I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Wildwing walked back to the front doors of the Pond. He felt horrible. Mallory shouldn't have felt unwelcomed enough that she had to leave, this was his fault. He should have put a stop to the blaming the moment it started happening. Opening his com, he hoped to track her location so he could bring her back but her tracking was deactivated. "Great. So she's out there alone with a psycho after her. Way to handle the situation Wildwing. Real pro." He scolded himself. Yes, he may have been angry but he didn't want her to get hurt, that was the last thing he wanted. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of what Orion might do to her if he caught her. "No way am I letting that happen." He had no doubt in his mind that the crazy duck would try to take advantage of Mallory but she was so strong that he highly doubted he could. It soothed him to know she was so strong.

As he walked in the doors Grin was standing there waiting for him. "Where is Mallory?"

"She left, for good or at least that's her intention." Grin's face was distressed so Wildwing attempted to calm him. "Don't worry I'll go get her back. I just have to figure out how to find her." He took a deep breath, he didn't want to make Grin even more distressed by seeing his distress, they needed to see a calm and collected leader.

"Wildwing, it's not safe for her out there alone. Orion will get to her. He has before."

"I know."

"No you don't. Mallory hasn't told you everything."

That gave Wildwing pause. "What do you mean?"

Grin looked down, contemplating telling him. "…It's not my place to say."

"Grin what is it?" The big duck didn't say anything. "Grin please tell me."

"Orion got to her while she was here in the base."

"I know." Wildwing looked at Grin oddly.

"No he got to her."

"What do you mean?" The sinking feeling filled his stomach again.

…...

Grin hadn't been expecting his team captain to fly into a rage. Everyone watched from a distance as Wildwing seemingly lost his mind and tore apart the locker room. Tanya hid behind Duke, clutching at his arm nervously while Nosedive attempted to go stop his brothers outrage but Grin wouldn't let him. This kind of anger needed to run its course without interruption, Grin only knew too much about anger, he had a lot of it when he was a kid.

Meanwhile Wildwing continued to take out his anger on the locker room. "He raped her! Waited for us to leave and got her when she was all alone! She was all alone! Like she is now! And I let this happen." Grins face had been one of remorse and anger when he told Wildwing. Grin reiterated to him what Mallory had spoken in confidence while holding her crying form in the meditation circle. "FUUUUUCCCCKKK!" He tore his locker door off and threw it across the room. "The bastard violated Mallory! My Mallory." Exhausted he slumped to the floor, breathing hard and staring at nothing in particular.

…..

Arriving at Jim's apartment, she found him outside waiting for her. His apartment was more like a small but modern town house only it stood on its own. It was a white and black concert building with three levels and had large windows, giving an excellent view of the trees and forest that surrounded him. Outside in the back was an extensive Japanese garden, complete with a pond and red bridge. This place wouldn't have been cheap to rent, Jim must have had some money that didn't come from the military.

He smiled and offered to carry her bags in. He was cute with how excited he seemed at the thought of her staying. Like a gentleman he took her bags from the bike and threw them over his shoulder. Leading her to the medium sized but modern apartment. Mallory smiled at Jim and followed him in, grateful that he was kind enough to let her stay while trying to find a place of her own. She wasn't going to stay for long but she just needed somewhere to go that wasn't surrounded by teammates who hated her… correction ex-teammates.

Walking in the front door, she saw the kitchen and dining room were on the bottom floor. Taking her shoes off at the front to be polite, she then followed him up the stairs to the right side of the room. On the second floor was the living room and entertainment center. He had a large 'C' shaped sofa that could easy fit twelve in the middle of the room, his dark wood floors contrasted against the light grey multi colored brick walls that went around the room. With the brick walls and high ceilings, the living room felt like a loft apartment. It had two large windows, one that faced the back of the apartment so that you could look out at the garden in the back, it covered the whole wall. The other faced the front of the apartment but it shared the wall with a large glass door that lead out to a balcony that went all the way around the building. Some chairs sat out there with a small café table so that you could have a coffee outside if you wished. The entertainment center matched the dark wood on furniture and a large flat screen tv sat in the center of it. Mallory couldn't help but admire his taste. He led her up to the final floor which was the bedrooms and took her to a room on the left. The walls were grey with white pictures hung along them for contrast. A large window covered one wall, giving a view of the trees and garden behind the apartment. There was a door to her right when she entered, it was a modern bathroom just for guests. The bed was a queen sized bed with white sheets and a dark grey comforter.

