Through Her Eyes
By: KidHeart
Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's The Mighty Ducks the Animated Series or any of it's characters. I do own the character of Lis.
Lis:
It had been a week since dealing with Mondo Man and his ideas on what being a hero looked like to him. My skin crawls thinking of that sorry excuse of a human, let alone a super hero.
"You're a human with some promise in fighting, why not join me?" He had asked me after stopping a bank robbery we had come to stop ourselves, "You don't belong with these space freaks!"
He offered me a hand figuring I would accept his proposal.
"Are you kidding me?" I laughed as I glared at him, "You think I want to join a creep like you just because we're both human? Who are you to tell me who I belong with?!"
His confused expression was soon changed to pride as the officers around us showered him with unneeded praise.
Fortunately his playing super hero had been short lived and we had saved Anaheim ourselves yet again, but something about this had bothered me. I had gotten used to some humans treating me oddly due to who I chose to stay in company of. Every so often I got sneers and jabs. Yet those that rightfully praised our team for being heroes seemed to include me in their cheers. For every one jerk there were ten fans that celebrated us. Though this encounter had left a weird feeling that I couldn't shake easily.
I was walking into the galley one morning shortly after when these thoughts finally came to a head. Nosedive and Grin were there discussing their favorite cartoon again over breakfast. Wildwing was pondering over a newspaper he was reading. Tanya had just left to work on a project in her lab. Mallory was getting ready for a trip to the mall. And Duke I had just left resting in our bed.
"Hey girly-girl!" Nosedive greeted, waving me over to sit next to him.
I half smiled as I pulled myself up onto the seat next to my twin. Then I rested my head in my folded arms as I listened to everyone. I should have felt content with everyone around me, but something was really getting under my skin. Something that jerk had said was causing an itch in my head to stir again. The itch to run. The itch to get away. I wanted it to go away. Was I not used to staying put this long? Was it because of people like him that I had ended up alone in the first place?
"What's wrong young friend?" Grin asked me.
I froze momentarily before sighing and sitting up.
"I feel restless," I admitted to them.
Wildwing looked up from his paper, concern showing through the mask he wore, "Did something happen?"
"It's that jerk from last week!" I told him, "He shouldn't have bothered me so much, but he did! Why do people like him get to say where I belong?"
"Easy sis," Nosedive rested a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me down.
"Humans like that just don't understand, you're a part of this team. They don't know what you've been through with us. They judge all of us because they don't understand," Wildwing explained, "They see that we don't seem to match and go off of that."
"But something about this time is really bothering me," I said to our leader, rubbing my arm in frustration now.
"Try to forget about that creep," Mallory suggested.
"But what do I even do to help?" I asked aloud, hitting the nail on the head, "We have our leader, military and combat specialist, stealth expert, team tech, karma and muscle expert, and our center of energy and quick ideas. I help fight, but I don't know what else I contribute beyond that."
"Lis, you help a lot. You're Duke's partner for anything stealth related, you help Tanya with our gear, and you help with making sure everyone is safe and executing plans," Wildwing tried to offer encouragingly.
I shrugged in frustration as I got up and headed to the door. I thought perhaps some fresh air would help me. Yet as I got to the door I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"What's goin' on?" He asked me.
"I just need to calm down," I told Duke as I pulled away.
"Ya know we're here ta listen when ya need us to," he reminded gently.
Duke:
Lis didn't answer me in words. Yet I noticed a slight, silent nod before she headed down the hall.
"How do you do that?" Nosedive asked bewildered.
I laughed, "I know a thing or two about not being noticed until I want to be."
"Duke, has she been like this ever since the Mondo Man fiasco?" Mallory questioned.
"It didn't seem to bother her at first, but for the last couple of days it's been buildin' up. She tried ta talk to me about it, but then she would drop it."
"Should one of us go after her?" Nosedive asked.
I shook my head, "She jus' needs ta think about how much she is a part of this team, but we can't keep tellin' her that. She needs ta remember without us sayin' it."
"Are you sure?" Mallory asked uncertainly.
I watched Lis disappear down the hall. I nodded my head now in a silent answer of my own, but then sighed, "It's not easy though. I hate seein' her feel like this."
