Santa Ana, California – present day

It had taken some time going up, as the upper level was a lot farther than appearances dictated from the level below. But Mallory slowly inched up the ventilation duct, using her feet to anchor herself as she shimmied up the narrow access. When she finally reached a T-section, she hauled herself up onto one side of it, catching her breath. She slowly crawled along its length until she found an open grating, the dim light a stark contrast to her pitch black enclosure. Peering through it, she found herself in what looked like a huge viewing chamber. Windows adorned the entire west side of the room, and Mallory realized that they were actually one-way mirrors; in the schematics Tanya had downloaded, the outside building had huge reflecting panels decorating its pointed roof.

The vent she was in was not above the room, but near the floor of the far eastside wall. She could see black metal tile and walls, along with very minimal furniture—much like the Raptor.

She supposed Viper had been inspired by Dragaunus' idea of decor.

Mallory hadn't seen anybody for quite some time. She was about to open the vent door when, out of nowhere, Viper materialized from the shadows, staring through the window at downtown Anaheim as if he'd been there for hours.

She froze, afraid to attract attention to herself in the eerily silent chambers. Viper seemed to keep his eyes on the scenic view, but every once in a while he'd turn slightly, listening.

He knew something was amiss.

Doors suddenly opened from out of eye-shot and Viper turned, addressing the visitor.

"Has he complied yet?" he asked.

The visitor, who was wearing a lab coat, came into view and shook his head. "No, sir. The kid's a brat. The files we retrieved from his computer have helped significantly, but he's holding out on some key parts in transferring the data."

"Have you tried forming it in the reactor?"

The scientist nodded. "Twice now. It forms, but the system only holds for milliseconds before collapsing."

Viper turned back to look at the nighttime landscape. "If he is unwilling to cooperate, then please persuade him otherwise."

The scientist, seemingly understanding Viper's vague statement, nodded and retreated from the room.

Mallory growled low to herself, well aware of what "otherwise" could entail. She could not just jump out and attack, however—she needed a plan.

That was when the alarms blared.


"Stars, you'd think they'd at least hear us out!" Nosedive sarcastically yelled over the gunfire, hiding securely behind one of the Migrator's wheels. "But I guess goons aren't much for communicado," he added, standing up long enough to shoot a few stray shots out.

"Well, that was the idea," Wildwing hollered from across the way, hiding behind some debris that used to be the small security tower at the front of the building. "But I gotta say Dive, you definitely know how to make an entrance."

Nosedive looked proud of that remark and smugly shrugged. "Eh, you wanted big and loud and—heh, ya got it!"

Grin got up during a break in gunfire and took the opportunity to—literally—heave a piece of the guard tower at some men hiding behind a smaller fence nearer to the building. With a few cries, the guards scattered as the large chunk of stone crashed into the small wall, sending an explosion of concrete everywhere.

Grin and the rest of the team advanced in, leaving the Migrator where Nosedive had "parked" it: right where the security outpost used to be.

As they ran into the high-rise, Wildwing commented, "Dive, when Tanya inevitably finds out, you do know you're helping me repair the damages to the Migrator, right?"

"Aww, come on, bro!"


"Blasted ducks!" Viper swore. Immediately after the alarms had gone off, Mallory stiffened, unsure on whether she'd been caught. Two guards came in shortly afterwards, however, claiming that three ducks were attacking the entrance.

Viper ordered two of his three teams to defend the area, but wanted the third group to stay on the upper levels as an additional watch.

Mallory frowned. Where was the rest of the team?

It didn't seem to matter. Muffled blasting, through Viper's intercom system, indicated that someone had reached the level below. The man quickly walked over to the speaker attached to the wall nearest the exit, and pressed a button on it.

"Connor!" Viper seethed, "Who's below us?!"

Static answered his question, followed by an out-of-breath man. "Sir, it's the duck's leader and two others. They're loaded with bombs shaped like pucks,"—an explosion echoed in the intercom and throughout the walls of the building—"We need reinforcements!"

"For three ducks?! Where the hell did I hire such twits?! Two dozen of you can't take on three ducks?!"