"I hope you like it. It's a very comfortable bed." Jim said as he placed her things down in the corner on a low table.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me stay with you for a few days. It shouldn't take long for me to find a place of my own."

"Please Mallory, stay as long as you like. I wouldn't mind it if you moved in permanently." He smirked and leaned against the door frame to her room. "Well I'll let you get settled and when you're done feel free to join me."

"Okay." She smiled at him as she unzipped her bag that held her clothing and began organizing the room. Jim went back downstairs to the living room and turned the tv on.

…..

Orion sat on the large plushy couch thinking about how the woman he was in love with was going to be sleeping in the room next to him. It would be tempting not to go in at night and take her as his but he had to be careful. He needed her to fully trust Jim Holst for the time being.

He still needed to build another mind control device since he used this last one on Wildwing. He would need to go back to his other hideout and grab the tools necessary to make it, cause he had none of that equipment here. Perhaps he should meet one of his robots and have it hand off the equipment but that still left him scrambling to build the thing and the robots couldn't do it. Mallory would be dedicated to hunting him while here, he had no doubts about that. Perhaps he should have her hunting a robot that looks like him. That could work. That way when she was gone he could work. It would take several days to build it but that should be fine if she was out hunting someone that she thought was him. He smirked to himself as he leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head, using them as a pillow. Yes, that would work and every once in a while, he would actually let her chase him. Make a fun little game out of it so that he could tease his sweet little vixen.

A cruel smirk spread across Orion's face. She was all his now. He quickly wiped the look away when he heard her walking back down the stairs. "Glad you could join me beautiful." He offered her a seat on the sofa which she took with a nod. Sitting down close to him and crossing her lovely legs. His eyes trailed over her prefect form as she watched tv, unaware of how he was looking at her.

"Oh yes, she is all mine."

…..

After dinner and tv, Mallory went to bed at ten and wished Jim a goodnight. He stayed downstairs to watch some more television, saying he was not quite ready for bed yet.

She went upstairs and began planning how she was going to find Orion. Honestly the best thing to do would be to let him come to her but she didn't want to wait for him to stalk and close in on her, she wanted to be the one that got the upper hand on him. When Mallory laid down she practically sank into the bed, it's plushy comforter surrounded her body, keeping her cozy and placing her in a deep sleep.

…..

Around four in the morning, Jim's bedroom door opened quietly, the imposter walked out without making a sound and gently tested Mallory's door knob. It was unlocked. He turned the knob and peaked inside, Mallory was asleep, completely unaware of the danger that hovered in her doorway. Stealthy he entered the room and closed the door behind him, moving as if he floated he went to stand over her bed, watching his sleeping temptress. So completely vulnerable and so completely unaware that she was already in his hands. A gentle breeze floated through the room from an open window, it brushed over the bed and it's sleeping occupant. The breeze carried her scent up to him and made him shiver. Orion's hand stretched out to gently move some hair that fell in her face from the breeze. With the back of his fingers he caressed her silky cheek. The feel of her feathers brought back vivid memories of the day he had her back in her underground base. Her swelling curves were covered in the peach colored feathers that were so invitingly soft. She had no idea how much he loved her.

"Passion, we are slaves to it. We must obey it. Cause without it then we're not really living. To not have her is to be dead and I intend to live my life to the fullest." He watched her sleep soundly on the large comfortable bed. "So close. So close that I can taste her scent on my tongue when I breath…. However, I can't do anything that would give her cause for alarm. If she were to wake up with a different taste on her beak from one kiss she might notice. I must be patient but even here next to her I am not at peace, not until I am one with her." He clenched his fists to stop himself from continuously touching her. Even this was dangerous. Forcing himself away he went to his room and closed the door. "She makes me burn in ways I never thought I could." He fell back on the bed and draped his forearm over his eyes. "It's going to be a long week."

Orion laid there with his arm over his eyes, thinking about the past.

Flashback:

Orion started another day as the lead scientist of Puckworld Special Forces. He and Mallory had been talking about the future and the conversation still left him feeling like he was walking on air. They wanted to get married and have a family once they fulfilled their contracts with the PSF. It was perfect, it would only be another year before the contracts needed to be renewed, so his happy future wasn't too far away. It was just enough time for him to complete what he needed to do here and find another job so that he could be with his family more and support them which shouldn't be too hard to find for him. Orion grabbed his coffee and made his way down to the labs below, it was time to start his day.