Lis:
I had taken one of the duck cycles out and had begun driving through the streets of Anaheim. The warm sun greeted me as I left the Pond and headed out. A part of me felt bad for wanting to leave the others, and I hated how had it not been for this restless feeling I would have been enjoying the morning with everyone together.
"Why is this bothering me so much?" I wondered.
I thought about the other day. I remembered his smug words as Mondo Man suggested I join him. My knuckles grew white as I gripped the handles of my bike. Flashes of glaring humans filled my head as I drove on blindly. Finally I came to a screeching halt as I pulled off to the side of the road to try and calm down. I stood, parking my bike as I removed my helmet and tried to breath calmly again. Sweat matted my bangs to my forehead.
"What am I doing?" I demanded as I noticed my com and my wedding ring on my left wrist and hand.
Tears welled in my eyes as I covered my face with my free hand, "That's why."
"That's why?" A voice snickered behind me.
I jumped, turning to see Wraith appearing behind me. He quickly floated up to me as I tried to activate my battle gear through the device Tanya had given each of us. Yet before I could Siege appeared behind me, grabbing my arms.
"Let go of me!" I warned as I tried to pull free.
"Why would we want to let go of such a valued member of our team?" Wraith asked cruelly.
"I would never join you creeps!" I spat as Siege ripped me away from my bike.
Wraith only laughed as he set the coordinates on his teleporter. Then he rested a skeletal like hand against my cheek.
"You won't have a choice," he assured me as his eyes began to glow.
"That won't work on me!" I growled.
Wraith pondered something for a moment, then he laughed, "Perhaps further persuasion is in order."
With that we teleported away to the raptor. Once there Siege dragged me until we had reached Dragonus. Then the club tailed lizard threw me down in front of his lord. I quickly got to my feet, only to be mocked by Dragonus himself.
"Bad day to be out on your own girl? Or perhaps they finally realized they didn't need you around?"
"Why did you bring me here? You know they'll come looking for me!" I assured.
"That's what we're hoping for," Dragonus laughed.
Suddenly I felt a chill rush through the room as Wraith appeared beside me again. This time slipping something around my forehead.
"I am counting on them looking for you, whether out of softheartedness or obligation, but they'll find our newest member instead," Dragonus assured.
"I'm not one of you!" I swore as I clenched my fists.
Suddenly Wraith snapped his fingers, and the circlet placed on my head began to spark and glow as it tightened around me. Suddenly flashes of shadows, sneering faces, moments of running ran through my mind relentlessly.
"This won't work! This isn't how things are anymore!" I yelled, "I'm not running away!"
"No? Then why were you on your own this morning? Perhaps you know deep down you don't really belong there? Maybe you've realized they'll look at you like all of those humans do? A runaway that no one seems to want, that they are saddled with! You're nothing but a charity case to them! Just leave them before they can throw you out! Join us where you won't be abandoned again!" Wraith spun his webs.
I shook my head rapidly, trying to ignore him as the images became more rapid. No longer were the images of other humans, but my teammates turning away. My teammates telling me I was no longer needed. My brothers shrugging me off. And Duke slipping away into the shadows as though nothing had changed for him.
"Face it girl, you were alone this morning because you wanted to be. You wanted to run away before they could hurt you! You wanted to escape cruel reality! But with us, you won't ever need to. Stay here, and you won't be cast out. Here you will have a set place, as our agent. Let them come looking for you and let them find that you won't let them throw you out!"
Suddenly my vision blacked out with a final spark of the device and everything around me fell silent.
Duke:
It was nearly sun down that day and Lis still hadn't come back home. I was trying to let her get some air on her own. Yet it wasn't like her to be away for so long. I had hoped that like any other time she would come back and talk to us. Then we could remind her why she was a part of our team. She was as capable a fighter as any of us, and she provided a much needed energy with each of us in a different way. But this was hard to do without her there.
Finally I gave in and tried to reach her on her comm. She didn't answer, but the signal from hers beeped on a map.
"Something doesn't feel right," Nosedive said worriedly.
We all knew full well that Lis always answered us in case there was a mission to go on. She was always ready to fight alongside everyone without question.
"What if Dragonus has her?" Mallory asked.
"Let's go find her!" Wildwing ordered as we rushed to the Migrator.
After not too long we found ourselves parked near where her comm's signal appeared on our maps. It was on the outskirts of the city, near what appeared to be a cliff. The signal stood beeping where the mountain rested.
