The trip the next morning was bitterly cold. A front must have moved in through the night, layering everything it touched with a thin layer of ice. Wildwing's old and battered jacket proved no match for the crisp air. He, along with his brother, kept their arms tightly crossed in front of them as they continued their long walk through the wilderness.

They had made it to the other side of the city via the sewers in only a couple of hours, and had traversed upwards to the outside world. On the western border of DuCaine Metropolis was a densely overgrown forest, providing them some protection from the constant watch of hunter drones and enemy aircraft.

But the woods were also well-known hiding grounds for escaped prisoners, so multiple times throughout the walk they had to press themselves against a large tree trunk to avoid detection from enemy watchers flying by.

Nonetheless, they brazenly kept close to the edge of the forest: being so close to the city would mean they'd have less chance of running into escapees (who wouldn't be stupid enough to keep that close to an enemy-occupied area) and, at the same time, the surveillance would only pass over them en route to the deeper recesses of the forest.

While Wildwing would have loved to help those that had been strong enough to escape, he knew that they could be of no help to those fugitives. They had barely enough supplies to care for themselves as it was.

"All right team, this is it."

Wildwing nearly collided with his brother in front of him from the sudden stop. He glanced up at Canard and saw the captain peering past a couple trees toward the city. Following his gaze, he saw an old dilapidated warehouse not too far away.

"We're going in there?" Nosedive squeaked.

"It's one of the old entrances to the Brotherhood," Canard answered him, his eyes scanning the area cautiously.

"Old?" Mallory questioned. Canard had supplied her an old military jacket from his few supplies, which was far too large on her. She unzipped it and pulled up the sleeves, giving her clear access to the puck-launcher still in its holster on her belt.

"He wasn't dumb enough to give us their new whereabouts, McMallard." Canard snipped. After a few moments, he finally took his eyes off the surroundings ahead of them and looked back at his companions. "L'Orange will meet us in there and help us north to Vanderflock's base."

"We're not going back to the sewers?" Wildwing asked with only a hint of disappointment; after all, the sewers had been a lot warmer.

"They've collapsed over here, unfortunately. We'll have to do our best on the streets."

Nosedive exchanged a worried glance with his brother. Neither of them had a weapon to protect themselves with, and neither Mallory nor Canard had a gun to spare.

Canard motioned the team to follow and began making his way into the open, deserted field that led to the warehouse. It was midday now, but the cold front had brought in some dismal-looking clouds that, combined with heavy smog from the Saurians' factories, refused to let sunlight touch down.

The pseudo darkness benefited their risky trek into the open area, however, and provided the necessary cover from enemy detection. Canard's pace went from a fast walk to a quick jog as soon as they were completely exposed. His footsteps were agile and quiet as he led the way, followed by Nosedive, Wildwing, and Mallory bringing up the rear. The adrenaline kept their breathing to a minimum too, as every second of vulnerability felt like minutes.

They finally reached the far side of the building, all of them pressing themselves up against the heavy alloy wall as if they would melt into it. No alarms sounded and no search lights turned on. They took a few moments to collect their respective breaths, still keeping as quiet as possible.

Canard motioned silently with his hand and rounded the corner, staying close to the wall. They traversed its long side about a quarter of the way before Canard stopped and pulled out his handheld computer.

He inputted some information and pressed something that caused a scanner light to emit. He aimed it at an old control box that was attached to the wall.

It made a very quiet beep after a few seconds. With a hiss the door next to it slid open, allowing access inside. All four quickly made their way in.

The door hissed shut behind Mallory and a collective sigh of relief was heard, both from their newfound cover as well as the sudden protection from the brutal elements outside.

The warehouse itself was pitch-black. Canard pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, unafraid of alerting the outside of their whereabouts. It was common knowledge that warehouses were made of solid alloy and were windowless, mainly to protect its supplies from Puckworld's harsh winter storms.

The beam of light revealed old crates and broken down machinery covered in dust. Canard took a step forward but stopped, pulling out his modified puck-launcher.

"Halt!"

Mallory had pulled out her puck-launcher at the same time, aiming at the darkness. Wildwing took a step back, instinctively stepping in front of his brother even though he could not see what the danger was.

"'ey now, we start fightin' ea'hother then where will we be?"

The voice materialized seemingly out of nowhere, but Wildwing followed Canard and Mallory's aim to see a faint silhouette of a figure stepping out from behind some crates. As the figure approached, Wildwing could see nothing but a piercing red dot emanating out of the darkness.

Canard lowered his weapon at the heavily accented voice, but Mallory did not.

