It Begins...Again
Chapter Two
"So Canard had returned. What of the other ducks with him?"
"One was Lucretia Decoy," Wraith said, staring at the ground. Canard wasn't the one who really bothered him.
"The other two were a Eastsider duck and a Southerner, like Grin," Chameleon finished. Draganus glanced at Wraith, who was still staring thoughtfully at the ground. This was getting very old.
"Alright, Wraith, what do you know?" The Overlord demanded. The wizard chewed the inside of his cheek. Bad sign. This went against everything he knew about the sorcerous saurian. Draganus was actually fascinated now.
"The Southern duck, Lord. She's not what she seems..."
"Do tell," Draganus urged him on. This was beginning to get interesting.
"You remember, during the Invasion of Puckworld, that the majority of the population were kept alive, as we intended to keep them as slaves?"
"Of course."
"It was not like that for all the population, you'll remember."
"Right. I remember. That orginization of....something. I don't recall what, exactly. You said they had to be destroyed. That leaving them alive would mean my ruin. So I bombed them. So what?"
"The Southsider...she's one of them."
"What? Are you sure? How can you tell? The orginization was composed of ducks from all parts of the world!"
"I know. But she is one of them, the last of their kind. Which makes her all the more dangerous."
Draganus thought for a while. This wasn't good news. Anything that could ruffle his wizard this much had to be bad. But his mind was already trying to figure out how he could benifit from this.
"Tell me more about this organization, Wraith..."
All the same, Raye opened her eyes, blinking in a surprisingly bright light. Long months spent in darkness had made her eyes very sensitive to this kind of brightness. Where was she?
She glanced to her left, then to her right, her eyes still partially closed, so as not to alert anyone too quickly who might be interested in her death that she was awake.
She was in some kind of medical lab, that much was certain. Hospitals all look the same, to a degree, with only a few variations. This one didn't look like it belonged to the saurians....oh, right, now she remembered. Those other ducks, Cleech, getting kicked out of nowhere.
Now she was annoyed as well as uncomfortable. She tried to sit up, and found her wrists locked in place. This was getting tiresome.
Raye considered the armlocks. It would be so easy to.....no.
Before she could finish that thought, the door nearest her hissed open, and a blonde female walked in. She noticed Raye was awake and did a double take.
"Oh, d'uh, um, hang on!" The older woman said in a nasal voice. She sounded like she had a cold. The blonde duck turned on her heel and jogged back out, only to return a couple minutes later with a tall male duck. This one Raye recognized. The Northsider who's brother Cleech nearly aced. He was minus the Mask now.
The male pulled up a chair and sat down near her head.
"Sorry about the confines," he said, actually sounding sincere. "I didn't think it neccesary, but Mallory would've thrown a fit and beheaded somebody."
He said that deadpan. Raye raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. he cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed.
"Your friend said you knew something about dimentional teleportation?" He asked, then frowned.
"Jesus, I'm sorry. That's rude. I'm Wildwing. And you are...?"
"Raye. I take it you're the Wildwing of the original stike team?"
"You could say that. Look, I, uh, I wanted to thank you. You brought Canard back. I was sure he was dead. I don't know how you did it, but I'm indebted to you."
Raye glanced over at the other medical beds, where Canard and Decoy were laying, unconscious but breathing evenly. Decoy was strapped down similarly to herself. Raye looked back at Wildwing.
"You show an odd way of gratitude. I am not your enemy."
"Right," he said, reaching over and unlocking her confines. Raye sat up and gave Wildwing a measured look.
"It wasn't me, you know. Cleech was the one who insisted on bringing Canard along when we found him. He was the one who brought him through."
"I hope that's true," Wildwing said. "We've been keeping him in solitary confinement, after he attacked my brother."
"May I talk to him?"
"Why not. If you can convince him not to blow one of us another hole, we'll let him out."
Wildwing led her out of the med-lab and to an elevator shaft. They traveled several floors in silence, then stepped off at a level slightly less brightly lit than the others. Raye felt a bit more comfortable here, truth be told, though she doubted that was the intention.
