". . . it's time I took back my place as team Captain . . ."
Wildwing skated across the ice, hearing the words over and over again in his mind. Isn't this what he had always wanted? For Canard to come back and take over the team? So why did he feel so bothered by the notion?
Canard was a better leader than him. He had handpicked the team. Wildwing had just been filling in.
Who would have guessed that he would feel so reluctant to give the team back to Canard when he had been hesitant to take over them in the first place?
A large but gentle hand landed on his shoulder.
"What is wrong?" asked Grin, looking down at his team mate.
"I don't know," replied Wildwing with a frustrated sigh. He repeated his thoughts and questions out loud, suddenly not caring about keeping his sturdy confident image.
Grin listened to him ramble on. When Wildwing paused to catch his breath, Grin spoke. "Maybe you've grown to feel responsible for this team. And that responsibility is making you wary of handing it over to someone else."
That was it. That was exactly how he was feeling. Wildwing sighed.
"You're right. However, even though I feel this way, I am also a soldier following orders." Wildwing looked at the golden mask in his hands. "And it's time I give this back to the real leader."
X
"At this rate, Civilian Dragaunus, you will drive me over to the Ducks in a matter of moments," snarled Nightbloom. "I have no tolerance for beggars."
"I don't beg," protested Dragaunus.
The female Saurian glared at him.
"For the final time, Saurian, I will make my choice after observing both parties. Rather than persuading me with words to join your ranks, I suggest you persuade me with action."
Nightbloom walked out of the room.
"We have to do this right," said Dragaunus, turning to Chameleon, Siege, and Wraith. "We must prove that we are worthy enough to have her fight on our side."
"So, what are we going to do, Boss?" asked Chameleon, impersonating an old fashioned looking mobster.
"I don't know," responded the dragon.
X
The Ducks were gathered around Canard in the equipment training room.
"I'm not sure what you all have been doing before or after the defeat of Dragaunus, but we are gonna start on a clean slate."
Canard paused , glancing over at Nosedive, who was watching Wildwing from the corner of his eyes.
"I'm gonna make sure you learn to pay attention!" Nosedive looked up. "I'm gonna make sure you achieve you highest physical state. I'm gonna train you in weaponry. I'm gonna push you to your maximum. No wimps allowed."
Nosedive swallowed nervously. Somehow, he felt as if the speech was all for him.
With a quick glance, Nosedive checked out the reactions of his team mates. Grin was sitting still with the usual far away look in his eyes. Mallory was at attention, military instincts kicking in. Duke stared with growing interest. Wing looked a bit downcast. Tanya didn't look so confident.
"Bored with what I have to say, kid?" Canard's voice came through.
"Uh, no, Canard!" replied Nosedive, hastily.
"That's 'Captain' to you!" reprimanded Canard.
"Yes, Captain. I mean, no, Captain," Nosedive amended.
"Among this team we must show respect to each other. We will know each other's weaknesses and strengths, offering the proper back up.
"Not only will our training be on the battlefield, but on ice as well. I want us to be number one, undefeated, no ties. There will be no forfeits or no shows."
Canard paused. "Do I make myself clear?"
A chorus of "Yes, Captain," filled the air.
X
"I could rob something. But what?"
Chameleon, Wraith, and Siege watched as Dragaunus paced across the room.
"I know," he said. "We need some temporary power, and Helen's Hi-Tech Corporation is researching some new powerful generators. We could steal those to power up the Raptor until we get our claws on some Belirium crystals."
The three henchmen glanced at each other.
"You know? I think he's reaching now," commented Chameleon.
"Yeah. Just to impress that Saurian witch," added Siege.
X
Nightbloom watched the monitors. She could see Dragaunus pacing the room. She could also see that his three henchmen didn't like the way their leader was beginning to act.
"You three are smarter than you look," she said. "Too bad that's as far as you get."
X
Nosedive shook his head, trying to get rid of the stars that were dancing in front of his eyes. Instead it got worse.
"C'mon, kid," said Canard. "Get up! You've only hit me four times while I've put you on the mat five."
The dizziness went away, replaced by frustration and anger. He got up and began swinging furiously.
Canard blocked and dodged each of Nosedive's throws.
