Chapter 41:
Wow, so the world has officially imploded, and I hope you are all safe. This was written weeks ago but I have only now had the chance to proof it, adjust it and feel happy with it. Part of the reason it often takes me so long to upload is because I know where this story is supposed to end up, but I often change my mind on how to get there. So much so that I have previously deleted 15 chapters and re-written them all again. And that was before I even posted the first chapter!
There is a warning for a character death in this chapter. So please read with caution.
"What's the verdict?" Wildwing asked Tanya and Alex as he sat with Jessica at his side. Jessica held their baby close, rocking him slightly. Wildwing had one hand on the small of Jessica's back as he watched his team tech and Alex look at each other with sad looks. It was late, but Jessica had insisted something seemed wrong with their baby and had woken her brother up. When he had taken a look, he had asked Tanya to come and check him over as well, for a second opinion.
"Well, you were right when you thought he wasn't focussing on anything." Alex sighed. "Jet's eyes haven't developed properly." Alex said in a very careful manner. "He doesn't look like he's focussing because he isn't."
"He's blind?!" Jessica's looked from her brother, to Tanya then to Wildwing.
"I've asked Kii'era whether she or one of the GA medics can come take a look at him too." Alex said, "It was Tanya's suggestion."
"J..Just in case th.. They can help him" Tanya supplied.
"Did Kii'era mention that they could cure blindness?" Wildwing said in an odd tone that made Tanya flinch.
"N..No but..." Tanya started but a Drake one Alert sounded and seconds later the door to the infirmary opening interrupted her, as Canard burst in.
"There's been an explosion downtown." Canard said urgently.
"Can't you handle it?" Wildwing said almost angrily as he gripped Jessica tightly to him, as his free hand covered the bare side of Jet's head to ensure that the noise was muffled for him.
"Wing," Canard bit the bottom of his beak, something Wildwing hadn't seen his friend do since they were kids, "Nosedive's comm signal is coming from the same building and he's not answering." This got Wildwing's attention. The white mallard looked at Jessica with a torn look.
"Go!" Jessica urged, "Jet's going to need his uncle." She added with a sad smile. "Just come back safe!" She called after the two mallards as they rushed away towards the hangar. Jessica held her son close and got up to take him to her room to find Molly.
"Is Jet okay mom?" Molly asked looking up from the comic Mookie had given her recently.
"Sweety," Jessica took a deep breath before carrying on, "your little brother is okay, but he can't…" She frowned when her comm went off. She considered ignoring it but given the situation with Nosedive she thought better of it. Her frown deepened when she saw it was Wildwing. "Wildwi…" But she couldn't even finish his name.
"Get everyone out of the pond" Wildwing bellowed down the line at her, "It's an all-out invasion and they are heading straight for the pond! We're trying to hold them off in the aerowing, but you and the others need to take the migrator and run!" Jessica paled and looked at her daughter who looked terrified. "Jess!"
"We're going!" Jessica said keeping the line open but grabbing her daughter with her spare hand and pulling her towards the hanger, "What about you?!"
"Don't worry about us!" Wildwing grunted as a sound of laser fire could be heard, "Just get to safety! We'll find you later when we've found the others and helped the city!" With that the line went dead and Jessica proceeded to make sure everyone else was on their way to the hanger.
Nosedive groaned as he came too. As his vision cleared, he could see several humans on the ground scattered around him. He panicked when he couldn't see any of his friends, or whoever had blown a sizable hole in the wall of the club. He got to his feet and made his way towards where he had last seen Thrash and Mookie. His head spun as he moved. He noticed movement to his right, towards the hole in the wall where he could have sworn, he had seen something rush past. His concussed mind needed to know if his friends were okay.
"Thrash?" He called, "Mookie?" He added a little louder, then coughing from the smoke and dust. "Angel?!" Each call louder than the last.
