail with earrings.
"Yeah, like, we're not expecting a shipment of these until, like, next week," Mookie added, grinning. She was no exception to the phrase "rebellious teenager" with her purple Mohawk and leather jacket.
"Wicked cool!" Nosedive exclaimed.
"And Dude, didja hear the rumor about EbonyAmber?" Thrash continued.
"Like, not again!" Mookie whined.
"What rumor? She totally vanished off the face of this planet," Dive said, looking at him.
"He's, like, said this twenty billion times today," Mookie said miserably.
"Chill, Mook-ster. Obviously, Dive hasn't heard," Thrash said importantly, then turned to Dive. "EbonyAmber's back, dude. They say she's been working on it in top secret."
"You mean, a new album?" Dive asked, excitedly.
"Like, duh!" Mookie said, caught up in the enthusiasm.
"And, she's gonna be starting her tour right here in Anaheim! Does that not totally rock?" Thrash said.
"When's she coming?" Dive asked.
"Next month is when she starts tour," Thrash said a little disappointedly. "But at least we know the babe's alive."
"You going to one of her concerts?" Dive asked, hugging his comics.
"First thing when I'm able," Thrash said. Mookie cleared her throat. "With the Mook-ster of course. D'ya want us to pick up a ticket for ya?"
"Can't," Dive said dejectedly. "Bro's gonna make me practice, or I'd have to save the world, or something." Of course Nosedive was referring to his brother Wildwing, the leader of the Mighty Ducks. Even then, a scowling image of Wildwing, tall and overpowering (the dude was… like six foot one) popped into Nosedive's head. He could even hear what Wing would say; he practically had memorized the precise way Wing's off-white feathers would move: 'Sorry Dive, but you can't go to a concert. You've got too many responsibilities too important to just drop so you could run around town with your friends. You do that practically everyday. You should keep the most important priorities first… Dragaunus, Anaheim, and hockey games.' Just imagining Wing saying that made Nosedive really want to smack his brother one.
"Aw, Man, that bites," Thrash said sympathetically. "Well, let us know if you can, dude."
"A.S.A.P., kiddies," Dive said, but doubted it. He walked across the street, after buying his comics. He looked around. No adds for EbonyAmber. It would be SO cool if Ebony were giving concerts in his area. It would be twice as cool if he could go to one.
He entered the pond, then the locker-room. Entering the secret code in the panel, he waited for the elevator and descended into the Ducks' home base.
Walking along the halls, he entered his living quarters. Setting his comics down, he looked in his CD rack for EbonyAmber, Ice Eyes, which was her second album. Placing it in his CD player and picking up the top comic, he waited for the CD to start.
Soon, her sweet voice wafted over him, strong and clear, while rhythm pulsed and moved him. He set down his comic. The thing about EbonyAmber was her music was so good and so catchy, he couldn't truly read.
He liked her because she did tons of different styles. She had oriental, Celtic, dance, pop, rock, even classical. She took care to weave anything and everything into her music, but was fresh and clean about it.
Not to mention, she was hot. She was a gray-eyed young adult, 19 was her age when Ice Eyes came out. Her long auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, but the photograph concentrated on her gray eyes, tinted with blue. Her eyes in the photo were intense, thus, Ice Eyes was named.
"Dance," the CD voice whispered, before her voice vocalized, in a way that the effect was as though a wave had crashed over him. The pace then quickened, as it was a dance number.
"Nosedive!!!" A voice crashed, sending the song into discord. Nosedive jumped, and turned the music down, facing the intruder. He recognized her, and fumed.
"Gees, Mallory, couldn't you wait until the end of the song?" Dive demanded.
"Wildwing wants us to meet at the rink," Mallory told him with a touch of irritation to her voice. "Phil has something to tell us." At first glance, the five foot three duck wasn't exactly intimidating. The shoulder- length red hair crowned a feminine smile, and pretty eyes. Not to mention how short she was. She was the tiniest of the team. But looks could be deceiving.
