Okay, here is the last chapter! One thing first though…

As far as reviews go…let me just ask that where I don't particularly care what you guys say…please try to include an opinion about what you've read…after all…that is what the reviews are there for…and if there was any confusion on where I've been the last two months or so I already explained that I have been EXTREMELY busy…and now I'm in school again so get used to not seeing me on here every other day like before…anyhow enough gab…

And, the next story "My Name is Love" should be up sometime in the next week or so…so without further a due,

Enjoy the chapter you guys!

Ch. 13: Goodbye

"Now for our top story," the news reporter was saying. "eighteen year old Ellena Carol Elwood was anonymously dropped off at Acme Emergancy Hospital two weeks ago. She was already dead when M.E.'s tried to tend to her and they are stating that her time of death had been close to two hours before her arrival at the hospital. Athorities are baffled and unable to provide much information at this time. It is known however that she had been kidnapped by the villans, Sypher, Mastermind and Massive. We know the Loonatics had tried to save the girl, but were unsuccessful and that two of them are now missing in action, one of them, Danger Duck rumored to be the girl's biological brother, though those speculations have not been verified either by the team or the girl's family. The villains are still at large, Slam and Danger Duck are still missing, and the funeral for Ellena Elwood will be this Saturday. Her parents say that it is not open for the public but the Loonatics are invited, unblamed for their daughter's death, and if you would like, may send a card or flowers. Back to you Chet."

"Thanks Bill," Chet said, his face reappearing on the screen. "Terrible tragedy. And we still don't know why she, out of any of us here in Acmetropolis, was targeted by these monsters. And her family not blaming the team, did I hear that right, Bill."

"Yes, you did Chet. They bare no ill feelings toward the superheroes, her father was quoted in saying 'We're all mortal, powers or not, and there is only so much we can truly do. I blame the evil that took my little girl away from us.'"

"Interesting that not even superpowers are unlimited." Chet sighed, shaking his head. "Which brings us to our next topic, are we putting the Loonatics on too high of a pedestal? Congressman, Lary Devine coming up next to discuss this and other important questions surrounding the heroes of Acmetropolis."

"Tech, turn dat off will ya?" Ace said, walking into the living room. "Why are ya listen'n ta dat shit?"

"To keep up with what's going on." Tech said calmly. "We need to hear how the public's reacting to all of this, so we're not blind sighted if a huge mob with torches and pitch forks come knocking."

"We need ta be search'n for Duck 'n Slam." Ace snarled.

"We're doing all we can, Chief." Tech saidpatiently. "Zadavia's looking constantly for anything, but none of the Evil Kenevil kreeps have surfaced. It's like they've just disappeared into thin air."

Ace slumped into a chair. He gripped his fur on the top of his head in frustration. "We can't just sit here doi'n not'n! We have ta go out 'n look!"

"We need to get our own heads on straight before we do anything else. If we go into the field now, we'll be all over the place, out of sync and vernerable to not only traps but mindless little taunting that will push us over the edge. We're not able to do anything until Rev, Lexi, you and I sort out our own issues. You know Rev's not even looked at me since we left the ware house, and I know Lexi is avoiding everyone, refusing to talk about her confrontation with Dale or Marina's death or Duck's and Slam's disappearance. I wish I knew what Rev's problem is but he's not talking to me and you need to really start pushing Lexi to open up to you or convince her to do so with me or Zadavia or someone!" he was shouting now.

"You're not da leader!" Ace shot back. "You don't decide what we do or don't do or need ta do!" Both he and Tech were on their feet, yelling into each others face.

"I may not be, but with you walking around here like a fucked up zombie, obsessing over finding Duck and Slam and blaming yourself for Marina's death sure isn't helping the other two any! If you're not going to act like a leader, then I'm the next most cabable person here to do so!"

Ace glared at him. He wanted to zap this arrogant mutt out the window. He closed his eyes and turned away. He stormed out of the room as Tech slumped back into his seat, feeling like a total jerk, even if what he had said had been right.

