Location unknown – present day
Tanya sat quietly in one of the backseats of the Aerowing, occasionally craning her neck to see the map on the small screen next to Falcone.
Both the Raptrin and Lucretia sat in the front, and any conversation between them was mumbled quietly enough that she could not make out more than one or two words with each statement.
Her wrists were bound in front of her, which were then tightly bound to the arm rest. She could not reach the control panel to her left, nor did she have enough leeway to even comfortably stand.
She could only see the nighttime sky through the Aerowing's large windshield, and had not studied enough of Earth's astronomy to gauge a direction they were traveling. There was another screen on the control panel next to her, but it was currently turned off. She couldn't reach the switch with her hands, but perhaps a toe..?
The scientist used one foot to unclasp the latches on both sides of her other boot, carefully watching the two ducks up front for any glances her way. She slipped her foot out of the now-open shoe, and stepped on the tip of her sock so she could free her foot from the cloth.
If she could turn on the screen, she could potentially upload the coordinates to the network for the others to see.
The blonde duck checked on Falcone and Lucretia one more time to ensure her privacy, then turned her chair around so she faced the console. Bringing her foot up, she pointed her toe and flipped the switch to turn on the screen.
The monitor blinked to life, and a map of Southern California became visible. Their upcoming destination blinked red, showing a remote area just east of Joshua Tree National Park. What in the world would be out there?
Her toe pressed into a couple buttons along the side, bringing up the team's network. If she could send an update through it, the map and the Aerowing's destination would show up on all of their channels, including Drake One and the COMs.
A cramp started forming in the bend of her foot, but she ignored it and continued to click, scroll, and press buttons. With some struggling, she was able to type up the necessary command, but when she pressed the button to execute it, a message popped up.
Error: network not connected
"Sweetie, if you wanted to know where we were going, you could've just asked."
Tanya jumped, her foot slipping from the console at the same time. Lucretia stood next to her, turning around to casually lean against the dashboard. She reached down and clicked the error message away, leaving the Aerowing's route on the monitor. "Mr. Viper has a research laboratory along Eagle Mountain, right here." She pointed to the spot on the map, her finger tapping against the glass. "We have your fancy gateway generator all set up there."
Lucretia returned her gaze to Tanya, a small smirk forming along her beak. "Sorry about the network, but this is what I would call classified information. You tend to forget that I graduated from the same school you did, hmm?"
"T-then why do you need me to t-transfer the coordinates?" Tanya simply asked, shooting Lucretia an almost patronizing glare.
Her cousin simply smiled at her, unphased by the intended insult. "Well, sure, I can get Mr. Falcone and I back home without issue. But," she added with a lilt at the end, "we have to hold up our end of the deal."
The blonde duck frowned at her. "And wh-what's that?" she asked a little more hesitantly.
"Well," she responded, standing back up and turning Tanya's chair to face the front of the ship again, "Mr. Viper got a hold of some interesting files, relating to an incident where your whole team disappeared for about 24 hours."
Tanya felt the blood drain from her face as she looked up at Lucretia.
"Oh yes, cousin," Lucretia added upon seeing her reaction, "your little time travelling experience did not go unnoticed. In fact, you all brought back a souvenir from that trip, didn't you?"
Phil's staff, Tanya thought with increasing panic. She had collected data from Phil's small band of resistance members, prior to their mission to take out the Master Tower of the future. It was intelligence that was never meant to be used … that kind of power in the wrong hands was unthinkable.
"W-what are you going to do with it?" she finally asked, fear lacing her words.
"Not us, dear. Oh no, we'll be long gone by then." Lucretia checked Tanya's wrist restraints and patted her lightly on the head. "Mr. Viper had some extensive plans, however, on making a future he had been promised by Lord Dragaunus." She shrugged as she went back to sit next to Falcone, Tanya watching her with wide eyes. As she sat down, her hand rubbed Falcone's forearm, and he looked over at her with a smile.
"I wonder what Fortaineau has in mind," Falcone asked, his tone facetious.
Lucretia glanced once more at Tanya and winked at her. "I guess time will tell!"
Both Lucretia and Falcone lightly laughed at her pun, while Tanya continued to struggle against her restraints.
The Pond
The Migrator squealed to a stop in the large garage hangar. As Nosedive peered through the camera showing the rear of the vehicle, it was clear that the tires had left some sizeable skid marks along the slick floor in the process. He was pretty sure it wasn't the first time they'd hauled ass into the Pond, though, and briefly wondered if Tanya had used specialized tiles to make cleanup easy.