"You gonna shoot a stranger Sweetheart?"

Mallory growled but a sharp glare from Canard kept her from saying anything. She reluctantly lowered her weapon.

The figure finally stepped into Canard's flashlight beam, allowing Wildwing to get a good look at the stranger. He had dark gray feathers and a maroon unitard equipped with a gold utility belt. It was partially covered by a thick black coat, but Wildwing could still see the gold saber he held in his right hand. It was pointed to the ground and half hidden by the trench coat's tail, but its shiny metal gleamed from the flashlight.

In addition, Wildwing could see that the red dot he had seen earlier came from the stranger's right eye: he wore a black patch over it, but the small piercing red light shined through, suggesting that his eye had been either replaced or retrofitted with some sort of machinery. A chip in his beak completed his rugged appearance.

"Oh oh oh, the famous thief of Puckworld!" Nosedive exclaimed, stepping out from behind his brother. "I didn't recognize the name but I remember seeing your 'Most Wanted' poster on Crimes of the Metro!" He approached the newcomer with ease, holding out his hand.

The gray duck quirked an eyebrow at him. "Didn't think I'd be meetin' up wit' any fans today." He accepted Nosedive's outstretch hand, however, and shook it.

"Duke L'Orange, kid," he introduced himself.

"Nosedive Flashblade, at your service!" Nosedive enthusiastically shook his hand.

Canard holstered his weapon and nodded to Mallory to do the same. Duke glanced at Mallory and Wildwing, crossing his arms as he studied them.

"Let me guess: military and hates me," Duke pointed to Mallory, "...and a civil'an that 'as some cool trick up 'is sleeve an' who has pro'ly ne'er 'eard o' me."

Mallory sighed and did not respond. Wildwing grinned and shook his head.

"No tricks here."

"Canard wouldn't o' picked you ot'erwise," Duke insisted. He again glanced to Mallory, smirking at her obvious disdain towards him. "Sweetheart, I promise I don' bite."

"Call me Sweetheart one more time and—"

"McMallard, cool it for once."

Mallory's fists balled tightly to her sides and she glared at Canard. "Just because you're captain now does not give you the right to slap me around like some first year, Canard. I'm here for my brothers and father—either you take my help or you don't, but I've already gone AWOL."

Canard turned to her. "No, they think you've gone AWOL, McMallard. You're still in the military and you still follow commands whether or not you like them. And your hotheadedness has gotten us into more jams than I can count—"

"Shove it, Captain!" Mallory's voice boomed but did not outright yell. "My so-called temper WOULD have kept us out of traitors' traps if you had bothered to listen!"

"Drake, you're gonna pin this on me now?" Canard retorted, his own voice rising dangerously.

"He killed my brother and you let him!" Mallory was smart enough to not yell, but the venom in her voice was thick enough to kill. "I told you he wasn't trustworthy, but did you listen? No, you—"

"Your brother was captain then, Mal, or have you forgotten that?! I didn't trust him, but it wasn't like I could've gotten Ben to change his damn mind! As bad as your temper is, his trust in others was even worse!" Canard's voice strained at the end, his own emotions surfacing despite his best attempts.

Mallory didn't respond to that. She was breathing heavily as they glowered at one another.

"I didn't let that damn traitor kill him, McMallard. He got the jump on me, too. And I sure as hell didn't make myself captain from it!"

Wildwing, Nosedive, and Duke all stood motionless, afraid to distract either of the arguers.

The staring contest between the two finally broke as Mallory turned and walked past Wildwing back to the warehouse door. Wildwing didn't dare try to stop her.

"McMallard!"

Mallory shook her head but did not stop.

"Mal, don't do this!" Canard's voice raised again but he did not yell.

Mallory hesitated at the control box but did not turn around.

Canard gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry about Ben, I am. But we've all lost in this war, Mal. Is it the title you want? Because I don't know why the hell he made me and not you captain. I don't care about the damn title. Drake, we're third years. We shouldn't even be lieutenants yet!"

Mallory's balled fists were still at her sides. Her back was still facing the group, her small form nearly shaking from anger. Rather than opening the warehouse door, however, she turned and determinedly walked back to them.

She stopped two feet away from Canard, facing him. "No, Captain, I do not want your damn title.

"What I would like is for you to stop acting like I'm some jealous classmate trying to one-up you. I am NOT a McMallard by choice, I assure you—and I'm not going to pretend like you don't think I deserve to be here, just like everyone else in that damned school.

"I don't want to be a lieutenant and you don't want to be a captain. I get that. So treat me like a team member and not some damn lackey and we'll get along just fine."