"Nosedive!" Mookie called from the corner of the room. Nosedive made his way towards her and found her hiding under the table where he had last seen Angel. In her arms was a very pale and very bloody Thrash. "I don't think he's breathing!" Mookie wailed as she held her partner close and rocked him. Dive dropped to his knees and reached out with a trembling hand to feel for a pulse, the rise and fall of his friend's chest, anything to give him the slightest clue that Thrash was alive. But there was nothing. His heart clenched as memories of similar scenes from his teenage years flashed through his mind and he let out a cry of anguish. It was then he noticed the laser fire outside.
"Mookie," he looked up at her, "Mookie we have to go!" He looked down at his comm unit to find it had power, but when he went to open it, it was jammed. He tried to activate his quick change and that failed as well. "Shit!"
"We can't leave him!" Mookie cried as she held onto Thrash more tightly.
"We have to!" Dive insisted. "Whoever did this, is still out there!" He looked over his shoulder, "It sounds like there's a firefight going on. I can't quick change right now and I can't call the others." He stopped then looked around the room again searching for Angel. "Where's..."
"She helped me drag Thrash under the table and told me to stay hidden." Mookie sniffled, "Then she went to find you, but I think whoever did this stopped her from finding you. Cause I heard her battle cry and the next thing I knew; she was following someone through the hole in the wall!"
"Drake one should have picked up the emergency calls," Nosedive said more to himself than to Mookie whom he was helping to her feet whilst also trying to encourage her to let Thrash go, "which means the others will be here soon and Angel should be able to hold her own till then." Dive glanced to the outside once again hearing a small explosion somewhere in the distance, the scream of a few humans echoing in the distance.
"Angel!" Mookie squeaked, "We need to help her!" She declared as she finally got to her feet, but Nosedive grabbed her arm.
"No!" he snapped, "I'm gonna get you out of here, then I'll go back up Angel." He stood and began dragging Mookie towards a door in the opposite direction to the damage in the building. "We're not armed, and Angel was obviously able to change, so can take care of herself right now."
"But…" Mookie glanced back at her deceased partner and shuddered, "I don't want to lose anyone else! I wanna help!" She pleaded.
"I don't wanna lose anyone either Mookie, I…" Nosedive stopped mid-sentence before he looked up in shock. Above him, littering the sky like a swarm of locusts, were saurian ships. Hundreds of them. He could see Plutarkian ships and other types he didn't recognise as well. "Run." Dive said backing away from the scene and reaching for Mookie's hand. He pulled her in the direction of the pond, and they began running.
Angel weaved and slashed at her enemies. Enforcer drones, Plutarkians and even saurians were appearing in the streets as she fought to help the humans fleeing the area do so without being harmed. But given the sheer numbers of her adversaries, she was struggling. It didn't help that her mind was distracted with where Nosedive had been after the smoke had cleared. She had found Mookie with an injured Thrash, but she hadn't been able to locate Nosedive before enemy forces began swarming into the damaged building. So instead she had opted to hold them off in hopes her blonde friend would find Mookie and Trash where she had left them and get them to safety. She grunted as she dodged to avoid the crushing blow of an enforcers foot. With a jump, an elegant flip and a flash of her blades, the enforcer dropped to the ground in a sparking heap. It was then she spotted a familiar red-haired human in trouble. She sped to the police captain and dealt with the drones surrounding him and his officers quickly.
"You need to get out of here!" She declared slicing any laser fire out of the air before they could connect with her or those round her.
"We need to protect the people of this city!" Cleghorn bellowed back. Angel frowned at him.
"Sir, I got news that there's about four hundred civilians been herded into the school grounds nearby!" An officer reported yelping as he nearly got hit by a stray laser beam, but it was sliced out of the air just in time. "Thank you miss." Angel nodded and continued to help defend the law enforcement.
"We got any update about help?" Cleghorn asked the same officer. Angel glanced at her own wrist computer and chanced a glance back at the captain.