"C'mon, squirt. You can do better than that! You fight like a hatchling! You think your mouth and wit can save you in battle? On a one on one confrontation? I'm going easy on you! You've got the protective gear and gloves. I've just got the gloves! And your method is messy."
Nosedive took another hard swing. Canard moved to the side, and the younger duck lost his balance and crashed to the floor.
"Pathetic," muttered Canard. "This boxing match is over for now, rookie. Give me five laps, fifty push-ups, and fifty sit-ups."
"I'm not some rookie!" snapped Nosedive.
"Six, sixty, and sixty," growled Canard.
"Hey, wait-a-minute!"
"Seven, seventy and seventy. Keep talking if you want to do more."
Nosedive huffed and stalked away, heading to the side of the training room to begin his seven laps.
Running around the room twice was the equivalent of a mile. Three miles and a half was no biggie for him, if it weren't for all the pain his body was feeling now.
He never recalled having so many bruises in his life!
As he ran around the room, he looked at his team mates. Seemed they were having it easier. Canard had been picking on him since he resumed as team Captain.
Sure he critiqued everyone, but Nosedive felt as if he were the favorite of Canard's to get bashed.
Canard had Duke working on his speed and stealth by going through an obstacle course of trip wires, sensory motion detectors, and laser beams that stung. Duke just needed to be a bit more acrobatic, but he was doing fine. It took Duke fifteen minutes to run through the course, which included opening two locks, one old fashioned and the other electronic, shimmy under low laser beams, and make his way through the motion detectors. Then he had to run through a forest of blocks that had trip wires scattered throughout. Some with booby traps.
Canard was trying to get Duke to complete the course in ten minutes. Nosedive assumed it was possible.
Canard had Tanya working on strength and building things quickly. She wasn't trained to fight, but leg and arm muscles were handy. Her little course consisted of building traps, which were used for the other's obstacle courses, and disarming traps she hadn't built or even seen before.
Canard would also damage a weapon and time her to see how long it took her to repair it.
"What if the trigger gets jammed in the middle of a shoot out with the Saurians?" he had asked. "You need to be able to fix it quickly or else you're stuck without it."
Mallory, having been trained in the military, was improving her aim as well as learning a bit of machinery. She also sparred with Canard, and both of them ended on the mat an equal number of times. Seemed she was Canard's pride and joy of the team.
Wildwing was training in everything, running the courses with his team mates. He also helped teach self defense alongside Canard. They both came up with ideas for the courses. He was more of second in command now.
Grin seemed to have it the easiest. Canard was just testing the range of his strength, having him break boards of various thickness, and bending metal. He also was improving on speed.
Nosedive slowed down a bit on his last two laps.
Part of the reason had to do with his body wanting to quit, the other because his mind was focusing on other things rather that what he was suppose to be doing now.
Oh, hockey pucks! Seemed everyone was working on their special talent except for him. And why was that? Because he had no talent.
X
Lord Dragaunus set down a map. "This is Helen's Hi-Tech Corporation. There are three floors that are open to the public, one basement, and two more floors underneath that that are secret labs.
"The generators are currently being worked on in the lowest floor." Dragaunus looked up at his henchmen. "These generators are suppose to be able to power a whole city for hours on rocket fuel. Until we find some crystals, these just might serve their purpose with the Raptor."
"But, Boss," said Chameleon. "What about security?"
"There's motion detectors outside the door, other doors that shut close, and knockout gas traps. Nothing we can't handle. We'll just go in and come right back out. The most important thing is that we take out night security before they can set off any alarms."
Siege, Chameleon, and Wraith looked at each other. Wasn't this how most of their previous plans were suppose to go?
"If you say so," said Siege.
X
Nosedive gasped for breath as he finished his seventieth sit-up. His muscles were really protesting against this torture now.
He struggled up and headed over to the showers, which unfortunately led to Canard who was saying something to Mallory.
Nosedive watched with mild interest. Mallory stood about ten yards away from Canard who stood in front of a target in humanoid form. It had an inch wide circle on its chest.
"You need to relax a bit and feel more confident about your aim," he was saying sternly.
"Sir, I am confident about my aim. I don't understand the need to be relaxed when handling a firearm."
"If you were confident, you wouldn't be so tense, and you would get a perfect score."