"Could it be the Raptor's disguise?" Tanya asked our leader as he scanned it.
Before he could answer we heard footsteps approaching. I turned towards the foot of the mountain to see a figure standing in the shadows. Her small frame seemed frozen as se gripped her activated glaive.
"Lis!" I exclaimed with relief as I rushed towards her.
Yet before I reached her something felt off, and I found myself pausing and grabbing Nosedive's shoulder as he nearly ran by me to reach her. As soon as I did we watched as she pointed her glaive at us, as though warning us. Her usual clear aqua eyes sparked with an ethereal, amber energy, turning crimson as she looked at us.
"What're you doing sis?" Nosedive questioned in a bit of shock.
She didn't answer, nor did she lower her glaive. I then noticed the circlet pressing it's self around her head, with a deep onyx gem swirling with lavender smoke at it's center.
"Her usual vibes aren't present," Grin stated, "Her mind is at war with it's self."
"So what does that mean?" Mallory asked.
Wildwing had already noticed what I had and was examining the gem with his mask, "That gem has a weird energy to it. I think it's trying to control her with some sort of magic."
"So we need to get the gem?" Tanya questioned.
I gave a nod, "I can do that no problem."
"Don't be so sure about that. You won't get anywhere close to our new recruit," Wraith snickered as he appeared beside her.
"She wouldn't join you creepasaur!" Nosedive retorted.
"But she did, because she knew she was needed here. Wanted," he mused, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Wraith then looked to Lis as he pointed towards us, as though commanding her.
"If she really wanted to join you cretins then you wouldn't need to control her with some cheap jewelry!" Nosedive confirmed.
"This stone is simply showing her the truth. It will lead her away from the pain of being thrown to the side, being forced to run away again," Wraith told us, "and in no time at all she won't need to wear the gem at all to know the truth of where she belongs."
With a thrust of his skeletal hand pointing towards us Lis lunged at us, swinging her glaive. I rushed to meet her, drawing my saber to block her attack. Meanwhile the others focused on Wraith and his usual companions that had appeared to help him.
"Lis, come on, this isn't you sweetheart. You're not one of them," I said to her as I pushed back with my blade a little.
Her eyes seemed to flicker from their familiar shade of aqua to the harsh amber that tried to blind her.
"I know ya didn't leave us, you're a part of our team. We're family to you," I reminded her as she slashed at me again.
I flipped back out of the way of her glaive. Her movements weren't as flowing as they normally were. Was she holding back?
"Don't let your guard down child, he'll only cause you to be alone if you go back to him. You're merely a charity case to them, a way to make them look good in front of other humans!" Wraith urged from behind her.
"Lis don't listen to him! You know we aren't like that! I know you were alone before you were with us, I know you had to run back then! But we would never let you live that life again!"
"How?" She demanded, her voice sounding distorted.
"Lis-"
"What good am I to this team? I don't have a special skill, I don't have years of experience!"
"Since when do you focus on those things?" I demanded, "You never questioned joining us before! When our home was attacked you joined the fight without any doubts! We're a team, yes some of us have skills we acquired through the past, but that doesn't mean you're not contributing. You fit with us! Do you really think you fit with them better?"
She shook her head, "No! I don't fit either way."
Her eyes grew as dark as the gem on her forehead, growing clouded with confusion.
"Lis!" I called to her as she dropped her glaive and clutched her head in her hands.
I tried to approach her, but a veil of energy engulfed her. Sparks burst from around her, as though fending off anyone that might come near.
"Lis, what happened to ya?" I asked her.
"It seems she needs more time before things become clear to her," Wraith stated as he appeared behind her swiftly.
"Lis!" I called to her again, reaching out my hand.
"Duke!" I heard our leader call out as a shot of energy struck me, sending me flying back. Then with a ringing in my head everything went black.
Lis:
"Wh-where am I?" I moaned, shaking my head as I sat up.
I looked up to see spiraling towers clawing at the sky, twisting with gnarled spires. My clothes were torn and battered in various places, and I shivered from the cold.
"What's going on?" I asked the crimson heavens as I got to my feet.
