Author's Note: Hey, everybody! As promised, this fanfic as well as the other fanfics in my Young Avengers series, have been updated with one additional chapter each.
First of all, I apologize for keeping everyone waiting. I know you were all eager for me to present these updates, and I had planned to upload them sooner, but there was a technical issue which set me back a couple of days, so I've been working tirelessly this past week in order to get this done before July 10. At last, I am done. Now, this was a rush job, so please forgive me if I make a few errors.
EDIT: So I've made an edit here because I accidently misread the request for a certain character. They requested Bounty to be included here, and when I looked the name up, all I found was a female Bounty and no one else. They corrected me, so I'm editing this.
I hope all that's been settled. Enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
"WHERE IS HE?!" Nova Prime shouted as she entered the Nova Corps command center. All the officers there were checking their computers non-stop.
"We're tracking Howard as best we can, ma'am," an officer said, "But he was somehow able to disable the galactic positioning system."
"What I can't figure out is how we lost track of the ship as soon as it left Xandar." Nova Prime huffed. "He couldn't have simply vanished into thin air. He was properly secured."
"You know what I think?" asked a large officer. His appearance was that of a giant, white tiger, but with a cybernetic right eye and a cannon for an arm. "I think we should've plucked the little beast when we had the chance."
"Your opinion is noted, Titus," Nova Prime said, "But we have regulations. And despite fugitive's disappearance on the day of his sentence, he will be apprehended and tried as such." Titus huffed and stomped away while Nova Prime looked at the nearest screen which showed a map of the galaxy. "Where are you, Howard the Duck?"
After years of being away from her home, Della had finally found herself standing at her uncle's front door again. She raised her fist ready to knock, but hesitated with a nervous look on her face.
"What's up, Della?" Howard asked waiting behind her. "Don't you want to say hi to your family?"
"I do. It's just… this is the first time I'm actually seeing my kids. I haven't seen them since they were eggs." Della said. "First impression is the only impression. I've got to nail this. Care to help me?"
Howard rolled his eyes. "Sure. It's not like I got anywhere else to be."
"Awesome." Della said. She then reached out her hands with sad-happy eyes. "Greetings, children."
"Eh. Not grabbing me." Howard commented.
"Okay. How about this?" Della asked. She hunched down and waved her hand. "Hellooooooo."
"That sounds weird."
"Okay. Ah! Let's try this!" Della pulled a plant up in front of her. She then popped out acting casual. "Oh. Hi. Didn't see you there."
"I don't even know what to make of that." Howard said. "Look, why don't you just keep it simple?"
Della let out a brief breath. "You're right. This is the most important moment of my life."
On the other side of the door, Scrooge McDuck gathered his great nephews—Huey, Dewey, and Louie—as well as his housekeeper's granddaughter, Webby, to present a glowing, blue bird feather.
"Behold, the Cartographer's Quill, a mystical artifact that sketches maps leading to the world's greatest treasures." He demonstrated its mystic power by holding up a piece of paper. The quill created a map with no hand holding it. The kids were certainly excited about it, especially with what Scrooge said afterwards. "Imagine all the money, daring adventure, infinite wisdom, and untold mystery in the world literally at your fingertips."
"You had me at 'quill'!" Webby said.
"THIS COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT OF OUR ADVENTURING LIVES!" Scrooge declared proudly right before opening the door finding Della and Howard on the other side.
"'Sup, party people! I'm back in the hizou…" Della greeted before realizing what she was saying. "Oh, no. Knew it was wrong as soon as I said it. Sorry, that was terrible. Can I get a do-over?" Scrooge looked at her with tears immediately starting to build up. She waved at him. "Hi, Uncle Scrooge."
Out of shock, Scrooge releases the Cartographer's Quill, letting it shatter to tiny pieces upon impact with the ground. He then wrapped his arms around Della lifting her up in the most welcoming embrace laughing in glee.
"It's you! It's really you!" Scrooge proclaimed happily. "I cannae believe it! Oh, look at ya. Standing there. I thought you were…"
"Dead? Not yet." Della interrupted.
"Where?"
"The moon."
"The moon?" Scrooge asked before getting cross. "I searched the moon!"
"Not hard enough!" Della responded with the same tone. "There were mites and aliens, and I had to rebuild the spear with my tooth!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, you rapacious rocketeer!" Scrooge scolded.