"There is a small force of GA ships heading here. They weren't ready for a full invasion yet though so it may just be damage control for now." Angel told him.
"Excuse me if that's not very comforting kid!" Cleghorn rolled his eyes.
"Which direction is the school?" Angel asked the officer who had told them about the civilians.
"Three blocks that way." He pointed to her right.
"I would suggest you people make your own way to safety." She advised, "Rescue anyone you can on the way, but take cover somewhere."
"And what are you going to do?!" Cleghorn called after the teen who was already dashing in the direction of the school.
"What I do best!" Angel bellowed back. As she sprinted away from the police she heard her comm sound. She could see two incoming calls. She chose the option to join all three.
"Where are you Angel?" Wildwing asked urgently, "And where's my brother?"
"We got separated." Angel said, the guilt obvious in her voice, "And I am heading to a school close to my position. Apparently they're herding people there. I'm hoping to do something about it."
"You're one person!" Mallory snapped over the line, "What could you possibly do?!"
"More that you would think." Kii'era said darkly over the second line. "Angel, I have spread our forces thin, but I have operatives placing a little invention Tanya and I have been working on. We were hoping to fully test it before using them, but beggars can't be choosers. The minute they're up and running, they'll create a force field around the city and any other locations on our priority list. No more forces will be able to get in or out. In theory at least. That should include teleportation. My forces are going to hold back as much of the enemy air support as we can. Think you can hold on till we can activate the shields?"
"Not like we have a choice is it?" Angel said more quietly as she slipped into stealth mode and began scaling one of the school buildings to get a better view of the situation. "Just hurry up and get on with it before too many people get hurt or worse." She paused then added, "Wildwing, you and the ducks should concentrate on finding Nosedive, Thrash and Mookie. It looked like we were being specifically targeted, and Thrash was pretty badly hurt when I had to lead the enemy away. I wasn't able to find Nosedive before that.. I… I don't know if he's even okay!"
"We'll find him." Mallory assured placing a calming hand on a now even more tense looking Wildwing's shoulder.
"Kii'era." Wildwing called, "Jessica, my family. I told them to take the migrator and make a run for it, I.."
"I'll send a team to get them." The feline assured. "Kii'era out."
"I'm going silent too." Angel told them, "I can't risk being seen right now or it will limit what I can do."
"Be careful Angel." Wildwing sighed as he reached to disconnect. He hesitated but pressed the button and began typing commands into the computer. "His comm isn't working but the tracker is." Wildwing visibly sighed in relief.
"And it looks like he's on the move!" Mallory pointed at the moving dot that showed Nosedive.
"Let us hope that it is of his own doing." Grin said solemnly.
"Let's go." Canard squeezed his best friend's forearm in encouragement.
"That everything?" Alex asked as he helped his wife and child onto the migrator and waited for Duke to arrive with Tanya.
"It's gonna have ta be." Duke said flinching as an explosion rocked the facility. "We wait any longer we're either dead or bait!" He placed an arm around an almost hyperventilating Tanya who gratefully leaned into his comforting presence. Another loud explosion caused some of the ceiling in the hanger to buckle. "Yo bike!" Duke called to Nosedive's ride. "You're gonna wanna come with us or follow us!" The machine roared to life and circled the migrator at high speed, guns out and ready.
"Looks like we have an escort." Jessica shushed a crying Jet and held Molly closer, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "But where do we go?"
"Jess is right!" Mary exclaimed, "If the whole planet is under attack where can we even go?"
"We'll figure that out later." Alex declared. "Right now, we just need to get out of here!" He nodded to Duke as the mallard sat in the co driver's seat. The pair got the engine running just in time. The hangar doors blew open and the room began filling with hunter drones and Plutarkians. Alex hit the accelerator and they were speeding through the tunnel to the hidden exit. Nosedive's bike waited behind to take out a few drones before speeding after them. As they flew through the exit Alex slammed on the brakes and they all stared at the scene in horror. Behind them Anaheim looked like something out of a sci fi movie. There were airships and fighter jets in the air in the middle of a firefight, screams could be heard from the city and there was a small force before them that had clearly been lying in wait for their escape attempt. "Shit." Alex cursed. Trying to get the large vehicle to manoeuvre but stalling it. Just as he got it going again his sister pulled him out of the driver's seat and took his place. "What..?"
