author's note: first and foremost, I must severely apologize for not updating last weekend. Last Friday was move in day and things have been totally hectic. But... things are starting to mellow out around here so I'm hoping to start writing again more regularly. As always, thanks for sticking with me and as I said before, I'm hoping to get these chapters up every Friday... if not, at least by the end of the weekend! Anyways, hope you like this chapter and if all goes well, I'll have another one up next friday! :D

"What in the hell?" Wildwing asked, walking over to Mallory. He rested a hand on her arms, trying to lower them but she whipped her arms away from him, her gaze never leaving Jason.

"Mallory, explain! Please!" Anna demanded.

"He's a criminal. 4 accounts of assault. 6 accounts of grand theft auto, 10 accounts of grand larceny-"

"Only ten?" Jason asked, looking confused. Mallory looked taken aback.

"And a murder charge!" she snapped, and everyone glanced back at Jason.

"Okay, let me explain." He started.

"Oh, you're going to explain now?" Mallory asked.

"Hear the guy out, Mal." Duke tried.

"Oh I know why you wanna hear him out, L'Orange." She snapped back at him.

"Mallory, calm down!" Anna ordered before turning back to her would-be brother.

"Jason, what's up. What are all these charges?"

"The larceny, the grand theft auto and the assault charges… they all happened. But the murder… it's not what you think." He shot a glare at Mallory as he said those last words.

"Records don't lie!" she snapped.

"Oh yes they do." L'Orange muttered. "I mean… they can't get everything right. Seems to me there's more than ten accounts of grand larceny." He smirked at Jason. Jason got a sheepish grin on his face.

"Okay. Grand Larceny and auto theft… those were just… just jobs. I had to make money somehow." He tried.

"Try getting a real job." Mallory shot at him.

"It's hard to get one of those when you're ten years old and living on the streets." He snapped back at her. Her eyes seemed to widen, and her weapon lowered.

"Streets?" Anna asked. Jason sighed out. Duke looked intently at Jason.

"They sent me to a foster home after mom died. And then they sent me to another one. And then another one. I got tired of moving around constantly."

"So, you ran away." Duke said for him. Jason nodded.

"I joined this band of homeless kids. We had to steal to survive. Those theft charges against me? They were all when I was young. My last felony was when I was sixteen. The commissioner had seen the life I'd lived and knew I was just a poor kid who needed a friend. A way out of the life I was leading. He took me in the last two years of my life before I became an "adult". Turned me around completely."

"What about the assault charges? The murder charge?" Mallory demanded, though by now she had holstered her weapon.

"When I was 17, I had a friend who was dating an abusive prick. So, I beat the shit out of him. I told the commissioner what was going on, and he dropped the charges on me. Two years later, three of the guy's friends recognized me and tried to jump me. I beat the shit out of them too." Duke smirked at Jason's words. He hadn't known the kid for long, and already he liked him.

"What about… the um…" Mallory trailed off.

"Murder charge?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed out.

"One day I came home to visit the old man. When I got home, the Police Commissioner was… was lying dead on the floor. The house had been burglarized, and I guess the old man had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was almost exactly how our mother died." He looked at Anna for a brief second, "The only thing was, was when I opened the door I saw the mother fucker crouched under the kitchen table. Obviously, I had walked in on the act. He jumped out the kitchen window and I found myself right on his trail. I caught up to him easily and when I did… I blacked out." He looked down.

"You killed him." Duke said slowly.

"Next thing I knew, one of the old man's buddies was pulling me off a bloody man. I don't know if he was dead then, or died of his injuries later." He paused for a moment, remembering the details.

"When Russell pulled me over to the ambulance, he told me that the old man had been able to call the attack in before he was murdered. Once again, the charges against me were dropped."

"You killed a cop killer. I'm surprised you didn't get a medal." Duke praised. Jason smirked lightly at him.

"Now you know. I do have charges against me. But you can't believe everything you read." He said to Mallory. Mallory glanced down guiltily.

"I guess I owe you an apology." She finally murmured. "But that doesn't mean I whole heartedly trust you." She added before stomping away to sit next to Tanya.

"Good enough for me." Jason said with a smile.

"Don't worry, she doesn't trust me either. Guess that makes you part of the team." Duke said with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulders.

"Part of the team?" he asked.

Wildwing looked uneasily before nodding.

"Of course. It would appear you're Anna's brother… because of the DNA that is now in you, you're a Thunderbeak… and we are the only talking ducks on the planet… and now that you are too, I guess that would make you one of us." Wildwing said with a smile.