Della dropped her upset face and laughed. "I missed your Scroogeian alliteration."
As happy as Scrooge was, his smile dropped when he noticed Della's prosthetic leg.
"Lost it in the crash." Della said glumly.
Scrooge looked back up at Della growing a new smile. "Out of rocket parts! Brilliant! Leg or no, you're every bit the woman you were 10 years ago."
"That's not how I would've reacted." Howard commented finally getting Scrooge's attention.
"Uh, who's he?" Scrooge asked.
"Right. Uncle Scrooge, this is my friend, Howard." Della introduced. "He crashed on the moon just like I did."
"I didn't know someone else was working on a space program." Scrooge said.
"I'm… a special case. I'll tell you later." Howard said.
"All right. Enough small talk." Della said stepping into the mansion. "Where are my…" She stopped when she saw the group of young boy ducks watching her curiously. She instantly knew who they were as soon as she saw them.
"Who's the cyborg?" Dewey asked.
"Is that…" Huey asked.
"It can't be." Louie said.
"Guys, I think that's your mom." Webby said.
Scrooge nodded. "Huey, Dewey, Louie, meet Della Duck."
Dewey broke his surprised expression and laughed excitedly. "I'm part robot! I knew it!" He then jumped over to Della and gave her a warming hug. It was a heartwarming moment until…
"Wait! Huey, Dewey, and Louie?" Della asked surprised. "No, no, no. their names were supposed to be Jet, Turbo, and Rebel!"
"I could've been Turbo?" Dewey asked.
"I told Donald." Della said. "I wrote it down in case no one could understand him."
"I COULD'VE BEEN TURBO?!" Dewey repeated louder and more shocked.
Huey took a couple steps closer to his mom. "Hi. Huey/Jet here. How did you survive in a barren wasteland? Have you adjusted to our gravity? Did you make any customized modifications to your leg?"
"Sheer determination to get back to you, kinda, and no," Della answered, "Because as Junior Woodchuck Rule 42 states..."
"Build things right the first time and they won't need modification." Both said at the same time causing Huey to smile and join in on the hug.
"Get in here, Rebel!" Dewey invited Louie.
"Nope. I'm not buying it." Louie tried to deny. "This has to be a trick, or a curse from Magica, or a parallel universe, or... Or..." As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't any longer. He knew, in his heart, that Della has returned. He cried as he hugged her along with the rest of the family.
Webby, in the meantime, was crying her eyes out. She clutched her chest tightly. "My heart! It's too full!"
"What a tender family reunion." Howard commented.
"SAY WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Huey, Dewey, and Louie asked loudly into Howard's ear.
"AH! You're killing my eardrums, kids!" Howard yelled trying to eat dinner right next to Della in the dining hall.
"You're actually an alien?" Dewey asked.
"How come you look like us?" Louie asked.
"I dunno." Howard replied taking in a bite of steak. "I'm just as surprised as you are."
"How do we know you're really from space?" Louie asked suspiciously.
"Oh, trust me, he is." Della said. "I saw his ship… or what's left of it after the Moon Mite dissolved it. And trust me, it's not of this Earth."
"And if you want further proof…" Howard plucked a single white feather from his hand and handed it to Scrooge. "Here. Run this by your EXIS."
"Our what?" Scrooge asked.
"Wait. You Earthlings haven't invented extraterrestrial identification scanners yet?" Howard asked. "Well, I'm sure a primitive DNA test will at least reveal some alien genes."
"This day just got a thousand times cooler!" Dewey proclaimed.
"Well, I'm full." Della said after finishing her dish. The housekeeper came by and picked up the dish, but Della gasped recognizing her. "Agent 22? You're the housekeeper now?"
"These days, I'm just Mrs. Beakley."
"Who's that?" Howard asked.
"An awesome spy Uncle Scrooge used to work with." Della said. "What happened to Duckworth?"
"He's moved on." Mrs. Beakley said. "Though, sadly, not far enough."
As if on cue, a ghostly figure of a dog in a tuxedo phased through the wall. "The underworld has fewer cobwebs to tend to." Mrs. Beakley threw a dish at him, but it went through him and shattered on the wall.
"Was that a ghost?" Howard asked.
"You've been gone a while." Scrooge said. "A lot has changed."
Suddenly, Della's sons gathered up around her hitting her with a messy series of questions.