"You're too careful a driver. Keep any eye on my kids and leave the driving to an expert." She scowled at the enemy ahead of them before Jessica made a snap decision. She slammed on the accelerator and literally ploughed through them. She was aware of the bike that was trying to keep the enemy now following off their tails, but she paid it as little mind as possible as she pushed the vehicle to reach its top speed. She knew this wouldn't be like driving her racing cars, but she also knew she couldn't allow themselves to be caught. If they were, she knew they would be used as bait, and ultimately killed. She wasn't about to allow either without a fight. She almost chuckled to herself as she realised how much her fiancé and the ducks had rubbed off on her.
"Look out!" Duke bellowed as a large battle cruiser lowered before them.
"Orion to Migrator, come in!" A voice called to them, "I'm opening the hatch at the rear of my ship, get in here before you get blown away!"
"Kimmie?!" Molly asked with relief and excitement in her voice.
"That's me!" Kimmie replied, "Just hurry!"
"On it!" Jessica replied, "But the breaking distance might be an issue."
"I've factored for that," Kim replied, "just trust me!"
"Okay." Jessica narrowed her eyes and levelled the vehicle with the cruiser's now lowered cargo ramp. She felt the front tires hit the ramp and kept the acceleration on until she felt all of the wheels touch said ramp. Then she took her foot off the accelerator till they were clear of the ramp, "Brace yourselves!" She yelled and slammed on the brakes. Duke pushed a few buttons and some reverse jets opened up to help the brakes. Just as they were getting too close to the end of the ship's hanger, the vehicle was surrounded in a purple glow and they were stopped before they could hit the wall. The sudden stop was a jolt but had been reduced from both Jessica and Duke's actions, so all were safe. Jessica watched as Dive's blue bike also entered the hanger and skidded to halt with no assistance.
"Jess!" the ducks saw Charlie Davidson rushing over as they left the vehicle. Said red head embraced Jessica carefully around Jet, who was once again back in Jessica's arms. Then she gave Molly a big hug.
"When Kii'era told us you guys were on the run we came as soon as we could. Are you all okay?" She asked as she picked up Molly and held her close.
"We're fine," Duke cut in, "But our friends.."
"We're working on that." Maisie Van Wham said as she joined them. "My brother and a small force of mice are currently defending Chicago. We've already set up a base at your parents." She looked at Jessica. There was a jolt and Maisie looked up. "We'll have to explain more later." She looked at Charlie, "Can you show them to somewhere more comfortable for now?"
"Sure thing." Charlie nodded. Maisie jogged off to help her partner and Charlie turned to the others, "This way." She smiled, although it was strained. She showed them to a common room much like a sitting room and waited for everyone to take a seat, "Does anyone need anything?" She asked glancing at Tanya worriedly, "Wounds treating, water, food?" There were a chorus of murmurs confirming no one needed anything and Charlie nodded before sitting next to Tanya who was still struggling to control her breathing. "Nothing is going to take us on this ship Tanya." She rubbed the woman's back. Tanya whimpered and pulled her knees up to her chest. She did manage to nod to Charlie though.
"Why is there a base of operations at my parents' house?" Jessica asked.
"I've been wondering that too, actually." Alex added. The twins looked to their old friend to explain.
"Well, your parents suggested it." Charlie shrugged, "When we came back I found the garage all fixed up with all new gear and someone being paid to work there until I got back. So, I went to see your parents about it."
"But mom and dad don't have that kind of money!" Alex made a face.