His white lab coat was a little small for his large shoulders, so when he moved his arms around to work it squeezed down on his shoulders. A minor inconvenience but he could make due. Out of the side of his eyes he could see Bard, the head of PSF and other council members that were high up in state through a large glass window on the side of the room. They were here to watch him demonstrate this new serum that should make a super soldier. He was leery to move ahead this so quickly but Bard was insistent that they try. Orion reluctantly went along with it but still warned Bard about the possible consequences.

So far tests have shown that the super soldier serum works in the beginning but after time the subject suffers from fever, fall into crippling pain and then finally start to lose their mind. The first round of serum caused a complete break with reality. Some subjects lost their minds completely, they saw things that weren't there and they became delusional and violent. The second round was improved upon and the effects were less but still there. The soldiers become stronger and healed quickly but in a weeks' time they started to show signs of obsessive behaviors. In the third round, the soldiers became super strong, they healed fast and the serum pushed their adrenaline into hyper drive, not allowing their brains to register pain. This was bad because went they hurt themselves badly they couldn't feel it and ended up hurting themselves even worse but despite this Bard thought it looked promising. It was almost considered a success until one soldier just dropped to the ground in the middle of a fight and had a seizure. Orion acted quickly and had to flush his system of the drug in order to save his life. These men weren't just subjects, they were his friends, he didn't want anything bad to happen to them so when something like this did happen he personally made sure they were well taken care of. Orion wanted to start over but Bard pushed it off as a bad reaction to the serum by that one soldier. Orion was forced to continue to use the serum until more started dropping, soon every single soldier that used that specific serum started having seizures. Now with Bard forced to acknowledge that Orion was right, he was granted the permission to go back to the drawing board and start over. He completely recreated the serum and turned it into a gas form due to the different chemicals and compounds required.

That brought him to his demonstration with Bard and the council. He had the fourth round ready to go but everything went wrong. The soldier was put into the glass chamber and it slowly filled with the gas. Everyone watched tensely as they waited for it to finished being absorbed only it never got the chance. The soldier's mind was affected instantly, it was an overdose, they had used too much. He started banging on the glass, violently bashing his fists into it until it started cracking not caring that he was slowly breaking his hand and that his knuckles were being shattered. Orion went to hit the knockout gas in the chamber but before he could reach it the soldier broke the glass on the chamber and the gas quickly flooded out into the rest of the room. The effects on Orion and anyone else in there were immediate and Orion lost consciousness.

When he woke up later he found himself strapped down to a medical bed in one of the many labs. His arms and feet were chained and a bright light was high over his head. Not long after waking Bard came in. He told Orion that he couldn't let him leave yet, that they had to make sure that the gas didn't affect him negatively. Orion had been patient and let him test him but after a week he lost his patience. He had not seen or spoken to Mallory once in all the time they kept him there. They wouldn't let him contact her in any way. Most of the time he spent strapped down to a table being poked and prodded with needles. When he would say that she was probably concerned for him and would come looking for him they would just keep saying that they had taken care of it. What the fuck did that even mean? That they lied and told her he was fine when he wasn't. Probably. He didn't care what they wanted he just wanted to see Mallory. That was all he wanted, Mallory.

During the nights, the fever took hold of him. He started shaking and screaming profanities at the ceiling for hours on end. He would scream Mallory's name and curse at the pain his body was in while he laid strapped down to a cold steel table. Everything he had done for them and they couldn't treat him better than this? Thoughts of Mallory were the only thing that helped him get through it. Thoughts of her smiling face, of how she told him she loved him.

He would think about some of the stuff he would do with her. Stuff like watching her sleep when he woke up before her in the morning or skating through the city with her. The simplest thought of holding hands, kissing, or making love seemed to be the only thing that kept him going. Whenever he thought of her it calmed him and the serum didn't hurt as much. She was his rock, she saw him through the storm and saved him. Then the fever and the pain would finally subside and he would pass out from exhaustion.

