No Need for Childhood

by Therabidsquirrel

Title subject to change as I really don't have one. Wildwing is changed back into a child with his adult mind intact. A new enemy arises to take over, but how can the team fight back when their leader is too small to even wield a hockey stick?

Authors Note: Please forgive me. This isn't my best work but it's an idea that's been wasting away on the computer. Please let me know what you think, I know there are parts that are terrible but then this is version 0.5 so it's not even the real first draft because it isn't finished. If you have ideas that you think can make this better, or if you think you'd like to take what I've got and continue from there, let me know IMMEDIATELY!! Even better if you feel the desire to take the idea of the story and run with it in your own version I say more power to you. I think this is a fun idea and if you wish to try it and give it your own twist then feel free. Part of becoming a writer is testing your boundries and letting your imagination run away with you. Just let me know how it goes, because I will definately want to read it.

Also: I'm only posting this because a reader said it could be fun to read some of my unwritten stuff. You know who you are, and now you know that it's your fault but I still love you in a purely platonic way because in reality we've never met so there...

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What had started out as a slow day and a boring shift, had quickly turned into a chaotic nightmare that seemed to have no ending in sight. Wildwing sighed as he recalled the events from earlier that day, the morning having given no clues as to what was to come.

He'd woken up in a good mood, the day progressing smoothly as for once everyone was on time for practice, even Nosedive. Practice went well, and afterwards they had all headed to the rec room for some well deserved R&R. Not one to sit idle for very long, Wildwing had volunteered to switch shifts with Nosedive, taking a lone duckcycle on a ride through the city to search for anything out of place visually while his kid brother enjoyed the midday off. The blonde duck had actually left the Pond with him, riding on the back of the duckcycle to Captain Comics. After that, Wildwing was on his own. The white haired mallard had actually enjoyed the time to himself, taking a scenic route through Anaheim in order to see what Earth had to offer in this area. His 'adventure' had taken him to a park he'd not seen before, and he'd pulled over to take a peek. Leaving the bike behind, he'd walked along a brick path and smiled at the flora surrounding him. It was beautiful, Puckworlds plants having none of the colors as these did. Even without blooms, there were still vibrant colors, some of which surprised him. He had been kneeling beside one plant, the leaves purple and black in color, when a strange noise had sounded behind him. He had turned to see nothing there, and then had stood, turning on his comm. After asking Tanya for a scan of his position by Drake One, he'd heard a loud pop and felt what seemed to be fire in his neck. His hand had come to slap away whatever had bitten him as he cried out, only to find some kind of dart. Everything had turned fuzzy after that. He'd managed to stumble back to the cycle, only to collapse into darkness.

He'd come to several hours later with his friends standing over him, all wearing shocked expressions, though Nosedive seemed to be trying desperately not to laugh. When he'd asked what was wrong, he realized what the problem was. His voice, a normal deep tenor, was now a boyish soprano. His clothes, which had once fit him so well, now hung off of him like a tent. In shock, he had turned from his friends to stare at his hands, his eyes widening. Suddenly it became very cold in the room, his lungs tightening.

"Wh-wha- what happened to me?" he'd asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Tanya had then held up the dart that had been in his neck and slowly said;

"You were injected with some kind of serum. I'm testing what's left of it but... all we know is what we see right now. You've been turned back into a child."

After that was said, Wildwing had suddenly turned away from them, lying on his side as he tried to process everything he'd just learned. But the only thing he could think was that this had to be a nightmare and he could only pray it would end soon.

It was night now, the lights in the infirmary dimmed so that Tanya could work while her patient slept, and Wildwing was fully aware that this was no dream. A living nightmare but no dream. He was useless to his team, and that gave Dragaunus an advantage he didn't even want to think about. However, it didn't stop the dreaded tight feeling in his chest. Quickly he grabbed his pillow and covered his head as the tears came. How was he ever going to get out of this?

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"I'd say he's somewhere around six or seven years of age,"Tanya said, typing away on the keyboard of Drake One. The rest of the team was standing around her, watching her work. "Now I can't say I know exactly who did this to him. I can't find anything on that dart to give us any information, however, I can at least work on some kind of antidote to get him back to normal. But..." she trailed off, leaving the others to look at her expectantly.

"But?" Duke asked. Tanya turned to them then.

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" Mallory asked, her temper flaring as her hands turned into fists. "Of course it's a good idea! We can't have a kid for a team leader!"she exclaimed. Tanya sighed and leaned on the console, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mentally he's still Wildwing, his maturity is that of an adult but his body is that of a child. I can make an antidote but I have no idea if he'd survive the transformation. As it is, I'm going to have to keep him on bed rest for several days due to the transformation that has already occurred. It's a miracle that he even survived it!" she told them. "I'm afraid to try anything on him right now, his body is in a critical state. All the changing may have done damage to his bones and his organs that I might not have even noticed yet." She sighed and then began rubbing her temples. "He's in a lot of danger right now, and not just from saurians. If he does too much in the next few days, gets too excited or stressed out, he could... die." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said this, silence filling the room.

"So... we can't... there's no way... to change him back?" Nosedive asked almost fearfully after a moment. "Not without hurting him?" Tanya shook her head as Duke leaned forward heavily beside her on the console.

"Not right now at any rate. Give me a couple days and I can probably find an antidote. But I wouldn't dare even test it on him for another month or so. Not until his body is stable again. It'd be much too dangerous right now." she explained. Nosedive stared past her at the screen of Drake One showing information about the substance within the dart Wildwing had been holding when they'd found him. A 3D string of DNA spun slowly on the right side of the screen while information scrolled along side it.

"Now we can only hope Dragaunus doesn't attack," Mallory mumbled as she resting her head in her hands. "This is insane." Duke and Grin nodded in agreement as Tanya sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing all I can," she told them. "We'll just have to pick someone to be leader until Wildwing is back to normal." Silence filled the room as the ducks stared at each other almost nervously. Nosedive turned away then, walking towards the doors.

"You guys pick. I'm gonna go check on Wildwing," he told them. His team mates just watched him go.

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Wildwing awoke feeling as if he hadn't slept at all. His entire body was sore and his head was a throbbing mass of pain. A heavy blanket was... he paused as he realized it was an arm that was draped over him and not a thick blanket. He stared at the arm for a moment before rolling over to see who it was attached too and found Nosedive sleeping soundly with his mouth parted slightly. For some reason, Nosedive was... larger. He frowned in confusion before the events of the past day came back to him in full force. With a sigh he rested his forehead against his younger brothers chest and let himself relax.

"Wildwing?"

He jumped, startled, then lifted his head to look over Nosedive's shoulder. Duke was standing beside the bed, the mask of DuCaine being turned over almost nervously in his hands. Wildwing looked at it for a moment suspiciously.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking at Duke now. The mallard before him cleared his throat and turned to find a chair. Seeing one at the head of the bed, he pulled it around until he could sit in front of Wildwing, the now duckling rolling back away from Nosedive thankful for the thoughtfulness of his teammate. Duke sat down, resting the mask in his lap before sighing. Wildwing watched him expectantly. After a moment of long silence, Duke sighed and smiled weakly at Wildwing.

"Everyone thought it'd be best if I told you about the team status right now," he explained. "I'm sure Tanya's already told you about... you know..." he said, motioning at his leader. Wildwing frowned at him.

"No," he said, wincing at how petulant his voice sounded. "I think I fell asleep some time after you guys left." Duke frowned at this and Wildwing sighed, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. "So what do I need to know about all this?" he asked.

"Well," Duke sighed, leaning back in his chair. "To make an extremely long and painful story short, you've been turned into a midget sized version of yourself..."

"Duh..."

Duke made a face at the interruption, then continued. "You're supposed to still have your maturity in tact, but right now I think that's debatable." Here he paused while Wildwing gave him a dirty look.

"I'm short, I have a headache, and I have no idea what's going on. You try being in a good mood like this," he said. Duke nodded.

"I'll have to take your word for it," he stated, gaining a 'humph' from Wildwing. Duke then sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Anyway, Tanya said she doesn't really understand much, but she's trying to get an antidote to get you back to normal. However, your body's in a critical state, so no jumping jacks for the next couple of days," he explained. Wildwing's eyes took on a nervous glint and the child/adult grabbed Nosedive's hand and held on tightly.

"But she can turn me back. Right?" he asked. Duke didn't look at him.