Mallory paused for a moment and swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving Canard's. "And don't pretend like you knew Ben because you didn't. I made you captain, not him."

Mallory took a step back, glared at the other three occupants of the warehouse, and walked past Duke and Nosedive toward the other side of the building.

"Let me know when you're ready to leave, Captain," she called back before disappearing into the heavy darkness.

The silence afterwards was deafening.


No one said anything for quite some time after that. Canard, in his brooding anger, had walked to the other side of the warehouse and was currently engrossed with something on his handheld computer.

Mallory had kept to the darkness on the opposite side and had not made a sound.

Duke, to his benefit, leaned back against a crate and began sharpening his saber out of boredom.

Nosedive had plopped to the ground, taken off his worn boots, and was currently drawing in dust on the ground with his index finger.

Wildwing paced. He was a mediator by nature and always had been, especially with Canard. The tan mallard was an only duckling, which meant he had been pretty well spoiled, and he usually excelled at anything he put his mind to.

He also never let anyone forget that, either.

Wildwing could not count the amount of times he had to help convince Canard to apologize to another friend—or even a teacher, for that matter. It was never an easy task, either, because Canard was also equally prideful and stubborn.

Near the end of high school he almost had a falling-out with Canard because the tan mallard and Nosedive, who was a first year at the time, began a fight at the school. They were exact opposites, and always had been. The fact that the two hadn't blown up at each other in just these past couple of days was a surprise in and of itself.

But he imagined the resulting explosion would have been no less ugly than Canard and Mallory's own heated argument.

Wildwing paused and frowned at Canard from a distance. He had heard quite a different story last night regarding Canard's promotion to captain. Based off what he heard, he imagined Canard was rather ashamed to have told the whole truth.

This also told Wildwing that it was something that bothered Canard immensely.

It had nearly been an hour and they still had many miles to travel. Wildwing sighed and gave a silent plea to Drake DuCaine before approaching his old friend.

Canard glanced up at Wildwing and returned his attention to his computer.

"Not now, Wing."

"It's been an hour, Canard."

"Then let it be two hours, Wing."

Wildwing glared at him. "You managed to keep her from leaving, didn't you? I think an hour is enough time to let you two hotheads cool off."

Canard slammed his handheld shut. "So you're going to mock the captain now, too?"

Wildwing crossed his arms and did not respond right away. "Why'd you lie about it?" he finally asked, no anger in his voice.

Canard sighed, seeing the question coming a mile away. "I didn't lie."

"You never mentioned a traitor."

"Well, there was a traitor. They let the Saurians know our whereabouts when we were leaving, air surveillance triggered the alarm and they turned on us when the brigade showed up."

Wildwing frowned as he watched Canard explain. "It sounded like they had it out for you."

"Yeah, they did. But that's what traitors do, right? I didn't think the grisly details were all that important."

"Like hell you didn't."

"Look, it was a touchy subject. She hates me for it and I blame myself for it. I thought it was water under the bridge."

"So apologize."

"I did."

"No, you half-apologized and then backhanded it by telling her to take your rank."

"Well, apparently she was the one that gave me the rank in the first place."

Wildwing smiled bitterly and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm no psychologist here, but I'm thinking that maybe having your brother die in your arms is probably one of the worst things you can experience.

"And to be told to go and be captain right before that might just be a bit overwhelming for someone who was a student a year ago. She obviously thought you were the next best candidate for the position—and I'm guessing she had the authority to give you her rank since she was temporarily captain—so I don't really see what's the problem here."

"There isn't one."

Both Wildwing and Canard jumped at the sound of Mallory's voice. She approached them from the side, appearing out from behind some crates.

"Sorry sirs, didn't mean to eavesdrop." Mallory pointedly looked at Wildwing and he felt like crawling under a rock for a good long while.

"I didn't mean any offense—"

"None taken." Mallory interrupted and looked to Canard expectantly, her arms behind her in a typical at-ease position.

It was clear that her military persona was back in full swing.

Canard watched her for a moment before placing his computer back in his satchel. "All right team, let's head out."


"Remind me not ta get on yer bad side, darlin'," Duke commented quietly as the group made their way through the deserted alley.

Mallory, behind the ex-thief, did not respond. Wildwing was in front of both of them and shook his head exasperatedly. Duke was a lot like Nosedive in a lot of ways, and having two of Nosedive in anything wasn't a good idea.

He hoped, for Canard's sake, that the former leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade had some handy skillsets to use for their upcoming mission.