"Is it true that parents pick favorites? Which one of us is yours?"
"Did you suffer any side effects from the cosmic storm? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Wait. Are you moving in?"
"Back to favorites! It's old Turbo, right?"
"I'm Webby!"
"Yeesh. Glad they're not ganging up on me." Howard said to himself.
"All right, that's enough for today." Scrooge said moving the kids away from Della. "Your mum must be tired after conquering the moon. Let her rest."
"Who can rest when there's so much lost time to make up for?" Della asked. "I've got my boys, my brother… Wait. Where's Donald?"
"He's off on a relaxing remote vacation." Webby said.
Of course, she was wrong about that. Donald was about to leave for his vacation, but the moment he saw the Spear of Selene land somewhere nearby, he knew that Della was back, so he rushed over to the landing site. However, Della and Howard were already gone by the time he made it there. He then accidentally started the rocket sending him into space. Sadly, no one else was aware of this fact.
"Oh, instead of welcoming back his sister. Must be nice." Della said before turning his attention back to Huey, Dewey, and Louie. "Boys, I don't know what to say except I'm so sorry for ever stepping foot on that rocket, I never meant to leave you or miss your first steps or potty-training… Wait, you are potty-trained, right?" Huey and Louie nodded, but Dewey returned with a kinda gesture. "What I'm trying to say is, for a decade, I fought every day to get back to this family and I will fight every day to be a part of it, if you'll have me?"
"Of course. We're a family again." Dewey said.
"Thank you." Della said. "You deserve to have the best mom and I'm going to be the best mom, starting right now. Who wants cake?"
"Cake? But I just ate." Howard said.
"Not for you, Howard. It's for the kids." Della informed.
"Oh. Well, I can see that I may be imposing, so how's about I find somewhere to sleep?" Howard asked.
Scrooge sighed. "Would you come with me, Howard?"
"Oh, sure thing." Howard followed Scrooge just outside of the dining room. "What's up, top hat?"
"Listen. I don't know you, but something tells me you're not telling me something." Scrooge said.
Howard chuckled nervously. "What? Me? You think I'm hiding something? That's rich."
"Let me finish." Scrooge said. "The only reason I'm letting you stay is because you helped bring Della back home. But I have two conditions you need to follow. Number one: I expect you to pull your weight around here. I will not have any freeloaders under my roof."
"Fair enough." Howard said. "And the second condition…"
Scrooge leaned in closer to stare menacingly into Howard's eyes. "If you do anything to put this family in unnecessary danger, then being kicked out is the nicest thing you'll have to worry about."
Howard chuckled nervously again, only this time, there were fewer chuckles. "I get it. You have quite a way with words."
"Good." Scrooge said moving away from Howard. "Now, the guest bedrooms are upstairs and to the right."
Following Scrooge's instructions, Howard picked out a bedroom for him to sleep in. He removed his jacket before laying back on the queen-sized bed. He sighed placing his hand on his forehead.
"Not three hours, and already, I'm dealing with an adventurous family, loud kids, and a rich duck who's already suspicious of me." Howard thought to himself. "Doesn't matter though. I just have to ride this out for a while until I can return to space. So better make the best of it."
The following morning, Howard took a hot shower, put on a set of bath robes, and headed out of his room for breakfast. When he arrived at the front staircase, however, he was startled by the sound of a loud noise. Della was standing in front of him blowing an airhorn in the air while her sons followed her covering their ears.
"Can you believe Scrooge didn't want me to have these?" Della asked.
"Yeah. Kinda." Howard said rubbing the inside of his ear with his pinky.
"WHAT?!" Huey shouted not hearing a word the two said.
"Thankfully, I hid a whole case in my old secret stash, customized them just for my kids." Della reached into a nearby suit of armor and pulled out another airhorn that was inside.
"So what's on your mother/sons agenda today, Della?" Howard asked.
"Simple. Today, I'm going to teach them to… shred the gnar!" Della proclaimed.
"Shred the what-now?" Howard asked.
"Just a very cool method of traveling here on Earth, and a good mom knows how to spice up the ordinary." Della said. She took a shield from the suit of armor. "Observe."
The ducks watched as Della rode on top of the shield like a skateboard sliding off the stair railing and across the floor rug.
"Okay. That's pretty cool, I guess." Howard said.
"She is the best person alive." Dewey said.
"What? Cooler than an alien?" Howard asked.