Mallory McMallard was the martial arts expert along with military weapons maniac. She was a Mighty Duck all right, with the attitude to match. One taste of her temper and a touch of common sense would prove this Duck was not to be trifled with. Nosedive didn't have enough common sense and knew just about all the loopholes there were to avoid getting a pounding from Mallory.
The red head then turned and walked down the hall. With a sigh, Nosedive turned off Ebony and walked irritably to the rink where he saw the rest of the team assembled. They were all in casual gear, and practice wasn't for another hour.
"I wonder what it is this time," Duke said, leaning against the glass which bordered the rink.
The cocky ex-jewel thief called Duke L'Orange looked almost lazy standing up against the glass like that. His gray feathers stood out against the whiteness of the ice, in fact the only thing that could have possibly blended was the white strip coloring his plumage, which fell gracefully parallel to his beak, which had a chip on the left side.
His good eye grinned wryly, while the cybernetic red dot in his eye patch which was his other eye would have remained emotionless hadn't his other brow given it the cocky look.
"Ah, probably another publicity stunt," Tanya said, then heaved a sigh, greeting Nosedive with a wave. He smiled back at the tall female… she dwarfed him only by an inch, which he was certain he'd out grow.
Her rose-colored glasses glinted slightly under the lights of the rink. Her blonde hair, which stuck straight up, kind of like the bride of Frankenstein, complemented her yellow feathers, however the ends of it drooped back down. And Tanya Vanderflock was in no means similar to the Bride, because, although she was usually crossed with him (who wouldn't be?) she normally had a pleasant disposition, and was endlessly active, unlike her voice, which sounded like she had a head cold… that normally betrayed her exterior.
Tanya was bright… did he think bright? She was a genius with technology… who else could have whipped up Drake One, the super computer, crime tracker, video and DVD player and Sega Saturn in one?
Grin walked into the rink, silent as always. He was huge, for a duck, about seven feet, and was very, very strong. As Phil once said to Klegghorn, he could bend steel by looking at it. But Dive knew Grin Hardwing to be far from barbaric. In fact he was heavily into Tae Quack Do, a very "Zen" like practice. He, like Duke stood out against the ice with his lighter gray feathers and single black ponytail, which was pretty much the only hair he had.
"Hey Grinster," Nosedive greeted. Mallory put on her skates and did laps while waiting for Phil.
Wildwing Flashblade then entered and looked around. Nosedive looked at his tall, older brother, the mask of Drake Ducaine in its usual perch on his face in the form of the white goalie mask. His few stray feathers for hair gracefully topped the exquisite structure.
"Well," Wildwing said, glancing at his wristwatch. "We're all here, Phil isn't."
"What a surprise," Mallory quipped from the ice.
"Does that mean I can go back to Ebony now?" Nosedive asked hopefully.
"Sorry to disappoint you, baby brother," Wildwing smiled. "We'll simply wait for Phil, wherever he is." He walked onto the ice with Duke, joining Mallory in taking laps.
"Man, this is totally bogus," Nosedive fumed, following Grin to the skate room and grabbing his pair. He quickly laced them up before jumping on to the ice. He took out his frustration with skating. Wildwing paused, watching his brother skate his anger. 'Poor kid,' he thought. 'Dive doesn't really have a chance to himself. There's always so much to do.' He reflected on Dive a little longer. It was hard on Wildwing to be the leader and the parent. He always missed the days back home where he could do whatever he wanted and nobody would care. Those days were on Puck World.
'Those were the days back at home…' he thought. 'Before Dragaunus.' He looked up as a familiar
"Boobies!" echoed through the stadium. The team looked up as Phil floated along the aisle to them.
"Uh oh…" Duke muttered.
"Another publicity stunt," Tanya agreed.
"Better, Boobies, better," Phil corrected. "I've been doing a little negotiating. We're going to rack up our popularity. We're going to have a famous singer come here and sing for the fans before you play. We'll get to keep seventy five percent out of all earnings. The only problem is, she's got to stay at the pond." A large round of protests reached his ears.
"Phil, the base!"
"She's got to live here?"
"You're off the deep end!"
"Phil, we can't show the base to just 'anybody'!" Wildwing said pointedly. "We do have to fight Dragaunus, you know."
