Ch.11: A Queen's Request
"Duck!" cried Lexi, pounding on the force bubble with all her might as she saw her friend black out on the floor, with the assassin's gun pointed at his chest.
There was nowhere for the mallard to run as the assassin's weapon glowed with power, ready to deliver a lethal shot to the chest. Lexi closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see the death occur, only to be brought out her terror by Tech's surprise statement.
"Wait!" said Tech " He's not firing!"
Gathering up her courage, Lexi reopened her eyes to see that Tech's statement was correct. The assassin's weapon had powered down, and the villain had taken a step back from the helpless Duck lying on the floor. His body seemed to be frozen in a posture of shock and fear, but that feeling didn't last long as he suddenly shook off the horror that had seized him and fled from the ball, leaving everyone behind.
"That was strange," said Slam in his garbled tone.
"Agreed" said Tech " but for whatever reason he stopped, we still have get out and make sure the others are alright,"
"Well how are we going to do that?" asked Lexi " I don't see any openings in this sphere thing,"
"Technically this is not a sphere, more like half that" said Tech " and if you give me enough time I can probably…"
His speech was soon interrupted as the violet field around them suddenly dissolved.
"…get us out of here? Hmm, must have been on a timer. It only lasts long enough for a few minutes or so,"
As Tech was still trying to figure out how their foe's weapons had worked, Lexi immediately ran over to Ace, lifting the injured rabbit up into her arms, checking for any signs of a pulse. It was a little rattled but still there, making her breathe a big sigh of relief.
With the help of Tech and Slam a few seconds later, everyone was safely transferred to Planet Blanc's royal infirmary, where the only missing guest during the attack, Plucky, was sitting down at the medical computer, surfing through different files.
"Plucky?" said Lexi, surprised "What are you doing in here?"
"I needed to find a computer to check my mail" said Plucky, turning towards the rabbit " got a call that something important had come up and that I may have to return to Master Rasvim. What's with all the patients, everyone couldn't hold their punch?"
"Someone attacked during your absence," said Tech, and began to explain what went on. Plucky paid attention to all the details, but his expression remained stoic throughout.
"Quite an amazing tale" said Plucky when Tech finished " Well, you let me know if I can help in any way. I must get back to Master Rasvim. Ciao,"
With that said, Plucky left leaving the three remaining Loonatics to look after all the party guests, and make sure they get back to good health. Tech's eyes stayed glued to the green duck as he left, a suspicious sting playing in his mind. His gaze pointed over to the computer where Plucky was sitting earlier, reading over the file the green duck had pulled.
It was a medical report on Danger, plus a few news venues on the crime-fighting ventures of the Loonatics.
"Is he studying us?" thought Tech with fear.
The very fact couldn't be denied from the evidence on the computer screen.
"Seems one of our allies may be an enemy" thought Tech " I'll need to inform Ace as soon as he wakes up,"
And with that decision made, Tech went back into doctor mode, and turned back to the many patients waiting on the beds. This was going to be a long day.
"Oh boy" mumbled Daffy as he continued to trek through the vast Martian Desert " Sure wish I had some pretzels or some salty snacks on this trip. Hiking through the desert can really bring up your appetite, but I guess what I should really hunger for is news. Why did those guys try to kidnap me anyway? I got to find out,"
"Newspapers!" suddenly called out a voice, making turn to the right and see a newsstand, with a Martian sitting behind the desk " Get your papers here please!"
"Luck or mirage?" wondered Daffy to himself "Eh, whatever, I've seen stranger things,"
Shrugging his shoulders, Daffy walked over to the newsstand which turned out to be one hundred percent real! The Martian running the stand revealed to Daffy that his choice in location was decided upon the Martian Council, who would sometimes venture into the desert at night to throw their after work parties, secretly away from the Queen.
"Makes sense to me," Daffy thought to himself, a slipped out a coin that been in his spacesuit for years to purchase some water and a paper.
