Episode 21: A New Team
A day had passed since the Might Ducks retrieved the Saurian technology Tanya needed to create a portal to get home. Of course, the science wiz did not want to part take in the work. The other girls were looking through wedding dress magazines and were day-dreaming about their own weddings.
"It would be fantastic to have my wedding photos with the Twin Beaks in the background," Mallory said, her eyes had a dreamy glare to them.
"And I thought you didn't like romance," Subria teased.
"You get to live once, might as well have some romance," the red-head replied.
"Hey girls!" Nosedive exclaimed and the other Ducks came into the common room. The girls quickly hid the magazines.
"You don't have to hide them," Wildwing said to Pearl, "Besides, I want to look, too."
"Oh no, men are not allowed to help look for a wedding dress for a woman," Subria said.
"And why not?" Duke asked his fiancee.
"What if you guys picked a dress that is ugly, but you think it's cute," Subria adds.
"C'mon Subria, you always look beautiful in everything you wear," the ex-con said, but the woman shakes her head. Wildwing picks up a magazine and his face turns red.
"You all right?" Pearl asked her beloved.
"He's never seen beautiful women in a magazine before," Canard teases, but Wildwing shoots him a glare.
"Not that, these prices are outrageous," the leader said, pointing the price tags to the dresses. To the others, they were not that expensive.
"C'mon Wing, we have more money than we had with Phil," Nosedive said to his big brother.
Pearl takes the magazine and loops her arms around Wildwing's neck. "It's okay, you can tell me, there are beautiful women in here," she said, looking deep into his eyes.
Wildwing exhales, "Alright, they are beautiful, but they are wearing a lot of makeup," he points out. It was true, the models had a lot of blush, mascara, and other makeup. One even had bright red lipstick.
"If they were not wearing makeup, they be ugly," the drake adds. Pearl decides to discard the magazine.
"I want something that is daring, kind of like a ballgown, but like a royal ballgown," Pearl explained her dream dress. Subria, with her talent of drawing, began to draw the dress on a sketch pad.
"Like this?" she asked upon finishing. She had drawn a strapless ball gown with a wide brim and the top featured glinting crystals. The veil also had glinting crystals.
"Yes, like that!" Pearl exclaimed and Subria smiles.
"I'm going to have my work cut out for me," she said and asks her mistress, "Silk or satin?"
"Silk," Pearl answers and Subria writes it down on her sketchpad. Pearl then looks at Wildwing. "Should you guys be practicing for tonight?" she asked him.
"We will, we're in the process of hiring a new team," he answers.
"A new team?" Pearl asks in surprise.
"I meant to tell you, but since we are going home, the city and even the state wants to keep the Mighty Ducks going. Even when we are gone," he adds.
"And finally, we don't have to deal with promotional gimmicks! Somebody else can do it for us!" Nosedive exclaimed, but Mallory grabs his beak to silence him.
"You know, when you shout, it is super annoying," she said to him.
Pearl then asks, "Is Michael doing the interviews?"
"Right now, we're going to test them on the ice, see what they can do," Wildwing answers and they leave the common room to upstairs.
When they arrived in the arena, they were surprised to see a whole bunch of hockey players waiting for them, all of them were in hockey outfits. Tanya did a quick count of them. "20, gee Michael, why so many?" she asked the manager.
"Just being safe, if a few fail, then we can pick someone else," Michael answered.
"Hey, there's the Ducks!" a young man shouts and the interviewees cheered for them.
"All of them are men," Pearl whispers to Wildwing.
It was true, all of the players were big men, almost as big as the Ducks. "Female hockey players are hard to come by," the leader said and steps forward. "Alright, first exercise, do as many laps as you can, but don't over-tire yourself. We're just seeing how fast you can go from one end of the ice to the other," Wildwing said to the crowd.
Ten of the men went out first and Michael uses a whistle to start the exercise. Many of them went off at lightning speed and then turn around at the other end to go back.
After five minutes, Wildwing signals Michael to stop the exercise. The next group of ten men went next and they went off. Like before, they skated at their top speed.
Tanya made a few more notes and Michael stops the exercise. Wildwing went out on the ice in his hockey uniform. "Alright, now I'm going to test you on how well you can score a goal. Pretend I'm the opposite team's goalie," he said to them and takes position at the net.
The players took swings at the puck. A few were able to score, but some others missed thanks to Wildwing's intervention of the puck. "Not bad, keep trying," he said in a supportive tone.
Pearl looks at Tanya's notes while she was writing.
The next exercise was for the players to pass the puck to their comrades. Some were good at passing, but others huddle with the puck for too long. "That's a disadvantage!" Duke shouts at them.
The next exercise was to test the players defense strategy. Some were able to defend one player who had the puck, but others were not that good. Tanya makes a few more notes.
The exercises came to an end and all of the hopefuls gather. The Ducks, Pearl, and Subria look at Tanya's notes.
