Greetings. Here is chapter five, which the site will list as chapter six but oh well.
Thank you to Closet Geek, Angel362, and of course, Mad-Eyed Owl. Southernlady, if your still out there, thank you to you too! You were my first reviewer. I am suppose to give you a prize for that?:)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. If I did I would have given them more realistic anatomy. Sometimes it looked like the artists used Gumby dolls for models. Especially Duke. As a massage therapist, this annoys me greatly.
Chapter Five
Wildwing took the stairs two and three at a time, using his arms to help propel himself upward as fast as he could. Perhaps he was just overreacting, but there something about the way Lia carried herself, the way she avoided talking about herself, that made him fear otherwise. He felt he had to hurry. Unfortunately the climb was a long one. Their base was a good hundred feet below ground, which of course had its advantages. At other times, for instance this one, it was a royal pain in the tail feathers.
At last he came to the reinforced titanium door which let out on the opposite wall of the room, the door itself disguised as unused lockers. They were well disguised, excepting the fact they were conspicuously clean and un-dented. A fact which changed the moment Wildwing pounded in the security codes and slammed open the door, knocking it against the other lockers with a gusto. He spared a quick look at the lift and saw Duke was indeed right. She had pried open the control panel and pulled three of the wires, splicing and then re-connecting them. It looked like a hasty job, but he could see it had been effective. The lift door looked very confused as it opened, then tried to shut again, but would only make it halfway before being forced to open once more. He almost felt bad for it.
Or he would have if an explosion hadn't nearly knocked him from his feet. He caught himself with his right hand against the wall and then pushed off, running for the locker room exit as fast as he was able. Bursting through the door, the first thing he noticed was the smell. Funny thing was, it wasn't unpleasant. The air smelt much like it did after a violent thunderstorm, the result of an ionized atmosphere. However, this wasn't something you usually associated with an indoor hockey arena.
Another explosion hit, lighter than the first but enough for him to make sure of his balance again, and was followed by an unmistakable cry of pain. The atmosphere ionized once more. It made his feathers stand on end. He ran for the rink, fearing the worse. Reaching the rink's edge he skidded to a halt and stared. He felt a bit confused.
Lia was not curled up on the ice crying in pain as he had feared. She seemed quite well in fact. She stood at the north end of the rink, her feet firmly planted on the slippery ice. She was barefoot, which he found odd, but was otherwise unharmed. The same could not be said for the man standing opposite of her on the south side. He was grimacing as he held his left arm, bracing himself against the rink wall. He seemed to be catching his breath. Steam rose from the ice, tracing a thick line between the two.
Wildwing opened his beak to speak, but Lia, unaware of his presence, beat him to it.
"Leave us alone!" she shouted to the man standing opposite. The man pushed off of the wall and grinned, swaying unsteadily on his feet.
"I have no intention of bothering "us"." he announced. "It's you my old man wants. Believe it or not he gave me strict instructions to leave your brother out of this. For whatever reason he's playing nice. I suggest taking advantage of his generosity while it still exists. Come back with me."
"I left for a reason Newt. You know that better than anyone." she answered, shifting her stance as the man shifted his on the ice. "Please. Just go. Leave me out of his games." He shook his head.
"Lia, be reasonable. This isn't a game and you know it. You have to come back. If not now, then soon." Newt answered.
She closed her eyes, and through the mask Wildwing could see the stress lines forming at the corners. She looked back up. "Newt, please. Please." she begged.
Newt remained unmoved. His stance changed subtly as he released his left arm and hardened his stance. Wildwing could see he was preparing for an attack, although, he couldn't see what it would be. He was too far away for a physical attack. He had no weapons on him that he could see and the only thing he carried was a small nondescript pendant which hung from a plain chain at his right hand.
"I'll stop you." Lia announced, although her heart didn't sound as though it was in the threat. Newt shook his head with a rueful smile.
"Bluffing was never your strong point. You could stop me, perhaps, on a different day. But your unprepared for this Lia. As you can see, we've made improvements since your unexpected departure. To my eyes, your equipment is embarrassingly weak. Are those the same glittering trinkets you used for your little fire show last night?"
"If Ravenseye is so advanced by now, then why bother with me?"
"Because, whether we like it or not, you created this particular blend of science. Your natural ability to understand it is something which cannot be duplicated. Please Lia. Stop fighting me."
She shook her head and he sighed as he raised his right hand, the pendant swinging from it. A few drops of blood fell from his useless left arm and splattered on the ice. "You used up those little pieces of glitter on those first two attacks. I have the upper hand now." he stated, his body tensing.
Through the mask Wildwing could see a subtle glow beginning to emanate from the pendant. While he didn't have the slightest idea what it was, or what was going on for that matter, he decided this was as good as time as any to get involved. Morphing quickly into his battle gear, he raised his own right arm and fired a warning puck at the mans feet. It was enough to make Lia's attacker flinch, disturbing his concentration.