"Did it take long to build this place?" She asked of the tall male. He looked thoughtful, trying to remember how long it had taken exactly.
"A couple of months, really. Tanya's pretty good about design and building things. Well, heheh, most of the time, anyway," he chuckled, remembering that episode with the Mega-Migrator and Daddy-O. Easy to laugh now. He hadn't been amused at the time.
"Drake1 was built in a day, though, I'll give her that."
"Drake1?"
"Our master computor. I'll let her show you her baby though. Here we are."
He stopped in front of a doorway, flipped open the side panel and punched in a code. The door hissed open, letting the two in.
"We don't often take prisoners," Wildwing explained apologetically. That was self-explanitory. There were only four holding cells.
"One for each saurian, eh?" Raye observed. Cleech was being held in the first one. He sat on the edge of his bed, sulking. When he saw Raye and Wildwing, he jumped to his feet and stepped up to the energy field keeping him inside.
"Raye! Did they brainwash y', Lass?"
"No," Raye replied, a little sarcastic. She eyed him sternly a moment.
"If you promise to behave, they'll let you out, you know."
"Yeh, so'm easier t' kill!"
"Right....how does that work, may I ask. They could just gas your cell or something. You wouldn't stand a chance," She replied, a half smile on her face. Cleech frowned, that not being the most pleasant of thoughts.
"This isn't Puckworld, Cleech. These ducks were never part of the feuding, nor do they even know about it."
"They could be lying. How do you know they're talling the truth?"
"Because I recognize some of them as members of the original strike team, which left over a year ago, and ended up here. Cleech, these ducks were gone before the feuding even began!"
Cleech considered that. He glanced at Wildwing, then leaned closer to the field.
"Okay, Raye. I promise not t' harm any o' them, unless the' attack me. Satisfied?"
"Indubiously. Wildwing? You can let him go."
Wildwing immediately walked over and punched in the code to lower the containment field. Cleech stepped out, gave him a disgusted look, and moved closer to Raye.
On the way back up to the main level, Wildwing's com beeped.
"Yeah?" He said, flipping on the view screen. his younger brother, the one Cleech'd attacked, was on the other end.
"Jus' callin' to let you know, Duke's back."
"Where is he now?"
"Med Bay."
"Shit! Now what?"
"Why don't you find out on your own?"
Wildwing glared into his com. "I'm on my way up."
He flipped the communicator off before Nosdive could say anything else.
"I was going to say the same thing before you came," the older duck replied, nodding at the other occupied beds.
"It's a long story," Wildwing said coldly. "You'd know it if you'd actually been there when you were needed."
"Hey," Duke said, defensively, "I would've except I had to stop a mugging, single-handedly!" He winced as Tanya pulled a strip of bandage tightly and cut it. "Ugh, no pun intended."
Wildwing softened a little.
"Why didn't you call for help?"
"Because he's an overly-macho, stubborn sonnuva-bitch," came a voice from behind Wildwing. Duke's eyes widened.
"No way," he said, as Raye stepped into sight.
"Duke. I'm pleased to see you've survived." She said, actually smiling at him. The former thief stood, nearly knocking Tanya over.
"Raye! Kid! You're alive! That's great!"
"I'm glad you think so," she said, then was suddenly and unexpectedly swept up in a bear-hug. Wildwing and Tanya glanced at eachother, surprised by this display of affection from the usually reserved older duck.
"Jesus, lemme look at you," Duke said, setting her down and holding her at arm's length. Raye looked embarrassed.
"Pretty as I left you. How's Callie? Still playing the mother hen, heheh...Raye? How is she?"
Raye glanced away.
"Oh," was all Duke could say. He suddenly became aware of the other ducks in the room.
"You know her?" Wildwing asked.
"Tha's pretty obvious, don't y' think, Lad?" Cleech's voice came from the doorway.
"Ouch," Wildwing winced, realizing how stupid that really had sounded.
"I was her mentor," Duke explained briskly. "How did you get here, Kid?" He asked Raye.