"Well then, I'll just call up Ebony's manager and say she can't come," Phil said, reaching for his cell, knowing that someone would take the bait.
"Whoa!" Nosedive said, instantly perking. It couldn't be… could it? "Ebony? EbonyAmber by chance?"
"You got it, babe," Phil said. Nosedive fell. Literally. The other ducks stared at him, sprawled across the ice in a state of ecstatic shock.
"Y-you mean EbonyAmber's coming here?" he asked weakly.
"Was," Phil corrected, reaching for his card. "The guys won't let her, so I'll have to cancel it."
"N-No, no, no, no, guys, you can't do this to me!" Dive whined.
"What's this Ebony to you?" Mallory asked. Dive stared at her.
"She's the Colossus of the Colossal! She's huge! You have to have heard her! Please, Wing! Ya got to let her, please, please, please, please, please??"
"I can't Dive, we've got priorities to worry about," Wildwing said, shaking his head.
"Phil! Put down that phone!" Dive ordered. "Can't you put a confidentiality contract in there, Phil?" Nosedive begged.
"Just because they've signed a contract doesn't mean they'll abide by it," Duke told Nosedive gently. "And once it's out, it's out."
"Can't… can't we have her just stay on the living quarters deck?" Nosedive pleaded.
"We couldn't guarantee she'd stay there," Mallory pointed out. It was almost alarming to her to see Nosedive getting riled up about this Ebony person… and he was beyond his normal riled.
"Yeah-huh! We can put codes. C'mon guys, please! She's my idol!" Nosedive pleaded. 'That'll explain why,' Mallory thought.
"I can have confidentiality contracts written up," Phil said. "And I've met her. Personally I think she's beyond trustworthy." At that, the team looked a little skeptical. "What??" Phil asked, looking at their faces.
"She can have my quarters, just pleeeeeeeaaaaaase???????" Nosedive begged. Wildwing considered it very carefully.
"How long will we have her for?" He asked, his voice cold, not a good sign to Nosedive.
"Two weeks," Phil replied, trying hard not to laugh at Nosedive's very pleading eyes. Wildwing sighed.
"Mallory or Tanya, will either of you mind sharing your quarters with her? I want to keep her under strict surveillance," Wilding asked.
"Negative," Mallory said. "If she's going to share a room, mine is open."
"I think I'd keep her up," Tanya said. "So she'd be better off rooming with Mallory."
"Don't you dare mutilate her, Mallory," Nosedive warned.
"Shut your beak," she retorted. "A military commando should always be alert."
"Guys, settle down," Wildwing said. "Phil, write up a strict discretion contract." Nosedive couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes! She's staying? You rock, Bro!" He yelled before skating a victory lap.
"I don't like it," Wildwing said. "But it's two weeks, and Dragaunus hasn't been doing anything out of the norm, so work should be light."
"That's what I don't like," Duke countered. "He could be cooking something pretty big."
"We'll worry about that when the time comes, but for right now, let's just see what this EbonyAmber is like," he said and watched Dive circle with amusement before calling out, "Team! Practice!"
"She'll be here tomorrow, boobies!" Phil called, dialing Jack Diggory's number to confirm the deal.
*~
"This is Mr. Palmfeather correct?" Another man's voice asked. It sounded like a stoic, crisp tenor.
"Yeah, or it's not Tuesday, booby," Phil chortled back, reaching for his coffee and leaning his feet back on his neat desk. He took a sip.
"Good, Mr. Palmfeather. I don't know if you've heard of me, but I am Mr. Jack Diggory, the agent of EbonyAmber," the man said, introducing himself.
"Pleasure," Phil said, listening, looking through the resources in his mind. EbonyAmber sounded vaguely familiar. It could have constituted a deja vu feeling… a funny sensation that tickled the back of his mind.
"Now, EbonyAmber hasn't done anything public in a while, so I would like to make an offer to you for mutual advantage," Diggory continued.
"Sure, let's do lunch and heckle it out," Phil automatically suggested. Doing business over lunch was always a plus.