The teenager shook the random thought away and immediately opened the loading ramp, allowing Wildwing to quickly descend with Mallory in his arms.
"Did you get ahold of Tanya and Duke?" the captain questioned loudly as he briskly walked, the rest of the team hurriedly following. Just as he was about to enter the doors to their headquarters, however, he stopped.
The wall console was dismantled, pieces of metal hanging by the contraption's cords and open connectors dangerously sparking. The sliding doors themselves were stuck in an open position.
"Neither Duke nor Tanya answered their communication units," Grin answered, stopping behind Wildwing. Nosedive looked back at him worriedly.
"Puck-launchers out, defensive positions now," Wildwing ordered. "Buzz, stay behind Grin."
"Is it Viper? I thought he died!" Buzz anxiously whispered. "Or that mad scientist guy?!"
"Shhh." Wildwing adjusted his hold on Mallory, causing the redhead to hiss in pain. He quietly apologized but managed to bring his right forearm shield forward enough that it provided them their own defense—even while still holding up her legs. He briefly glanced behind and motioned the team with a head nod.
In a V formation and with Nosedive leading, they proceeded through the hallway, Buzz keeping close behind Grin and two of the three ducks with weapons aimed straight ahead. From the large hangar, the infirmary was down the hall and to the right, adjacent to Tanya's laboratory. Across the way were three holding cells, even though they had never been used.
Of course, if Tanya and Duke had retrieved Falcone from the police station, then Nosedive supposed that the Raptrin may be in one of them now.
They reached the end of the junction and stayed close to the wall nearest the corner. Wildwing motioned Grin over, and gently handed Mallory to him. He turned back and activated the Mask, scanning the area ahead.
"Someone's in the infirmary," he confirmed. "I think they're on the Medicom."
A small gasp echoed in the eerily quiet hallway, startling the other ducks in the vicinity. Nosedive looked down and saw that Buzz had braved a peek around the corner without anyone knowing.
"Buzz-!" Wildwing started, reaching for the kid's shoulder.
"Someone got hurt!" Buzz cried out, running ahead before anyone could stop him.
"Buzz!" Mallory called, struggling to get out of Grin's arms. "Stop him!" she said when the big duck refused to let her down.
Nosedive bolted after him, Wildwing close behind. As they rounded the corner they saw what Buzz did: a trail of blood, starting as a pool in front of one of the cells and smeared across the length of the path until it ended at the laboratory's sliding doors.
The infirmary entrance was before the mess. Nosedive slowed down at its entrance, while Wildwing chased after Buzz and managed to pull him back before he reached Tanya's lab.
"They might need help!" Buzz shouted, struggling against the arm that had wrapped around his waist and lifted him up.
"Nosedive, now!"
The teenager nodded and pressed the necessary command to open the infirmary. As soon as it slid open he jumped inside, puck-launcher at the ready.
"Duke!" the youngest member of the ducks exclaimed, keeping his weapon out but running up to the prone mallard. The Medicom was rotating and working on the ex-thief, a sizeable wound visible along his shoulder. The gray mallard himself was unconscious. Nosedive quickly swept the rest of the area, confirming no one else was around.
His eyes traveled to the doorway linking the infirmary to the laboratory, and noticed the doors there had been left open. Stepping cautiously closer and weapon aimed forward, he saw more blood along the floor, leading back towards its exit. Along one of Tanya's desks was an array of broken circuitry, pieces of red metal glinting against the fluorescent lighting.
"All clear!" Nosedive yelled.
Wildwing, having already released Buzz from his temporary stronghold, quickly made his way in and checked the computer linked to Duke's Medicom. Grin followed in with Mallory shortly afterwards, laying the redhead down on another empty Medicom gurney.
"Stab wound," Wildwing said out loud to the team. Nosedive walked up behind him, reading the information as well.
"Some sort of custom snake poison…" Wildwing added, trailing off. "We need to check security footage."
"On it," Nosedive proclaimed, heading towards Drake One. "Be back in a flash!"
"Wait!" Wildwing demanded. "We don't know if anyone else is still here!"
"The Aerowing is gone," Grin stated calmly.
He paused, looking at Grin. "Wait, it was?"
"Shows how observant you are," Nosedive chastised good-naturedly. His older brother glared at him.