"Yes, why donnae y' explain that t' alla us?" Cleech piped. He recieved some glares, but Wildwing spoke up.
"Actually, I think it's a story we all need to hear. Tanya? Can you get the others to gather in the main bay? We'll finish with Duke here, then meet the rest of you. And take Cleech with you."
Tanya frowned, but followed her orders. Cleech smirked as he followed her down the hall.
Cleech sauntered calmly down the corridor, ignoring the suspicious glare he recieved from the red-head broad...what was her name? Milly, Melony, something like that. Who cared anyway?
Raye was just getting settled into her quarters. Not that much settling was required, considering that fact that they both had, well, nothing to their name, aside what was strapped to their body. Cleech simply walked in, not bothering to knock on the half-open sliding doors. Interestingly enough, Raye was simply sitting on the corner of her bed, her sword in hand, staring down at the blade. She was quickly pulled out of whatever she was thinking about at his appearance. The older duck leaned in the doorway, looking falsely nonchalant.
"How can I help you, Cleech?" She asked, matching his coolness.
"Interesting story y' told back there. I found it quite entertainin'. Pity it wasn't true."
"Wasn't it?" She asked, a strange look of warning creeping into her eyes. Cleech stared at her a few minutes. She met his gaze evenly.
"Alright," she said finally. "Close the door."
His eyebrows shot up.
"What's this abo't, Lass?"
"Close that door and I'll tell you."
He hesitantly complied. The thought of being caught alone in a room with a minor made him a tad nervous.
However, he soon found that wasn't his biggest concern. No sooner were the doors closed shut then did he suddenly find himself spun around and pinned against the wall, Raye's sword held poised to strike.
"Here's a word of warning: you will go by no other story than what you heard in the Main Bay or your blood will decorate more space than even you, dear Bounty Hunter, thought possible. I only give one warning. Clear?"
"Like crystal," Cleech retorted coolly, showing no emotion whatsoever. Truth be told, this was turning him on a little. How sick was that? The older duck quickly pushed those thoughts from his head and focused on the situation at hand. Raye kept that pose a moment more, then stepped back, sword still at ready. Cleech held up a hand in defense.
"I'm afr'id I must d'part, milady," he said with the utmost composure. "If ye'll excuse me?"
"Be my guest," Raye said, lowering the weapon but still keeping her eye on him. As he left, he couldn't resist turning around a moment more.
"Strong little thing, aren't ye?" He said, grinning. He barely managed to avoid being skewered by the flying blade thrown in his direction. Laughing, the older duck hurried back to his quarters.
"I don't know. Raye has always been distant, hard to read."
"Where do you know her from?" Wildwing wanted to know. Duke sighed.
"Just after the Invasion, after the Brotherhood was scattered, I befriended a young military commando by the name of Callie McDrake. Nothing serious, just a mutual situation. She'd dug Raye up from some rubble somewhere....she was pretty vague about the whole thing. I dunno. Anyway, the kid was in bad shape, kind of out of her head, if you know what I mean. I helped clean her up, but there didn't seem much we could do about her shattered mind. I mean, she just laid there, never moving, babbling to herself all the time, her eyes real wide....like she wasn't really there. I think, in a way, she wasn't.
"I kept trying to bring her out of it. I think, at the time, that I thought that if I could help this one girl, I had a chance at turning my life around, you know?"
"Yeah...." Wildwing said slowly. "I felt the same way about 'Dive after the Attack. Sorry, go on."
"Well, I kept this up for two or three weeks, not sure if she'd ever really come back to herself. Then one day, I was telling her a story...I don't remember exactly. Something that had happened to me once. It as supposed to be funny, and I was really trying to pass the time till Callie got back from Headquarters. And suddenly she just stopped muttering and looked at me. I mean, really looked at me. It was the creepiest thing, 'Wing. I'm not kidding. So I stopped talking and looked back, kinda shell-shocked.
"And she just opened her mouth and said 'so then what happened?' Just like that! Like nothing had ever happened. You can imagine Callie's shock when she got back to our shelter.