The sun shown brightly on Saturday afternoon. Rev, Ace and Tech were all sitting next to each other on folding chairs as the paul bearers brought down the casket. They were all wearing black dress shirts, pants and shoes. Only their ties were different. Ace's yellow, Rev's red and Tech's green. Lexi had to help Tech with his seeing as how Rev was still avoiding him. Lexi sat on Ace's other side, wearing a knee-length black skirt, black flats, a pink tank and black courter sleved sweater. She sat hugging herself, legs crossed at the ankles, eyes down casted tears falling down silently. Rip, who had been granted permission by Marina's parents to come on the pretext that he had been a friend from school (which was technically true) was sitting on Rev's other side, wearing a black sports jacket and black jeans with black boots. His dawn was slicked back for once but it didn't make a difference as his head was bent forward, eyes hidden in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. He had shown up at HQ about an hour before the funeral, asking if he could come along. He had looked so…lost, no one wanted to say no. Right before leaving, Lexi had overheard him whisper to Rev that he would never know if he loved her or not.

The casket was lowered into the grownd and the preacher said his little "Dust to dust and ashes to ashes" speech.

Before her parents could throw the first handfuls of dirt into the grave, there was a slight commotion.

"Duck?" breathed Rev, looking over at some movement that had caught his eye. There, in a black dress shirt and orange tie stood Danger Duck, eyes looking just as dead as the girl's in the grave.

A few people around them started murmering as Marina's parents looked over and saw him standing there. They walked over, a calm expression on both faces.

Everyone waited and wondered as the Elwoods talked to Duck.

"Where has he been?" Ace asked, fury in his voice. "I'll kill him for making us worry like d'at. Ya t'ink he knows where Slam is?"

"Something's wrong with him." Lexi whispered. They all turned to her, amazed she was speaking. Her voice was cracked from neglect.

"What ya mean?" Ace asked.

"You mean aside from his sister dying?" she asked, sounding a little like herself. "I'm not sure, but you can just tell by looking at him that's somethings wrong with him. Why haven't we seen him? Why didn't he hang around and wait for us? He knew we were following him, you know he knew. No, there's definitely something up."

"Should-we-go-over-and-talk-to-him?" Rev asked.

"We can try." Tech whispered. They were about to get up and walk over as well but just then, Mrs. Elwood slapped Duck across the face. The echos of her strike were heard all over the cemetery grounds. Her husband put his arms around her as she sank, deflating as fresh tears fell down her face. Duck stood there for half a second, trying to get over the shock of being smacked. He blinked, then without a word, nodded to whatever Mr. Elwood was saying to him, turned around and walked away a few pases before teleporting out of the cemetery.

Duck laced up his black Timberlin boots. He knew they weren't the hottest new brand these days, but hey, if they'd been around since the beginning of the millennial, they had to be reliable, right? Besides, who cared about the latest thing anymore? Okay, he did. But that was why he was going with good, trusty and reliable. He didn't want to scuff his new sneakers and where he was going they'd get scuffed pretty bad. He ran a hand through his feathers after tugging his jeans down over his shoe and looked to the tiny box next to him on his bed. He gently lifted it and put it on his lap before opening it.

"I wish I had shared this with you, before." He whispered, tears starting to cloud his vision. He blinked them away. He could cry later, now he needed to see. He needed to find something. He shifted through over two dozen or so letters, searching for something he knew was at the bottom. His eyeslit up as he pulled a photo and tiny blue barrette out.

The photo was of a tiny girl duck, black hair falling to her shoulders, a purple barrette holding her bangs out of her face, her thumb in her bill. She was leaning over a flower, a pink sandled foot stepping on another so she could get a good look at the one she wanted to see. A taller child, a little duck boy, his sneakers untied and a shoulder strap of his over sized green jersey slipping half way down the sleeve of the white undershirt he wore. He was staring at the flower between him and his sister. The thing that was attracting the children's attention was not the yellow dafadill, but the technicolored butterfly pearched on top of it. Marina had her free hand reached out to touch it but Duck was holding it back so she didn't scare the bug away.

Duck smiled at the photo. It had been the last time they had gone to the park with their mom before she died. She had taken the photo and had printed it out to hang on the fridge so their father could see it. She thought that her kids so interested in the butterfly had been sweet, and she had wanted to share that with him. After the horror of the funeral night, Duck had made sure that, along with his father's double headed coin, he had also grabbed the last photo his mother had taken of him and Marina. The coin was in his jean pocket and he lovingly slipped the photo into the pocket along with it. The coin didn't really have any significance as far as keeping his dad's memory around, but it had been his favorite toy as a kid, and after a while, he had grown to call it his 'lucky two headed coin'. Though he had been separated from his sister at the orphanage, he had made his first real friend there while holding his coin, it had won him the adoption over Pinkster, and he had been holding it in a tight fist in frustration when the meteors ray had hit him. Now, he was holding tightly to his sister's old hair clip as his eyes went back to the box.