Connor didn't answer, as more explosions echoed throughout the facility. Viper depressed the speaker on the intercom again. "Team 3 to HQ entrance—do not let those ducks in here!"

Viper cursed some choice words for Wildwing and hurriedly exited the main chambers.

Mallory didn't need another cue. She quickly kicked out the vent grate and crawled out of the duct to follow Viper, knowing the scientist and Buzz were back there, as well.

Two ducks were still missing, and she hoped they'd come assist the rest of the team soon.


"Let me go, you creep!" Buzz yelled at the scientist, who was currently trying to give the boy an injection.

"Hold still, you piece of—"

"Fortaineau!" Viper hissed, entering the lab. "Take the boy and—"

The scientist and kid both looked up at Viper's entrance, but the scientist widened his eyes at what he saw. "Phineas, behind you!"

Before Viper could look, Mallory had jumped, grabbed the top of the doorframe, and dropkicked the man, sending him flying across the floor and into a table of glass beakers and cylinders. They tipped and shattered over Viper, who laid unmoving.

Mallory landed and instantly had her puck-launcher trained on Fortaineau. "Drop the needle and untie him, NOW."

Fortaineau let the syringe fall to the floor, bringing his hands up in surrender. He was older than Viper, and far weaker-looking. His crooked nose and brown greasy hair made him appear more contemptible than Viper, too, which was definitely saying something.

"UNTIE HIM!" she yelled again when the scientist made no move to do so.

"Oh, right, right," Fortaineau said, quickly undoing the rope holding Buzz to a chair. Once free, the boy bounded over to Mallory, hugging her.

"Mallory!" he exclaimed, looking near the brink of tears as he adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses.

Mallory kept her gun trained on Fortaineau, but used her other hand to hug Buzz back. "You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah," he said as he let go of her, turning to look at Viper. His eyes widened in fear.

"Mal, he's—"

Shots rang out, and before Buzz knew it he'd been pushed out of the lab and into the hallway, Mallory in front of him and firing back. She had shoved Buzz around to the safety of the wall, before carefully peering around the corner and back into the room.

"Are you ok?" she asked again, keeping her eyes and firearm locked on the two men still inside the lab.

Buzz looked down at his t-shirt and shorts, surprised to be unscathed. He even felt his head to make sure nothing seemed out of place. "Yeah."

Mallory fired her puck-launcher and ducked her head back behind the wall when return shots were sent through the doorway. "Good. Head downstairs—the others are here, go find them!"

Buzz, still shocked at how quickly the last few seconds had transpired, shook the cobwebs out of his head. "What about you?!"

"I'll be fine, I'm gonna hold them back!" Mallory reinforced her statement by firing a few more rounds into the room. "GO!"

Buzz only hesitated briefly before making his way down the hall.

Mallory watched Buzz out of the corner of her eye, waiting until he disappeared around the corner. She fired again and hurriedly reached for her belt to reload.

The shots from inside the lab stopped and she braved a peek inside to see the two men retreating farther back, towards another room.

Mallory finished reloading her gun and moved her hand to the side of her stomach. When she brought it back up, fresh blood dripped down her gloves.

She bit down a surge of pain and rounded the corner back into the lab, following Viper and Fortaineau.


Buzz darted to the elevator and pressed the down button, before realizing the elevator was already heading up to where he was. It dinged, causing the boy to quickly hide to the side of the door. He looked around and grabbed a planter, preparing himself.

The door slid open and, before he could think, Buzz was swinging the planter for all he was worth, into the first person that stepped out.

"Oof!" the perpetrator exclaimed, the planter hitting him square in the gut. Buzz quickly jumped around the crumpling form and into the elevator...

...right into Wildwing.

"Oof!" Buzz mimicked the person he hit, nearly falling back if it wasn't for Wildwing's firm grip on his shoulders.

"Buzz, are you all right?" Wildwing asked.

"Buzz? What about me?" Nosedive wheezed, still on his knees from the blow. "Geez kid, you sure know how to wield a plant."

