The Ducks were winning the fight. Dragonus was getting cocky now that he thought the mask was destroyed. Tanya and Gin were taking care of Wraith and Seige while Duke, Canard, and Wildwing dealt with Dragonus. Mallory had just knocked Chameleon out with a jump kick to the head and she paused to watch Nosedive pulled the injured duck girl to safety. That takes care of the hostage problem, she thought. Mallory always switched to military thinking during a battle. That's when she saw a familiar figure step out of the shadows above.
"Wildwing! The rafters," called Mallory, pointing at the trapped teens.
Wildwing saw his brother with a laser pointed at his face and thought fast.
"Dive, duck!" He yelled before firing. The puck just barely missed Lucricia, but it worked. She jumped away from the teens, but Dive lost his footing. Wildwing watched as Kristy struggled to hold Dive up, but it was a losing battle.
The ducks turned all of their attention to the two in the rafters and the Saurians and Lucricia used the distraction to escape.
Canard saw Kristy's eyes roll up and watched her fall forward. "Nooooo!" His scream joined Wing's and Dive's. He and Wildwing were running before they hit the ground.
Nosedive tried to break his landing, but he felt his left ankle buckle and he fell just as hard. Good thing I've got my armor on, he thought, rolling over to rub his sore leg. He felt a weight slip off his lap, and realized that Kristy had fallen on him.
"Hey T-girl, you alright?" Dive asked, pulling Kristy into a sitting position leaning against his chest. At least she's not very heavy.
"Stars..." Kristy's eyes fluttered open, "we fell and - " She was cut off by Canard and Wildwing flying at them.
"Kristy, are you alright?"
"Dive, your leg!"
"How's your arm?"
"Can you stand up?"
"Bro, I'm fine," said Nosedive, trying to get a word in. He attempted to stand up and Wing pushed him right back down.
"Dive, don't move. I think you've sprained your ankle," replied Wildwing, examining his brother's leg.
"Stars, Kristy are you okay?" It was Canard's turn to play the worried older brother when he saw Kristy's arm and shoulder up close.
"Canard!" Kristy cut him off by throwing her arms around her brother's neck. "I thought you were dead, then I thought you'd turned traitor..." Kristy's emotions got the best of her, and the tears she'd held back before tickled out.
Canard wrapped his arms around her in a strong embrace. "It's alright Kristy, I wont let anything happen to you."
"I know, it's not your fault. It's just that when I saw her I got scarred. And then Dragonus...he's so big," Kristy rubbed her neck.
"I was scared I'd never see you again," confessed Canard. He knew which 'her' Kristy was referring to. It could only be Lucricia. "Are you sure you're okay?" Deep brown eyes met identical deep brown eyes.
"Canard, I'm totally over that." Kristy smiled up at her older brother. "I'm just glad that you didn't really join those sleeze balls."
"You know I'd never betray the team," said Canard, nuzzling his beak against his sister's neck, "and I'd never betray you either." Kristy returned the gesture.
"Hey Wing," whispered Dive, watching the Thunderbeaks next to him, "you ever start getting that teary and I'm gonna hit you,". Wildwing just ruffled his hair. "Ah! Watch the hair, baldy!"
"Baldy?" Wing glanced at his little brother. "You're treading on dangerous ground. Gimp."
"Gimp!" Nosedive's outburst brought Kristy and Canard back to reality.
"Come one," said Canard, helping Kristy to her feet, "let's get you two back to the pond." He stopped when he saw the state of her clothes. Kristy's tank-top was stained with her blood and filled with talon-sized holes. It looked ready to fall off at any moment. Her cargo pants weren't mush better, they were coated with dirt and there was a tear over each knee.
"Stars Kriss, are you sure you're alright?" asked Canard, morphing out of his battle gear and into his civilian clothes. He put his coat around her shoulders.
"Thanks," Kristy pulled the covering closer, "I'm just kinda cold."
Wildwing gave Dive a hand up and helped him limp back to the migrator. Kristy didn't need any help, but Canard kept an arm around her as they followed the Flashblades.
Mallory and Duke went ahead to get the migrator started, and Grin helped Wildwing lift Nosedive into the back. Tanya lagged behind to check on Kristy's wounds.
"Ow!" Kristy jumped when Tanya touched her arm.