"Not now you don't." he announced, stepping out onto the ice, his skates activating automatically.
Lia turned to him with a look of horror on her face. "Wildwing, no!" she shouted.
The next few seconds happened in a blur of motion. As the man called Newt swung his right arm and the pendant with it in his direction, the glow from the dull piece of jewelry came to life once more. Wildwing instinctively activated his ice shield as a flare of sapphire light rushed unevenly towards him. It connected with his shield violently, forcing him back into the wall of the rink, where he hit with a jarring thud. Before he was able to completely come to his senses he was assailed again. He braced his arm for the impact, but it never came. Another flare of light, this one a fairer shade of blue than the first, a shade he knew he had seen before, rushed between him and the vicious pyrotechnics making a beeline for him. The two lights impacted with the force of colliding trains, exploding with a deafening crash and cracking the ice beneath him.
Steam was everywhere. It billowed in thick clouds all around him and the unmistakable sensation of static electrified the air. He struggled to his feet and took a quick sweep around him, the mask confirming the electricity which charged around him. Through it he could see two warm bodies, one facing his direction but still, and the other clumsily running towards him. He raised his puck launcher, preparing for another attack. A moment later Lia emerged through the thick steam, stumbling to a halt in front of him, her eyes wide in surprise at his stance.
"Lia." he said, lowering his arm. "Are you okay?"
She looked tired. There were dark circles forming under her eyes and her small hands trembled, but she shook her head. "It's not me you should worry about right now. Newt is still out there."
"Indeed I am." came a disembodied voice. "How resourceful Lia. Utilizing the steam and ice to create a deflecting charge. Rudimentary perhaps, but effective. But with your electromagnets drained, will you be able to do it again? Human flesh is a poor channel for the forces we wield."
Wildwing stepped in front of Lia, whose body was trembling as she swayed on her feet. "What did you do to her?" he shouted out. He could hear a light chuckle as the steam dissipated and the form of a young man silhouetted from across the rink.
"Me? She did this to herself. Lia, come on now." Newt became visible now, his blond hair fell haphazardly over his dark eyes, and beneath the expensive suit he wore, it was easy to tell his body was tense. Wildwing took a quick scan of his vitals. Human hearts beat a bit faster then that of his own species, but he could tell the man's heart was beating rapidly even for a human. Frowning, he turned to Lia and scanned her vitals as well. He nearly gasped. Her heart was beating entirely too fast to be healthy and she appeared to have broken out in a cold sweat. She belonged in the medical room, not on the cold ice.
"You need to leave." Lia said suddenly. She was staring at Newt, her eyes nearly unblinking as she studied his every movement. Wildwing stared down at her.
"Excuse me?" he said incredulously.
"I can't defend against him if there's someone else to consider." she explained.
Wildwing scowled. "You can't go against him period. Look at yourself, it's a fight in and of itself to keep standing."
"Listen to your friend Lia. You can't win if you can't fight back. Come with me. I'll take care of you." Newt announced, his stance still unwavering.
"Newt please, just go away!" Lia shouted out as she took step forward. But with her body being as weak as it was, she stumbled on the ice. Wildwing caught her around her waist and pulled her behind him again.
"You heard the lady. Leave my rink before I have to make you." he announced. Newt was silent for a moment before breaking out in laughter.
"You have no idea what you're up against, do you?" he said. "Well, I guess the advantage is mine then. You can't fight what you don't understand." He raised the pendant. "Lia, he wanted you to come willingly, but I can already see you're not going to be persuaded. I'll give you this one last chance. Come with me. If you don't, I will hurt you enough to make you come."
Wildwing raised his ice shield in front of them both, preparing for the attack as Lia gripped his arm and steadied herself on her feet behind him. Then, unexpectedly, she embraced him from behind, her hands running across his chest plating slowly, as if searched for something. He tensed. "What are you doing?" he whispered.
She continued her explorations and as he looked down, he noticed a slight glint of metal in both of her hands. "You won't leave so I'm trying to save us both. Your armor, it's advanced technology. There must be some sort of electromagnet in here somewhere, it's simply a matter of finding it."
"What?" he whispered fiercely. He took his eyes off her hands and looked up. Newt was watching with an expression mixed of anger and frustration. The pendant raised in front of him began to glow.
"That's enough Lia. You've had your chance."
Behind Wildwing, Lia smiled as the magnet in her right hand clicked down at the center of her protectors chest armor. Not a second too soon she thought as she tightened her grip on him.
"Keep absolutely still." she whispered.
Wildwing was about to protest when an undeniably odd sensation coursed its way through his body. Every nerve ending, from the crown of his head to the tip of his toes, felt as though it had suddenly gained a life of its own. It was not painful, but the sensations froze him. He felt as though he had become a living lightening rod. In front of him, Newt's pendant had come to life, and Wildwing knew it would be only a matter of seconds before he attacked with that strange forceful light of his.