"I was just about to offer- my treat," Diggory laughed. "Shall I meet you at Black Angus then?"
"Excellent place, booby," Phil smiled, accepting the free lunch.
"Great," Diggory said. "I'll meet you there in an hour, alright?"
"Great, until then. Hasta la Vista, Booby," Phil said, and hung up before doing a quick look up in his 'entertainment' ads.
'EbonyAmber… EbonyAmber…' he thought, searching before he came across an ad for one of her CDs. He then made a few calls, learning that just the year before, she had been one of the hottest, most versatile young artists who composed most of her music. Her manager wanted to hook a mutual publicity thing with His Ducks!
'Phil, you're going to make a fortune,' he told himself ecstatically, opening a closet in his office to reveal more of his blue suits, dress shirts and purple ties with orange bursts. He then selected one and changed into it, deciding to be clean and tidy. He combed his hair, put it in its usual ponytail then paced, waiting for time to hurry.
*~
Phil sat down in a booth a hostess escorted him to. The restaurant wasn't very crowded: always a good thing. No loud prattle to shout over; they could schmooze in peace. He drummed his fingers against the table impatiently, looking around, not quite knowing whom he was expecting. His stomach growled impatiently as a waitress carrying one of the house specials walked past. It smelled rich of beef and sauce.
'Patience' he thought, patting his paunch belly subtly, hoping it would comply to wait a half hour more. He then went back to drumming on the table to distract himself from concentrating on his hunger pains.
"Are you Mr. Palmfeather?" A familiar voice asked hopefully.
"Sure am," Phil said, looking up. A clean-shaven, light brown-haired, thin man stood before him in slacks and a royal blue shirt with matching tie. They complemented his eyes.
"Hi, I'm Jack Diggory," he said, extending his hand. Phil shook it vigorously, greeting Jack with a wide smile.
"Booby! Have a seat; we've got business to do!" Phil gestured before sitting down and folding his hands. "Now, what kind of mutual publicity did you have in mind?"
"Well," Jack began, but was interrupted when the waitress came up, much to Phil's aggravation.
"Welcome to Black Angus. My name's Marie. May I start you off with something to drink?"
"Coffee, regular, please," Jack said and Phil said the same. Marie excused herself to retrieve the coffees. In her absence, Phil pounced back on schmoozing.
"Okay, Booby, back to publicity," Phil said, sounding crisp and genial.
"Ebony hasn't been active in a while, but as you probably know, she's been big in the past-"
"Huge!" Phil agreed, bluffing and bluffing well.
"You are the Anaheim Mighty Ducks manager, so I was thinking that, even though you're big enough as it is," Jack started.
'Nice, he's done research,' Phil thought, studying Jack's negotiation.
"I was thinking Ebony could attract more fans for both you and her by singing the national anthem at every game for the week, then entertaining at half time shows—you know, in between period times. Probably after practice and a little before games too."
"Nice, but what do we have to do?" Phil asked, looking for catches.
"Only room and board," Jack replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "That's it."
"So she'll help the ducks attract her fans and help entertain duck fans. I like it. She'll sing a bit before, the national anthem, a song in between second and third period, then a number after the game if the ducks win, so the fans won't up and leave, having seen her."
"Fair enough," Jack smiled. "Now I figure we'll split the earnings seventy-five (that's you) to twenty-five (that goes to Ebony), for a week's worth of games total. Fair as well?"
"Booby, you're cheating yourself, but… as they're your terms, we accept," Phil said, feeling triumphant. "So we've got to figure out where she'll live for a week's worth of games. Tell ya what; gimme your card, and I'll talk to the guys about Eb staying at the pond for a while. I figure 'bout two weeks. Whaddiya say?" Phil asked, smirking slightly.
"Perfect," Jack said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his card carrier. He took one out and handed it to Phil who put it in his breast pocket.
"Now, how about some grub, booby?" Phil asked, amiably. "After all, we didn't come here JUST to do business." A catchy song came on the radio, full of life and energy with a touch of oriental feel.
"This is Ebony," Jack said, watching Phil's fingers tap to the beat. Phil smiled.