It was his old childhood lunch box, the Rangers, a old cartoon that he had been obsessed with. They had inspired him to want to be a hero. They never failed, they never had any real life hardships to go through. They fought the bad guy and saved the day and everyone loved them and they never really messed up. They never paid a promise they couldn't keep. So, it was in this childhood treasure box he decided to keep his letters. The letters that had never made it to their intended destinations.

They were letters he had written over the years to Marina. He had made sure he wrote her every year for Christmas and her birthday. He could never mail them, he had promised her parents he would stay out of her life, but writing to her made him feel like he hadn't abandoned her like their parents had. Even though he had. He felt a lump rise in his throat that he quickly swallowed as he thought of how he could never show her now that he truly hadn't forgotten or stopped loving her. He blinked rapidly until the fresh tears melted away again.

He stared at his clumbsy childish writing for a while until he felt the tears come once more. He took one out and read:

Marina,

You are now five, I'm now nine. You'll be starting school now, I guess. So, as your older brother it's my job to help you not be scared. I was scared when I first started, but that's because I didn't have an older brother to help me, but I can help you. School isn't that scary, Marina. You make friends quickly and most kids are nice. None of the ones I know are, they tease me and don't let me play with them. But you're not like me, people like you. You don't make mistakes. I don't really like the fourth grade, but kindergarten is different. It's all learning letters, coloring, adding simple numbers and best of all nap times. You also get snack time, but nap time was my favorite time. The teacher is really nice too, she doesn't get mad if you can't read right, she just helps you learn how to read right. I know you will do just fine, you're smarter than me so you will do better. I love you Mermaid, and hope to see you at school.

Duck blinked as tears flowed down his face and landed on the letter in his hands. He folded it back up and placed it back into the box. He closed the lid, stood up and pushed it back on top of his shelf in his closet, hiding it once more beneath a few other boxes holding action figures. He grabbed his orange and black bomber jacket and swung it over his black t shirt. He slipped his sister's barrette into his pocket, placed a piece of paper on his bed, and quacked out of his room. He grabbed his jet pack, a blaster, extra energy tubes, and shoved them into his pack where he had a change of clothes, some rations of energy bars and drinks, and a few knick knacks he couldn't part with.

For the last two weeks he had been hiding out in his old club house in the junk yard outside his old neighborhood. He had constructed it in a small ditch by the fence. He had been afraid that it would be gone, but like the rest of his contraptions from childhood, it was still there. He had been the only member in his club, seeing as how no one wanted to be his pal in school. But he shure made it a grand hang out. He was pleased to find that the dehydrated food he had stashed there was untouched and still good. But, he couldn't live on that forever.

He had been keeping a close eye on the news, wearing an old trench coat and low rimmed hat that was in the club house from his 'pretend detective' days. No one recognized him as Danger Duck when he walked out to watch the news in a café or out side an electronics store where they showed it on displayed TV's. He couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of annoyance at that, especially since his and Slam's pictures were being plastered all over in the hopes someone would find them. But, now, he didn't really care.

He was alone. That was all to plain to him now. He was just as alone now as he had been all those years ago and he had to play Sherlock Holmes by himself. Only, this loneliness hurt more now than it had done back then. Now, he was alone not because kids pushed him away, but because his so called 'family' betrayed him. They had betrayed him, the city, themselves and everything they had ever stood for. Well, they may no longer believe in justice, but he sure as hell did. He believed in it just as strong as he had when he first took the hero oath to protect and serve. Okay, their hero oath had been the police academy oath, but hey, they were doing practically the same job here.

He holstered the blaster in his waist band under his jacket and flew out of the building. They turned their backs on him, now he was turning his back on them.

"Duck, open up!" shouted Ace, pounding on the door to Duck's room. The funeral was over and the others had rushed to HQ as fast as they could without appearing rude. Now, all were standing in the hall, waiting with bated breath as Ace furiously hammered at Duck's locked door. He had been at it for ten whole minutes, demanding for Duck to get his fucking tail feathers out there and explain why the hell he had made them worry and if he knew where Slam was. Duck however wasn't answering.