"Her progress after that was incredible, though she never spoke much. I started teaching her to use a sword and, well, the sort of things you learn from the Brotherhood. She was the fastest pupil I've ever had. I daresay she's better with that sword of hers than I am now.
"It was her that really got me interested in the resistance. I mean, sure, Callie was part of it. She was typically military, but she never really tried to get me to help. I guess she decided that I wouldn't be interested, being a thief and all. Maybe she was right, to a small degree. But Raye expressed a strong desire to join, ultimately dragging me in as well. And she got in, through sheer extent of her capabilites. The officials were impressed, I won't lie. She...she can do these things, 'Wing. Wierd things, like, I dunno, magic. Things with her mind.
"She really wanted to be apart of the first strike team - our team. Raye never said so, but I think she resented that I got to go and not her. But she was too young....."
"They sent her on the second strike though."
"Yes, they did," Duke said, narrowing his eyes. "She's just a kid...I can't believe McMallard would pull something like this...."
"He sent me, didn't he?" Mallory stated bitterly, making her presence known. "His own blood..."
"Sorry kid. Didn't know you were back there. You weren't meant to hear that...."
"It's okay, I already knew my father was a bastard anyway. And don't call me 'kid'."
"You got it, Mal-Mal."
Mallory gave him a rare soft look. "She's like a daughter to you, isn't she? That's really cute...."
"You're despicable, but yes. In a way she is."
Wildwing wasn't listening anymore. Canard's pulse and brainwaves had fallen into a rythmic pattern once more, but he still was in a coma, and neither he nor Decoy showed any sign of returning anytime soon. Wildwing wished he could have known what happened there, in Limbo.
Better yet, he didn't considering the state of his best friend. Canard had been the strongest person he'd known, Puckworld or anywhere else for that matter.
A year. A whole year spent in Limbo. Regret began to tug at his soul. Why hadn't he tried to do something about this? Could he have?
Tanya interrupted the chatter of Mallory and Duke, and Wildwing's thoughts, by walking into the room.
"H-hey, uh, I took a look at the Mask, um, and I, like, could- uh, couldn't, you know, find anything. It's fine now, whatever happened earlier."
She handed the contraption to Wildwing, who looked puzzled, momentarily distracted.
"Must've been a glitch, I guess. It's never happened before, though."
"Well, like, just don't hope it, you know, happens again." Tanya said, a half-smile on her face. She retreated then, returning back to whatever work she still had. Mallory and Duke likewise left, leaving Wildwing alone for the moment, aside the vegetables.
That's a mean thought, vegetables, it occured to him. He must've picked that up from Earth. He didn't remember ever hearing that sort of reference on Puckworld. But then, there were a lot of things he'd forgotten, so that was okay.
His thoughts turned to Raye. She did seem young. Real young, yet real old too. Kind of scary. Real different from his brother, though they seemed pretty close in age.
Nosedive chose that moment to enter. He gave his older brother a half-grin.
"Hey, Bro'. How's he doin'?" The younger of the two asked, nodding at Canard.
"The same," Wildwing sighed.
"Hey, he'll be okay, don't worry. Canard's the sort of pain in the ass that doesn't just go away, you know?"
"Kinda like you." Wildwing retorted.
Nosedive gasped in mock-pain and grasped his chest.
"Oh! He got me! Ugh! Gettin' darker....darker....Hey, by the way, we have a photoshoot in ten minutes. Just lettin' you know, since I figure it'd be better if Phil didn't have to come down here himself. I doubt it would help the invalids much in their recovery, you know."
With that said, he turned on his heel and walked out. Wildwing shoot his head in amusement and stood to go. He glanced one more time at Canard.
"Take it easy, okay? I'll be back soon, I just have to take care of something...business as usual, eh good buddy? Hang in there..." he told his friend before departing.
Wildwing arrived at the top floor to be greeted with the sight of Phil shoving a contract in the two new ducks' faces. Cleech looked genuinely terrified, and even Raye looked a little ruffled.