Behind Wildwing, Lia was trying her best to focus the unstable energies she had forced together. The nature and origins of the electromagnet she had found in the duck's armor was unknown, so she couldn't be certain of the outcome of what she was about to do. On the other hand though, there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. Newt was not going to give up this time around unless she provided him with a very good reason to retreat. This burst was going to have to be powerful enough to make him think twice. She only hoped the electromagnet she was about to use would be strong enough. It was either that or use her body as a conductor again. Newt was wrong one point. Human flesh was in fact an excellent conductor of the energy she wielded, in theory. But it took it's toll physically, and she wasn't sure if she could remain conscious long enough to do what she had to. Closing her eyes she refocused on the task at hand and felt a rush of sensation she was only all to familiar with.
A cry of surprise lodged itself in Wildwing's throat as he and Lia's bodies were suddenly consumed by a flare of blue light. It then branched out and wound itself in loose circles around them, it's beautiful flame reflecting off the ice below. Less than a hundred feet in front of them, Newt's pendant exploded as well, surrounding him briefly with an intense sapphire shade of light before flinging out at them at a remarkable speed. Wildwing felt Lia's arms tighten around him and even though his instincts were screaming for him to grab her and jump out of the oncoming lights path, he found he was glued to where he stood. His jaw clenched. He had a feeling the next few seconds were not going to be pleasant.
They weren't. The oncoming force collided with the light which surrounded them protectively, jarring them both to their cores. Wildwing felt like his very bones were being assaulted as the rushing light tried to crash it's way into them. It sparked and hissed, branching out into several 'arms', almost as if were a living thing, trying to gain entry to the two fragile creatures inside.
Wildwing felt another surge of sensation course through his body and suddenly the sapphire light which attacked them was deflected violently away. It rushed back to it's creator as rapidly as it had attacked them. Despite his current situation, Wildwing grimaced as Newt was hit by his own weapon and was blown several feet backward, colliding with the rink wall. There was an audible crack and the young man cried out in pain. He did not attempt to get up.
The light surrounding them dissipated almost immediately after Newt was thrown, and as Lia's arms loosened their grip on him, Wildwing felt his body release from the frozen state it had been trapped in. From behind him he heard a soft groan and he turned in time to catch Lia before she cracked her head on the ice. She was barely conscious and stared out at the fallen form of Newt with an empty expression on her face. He scooped her up and her head lolled gently against his chest as he stared out at the rink. Or what was left of it anyway. Cracks of every size and shape littered the ice, and several scorched marks ran right down to the cement foundations. Steam was still rising in small pockets here and there. He marveled at the devastation as he heard a soft whistle from behind him.
"This must be what the apocalypse looks like." came the familiar voice of his brother.
Duke stepped up next to him and surveyed the damage with his one good eye. He then turned to Wildwing, who was walking with Lia towards the rinks edge. "She okay?" he asked simply.
"I don't know. Whatever happened out there, it hurt her." he answered. He looked around the stadium. "Where are the others?" he asked.
Duke shrugged. "They're on their way. It's only been a few minutes ya know."
"It seemed like it was longer." Wildwing sighed.
Duke glanced again at the devastated rink. "I'm sure it did."
"How about you? You okay bro?" Nosedive asked.
"Against all odds, yeah. I can't say the same for Lia though. I gotta get her down to the medical room. Duke, can you call Tanya and ask her to meet us there?"
"Sure thing."
It was then that Lia stirred in his arms. The first few sounds she made were little more than strangled gasps, but eventually coherent words began to form. "Buzz....Buzz...where...?" she rasped.
Nosedive stepped closer. "He's fine, Don't worry. He wasn't too happy about it but I made him stay below."
Lia gave a faint nod. "Don't...let him..see.." she whispered faintly, pointing to herself. Nosedive understood immediately.
"Gotcha. I'll go run interference with the runt." he said, running back for the locker room.
Wildwing shifted Lia's weight in his arms and turned to Duke. "I'm going to take her down. Do me a favor and grab the guy on the ice. We're probably going to need to get some answers out of him."
"Sure thing." Duke said and watched as his leader left. He looked to the ice and frowned. "Well, I'd grab 'em if he were here." he said. The young man known as Newton had disappeared, a blood stained spot of ice against the far rink wall the only part of himself left behind. Duke called the others on his com as he studied the area for a few minutes, but found nothing useful. He then turned and followed Wildwing's path back to the locker room.