Aside from Duke's comment as they set out, not much else was said. Nosedive's usual joking demeanor was overshadowed by his obvious hunger and exhaustion. They had one more day to go before they could get some real rest, actual food, and a hopefully a shower.

Then they could set out on their suicide mission.

Wildwing shivered as another gust of wind rushed through the tall buildings they walked between. The sunlight never did find the city, leaving their journey nicely shadowed from enemy eyes.

It unfortunately kept the temperature bitterly cold too, however.

A little over an hour later they came up to a large street. A year ago it would have been filled with traffic and ducks; now it was barren, covered in snow, and scarily quiet.

Across the street was the city's public library. Wildwing glanced over Canard's shoulder to see the hologram map showing they had reached their destination. He glanced back up at the library incredulously.

"We're here," Canard whispered to the rest, pocketing his computer. Duke walked up and stood beside the captain expectantly.

Wildwing frowned. "I thought this place was destroyed early on?"

"It was. They're not in the library—they're below it."

"We're not going in, right? Wouldn't the government, ya know, be aware of us trespassing or something?" Nosedive asked.

"She needs a distraction to get out," Canard answered him but looked to Duke. Duke nodded in return.

"Be back in a flash!" The ex-thief darted across the street, snaked up the large entrance steps and disappeared into the building.

"What—"

"We need to get back," Canard instructed as he turned away from the street. "Follow me."

The captain made his way back through the alley they had come from, turning the corner and following parallel to the main street for a block. When they reached the corner there, Canard ushered the rest of the group to remain quiet as he pulled out his portable computer. A hologram began to shine above the computer, showing a street map of the area they were in.

A cluster of dots seemed to signify their whereabouts, but about a dozen other dots seemed to be spreading out from the old library slowly.

"He triggered the alarm?" Mallory whispered, her hand instinctively coming to rest on her weapon.

"That's the plan," Canard answered. "Tanya said there'd be no other way to get out."

Mallory followed the dots with her eyes, calculating. "They're going in pairs. Two of them will be turning down this alley in about three minutes."

"We should need only one."

"Miss anyt'ing?"

The entire group jumped, Mallory instinctively pulling out her puck-launcher at the newcomer. Duke smiled at her in return, making her glare at him as she reluctantly replaced it in its holster.

"You have a death wish, L'Orange."

"It's Duke, Swee'heart. And ya better get used to me 'cause it sounds like we're all in d'is for the long haul."

"Dude! How did you do that? Teach me, please!" Nosedive, even whispering, could not hold in his excitement over Duke's silent entrance.

Duke crossed his arms and chuckled. "Kid, you're gonna gi'e me a big head."

Wildwing rolled his eyes at his brother's enthusiasm but returned his attention to the hologram map. He really did not want to meet up with the government, even if they were the good guys.

Another minute ticked by tensely. Despite the map's dots depicting the guards in the area, a rustling sound came from the supposedly empty alleyway behind them. Both Canard and Mallory reached for their weapons this time, aiming them at the sound.

A tall figure in a hood rounded the corner, their eyes glued to their own portable computer and hologram map.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking up to find herself down the wrong end of two puck-launchers.

Canard dropped his aim, signaling to Mallory to do the same. "Tanya?"

The hooded figured pulled down the cloth covering her head, revealing bushy blonde hair and purple-tinted visors on her eyes. The hood was a part of a larger wrap that covered most of her body, but you could see the government-issued light purple uniform beneath, along with the government-style boots that both Mallory and Canard also wore.

The wrap was also pulled up on her forearm, revealing a rather svelte computer device attached to it. Its white metal glistened despite the lack of sunlight.

The blonde duck cocked her head slightly. "Uh, yeah, who else would it be?"

Her voice was laden with a slight stutter as she spoke, but it did not appear to bother her in the least. She smiled at the group before her.

"We need to get moving, now," Mallory interrupted, her eyes returning to Canard's map. Sure enough, two dots were beginning to turn down the alleyway they were next to.

"Follow me," Canard instructed, quickly but quietly taking them further back into the city.

The group traveled a few blocks, zigzagging between deserted buildings and the crumpled ruins of others. Reaching another alleyway that was closed off from a collapsed wall, Canard signaled the rest to stop, taking a moment to drink from his canteen.

Tanya pulled out her computer, similar to Canard's, and began typing and pressing buttons furiously. Canard motioned to her.

"Everyone, this is Tanya Vanderflock: head scientist at Metro-Guard Industries. She's designed most of the current land and aircraft used by the military to date."

Tanya glanced up at her name being said and smiled.