Once the serum had runs its course and was out of his system, he was finally released. They told him that he would need to get regular testing done on a weekly basis to make sure no permanent damage was done. They also informed him that no one, including Mallory McMallard was to know about what happened. If he told anyone he would be sent to jail and so would the persons that he told. This was all top secret stuff and he knew this already because it was in his contract but for some reason it ruffled his feathers wrong now. Did they think they could control his life? Did they think that they owned him or her? He stewed over it in the back seat of the limo the whole drive back to his house where Mallory was waiting for him. He was so angry that he didn't bother looking at the outside world as it passed by on the drive home. When they dropped him off, he opened the door and slammed it shut behind himself. Completely forgetting that Mallory was there.

"Orion?" He froze hear her voice, it had only been a week and a half but to him it felt like a month. She walked out of the kitchen and gave him a megawatt smile. Her red hair was down but pushed back out of her face. In the next instant her arms were wrapped around him, giving him a big welcome home hug and kiss. She told him how she missed him and how she loved him. Orion could only stare at her like he was seeing her for the first time. All of the anger toward the PSF was washed away in an instant with her touch and sweet words. God he had missed her. Slowly a smile broke out across his beak and he kissed her again. Not bothering to ask, he picked her up in his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom where he spent the night showing her how much he missed her. Reveling the sounds of her soft sighs and feel of her gentle caresses.

The next morning an hour was spent just watching her sleep peacefully. How was she able to make everything better with just a hug or a kiss? She was so beautiful. Many times they had talked about marriage and children. Mallory wanted to be a mom one day and he wanted more than anything to make that happen but he couldn't do it when they both lead such dangerous lives.

Not even a week later he handed in his resignation and told them that Mallory would be handing in hers too. They were going to start a family together. He was sure she would agree with his decision but Bard told him that he couldn't and that neither could Mallory. They both had a contract that they signed and they were legally obligated to fulfill it until it's expiration. Orion had been furious, that was when he started planning ways to get what he wanted.

End Flashback:

He would have gotten away with it too if Mallory hadn't flipped out on him. He was sure Bard somehow got to her. As far as he was concerned this was all Bard's fault. When he got back to Puckworld with Mallory, Bard would pay but right now he needed her to see the light and come back to him. He lifted his arm off his face and looked at the door that would led out to the hall and to Mallory's room. He wanted her so bad. It wasn't fair that he was forced to wait because of what Bard did but it wasn't her fault. He would make her see and understand that what he was doing was for the best. Rolling over he forced himself into a light sleep.

…..

Wildwing stood next to Tanya and Duke at Drake One, Mallory had turned off her tracking but they could still use the human's camera's and security to figure out where she had gone. Tanya typed frantically away at the keyboard, guilt had overridden her earlier anger. Mallory had left because of the way she had been treated and she had by far been the worst one to her. The blond tech was kicking herself for her behavior.

They didn't know what set Wildwing off back in the locker rooms, he wouldn't talk about it. Once their leader had calmed down he gave out orders to track and find Mallory. It wasn't going to be easy but she would do it. She owed Mallory that much. Tanya sighed, looking down at her lap, feeling lousy in general. Seeing her forlorn expression, Duke placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze to comfort her. The blond tech glanced over her shoulder at the resident thief and personal heartthrob. His eyes spoke volumes and she was grateful for his support. Gently she placed her hand over his, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. They would fix this; they would make it right.

Wildwing saw the sweet moment between them and didn't know what to think of the pang of jealously at being able to be intimate with each other so openly. He wanted to be able to do that with Mallory. "That's my fault. If I didn't act the way I did, she would be here right now, with me." He let them have their moment before giving out orders to have Drake One search for their wandering teammate while they rested. With that set up everyone went off to bed to rest. Duke and Tanya walked off hand in hand to Tanya's room. Wildwing gave Nosedive and Grin updates over the com and went to his own room. He knew he would find no sleep tonight, not when she was out there by herself. "Please be safe Mallory."

…..

Mallory woke up the next day well rested. The smell of food wafted up from the kitchen on the bottom floor making Mallory's stomach growl. Sitting up and giving a monster stretch had her ready to greet the day. Throwing on some causal clothes, the red head made her way down to the bottom floor where Jim was standing in front of the stove cooking French toast. Hearing her feet pad gently down the stairs he turned and smiled at the pretty duck. "Good morning. Breakfast?"