"Yeah, but you look just like the rest of us." Dewey said. "That's our shield-shredding, cake-juicing, awesome supermom!"
"You're darn right, I am!" Della said returning to the others. "Now, which one of you boys will like to go first?"
Dewey held his hand up, but his stomach began to gurgle and he looked like he was about to regurgitate.
"What's up with the blue one?" Howard asked.
"He… may still be feeling the effect of the cake I baked him last night." Della said. "Best sit this one out. How about you, Jet? Uh, I mean Huey. Sorry, I'll get it."
After setting Huey up with the shield under his feet and a helmet on his head, Della gave him instructions for what to do. However, Huey was still feeling the effects of the loud airhorn and couldn't hear anything. Della clearly didn't notice.
"If you do that last part exactly right, you won't die." Della finished.
"And Scrooge is worried about me endangering this family?" Howard asked.
Huey began to attempt the same stunt Della did, but he went way off immediately. He slid off and quickly bumped into Howard as he walked down the stairs. The two of them rode uncontrollably down the stairs and across the living room. As they stopped at the rug, the shield slipped off and was sent flying across the room until it was caught by Mrs. Beakley, who looked at Della with disapproval.
"I FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN!" Huey shouted.
"You did great." Della said. "And I bet you'll scream even less next time."
"Next time?!" Howard shouted. "Della, I was almost… Oh, what do you call roadkill if it's indoors?"
"Oh, you're exaggerating." Della said.
"Yeah. Mom didn't do anything bad." Dewey said defending her.
"Are you kidding me?" Howard asked. "She made you sick, she encouraged your red-hatted brother to 'shred' down the stairs and nearly killed him, and we've only known each other for less than a day. I don't want to judge your parenting skills, Della, but they could use some work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to relax somewhere where I can't be nearly killed!" He stormed through the nearest open door he could find and slammed it behind him. He then reopened the door and left heading to another door. "That was a closet."
Howard found solitary for a moment when he came upon a room full of old junk cluttering up the place. He said back and relaxed until another figure entered shortly after. It was Della putting on a dour expression.
"So even here, I can't get rest." Howard said. "What is this place anyway?"
"It's the garage, where Scrooge keeps most of his treasures." Della said glumly. "Howard, do you think I'm a good mom."
"Do you want an honest answer?" Howard asked.
Della sighed. "That's okay. I already know. I was gone for a decade, and everyone was fine. I'm home for ten hours and now, my kids are all sick, injured, and terrified. Sorry I nearly ran over you with my son."
Howard looked sympathetic toward Della before standing back up. "Look, Della, I don't know the first thing about being a parent, but it seems like you're only focusing on the cool parts about being one."
"Maybe you're right." Della said. She turned toward a large, golden statue of a man laying down on its stomach. "Everything was much simpler when I was fighting monsters. Take this thing, the Gilded Man. Have I told you that story?"
"No, I don't think so." Howard replied.
"Oh, it was one of the most terrifying, yet memorable adventure of my life." Della said. "The golden city of El Dorado build this mechanical giant as a protector, but a fuse blew and it attacked the locals. When Scrooge, Donald and I arrived, we had to fight this thing to get the gold. I grabbed a wrench, crawled inside the robot, and sabotaged it from the inside. Before it was shut down though, it gave off a mechanical shriek, which I took to mean that it vowed to walk again one day and get revenge on me and my whole family."
"Well, that's cool… until you get to the death threat." Howard said.
"Yeah. I told that story to the boys last night, and they didn't get a wink of sleep." Della went on. "This is ridiculous. I've fought moon mites and the abyss of space and every last odd to get back to my kids and… I'm blowing it. Who do I have to fight to be a part of this family?!"
Out of frustration, Della kicked the dormant body of the Gilded Man with her mechanical foot. Suddenly, the robot's eyes turned on showing off a red light. It slowly rose from the ground while Della and Howard stepped back out of fear and surprise.
"Aw, phooey." Della said.
The Gilded Man grabbed a coathanger and threw it at Della and Howard. Thankfully, the two ducked just in time.
"Fine! You want a fight, you got one!" Della said.
"Not from me! This ain't my fight! I'm outta here!" Howard panicked. He tried running for the door, but the Gilded Man's giant hand blocked his way.