'This is going to be good,' he thought.
*~
Nosedive Flashblade walked into Captain Comics, greeting Thrash and Mookie with a high five (or four, in his case).
"Yes! Watch out kiddies, the Divester's here! Come to Papa, my little bodacious bookies!" Dive cooed walking straight to the comics. For a seventeen year old, Dive was slightly shorter than most, coming in at five feet, seven inches. His shoulder length blond hair tickled his necked as he skimmed through the latest comics. He picked a minor one up and squinted at miniscule writing. He brought it so close it was practically resting upon the brown patch on his beak.
"Yo, Dive, we got a store for ya back here. Dude, first of the line," Thrash grinned, as Dive was their best customer as well as their friend. The yellow duck turned to face his friend. Thrash was a grungy type of teen, with twinkling eyes and wild brown hair tied back in a pony tail with earrings.
"Yeah, like, we're not expecting a shipment of these until, like, next week," Mookie added, grinning. She was no exception to the phrase "rebellious teenager" with her purple Mohawk and leather jacket.
"Wicked cool!" Nosedive exclaimed.
"And Dude, didja hear the rumor about EbonyAmber?" Thrash continued.
"Like, not again!" Mookie whined.
"What rumor? She totally vanished off the face of this planet," Dive said, looking at him.
"He's, like, said this twenty billion times today," Mookie said miserably.
"Chill, Mook-ster. Obviously, Dive hasn't heard," Thrash said importantly, then turned to Dive. "EbonyAmber's back, dude. They say she's been working on it in top secret."
"You mean, a new album?" Dive asked, excitedly.
"Like, duh!" Mookie said, caught up in the enthusiasm.
"And, she's gonna be starting her tour right here in Anaheim! Does that not totally rock?" Thrash said.
"When's she coming?" Dive asked.
"Next month is when she starts tour," Thrash said a little disappointedly. "But at least we know the babe's alive."
"You going to one of her concerts?" Dive asked, hugging his comics.
"First thing when I'm able," Thrash said. Mookie cleared her throat. "With the Mook-ster of course. D'ya want us to pick up a ticket for ya?"
"Can't," Dive said dejectedly. "Bro's gonna make me practice, or I'd have to save the world, or something." Of course Nosedive was referring to his brother Wildwing, the leader of the Mighty Ducks. Even then, a scowling image of Wildwing, tall and overpowering (the dude was… like six foot one) popped into Nosedive's head. He could even hear what Wing would say; he practically had memorized the precise way Wing's off-white feathers would move: 'Sorry Dive, but you can't go to a concert. You've got too many responsibilities too important to just drop so you could run around town with your friends. You do that practically everyday. You should keep the most important priorities first… Dragaunus, Anaheim, and hockey games.' Just imagining Wing saying that made Nosedive really want to smack his brother one.
"Aw, Man, that bites," Thrash said sympathetically. "Well, let us know if you can, dude."
"A.S.A.P., kiddies," Dive said, but doubted it. He walked across the street, after buying his comics. He looked around. No adds for EbonyAmber. It would be SO cool if Ebony were giving concerts in his area. It would be twice as cool if he could go to one.
He entered the pond, then the locker-room. Entering the secret code in the panel, he waited for the elevator and descended into the Ducks' home base.
Walking along the halls, he entered his living quarters. Setting his comics down, he looked in his CD rack for EbonyAmber, Ice Eyes, which was her second album. Placing it in his CD player and picking up the top comic, he waited for the CD to start.
Soon, her sweet voice wafted over him, strong and clear, while rhythm pulsed and moved him. He set down his comic. The thing about EbonyAmber was her music was so good and so catchy, he couldn't truly read.
He liked her because she did tons of different styles. She had oriental, Celtic, dance, pop, rock, even classical. She took care to weave anything and everything into her music, but was fresh and clean about it.
Not to mention, she was hot. She was a gray-eyed young adult, 19 was her age when Ice Eyes came out. Her long auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, but the photograph concentrated on her gray eyes, tinted with blue. Her eyes in the photo were intense, thus, Ice Eyes was named.