"Yes please." Mallory sat down at his dining table where a glass of orange juice was waiting for her. Sipping on the heavy pulp orange juice, Mallory was pleasantly surprised to find it was fresh squeezed. She loved fresh squeezed orange juice. "Wow this is really good."

"Nothing but the best." Jim laughed, brought her plate over and set it down in front of her.

"Thank you. Looks delicious." Grabbing the syrup from the middle of the table and applying a moderate amount, she took a bit and groaned at the first bite. "Oh wow. You can cook."

"Yeah. It's a talent I learned just to impress the ladies." Jim winked at her from across the table. They joked around as they ate and made flirty conversation. After ten Mallory went back upstairs and started preparing to seek out and track down Orion.

As she prepared, Orion began preparing to carry out his plans for that night as well. He needed to get his equipment and make the new mind control device. It would take the whole day but he couldn't risk Mallory discovering him. He would need a distraction, that was where the robots came in. She would no doubt go back to that old house and look for clues as to his whereabouts. There was nothing there that would help her but a robot would be waiting to either lead her on a wild goose chase or capture her and hold her for a time. Long enough to let him finish building the device. Once the device was built the games would be over and she would be his. He could drop his disguise as Jim Holst and make her see the truth. She would either agree or fight him. If she fought then he would use the device, simple as that.

…..

Mallory thanked Jim for breakfast and let him know that she had some work to do. He gave her a key to the apartment and told her he had some errands to run as well. She thanked him again and made her way to her bike.

She needed to investigate the last place Orion stayed. When she arrived there was still police tape around the house but everything around was dead quiet. Careful not to tear any of the tape she made her way into the house. She spent hours upon hours searching the rooms only to come up with nothing. It was already night time and she hadn't found anything that could be useful to lead her to Orion. Frustrated and angry Mallory stepped outside to get some air, her eyes scanning the dark tree line behind the house for anything unusual. Seeing how dark it was Mallory felt a creeping sensation crawl up her spine, her instincts telling her she shouldn't be out here alone in the dark. Carefully she walked back to her motorcycle and started it, it roared to life and lite up the road before her with the large light on the front. Driving away from the dark house she planned to head back to Jim's when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. There he was, watching her on a motorcycle of his own. He just stared at her with no emotion, she thought he had somehow frozen into a solid statue when he suddenly hit the gas and turned the bike away, making a run for it. Mallory didn't think, she just reacted and gave chase.

"You're not getting away!" She yelled at him. He acted like he didn't hear her, instead he went faster and led her all the way to a semi destroyed building by the water. He disappeared on his bike around a corner and she followed behind him. Turning the corner, he was no were to be found. He and his bike were gone. "What? Where did he go?" She stopped and took in her surroundings, trying to find where he could hide. "Damnit all." She said angry he had gotten away when she was suddenly pulled off her bike by strong hands. Without the kick stand up, the heavy cycle crashed on its side loudly.

She looked up at the person holding her and of course found Orion's face looking back. "Hello Mallory." Orion had finally captured her and she walked right into it.

…..

Tanya sat in front of Drake One with her coffee in hand. She had been relentless searching for Mallory since Wildwing's freak out. It was eight o'clock at night and still she hadn't found anything. Duke walked in seeing Tanya slumped over the keyboard in frustration. "Hey, you okay Sweetheart?"

"Oh yeah I'm just a little tired." Tanya sat up and started typing away at Drake One again, checking local street cameras to see if Mallory had passed by one and at what time.

"Why don't you take a break. You've been at it all day." Duke placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them.

Tanya didn't want to give up but she needed a break. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stop for a little bit. "Yeah. Maybe your right." She stood up and walked with Duke's arm around her waist towards the door when the computer suddenly went off. Both ducks ran back to it and with new energy Tanya found what they had been looking for. Mallory was seen in pursuit of Orion down by the water.

Duke opened his com and called the others. "Wildwing we've got a location on Mallory!"

…..

Her arms ached and her shoulders felt like they were in knots. Her eyes studied the room he had dragged her to, it was a cold dark room with broken tiles falling off the walls. "What are you going to do?" She asked, speaking for the first time since he captured her.

"Look who decided to start talking again." His voice came from the darkness behind her. Mallory tried to look over her shoulder but it hurt too much to turn her neck. Hands were suddenly on her hips. "You're finally in my hands again." She hissed at him and attempted to move away from his touch. At the sound of her hiss he let go of her. "Still so angry."