"From what I gather, these are the most promising candidates," she said, showing the ones she circled.
Semyon Alkaev from Russia, Emmanuel Charron, Claud Gagnon (both from Canada), Vilhelm Ingesson from Sweden, Nikodem Kozlowski from Poland, and the rest from the United States: Kevin McCray, John Olson, Frederick Paddon, and Zachary Sackville.
"Well, if they are promising, I say this team doesn't have much to lose," Canard said to his comrades.
"Okay, but I will like to test them first," Wildwing replies and calls the names of the candidates. "I also need a few volunteers," he adds and hands shot up.
The Ducks picked seven volunteers and the candidates wore the Duck jerseys. "Alright, this is just a test, to see if the candidates that were chosen can live up to expectations," Wildwing said to them. "If we see some potential in the volunteers, you'll likely be picked as substitutes for the players," he adds.
Grin steps out on the ice to deliver the puck. "Stay true to yourselves," he advises the players and drops the puck. The players went for it, but Charron got it first. He passed it to Kozlowski, while Sackville and Olson protected him.
Kozlowshi passed the puck to McCray and he sends to Alkaev. The Russian delivers a hard swing, but a volunteer caught it and headed for Paddon, who served as the goalie.
The Ducks watch and waited to see what Paddon would do. However, Gagnon slams into the volunteer. Michael whistles, calling the attack foul. "Don't be discouraged, attacking an opponent is fine, as long it does get psychical," Mallory advises and they resumed the test.
"Who stole the puck?" Pearl asks Tanya.
"That would be Donald Williams, fresh out of college with high marks in hockey," the smart Duck answers.
Paddon was able to prevent the puck from going into the goal net. Pearl watches as McCray took the puck and passes it. Charron catches it, but then Williams catches the puck, again.
The Ducks watch as Williams deliver a hard swing at the puck, sending it flying. It hit Paddon square in the stomach. "OW!" he cries out.
"Sorry!" Williams cries out his apology.
Michael whistles and the players gathered around the Ducks. "Well done, the players we have picked are now officially the new Mighty Ducks," Wildwing informs and the candidates cheered. "But I do want to add a new team mate. Donald Williams, congratulations," he adds and everyone looks at the young player.
The new team shook hands with Williams, even the volunteers, and the Ducks shook hands with him. "Wow, I never thought I get this far," he said.
"Oh, you will be going long kid," Duke informs him.
Wildwing then calls out, "Tonight is the game with the New Jersey Devils and this will be our last game." He was referring to his team. "The next game with Winnipeg Jets will be playing against the new team," he adds and they cheered.
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Night time fell and the new Pond was filled with spectators, cheering for the Mighty Ducks, the old team. Pearl gives a quick kiss to Wildwing's cheek, "For luck," she said and he heads out on the ice.
Flashes from cameras went off and the cheers were deafening as the old team lead the game with 2 to 0. However, the Devils were able to score twice in the third quarter, tying the game, but that did not dampen the Ducks' spirits.
Wildwing calls for a timeout and gathers his team. "This is our last game here on Earth, you don't want to lose do you?" he asks them.
"No way bro!" Nosedive exclaims and the others shout out their disapproval.
They returned to play, with determination. The new team shout out their support. "Go get em Ducks!" Williams shouts out.
Duke got the puck, passing it to Nosedive, and to Mallory. Grin and Canard protected them from the Devils' defense. "GO MALLORY!" Nosedive screams and the red-head swings hard.
The puck went flying and went into the Devils' goal net. The crowd went wild as the Ducks scored with a third point, but there was still enough time for the opposing team to score as well.
"Keep them from scoring," Wildwing orders his team and they did so.
With 30 seconds remaining on the clock, the Devils had the puck, and they had looks of fury. They race down the ice, pushing the Ducks away from getting the puck.
"Wildwing!" Pearl screams as the Devils move in for the kill. The leader, however, was ready. The Devils' wringer took a hard swing at the puck, with 5 seconds remaining.
Everyone had their eyes glued at Wildwing and gasps were the only thing to hear in the arena. Just then, Wildwing hit the puck away from the net, and the timer buzzes!
The whole crowd went wild, confetti was thrown into the air, and the flashes from the cameras looked like fireworks. "THE DUCKS WIN!" the announcer shouts over the loudspeaker.
The Ducks gathered around their leader in a tight circle and they went crazy over their victory. Pearl, Subria, and Michael danced around in Ducks' benches. The new team also went crazy.
Wildwing then skates over to the benches and takes Pearl in his arms. She holds tight on to his neck and they circle around on the ice. The celebration lasted for twenty minutes and it was the best twenty minutes for the Ducks.
"DUCKS ROCK!" they shout out their signature cry and the scene fades to black.
From the author: SOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating! Stupid writers block! Anyway, what do you think?! How's that for a game?!
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