"Dance," the CD voice whispered, before her voice vocalized, in a way that the effect was as though a wave had crashed over him. The pace then quickened, as it was a dance number.
"Nosedive!!!" A voice crashed, sending the song into discord. Nosedive jumped, and turned the music down, facing the intruder. He recognized her, and fumed.
"Gees, Mallory, couldn't you wait until the end of the song?" Dive demanded.
"Wildwing wants us to meet at the rink," Mallory told him with a touch of irritation to her voice. "Phil has something to tell us." At first glance, the five foot three duck wasn't exactly intimidating. The shoulder- length red hair crowned a feminine smile, and pretty eyes. Not to mention how short she was. She was the tiniest of the team. But looks could be deceiving.
Mallory McMallard was the martial arts expert along with military weapons maniac. She was a Mighty Duck all right, with the attitude to match. One taste of her temper and a touch of common sense would prove this Duck was not to be trifled with. Nosedive didn't have enough common sense and knew just about all the loopholes there were to avoid getting a pounding from Mallory.
The red head then turned and walked down the hall. With a sigh, Nosedive turned off Ebony and walked irritably to the rink where he saw the rest of the team assembled. They were all in casual gear, and practice wasn't for another hour.
"I wonder what it is this time," Duke said, leaning against the glass which bordered the rink.
The cocky ex-jewel thief called Duke L'Orange looked almost lazy standing up against the glass like that. His gray feathers stood out against the whiteness of the ice, in fact the only thing that could have possibly blended was the white strip coloring his plumage, which fell gracefully parallel to his beak, which had a chip on the left side.
His good eye grinned wryly, while the cybernetic red dot in his eye patch which was his other eye would have remained emotionless hadn't his other brow given it the cocky look.
"Ah, probably another publicity stunt," Tanya said, then heaved a sigh, greeting Nosedive with a wave. He smiled back at the tall female… she dwarfed him only by an inch, which he was certain he'd out grow.
Her rose-colored glasses glinted slightly under the lights of the rink. Her blonde hair, which stuck straight up, kind of like the bride of Frankenstein, complemented her yellow feathers, however the ends of it drooped back down. And Tanya Vanderflock was in no means similar to the Bride, because, although she was usually crossed with him (who wouldn't be?) she normally had a pleasant disposition, and was endlessly active, unlike her voice, which sounded like she had a head cold… that normally betrayed her exterior.
Tanya was bright… did he think bright? She was a genius with technology… who else could have whipped up Drake One, the super computer, crime tracker, video and DVD player and Sega Saturn in one?
Grin walked into the rink, silent as always. He was huge, for a duck, about seven feet, and was very, very strong. As Phil once said to Klegghorn, he could bend steel by looking at it. But Dive knew Grin Hardwing to be far from barbaric. In fact he was heavily into Tae Quack Do, a very "Zen" like practice. He, like Duke stood out against the ice with his lighter gray feathers and single black ponytail, which was pretty much the only hair he had.
"Hey Grinster," Nosedive greeted. Mallory put on her skates and did laps while waiting for Phil.
Wildwing Flashblade then entered and looked around. Nosedive looked at his tall, older brother, the mask of Drake Ducaine in its usual perch on his face in the form of the white goalie mask. His few stray feathers for hair gracefully topped the exquisite structure.
"Well," Wildwing said, glancing at his wristwatch. "We're all here, Phil isn't."
"What a surprise," Mallory quipped from the ice.
"Does that mean I can go back to Ebony now?" Nosedive asked hopefully.
"Sorry to disappoint you, baby brother," Wildwing smiled. "We'll simply wait for Phil, wherever he is." He walked onto the ice with Duke, joining Mallory in taking laps.
"Man, this is totally bogus," Nosedive fumed, following Grin to the skate room and grabbing his pair. He quickly laced them up before jumping on to the ice. He took out his frustration with skating. Wildwing paused, watching his brother skate his anger. 'Poor kid,' he thought. 'Dive doesn't really have a chance to himself. There's always so much to do.' He reflected on Dive a little longer. It was hard on Wildwing to be the leader and the parent. He always missed the days back home where he could do whatever he wanted and nobody would care. Those days were on Puck World.
