"Dive, you don't have to do this," pleaded ND, looking as if he were ready to cry.
"Of course I do, bud," responded Dive, throwing ND's shirt over himself. "How do I look?"
"Nothing like me," ND responded, glumly.
Dive looked at him strangely.
"He's right, you know," said Dr. Beacon. "This mission is already a failure. Dive doesn't have the scar, he doesn't have to look. General Canard is going to realize something is up the minute he sees him. And those shoes look too new."
"Hey, the shoes are staying if I have to make a quick get away," Dive said.
"But if General Canard sees them..."
"Street people are always stealing or selling favors," interjected Nightbloom, in her cold leader voice. "General Canard will only be focused on making ND pay. How well are you at acting, Dive?"
"Um, I think I can manage, under pressure as a means of motivation," Dive replied, looking nervous.
"You'd better if you wish to survive."
"That's . . . good motivation."
ND clearly opposed the mission.
"What if Canard captures you or something? What if he captures me?"
"You don't have to go," said Dive.
"But I know where those charts would be hidden," ND responded, his voice threatening to crack. "If you go, I have no choice but to go."
"Then go and avenge your family," added Nightbloom.
ND froze with a small whimper.
Dive shot Nightbloom a look. She was a strange being, and he had a feeling she had multiple personalities. There were times when she acted kindly, and then reverted to a hardened leader.
"I'm scared. . ." ND whispered. "I don't know if I can."
Nightbloom continued to stare at him. "We will be there."
ND sighed and nodded. "I know..."
Dive took a deep breath. "All right. Let's break in and steal those blueprints."
X
Dive wondered if the trip to this alternate reality fried a few of his brain cells.
With a painful twinge in his heart, he realized that that comment would have come from either his brother or Mallory.
But Wildwing wasn't here, and neither were the others. He was flying solo this time, with aliens he barely knew being his reinforcements.
Dive took a deep breath as he saw, for the first time, General Canard's house. It looked pretty nice from the outside, but then again, all loyal members of Dragaunus lived it up nicely. Inside was suppose to be nice looking too, but what went on in there...
Dive dashed towards the house. He stopped at the front door and slowly put his hand against the hand print lock.
It worked. The door clicked open and Dive walked in. He fingered the glove on his hand, the one that would have covered the mark, if he had it.
Walk in, distract, get out, walk in, distract, get out, e kept repeating to himself in his mind.
He heard a noise from upstairs and felt a chill run up his back. General Canard was home. And he was upstairs. Just where ND needed to go.
Dive slowly made his way further into the house, peering up the stairs. He couldn't see Canard from where he was. He crept a bit further, his heart pounding against his chest. And then he was in the kitchen.
Dive nearly had a heart attack when he saw another blonde duck. He then realized it was his reflection.
Dive caught a glimpse of how he looked. He was almost an exact replica of ND. This mission had him scared out of his wits, so the nervous look was down pact.
The gel they ran through his hair made it look greasy, as if he hadn't taken a shower.
The only thing off was that he still looked somewhat healthy. He seriously hoped that Canard wouldn't notice it right away.
Dive opened the refrigerator. Part of the plan was to make it appear as if ND had made his way back to steal some food. The other part was the fight Canard off after ND escaped with the plans.
Dive gritted his teeth.
He still had a hard time believing that there were ducks vile enough to betray their own race. And having Canard being on the enemy's side... well, it was weird. And eerie with the fact that Canard was so well trusted that he had the most recent blueprints of Dragaunus's new fortress.
Apparently, Canard was in charge of security.
Dive snorted as he thought about the irony.
Mister Hot Shot with security and his own house wasn't even fortified.
Dive closed the refrigerator, one arm holding a bunch of food. He turned and stopped.
Canard was standing right in front of him.
X
ND froze.
He spotted Canard when he was coming down the stairs.
He so desperately wanted to warn Dive somehow to be prepared.
He felt his heart in his throat when it looked like Dive had spaced out at the fridge. He had been so attentive at first.
ND approached the open door as Canard stood next to the fridge, watching Dive silently.
ND knew that a silent Canard was a deadly Canard.
But he had to get those blue prints and fast. Then Dive could run for it.
ND crept into the house and towards the stairs.
Dive still hadn't realized that he was being watched.
ND held back a whimper and ducked behind the wall. He climbed the stairs as fast as he could without making a sound.
X
Dive realized why Canard was so feared in the second it took to realize who was standing next to him.
Canard's eyes held nothing but a cold fire that promised death.
"So..." he said, in a calm yet deadly voice. "My little slave came back."
Dive back-pedalled, dropping the food.
"C...Canard!" he stuttered, the fear in his voice not faked at all.
Canard moved forward.
Dive felt the wall against his back.
"Now why did you do a stupid thing like run away from me?" Canard asked, gently gripping Dive by the chin, tilting his head up.
Dive shut his eyes, his breathing speeding up. Guess Nightbloom was right about focusing just on me.
He felt the hand leave.
Dive cracked one eye open in time to see a fist swinging his way.
He let out a yelp and let himself drop.