"You bastard. When I get out of here you'll wish you never met me." Walking around to face her he took her chin in his fingers.

"I would never wish for such a thing. We're soul mates."

"No we're not."

"Why fight it? You know we are." She yanked her head from his fingers only for him to grab her chin more harshly, painfully digging his fingers in so that she couldn't pull away as he turned her head to face him again. "Stop fighting. Your friends will never find you. Stay with me Mallory." She spit in his face, causing him to jerk his head back. Wiping her spit off his cheek, he shook his head at her in disappointment. "If you think this will deter me than you're wrong." His mouth was almost on hers when she painfully slipped her chin from his grip.

"You're out of your mind!" What had she been thinking chasing after him by herself. Now she was at his mercy!

"I'm not. How can you be so stubborn?" But before anything else could happen the sounds of someone breaking into the large abandon building made them both look at where it came from. He smirked down at her. "Don't go anywhere."

Once he disappeared out the door Mallory yanked on her chains, slowly she was able to slip her small wrists free. No chance she was sticking around here for him to come back. She was out of here. Her strategy would need to be rethought, but first she had to make sure he didn't hurt anyone. Grabbing her guns, Mallory took off in hot pursuit of Orion.

…..

"Be on your toes team. We don't know what will be waiting for us in there." Wildwing told everyone as he led them into the building. Slowly they checked around the bottom floor and came to a room that was out in the open air. Parts of the building were crumbled off, clearly having fallen into the water below. "There's nothing here, let's move to the next area." Wildwing said leading them out.

Nosedive watch his brother walk mechanically around. He had never seen his brother so upset. Mallory's disappearance hit Wildwing hard, harder than Nosedive thought it would hit him. After his brother's incident in the locker room, the younger duck felt the weight of what was happening to their team more heavily now. No matter what had happened in the past they needed to remain united to bring an end to all conflicts. He sighed as he watched his teammates walk out after Wildwing. They all felt the dark heavy cloud that had descended over them, especially their leader.

Nosedive wouldn't admit it out loud but he actually missed Mallory. She went to comic shops with him and even joked around with him. Not to mention it wasn't as much fun to play pranks on people. She reacted so strongly that he got more enjoyment out of it. They needed to find her. Nosedive didn't realize he was being left behind by the group and that someone was watching him from a level above.

Looking around himself he now saw that everyone had already left the room. Picking up his feet, he began to follow until he noticed a ledge that was hidden from view. Curiosity got the best of him and he climbed up to investigate.

…..

Icy mechanical eyes watched its soon to be prey as it stuck to the shadow, stalking. The group of ducks were searching the area looking for him but the youngest split off from the group, clearly lost in thought. The robot watched the kid and through the robot's eyes Orion observed and gave orders.

He smirked when the youngest duck walked opposite of the hidden robot. Seeing the kid start to climb up onto an old ledge, Orion gave the robot orders to drown the brat. It observed and calculated the most efficient way to carry out its orders. If it shot the ledge just right, a large portion of the concert would break off and drown him in the water below. Taking aim, it hit right on target. Nosedive looked back to see a smirking Orion as the large chuck fell off and pushed him down into the water below.

Mallory arrived just in time to see Orion shoot the concert, watching as the large slab of concert fell off with Nosedive hanging on the side. It plunged him into the water under it and pushed him to the bottom. She rushed down to save him, hoping it wouldn't be too late.

…..

Nosedive wanted to yell in pain as the heavy concert came to a rest on his lower half. It was a heavy piece, if he had some leverage then maybe he could move it himself, however he was stuck under it with only his arm strength to move it. It wouldn't be enough. Images on the surface of the water caught his attention, he could make out the blurry shapes and colors of his teammates and brother coming back into the room to investigate while calling his name.

