Nosedive skated to the edge of the rink and picked up his water bottle. He took a sip and put it down, knowing that it wasn't a good idea to fill up when working out.
Catching his breath, he stared back at the other ducks on the ice. Seemed that even there Canard was a tyrant. Well, at least in his opinion. Duke said he was tough and Mallory said that he was just acting like the military leader he's suppose to be. Grin kept silent and Tanya didn't have an opinion. As long as Canard had her working with electronic equipment, she was happy. As for Wildwing, some days he looked happy working with Canard, and then there were a few times when he looked too serious.
Still, Nosedive would have been happier if Wing was still in charge. Then again, his opinion could be biased.
"While you each play your own positions well," Canard's voice broke through. "I don't want you to keep playing that position. If one of you become injured. . ." A glance at Nosedive. "You'll need to know his place well enough to take his place. So for the next forty-five minutes, we're going to rotate your positions. Grin, you'll be goalie this time. Dive, defense. Mallory forward. You're against Tanya, goalie, Wildwing, defense, and Duke, forward. We'll swap positions after every fifteen minutes."
Nosedive rolled his eyes with a small groan. He tried to prepare himself mentally. Attack was his best tactic, he knew that. Defense, that was something else. Although he was sure Wing would appreciate that.
No more worries about his little bro being unable to defend himself cause he was too busy rushing into things. Hah!
"C'mon, everybody on the ice!" Canard yelled.
All the ducks gathered onto the center of the ice before breaking into their groups of three. None of them were aware that they were being watched.
Ninety feet above the ice, the announcer's box was occupied. The lights were off, so no one could see through the one way mirrors on the outside. One gloved hand flicked on a few switches, and several monitors turned on, providing close-ups on the hockey players below.
Another hand switched a button, and their voices came through softly through the speakers.
Yellow eyes glanced over to the windows, looking at the figures below. According to Lord Dragaunus, Wildwing had been in charge of the ducks. Now it looked like they were going through some changes. A unified form was slowly taking place, but it appeared that a few were resistant to the change.
Nightbloom stood back, taking in all the monitors. Most of the times, fighting techniques could be learned by watching how one played.
Nosedive watched in apprehension as Duke made his way towards him. He's stopped Duke before, he could do it again. Only this time, there was pressure to prove to Canard that he was good at something.
Nosedive watched each move that Duke made. He could almost point out which way he was going to go to move around him. All Dive had to do was time his counter attack just right and strike the puck away from Duke.
Duke approached and feigned right, but Nosedive had caught on. However, in his over-zealousness, Nosedive thrust forward too far and too fast, barely grazing the puck but landing on his face.
Duke stopped and headed back to the younger duck.
"What's the matter, kid? You usually play better than this." he asked, concern lacing the older duck's voice.
"What the heck was that?" roared Canard, causing both ducks to flinch.
Nosedive stood up with the help of Duke.
"Sheesh, kid!"
Nosedive winced. Somehow, Duke made "kid" sound like an affectionate nickname. Canard made it sound like something filthy.
"Is that how you play?" Canard continued.
"No, sir," responded Nosedive, sullenly.
"Yeah, right! If this is how you continue in practice, you'll be sitting on the bench for the next game!"
Nosedive looked up at his in shock. "But I can play! Just ask Wing!" Nosedive glanced at his brother, silently pleading for him to back him up. Instead, he got a small frown and a shake of a head from his brother. Needless to say, Nosedive felt crushed. He struggled not to show it.
Duke, feeling sorry for the teen and disturbed by Wing's lack of support, opened his mouth to say something in Dive's defense. However, a stern look from Mallory kept him silent, but frustrated.
Grin stayed back by the goalie's net, wondering when all this bad karma that was building up was going to end.
Tanya looked on feeling uncomfortable, not too sure with what had been happening to her team mates.
"It doesn't matter who you ask, Nosedive," growled Canard. "What matters is how I see you play! I'm really hoping that this isn't your best, otherwise I'm surprised that you haven't cost a game to the Mighty Ducks."
Nosedive bit back a retort he wanted to say. This was getting old. But he didn't want to do anymore series of laps, push ups and sit ups.
"I promise you that I do play well, sir. I'm just not, uh, feeling my best."
"Oh?" Canard stared at him with unconcerned eyes.
"But I know that that doesn't provide a good enough excuse for my performance," Nosedive finished weakly, lowering his eyes.
Behind him, Duke and Grin exchanged looks. Nosedive was beginning to loose his spunk.