Nosedive reached Canard and hesitated. He wasn't sure if it was safe to pass. A quick glance from Canard told him not yet.
"Nine out of ten isn't enough, Mallory. Set your gun to stun."
Mallory, doing as she was told, replied in a slightly offended voice. "With all due respect, sir, nine out of ten is good enough for the military."
"Is it good enough for you?" Canard nodded for Nosedive to pass.
"Yes it is, sir."
Canard moved swiftly, grabbing Nosedive as he passed by.
Before Mallory or Nosedive knew what was happening, Canard had an arm around Nosedive's neck, a small deflector shield over Canard's face, and a puck launcher pressed into Nosedive's back.
Needless to say, both younger ducks were stunned.
"I'm a perp who just took an innocent civilian hostage. I'm threatening to kill him. Mallory, you've only got one shot to stop me from doing that."
Mallory nervously raised her gun, understanding why Canard wanted her to switch it to stun.
Canard was using Nosedive as a shield. Only half of his face was visible.
She aimed.
Nosedive looked like he was mumbling a prayer.
"C'mon, Mallory. Aim at my face and fire. It will disable the shield. Unless, of course, you hit Nosedive instead. Then you'll stun him."
Nosedive looked at her with large frightened eyes.
Mallory's gun wavered. "I can't," she said, furious with herself. She lowered her weapon. She couldn't risk missing this time and hitting Dive.
"Bang," said Canard, releasing Nosedive. "He's dead. Tell me, Mallory. . . is nine out of ten still good enough for you?"
"No, sir," she sighed in defeat.
"And you, kid, should have fought the moment I grabbed you! " Canard yelled at Nosedive, who was still processing what had just happened. "If I were a Saurian, you would have been dead on the spot. Two laps, twenty and twenty, then hit the showers."
Nosedive suppressed the whimper that rose in his throat. Egad, he was tired! With a curt nod, he headed to the edge of the room to do his last, hopefully, two loops of the day.
"Sir?" questioned Mallory. "Aren't you being a little hard on Dive?"
Canard glared at her. "Practice some more, relaxed yet focused on your shots." He walked away.
Mallory raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She then went back to her shooting practice.
X
"Well, what do you think?" asked Lord Dragaunus to Nightbloom. He had just finished going over his plans in detail.
"I think you should leave me out of this, Civilian," Nightbloom replied coldly. "I am observing you, therefore I won't help you in any way which includes approving or disapproving your ideas. Do as you wish."
Dragaunus bit back a growl. This Saurian was infuriating!
"Fine," was all he said, before storming out of the room.
Nightbloom remained alone.
A tiny smirk formed on her lips. "Ah, Dragaunus," she purred in an almost evil way. "If that is the extent of all your plans, then maybe the Ducks aren't as challenging as you make them out to be. Either that or you have luck on your side."
X
"That's strange," said Tanya with a small frown, staring at the monitor of Drake 1.
"What is it?" asked Canard.
"A silent alarm went off for about two seconds and then stopped right here." Tanya pushed a few buttons and a spot on the map zoomed in. "There! Helen's Hi-Tech Corporation."
"Do you know anything about it?"
"They deal mostly with finding efficient energy sources."
"And I bet Dragaunus has something to do with that. Ducks, let's roll!"
X
"Haul these over there. We need to group them all together," said Dragaunus, still a bit sore about tripping the alarm. Thankfully, they were able to shut it off and convince the dispatcher that called that it a false alarm. Chameleon, however, was prepared to impersonate the security officer if an officer should pass by to check things out.
"We've just got these two," said Siege.
"And they're staying there as well," said a strange yet familiar voice.
"I thought you were dead!" exclaimed Chameleon.
"Canard!" hissed Dragaunus, eyes blazing. Despite the mask the duck was wearing, he could recognize that posture anywhere.
"I think the odds against us just got worse," drawled Wraith, raising his staff.
"Then let's even them," growled Dragaunus.
With a shout, the Saurians charged, pulling out their blasters.
Wraith fired a fireball at the ducks.
They scattered out of the way.
Wildwing and Nosedive fired their puck launchers then moved out of the way.
The fireball exploded mid-air as the pucks hit it dead center.
"Careful!" shouted Tanya. "There may be highly combustible fuel in there!"