Reaching his hand out he tried in vain to catch their attention but no matter what he did, they couldn't see him in the dark water. Nosedive helplessly watched his teammates and brother leave the area, seemingly chasing after something. Leaning back, he sat at the bottom looking up at the glassy and distorted world above. This was it. He was going to die down here. "No! I can't die like this! My brother needs me!" Trying with all his might, he pushed at the concert to get it off himself but it was no use. He tried to pull out his gun but it was stuck under him. If only he could get it free! Then he could use the grapple hook to tie around the bolder and lift it off himself. His lungs burned as he worked to get his gun out, it was almost loose! He could barely think passed the burning in his chest, it was agonizing! His body desperately wanted to take a breath and he could feel the seconds counting down until he could no longer fight it. He yanked his gun free but the motion was too much excursion on his part and without his consent he opened his mouth to breath in a lung full of water. He didn't think drowning would hurt this much or feel this terrible. Panic flooded his system as his nerves spasmed out of his control, cutting off motor functions and the ability to save himself. A few painful and desperate seconds passed before everything become very calm. The world grew dark and he was vaguely aware of a blur swimming towards him as his world went black.

…..

Hearing the gun shot the others came to investigate only to see Orion standing on the ledge above. They didn't notice that bubbles in the water or see how it had been disturbed. They were all too busy firing on the mad duck. Realizing that he was out gunned Orion ordered the robot to flee the scene, running back to where it left Mallory while the others gave chase. They didn't see Mallory making her way down to the water as quick as possible.

…..

The robotic Orion ran back into the room to find Mallory was gone. He looked at the chains that had held her, they were still swinging, meaning that she escaped fairly recently. "Leave her. I've got what I need. I can finish my work at the apartment. You need to disappear before she finds you. Change into a homeless man and keep an eye on her." Orion ordered and the robot did as instructed, changing its form into a scraggly man in a beat up brown leather coat and long dirty bread. Making its way down to the lower levels and out of the building, it waited to watch Mallory leave.

…..

Mallory dove into the water and swam right to the bottom where Dive was. He was already drowning! Dammit it took too long to get down here. Placing her feet on the ground next to him she put her arms under the concert and began pushing with all the strength in her body, using her legs as the main source of power to slowly lift the heavy mass off of him. Once pushed over, she grabbed Nosedive and swam with him to the surface. Dragging him to shore she put him on his back and stared CPR. Using her fingers to cover his nostrils at the top of his beak and angling his head back with his mouth open. Covering his mouth with hers she forced air into his lungs, trying to push the water out. Starting her chest compressions, she did it a couple of times and listened to see if she kick-started his heart. Nothing. Going back in she repeated the process over and over until the young duck spit water into the air over himself. She pushed him on his side to help him get the water out, relieved that he was going to be okay.

Nosedive for his part was confused. He couldn't think, just continued to cough up water and try to take breaths in between which proved difficult. He felt like he was going to suffocate on the water he was coughing up because he couldn't catch his breath. A soothing hand was on his back, rubbing circles as he slowly caught his breath and calmed down. He shivered, cold from the lack of circulation. Looking up at his savior he was stunned to see his ex-teammate sitting over him, soaking wet. "Ma-" He coughed and gasped, unable to speak full words yet. "Mal-"

"It's okay Dive. You're safe now." She rubbed his arms, trying to help his blood circulating as she hugged him to her. Seeing the young duck dying before her had been something she never wanted to see again. Nosedive clung to her, shaking from his near death experience. All thoughts of how upset he had been with her were completely gone, replaced by gratitude for saving his life.

"Co-come home." He shivered, as he buried his head in her neck.

She wanted to but another part knew it would be best if she didn't involve them. She had been here after Orion and the others followed her here. "Because they involved themselves Nosedive was almost killed. I can't go back. No matter how much I want to." One way or another Orion wasn't walking away from this and if she didn't either, then so be it. Mallory sighed and hugged him. "I can't. Not until I've taken care of Orion. He's my problem. Look at what happened from you guys just following me. You almost died tonight Dive." She never called him Dive. He knew she was upset just from that.

"You could die." He managed to get out without coughing, though his voice was weak.

"Yes I might but I will handle this. I'll make up for my past mistakes." She said slowly letting him go. Pulling out her gun she shot out a group of windows. The sound of Wildwing yelling instructions to the others could be heard down the halls, ricocheting off the walls of the abandon factory. He had given orders to head back to where she was currently standing with Dive. Looking down at the big eyes of the youngest team member, she smiled at him. "They'll be here any minute to take you home. Don't worry about Orion. I'll finish this. I promise."