"Hopefully. Once she finds an antidote. But, she wouldn't be able to use it on you right away." He paused here, giving Wildwing a serious look. "We don't want to lose you Wildwing. You're team captain, and a darn good one. You're also a dear friend and a brother," he said, nodding at Nosedive who slept still. "We're not going to rush anything that could cause you harm or even... kill you." There was silence for a moment, Wildwing looking down at the bed beneath him and playing with the blanket covering him with his free hand.

"So okay, I'm stuck like this for a while. But not forever." At Duke's nod, he continued. "What about Dragaunus?"

"What about him? We'll deal with him when he rears his scaley head, but until then, he's not important," Duke answered, lifting the mask so that he could rest his foot atop his leg.

"But what about me?" Wildwing asked so softly that Duke wasn't sure he'd heard him for a moment. The now duckling was still staring at his bed, his eyes distant. "I can't exactly lead like this. What can I possibly do? I'd just be in the way." Duke sighed.

"I dunno Wing. We're doing all we can to help you..."

"Are you going to take my place Duke?"

The question caught the elder mallard off guard, causing Duke to stare as Wildwing looked up at him finally.

"What?"

"I can't lead Duke! Do you have any idea how ridicules it'd be? Something weird is going on. Why was I shot in the first place?" Wildwing asked, his voice starting to rise. Duke leaned forward worriedly.

"Wing..."

"This doesn't make any sense? Who did this to me? Why?"

"Wildwing..."

"Who's going to lead the team? How are we going to play tomorrow's game short a member? Wh-"

"Wildwing! Calm down!" Duke's voice was loud enough to wake Nosedive, who sat up as Wildwing fell back, a hand on his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Why was his heart beating so fast? And why did it hurt to breathe?

"Wing?" the teen asked worriedly, looking over at Duke. "What happened?" Duke sighed.

"He's freaking out," he said, placing a hand on Wildwing's shoulder for comfort. "Just calm down Cap. Take deep breaths and calm down. We know you can't lead, that's why I came. I'm supposed to take your place until your better but I need your help. There's no way I can lead like you can! So calm down, and lets make a plan okay?" he said, his voice shaky. Wildwing looked at him wide eyed, looking very much like a frightened child. He nodded slowly, trying to calm down, while Nosedive let him hold onto him like a life line. The three sat in silence for a while before Wildwing's breathing returned to normal. Closing his eyes, Wildwing sighed.

"Radios," he said suddenly. Duke's head shot up from having been turned down as he too tried to calm himself.

"What?" Wildwing looked at him wearily before pointing to his head.

"Like those ones we saw in the movie last week. I can tell you what to do and no one will know," he explained. Duke gave him a thoughtful look before his and Nosedive's comm went off.

"Yeah," he said in answering. Mallory's face appeared on the screen.

"You two better get in here, there's something you need to see," she said quickly. Duke and Nosedive looked at each other, then at Wildwing who nodded and closed his eyes with a sigh. Nosedive frowned.

"Go. I'll stay here with Wing," he said. Duke nodded, and giving Wildwing a friendly squeeze on the shoulder he looked back at Mallory.

"On my way."

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"I demand that the officials of this city turn all rights over to me now, and all peoples swear loyalty. As of now you're all on lock down. Any who try to leave will be shot on sight. I demand an offering of valuable jewels and gold bars. This will be left in the middle of the city before nightfall tonight. If you do not comply, I will kill another member of your beloved city."

The man on the screen was a good looking man who seemed to be in his early thirties. He wore a black business suit, his auburn hair slicked back as his hands were clasped before him. In the corner of the screen sat a shocked news reporter who quickly regained enough of himself to ask;

"You've killed someone?! Wha- who?"

"A hockey player. I believe you call him Wildwing?" The man said with an evil grin. "Just think, if I can easily kill one of your precious protectors, there's no telling what I can do to all of you." There was silence before a piece of paper was handed to the ashen reporter, who cleared his throat and shakily read it.

"The mayor says that we will not comply to your wishes until you give us proof... whoever you are." The man on the screen smirked.

"You may call me Lord Damien. And this is your proof." He snapped his fingers and the screen changed to show Wildwing kneeling in front of a plant, his duckcycle behind him and a calm look on his face as he fingered one of leaves. There was no sound coming from the screen, but obviously Wildwing heard something as his head jerked up and slowly turn to look at the camera. He frowned, then stood, lifting his arm and speaking into it. The barrel of a gun appeared and Damien's voice sounded, startling the ducks.

"Now watch. This poison works quickly." The gun fired and Wildwing's hand went to his neck as he bent. Quickly he removed a dart and stared, his eyes widening. He turned back to his bike, stumbling, and fell just as he reached it. He did not move after he fell, the picture freezing before moving back to sit next to Damien's head as he smiled maliciously. "As you can see, the duck is dead. I graciously allowed his teammates to collect his body so that they could grieve, instead of bringing him back and making a trophy out of him." He gave a toothy grin as the reporter appeared in the opposite corner of Wildwing's 'death' photo. The reporter was handed another paper, which he read, his face white as a sheet.

"The mayor has just sent us this message," he said slowly, placing the paper down. "We are now the peoples of Lord Damien. As he has required of us to give him an offering..."

The rest of the message was lost on the ducks as they looked at each other in shock.

"Wildwing..." Mallory managed to say.

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It was weird, standing up and finding that you barely reached your younger brothers waist line. And weirder than that was when said younger brother was holding you up so that you could reach into the cabinets in the kitchen to get a cup for a drink.

They both knew that they were going to be in big trouble if anyone caught them, but Wildwing couldn't stand it any longer. He needed to get up and around and lying in the infirmary was only making him nervous, so when Nosedive suggested going to the kitchen for some food, the older (now younger) mallard (duckling) practically jumped at the chance. In fact, he really had jumped up in his excitement of getting out of bed and doing something other than wallow in self pity. Nosedive had stared for a moment before laughing out right and getting up to sneak away.

Now they nervously worked together to get food and drink, the nervousness more from how they interacted than getting caught. Right now it was more of, what could Nosedive do that would not make Wildwing uncomfortable. Sadly, there seemed to be nothing that would keep his brother from stiffening up and grunting at him rather than speaking. The blonde teen could only sigh and do his best. Wildwing was an independent duck, and now he was having to rely on others. To say that this was not easy for him would be an understatement.

"You know, this was a lot easier when I stood over six feet instead of only three," Wildwing muttered as he finally managed to grab a glass with both hands and have no fear of dropping it. Nosedive snorted.

"We'll never take height for granted again huh bro?" he asked.

"We?"

"You then. Does this mean no more short jokes?"

"Maybe." There was a pause as Nosedive set Wildwing back on the floor and sighed, looking around the kitchen.

"We should get some stools," he stated, watching as Wildwing pattered barefoot over to the table, stretching to put his glass on it before turning back to the refrigerator.

"Yeah, and some more counters," Wildwing added grumpily, grabbing the handle and pulling with all his might. The door came open and Wildwing sighed as he stared up at all the shelves. "Why oh why did I have to be so short when I was a kid?" he moaned. Nosedive snickered, coming over to sit on his haunches beside his mourning brother.

"Because that way you always had a perfect shot at Dad's shins. And after he realized that he decided that making you angry when you had a hockey stick in hand was a bad idea," he grinned. Then he brightened considerably, causing Wildwing to blink at him. "Hey I know! When the saurians do attack we can just give you a hockey stick and let you have at them! Their shins won't survive!" he laughed. Wildwing stared at him, then looked into the fridge and grabbed a piece of cream pie off of one of the shelves before looking at his brother. Nosedive calmed, grinning sheepishly at him as the white duckling merely frowned at him before taking the pie slice and maliciously shoving it into the teens face and beak. Nosedive squawked as Wildwing grinned evilly, before pulling away.

"Alright slave. Get me some orange juice," he cackled, Nosedive glaring at him as he wiped the pie off his face with one hand.

"Slave?" he asked. Wildwing nodded sagely, not noticing Nosedive's hand sneaking past him.

"Yep. It's in the sibling handbook. You gotta be my slave after a comment like that," he claimed.

"Yeah. Right."

Out in the hall Wildwing's squawk of surprise and Nosedive's 'diabolical' laughter echoed before the sounds of an all out war followed. The orange juice was completely forgotten.