"I think it's infected where Dragonus raked you with his talons," said Tanya, inspecting the cuts. "It's not bad," she told Canard, seeing the worry in his eyes. They reached the migrator and Kristy took a seat in the back on the bench where Nosedive was laying.
"Thanks for breaking my fall, V," she said, patting him on his uninjured leg.
"Yeah, don't mention it," answered Dive, cringing as Tanya wrapped his ankle. Canard sat across the aisle from them on the bench next to Wildwing. The migrator roared to life and they were heading back home.
"So Kristy, how'd you get here?" asked the team's captain.
"I'm not sure," answered Kristy, "I was on my way home from school and some one grabbed me. I thought it was you, Canard, but it was really that creepy shape-shifter. Anyways, he pulled me into an ally where Lucricia was waiting and then pushed me into a huge, swirling, green hole. That's when I landed in Dragonus' ship and he had me thrown into a containment cells." Kristy started shaking. "I don't know how long I was trapped in there, but then the big orange one came and brought me back to Dragonus in the control room. That's when he did this," She pointed to the marks on her neck and shoulders, "and he called you..."
"I'm sorry Kristy," Canard reached across to take her hands in his, "if we'd listened to Dragonus the first time he called..."
Wildwing placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "It's not your fault. We didn't know he'd go so berserk."
"He's an evil villain, it's his job to do crazy junk," commented Nosedive.
Tanya shook her head and moved over to work on Kristy. "Alright, your turn Kristy. And I'm Tanya by the way."
"She's like the team medic and resident computer guru," explained Nosedive.
"Oh really, I thought she was the weapons specialist," was Kristy's sarcastic reply.
"No, that's Mallory," said Canard, "did you ever meet her at the base?" Kristy shook her head. "Hey Mallory," he yelled towards the front.
"I'm driving, what do you want?" asked Mallory, never taking her eyes off the road.
"Just introducing you to my sister."
Mallory raised a hand in greeting, "Hi Kristy. I'm glad we've got another girl on board. We can talk later at the Pond."
"Hey kid, I'm Duke," the gray mallard left his spot next to Mallory and made his way to the back, "Duke L'Orange, at your service." He bowed to kiss her hand but Kristy suddenly pulled away.
"Aren't you a jewel thief?" She looked at Duke doubtfully.
"That's ex-jewel thief," he corrected.
"It's true," confirmed Wildwing, "he's an important part of the team."
"So I guess we'll be seeing each other later," said Duke with a grin, turning back to his seat.
"He's harmless, you'll get used to him," assured Dive.
"Yeah, and the last member you haven't met yet is Grin," continued Canard, pointing to the large duck sitting behind Duke.
"I am pleased to meet you, Kristina."
"Um thanks, nice to meet you too."
"You'll get used to him too," said Dive.
"I guess I'm gonna have to," Kristy tried moving her now-bandaged arm and shoulder.
"Hey Kristy, how are mom and dad, and Charlie?" asked Canard.
"Oh stars!" Kristy suddenly remembered her family back on Puckworld. "They're going to be so upset. They probably don't know what happened. What are they going to think?"
"It's alright," comforted Canard, "we'll find a way home. Mom and dad know you're a tough kid."
"Yeah, dad made sure of that..."
"He just had really high expectations."
"I know," Kristy rolled her eyes, "me, mom, and dad all moved back into our old house. We were lucky, it only needed some minor repairs."
"How's our house?" asked Nosedive, always the optimistic.
Kristy shook her head, "Sorry Dive, Wing, it was falling apart and when no one claimed the property...they knocked it down."
Wildwing leaned towards his brother, "Dive, we knew that old house wouldn't last through the invasion."
"Sure. I was just...I kept hopping that our parents, I mean the Flashblades, survived. After we got separated in the camps, I duno what I thought."
"Hey V, guess what building was the first to be rebuilt," said Kristy, trying to cheer up her friend, "the school. We were back in class like less than a year after the Saurians were defeated."
Dive chuckled. "That's tough luck."
"How's Charlie?" asked Canard.
"He's fine. Still in the military, nothing's new." Canard laughed, that sounded just like his older brother.
"We're back," announced Mallory, switching off the engine.
"Whoa, where are we?" Kristy stood up and walked to the front to stare out the windshield. They were in the Pond's huge garage, which was filled with the duck's high tch equipment.
"Welcome to the Anaheim Pond," said Canard, coming up to stand beside his sister, "our home here on earth."