The Ducks backed out of the lab, hoping to draw out the Saurians. The space outside the lab was large and it seemed like a warehouse. It was also the perfect place for a fight.
The Saurians followed them, thinking that they were retreating.
Once in the open, the Saurians realized their error. By then, Duke had circled around and shut the lab door behind them. Dragaunus found himself surrounded by ducks.
Wraith pointed his staff to the floor and a blast of smoke rose into the air.
"On your guard!" came Wildwing's voice.
Grin suddenly found himself grappling with Siege. Wildwing and Canard were up against Dragaunus, who was holding well on his own.
Tanya and Mallory found themselves fighting Chameleon who had transformed himself as a large body builder.
Duke battled against Wraith, staff against sword.
Nosedive was left alone, which made him more eager to join the battle. He desperately wanted to prove himself the Canard. But how?
That's when he noticed that Grin was about to back into some low boxes.
"Grin! Look out!" he warned.
Too late! Grin tripped and fell on his back. Siege moved forward, laser blaster in hand.
In the meantime, a well timed sweep of his tail, Dragaunus sent Wildwing and Canard crashing to the floor.
As Wildwing struggled to stand up, he could see Grin's predicament. Grin was on his back with Siege towering over him.
Then he saw Nosedive making a very reckless move.
Wildwing watched in shock as his brother leapt onto the back of Siege.
"Nosedive! No!"
"Wing!" shouted Canard, as Dragaunus's tail headed towards him a second time.
At that moment, Chameleon had transformed again into an alien looking thing with four arms. It took Tanya by surprise and one arm knocked her to the side.
She crashed into the back of Wraith, and in turn knocked into Duke.
Mallory was holding off Chameleon's punches with a wooden board that was beginning to crack.
Siege tried shaking Nosedive off of his back. He spun around.
Nosedive felt himself loosing his grip and then went airborne. He landed hard against a wall. As he steadied himself, his hand hit some type of lever.
"Whoops!" he let out as the lever went down.
Sirens began to blare and large metal gates began closing around them.
White colored gas blaster through some air vents near the floor, clouding the room.
"Retreat!" shouted Dragaunus. A few seconds later, the four Saurians disappeared in a green flash.
"Grin! The door!' shouted Canard.
Grin stopped the nearest door from closing.
"Everyone out!" ordered Canard, as Grin held the doors open.
Nosedive, who was closest to the blast of gas, made it halfway through the room before falling into an unconscious heap on the floor.
With a frustrated growl, Canard took a deep breath of fresh air and went back in to get Nosedive. He picked up the younger duck, holding him in his arms like the child he was and carried him out.
"You're gonna regret that move when you wake up, kid," said Canard.
X
"Well, well, well. . . If it isn't the feathered. . . what the? Another one?!" Klegghorn's voice bellowed out.
"Detective Klegghorn! Uh, this is Canard, official team Captain," said Wildwing.
"What's with the kid?" the detective asked gruffly, as Canard passed Nosedive to Grin, who then took him into the Migrator.
"Knockout gas from the security traps.," replied Wildwing.
"And just what were you doing in there?"
Wildwing sighed. Some things never seemed to change.
"Dragaunus and his goons were trying to steal some prototype generators."
"What?! You mean to tell me that those lizards are still around?!"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Swell," vented Klegghorn. "This time, call me for back up. Crime rate went down since they disappeared. And I'm not going to have them trying to take over my city!"
Wildwing raised an eyebrow. Maybe some things did change after all.
X
Dragaunus threw one of his robots against the wall with a mighty roar.
"Curse those ducks!" he shouted. "And how in the world did Canard get free from the worm?!"
Chameleon, Siege, and Wraith wisely stayed away from their boss.
Dragaunus stopped in mid rant, smoke coming out from his nostrils. Nightbloom had entered the room.
"I saw it all," she said in a calm and deadly voice.
"What? . . . how?"
"I have my methods." She walked to the center of the room. "You had your chance to show your abilities. Now it is time for me to see how well the Mighty Ducks compare to you."
"But . . ." began Dragaunus.
A think swirling cloud of grey mist wrapped around Nightbloom. It dissolved and cleared away, leaving no trace of the Saurian.
Dragaunus roared again.
To be continued . . .