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Tanya had found them fifteen minutes later, covered in pie and laughing almost hysterically as they lay on their backs in the kitchen floor. Pie was not only smeared all over the brothers, but also on the fridge, the floor and the kitchen table. The blonde tech could only stare as Nosedive looked at her and waved cheerfully, chuckling as Wildwing snickered, scraping pie off of his face with one had before flinging at his brother cheerfully. Nosedive, who had been about to speak, cried out unhappily before taking revenge and taking pie from himself and rubbing it in his brothers hair. Before they could start their pie fight anew however, Tanya had lifted Wildwing up and carried him away with a quick order to Nosedive to clean up and meet her in the infirmary tossed over her shoulder. The two brothers, too shocked to say anything, had not replied.

When Nosedive finally arrived in the infirmary, he had cleaned himself up as well and was greeted by the sight of the entire team and Phil surrounding Wildwing. The white duckling was cleaned up, wearing an oversized shirt, and attached to so many wires the teen couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't become part computer.

"What's going on?" he asked. Everyone but Tanya, who was leaning over some readouts from the computer, looked at him worriedly.

"Some freak calling himself Lord Damien came on the news a while ago spouting that he had killed somebody and the city belonged to him now," Duke explained. "Said he'd made a new poison."

"Yeah. He'd video taped what happened to Wildwing and showed it on the news," Phil added, worried. "Everyone thinks Wing is dead. Though I'm not real sure how this is any better," he moaned. Mallory shot him a dirty look.

"He's alive and we can find a cure. Be grateful," she snapped before looking back at Nosedive. "Tanya's just rechecking everything to make sure Wing's okay," she told him calmly. Nosedive nodded at her, wide-eyed and worried as Wildwing looked at him and shrugged casually.

"I feel almost like a mummy," he commented, lifting his arms and staring at the hundreds of wires attached to it. "Only I'm covered in little patches and wires," he said.

"You're being awful calm about this Wing," Phil mentioned, starting to wring his hands together. Wildwing shrugged.

"What else can I do?" he asked. "We'll figure something out." He paused and looked at Duke. "Right?" The older mallard gave him a grim look but nodded slowly.

"Sure thing Wing. Besides, maybe we can use this to our advantage," he added.

"I don't see how," Mallory snorted. "No offence Wildwing but you're a child now. It's not like you'll be able to react the same way in battle as you did before."

"No, but he can still help us out," Nosedive said. "He's our team leader. They think he's dead and that we won't be able to work without him. Well, he's still here isn't he? There's still a lot he can do... I guess..." he muttered. Wildwing just rolled his eyes and smiled at his brother in thanks. At least the guy was trying.

"Well at any rate, we don't have to worry about him dying on us," Tanya said suddenly, turning to the others. She glared at Wildwing. "But that's only if you take it easy for the next twelve hours. Your body's healing from the change and your metabolism is completely out of whack. Until your body catches up to you, or you catch up to it or whatever, you've got to take it easy. So no more pie fights!"

"Pie fights?" Duke asked, rasing an eyebrow as Grin frowned.

"I hope it was not my lemon meringue. I was saving that for my late snack," he rumbled. Wildwing blushed furiously as Nosedive shook his head.

"Nah, it was the last of the Kelime pie that Phil's grandma sent us last week," he claimed.

"What? Oh man! I didn't even get a piece of that! No fair!" shouted Mallory, swatting Nosedive upside the head. The teen yelped, ducking out of her way and racing to hide behind Duke.

"Don't get mad at me! Wing started it!" he cried out, ducking behind the older mallard in fear of the explosive redhead. As Wildwing snickered, Tanya frowned at him and he coughed.

"Well... he asked for it," he claimed sheepishly, ducking down. Tanya only sighed as she began taking off the wires and making Wildwing wince.

"Just, take it easy for the rest of the day okay? By noon tomorrow you should be able to bounce around and start as many pie fights as you want," she told him. He looked at her worriedly as she continued to take the wires off him. She caught the look and smiled. "And don't worry, I'll find a way to get you back to normal in no time!"

"And in the mean time," Duke said, prying Nosedive off of him and turning to their now shortened leader. "The rest of us will find out who this Damien guy really is and put a stop to him. Starting with that 'poison' of his." Wildwing nodded.

"Sounds good," he said, rubbing a place on his arm where one of the patches had left a mark. "I'll help as soon as Tanya gives me a clean bill of health." The others nodded and Phil sniffled.

"But what about my hockey team?" he wailed. The ducks just sighed and hung their heads in response as Nosedive muttered something about one track minds.

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Damien Carter was a man with great ambitions. Graduating from highschool when he was fourteen, then graduating from college at eighteen with high scores, and entering into politics immediately after, he was going to change the world. Then, one day while he was looking over his portfolio and reading on the radical changes in society, he came across the notion that the democratic government was no longer effective enough for leading large groups of people. People were too chaotic. Their opinions changed much too often, and their voices were continuously crying out for change. The public was never content.

With this in mind, Damien Carter began to wonder how the human race could ever be satisfied. It took several years of study, in which he came across unhappy scientists, underpaid government agents, and many more intellectually well rounded individuals who were overlooked or ignored in society, to come to the conclusion that there really was no way to make American's happy. As a whole, he decided, people were only as happy was the ones ruling them. Given less time to think about their status, and more time to work on pleasing their ruler, people would complain less. Granted there may be an uprising or two, common people were best suited to serve. And shown the proper measures taken to keep their lives in line, the uprisings would be nonconsequential, and even non existent.

People always follow a strong leader, and Damien was that leader. Starting with Anaheim, California, he would begin his take over there and move his territory further out as the days progressed. On the East Coast, several other members of his organization would begin setting events into action that would split a nation that was too large for it's own good, into several smaller countries that could be much more easily maintained than a large body of complainers. By the time Damien was finished, there would be no more America. There would be no more complaining voice of the people.

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The stands of the Pond were filled to bursting with people, most of them crying, others yelling in anger. Some were silent, but all were there to get the attention of the ducks. Mallory stood on the ice, listening as two men shouted for her to 'get revenge' for Wildwing instead of waiting around like a... sitting duck. Though the phrase annoyed her, she found it moving that these humans would care so much for a downed teammate. In front of her, Duke stood with his arms crossed as he waited from someone to get the speakers running. The announcer was in his box, hooking up the required wires while Tanya was under the desk reconnecting Drake One with the visual equipment set up in the box. She did this so that the people in the stands could better see whoever was speaking. Looking around, Duke could see Grin standing near the doors to the locker room with his arms crossed, talking to someone behind the cracked door. Possibly Nosedive.

A loud metallic scream echoed throughout the Pond, causing some to cry out, and everyone to cover their ears. The scream died and the hockey dome was silent for a moment before a click sounded.

"Oh, ah, sorry about that folks. It seems we're having some technical difficulties up here do to ah, misplaced wires. Please sit tight for just a um, moment and we'll begin this ah, meeting or whatever..."

On the ice, Duke snickered and Mallory shook her head. With the announcer nervous and Tanya the last person to do any kind of public speaking, this would be interesting. Fingering the mini-mike attached to the front of his armor he turned to shrug at Mallory. She, much like the rest of their team, also had on a small microphone on her armor and was shaking her head. She rolled her eyes at him and looked back at the people in the stands. Aside from the sounds of people and small children crying, there wasn't much noise. The Mayor was standing on the edge of the ice, a microphone in a hand that was shaking. A good man, a good leader of the city, he was unable however to deal with such a situation as this. There was another click sounding through the Pond and then the announcer was sitting up in his window, fixing his tie and setting his hair straight as Tanya patted him on the shoulder and sat down next to him. There was no way she was going to make it down to the ice with so many people jammed into the stands. There wasn't even standing room left anymore.

"Mr. Mayor," came the ever loved announcers voice. "If you will. We're ready to begin." His voice, usually filled with great energy was subdued and serious, suggesting to the severity of the situation. With a nod the mayor cleared his voice, checked his microphone and nodded at Duke while on the screen of the scoreboard his image appeared.

"We're here to not only pay our respects in the death of your teammate, but to also discuss the matters of this 'Lord Damien' who has surrounded our city and trapped us within. Seeing as how you ducks are not truly American citizens, nor do you hold any citizenship to this city and state, we ask that you help us in our hour of need," he said, his voice shaking slightly. There was a cry from the stands, one of the fans shaking his fist in the air.

"They're as much citizens as we are! They've been here for two freakin' years! They've become a part of our lives!" There was a loud cheer of agreement from people and Duke could only stare. "You can't ask them to risk themselves for us! We can take this stupid little pencil pusher ourselves!" the man shouted. Another cheer filled the stadium.