Buzz, realizing his mistake, smiled sheepishly as he ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "Heh, sorry, the gunfire got me worked up." He looked up at Wildwing. "Wing, Mal's fighting Viper and his mad scientist over there in the lab!" Buzz pointed in the direction he came from. "It was awesome! She hit Viper and got me free but Viper woke up out of nowhere and was shooting at us, but she got us out of the room real quick and BAM was raining pucks on them like no tomorrow!"

Buzz added to his run-on story with exuberant hand expressions, causing a couple eyebrows to raise from the two brothers.

Wildwing looked to Nosedive. "Dive, get Buzz downstairs to Grin, then head back up here pronto—we don't know who or what we're dealing with."

His kid brother nodded and entered the elevator with Buzz. Buzz looked ready to protest, but was interrupted by the teenager.

"You'll have to teach me that planter trick of yours," he groaned as the doors to the elevator closed. "I think you bruised my ribs."

Wildwing watched the elevator tick down to the first floor through the electronic screen above the doors, then took a deep breath as he looked down the hallway. He brandished his forearm weapon and made his way to the laboratory.


"Stop!" Mallory called out, firing at Viper and Fortaineau as they made their way through what looked to be some sort of reactor room.

Inside, they stood upon rough metal walkways, and below them an eerie blue essence glowed, illuminating almost three stories of a huge cylinder. The metal catwalks went up and arched over the giant mouth of the reactor, before descending into stairs on the other side of the spacious room.

More of the one-way mirrors could be seen along all sides, with the tinted nightlights of Anaheim visible beyond. It was hard to believe that this entire area had been hidden by building aesthetics, all within the roof of Adder Telecommunications.

The redhead glanced down to the reactor far below, noticing electricity sputtering across its diameter. She was forced to return her focus to the current situation, however, when the two men recommenced shooting at her. Tings and sparks along her pathway—by the ricochet of bullets—caused her to dive out of the way, but with not a lot of options for cover along the grated railings.

Her mind was still reeling, however, with why they had taken Buzz, and what they had been moments away from doing to him. What was in that syringe they'd almost injected Buzz with? And why? If they had his data from his computer, they'd know how to make the lab-made beryllium already. Were they trying to make a larger gateway here? What else could this place be used for? Most of what Tanya and Buzz had been doing over the past year was well beyond Mallory's scope of comprehension, but she had no doubt that Buzz possessed the knowledge that Viper was seeking, whatever it was.

Viper and Fortaineau seemed to be heading beyond the reactor, down the metal stairs and towards what appeared to be a rooftop that sat at mouth level to the large cylinder. The blue glow made it hard to see, but Mallory recognized the silhouette of a helicopter easily enough.

"Oh no you don't," she growled, reaching the highest point upon the suspended catwalks and firing a few rounds to slow the men down.

A sudden wave of dizziness overtook Mallory, though, making her pause in her actions and grasp the thin handrail to keep her footing. She was losing a lot of blood.

But she would not let them get away.

Karma must've heard her, because one of Viper's return shots hit the gear that lowered and raised the walkway Mallory was on, breaking it.

With a sickening squeal the wire was released, sending half the walkway plummeting down towards the reactor. Mallory lost her footing and slid.

She frantically reached out, her left hand barely managing to grab a support beam of the handrail. Her body stopped its motion abruptly, jolting her and causing her other hand to lose grip of the puck-launcher. With a few clinks against the metal it flew off the ledge and into the reactor below.

She grunted, the stretching in her arm aggravating her wound even more. But she hung on.

Viper's laugh echoed in the facility, and Mallory realized that, aside from a holey metal walkway, she was nothing but a giant bullseye for Viper's next shot.

"Brings new meaning to the term 'sitting duck,' doesn't it?" he called out smugly. "Too bad for you, I will get what I need, one way or another. If not from that brat, then perhaps from our mutual acquaintance, hmm?"

Mallory's brow furrowed. What mutual acquaintance? Falcone didn't have that kind of knowledge—

"Regardless, your death will be quite in vain, I'm afraid," Viper finished with a low chuckle, taking the time to aim his weapon carefully.