Looking around I found myself alone. Yet I couldn't remember why. In the back of my head I heard a ringing, like a voice calling out that I couldn't place. Then the distant cries washed away, replaced by a deep whispering I couldn't understand.
As I began to take a step I found myself tripping over something. I looked down to find a metal staff lying at my feet. I picked it up carefully to examine it. Something about it being in my hands felt familiar, but I wasn't sure why. For the moment I decided to carry it as I looked around, perhaps it could be useful.
"I feel like I was with someone," I thought as I walked along the buildings.
"You weren't," a whispering voice snickered seemingly around me.
"Who's there?"
My only answer was thousands of murmurings that I could barely hear surrounding me somehow. I clutched my head, trying to focus on anything else. That's when something on the ground caught my eye. My own shadow wavered fiercely at my feet. A gasp escaped my breath as a pair of black wings emerged from my shadow's shape, and a long serpent tail lashed out around it's legs. Yet I felt nothing of the sort occurring with my own body.
"What is this?" I asked no one.
"This is what you will be soon, accept it. Embrace your new form or be taken over by it!" A voice mocked me.
"You see," the laughter continued, "This is why you can't fit in any sort of puzzle. You're not like any normal human, and yet you're not an alien either. You're a different sort of creature all together."
As I gripped my head frightened I felt something sharp grazing my skin. I looked to see claws growing from what were my nails. A gasp of fright escaped my throat as I tried to comprehend what was happening.
"No! If I run it won't happen! If I can get away-"
"You can't get away from yourself!" It thundered with a cruel laugh filling my ears.
"No! I don't want to change! I don't want to run! I just want..."
"It doesn't matter what you want, you will be in my hands soon enough!" It assured.
"I just want to be home!"
Duke:
When I came to I found my teammates gathered around me.
"Duke are you okay?" Our leader asked me as I sat up rubbing my head.
"What happened?" I asked as I looked around.
What I found snapped me into attention. Lis was still unable to move as the energy around her lashed at anything that came near her. Even Wraith had been blown back by it and into his own comrades. Lis still clutched her head trying to close out everything around her. A shadow began enveloping her in it's deranged caress.
"We've to get her back," Nosedive urged.
"Any ideas?" Mallory asked.
"We need to keep those creeps away from her, and we need to keep them from talking to her," Grin stated, his own anger surfacing.
"If you guys can keep them back I think I can get ta her an' get that thing off of her," I told them.
Yet as the others ran towards the lizard henchmen to act as defense, we noticed a large shimmering shadow appear. In mere moments Dragonus was standing near his men. In his twisted claws was a strange device with a ray at the end, and it was pointed at Lis.
"Well, if I can't control her as one of my recruits, then I'll make her a monster! If you can't fight her, she'll destroy you!" Dragonus laughed as he began activating the device.
"I don't think so!" Grin interrupted as he rushed towards the Saurian Overlord, catching him off guard.
"Duke! You've got to get to her now!" Grin yelled to me.
I nodded thankfully as Grin smashed the device, causing Dragonus and his men to fall back and teleport away for the time being.
As I approached Lis I found myself dodging blasts of quick energy. With every step closer the sparks felt more intense as they whipped around me. A whirlwind of shadows swirled around her, leaving a sliver of an opening as it turned rapidly around her. Once every few seconds I caught a glimpse of her frozen on her knees as the circlet grew constrictingly around her head.
"That's my chance!" I breathed as watched for my opening again.
As the opening revealed her again I leapt forward, grabbing her as we both fell to the ground outside of the vortex. Yet still the energy struck at me wildly as she struggled to get away from me.
"Lis, it's me. You've got ta come back sweetheart. You're a part of this team," I reminded her as she clawed to get away.
Essentially we were rolling along the ground, trying to get the stronger grip or slip away. Finally somehow she had managed to pin me on the ground. Her thin arms wrenched themselves out of my hands as she gripped my shoulders to keep me from getting up. Her eyes were now as dark as the onyx on the circlet, and they glimmered unnaturally like gems.
"Lis," I breathed, scared that I had lost her.
"I want to run! I want to get away before anyone can turn me away again! I don't fit! I don't even know what I am or who I ever was! I-"
In a split second, as she loosened her grip to prepare to run I sat up quickly, slipping one hand behind her head and the other hand gripped her arm to keep her from jumping away. Then in that moment I kissed her as I had many times before then. At first she pushed back, but I felt my grip tighten out of desperation. With a quick snap of a finger I snapped the circlet off of her, whipping it off of her, and then finally tossing it aside.