***********
Wildwing gently settled Lia onto one of the elevated beds in the medical room, removing his mask as he moved to the the head of the bed. He began punching a sequence into the small computer screen embedded in the arch standing at the head. Tanya had made them all learn the rudiments of the high tech scanners which served as electronic nurses. They did a better job than his mask at determining health. A series of numbers appeared on the screen and informed him, among other things, of her blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate. The computer let out an alarmed beep and Wildwing silenced it. Granted, even a human in peak condition would alarm their computer since it was programmed for duck vitals and not human. But still, Wildwing knew enough to know that Lia's vitals were probably not where they should be.
She groaned and her head tossed to the side. Wildwing leaned over her, brushing the sweaty hair from from her face. "Lia?" he asked softly.
Slowly her eyes opened. She stared at him for a moment before her eyes began to wander and her face screwed in confusion. "Where is this?" she asked.
"Our med room. You fell unconscious again as I was taking you down the stairs. Remember?"
She frowned. "No."
He chuckled. "Well, I'm impressed your still talking coherently after that little episode upstairs. You do realize there's no way you're getting out of an explanation, right?"
She struggled to move to a sitting position and he gently, but firmly, pushed her back onto the pillow.
"Oh no you don't. Tanya will have my primaries if I let you up. You're staying here." he announced, one arm on each side of her to prevent her escape.
Lia sighed. "Let me guess. You have ways of making me talk."
"Sure do. It's called 'let Nosedive cook for the patient'. One hundred percent success ratio." he said, moving back and giving her some space now that she was behaving herself again.
"Tanya should be here soon to do the actual doctoring." he said. "Unless of course the medical student in the room can give me some pointer's on how to care for a human?" he said and succeeded in making her smile.
"It's just exhaustion. I'll be alright eventually. It isn't the first time this has happened." she said, grimacing when she saw his eyes brighten in interest.
"Is that so?" he said.
"But," she continued quickly. "a blanket would be nice. You guys keep all these rooms so cold."
Wildwing nodded and upon a quick survey of the supply closet produced a thick blanket, which he draped over her. "Phil has complained about that before too. I forget humans don't have feathers to keep them warm. Must have been rough way back when." he commented.
"I know. It's amazing we've survived evolution." she said as he pulled up a chair to the bedside and sat down.
"I'm guessing your ancestors were clever. Picked their fights wisely." he said casually. Then he trained his deep blue eyes on her. "Something you could stand to learn a bit better." he added seriously.
Lia couldn't help the smirk that found its way to her lips. "You're just dying to know what happened up there aren't you?"
"Of course I am. But you'll notice I'm being a gentleman and waiting until you have a clean bill of health before I grill you." he answered.
"Lovely." she said as the door slid open and Tanya rushed in.
Wildwing soon found himself being ushered out the door. As he made his way down the long hallway he met Nosedive, who had his arms full with various packages of junk food. The younger drake grinned.
"Trying to keep the kid happy." he explained. "How is she?"
"She's awake. And talking. Tanya is with her now, we'll see after that." Wildwing said, catching a bag of chips which slipped from Nosedive's overloaded arms. He returned it to the pile. "But with everything that happened up there, I'm not letting her or Buzz leave. I don't care what she has to say about it."
Nosedive gave him a searching look. "So what did happen up there Wing? The aftermath was pretty intense."
Wildwing stared up at he ceiling, looking as though he was trying to see the rink above. "I'm not sure Dive. But you remember the 'Maiden's Beacon' from last night?"
"Sure."
He looked back at his brother.
"Picture an intense, unpleasant, and very un-nice version of that, then multiply it a few dozen times. That's what I saw." he said.
Nosedive grimaced. "Sound's brutal." he said, even though he was having a hard time picturing what Wildwing was trying to explain. But regardless of whether he understood or not, the fact of the matter was they had a rink which was, for lack of a better term, toast. He understood that much. Whatever had happened up there was serious, and if Wildwing thought it was best for Buzz and Lia to stay here, then it probably was. Although, he didn't envy his brother having to tell Lia. She didn't seem like the sort of person who would particularly enjoy...umm...enforced hospitality.
Oh well, it was Wildwing's job anyway. He was the leader for a reason. Besides, Nosedive wasn't so stupid that he didn't see his brother's growing interest in the human.
"Well," he began. "I guess we have two more for dinner tonight huh?"
Wildwing nodded. "I guess. What did you tell Buzz?"
Nosedive made a face. "I don't think he bought it. I told him Drake One malfunctioned and accidentally set off some of our defenses, which detonated. Get this, he offered to fix it. Fortunately he thinks Lia was already gone, so he's not worried about her."
Wildwing nodded. "I'll tell Lia. It'll be up to her to decide what's she's going to tell him."
"I don't like lying to the runt Wing." he said.
"I know, but just keep him entertained until Lia can talk to him okay?"
Nosedive nodded to the food in his arms. "What do think this is all for?" he asked as he headed down the hallway.
"By the way bro, he's bunking with you tonight." Wildwing called out as he headed for the kitchen, smiling as Nosedive's pained protest's echoed down the hall.
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