He shook his head no at her, wanting to tell her that he didn't want her to face this alone. That the others didn't either but he couldn't get the words out before she was already disappearing into the darkness. He attempted to get up but his legs gave out under him and he landed roughly on his knees. "Nosedive!" His brothers voice called frantically at seeing his brother on his knees and soaking wet. "What happened?" Nosedive attempted to explain but ended up coughing more. He pointed to the water and Wildwing and the others realized much to their horror that he had almost drown. "How did you get out?"

"Mal-Mallory was here. She saved me." He weakly managed. Wildwing felt like the worst brother and team captain in the world. He almost let his brother drown and Mallory had run off to face a dangerous man by herself just because she thought they blamed her. How could he have let things fall apart so quickly?

"Come on baby brother. Let's get you home." First he had to take care of his brother then he had to find Mallory. Every second she was out there and away from the safety of her team, she was in danger.

Not far from the ducks in a dark corner, Mallory sighed as she watched them load Nosedive into the Migrator. Wildwing kept his arm around his baby brother, keeping him close after almost losing him. She wished she could be there but she had a job to do and there was no telling if she would ever come back from it. Turning away from the sweet scene she went back to her knocked over cycle to drive back to Jim's.

…..

Back at the Pond the next day. Wildwing was lost in thought as he sat next to his brother's bed in the infirmary. The young duck was sleeping soundly as the machines kept track of his vitals. Dive was fine thanks to Mallory's rescue and he was recovering quickly, no damage was done to his body from the concert landing on top of him in the water but he had some nasty bruising and required monitoring and bed rest. Wildwing hadn't left his little brothers side for more than a couple of minutes. The only things that could pull him away was the need to relieve himself or to eat. He needed to shower soon though; he was starting to stink. Tanya had been too nice to say anything about it since he was so worried about Nosedive but he could tell she wanted to say something.

Sighing to himself he put his arms over his head, getting a good whiff of himself. "Okay seriously I need a shower." Standing up he looked at his brother one last time before going to his room to wash up. His mind drifted again to Mallory. As he showered he thought about possible places she would go and couldn't think of one that made sense. Wildwing dried off and dressed in a new suit then placed his armor back on over it.

What had he done. Mallory was all alone out there trying to find and fight Orion. He saw the way Orion had thrown her around when he had been angered, she didn't stand a chance on her own. Orion had thrown him around like he was a feather. He didn't want to think about what he could do to Mallory or what he would do when he caught her. A shiver went down his back, fear for her safety making itself known for what had to be the hundredth time. She shouldn't be out there fighting Orion by herself. She should be with the safety of her team, not out there where she had no one to watch her back. Where she constantly had to keep one eye over her shoulder for fear that Orion would be there, creeping in dark corners waiting to strike. "Dammit Wildwing you really screwed up. How could you have blamed her for something that was out of her control. You fool. It'll take a miracle for her to forgive you and you wouldn't deserve it." He sighed to himself. He stared down at his white combat boots, trying to think of where she would go. She wasn't in any hotels around Anaheim or in Sunnyville. They had checked every single one. So where? Was she sleeping outside against a tree somewhere? The thought that she had nowhere to go set his nerves on edge.

Then a thought occurred to him. "What if she went to Jim? Yes! She could have gone to Jim! Why didn't I think of that before!" He was hopeful that she would be there so that she at least had some place to rest her head. He didn't like that she went to him but it felt better then knowing she was out on the streets. "Would she go to him for comfort? What kind of comfort would she seek from him?" He knew Jim would only be too willing to give Mallory that comfort. Wildwing could feel the feathers along his chest and shoulders raise up in hostility, pressing against the fabric of his suit, feeling like little pin pricks in his skin. He didn't have the right to be jealous like this but dammit if he wasn't pissed off at the thought of her going to Jim. Turning on his feet he rushed to Drake One. It would be easy to find any and all information about Jim Holst with the super computer.

No one was using Drake One so Wildiwng hit the button that unfolded the seat from the floor. Sitting down he got right to work. Finding Jim's files and address had been easy. Of course he lived in Sunnyville but when he looked at Jim's military records, something wasn't adding up. He was currently active in the field. That didn't make sense, this says that he was overseas right now? Finding footage, he found that Jim was in fact overseas and on active duty. How was this…? Wait! Mallory was with a man she thought was Jim Holst but the real Jim Holst was overseas! It was Orion! He had been impersonating Jim this whole time! "It's the only thing that makes sense!" That means Mallory was with Orion!

…..