"Give us weapons! We'll get 'em!" came another shout.

"What about the Army? Or the Marines? Aren't they gonna help us?" someone else shouted. Shouts of agreement were heard from the crowd and the mayor shook his head.

"The governments military is at a stand still. This man has been planning this take over for a long time apparently, there is not much they can do without putting us at risk and they are not willing to do that!" He turned to look at the crowd then, a stern look on his face. "And I am not willing to risk any of you either!" Turning back to the two ducks on the ice he said; "And as much as I am loathe to risk you, you've already lost one of your own, and you actually have the fire power to take Damien out! If nothing else, you could just think of this as revenge." There were cries from the people. Cries of both agreement and pleading. In the announcers box, Tanya nodded at Duke who cleared his throat.

"Mr. Mayor, sir, we ducks have been fighting crime and our own megalomaniac's since we arrived on your planet. We do love your home as our own but..." there was a cry of frustration from somewhere in the crowd.

"WHY WON'T YOU HELP US NOW?" Mallory glared at the crowd.

"LISTEN!" she shouted, bringing total silence to the dome. "We're not saying we won't help, but you don't understand the situation anymore than we do. What kinds of weapons does he have beside this poison of his? Who is helping him, if anyone at all?"

"And plus," Duke added, eyeing Grin who crossed his arms, "What is he really planning?"

"But what about your teammate?" The new voice over the mike startled Duke and he turned to see that Klegghorn had managed to get a hold of the mayor's microphone, much to the dismay of the mayor himself. Duke smirked.

"Nosedive's with him now," he said. He took a deep breath as the quiet deepened. "Despite what Damien might have told you, Wildwing is not dead." There was a pause before a woman stood suddenly, hope in her eyes.

"He's alive!" She exclaimed. At the nods from their favorite team, the crowd burst into cheering, tears of joy coming from several members and it was quite some time before anyone was able to calm them. While the humans celebrated Duke braced himself and looked at Mallory who frowned at him. Covering her mike so none would hear she snarled;

"That's great Duke. What if that jerk's got supporters in this crowd? You're putting Wildwing at risk!" Duke glared at her, covering his own mike.

"They have a right to know Mallory," he hissed back. "Wing wants them to know that he's gonna come back. They need all the hope they can get in a time like this! Sides, don't you think it'd be a little weird if he just suddenly rose from the dead?"

"So? Jesus did!"

"Mal, that was God. This is Wildwing. There's a huge difference." Mallory snorted at him and uncovered her mike, as did Duke as they turned to the crowd, waiting for them to still. When the cheering finally began to die down, the mayor nodded at them. Tanya cleared her throat over the sound system, gaining attention and the sound of people turning caused her to pause before speaking.

"Um, folks, Wildwing is still alive, but he's in a critical condition. It's going to take some time before he's back on his, um, his feet," she paused for a moment as if unsure before continuing. "We're doing our ah, best, but um, we're going to be cut in half trying to help him and uh, ourselves. And uh, when I say ourselves, um, I mean us and uh, all of you."

"WE'LL HELP!" someone shouted from the crowd. There were agreements and Duke nodded.

"Then when we come to you, you need to do whatever we tell you too. Like right now, we want you to stay out of trouble. And when I say stay out of trouble," a twinkle came to his eye and he grinned. "I mean don't get caught, eh?" There was a couple of low laughs throughout and Mallory groaned and shook her head.

"Oh great. More Duke's," she moaned. Laughter filled the dome and she turned red as Duke grinned at her, as she'd forgotten to cover her mike.

"Yeah, and as much as I hate to say it," Klegghorn said over the mike once more, the mayor actually holding it for him this time, "We need mayhem in this city. But once this is all over, the mayhem stops!" he ordered. More low laughter.

"Which means the police will be backing off to an extent. We're taking a big gamble but if say, the vehicles carrying the 'offering' were to be attacked and half of them didn't make it?" There was murmuring in the stands and Duke jerked suddenly.

"NO!" There was silence as everyone stared at him. "Nothing like that!" he exclaimed. "You can't do something out in the open or anything huge! Go ahead and give him the offering. If you let something happen to it who knows what he'll do to you? We need to be smart about this. Like find out we're he's got his dirty little fingers stuck and start causing things to go wrong there. Start having his communications equipment short out. Start off with minor things! Have an antenna go down. As long as we don't endanger the citizens of this city then we're doing it right. We don't know what he can or will do. And until we do we have to be very careful. Understood?" The people began nodding in understanding, voices coming through with a 'right' or 'good plan'. As the Mayor turned to his people and began speaking, Duke turned off his mike and turned away quickly. Mallory covered hers and started after him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Wing," he told her shortly. "Stay here, and help Tanya with crowd control. I'll be back when I can," he told her. She nodded and he skated as fast as he could off the ice where Grin was standing with a hand on the locker doors. He opened the door so Duke could go through, then turned back around, watching the crowd.

Inside the locker room, Duke quickly turned his skates back into shoes and rushed through the elevator doors, where he fidgeted till they opened back into the Ready Room. There he rushed through into the living quarters, down the hall and to the infirmary. There he saw Nosedive bending over Wildwing and trying to coax him into breathing slowly. Wildwing on the other hand was hyperventilating.

"Get a paper bag!" Duke exclaimed, rushing to the bedside. Nosedive looked up at him, his face pale beneath his feathers before nodding and rushing away to find a bag. Duke meanwhile kneeled beside the bed, Wildwing's eyes glazed over as he suffered to breathe, and took the younger ducks now smaller hand.

"It's gonna be okay Wildwing," he soothed, pulling something from his ear and then pulling apart Wildwing's fingers. A communicator fell from the shaking hand as Nosedive returned, bag in trembling hands.

"Okay, now what?" he asked. Duke looked at him.

"Give it to me, and go sit before I have to get one for you," he ordered, Nosedive practically tossing him the little paper bag before plopping down on the floor and staring at his brother. The teens body was shaking, his eyes wide as Duke placed the bag over Wildwing's beak.

"In and out Wing. Slow breaths," Duke was saying in a calm voice. "Get a hold of yourself, you've got to control your breathing. Can you hear me?" A slight nod. "Good. Now in... Now out..." Duke continued like this for a while, the bag filling and caving with each of Wildwing's breaths. After a while the duckling calmed, his eyes clearing as his breathing slowed and Duke pulled the bag away. "Better?" the elder mallard asked. Wildwing could only nod, a weariness overcoming him. Duke smiled weakly at him before looking at Nosedive. The teen was still pale, but he was no longer shaking. The blonde duck looked up at him after a moment and ran a hand through his hair.

"I think... they scared him... and it triggered the attack..." he mumbled. Duke nodded, placing a hand on the top of Wildwing's head, drawing the duckling's fallen hair out of his face. Wildwing said nothing, still breathing deeply as if falling asleep.

"Tanya said it'd be like this for a couple more days," the one eyed mallard said softly. "We just have to be careful. Try not to excite him too much again," he explained. Nosedive could only nod. Then;

"He's not gonna like us walking on eggshells around him," he pointed out quietly. Duke shrugged.

"Can't be helped. We gotta do whatever it takes to keep him alive till Tanya can change him back. And even then..." he trailed off and Nosedive seemed to freeze. Then with a shaking breath he bowed his head.

"I should never have switched shifts with him," he choked, his head bowing into his chest as he sniffled, tears falling. He covered his face and cried silently, his body jerking with each breath. Duke could do nothing but watch him and hold back tears of his own while Wildwing lay between sleep and wakefulness, unaware of what was happening around him.

QQQQQ

"You sure that this was a good idea sir?" Klegghorn was asking the mayor as they entered into the Ready Room, Grin and several police officers walking with them. The elevator doors closed, only to open a few minutes later to reveal Mallory and Tanya. The two women herded the men towards Drake One, the mayor sighing as he went.

"The people deserve to know what's going on. They deserve the right to stand up for themselves and these ducks understand this situation better than anyone. Right?" he asked, looking to Grin. The large duck nodded.

"Yes. Though we have only had to deal with situations like this one other time in our lives."

"Dragaunus?" Klegghorn asked.

"Besides him," Mallory said as Tanya began typing away at Drake one, pulling up information on satellites. "Our military has dealt with one other duck who had plans of being a 'great ruler'." She explained. "However, he wasn't nearly as prepared as this Damien fellow."

"Wow," Klegghorn growled. "We're in great hands," he scoffed. Mallory glared at him as Grin frowned.

