Ch.11: The Phantom Mark

Red eyes gleamed deep with bloodlust and malice as the three creatures that stood atop of the ruins of the Villa Rose slowly crept down towards the Duck Avenger, claws out and teeth ready to tear.

"These are the beats who attacked One," thought Donald, activating his shield as he got ready to defend. The same ones who tore up Ducklair Tower. Well now they were going to pay!

"Growl!" the creatures came, striking out at the lone duck in front of them. Donald was more than prepared.

Even though it had been a while since he had done this whole hero gig, he wasn't so rusty that he had forgotten about all of the skills he had used in his experiences before.

Jumping high, thanks to his spring-powered boots, Donald managed to avoid the creatures charge, and then flipped over in the air, facing back, to fire out a laser from his X-Transformer Shield.

The beasts were caught off guard and consumed in a blinding flash of light. Donald smiled to himself.

"Well, that should do it."

He however, was wrong, and his smile quickly disappeared as the dust settled to reveal that the three, terrifying creatures were still alive. The laser had hardly caused any damage to them at all.

The only danger that had increased was their rage, and the beasts glared at Donald with clear intentions to kill.

"Wak!" Donald screamed as they charged again, and fired off a few more weapons from his X-Transformer, none of them really having any effect.

Just what were these monstrous, shadow-like beings made of that made them immune to all this pain?

Donald knew that he couldn't stand around any longer to find out. His best bet right now was to get up and leave, spring-booting his way back to 313.

In the back, the creatures were close behind him, growling like wolves on the hunt as they sliced apart trees with their claws, and hissed inhumanly at the full moon that shined above.

The spring-boots made Donald fast, but somehow, the creatures moved faster. So fast, that on Donald's next jump, the masked mallard gasped in surprise as one of the creatures pounced in front of him, and slapped him through the air with its claw.

Donald landed harshly on the ground, his sides and stomach twisting with pain. Feeling his head, Donald knew that he was bumped and bruised, but the worst damage caused was that to his chest and cape. The cape had now been torn into shreds, while his chest bled out from a vicious scratch, open and bleeding.

Before Donald could even calculate the full damage of his injuries, the creatures appeared again, and the leader jumped upon Donald's chest, pinning the duck to the ground.

Saliva dripped off from its lethal fangs, and Donald could feel the chilling breath brush up against his feathers.

His eyes closed, ready for the end, wishing he could have at least contacted One and let him know that things were going to end like this.

"Remember," suddenly hissed out a demonic voice, and a vision of strange mark suddenly flashed through Donald's mind.

It was eerie and familiar, but evil, holding nothing but the darkest thoughts.

"Huh?" said Donald, and opened his eyes.

The pressure on his chest was gone, and when he looked around, the creatures were nowhere to be seen.

Where did they go? The whole situation hadn't been a dream, had it?

Donald felt his hand clutch down to his side. No, definitely not! But why would they stop when he was at his end?

"I need to tell One," thought Donald, limping his way back to the Duckmobile.

While he limped, the Avenger was unaware of two gleaming eyes, watching at him from the shadows.


Meanwhile, over at T.N.T. HQ, a secret organization that dealt with unusual paranormal events, Donald Duck's cousin, Fethry, was just waking up in the medical ward, dazed and confused about what happened to him just a few days before.

"Wha…what happened to me?" he said.

"Ah" spoke out a voice " it's good to see you awake Agent Fethry,"

" Head" said Fethry, turning around to see his boss " What happened? Why am I here?"

"You were attacked" said the dog " Agent Finch found you passed out inside of a storage room and in critical condition. You've been here for a couple of days. Turns out one of the supernatural specters we've kept under lock and key has escaped."

"Specters?" said Fethry, suddenly sitting up " Which one? Why? How?"

"We suspect it has something to do with the cat you brought that day," said Head.

Fethry started to remember, the memories flowing back to his fuzzy mind. Yes, he did bring Tabby with him that day.

Tabby was a small, white and silver feline that used to belong to his cousin Donald Duck. Fethry purchased the cat from Donald in order to help him settle off a debt, and promised his cousin that he would keep the feline safe and happy no matter what.

Fethry had just gotten finished taking Tabby to the vet when T.N.T called, and asked for assistance cleaning out all of the large storage rooms so that new equipment could be moved in. Of course, Fethry jumped at the chance to help out, dragging Tabby along for the ride.

Head greeted Fethry as he came in, but when he saw Tabby, the chief's eyes became unsure. Fethry noticed the look and assured Head that Tabby wouldn't cause any harm, setting the cat free to roam, while he asked the chief where he should start.

Fethry found immediate joy sorting through all of the T.N.T junk. He recognized every weapon and machine, and marveled at the power each one of them weld. While playing with a few of the guns, the alarm went off, startling Fethry a bit.

What was going on? What was happening? Things were quiet until now.

Screams started echoing from the hall, causing Fethry to cringe with concern. Had one of the paranormal beings got loose? Should he go help or…Roar!...Blackness….That was all he could remember anymore.

"And they think it was Tabby?" Fethry thought in his mind " Oh I knew I should have dropped him at home."

"Whatever you what Head" said Fethry " I'll help any way I…,"

"Mr. Head" Agent Finch suddenly interrupted " I have an urgent message for Agent Fethry over the phone. It seems like one of his relatives has gone missing."

"What? Who?" asked Head.

Finch gulped.

"Agent Donald."