Nightbloom narrowed her eyes in anger. Did this duck have no honor? Surely he could see the potential that the duckling had.
"Ah, Dragaunus. How pitiful you must be if you can't fight a team that has a child in it. A duckling that hasn't even lost his primary plumage." Her eyes looked back at the lonesome duckling skating back into his position. She clicked a few buttons, getting the cameras to zoom in and focus on Nosedive.
She could tell that he had enthusiasm. She could almost feel the energy from where she was. But enthusiasm like that didn't last long if it wasn't fed properly or if it were constantly dismissed. Even stove cliffs wore down with the constant crashing of the waves. And volcanoes erupted from the building pressures of energy trapped within.
"In time, Duckling, with the proper training, you will be a worthy foe."
Still, he was not the reason she was here today. No. She was on the look out for a weak link among the team. Had the duck named Nosedive been higher in rank, he may have been it. But seeing how he was treated, he was obviously considered the lowest ranking member.
Nightbloom watched the screens, settling her sights on the female named Mallory. She was a strong player, and based on her personal information, trained in all forms of combat for military reasons. However, that was all she was. A soldier. Definitely not the link she was looking for. Mallory obeyed orders, nothing more. If she were eliminated, the Might Ducks would just lose an extra body.
Nightbloom focused on the other female, Tanya. She was also a good player on the team, being unafraid of physical pain if she played so willingly on the ice. But judging by her reactions to the small dispute Nosedive and Canard were in, she was not one to deal with emotions very well. According to her files, Tanya was more into scientific purposes, and mechanical engineering. While technology was important, eliminating Tanya would not be such a blow to the team. If anything, the Saurian Code lived on with little technology for over a thousand years. They knew how to operate the most complicated of systems, but within their own personal lives, anything not powered by nature or magic was almost considered a sin.
That in mind, the Saurian focused on Grin. He was a large duck, full of brute strength, and strangely enough, a philosophical mind. But she dismissed him almost immediately. This was one team that did not focus on strength. To these ducks, it seemed that brain mattered over brawn, and if that were the case, it would explain their constant success in stopping Dragaunus. Grin was just useful for the small cases in which muscle was needed. And from personal experience, brains were needed even then to figure out when and how to use muscle.
Duke skated past one of the screens. Nightbloom watched as he passed Mallory and Nosedive with speed and agility. He was one to adapt well with change. According to his files, Duke use to be a thief, and a notorious one at that. Yet, Canard had chosen him to join the group. His skills were useful, for Nightbloom had them as well. But she felt a small seed of hostility coming from Mallory. Seemed with her righteous training in law and order, she was unsure of Duke's position. The duck acted like she had accepted him fully, but one cannot lie to an aura reader. While Duke could cause a rift among the team members should he be eliminated or if she were able to cast a shadow of doubt over him, the rift wouldn't last for long. After all, hadn't that happened with the one named Falcone?
Soon she set her eyes on Canard and Wildwing. Two leaders for a great team. Destroying one will only allow the other to take his place. In this case, it seemed that there was no weak link to the team. However, sometimes the link did not have to be taken out to weaken the chain.
She had noticed the difference between the leaders. Canard demanded perfection, which was something that was meant for divine beings only. Wildwing asked for their best, a more reachable goal, and one that wasn't too far away. Canard was strict with a military past. Wildwing was more lax, having been thrown into the role of leader and earning the trust and to trust his team members.
A small smile appeared on Nightbloom's face as a thought dawned on her. Now why hadn't she thought of that before. Everyone kept looking at Wildwing, as a confirmation to everything Canard said. Duke appeared disappointed when Wildwing refused to intervene with the dispute against Nosedive and Canard. Even Tanya and Grin appeared troubled by the fact. If anything, it seemed that Wildwing was the unspoken true leader for the team. As for Nosedive, she had felt something breaking. Then she realized what it was and mentally began checking her files.
If she remembered right, Nosedive and Wildwing were brothers, and an unique pair at that. The bond between then was strong, which explained why they were still together. Had the bond between them been that of a normal siblings, chances would be that Nosedive would have stayed in Puckworld with his parents.
Yet, he was here, following his brother along with the rest of the team.
As for Wildwing, he had taken Canard's place when the duck had gone MIA. During that time, he proved himself over and over again.
Destroying Wildwing would make him a martyr, something that Dragaunus could not afford. He would be attacked endlessly from the need of revenge. However, if Dragaunus could destroy Wildwing emotionally and mentally, the chain would weaken, resulting in the downfall of the ducks.