Canard's fist landed on the wall with a loud slam.
"Shit!" he shouted, pulling his fist against his stomach.
Dive glanced up and saw the dent in the wall.
He felt two hands grab him by the color of his shirt.
He was picked up and slammed up against the wall.
Dive raised his hands over his face, both out of fear and acting.
What he really wanted to do was try and fight back.
But one, he didn't know this Canard's fighting techniques, and two, he was suppose to be ND. Ducking was something ND wouldn't have done, cause Canard was really pissed now.
"You little mother fucker!" he shouted.
Nosedive saw stars as his head bounced against the wall.
A part of his mind registered that a hand was tugging at his waist band.
"I'll teach you to run away. After we're through, you won't be able to move! You'll be fucking bleeding all over the floor, you little piece of shit!"
Dive grasped Canard's wrists as he croaked out a weak "No."
It seemed to fuel Canard.
All the air left Dive's lungs as a fist made its way into his stomach.
Dive collapsed to the floor, trying to inhale enough air to gain his energy.
X
ND heard the sounds of fighting.
He frantically rifled through Canard's desk.
Dive was working with limited time.
ND felt a panic attack coming on. "Not now, not now, not now," he whispered to himself as he opened another drawer.
There on the top was a folder, unlabeled but filled with a large stack of papers. With a shaky hand, he opened it. Inside were several diagrams of wiring and blue prints of several floors of a castle. ND thought his heart would stop.
"This is it," he said to himself. He shoved the folder into the waistband of his pants. He quickly ran out of the room and down the stairs.
At the bottom, ND glanced towards the kitchen area and froze.
Canard had straddled Dive and looked up to see ND standing there.
Their eyes met.
X
Dive grunted when he had felt Canard kick him in the ribs. He tried to fight back but he was still struggling to draw in enough air.
A pair of hands grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him up. A moment later, his back connected with the wall with a resounding crack.
Canard and everything else split into two.
Dive let out a groan as he slumped to the floor, unable to get his bearings.
He felt Canard push him forward onto his stomach.
His mind screamed for him to get up when he felt the pair of hands return to tug at his waist band. Get up! Get up now! he was shouting to himself, while weakly struggling.
Then the thundering sounds of rushing footsteps on stairs pulled him out of his daze.
His eyes snapped open at the same time that Canard froze on top of him.
In the doorway of the kitchen stood ND, looking like a deer in the headlights.
"You!" exclaimed Canard, his grip loosening in shock. "Then who?" he asked in bewilderment, looking down at the body underneath him.
"Your worst nightmare," grunted Dive, taking the opportunity to buck Canard off.
"Run, ND!" he shouted, scrambling up to his feet. "Run now!"
ND sprung to life and ran for the door as Dive whirled on Canard and threw a punch.
His fist connected with Canard's jaw and he sent him flying back to the floor.
He turned around and ran.
No sooner than he had stepped out of the mansion, alarms began to sound at every corner. He glanced behind him and saw that Canard was rushing towards him.
Dive slammed the door shut and leapt forward, catching ND by the shoulder and pushing him forward. "Run, just run. I'll be the decoy!"
ND ran off in one direction as Dive waited for a moment.
The door swung open and Dive waited long enough to make sure that Canard spotted him. He then ran the opposite way that ND had run, dashing into the nearest alley and racing through the maze in the back of each buildings and housing complexes.
Dive could hear Canard behind him, and he could hear the sounds of sirens.
Dive slid to the floor and under a wooden gate that was broken underneath.
He hissed when he felt the jagged edges catch his shoulder, tearing into the shirt that covered his arms.
"What I wouldn't give for my armor," he muttered to himself. He leapt up and banked a right, heading back out into the streets.
A cruiser that resembled the police officers back home blocked his path. Two Saurians stepped out.
Dive looked up and saw a fire escape ladder just a few inches above him. He leapt up and caught hold of it, and began to climb as the Saurians fired several rounds at him.
He could feel the heat of the lasers as they passed right by him.
"Don't kill him!" he heard Canard shout. "I want that bugger alive!!"
Dive panted for breath as he neared the top. Looking down he could see that Canard and the Saurians were starting to climb up after him.
"Time to ditch these guys for good," Dive said, leaping to the top of the building. He ran from the edge, stopped, and turned around.
He activated his jet powered roller blades, glad that he at least kept this part of his armor with him.
He shot towards the edge and then jumped at the last possible moment.
Canard let out a shout of surprise as Dive flew over towards the next building.
Dive repeated what he was doing for a couple more buildings before rushing down the fire escape ladders.
He reached the bottom and activated the skates again, moving farther and farther away from his pursuers.
He began to circle around, hitting sections that he hadn't gone through before.
His eyes kept a careful watch for friend or foe.
He arrived at a sewer grate, one that had been pointed out as his escape route.
Dive lifted the cover and jumped in, letting the grate fall back into place.
He waited a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, and catching his breath.
He took a step forward and collided into something firm.
A light flared and Dive felt his stomach drop. "Canard..." he murmured, as a hand grabbed him by the upper arm.
To be continued . . .