"You have any other ideas?" the large mallard rumbled. Klegghorn frowned at him, then sighed, relenting.

"No. I don't," he muttered. The mayor nodded.

"Then it's decided. We will rely on the Mighty Ducks to help us out of this situation, and you will take orders from them. " The look of shock on Klegghorn's face and the smug look on Mallory's would have been comical if not for the fact that they were in the middle of a dangerous situation. The Mayor turned to Tanya. "Tell me, about Wildwing. How is he?" he asked. Tanya didn't even turn as she continued to type.

"Stable for now," she told him. He nodded.

"I'd like to see him if you don't mind," he requested. The swishing of doors opening made him look up to see Duke walk in, the dark feathered mallard frowning as his false eye glowed red.

"That's not possible right now," he said, causing everyone to look at him.

"Do I need..." Tanya started, but Duke shook his head cutting her off.

"He's okay. But I think Nosedive really needs you right now more than Wing," he explained. There was something about the look on his face that made Grin start.

"I shall go," the large mallard said, gaining attention. "My little friend has spent too much time in that room. I shall retrieve him," he explained. As he started away, Mallory followed.

"I'll watch over Wing till your finished here Tanya," she said. The blonde tech nodded.

"Okay." She turned to the mayor, who frowned.

"How is Nosedive handling this?" he asked before she could speak. There was a pause before Duke shook his head.

"Fine, just... It's getting to him," he explained. The mayor nodded as Tanya leaned back on Drake One's terminal.

"By the way. You're taking a dangerous route. Damien could have had spies anywhere in the crowd. And you know that news is going to spread," she said lowly. The mayor merely smirked at her.

"I'm counting on it. He sent me an message daring me, daring all of Anaheim to stand against him. Madam, we're American's. He'd have to be some kind of fool to think we'd take anything lying down." Duke crossed his arms.

"Let's just hope that he's not planning to use us as an example to the rest of the world," he stated. The Mayor nodded.

"It's a gamble, yes. But he's looking for an all out attack. Why do you think I came to you? The people will listen to you in these matters." He turned away, Klegghorn and his officers following. "You do realize how many fans you have right? People always listen to their heroes." And with that he and his men entered the elevator and left, leaving Duke to look at Tanya in surprise.

"You know, we could take that and say we're being used," he commented. Tanya shrugged.

"It's politics. Think of it like chess, always one step ahead of your opponent. Do what you gotta do without getting checked," she explained. Duke shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"What a mess," he mumbled. Tanya merely nodded and turned back to Drake One.

"So how did that little communicator work out?" she asked. Duke smiled at her, pulling the small contraption he'd pulled from his ear earlier out of his pocket.

"Worked like a charm kid. I could hear everything Wing said perfectly and he could hear everything I did." He paused and frowned. "Unfortunately." Tanya turned back to him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Duke gave her a hard look before telling her about what he'd found in the infirmary. An uncomfortable look crossed her face and she began wringing her hands.

"I'm worried Duke. That change has really affected his heart. Do you really think it's wise to let him help with this mission? His heart... it could give out," she explained. "If he has a heart attack... Especially at the size he is right now..."

"Tanya, we don't have a choice," Duke said, worry covering his face. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "If we don't let him help, who knows what he'll do? This will keep him occupied and keep him from worrying too much at the least," he claimed. Tanya nodded slowly.

"I just hope that keeping him occupied doesn't kill him."

"Don't worry kid. Wildwing's made of tougher stuff. You know that."

"Yeah. I know."

QQQQQ

Damien watched as the people flowed from the Pond, smirking at them. Behind him stood three men in black, one of them holding a hand to his ear before leaning forward.

"Sir, none of our men were able to get inside. They tell me that they heard something about the people retaliating and..." Damien waved him off.

"Of course they'll retaliate. I'm not worried about that. Anything else? No mourning?" he asked, the smirk turning into a frown.

"Well, they couldn't hear much. They're gonna milk the crowd, learn as much as they can. One said he heard that Wildwing was still alive." Damien's frown deepened and he 'humphed'.

"Should have considered this happening," he muttered.

"Sir?"

"He's a duck from another planet. His chemical make up must be different." He turned to the men in black and nodded at them. "Find out if there is any possible way of getting into the Pond. See if we can't get a hold of Wildwing for testing. I want to know how he could have possibly survived."

"Yes sir."

QQQQQ

Wildwing came to with a jerk, sitting up as he clenched and unclenched his hands. It took a moment for him to realize that his hands were empty and he looked down at them. Still small, but very empty. He felt his heart skip and he stared around the infirmary. The lights were dimmed, meaning it was night, and as far as he could see he was alone.

"Dive?" he called, his voice echoing throughout the room. He entire frame was shaking, and after he managed to climb out of the bed he wrapped his arms around himself. "Nosedive!" he called fearfully. He couldn't understand his fear, and he jumped as the doors to the infirmary opened, Tanya staring at him as she looked in.

"Wildwing? What are you doing up?" she asked. Wildwing shook his head, his eyes wide as he trembled uncontrollably. Tanya only hesitated a second before walking in and kneeling in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder. It took a moment for him to come to himself and he asked;

"Where'd everyone go?" he sounded so much like a lost child it sickened him, and he bit his tongue as he winced. Tanya didn't notice.

"Sorry to leave you alone like that Wing," she apologized instead. "Grin came a couple of hours ago to collect Nosedive and give him a break from the infirmary..."

"You mean a break from me," Wildwing interrupted suddenly. Tanya shook her head, pulling away from Wildwing to look at him.

"No! Nosedive was making himself sick. He hasn't left the infirmary hardly since you..." she paused and shook her head before saying. "He's scared and upset about what's happening to you Wing. He blames himself. We're trying to calm him down and let him know that this isn't his fault," she told him. "We're also trying to find out as much as we can about Damien and what he's planning," she explained. "To be honest I think we're all about to go crazy," she admitted. Wildwing nodded slowly, staring past her into nothing before pulling himself away from her, keeping his arms wrapped around himself.

"Sorry to bother you Tanya," he said after a moment. "Go ahead and get back to what you were doing, let me know how everything's going later. I'm feeling pretty tired," he claimed. Tanya gave him a worried look and he forced a smile on his face. "I'm okay. Really Tanya."

"If you say so," the blonde tech said slowly before standing. She walked to the door and stopped in front of it before turning. "Duke wanted me to tell you that he'll be spending the night down here once he gets back from making some trouble for Damien. And he said to tell you not to worry about him, he'd be careful." Wildwing merely nodded at her, forcing a smile again. She smiled back weakly and left, the doors swishing closed behind her. Wildwing stood there for a moment before choking back a sob. He bowed his head, shuddering as if to stop himself, but the tears escaped. As they splattered to the floor he found he could not escape this lonely terror that entrapped him. Surely, death would have been much better than this...

QQQQQ

As much as talking with Grin had helped, they couldn't stop Nosedive from returning to the infirmary, the teen heading straight for his brothers medicom bed and sitting down on the edge of it.

"Wing?" he asked after a moment. There was a sniffling noise and as his brother turned to look at him he was surprised to find that Wildwing had been crying and was still even now. "Aw man... Wing... I'm so sorry Wing... I'm sorry..." Nosedive embraced the now smaller mallard, trembling as tears fell from his eyes as well. He held his brother and cried with him, ever aware that Wildwing did not embrace him back.

QQQQQ

There was cursing in the sewers, unnoticed to any but the rats as a man in dingy clothes pulled a communicator out of his ear.

"Stupid piece of crap," he muttered, shoving it into his pocket. "Stupid things never work when you need 'em to." The man shuffled his way down the walkway beside the sewer water, grumbling all the way down, only to quiet as he came to a certain spot. Looking around he pressed a brick which flipped an entire section of the wall over. He stared in surprise at the metal wall and doorway now before him.

"Those ugly lizards were right," he breathed in surprise, only to grin as he walked up to the keypad by the door. Pulling a small chip from his left pocket he placed it on the keypad and watched as strange figures raced across the green screen. A moment later the keypad beeped at him and the door opened. Grinning widely the man entered the Pond, undetected.

QQQQQ

Wildwing was in a terrible mood, refusing to talk to anyone or even acknowledge them. He'd refused food and water until Tanya had threatened to hook him up to an IV, and even now was lying with his back to everyone in the room, glaring at the far wall as he held a pillow over his head tightly. Duke was shaking his head as Nosedive sat in a corner dejectedly staring at his brother.