Jason nodded before a smile formed across his beak.

"Part of the team." He said to himself. "Wait, am I going to have to play hockey? I mean… I think I skated once when I was 9 but-"

"Anna can teach ya that part, kid." Duke trailed off, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Wait, me?" she asked suddenly. Duke started walking away.

"well yeah." He tried, facing her as he walked backwards towards the elevator.

"Why can't you teach him?" she shot at him.

"I ain't the coach." He smirked as the door the elevator closed. Anna huffed.

"So, Jason." Wildwing got his attention, "I'm sure you're probably exhausted from everything that's been happening. You're probably wanting to get home to recollect yourself. Maybe in the morning, Anna can start teaching you?" He offered.

Jason nodded.

"Yeah, sure. That would work." He said, glancing down at Anna.

"9 o'clock?" she asked. He nodded.

"yeah." He said, moving towards the elevator.

"Nosedive. You wanna show him the way out of here?" Wildwing asked. Nosedive nodded, having stayed quiet this whole time. He stood up, walking towards the elevator after Jason.

"I'll go with." Jess said suddenly, standing up from her spot as well.

"and show him the code to get in. I don't wanna be waking up to a false alarm tomorrow!" Wildwing called after them.

"I'll see you in the morning." Anna called after the ducks.

"Yeah, I'll see ya then." Jason replied as the elevator doors opened.

He got in, Nosedive and Jess following.

Tanya sighed out, standing up from her work bench.

"Tanya?" Anna asked.

"I'm exhausted guys. I'm going to uh, you know, turn in for the night." She said, also heading towards the elevator.

"Hold that elevator." Mallory called, having stood from her spot and walking after Tanya. Silently, Grin stood from his spot as well and followed.

"You guys coming?" Mallory asked as the doors opened for the ducks.

Anna went to go towards the elevator but Wildwing held out a hand in front of her.

"We'll catch up." He said. Mallory eyeballed him but shrugged, getting on the elevator with the others.

As soon as the others were gone, Anna gave Wildwing a look.

"What's up?" she asked. "Is this about Jason?" she asked, looking sheepish.

"No. What's going on with Oliver?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, looking taken aback.

"When I called you… when you were with him… you seemed somewhat stressed." He tried.

"It was nothing."

"I heard him grumble something like oh great, it's Wildwing. That doesn't seem like nothing. What has he got against me?" he asked.

"He's… possessive." Anna finally picked a word. Wildwing raised a concerned eyebrow.

"What's that gotta do with me?" he asked.

"He thinks you have a crush on me or something." Wildwing looked taken aback.

"Anna, I've known you since birth. You're like a sister to me." He tried.

"I know!" she exclaimed, "believe me, I tried to explain it to him. He seems to think that any male I encounter is competition for him."

"Anna, are you sure you should be-"

"No. I'm not." She admitted, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Not anymore."

The next day had Tanya putting the finishing touches on the mask while Jess helped.

"Well, it's as good as new." She announced, holding the mask up for Wildwing.

"This thing could have saved us a lot of trouble." Wildwing said, taking it.

"Yeah but, you know, it would have been a really boring show." Tanya muttered. Jess raised an eyebrow at the female.

"Hey Dive." Duke and Nosedive had obviously been talking about the events from the previous day as well, "I'm glad you've regained your faith in the human race."

"Hey, I'll admit when I'm wrong. The human race is ace!"

"Hey boobies!" at that moment, Phil ran in. "I got you on the cover of bird watchers monthly!" he announced with excitement.

"With… a few exceptions naturally." Nosedive muttered, crossing his arms.

"Hey, don't worry about it, kid. We're still not entirely sure if Phil is human." Duke murmured to the kid. Phil remained oblivious, reading his magazine as he walked away.

Anna stood in the corner next to Jason. She smiled halfheartedly as the ducks laughed at Phil. Duke saw her face.

"Hey." He got her attention, "anything wrong?" he asked. She grimaced, looking away.

"It's nothing." She murmured.

"Anything I can help with?" he offered, knowing she wasn't being completely honest with him.

Jason sensed this wasn't a conversation for him to be involved with and walked over to strike up a conversation with Nosedive.

"It's just… I don't know what to do… about Oliver."

"Did something happen?" he asked. She glanced past him to the other ducks. They were all involved in their own conversations, but Duke saw her hesitation and guided her away, towards the den. Once they reached the dark room, Duke turned on the tableside lamp. Anna sat on the couch and he took a seat next to her.

