She ran as fast as her tired legs could manage. One shackle danced around her thin ankles, threatening to trip her. Behind her she could hear the stomping of the drones as they pursued her. If she could just get to the snowy forest, she'd have a chance. Shots from twin cannons burned holes into the ice all around her, the drones' computerized directives, therefore their aim, affected by the freezing weather. The drones weren't meant for a frozen planet.
One cuff slapped around her left ankle, making her sprawl into the snow. She rolled down an embankment onto a frozen pond. She cried out, panic taking over all rational reasonings. She couldn't be caught; she couldn't be taken back to them.
She stumbled to her feet, ignoring the burning cold eating through her feathers.. She was almost there. She could make it. She was going to make it. Then a slap of metal slammed her in the back. She fell but wouldn't be taken down so easily. She grabbed a chunk of ice and spun, slamming it into the side of the drone's head. The machine released her in a squeal of broken gears, the lights of its mechanical face winking out.
There was barely time for victory before she went down hard on a block of ice, the wind knocked out of her. A different metal hand had smashed her in the back of the head before picking her up by the hair. She squealed in pain as the drone raised her up to meet its blank face.
Internally, she knew she had been caught. Dread filled her. She hadn't escaped, she had barely been free for ten minutes.
…..
"With barely three minutes left on the clock, we have to wonder if the Mighty Ducks will pull through and score a win tonight!"
Duke tried with some difficulty to block out the announcer, Guy MacClane's, voice booming over the speakers above their heads. Must the humans make a point to state the obvious on everything? As if the fans couldn't see the Bears are a hair from winning this game. 3-2.
"Ready?"
Nosedive, the team kid of the ducks was revved. He shot Duke a grin telling the older mallard the kid wasn't going to settle for losing. Duke readied himself for the inevitable. They were going to win.
...
"Nice maneuver Dive," Wildwing was pulling off his uniform, a slight grin on his beak.
"Ah, thanks. Just a little something for any ladies out there watching."
Mallory snorted from her locker.
"What ladies?"
"I got my fan mail and you got yours alright?" Nosedive struggled to pull off his pads around Grin.
"Of course, the real reason we won is because Benson missed his shot into our net." Tanya put her glasses back on. "But your slapshot helped too I suppose."
"Meh." Nosedive chucked another pad into his locker.
Amused, the ducks headed down below the Pond, each splitting off to do their thing. Feeling a headache coming on, Duke went to his room, quietly slipping away from the others. He thought he was in the clear until he heard his name called.
"Duke?"
He sighed, pausing at his door. Tanya was coming towards him. Ever since she caught him at three in the morning a few weeks ago she'd been up his ass about his insomnia. She couldn't in good conscious allow anyone on the team to be sleep deprived, especially when out in the field fighting the saurians. How little she knew this had been an ongoing problem since he was seven.
"Are you alright?" She looked at him with concern.
"Just tired." He hit the keypad, his door opening in a silent but polite gesture that he didn't want the conversation to last long.
"Well, if you need anything, just ask."
"Will do."
He paused at his door. The resident technology officer only had all their best interest at heart. He couldn't let her think he was too annoyed.
"Thanks Tanya."
She smiled. "Sure."
…...
She woke, eyelids heavy, her body stiff from sitting for so long in the same position. Chained to a steel chair again in a small cramped cell. Stretching her beak, she felt the dried blood crack a little. She swallowed wishing she could have water, her throat was so dry.
"Awake, huh?"
A thick figure marched up to the cell bars, staring down at her.
"Did you really think you'd get away?"
The reality of her predicament hit her hard. She had been unsuccessful in her escape, again. She was back in the clutches of evil, and there was no one to help her. A tear slide out of her black eyes; the sensation irritating the black and blue bruises.
"I have no reason to stay." She croaked.
Siege snorted.
"Sure, you do. We ain't on Puckworld anymore. You could die out there."
"And I'm going to die in here." She looked up. "Whatever you've come for you're not going to get it."
Siege grinned, pushing his ugly face into hers.
"Oh, I doubt that."
She spat at him, satisfied she made her mark in his eye. The effect was instant as the Saurian growled, his eyes lighting up in red glow. The back hand was quick, smashing into the side of her head, the impact toppling her in the chair to the floor. She gasped at the shock. It had been a while since Siege put that much physics behind a punch. But the Saurian wasn't done. A bucket sized fist closed around her neck, pulling her up.
"Wanna do that again?" He snarled.
She twisted, the awkward position painful but worth it as she sank her teeth into his wrist.
"You bitch!"
He flung her back, her head hitting the cell bars. Her vision threatened darkness but she refused to give in until one of his clawed feet connected with her chest. The ability to breath ceased as she tried to gasp in air but the boot to her stomach didn't allow such a luxury. She panted instead, her beak open trying to stay awake. But nothing ever went her way.
...
ONE MONTH LATER
Duke woke up to the extremely obnoxious blaring of Tanya's alarm clock two rooms over and down the hall. Being an alien had its uses, but also sucked when evolutionary excellent hearing picked up on alarms at four in the morning on the only day that any of the Mighty Ducks had to do whatever they wanted. Which on this particular day Duke wanted to sleep, not caring to grace the day for any reason.