"That's what I thought but the guy working there said it was your dad who interviewed and hired him." Charlie shrugged, "So I went to thank Reuben. When I got there, he filled me in that he and Lizzie had arranged what they could but someone else had paid for the main repairs and the mechanic's wages."
"Who would..?" Mary pipped up. Charlie turned to Jessica with a smile.
"I owe your fiancé a massive thank you." She winked.
"Wildwing did that?" Jessica asked surprised. "He never mentioned anything about it!"
"I'm not supposed to know but you know how I can be about getting to the bottom of things and Reuben eventually admitted it to me on the proviso that I didn't let Wildwing know that I knew." Charlie's smile grew, "You got yourself a keeper Fury." She added with a wink. "And just look at this cutie pie!" Charlie cooed at Jet, tickling him under the chin earning a gurgle from the infant.
"Yeah," Jessica smiled in a dreamlike manner, "He's really something." This earned a few smiles from the other occupants of the room. Jessica shook her head, "Have you heard from him? Or any of the others?" Charlie bit her lip and looked to the side.
"Not since Kii'era spoke to them about a half hour ago." Charlie admitted.
Nosedive peered around the corner of a building to make sure they were alone before pulling Mookie to run with him. They had been heading to the pond. But the closer they got, the more enemy forces there were. So, they had abandoned that idea and began running in the opposite direction. He had already taken out a few Plutarkian soldiers and stolen some blasters, but he was struggling to keep his head in the right place. The part of him that had already lived through a world invasion, but he had been with his brother last time. While he was grown now, and more than capable of taking care of himself, he still felt every bit as scared and vulnerable as he had as a kid. At the sound of jet engines, he pulled Mookie towards a partially collapsed building and the pair huddled beneath a partially fallen wall, guns at the ready.
"What are we going to do?!" Mookie squeaked, "I don't wanna die!"
"You won't." Nosedive declared as he griped the rifle he held tighter.
"Nosedive?!" Wildwing called from somewhere to their right.
"Wil…" Nosedive shushed Mookie before she could give away their position.
"It might be the Chameleon!" Dive hissed.
"Dive! Where are you!" Wildwing called again.
"How do I know it's you?" Dive called.
"When you were five, you packed up your bags and declared you were leaving cause mom and dad said you couldn't watch the movie dad was watching." Wildwing called out.
"What was the movie?" Dive knew it was him but just wanted to hear his brother's voice one more time to be sure.
"Dive, it was nearly 20 years ago, I…" Wildwing paused, "I think it was tales of the deep!" Dive chuckled in relief and stood up, pulling Mookie to her feet with him.
"Hey bro." Nosedive put on his best face but Wildwing saw straight through it.
"We're together now baby bro." Wildwing pulled Nosedive into a bear hug and felt the younger grip onto him as if their lives depended on it.
"Thrash, he's…" Nosedive couldn't finish. Wildwing held on tighter and looked to Mookie who was looking away almost in tears again. Wildwing held out an arm to the woman who immediately accepted the gesture and joined the hug.
"Let's get you two out of here." Wildwing said quietly.
"But Angel!" Nosedive objected as his brother began leading him to the aerowing and the rest of their team.
"She's okay." Wildwing only half lied, "We'll meet up with her a little later."
"Wing move!" Canard yelled. Wildwing didn't even have time to figure out what was going on when a laser blast hit him straight in the chest.
"Wildwing!" Nosedive yelled. If it weren't for his armour he would have been killed instantly. Thankfully he was just winded. The white mallard rose to his feet and saw Nosedive running to him. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion as a white-haired figure was suddenly between the brothers and his little brother fell to the ground. Wing hadn't even seen what his brother had been hit with. All he knew was he couldn't see any blood, but his brother lay far too still. Wildwing snarled and charged Ikaru but the swordsman merely turned his head and smirked before grabbing Dive's wrist and activating a wrist teleporter.
"Nosedive!" Wildwing and Mookie screamed in unison.