Nightbloom began to turn off the cameras, monitors, and the speakers. Now it was time to view the ducks in battle.
Phil Palmfeather was upstairs trying to find some of his folders that he had misplaced. He was trying to organize another publicity affair to show off his newest team player.
"Was it in the box? Yeah, I think so!"
Phil reached the announcers box and put his hand on the door knob. A flash of light shone underneath the cracks of the doors. He paused, unsure whether he wanted to proceed or not.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door, ready to yells his lungs out for help.
The door creaked open. The room remained quiet and dark. With trembling hands, he flipped on the light switch. The room remained empty.
Phil let out a sigh of relief. "I've been with the ducks too long!" he said to himself, as he spied his folder on the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, he failed to notice a thin purple mist seeping into the air vent over his head.
The day was shining brightly at Jolly Jake's Golf-o-Rama. The trees were green and full as hordes of people gathered round a large banner saying "Mighty Ducks!" Underneath the banner was a tent and three tables. People lined up at each table.
At the first table, Canard, Wildwing, and Nosedive sat down, signing autographs or handing out autographed pictures of themselves, and posing.
Next to them sat Mallory and Tanya, giggling like school girls as the guys who approached them tried flirting with them. Truthfully, the female ducks were trying to be polite, although Mallory became riled up a couple of times.
At their left sat Duke and Grin, with Duke charming all the grown ladies, earning several smiles and blushes with his smooth talk. Several of the other ladies earned several blushes from Grin wanting to feel his muscles.
"You're right. Phil does pick the strangest of places for PR," said Canard, signing off another photo.
"Yeah, but you get use to it," replied Wildwing.
"I'll say," said Canard, nodding towards Nosedive, who had an arm around the waist of a girl for a photo shot. Right before the camera button was pressed, the girl turned and gave Nosedive a kiss on the cheek.
Wildwing smiled and shook his head. If anything, his little brother was popular with the adolescent girls.
Nosedive signed the girl's autograph book with flourish.
"Wow! So you're the new duck," said some pimply faced boy with glasses as he approached Canard. He handed a Canard a team photo. "So when are more babes coming from your planet," the kid asked.
Canard looked up an caught the boy looking over at Mallory and Tanya's table. He let out a laugh. "Good question, kid. I'm sure you'll be the first to know."
A chorus of sighs redirected their attention back to Nosedive as a group of three girls gathered around him for a picture.
"You know, sometimes I really hate him," said the boy.
"I can see why."
Phil stood next to a man dressed in neon colored clothing.
"Thank you so much, Philly boy!"
"Boobala, it was all I could do!"
"This is a win-win situation for the both of us. You get to show off your new duck while I get to show off my new miniature golf park!" The paunchy man grasped Phil by the shoulder and made a sweeping motion over the land of the park. "Just imagine, you and I working together. We could start a franchise and bring in lots of dough. Every time I open a new park, the Ducks could come out! With a nice check written out to you, of course."
The sound of money could be heard as Phil's eyes grew bright with delight.
"Another golf park," grumbled Duke, quickly smiling as another picture of him was thrust into his hands.
"Won't Phil ever learn that parks bring bad luck?"
"Negative thoughts result in negative outcomes," replied Grin, earning a confused look from the older duck.
"I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic!"
They were interrupted by sounds of gunfire and screams coming from a nearby diner.
"See what I mean?"
All seven ducks jumped from their chairs and raced to the diner, changing into their battle gear without a second thought. They were about to burst through the doors when Canard and Wildwing stopped them. "Wait! We have to plan this quickly and catch them by surprise. We'll split up and come in through different directions."
"This place has six different ways to get in. Through the three entrance doors, the employees' door, the basement and the roof."
"I'll get the roof!" said Nosedive.
"I'll go with you," growled Canard. Wing, you take the east entrance, Tanya west, Mallory north, Grin, basement, and Duke, the south. I'll signal you when you're all in place and the timing is right."
With one quick nod, the ducks moved to get into their positions. Mallory crouched next to the front entrance door. Tanya and Wildwing did the same at the place. Duke stood against the employees' door, sword out, ready to cut the door open. Grin yanked the basement door open and proceeded to go downstairs.
Nosedive and Canard used the dumpster next to the wall to climb up onto the roof. Nosedive gave a weak smile as Duke gave him a thumbs up and mouthed the words "good luck."