Oh shit. This was their first human, too. Great way to be introduced to a species....provided that Phil actually was human.
"Um, Cleech, Raye, allow me to introduce Phil Palmefeather, our manager. Just ignore him and he'll go away," the team leader said, getting between Phil and the two ducks.
"Hey! I have big palns for these two! Disney'll start a fresh season for sure with these two on the team! Come on, Boobella..."
"Later, Phil. Listen you two, I doubt you want to see what's coming, and I have to leave behind Tanya and Grin anyway, to watch after those two down in Med Bay, so you have the choice of staying or coming with."
"Come with," Raye said, with surprising decision. To the curious looks, she responded, "I'd like to become acquainted with this new world as soon as possible."
Wildwing noted a knowing smile from Duke and nodded.
"As you wish. And you, Cleech?"
"Hmph. Th' lass has a point. I'll come with, I guess." The older duck said, shrugging. He seemed strangely docile now, compared to his behavior before. Spazoid, Wildwing thought, a word he'd heard his brother use.
"It's your funeral. It's a mall shoot, so I guess that's a beginning. Come on, then."
All the ducks, with the exception of Grin and Tanya, piled into the Migrator and drove off, unaware of what laid in store for them...
Chapter Three
Like now, for instance. He knew he was supposed to be posing for this mall advertisement, which in and of itself wasn't so bad...What was bad was that Phil, always looking for a way to wheedle more money out of people, had come up with some absurd reason for not having them in one back ground or another. Naturally, the photographer wanted that background in particular and refused to make the shot unless he could use it. The mall's manager was fretting over the whole deal, and Nosdive knew full well that Phil was enjoying every minute of it.
Countdown....five...four....
"I absolutely won't stand for this! This is the only background that will work with all their colorings! I refuse to do it any other way!" The photographer said, putting his foot down.
...three....two....
"Oh dear..." the manager said, rubbing his neck.
....one....
"Would you do it for a thirty percent raise per duck?" He continued.
We have lift-off, Nosdive thought.
"Well...I suppose, if my clients don't object," Phil said, looking dramatically at the ducks. Wildwing, who was leaning against the wall with a bored look on his face, just waved a hand at him, signalling he really didn't give a chipped hockey puck one way or the other.
Nosedive envied the two new ducks, Raye and Cleech, who were wandering the floors of the new mall, free. They probably wouldn't be so for long, if Phil had any say in it, but for now they were off the hook.
As for the objects of his jealousy, Cleech was walking with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, a sign that, for those who knew him well (though none on this planet did), meant he was tense. This world was too strange, compared to the one he was used to. Even before the raid, he'd lived in the roughest areas of the world, avoiding the busy city life of the busy city ducks. He was a good enough bounty hunter that he knew how to adapt temporarily to different surroundings -- for whatever hit he was on called for. But when he had the choice....
Besides the fact, the few humans present today were making him doubley nervous. He hadn't come across many alien species in his time....some raptors*, occationally, back on puckworld, though very few of those appeared after the Invasion, the little bastards. Humans were, by far, the ugliest he'd seen besides the saurians.
He glanced at Raye who was far too calm as far as Cleech was concerned. She glanced dispassionately at the shops they passed. Most were open, but it was the middle of the week, so their main customers wre probably in school still. It was only eleven thirty, but Cleech was getting hungry. He hadn't eaten the breakfast offered him in his cell, too paranoid to accept anything offered him by a Northsider, and now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten since before the assault on the tower at Twin Beaks! Was that really only two days ago? If Earth time went the same as Puckworld, then yes. Raye had been out of it for a day, though she hadn't realized it till he mentioned it on the way. He doubted the red-head's attack had anything to do with it. He'd seen the strain that whatever had happened in Limbo had taken on her. She was exhausted. He wondered if she was hungry as well.
Wildwing had given them some spending money, muttering something about "...at least you won't spend it on comics..." and flashing a venomous look at his younger brother. Cleech decided to let that one fly, a little surprised by the Northsider's generousity to someone who'd attacked that same brother twenty-four hours earlier. Maybe Raye was right...