Once the circlet was thrown aside I felt the energy around us grow violent for a few moments until at last weakening. Then there was silence around us. When I finally pulled away from our kiss I felt Lis grow limp in my arms, collapsing into me as she passed out.
"Lis!" I called to her gently as I caught her.
Yet she did not open her eyes.
It wasn't long before the others gathered around us. Though as he approached us, Grin noticed the circlet on the ground. Without another thought he crushed it under hit boot, "We don't need anymore negative vibes from this!"
Soon after we were home and in the infirmary. Tanya was looking over Lis to see what injuries she had sustained. The entire time I had a hold of my wife's hand.
"Any news?" Wildwing asked as he entered the room.
Tanya and I knew that everyone else was waiting outside the infirmary, and were just as anxious.
"That gem put a huge strain on her," Tanya said grimly, "Her body is warn down, her mind seems to be in shambles, and her emotional state is all over the place. I'm not sure what it did to her exactly though."
"It was a magical object, like the amulet we have from the other Anaheim," Wildwing guessed.
"But it seemed to bond with her, creating the negative response we witnessed with her," Tanya said, "It couldn't control her like Wraith wanted, but she couldn't break away either."
"Why did I let her go alone?" I found myself asking, "If I had tried to reach her earlier this wouldn't have happened to her. I jus' thought she needed ta figure things out on her own ta feel better. Maybe it did this because she was already upset."
"Duke, blaming yourself won't help her now. All you can do is be there when she wakes up to bring her back," Wildwing told me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
Tanya was pressing a cool cloth against Lis's head, trying to reduce the stress and pressure on her.
"She went through this because she felt like she didn't help us. That Mondo-Jerk got ta her the other day, but I thought she would shake it off."
I then recalled what she had said before I'd kissed her before, how she didn't know who she had ever been.
"Until she remembers her past, she's going ta have these doubts. I don't know how ta reach her when she has those moments," I admitted.
"Her lost memories contributed to this?" Wildwing asked.
"I think so," I recalled our struggle from before.
I then looked over Lis. As she lay still on the bed I grew frightened that she might stay this way for some reason. I feared what I would do if she never opened her eyes and looked up at me again. Even if I didn't know who she was before, I knew who she was now.
"Please wake up," I begged her softly, gripping her hand.
Yet she remained motionless, with only her ragged breathing showing us a sign of life from her.
"She needs to rest Duke," Tanya assured gently, "She'll wake up once she's got her strength back."
"I, I think we all should try and relax for now. She-she's home at least," Wildwing stated uncertainly at first, as though trying to shake off his own fears.
"I'll stay with her," I promised him and myself.
Wildwing nodded understandingly before reporting to our teammates.
"She'll wake up Duke," Tanya insisted to us.
"Hey Tanya, do ya think it's possible that Lis may not even be from this universe?" I found myself asking aloud.
"What makes you think otherwise?"
"That energy from before, I don't think it came entirely from that gem. When the energy was sparking around her like that, it felt different then the shadows that gem gave off. The bursts of flame and electricity seemed to resonate with her emotions. I sometimes wonder if maybe she's from a realm where things like that are more possible."
"You mean like Borg's Anaheim?" She offered a guess.
"Somethin' like that, yeah," I agreed, "But I'm still not quite sure."
"Until her memories come back we can't know anything about her past for certain," Tanya sighed discouraged.
"Tanya, why don't ya go talk with the others an' relax too?" I suggested, noticing our teammate's uneasy nerves, "I can watch over Lis now."
"Are you sure you two will be okay?"
I nodded, and before she could argue I nudged her kindly towards the others.
Then I waited. I waited long into the night and through the early morning. Every so often I thought I saw Nosedive and, or, Grin peeking into the room to check on us. Each time I shook my head in response.
Lis:
The shadows had dispersed long ago, leaving me to wander quietly along a lonely path. Memories reached out to me that I couldn't determine to be real or fake. Silhouettes of figures I thought I knew turned away and towards me at the same time. I looked for familiar ground only to find structures that beckoned me and warned me. Voices called and yet were silent. My shadow followed behind me, with only one wing now from the two it had grown before. Though the tail had vanished. One clawed hand remained on my own body as I brushed branches aside.