"Fine," he relented, and Nosedive gave a thumbs up before jogging towards the exit. "But be alert!" Wildwing called after him.
"I wanna come!" Buzz piped up, running after the teenager.
Nosedive slowed his trek, waiting for the child prodigy to catch up with him. "Then hurry up, slow poke!"
The machine whirred to life, rotating at the same pace as the one adjacent to it. Mallory glanced over at her teammate, still unconscious next to her, even though he was nearly halfway complete with his treatment. Whatever poison they had infected Duke with was strong, if it managed to keep him out this long.
The redhead herself swallowed some anxiety as a light enveloped around her. The Medicom's main purpose was to produce a specialized magnetic field, which acted like a puppeteer to the nanobots now in her bloodstream. However, additional accessories and customizations allowed the machine to perform some basic medical procedures, as well, including the multiple tubes that were now attached to her via IV. Mallory was inherently thankful for that; she wasn't exactly keen on letting a goalie or a pacifist anywhere near her with a giant needle.
"Grin, can we have a moment?"
Mallory's attention turned to Wildwing, who was staring at the Medicom readout on the nearby monitor. His arms were crossed, and between the Mask and his heavy chest armor, it made him look downright intimidating.
Grin, standing guard near the infirmary entrance, bowed respectfully towards both the leader and the redhead, before silently exiting. The sound of the doors hissing shut was exceptionally loud against the tension that was left in the room.
Guilt started bubbling to the surface of her emotions, but Mallory wasn't even sure where to begin.
"You've lost a lot of blood," Wildwing said, his voice even and neutral. She opened her beak to reply, but hesitated. He had not turned around.
"No bullet fragments, at least," he continued, "and no major organ damage. You were damn lucky." He paused, reading further. "Two hours for minimal repair, four for full muscle and subcutaneous tissue rebuilding."
Mallory shook her head. "We can't wait that long—"
"No, you can," Wildwing forcefully interrupted, finally turning around to face her. "You've disregarded enough orders for one day, don't you think?"
She flinched at the sudden harshness in his tone. "Wildwing, I'm sorry—"
"You know," he let out a sharp laugh, "I think you've run out of apologies. It's one thing to make a mistake, Mallory. It's something else entirely when you refuse to learn from them."
"But Buzz—"
"It doesn't matter who it was, we're a team!" he suddenly shouted. "I thought that meant something to you," he added, his voice lowering but still equally edged with anger.
"It does," she answered him quietly. Unable to move from her prone position, she opted to look up at the rotating structure of the Medicom instead, away from his piercing stare.
"I'm not so sure, anymore."
"I protected him, Wing. I did exactly what you would have done if it'd been Nosedive."
"I wouldn't shut out others to do it!"
"I'm not shutting you out; there just wasn't any time!" She let out a frustrated growl, feeling almost trapped in her position on the Medicom and with him hovering over her. "This is about those stupid nightmares again, isn't it?"
"It's about trust, Mallory. You need to trust me, and to trust your teammates." He sighed, taking a long moment to remove the Mask, and catching Mallory's attention in the process. His eyes were tired, and his expression grim as he truly looked at her. "I don't even try to pretend to know what you've seen or experienced in the service, but you can still talk to me about it."
His hand went to reach for her, but he stopped when he remembered the Medicom's field. Sighing again, he admitted, "You haven't been acting like yourself, at all."
Mallory felt her throat clench, a mishmash of painful feelings and memories pushing outward and forcing her to try and swallow them down. "You're right," she eventually said, her voice raspy. "...About not knowing."
Wildwing didn't respond. He stood next to her, his eyes now boring into her as she opted to stare down the rotating metal contraption above her. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.
"Then tell me," he insisted.
The redhead was deathly silent, her eyes still fixed straight above. She blinked heavily a couple times, before finally taking a deep, shaky breath. "In a war … you're forced to learn how to triage. How to save the most amount of lives in the shortest amount of time.
"If … if a slave camp happens to be nearby a Hunter Drone distribution center, well … you try and warn the prisoners before you press fire on the rocket. Maybe a dozen of the strongest make it out. But … you've taken out a warehouse that had been producing thousands of drones a day, and in the end you'll free nine other camps in the process."
Glazed eyes finally looked at Wildwing. "It doesn't make it any better. But that's the only way you'll ever win." She let out a breathy laugh that came out harsh and emotionless. "It's not even what we're taught in the service. They know better. Who the hell would want to make decisions like that, right? They were smart, they made us believe we could save everybody."