"Tanya, this is Wildwing and Nosedive Flashblade, Duke L'Orange, and Mallory McMallard." Canard pointed to each duck respectively as he named them. Tanya nodded to each but lingered on Duke and Mallory.

"Duke L'Orange, leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade?"

Duke smiled. "At yer service, Angel."

Tanya quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything more. She turned to Mallory. "I met your father. He had a, uh, good head on his shoulders. I'm sorry for your loss."

Mallory's expression was neutral but she nodded to the blonde duck. "Thanks."

Silence once again reigned on the area, with only the occasional hum of machinery echoing in the distance. The weather was dry but still eerily colder than usual, leaving the ducks hunched against walls to keep out of the drafts.

Nosedive opted to sit on an old crate nearby, once again rubbing his sore feet. "Yo, Tanya, question for you."

"Hmm?" the newest member mumbled, her head once again in her portable computer.

"How come you didn't show up on our map as a dot?"

Tanya took a moment to register the words, her mind obviously elsewhere. She looked up at Nosedive eventually, shrugging. "Easy. You just tell other computers in your, um, range, to ignore your lo-location."

Nosedive paused. "Easy?"

"Sure, just gotta program it into the data your com—computer sends out, you know?"

"Okay. How did your guards not see us then? They had those computers, too," Mallory asked as she zipped back up her oversized jacket.

"Oh, I temporarily blocked their ability to see anyone … long enough for us to get, you know, out of there."

Canard handed off his water canteen to Wildwing, who accepted it gratefully. "Tanya, you have the data we need?"

Tanya looked up at him and nodded. "Yup. Should be easy to break into their, you know, security, and shut it down."

"Shut what down?" Duke asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Their mainframe. It's what controls all the Monitor Towers. We, uh, take that down and they can't relay when they need backup."

"We can take them down without reinforcements coming?" Mallory asked.

Tanya nodded. "Oh yeah, and they won't be able to turn on their, uh, defenses, or take off either. Not unless they got real Saurians manning the, um, ship."

"This is all very interestin', but it seems like we're forgettin' about t'at little device on da Mast'r Tower. Ya know, the one d'at kinda makes it invisible?" Duke took the canteen Wildwing offered him, but passed it down to Nosedive instead of taking a drink.

"I've got that taken care of," Canard interjected.

Duke's eyebrow rose suspiciously but he kept his beak shut.

Nosedive, however, didn't. "What's with all the secretive stuff Canard? Afraid we're gonna tell everyone we come across?"

Canard glared at the teenager. "I've got it taken care of."

Nosedive kept the older mallard's glare for a few seconds before a realization struck. "Drake, you don't even know if it will work, do you?"

Canard outright growled at the young teenager but did not have time to respond.

"HALT."

The robotic voice echoed in the closed-off alleyway, startling the entire group.

"Shit!" Mallory and Canard pulled out their puck-launchers as the drone lifted up his arm to aim his laser.

Duke instantly ran up a couple discarded boxes, using his momentum to scale the wall briefly and gain height. With a precise flip he pulled out his saber and sliced the machine's arm clean off.

But not before a laser shot fired out.

Wildwing's instinct kicked in and he jumped into Canard, sending him toppling into Mallory. All three of them hit the ground just as a laser meant for Canard pierced through the air and into the pile of rubble behind them.

Nosedive ran up to the drone just as Duke finished slicing off its arm, used its metal shoulders to jump over it, and took his momentum to flip the drone into the far wall behind it. With a satisfying CRUNCH the drone sparked and died.

Tanya had not moved from her spot, instead watching the scene unfold with her computer still in her hand. She looked back down at the three ducks sprawled on the ground.

"Nice, uh, block, Wildwing."

Wildwing hastily stood up and offered his hand to Canard. Canard sighed and looked at him, opting to get up himself. Mallory, who ended up under the two rather large mallards, was a little slower at regaining her footing.

"I could've dodged that," Canard insisted, brushing off his pants. Wildwing cocked an eyebrow at him in response.

The captain paused before adding, "But … thanks."

Duke slapped Nosedive on the back good-naturedly. "I see da civilians do have some tricks up der sleeves!"

Nosedive, looking quite smug, pretended to brush some dust off his other shoulder. "Eh, nothing to it."

"That's good, 'cause we—uh—got about fourteen more coming." Tanya held up her hologram map to show the thick cluster of dots headed their way.

"What?" Nosedive squeaked.

"We fight them and we'll be sure to bring a Raptor on our tails," Mallory asserted, turning to Canard expectantly.

Canard, to his credit, nodded. "Our mission is a lot bigger than this. Let's move, team!"