'Those were the days back at home…' he thought. 'Before Dragaunus.' He looked up as a familiar
"Boobies!" echoed through the stadium. The team looked up as Phil floated along the aisle to them.
"Uh oh…" Duke muttered.
"Another publicity stunt," Tanya agreed.
"Better, Boobies, better," Phil corrected. "I've been doing a little negotiating. We're going to rack up our popularity. We're going to have a famous singer come here and sing for the fans before you play. We'll get to keep seventy five percent out of all earnings. The only problem is, she's got to stay at the pond." A large round of protests reached his ears.
"Phil, the base!"
"She's got to live here?"
"You're off the deep end!"
"Phil, we can't show the base to just 'anybody'!" Wildwing said pointedly. "We do have to fight Dragaunus, you know."
"Well then, I'll just call up Ebony's manager and say she can't come," Phil said, reaching for his cell, knowing that someone would take the bait.
"Whoa!" Nosedive said, instantly perking. It couldn't be… could it? "Ebony? EbonyAmber by chance?"
"You got it, babe," Phil said. Nosedive fell. Literally. The other ducks stared at him, sprawled across the ice in a state of ecstatic shock.
"Y-you mean EbonyAmber's coming here?" he asked weakly.
"Was," Phil corrected, reaching for his card. "The guys won't let her, so I'll have to cancel it."
"N-No, no, no, no, guys, you can't do this to me!" Dive whined.
"What's this Ebony to you?" Mallory asked. Dive stared at her.
"She's the Colossus of the Colossal! She's huge! You have to have heard her! Please, Wing! Ya got to let her, please, please, please, please, please??"
"I can't Dive, we've got priorities to worry about," Wildwing said, shaking his head.
"Phil! Put down that phone!" Dive ordered. "Can't you put a confidentiality contract in there, Phil?" Nosedive begged.
"Just because they've signed a contract doesn't mean they'll abide by it," Duke told Nosedive gently. "And once it's out, it's out."
"Can't… can't we have her just stay on the living quarters deck?" Nosedive pleaded.
"We couldn't guarantee she'd stay there," Mallory pointed out. It was almost alarming to her to see Nosedive getting riled up about this Ebony person… and he was beyond his normal riled.
"Yeah-huh! We can put codes. C'mon guys, please! She's my idol!" Nosedive pleaded. 'That'll explain why,' Mallory thought.
"I can have confidentiality contracts written up," Phil said. "And I've met her. Personally I think she's beyond trustworthy." At that, the team looked a little skeptical. "What??" Phil asked, looking at their faces.
"She can have my quarters, just pleeeeeeeaaaaaase???????" Nosedive begged. Wildwing considered it very carefully.
"How long will we have her for?" He asked, his voice cold, not a good sign to Nosedive.
"Two weeks," Phil replied, trying hard not to laugh at Nosedive's very pleading eyes. Wildwing sighed.
"Mallory or Tanya, will either of you mind sharing your quarters with her? I want to keep her under strict surveillance," Wilding asked.
"Negative," Mallory said. "If she's going to share a room, mine is open."
"I think I'd keep her up," Tanya said. "So she'd be better off rooming with Mallory."
"Don't you dare mutilate her, Mallory," Nosedive warned.
"Shut your beak," she retorted. "A military commando should always be alert."
"Guys, settle down," Wildwing said. "Phil, write up a strict discretion contract." Nosedive couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes! She's staying? You rock, Bro!" He yelled before skating a victory lap.
"I don't like it," Wildwing said. "But it's two weeks, and Dragaunus hasn't been doing anything out of the norm, so work should be light."
"That's what I don't like," Duke countered. "He could be cooking something pretty big."
"We'll worry about that when the time comes, but for right now, let's just see what this EbonyAmber is like," he said and watched Dive circle with amusement before calling out, "Team! Practice!"
"She'll be here tomorrow, boobies!" Phil called, dialing Jack Diggory's number to confirm the deal.
*~