Cleech pulled out a couple of bills, wishing he knew what this world's currency exchange rate was to Puckworld cash. He smelled something edible coming from just ahead and glanced at Raye again.
"Let's get something t' eat," he said decidedly, not wanting to leave any room for argument. He really couldn't imagine why she'd argue though, and she didn't.
"Sounds like a plan to me..." She replied, and they picked up pace a little. The sight that greeted them was amazing to their eyes, so used to the harsh times of war. The mall broke off into a four-way split here, and directly in the intersection were several shops of fastfood. It smelled heavenly.
"Which one?" Asked the practical-minded female.
"Uh....All o' them?"
"Yeah right....I doubt there's enough money for all of them, not to mention your eyes are way bigger than your stomach, Cleech." Raye responded, giving him a sarcastic look.
"Well....let's try that one with th' big yellow arches o'er there," he said, gesturing at a brightly colored shop.
"I dunno, that clown is pretty scary," Raye said.
"Aw, c'mon...." Cleech said, never one to deny his stomach. He grabbed her arm, ignoring her attempt to pull away, and dragged her over to the counter.
The human behind the counter did a double take, but quickly collected himself.
"Ahem...Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?"
"Actually, I'd rather take th' order, if'n y' donnae mind, lad," Cleech said. The human looked confused, and Rayr rolled her eyes.
"Your sad attempts at humor fall on deaf ears, Whip-boy."
"Aw, shit."
Raye took command of the situation.
"Two of those up there," she said, waving at a picture menu. The human nodded, grinning perkily, and typed in the order. Thirty seconds later, two bags were produced, containing to order.
"No way thass real," Cleech said in awe. He peered into the bag and found, to his joy, that he was wrong.
"That'll be three-eighty-five," the human said, holding his hand out expentantly. Cleech produced several bills from his pocket and looked at them in perplexity. The human writing was alien to him.
"Um, here," he said, handing the bills to the human, who looked at him like he'd gone mad.
"Don't you have anything smaller?" he asked the duck.
"Um...." Cleech looked at Raye helplessly. She shrugged, no more able to interpret the money than he. The human sighed.
"Eight hundred, then," he said, typing up numbers on his registure. Cleech and Raye glanced at each other, now actutely embarrassed. The human produced their change, which Cleech stuffed into his pocket.
"Thanks for buying at McDonalds, come back soon," the human said, perky once more.
"You think they train them to be like that?" Raye asked as they sat down at some tables to enjoy their first meals in a while. Cleech shrugged.
"I hope not," he replied, pulling out a suspiscious looking object. It looked like a round sandwhich, stuffed full of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, some kind of sauce, and a meat patty. Cleech bit down, chewed a moment thoughfully, them grinned and swallowed.
"Dig in," he said, chomping down on another mite, this much bigger. Raye was eyeing her drink. It was some kind of cold, dark liquid that bubbled spontaneously when it was moved. She wasn't so sure she wanted to try it. However, she did try the meat sandwhich, and found it surprisingly good, though it had an oddly fake taste to it at the same time.
"I wonder what they use..." she said between bites.
"Who cares?" Cleech responded cheerfully, guzzling down some of the drink that Raye had decided to avoid. His reaction was interesting.
"Whoa...." His eyes widened. "It kinda burns, but it's sweet too." He took another gulp, this a bit smaller.
"Not bad, though."
"I'll pass," Raye decided.
"Suit y'self," Cleech shrugged, finishing his sandwhich and starting on some greasy strips of what may have been potatoes once. He finished these remarkabley fast as well, then stared predatorily at Raye's food till she handed him her own potatoe strips in exasperation.
"I'm not that hungry anyway," she muttered, watching him eat in horrid fascination. She handed him the rest of her sandwhich and watched him gulp down her drink as well.
"Shall we go? We can always come back," Raye said, standing up. Cleech followed suit, giving a final, longing stare at the other food counters. Still so much to try....