"Step aside, Chief, let me try." Techsaid, finally getting fed up with the banging rabbit. He walked up to the door and put his hand flat against it. There was a dim green glow around the coyote's hand as his eyes lit up temporarily. A clicking sound was heard and the door opened with ease.

"Duck!" Ace demanded, not even thanking Tech for his help, which irritated the coyote just a little. However, he let it go as he and the other two followed their leader into the room, Rip tentitively looking in behind them but remaining out in the hall, tears still falling freely down his face. "Duck, we need ta talk ta-" he cut off when it was apparent the room was empty. They looked around in schock. The malard's room hadn't changed, candy wrappers, toys, weapons and other random crap littered the floor. But his bed was made, clearly cold from neglect. Duck wasn't neat, and he never made his bed. It was apparent he hadn't slept in it for at least a weak if not more. But what was strange was a piece of paper on the bed. Lexi stepped forward and picked it up. Her eyes scanned it quickly and she let out a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. She didn't wait for the others to ask, she flipped it so they could see the huge bold all caps word TRADERS written on it. None of them spoke, they just looked uneasy at each other, wondering what on earth the mallard was doing.

Duck knelt over a freshly dug grave, a white faced stone baring the name, Ellena Carol Elwood looking up at him. Tears fell on that face, tears of self loathing, grief, and hatred. How could he have failed her? After the years of trying to keep her out of his head, trying to protect her, right when she comes back and he feels like he's got a hold on her for ever, she's kidnapped, terrorized and killed, right there, in front of him, and him doing nothing but looking like a dumb struck monkey when it happens. Promising her everything would be okay, that she would be okay, as she slipped away in his arms. And how DARE her parents bury her with this name, this false mask they forced her to wear her whole life just because they wanted the illusion that she really was theirs. She wasn't, nor ever was nor ever would be their daughter. She was his sister, and that's how she should have been buried. But then again…

"What was the last thing she said?" her mother had asked him after he had finished relaying Maarina's message for them. "I know you know, tell me, please."

The look in the woman's eyes had been one of pure despair, a look mirroring his own. "I want my mommy." He whispered, wanting to keep it to himself but knowing that they deserved to know. Adopted or not, they had loved her. He was about to explain the meaning but never got the chance. The female duck, white feathers soaked with tears, slapped him while her husband, a broun duck with a green face, grabbed her before she collapsed to the ground, absorbed in fresh sobs of misery.

"Just go." The mallard told Duck as he tried to console his wife, fresh tears sliding down his own face. "Please."

So Duck had. He had been the reason his sister was killed. What did it matter if he got the asses responsible for pulling the trigger, he deserved to die for leading her blindly towards it. He laid her clip on the grave, talking gently to her.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, the words sounding shallow and hollow even to him. "I can't bring you back, but I can take out the ones who stole your life. Ace, Lexi, Slam, Tech, Rev, Pinkster and the rest of the Evil Kenevil Gang will die for this, I promise you that. I love you, Mermaid." He whispered.

He heard footsteps behind him but he didn't turn around. He just kept his face bent down to the grave. "Here to rub it in a little more before finishing me off? As if you going to her funeral wasn't enough, you're still having the city believing you're some sort of fucking self-sacrificing saints."

"I'm flattered, but I doubt anyone thinks I'm self-sacrificing."

Duck stiffened as he felt a gun point at his back. After years of battles, he knew the sensation of a blaster without it even touching his skin. His fists clentched as he stood there, as still as a statue, staring down at his sister's grave. "You're going to come with me." Said Sypher in a low, menacing voice. "You are going to leave your jet pack and your blaster here and you are going to allow me to take your powers before we head out."

"And what makes you think I'm going to let this happen?" Duck asked, trying to keep his cool. He couldn't do anything. If he tried teleporting, who knows what Sypher would do to the grave. He couldn't do that to her…let alone to her parents. He couldn't turn and fight either. That might just make it worse. And, Sypher could lead him to the others.

"Because you want to get at the others, right?"

Duck froze. If Sypher was eager to lead him to the others then the chance of him fighting and winning were nonexistent. But what choice did he have? Not even Zadavia couldn't find them. If her site alights couldn't trackthem, then he sure as hell couldn't. He turned slowly around and stared at Sypher who was holding a stungun right at his chest.

"Your jetpack, Duck." Sypher said, a smile on his lips and a glint of pure, ice cold hatred in his beedy little eyes.