"What's up sweetheart?" he asked, draping his arm across the back of the couch casually.

"Oliver assaulted someone." She said hesitantly.

"What?" he looked surprised, "was it… one of those situations where it was self-defense? Or where he was protecting you?" all those times Duke had been ready to call the kid no good, yet here he was, trying to find rationality in the kid's behavior. Anna shook her head.

"Neither." She said, "he… he's been sounding a lot like Trent lately but, it's different."

"How so?" he asked.

"well, he's acting super possessive like Trent was, but Trent was doing it because he was cheating."

"You don't think Oliver's cheating?" Duke asked.

"This doesn't feel the same. This feels like a straight up obsession. I'm honestly a little scared. The assault happened because he thought a barista was flirting with me." She explained.

Duke rubbed his chin.

"I hate to say it, but you were right." She murmured, "I shouldn't have dated him."

"Sweetheart, that wasn't…. I mean, sure I didn't want to trust the kid but, never let what I think stop you from making your own choices. I'm glad you dated the kid." He said with a smile.

"You are?" she asked.

"Well sure. Everybody learns from mistakes. Nobody ever learns from getting it right the first time." He said simply. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You stole that from somewhere." She murmured.

"No! Honest to Drake Ducaine, that was a genuine Duke quote. They'll write it on my tombstone!" he insisted with a smile.

She laughed at him, before leaning into his side.

"Thanks Duke." She said, hugging around him. He smiled at the gesture before wrapping his arms about her, pulling her naturally into him.

"No problem." He murmured into her hair. They sat like that for a while, the rest of the world not existing to them. Duke finally cleared his throat. "So, what are you going to do? About Oliver?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's gotta be soon though. The longer I drag this relationship out, the harder it'll be to get rid of him, especially if he gets even more possessive." She added. He nodded.

"If you need help-"

"Duke, I'm a big girl. I could handle Trent, and I'll take care of Oliver." She promised.

"The way I remember it, Trent got punched by your brother." Duke muttered. Anna laughed.

"Yeah, well, this isn't going to be like the break-up with Trent. This will be… a little different." She promised, standing up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Gonna call Oliver and see if he wants to grab Ice cream."

"breaking up over ice cream. Nice, Anna. Ice cream is always a nice cushion." Duke approved, standing up after her.

"Told you I could handle myself." She smirked before skipping off towards the rec room.

Anna sat across from Oliver, barely touching her bowl of melting ice cream. Oliver noticed how quiet she was being and glanced over at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a smile. She smiled back with pity.

"Listen, Oliver I… I've got something on my mind." He noticed her serious tone and put the spoon back in his bowl, giving her his undivided attention.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Listen, I'm just feeling a little like I need to work on myself." Lame Anna!

"Hey, wait a second." Oliver stopped her, "That's a break-up line. You're breaking up with me?" he asked, his voice raising. Not many other people were in the ice cream parlor. In fact, one other person sat in the corner, a newspaper hiding their face.

Anna nodded, "I'm sorry, Oliver. This just isn't working out." She tried.

"Isn't working out? What's not working out? I mean, I'm crazy about you!" he insisted.

"Yes, I've noticed!" she snapped, "that's the issue!"

"What, I can't be crazy about my girlfriend?" he asked with hurt in his voice.

"You can be crazy in love with someone, yes. But you? You're crazy to the point you assault people for even looking at me!" she snapped.

"Anna, wait. You got that all wrong! He was practically drooling all over you!"

"So? I hardly noticed. That should have been your sign that you didn't have to worry about the drooling barista. Instead, you were so busy worrying about every other guy on the face of the planet, you forgot to worry about me." She said, standing up.

"Wait, Anna. Please. Give me another chance!" he pleaded, standing up and grabbing her arm.

"It's over Oliver." She snapped, pulling away.

"Please, Anna!" he grabbed onto her arm tighter. She grimaced.

"Owe." She tried to alert him. His eyes were crazy.

"Anna, you can't leave me!" he growled, glaring.

"Oliver, you're hurting me!" she insisted, trying to pull out of his vice grip.

"Good! You're hurting me!" he shot back at her, his eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Anna, I have to be with you! You're everything to me!" he insisted, pulling her towards him.

"Oliver, let go of me!" she hissed. Just then, somebody stepped between them, shoving Oliver away from Anna and back into his chair.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Oliver snapped, glaring at the stranger.