They headed back towards the other ducks, having seen as much as they wanted to see (well, except the food...), and stood in the doorway of the room where the Mighty Ducks were being photographed, perplexed amusement on both their faces.
What a strange world, Earth was....
"Okay, smile for the camera...Duke, baby, come on! You can look more sexy than that..." Phil was saying. Duke looked more than a tad annoyed and really humiliated.
"C'mon, Duke, look sexy for the camera!" Raye said, a half smirk on her face. Duke glared at her.
"Watch it, Kid, or I swear I'll--"
What ever threat he was going to use on her was cut off by an explosion that knocked half the people present off their feet (these mostly consisting of the humans and a couple of ducks who will go unnamed to preserve their dignity and my life). Several drones and two saurians appeared in the dust and broken mortar.
"Wraith and Chameleon!" Wildwing said, as they all quickly switched to battlegear.
"Thank god," Nosedive muttered.
"Nice effect," Cleech said, staring at the newly appeared armor. "When d' I get mine?"
"Not the best time to discuss this, Cleech," Raye said, whipping out her ducksabers. Cleech noted that there were now two hidden ducksabers in her keeping. Where she kept them was the real question...
Smooth as ever, the Eastside duck snapped his whip in the direction of one of the drones that was getting a tad friendly. It's head and body fell in seperate directions.
"One down," he said, bowing to Mallory, who rolled her eyes and blew the head off another robot. This was a suspisciously small number of drones to be sending against them, the red-head thought. Was Draganus up to something or just being sloppy?
Duke was immediately at Raye's side, feeling a sort of paternal protection over her. She didn't much appreciate it, however, and had already cut through three drones, making a beeline for the saurians.
Oh shit, Duke thought. I should have known....
Wraith, for his part, waited patiently as the young female duck cut her way to him.
Finally, they were facing each other.
"So we meet at last," the saurian smirked.
"You must be Wraith," Raye shot back. "I have a message from your son. He said to send his regards."
"I have no son," Wraith returned, then lashed out with a fireball before she could speak again.
"No!" Nosedive shouted, seeing what was going on. Then something that he would never forget happened. Raye was standing too close to dodge the fireball quick enough. But she didn't try to, and the flames -- evaporated around her!
"Wha-?"
Wraith didn't seem surprised however. If anything, he was satisfied.
"Just testing," he said coolly.
"That wasn't very nice," Raye said, narrowing her eyes. The saurian looked a bit unnerved but stood his ground.
Chameleon jumped her, in the form of a rather frightening monster with very long claws, which tore open her upper arm.
"Shit!" She snarled in pain, as blood began to pour from the wound and down her arm. The saurian shapeshifter had her pinned to the ground, but she quickly remedied that by kicking him in the crotch.
"Eeeep! That wasn't fair!" Chameleon said, his voice about three octaves higher than usual.
Ignoring the agonized reptile, she leapt up and threw herself at Wraith, coming in contact with his torso and sending them both into the corner of the room. A brief struggle insued, which, it looked to Nosedive, strange though it seemed, to be over Wraith's staff! He managed to knock off a couple more drones, then hurried over to help her.
But suddenly, to the shock of all, the battle ended as quickly as it began. The last few drones disappeared, along with Chameleon and Wraith, in a hiss of smoke.
"Huh?"
"What in-?"
The ducks looked at one another in confusion.
"Something's wrong," Wildwing said. "We better get back to the Pond. That was too easy, even for a Disney episode!"
His com beeped, and he answered it. It was Tanya, obvously concerned.
"Don't worry, stay there," he told her. "We're okay, I think." He turned the communicator off and looked around for his brother, who was helping Raye to her feet. Her arm was bleeding terribly from the claw marks, and she was trying to stop it, gripping the place and grimacing. Red liquid seeped through her fingers.
"Hey, 'r' y' okay, Luv?" Cleech asked, striding over to her and bumping Nosedive out of the way. The latter glared balefully at him and sulked.
"Peachy, Cleech. Just fine," Raye snarled through clenched teeth. He looked concerned, however.