Groaning to himself, he turned over, wishing Tanya would shut the thing off. Then he realized it wasn't Tanya's alarm but Drake 1. He groaned. How he wished he could ignore it but that was a lame move. If the rest of the team had to drag their asses out of bed then so would he.
"Damnit," he growled as he got up.
…..
"Take that lizard lips!" Nosedive yelled over the noise of shots being fired from both duck and Saurian. The scene was chaotic. The saurian hitting a warehouse though for what was yet to be seen. Siege and Chameleon had been milling around almost aimlessly, several drones standing watch. But then Nosedive kicked something.
"Shit." He had hissed before meeting the annoyed expressions of his teammates. "Sorry."
Sorry didn't cover the firefight that ensued but there was going to be one anyway. Nosedive just hastened the inevitable.
Duke ignored the teenager and focused on not being killed. Wraith was hurling fire ball after fire ball, some getting dangerously close to him and Mallory who happened to be next to him.
"Watch out kid!"
Duke shoved her out of the way, taking her into a roll with him as the boxes she and he had been behind erupted into a fiery blaze.
"Missed that, didn't you ducks?" Siege sneered.
Wildwing aimed his gauntlet, hitting the blaster out of the Saurian's hands. "Bet you didn't see that coming."
Siege growled.
"Get them!"
In response, the drones activated, their shots sending the ducks scattering for cover.
Siege grinned, blood on his mind when his communicator beeped. It was the overlord.
"Get back to the Raptor at once!"
Mallory waited for a beat behind the support beam covering her and then stepped out, quickly finding her mark in each drone. Siege sneered as each drone was massacred. Once Mallory was done with those accursed machines she turned her sights on the saurians.
"C'mon!" Siege hit his teleporter, Chameleon doing the same, the two disappearing in a green flash.
"Damnit!" Mallory snapped. "They always get away!"
The rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief, Wildwing deactivating his shield.
"We'll get them, Mallory." He promised.
The redhead scoffed.
"When? Before or after those sleazebag saurian deep fry this place like they tried on Puckworld."
Mallory could feeling a rising pressure in her chest, the familiar feeling she always had when she needed to hit something. She settled for a piece of a box still on fire, kicking it as hard as she could. It sailed across the warehouse, hitting two oil drums.
The act only satisfied part of her angst but she soon forgot all of it when a figure jumped away from the drums and began to run.
"OIY!"
Nosedive gave chase before anyone could stop him. Wildwing might have tried to call him off but the teen paid no heed. The figure jumped over a pallet and tried to fake him out, feigning going one way but quicky jerked right. Too bad that was one of the oldest tricks in the book of hockey. Nosedive didn't fall for it and pounced, the two crashed into debris. The yelp was high pitched, startling Nosedive as the person's mouth was near his ear. He jerked back.
"Dive!"
Wildwing was getting closer.
"Dive, where are you?"
Wildwing came around the corner, visibly relieved his brother was fine.
"Come on."
The elder Flashblade pulled the teenager up, Nosedive balking slightly, trying not to step on his victim in such close quarters.
Tanya glanced down, pausing when she noticed a creature huddled in the shadows, shaking.
"Wildwing."
The mallard stopped, his hand still on his brother's shoulder, questioning. Tanya could only look back at the figure. Wildwing stepped forward and received a shock. It was a duck and not just any duck.
"Lucretia?"
As soon as the name left his beak he knew it couldn't be true. The female duck looked like Lucretia DeCoy but her hair wasn't purple, instead a dirty blonde though he wasn't so sure of that either as it appeared darker like a dye hadn't washed out properly. He barely got his bearings before he became aware of Mallory's hand going for her blaster again.
"That traitor!"
Mallory started forward but Wildwing blocked her.
"Wait."
Something told him it wasn't Lucretia, despite the look-alike. He glanced around the warehouse, waiting for something, anything, a second ambush. But nothing came. So, he hunched down, the female shying away.
"Come. We'll help you." He put a hand out to her.
She refused to look up, clearly frightened.
"Come on."
He reached out slowly not to spook her, helping her up. It took some patience, it was like the girl's legs were jelly. Upon standing her up, the shocks just kept coming. She was rail thin, her legs skinned in spots, feathers missing, a few deep cuts on her shins. Ducks bruised like humans but it took some serious injury for it to show up under feathers and yet she had exactly that: black eyes, a blackened beak. The darkened spots in her hair Wildwing mistook for dye was dried blood.
"My god." Tanya whispered, even Mallory was silent, as transfixed as the rest of them.
The girl swayed, the strength leaving her legs. Luckily Wildwing still had ahold of her or she would have crumpled to the ground.
"We have to get her back to the infirmary." Tanya seemed to come to her senses, her business as usual attitude quickly taking over. "Like now."
"Yeah."
"Can she even walk that far?"
All traces of any humor or fun-loving Nosedive always exuded was absent. He glanced at his brother.
"We'll carry her."
As the ducks clustered around the female and carried her away from the warehouse, there was a flash of green in the shadows. The person leaned away as the Migrator's lights dashed across the warehouse wall. Then the person stepped out, watching the vehicle disappear. A delicate finger hit a communicator.
"They took the bait my lord."