"Duke?" Anna questioned, realizing who her trench coated savior was.

"The girl said it's over, so it's over." Duke ignored Anna's comment, his eyes never leaving Oliver.

Oliver glared at Duke.

"It can't be over. It's barely even begun! She belongs with me, and no one else!" he growled at the duck.

"Yeah, well, I don't really think that's your decision." Duke snarled back at the human. He turned around, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulder, guiding her out. Oliver glared after them. He wanted to chase after them, but thought better on it. Duke was taller than he was, and probably better built. Oliver rolled his eyes, put down some money for the ice cream and stalked out the opposite door.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Duke asked once they had walked a couple of blocks.

"You know what, Duke?" she hissed, "No. I'm not!"

He looked taken aback, but glanced down at her forearm. Already, he could see bruises forming where Oliver had had a vice grip. He grabbed her arm to examine it, but she pulled away.

"I had it, Duke! I had it! Just once, would it be possible for me to take care of myself without my brother, or my brother's best friend, or Duke L'Orange stepping in to save the day?"

"He was hurting you." He snapped.

"Yeah, and I was just about to hurt him back!" she snapped back as they came up on the pond. She stalked inside, Duke hot on her trail.

"Now hold on, just a sec-" Duke cut himself off, seeing Jessica was heading their way. She wore a skintight blue dress that cut off just above her knees and her hair was done up with her bangs curled.

"Jess?" Anna asked. Jess gave Anna an interested look.

"What's going on?" Anna asked.

"Oh, I'm going on a date with Elliot." She explained.

"Elliot? Like… Oliver's friend?" Anna asked.

"yes!" Jess exclaimed. "Isn't it great? We can double date now!" she offered. Anna's face fell.

"Actually…" Anna trailed off and Jess got the message.

"Did you and Oliver break up?" she asked anyway.

Anna nodded. "But don't let my break-up ruin your chance for happiness." She said with a smile, "go have fun! And tell Elliot I said hi." She insisted. Jess nodded with a smile.

"Thanks Anna." She said, pulling her best friend into a hug. She then glanced back at Duke awkwardly. Anna saw Jess' look and partly smiled.

"I'll explain later." She said, letting Jess go. Jess nodded, scurrying past the two ducks and out into the night.

"What is it with you girls and dating humans?" Duke asked.

"As opposed to rubbing up against them and then taking them to hotels for one-night stands?" Anna said with an arched eyebrow before turning back around, heading for the elevator.

Duke rolled his eyes.

"At least I'm not dating humans. At least I'm not preparing to stay here for the rest of my life." He snapped.

"yeah, well, unless you've got a dimensional gateway hidden somewhere on your person, I suggest you take this little fact into consideration: Dragaunus is our only ticket home, and if you haven't noticed, we haven't captured him yet."

"What if you or Jess plans on getting married. Hypothetically speaking, the wedding is next week and tomorrow, we capture Dragaunus. What's gonna happen?" he asked.

"I get your point, Duke. Now picture this. What if something happens and we're forced to destroy the dimensional gateway?" Anna asked.

"No way." Duke murmured, "no way that would happen. Wildwing's smart. If it ever came to that, he'd figure out another way around it." He tried.

Anna pressed the button on the elevator.

"What if there was no other option?" she asked as they both got on the elevator. He sighed out.

"Then it better be a good reason to blow up our only ticket home." He muttered, and then he glanced back at her.

"Look, Anna. My point is you're dating people who aren't even the same species as you…" he drew out. Anna looked uncomfortably at him.

"I am not dating Nosedive." She said with a joking tone to her voice. Duke cracked a smile.

"Hey, I didn't say it. That was all you, sweetheart." He said as the elevator dinged. The two retreated down the hall towards their bunks.

"Listen, sweetheart. I'm sorry about cutting in." he said, stopping outside his door which happened to be next to hers.

"What were you doing there, anyways?" she asked.

"you had said he had become possessive. I'd seen it before. Sometimes when they get possessive, they get this idea that if they can't have you, nobody can. I didn't think he'd take the break-up well so… I followed you just in case things got out of hand." He admitted.

"Look, Duke. I'm still severely pissed you followed me without me knowing but… thanks. I'm glad you were there." She said with a smile. He nodded.

"No problem, sweetheart. Good night." He said, pushing a button and opening the door to his bunk.

"Good night." She said, mimicking his movements and moving into her own bunk.