"Sorry about the mess, sir," Wildwing said to the manager, who was hiding behind some of the disgarded backgrounds with the photographer. "Phil'll pay for it."
"What?" Phil's head popped out of some bushes.
"Let's go," the young leader said, heading for the exit and the Migrator. Raye's arm needed cleaning and bandaging, and he didn't feel safe in the open anymore.
Chameleon limped up to Lord Draganus as soon as they were back.
"Mission accomplished -urgh!- sir."
"The tracker is in her bloodstream then?"
"As ordered." The shapeshifter was in too much pain to try to make a joke. He limped away to heal himself and his dignity.
"And you, Wraith. What did you find out?"
"Nothing that I didn't expect, lord, except, perhaps, one thing."
"And what might that be?"
"I don't think she knows, lord. Not entirely. But I'm not yet certain. I'll have to study her further."
"There will be plenty of time for that, if this new tracking system of yours works. We have only to wait for the right moment to make our move now."
"Indeed, my liege. If you'll excuse me, sir, I must make preparations. She won't be an easy one to hold, no matter what she knows."
"As you will, Wraith."
The sorcerer departed, leaving Draganus to smile to himself. Things were beginning to look better already....
Nosedive was still trying to accept what he'd seen. He was pretty sure no one else had noticed that fireball thing -- they'd all been a bit busy saving their own butts. It was so hard to believe....
He watched, leaning in the doorway of the Med-bay, as Tanya wrapped a gauze around Raye's arm. The cut had been clean to the bone, unfortunately, and Raye didn't look at all happy about it.
"Dammit, that's my sword arm," she complained.
"You use two swords," Duke pointed out. Hewas dressing a minor burn on his leg he'd gotten from a laser shot by one of the drones. Nothing too serious, but it would probably sting for a few days. Cleech had pulled up a chair and was watching intently as Tanya bandaged Raye's arm. The younger female looked annoyed by the attention.
"Is that neccesary?" Raye asked, glaring at Cleech.
"Jus' mekin' sure she does it right," the older duck replied.
"Yeah, right. I saw where you were looking, and it wasn't at my arm!"
Cleech feigned horror.
"Y' would accuse me o' such a thing, lass? I'm truly insulted, luv. Truly!"
Raye gave him a strained look, but Tanya ruined the effect by giggling. Duke gave Cleech the old 'I'm gonna have to talk to you later' look, so the latter decided to retreat for the time being. Tanya finished up and snipped off the extra gauze.
"Uuuuall right, that outta hold till, uh, well, you should, uh, get it replaced in, um, if the blood starts seeping through, okay?"
"Got it," Raye said, standing up and leaving the medical bay. Nosedive picked up stride with her.
"Hey," he said, not sure how to start.
"Hey," she replied, not particularly in the mood for conversation.
"Um, I don't think we've really formally met, but...I'm Nosedive."
"I know."
"Right......Uh, can we talk?"
"We are talking."
"You know what I mean."
Raye sighed. This one was insistent. There was obviously no getting rid of him, and by the look on his face, there was something more on his mind than the obvious.
"Fine. Where would you like to go?"
Nosedive hadn't expected that. He racked his brain for a moment, coming up with some places they could go. Captain comics wasn't a good idea, because he didn't really want Thrash and Mookie in on this yet ('yet' being the operative word), and he thought it best to avoid malls for now.
"You wanna go to a movie or something?"
She looked surprised.
"They have movies here?"
"Sure, doesn't everybody?"
"I suppose all the actors are human as well, hmm?"
"Well, yeah, unless you include the animals. Hey, speaking of animals how about Dr. Dolittle?"
"You're the expert," she replied, wondering what she was getting herself into. She doubted he just wanted to take her on a date, though she realized the poor guy was the youngest duck till she got here, so he had been missing out on a lot of what came natural to his age group because of it. Still, something else in his eyes made her curious. She had a feeling the movie was just going to end up as background noise....
Continued in Chapter Four!
*-Raptors are the name I use for Falcone's breed of bird. He's not a duck!