Howard was five inches away from being caught when Della stepped in. She grabbed an umbrella and shoved it right in between the gold plates in the Gilded Man's leg. This gave Howard the opportunity needed to roll out of the way and rejoin Della.
"Thanks for the help!" Howard said.
"No problem." Della responded proudly. "And you know, this is just what I need! I'll beat the Gilded Man, save my family, and prove my worth! Nothing can stop Della Duck!"
"WHAT IN DISMAL DOWNS IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" asked a voice from behind the two. Scrooge McDuck was standing in the doorway watching the Gilded Man pull the umbrella out of his leg. "I really need to start locking this door."
"Don't worry, Uncle Scrooge! Howard and I got everything under control!" Della shouted.
"Which Howard? Is there another Howard here? I know you're not talking about me!" Howard panicked.
Della rushed over to a chest and opened it up. She rummaged through it getting frustrated. All she found was useless, old books. "What's with all the old junk? Where's the Deus Excalibur, or the Ferryman's Flame, or..."
"We kinda used all that stuff already." Scrooge said. "And before you ask, most of my other relics are on display in a museum I started."
"And it didn't dawn on you to include this thing?" Howard asked narrowly dodging the clutches of the Gilded Man.
"Absolutely not!" Scrooge said. "The Gilded Man is much too dangerous to be seen by the public!"
"It's all right! I'm sure I can find something!" Della shouted. She opened a carboard box to search for weapons when she accidentally pushed a ball.
The ball rolled until it landed on a crossbow which fired upon impact. The arrow it fired bounced off a lamp and shot right through a rope holding up pterodactyl skeleton, which was dropped on a car. As soon as it landed, the car's loud alarm blared.
Howard was taken surprise by the alarm, but looked up curiously noticing that the Gilded Man held its hands to the sides of its head as if it was bothered by the loud noise. Before he could say anything however, Della grabbed him by the collar and brought him behind a smiling sun emblem.
"Okay, here's the plan," Della said, "I'll stall him, you two go get the kids so they can see me save them from this monster and prove I'm a good mom!"
"You want to bring kids to a monster fight just to prove a point?" Howard asked.
"It pains me to say, but Howard has a point, lass." Scrooge said remotely shutting off the car alarm. "You've only been here for a day. You cannae force a relationship with your kids just through monster fighting."
"You're right. We should probably go treasure hunting too." Della said.
"That's not what we're trying to…" Howard was cut off when the Gilded Man removed their hiding place and he was forced to run outside with Scrooge and Della.
Scrooge, Della, and Howard all ran into the gardens with the Gilded Man at their tails. The rest of the Duck family noticed the action and ran outside to see it for themselves. The Gilded Man spotted a sword stabbed into a large stone and grabbed it by its hilt. But no matter how hard it tried to pull, it couldn't be lifted.
"Ha!" Mrs. Beakley laughed. "Only the one true King of England can wield that sword!" Instead of the sword though, the Gilded Man ripped the entire pedestal from the ground. It then swung it at Mrs. Beakley knocking her out cold.
"Granny!" Webby gasped before looking angrily at the Gilded Man. "You just knocked out the wrong old lady!"
The Gilded Man turned back to the other adults and swung the pedestal at them. Scrooge and Della dodged fine, but Howard was struck. Instead of getting knocked aside however, Howard was latched onto the weapon. He was then forced to let go when the Gilded Man held it overhead. He landed right behind its head and yelled trying to hold on.
"Howard, what are you doing?!" Della yelled.
"I'M SCARED TO HOLD ON, BUT I'M SCARED TO LET GO!" Howard screamed while the Gilded Man dropped the sword and reached back to try and grab him.
"Don't worry!" Della shouted. "Just go inside the robot!"
"HOW?! THE OPENINGS ARE TOO SMALL!" Howard yelled.
"Then I'll do it! I've done it before!" Della shouted.
"Lass, wait!" Scrooge cried out, but she didn't hear him.
Della climbed up the Gilded Man's body and reached the top of his torso. She slipped her body right into its left shoulder, but she got stuck halfway through. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't budge.
"Aw, come on!" Della yelled. "Why isn't this working? It worked before!"
"That was ages ago!" Scrooge answered. "You've grown! Things are different now!"
Howard finally lost his grip and fell back to the ground. That's when the Gilded Man caught both Scrooge and Webby in its grip and began squeezing.