"You can't help it Nosedive," the elder mallard said after a moment. "He's upset with the situation. We just happen to be the only ones he can take it out on."

"Yeah. Lucky us," Nosedive mumbled. Duke placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Sorry Nosedive," he said softly. Nosedive jerked his shoulder out of Duke's grasp.

"You're not the one who should be apologizing. It's all my fault anyway," the teen spat. Duke frowned, then snapped.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm tired of both of you, so here." He placed a small communicator in front of Nosedive. "Call me when you both get over this and plan on helping us beat the bad guy okay?" He walked to Wildwing before Nosedive could say anything and placed another communicator by the small mallard. "It goes in your ear. Stick it in there and holler when you're ready to help." He knelt down, staring Wildwing in the eye that wasn't covered by the pillow. "Just because you look like a kid, doesn't mean you are one Wing," he said firmly. "There's still a lot of work left to be done and I don't care what you tell yourself, you can help. You just need to believe in yourself Cap." Wildwing stared at him, then glared.

"Go away," he hissed. Duke's red eye flashed as his temper got the best of him. He slammed a hand down on the bed, causing both ducks to jump, startled.

"Fine!" he growled, loud enough for both to hear. "Your both idiots you know that? Get over the blame game and the pity party and get up in the Ready Room. We need you! I'll be upstairs waiting for you." He pointed at the communicator still on Wildwing's bed. "Use that to contact me. We need you both. Now grow up! Both of you!" With that, Duke turned on his heel and left the room, never looking back. Nosedive and Wildwing were too shocked to go after him. Silence reigned for a long while before Wildwing slowly removed the pillow from his head and sat up. Pulling his knees to his chest he picked up the communicator and struggled to put it in his ear. It was too large, but some how he managed. Tapping it once turned it on and he listened as Duke explained to Mallory the importance of the communicators Tanya had made for them, even though the red head kept claiming that it was just a waste of time and materials. The young white mallard sighed, setting his chin on his knees. Surprisingly it had been only three days since the incident that had changed him so drastically, and as he thought about it he realized that he really had not done much to help anyone. He shook his head and turned to look at Nosedive who was shoving the communicator into his ear grumpily.

"Dive?" The teen jerked his head up to look at him and he gave him a weak smile. "Thanks." Nosedive looked surprised.

"For what?"

"Sticking by me, even though I've been a pain since this started."

"But-"

"I'll try to be better about all this from now on. Promise," Wildwing interrupted before Nosedive could say much more. The teen stared at him for a moment, the nodded slowly.

"Okay," he said quietly, causing Wildwing to grin a little. The grin turned sheepish suddenly and Nosedive watched as his brother began to blush.

"Um... Think we can find me some clothes?" the smaller duck asked sheepishly. Nosedive snickered, standing as Wildwing turned and flung his legs over the side of the bed, the large shirt he wore coming to the middle of his little shins.

"Phil has those clothes for the new kids line they're coming out with up in his office. I'm sure he won't mind if we borrow them," he claimed. Wildwing snorted.

"Yeah sure. I'm just hoping they'll actually fit."

"You're a kid now. You're short! Anything will fit you bro!"

"Love you too Nosedive." Nosedive could only snicker as Wildwing leapt off the bed and landed on his feet, only to rub his stomach. "I'm hungry. Let's stop by the kitchen first."

"Coolness. Food sounds great right now."

"Amazing."

The brothers paused at the new voice and looked up to see a rather dirty looking human staring at them in amazement from the doorway. He walked in, the infirmary doors closing behind him as he grinned widely.

"This is absolutely amazing!"

"Wildwing? What is that voice?" Duke's voice came from the communicator. Wildwing didn't say anything, shifting over slightly as Nosedive placed himself in front of the smaller mallard, an angry look on his face.

"How did you get in here? Who are you?" he asked, his hand going to his side for his puck launcher. However, as he drew his weapon the human drew a saurian blaster, firing and blasting the gun from Nosedive's hand. With a cry of shock and pain Nosedive cradled his singed hand to his chest.

"Nosedive!" Wildwing cried out in shock. He stared at the human and his weapon as fear began to overcome him.

"Who are you? How did you get a saurian weapon?" He asked, clinging to his younger brother's leg.

"We're on our way Wing. Just hold on!" Duke's voice came over his communicator once more. The human in front of him however just snickered, a strange smile on his face.

"This is amazing! What killed mere humans, was nothing more than practical fountain of youth to you! Amazing! Simply amazing!" This said he pulled something out of his other pocket with his free hand, holding up to reveal a saurian teleportor. "Lord Damien will love this! I've got to know how this happened. Both of you are coming with me, right now!"

"What makes you think we'll go willingly?" Nosedive hissed at him. The human walked towards them, the two ducks backing away until they hit the back wall as the saurian blaster was still pointed at them. The human grinned as he neared them, his eyes carrying a nearly crazed look of eagerness.

"You don't have a choice duck," he said. Before either could react, he grabbed Nosedive's arm with the hand holding the teleporter, and as the infirmary doors opened, the three disappeared.

QQQQQ

Duke cursed, turning and slamming a fist into the wall as Mallory and Grin slowed to a walk in the middle of the infirmary.

"We were too late!" the older mallard spat.

"I can't believe this! How did he get into the Pond?" Mallory asked, turning to Duke as Tanya walked in. She looked around, fear coming over her face.

"Better yet, what are they planning to do to Wildwing?" she asked. She turned to Duke who shook his head.

"The communicator's fritzed out. Happened when they teleported," he explained.

"Can we track them?" Mallory asked.

"I can track Nosedive. He's still wearing his com link. But Wildwing..." Tanya trailed off, a sick feeling in her stomach. "Those new communicators were too small..."

"They might have taken Nosedive to the same place as Wildwing. It's a start. They were taken together," Grin pointed out. Duke nodded, then turned to Tanya.

"You and Grin see what you can find on that human that was in here and if you can find Wing and Dive. Me and Mallory are gonna search the Pond, find out how that nut got in here. Got it?" he asked. His teammates nodded and the four hurried out of the room, rushing to find any information that could help them. For the moment, Damien was completely forgotten.

QQQQQ

Wildwing wasn't sure what had happened after the teleportation, his memory was incredibly fuzzy and confused. He knew that he'd been with Nosedive, that he was small, but he didn't understand why, or where he was. He groaned as he opened his eyes, his limbs feeling sluggish and heavy, and he saw that he was in some kind of cage.

"Wildwing? Are you okay?" Nosedive's voice made him look up to see that the teen was holding him in his lap, a worried look on his face. At once everything came back to him; at least up to the point when they'd been taken, and he winced at the pain it brought, his head pounding.

"Wh-what... what happened?" he whispered. Nosedive put a hand on his brothers forehead and smiled weakly.

"You passed out bro. They put us in here, took some blood and left a couple hours ago. Remember? You bit one of them." Wildwing gave him a confused look.

"I did?" he asked. Nosedive gave him a concerned look.

"You okay bro?" he asked. "They must've hit you really hard. They had to knock you out to get you to hold still. Please don't have a concussion," he moaned, leaning forward and closing his eyes. Wildwing blinked, realizing for the first time that Nosedive was terrified.

"I'm okay Dive," he said soothingly, causing his brother to look at him. "Really. I think they just rattled my brain or something." He put a hand to the floor and pushed himself up with a grunt. Nosedive released him and the white mallard put a hand to his head. "I don't remember what happened after we teleported at all," he explained, gaining a worried look from Nosedive. "Who took us, do you know?" he asked. Nosedive shook his head.

"Some kind of scientists. Dunno who they are bro, but they all seemed real excited about you for some reason. Kept talking about an 'unexpected reaction' and how amazing it was," he said. Wildwing nodded slowly.

"Like the one who took us."

"Right. They called him Gavin."

"Gavin? That his name?"

"Guess so." Nosedive tapped his ear and Wildwing gave him a confused look before Nosedive grunted. "Stupid jerks. They took my communicator and my com link. How about you?" he asked. Wildwing slowly began to reach for his ear, then paused and shook his head, dropping his hand.

"Never had my com," he mumbled, suddenly looking outside of the cage. Four barred walls greeted him, looking out into a bare room with black reflective walls. Nosedive noticed his gaze then nodded.

"Yeah, they must think we like looking at ourselves or somethin'. The door's made out of the same stuff. I can't even remember which wall it was on," he said. Wildwing frowned.

"Could be two way mirrors Dive. They're watching us."