A shot rang out and Mallory closed her eyes, but the only response was Viper's cry of pain. She looked over and through the walkway, seeing the man holding his hand. Her eyes traveled down to see Wildwing aiming his blaster at him.

But Viper wasn't done. He growled and pulled out what looked like a grenade. He removed the pin from it but kept his finger on the detonator, holding it out for both ducks to see.

"I suggest you refrain from any more wayward shots!" he yelled, raising his hand with the explosive device high into the air. "I have no reservations tearing down this building to get rid of my duck problem!" He took a few steps back and looked to Fortaineau. "Get the helicopter running!"

The scientist nodded and ran outside onto the rooftop.

Wildwing pressed a button on his arm gun, causing it to whir and reset. His aim never wavered. "How about a solid 'no' to both?" He instantly fired, sending a puck blazing towards Viper.

Viper gasped but didn't have time to react. Before the puck hit him it exploded, releasing a thick, viscous substance that coated the man. Viper fell back onto the floor, the gooey liquid drying his hand to the grenade, as well as his finger to the detonator release.

"Nice one!" Nosedive cheered, entering the area and running up behind Wildwing. The captain looked up at Mallory, still trapped on the sloped walkway. "Hold on!" He pulled out his own puck-launcher, adjusting its settings. He aimed up and fired, causing a puck to launch in her direction.

It hit the walkway's fallen end and, upon impact, released three prongs that wrapped around the metal bars that made up the floor of the walkway. Both brothers pulled on the rope attached to it, testing the resistance of the cable.

"Mal!" Nosedive called up to her. "Think you can climb down?"

Mallory was having a hard time seeing straight, but didn't have a chance to answer. She looked over and saw the helicopter lift into the air, turning and aiming its weapons straight at the window.

"Look out!" she cried, gunfire erupting from the helicopter's automatic gatling guns.

Wildwing and Nosedive jumped out of the way of the barrage, the windows exploding into sparkling shards. Mallory pulled herself into a tight ball, unable to do much else. Viper yelled obscenities at Fortaineau, still unable to move from the glue puck Wildwing had shot.

What happened next was unclear. Whether Fortaineau intended to aim where he did was unknown, but the gunfire changed direction wildly from the helicopter's hovering, and a few rounds went towards Viper.

Despite the substance keeping Viper immobile, the power of the bullets sent the man flailing backwards, and with one last horrifying scream Viper plummeted into the reactor.

The gunfire began making its way back towards Mallory and the rest, but before it could an explosion erupted from within the reactor, sending the entire structure of the building into a shaky fit.

The helicopter stopped firing, and another glance showed that Fortaineau had quickly made his getaway at the sight of the fire.

"MALLORY!"

Mallory, still clinging to the walkway, looked down at Wildwing. Nosedive was holding the rope to the grappling hook tightly, and Mallory realized that they had somehow pulled the catwalk towards them and anchored it to the railing down there.

"LET GO!" Wildwing instructed. He motioned with his arms while Nosedive struggled to keep the walkway's tilted side angled toward the ledge they were on.

Mallory didn't even bother hesitating. She let go, sliding down the rest of the walkway before becoming airborne. The angle of the catwalk was dead on, and Mallory fell rather ungracefully into Wildwing's arms.

The force of her fall caused Wildwing to fall back as well, with Mallory on top of him.

"Hey," he said simply, smiling at her.

Mallory smiled back at him, but grimaced shortly after.

Wildwing's smile turned into a frown, but whatever he was about to say was lost when another coupled blast occurred from within the reactor.

"We gotta get out of here!" Nosedive cried out, helping Wildwing to his feet while the leader kept Mallory in his arms.

Once standing Wildwing lowered his hold, ready to put Mallory down.

He saw the blood, however, and his heart skipped a beat.

"You've been shot!" Nosedive said before Wildwing could, seeing the wound clearly from the way Wildwing was holding the redhead.

Wildwing quickly brought his arms back up, readjusting his hold on Mallory. He turned around, heading back towards the exit. Nosedive followed close behind, flipping his COM open to warn Grin and Buzz.