Quickly gulping down the drink, Daffy flipped open the paper and read over the headlines. According to the stories, there seemed to be some kind of trouble going on at the Imperial Palace that the Queen and a now King Marvin were trying to keep under wraps from the press, but was so far having little luck.
The Queen had left sometime earlier this morning to go to this ball on Blanc, in order to rest her head of these troubles, leaving Marvin in charge.
"Ah Marvin" sighed Daffy " you old kook!"
Speaking of kooks, the funniest story in the whole newspaper seemed to be about a younger Martian named Martin who was still ranting about his defeat by those pesky heroes calling themselves the Loonatics. In detail, the paper described who the Loonatics were and even showed a photograph, right next to a sentence saying that the young Prince of Mars might be sent to the looney bin.
Daffy focused his eyes upon the picture, looking at each Loonatic one by one. When his eyes rested upon Danger Duck's image, the whole universe seemed to grow still, as Daffy crumpled up the paper and turned back to the young Martian behind the stand.
"Where's the Imperial City from here?" Daffy demanded.
"Just a couple of miles that way Sir," mumbled the Martian nervously.
Not wasting any more time, Daffy called on his toon super speed and sped out of the desert reaching the city gates in seconds. Wrathfully, the black duck beat against the metal doors screaming out Marvin's name.
"Marv! Marv!" cried Daffy "Let me in! It's Duck Dodgers…I mean…Daffy! You have to let me in! I need to talk to you!"
The next thing Daffy knew, he was surrounded by Centurions with spears.
Back on Blanc, the whole crew that had been caught up during the chaos of the ball had finally healed, and were awake seeking explanations for the attack that had recently occurred.
"Man" said Ace, holding his head " that guy was tough,"
"Even tougher than the last time" said Lexi " if he hadn't stopped his attack, who knows how much damage would have been done,"
"Why did he stop his attack anyway?" asked Rev speaking fast " With nearly all of us out, he had us cornered,"
"That's the strange thing" said Tech " he was about to kill Duck then held his fire. It almost seemed like he was afraid to kill,"
"Well he certainly showed no fear going after the Martian Queen," said Ace, looking at the only other patient in the room being cared for by her guards.
"Yeah" said Duck, rubbing the feathers on his arm "Why was he after the Queen anyway?"
"How 'bout we go ask?" said Ace, walking over to the Queen, soon followed by the rest of his team. "Queen Tyra'nee, we have some questions if you don't mind,"
"Of course not," said the Queen.
"Okay" said Duck "Then why is there this pyshco who wants to kill you?"
"I would answer truthfully if I could" said Queen Trya'nee " but even I don't know of his true intent. He has assaulted Mars for the past several days seeking to eliminate me, boasting that he has destroyed several other planets in his search for something called the Star Child."
"The Star Child" asked Lexi, curious "What is that?"
"A legend that's been passed on endlessly" said the Queen, as Kim suddenly came in a brushed up against Danger Duck's leg, glad that he was alive. " No one really knows what it is, except that is the great source of universal power that has been feared if its not controlled,"
"Hmmm, interesting" said Tech " I would like to know more about this Star Child myself,"
"Queen Tyra'nee" said Ace " that assassin may come to attack you again. Is it alright with you if we came to Mars to offer a bit of extra protection? You may do well with your guards and all, but it never hurts to have a backup,"
"I see" said the Queen " Then I shall gratefully accept your service. After I have rested, please accompany me back to Mars, and we shall put away this assassin once and for all,"
Meanwhile, back in the darkness of space, the assassin who had shot fatally at the Martian Queen, soared back towards the home of his master, reveling over the facts that pounded in his skull after overhearing those two words that dared soar around history.
"You're despicable,"
Those words the words Danger Duck muttered, the exact same words that 'he' once muttered. Could Danger Duck possibly be related to such a legendary figure as that? And if he was, what if all them were?
Could he really continue to follow through with Master Rasvim's orders, and wipe out what remained of the Looney Tune race?