"Oh, no!" Howard panicked in his head. "That thing's going to crush us all, especially me! Think, Howard! Back at the garage, that thing only lost control when…" He gasped aloud when he remembered the car alarm in the garage. He turned to the boys and approached. "Kids! Do you still have those airhorns that Della gave you?"
"You mean this?" Dewey asked holding up an airhorn.
"Perfect!" Howard snatched the airhorn from Dewey's hand and held it up into the air. With one squeeze, it blared out the loudest sound which forced the android to drop Scrooge and Webby to cover its ears. "Aha! It worked! It hates noise!"
"I got a really loud idea!" Louie said. "I need some tape!"
"I'm on it!" Huey responded before running to the house boat.
The Gilded Man turned his attention to Howard and the boys chasing them. It didn't last long though. When Huey returned with duct tape, Louie used it to tape all three air horn canisters together and tossed it Howard, who then tossed it up to Della.
Once Della catches the horns, the shoves them inside the machine and stomped her metal foot on top of them to have them all blare out at once. The loud noise caused the robot to shake and start to lose its footing. The gears fell loose and its glass began to crack before it started to lean for the final downfall. Unfortunately, it was about to fall directly on top of Louie.
"LOUIE, LOOK OUT!" Della yelled out. She detached herself from her prosthetic foot and jumped out tackling Louie. She got him to safety just before they could get crushed by the falling Gilded Man. The Aztec automaton was no more.
Once the smoke cleared, Louie looked up at his mom and tears began to form in his eyes before he hugged her. She hugged back with a mother's embrace.
"Thanks, Mom." Louie said while his brothers joined in hugging Della. At the same time, Mrs. Beakley woke up from her unconscious state.
"How'd you get free?" Webby asked.
"Good parenting is about coping with change and adapting to unforeseen challenges." Scrooge said handing Della back her prosthetic leg. "She adapted. One day in and you're learning already."
Della reattached her leg and looked at her sons with hopeful eyes. "Huey, Dewey, Louie. I know you're not used to having a mom, and I am not used to being one, but I'll figure it out as we go along in time."
"We all will." Louie said.
Della then looked over at Howard, who was sitting down resting after the battle. "And Howard, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I know this probably isn't what you expected, but…"
She was stopped after hearing a quiet chuckle from Howard. He smiled growing a bellowing laughter. "What a rush!"
"Seriously?" Louie asked.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. Today was one of the scariest days of my life," Howard said, "But once it was all over, I have never felt so satisfied! I think I get why you like adventuring, Della, and I want to keep it up!"
"Really?" Della asked with a hopeful smile.
"Sure. I mean, with all the money, exciting adventure, and new things to learn, this might be quite an eventful experience for me." Howard replied. Although, his mind went to a different place.
"Yeah, it was haunting, but if these guys do all the work on the adventuring, I'll still get a cut of the loot. I just have to contribute a bit."
"Well, that settles it." Della said. "So what do you all want to do?"
"Go find a treasure!"
"Discover a hidden temple!"
"Anything, everything!"
"Well, let's get started!" Della proclaimed. "Man, Donald sure is missing out on some quality family bonding."
Of course, Donald was having the worst time of his life. By now, he's already crashed into the moon and was taken captive by the Moonlanders while they were preparing for war against Earth.
An incredibly large cyborg beast with weapons on every inch of him followed a red-skinned alien woman past through a dark room. The two of them walked past several plants, relics, and living creatures which were all contained in glass cages. They stopped at the middle and the red lady presented a certain someone.
"I present to you Tanaleer Tivan, the Collector."
She moved aside revealing a humanoid man with white hair, a red suit, and a white fur cape. He approached his beastly visitor with facination for his armor.
"I'm glad you could accept my invitation, Bounty." The Collector replied.
"How could I say no to one of the richest men in the galaxy?" The cyborg replied. "I understand you have a mission for me."
"That, I do." The Collector replied. He pulled out a metal disk which he held in his hand. It projected a small, blue hologram of a certain duck. "This is Howard, the last of his species. An agent of mine was supposed to bring him to me, but something happened, and now the fowl is lost in the wind. I need you to find him and bring him to me alive."
Bounty took the disk and got a closer look at his target. "What's the price?"
The Collector smiled. "How does five billion units sound, my Karidian friend?"
Bounty smiled back. "It's a deal. You'll have your bird brought to you, Collector, and I pity anyone who stands in my way."