Mallory looked down and away. "My dad was raised that way, too. No collateral damage. Your life before theirs, always. 'That's the ticket you bought, the choice you made,' he'd say. He didn't even blink twice when he told me he'd be staying behind to make sure the ship didn't hit Metropolis.
"He never even let me tell him goodbye."
Wildwing was speechless where he stood. He knew about General McMallard—anyone who was living in or around Metropolis when the Invasion hit knew about him. The giant battleship had fought against the first wave of ships that aimed to take out the city.
They had been nearly successful, too, if not for the invisible force shield of Dragaunus'. Fighting an enemy blind had been impossible. When the ship finally gave out, it began to fall towards downtown. The general had chosen to stay aboard, however, to steer it away from civilization and into the bay nearby.
He had died a hero.
Wildwing had not known Mallory was on the ship that day. When they had first met, he and Nosedive mentioned how brave her father was, and that they were sorry for her loss. She had easily brushed off their condolences.
As he'd gotten to know Mallory more intimately, he had learned that she and her father had never been that close. With four older brothers and a mother that had died giving birth to her, it sounded like Mallory's father almost resented his daughter for being alive when his lifemate wasn't.
It was a harsh presumption, but Mallory always acted like it was the only way she had ever known her father.
Seeing her now told Wildwing that it affected her more than she'd ever let on.
"Mallory, I—"
The door suddenly hissed open, catching the attention of both awake occupants within the room. Grin still stood in the hallway beyond, but Nosedive and Buzz entered breathlessly, and wearing anxious faces to boot.
"Dive?" Wildwing prompted.
"Lucretia DeCoy," he spit out. "She's, they're … Wing, they got Tanya."
"I know where they're taking her!" Buzz exclaimed as well, pounding his fist into his hand. "Let's go beat 'em up!"
"What?" the leader asked, obviously confused. He saw Mallory start to sit up and pressed her back down. "Mallory, rest." The Medicom chirped in annoyance at his breakage of the magnetic field, but it whirred back to life as soon as he pulled away.
"Lucretia?!" Mallory asked Nosedive with a snap, even while laying back down. "But how?!" She stayed prone as instructed, but was watching the teenager poignantly.
Buzz, however, was the one to answer. "Tanya said that they stole beryllium and Raptor parts, just enough to make a portal to a Dimensional Gateway, which makes perfect sense, because theoretically the most amount of power is consumed on the length of travel, so when we're talking galaxies you can imagine—!" he paused in his run-on sentence, catching everyone's expressions, and before you could blink moved on with, "Anyways, like I told you when I was held captive, Viper was super-focused on time travel and possible alternate dimensional rifts, which was why Falcone's transporter was uber important."
"But—"
"Right, Falcone broke his transporter," Buzz interrupted seamlessly. "So then Lucretia DeCoy's transporter was the only one left, which explains all that data they had on hand, plus the meager file retrieval they'd managed from the Raptor regarding time travel. Interestingly enough, Lord Dragaunus—or his ancestry—we're super obsessed about breaking that code, so to speak." He chuckled briefly, caught more impatient expressions, and quickly finished with, "But yeah, like I said, they were trying to merge that data with the codes from the transporter, and execute it within the gateway logic Tanya and I created."
There was a long, awkwardly pregnant pause before Wildwing stated, "To time travel."
"Yup!"
"Where are they?" the leader asked.
"Some old research laboratory Viper used during his early entrepreneurial years, just northeast of Eagle Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park." This time, Buzz got a collection of incredulous looks and tapped his forehead before adding, "Eidetic memory, remember? I was able to scrounge through some of his files before he realized I wasn't actually helping him."
Wildwing, realizing the Mask was still in his hand, quickly put it back on. He looked to Mallory. "Do not leave the Medicom unless your life is in danger. We'll set the Pond for maximum security on our way out."
Mallory didn't bother arguing with his tone. She simply nodded.
"Let's go," Wildwing stated, walking towards the rest of the group.
"Uh, Bro?"
The captain paused, glancing at Nosedive.
"This may or may not be the best time to tell you, but uh…"
"Dive?" he brusquely prompted.
The teenager sheepishly grinned and held his hands out as if to say don't shoot the messenger.
"Lucretia DeCoy is Tanya's cousin."