"Very perceptive of you Mr. Drake," came a voice from no where. Nosedive froze and stiffened as Wildwing jerked in surprise. "We're glad you've joined us in the land of the living. So tell me, how is your head?" Wildwing frowned, putting a hand to his head.

"Hurts," he snapped. "What do you want from us Gavin?" he demanded. There was a chuckle from their captors voice.

"My you are perceptive. Yes, I'm Gavin. Gavin Thorndyke. Lord Damien as expressed great interest in you, and now that we've tested your blood samples we're interested in you as well. You ducks have a very complex DNA structure. It's so similar to that of a humans it's amazing! We have to conduct further tests to see just how amazing it is." That said a door appeared on the wall to their left, a pair of large humans in black leather body armor marching in with large blasters in their arms. "I know you don't want to cooperate, but I suggest that you do. Dead bodies are useful yes, but I want to know how a live creature of your caliber would react. Wildwing, honestly you are the only one we really want to look at, but if we have to kill you we will, and your brother will be a perfect subject. But seeing as how you've already gone through one transformation... Well, we'd rather not start over from the beginning now would we?"

"No," said Wildwing softly, staring at his brother. "We wouldn't."

"Wing!" Nosedive exclaimed, staring at his brother in shock, only to pause at the look on his brothers face. Wildwing look determined, his eyes shifting to the door and then back to Nosedive. The teen barely gave half a nod in understanding, the two human guards opening the cage door.

"Very good then. If you will..." Gavin paused as the guards opened the cage door the rest of the way, Wildwing and Nosedive standing. However, before anything could be said or done, Nosedive leapt forward, bursting past the guards and knocking them over. Wildwing followed, Gavin crying out in alarm as the two ran out of the room and down a brightly lit hallway. White walls surrounded them and red lights flashed near the ceiling. They paused as they heard running footsteps and looked at each other in panic.

"We have to split up!" Wildwing exclaimed.

"No way Wing! That never works in the movies man!" Nosedive cried.

"This isn't a movie, this is a nightmare!"

"Then we should definitely stay together!" Before Wildwing could even react, Nosedive had grabbed him, lifting him up and tossing him onto his back before turning his shoes into skates and taking off down the hall. Holding tightly to his older brothers legs Nosedive shouted over his shoulder. "Just hold on!" Wildwing blinked then clung to his brothers shoulders tightly as Nosedive flew down the hall and made a sharp turn.

"I hope you know what you're doing baby bro!"

"Are you kidding? After all the times Mal has chased me through the Pond? I'm a pro at this!"

"I don't know if I should be relieved or mad that you were even doing this in the Pond!"

"I never hurt anything!" Wildwing merely groaned, resting his head on his brothers shoulder blades.

"Just get us out of here!"

"You got it bro!"

Nosedive took another turn, leaning over and down, one hand touching the floor as he made it around the corner, only to find that the hallway he'd taken was blocked by two men.

"HANG ON!" the teen shouted, Wildwing crying out as Nosedive changed back his skates and landed on his side to slide beneath the men blocking them, only to jerk upright, take a few running steps and turn his shoes back to skates again and practically fly down the hall. "You okay Wing?" he called over his shoulder. Wildwing could only nod.

"H-how many times have you done that?" he asked, his arms trembling.

"Uh... that was a new one..." Nosedive admitted. Wildwing groaned again. "You okay?"

"Yes." Wildwing's curt reply made the blonde snicker as he continued on.

QQQQQ

Damien frowned as he watched the ducks on the screen.

"Where are they headed?" he asked. He was in a square room covered with television screens that showed different areas in the building. Three security guards were with him, one typing on a key board while another was talking into a radio, calling for backup. The third was watching the screens beside Damien.

"Section C block 6 sir."

"That's right down the hall from us isn't it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good."

"Sir?"

"Give me your blaster. I'll take care of this personally."

"Yes sir."

QQQQQ

Wildwing was trying desperately to control his breathing, Nosedive skating furiously down a hall that seemed deserted, a turn appearing several doors down from them.

"We've got to find an exit Nosedive!" he exclaimed after a moment.

"I'm lookin' bro! I don't see any signs, do you?"

"No."

"Okay then! Just keep breathin' back there and let me worry about the stupid doors, okay?" Nosedive's snapped reply shocked Wildwing so much that he could only nod silently. He took a deep breath and looked up, only to cry out in surprise as a man with auburn hair stepped around the corner, raising an arm.

"Nosedive! LOOK OUT!"

"Huh?" Nosedive wasn't able to say much more as the man fired a blaster, hitting the teen perfectly in the chest. Nosedive crumbled and Wildwing screamed, terrified that his brother was dead. They tumbled and slid down the hall, slamming into a wall beside the man who'd fired at them. Nosedive didn't move and Wildwing was whimpering uncontrollably as he tried to push his brother off of him and turn him over. He didn't have the strength however, and he cried out in frustration and terror.

"NOSEDIVE!"

A clicking noise caused him to pause and he looked up to see the wrong end of a blaster, the man who shot Nosedive holding it with a calm look of anger on his face.

"Wildwing, don't make me kill you," he said cooly. "I really am impressed with your dexterity, however that's not going to keep me from finding out how your body managed to react the way it did to my poison. It really is a very curious thing." Wildwing clung to Nosedive tightly, the teen not moving save to breath.

"Who are you?" he asked, shaking. Damien smiled rather smugly.

"Why I'm Lord Damien. You're new ruler, and I suggest you do exactly as I say Wildwing. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your little brother now would we?"

"You shot him!"

"Well so I did. I had to stop him somehow Wildwing. Misbehavior is not accepted here. He'll be fine after my men have taken care of him. You on the other hand... You're the one I really want." Running footsteps echoed down the hall and a moment later guards appeared in their black body armor, which covered even their heads, guns at the ready as four men in lab coats pushed through to the two ducks on the floor.

"They're all yours," Damien said, lowering his weapon. One of the scientists nodded and smiled as his co-workers pulled Nosedive off of Wildwing and held the small duck at bay.

"Nice shot sir," he complimented. Damien nodded at him, watching as Wildwing fought the man holding him, reaching for Nosedive and crying out for him.

"Do what you need to and hurry. If Wildwing resists I want you to kill Nosedive," Damien ordered. As the scientist nodded and agreed, Wildwing froze.

"No! You can't!" he cried. Damien smirked at him.

"I can and will Wildwing. Either you do as you are told, or you're going to be an only child very soon." With that he turned and left, his army parting for him as Wildwing went limp, staring after the man who now held both his and Nosedive's lives in his hand.

QQQQQ

Duke was shaking when Mallory found him, the dark feathered mallard staring at his hands.

"Duke?" she asked, concerned as she touched him on the shoulder. She gasped as he turned and hugged her suddenly, unsure of what to do. "What's wrong Duke?"

"Nosedive..." Duke was shaking too badly and Mallory was beginning to worry. "They didn't take Wing's com. I could hear them talking..." he released her suddenly, staring her in the eye. "We have to get to them. NOW." Mallory nodded, then watched as he released her and ran down the hall, heading towards the Ready Room.

"Duke... what in the world did you hear?" she asked worriedly. But he was already gone.

QQQQQ

Klegghorn was shaking his head as Phil picked up the metal chip Mallory had found earlier and turned it over in his hands.

"That's military issue," Klegghorn told Tanya, the blonde tech watching with her arms crossed over her chest as Phil held the component in shock.

"What I can't believe is how they found the secret entrance!" Phil said suddenly. "It's not exactly well known. Even I don't know how to find it!"

"Yeah, and there's a reason for that Phil. Everyone know's how bad you are at keeping secrets," Klegghorn snapped. "Give me that." He snatched the component away from the larger man and placed it back on Tanya's lab table carefully. "I would love to know how one of Damien's men got a hold of military property, but it really worries me. He must have connections on the inside if he managed to get one of these," he explained.

"So that means he has really been working extensively on this for a long time?" Grin asked. Klegghorn nodded.

"Apparently Damien knows what he's doing. And we're stuck in the dark," he growled. Tanya shook her head, then jumped as her com-link beeped at her. Turning it on she was surprised to see Duke. Before she could say anything however, he was already talking.

"Tanya, have you managed to pinpoint Nosedive and Wildwing's location?" the elder mallard asked.

"Well no but..."

"Then get up here and help me! I can't work this stupid computer of yours and you know it!"

"Duke! What's wrong with you?"