I looked up at the eternal dusk lit sky. Stars dimly shimmered overhead as though they might have faded away at any moment.
"I want to go home," I felt myself weep as I crumbled to my knees.
"Where do I go? Who do I know? Who am I? Where do I fit?"
All these questions resonated in me, calling out like arrows shot from a quiver down the path before me. The streams of light seemed to reach out, searching for an answer. An answer that I waited for.
After a few moments of utter silence I thought I saw someone approaching. Uneasiness gripped my heart as a slender figure stopped before me. I looked up as the thin form knelt down in front of me, reaching a hand to me. At first I offered a hand out, only to pull it back when I remembered the claws extending from my fingertips. Yet before I could recoil completely the figure gripped my wrist firmly, but gently as well. Then I was pulled swiftly into an embrace, his other arm tucking carefully under the wing my shadow swore was there somehow.
"Come back ta me, please," a familiar voice begged as though it were about to falter.
"I'm not sure if I can, I don't even know where back is anymore," I admitted fearfully.
"But you're a part of us, ya know that much. You're a part of me," the voice shook with certainty.
"But what if I'm not who you think I am after all. What if I'm something else?" I asked.
"Then I will still love you," he told me, kissing my hair as he tried not to cry, "No matter what it takes, I will keep you home with us."
"What am I to all of you?"
These questions felt strange and yet familiar all at once. I felt I knew the answers, but couldn't feel the truth for some reason.
"I know ya think we don't make sense ta those that see us sometimes. I know ya feel like you're still figurin' out where ya fit. But no one in this team is a typical fighter. We all have somethin' that keeps us workin' as a team when otherwise we might not have in other circumstances. But I know that you are a part of that. You joined us wantin' ta fight with us. You made us your family because you felt like ya had a place with us. We would never take that an' turn away! We couldn't...I couldn't..."
His form began to gain color as he spoke, "Please sweetheart, come back ta me."
"I want to...I just..."
"When you're memories call ta ya, I'll answer them with ya. We'll find out everythin' together somehow. But I promise we will not break away from ya."
The wing on my shadow merged back into my shadow's body, and the claws on my head washed away as I held onto him tightly.
"I want to go home Duke!" I begged softly as a sunlit veil enveloped us.
Duke:
When she opened her eyes my heart nearly leapt to my throat. As she looked over at me, her eyes gradually went from black gems and then seemingly shattered to reveal her true aqua eyes beneath their onyx shell.
"Lis!" I exclaimed, jumping up from me seat and rushing to her side.
"Did I hurt you?" She asked me, remembering the energy around her.
I shook my head, "No sweetheart, I'm alright."
She then sat up, though I urged her to rest, and looked at me. It was as though she were trying to remember something. Were her memories finally coming back after all this time? Yet before she could say anything Nosedive and Grin both walked by and thus burst into the room. The former of the two of them nearly pushed me over to get to his sister as he hugged her. The latter of the two patted my shoulder with relief as we watched the light return to Lis's eyes.
"You had us worried sick girly-girl!" Nosedive exclaimed.
Before we knew it our fellow teammates were in the room checking on her. With each teammate her energy seemed to heal her as though nothing had been wrong at all. It was as though she had woken up like a maiden in some fairy tale. Which furthered my considerations from before about her possibly being from another realm than the Earth we knew as home. Though for now all I could do was wait to see if my thoughts were correct on a later date.
"Don't you ever doubt you're place with us again!" Mallory scolded.
Wildwing ruffled a hand through Lis's hair in a very brotherly notion, "Need I remind you that all three of us joined with no battle experience what so ever? So that worry shouldn't really be a factor."
"I don't know why it got to me so much," Lis said, blushing from embarrassment. "I'm so sorry guys."
I sighed as I hugged her close, "Jus' please don't run away anymore. There's no need to when you're home is with us."
Before we knew it we had gradually formed a slight group hug around her.
"An' when ever your memories do return, if they ever do, we'll learn about them together. Jus' remember that your past doesn't always make up who you are now," I reminded her gently, "You taught me that, okay?"
Her answer was hugging me back tightly with a tearful voice murmuring, "Okay."