"Wing's still got that com you gave him. It started working again just a few minutes ago and I heard some really disturbing things kid. Hurry up!"

"Disturbing?" Klegghorn asked. "What are you talking about duck?" Duke snarled at them, surprising them.

"Nosedive's been shot and they're about to start experimenting on Wildwing. Can you think of anything more disturbing?" he asked. Phil shrugged.

"Well I could..."

"PHIL!"

"We're on our way Duke, just give us a minute."

"You've got two seconds before I start trying my hand at this computer of yours."

"Don't you dare." Tanya turned off her com-link before Duke could answer and turned to Phil. "And you need to learn better timing. Now is not the time for jokes!"

"Sorry!"

QQQQQ

Wildwing was shivering as he lay on a metal table, his clothing gone and his arms and legs tied down. Three scientists were standing around him, writing notes on clipboards while a fourth stood off behind them, filling a needle with a pale green liquid.

"This is simply astonishing," one said, his face practically shoved into his clipboard as his pen moved furiously. "His physical anatomy is so much like a humans... And no tail! Brilliant!"

"Yes, the evolution of this creature is unlike anything I've ever seen before. And from the x-rays we've taken of his brother, the only real difference between us and them is the fact that they have the outward appearance of ducks. Bone density is only slightly lighter than that of a humans, though the muscle structure..." he rambled on with his colleagues, the three of them nodding as they spoke, leaving Wildwing to sigh and wish for clothing. It was freezing in this room! And this was just humiliating. The fourth scientist walked up to him then, the other three quieting.

"What I really want to test further is his DNA. The structure of it is simply amazing, unlike anything I've ever seen! The immune system itself is crazy! It adapts to whatever environment it's subjected to keeping him from contracting a disease from the difference in atmosphere and the micro-organisms within it. We must study this further, but first..." He jabbed the needle into Wildwing's arm without warning, the mallard crying out and cringing from the pain of it. "I want to see how his body reacts to the antidote."

"Yes, yes," he companions agreed. "This will be most enlightning," they crowed. Wildwing could only grunt as the antidote burned it's way through his body, and he panted, his heart speeding up. Then, he screamed as pain slammed into his body and he knew no more.

QQQQQ

Duke didn't want to admit it, but after he'd heard Wildwing complaining about the scientists taking his clothes he'd had to turn off his com. Now as he turned it back on, he wondered at the worried voices of the scientists and the sounds of them clambering around. Wildwing was silent, and Duke felt sick. The coms were helpful honestly, but the fact that you could hear everything the person on the other end could hear was a pain in the butt. It definately wasn't helping his nerves as he and Grin drove the duckcycles through the streets of Anehiem, Tanya and Mallory riding behind them, Mallory with Duke, Tanya with Grin.

"It's just a little farther Duke. That new building on Avery Street." Tanya was calling over the roar of the wind and the bikes.

"You mean the ones with all the antenna's on top of it?" Mallory called back. Tanya nodded.

"That's the one. I've managed to block all their communication signals outside of the building, but the satellites been a little tricky. I'm going to have to do that from inside!" she told them. "Once we get that knocked out, Klegghorn's given me instructions on how to contact General Barring. He's got a division of the navy and the marines waiting for us to give the okay. Until we can knock out Damien's systems, he can still launch missiles."

"Oh great. That's a comfort!" Mallory claimed, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"I'm more concerned about Wildwing and Nosedive," Duke claimed. "You and Grin can take care of all the computers, me and Mal will take care of everything else."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Grin. Tanya nodded and Duke frowned.

"You are positive that the tracker you gave me can follow Wing's radio signal from his com?"

"Yeah sure! It's got such a unique signature that..."

"That's all I wanted to know kid. Mallory, you're going to have to get Nosedive. Think you can handle it?"

"Are you kidding? This is perfect blackmail!" the red head exclaimed. Duke could only shake his head.

QQQQQ

He was dizzy when he finally came to, the room around him seeming unreal and a little smaller than he'd thought it was before. The scientists who had once towered over him, were now men only slightly smaller than himself. When he came to this realization he sat up with a gasp, causing the humans to jump back in surprise from where they had been connecting wires to his frame.

"Hold him down! We have to know what's..." The scientist was interrupted by Wildwing grabbing a tray from beside the table he lay on and flinging it at the man. There was a high pitched scream and then all of the men were running. As Wildwing stumbled to his feet, he grabbed hold of one of the terrified men, bringing him close. The human whimpered and he glared.

"Clothes," he snarled. "Now."

"Y-ye-yes s-s-si-sir," the human whimpered, his graying hair knocked askew, and he shakingly reached behind him. Wildwing looked to where the human was reaching and saw a small metal locker there. Shaking his head he let the human near it, the scientist opening it and quickly hurrying out of the white mallards way.

"Do you live here?" he asked wearily. The human shook his head quickly.

"N-n-n-no s-si-si-sir..." the man swallowed loudly. "J-j-just have th-these in c-case of-f an e-e-em-emergenc-c-cy..." Wildwing sighed and glared at the human as he snatched the clothing from the locker.

"Whatever. Here, let's see how you like being strapped down on a lab table you jerk," he said almost cheerfully, slamming the man down on the table and clamping the restraints around the mans wrists and ankles. The man began pleading to be released, but Wildwing ignored him, yanking the wires that remained on his chest off before pulling on the khaki pants he'd found among the clothing. That was all he had time for before he heard footsteps and he cursed. Looking around he saw a door adjacent to the locker and he hurried over to it, finding that it was not only an exit but...

"Th-that leads down to the detention area. B-but you c-can't go down there!" the scientist exclaimed. Wildwing looked at him.

"Is that where they're keeping my brother?" he asked quickly. The scientist nodded and he turned, running through the door and slamming it behind him. The scientist gasped.

"But your heart! You won't make it!" he cried. Wildwing didn't hear him however, as he was too busy jamming the door. Then he was off, running down the stairs just as the guards arrived to find a trapped scientist.

"Where's the duck?" one of them asked as they released the man. The scientist shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Where ever he is, he'll be dead in a matter of minutes. His hearts too weak from all the transformations..." he paused for a moment as he sat up, then, "there's no hope for him."

QQQQQ

They were surprised to find that the security was going wild when they arrived, Damien's men rushing about screaming something about a breech and ignoring the duckcycles as they pulled into an alley only two buildings down. Duke shook his head.

"Surely this isn't all for us," he said, tapping his ear to turn on the communicator only to hear labored breathing and the sounds of metallic footsteps.

"Wildwing and Nosedive must be running around in there," Mallory said. Tanya nodded and Duke listened to the footsteps slow and stop, the breathing shortening before deepening as if someone were trying to control their breathing.

"What do you hear from your com Duke?" Tanya asked. He shook his head.

"I think I'm just hearing Wildwing. Can't be sure," he told her. "We need to get in there now." Tanya nodded and Grin frowned.

"Then we must go quickly," he rumbled. Mallory grinned wickedly, puck launcher in hand.

"Ready when you are."

QQQQQ

Wildwing couldn't understand why his chest was hurting him so much. He was back to his right size and age, surely his body would be able to keep up with him now! But no, his heart was beating too rapidly for his comfort, the sound of it pounding in his ears, and half of his body was starting to go numb. He wasn't sure but he didn't think that was a good sign at all. Sitting on the stairs he wondered how he'd possibly get down all of the stairs when he noticed the railing. Coking his head to the side he wondered at it for a moment before grinning. A minute later he was sliding down the railing, landing on the floor at each turn before sliding down the railing once more. It wasn't saving him much time, but it wasn't causing as much exertion as running down the stairs had. After a while his tail feathers were starting to hurt, and to his relief he finally reached the bottom. Opening the door there he found himself back in the white hallways he and Nosedive had raced through hours before. This time however there were no guards, but it didn't stop him from being cautious. He stayed close to the wall as he walked down the hall, cracking every door he came to in order to see if it were the right room. As he continued on he could only pray Nosedive was alright and help would arrive soon.

QQQQQ

Getting in with the gas pucks was no problem. One puck in every hall had the humans dropping like flies, and as Duke split off from the rest of the team he wondered at the small tracker in his hands. It showed Wildwing as underneath them all and he wondered at how he would get into that area. As he rushed down a hall he couldn't help but grin at the sign by a door pointing that it led down. Without a second thought he flung open the door and headed down, never noticing the human with a gas mask watching him go before hurrying away.

To be Continued...

A/N: Aside from two sentences that would just annoy you, this is it. Review if you've got one.