Canard and Nosedive stood at the edge, looking at the center were a glass pane was built to let sunlight in. Nosedivebegan to slowly make his way towards the center.
"Nosedive, get back here!" hissed Canard. "We have a change of plans. This roof doesn't look very stable."
"Relax, Canard," replied Nosedive. "What idiot would keep a building with an unstable roof for a diner full of people?"
A sharp cracking sound made him regret his words. "Oh, wait. A cheap friend of Phil's, of course," he answered himself, staring at the numerous cracks that appeared under his feet.
"Call my lawyer!" he shouted, as the roof gave way.
Canard stood momentarily stunned as his friend's little brother disappeared through the roof.
"We have a situation!" he shouted into his comm. "Attack!"
Meanwhile, on the floor, Nosedive found himself staring at the ends of seven types of guns being held by seven tall and muscular guys. "Ho boy." he muttered to himself.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said the shortest, but most muscular of the bunch.
"Looks like a dead duck, Shyster," replied another with a grin.
The sounds of breaking glass and doors interrupted the men who were pointing their weapons at the young duck. The people they had been holding hostage ran out screaming and crying. In a matter of moments, there was chaos.
Each men broke off to fight with each duck the moment the one named Shyster said "Fight back!" He reached down and yanked Nosedive up. The he began to pull the young duck into the back room.
Wildwing, seeing the danger his young brother was in, fought his hardest to get rid of the man fighting with him. However, the man was quick and strong, and dodged almost all of Wildwing's moves.
Canard was attempting to help Nosedive as well, but a large hairy brute stood in his way, using his rifle as a bat.
Grin was the only one making any progress with his opponent, being that he was twice the size of the guy. He quickly disarmed the man and headed over to the leader and Dive, only to be thwarted by the big guy that had been fighting with Canard. Canard was on the floor, trying to clear the stars he was seeing from the blow he had received to the side of his head.
"Dive!" shouted Wing, as his brother and the leader disappeared through the back room's door.
Nightbloom watched everything that was happening through one of the monitors inside the Migrator. It had been connected to the signals from the diner's security cams. While security system was excellent, it did not stop a member of the Saurian Code from entering. Her eyes tracked each movement as she rolled a small stone in her fingers.
A few seconds later she closed her hands in a tight fist. When she opened them, the stone was inside a charm in the shape of an ancient dragon's head.
As she watched Duke swipe his sword at one of the thug's Uzi, she strung the charm onto a thick black string.
She then proceeded to turn off everything that wasn't on when she first got in.
Stepping out, she glanced at the diner. Spectators stood around, unsure if this was another publicity stunt or the real thing. No one was aware of the Saurian. She looked at the necklace she had made, then dropped it on the floor.
It was time to view what was going on from a different place.
Nosedive struggled against the guy who held him. He elbowed Shyster in the ribs and was promptly released. As the leader cursed and drew up his gun, Nosedive grabbed the nearest thing he could find and swung it at the crook. It turned out to be a heavy bag of flour.
White powder went everywhere, providing cover for the duck. Nosedive ran back through the doors with the bad guy right behind him.
Ignoring the chaos in front of him, Nosedive grabbed a bottle of ketchup and mustard from a nearby table. "Take that!" he shouted, turning around and squeezing both bottles.
"Argh!" the man cried out in anger, as he brought up his hands to wipe his eyes. "I'll kill you for that!"
"I don't think so," said Dive, tackling the man. They both crashed into a table, sending plates of burgers, fries, and soups flying into the air.
Mallory, in the meantime, was about to gain the upper hand when a bowl of chilli landed on her head. The person she was fighting with immediately took advantage of the position and knocked her off her feet. "If that guy doesn't kill him, I will!" growled Mallory, referring to Nosedive.
Wildwing was still struggling against his opponent, and the burger that pegged him didn't help either.
Nosedive let out a victorious cry as he came across a pie. He swiped it off the diner's counter top and proceeded to smash it up Shyster's face. The leader, more furious than before, kicked at Dive, sending the duck crashing into a vat of dill pickles in the corner. The barrel broke as gallons of pickle juice sloshed everywhere. Pickles rolled, getting under everyone's foot.
Nosedive shook his head and felt his hand land on something metallic. Glancing down, he saw that it was the metal ring that held the boards on the barrel together. Another plan came to his mind as he jumped to his feet.
Meanwhile, thanks to the pickles, Wildwing and Tanya's opponents had landed on their backs and knocked themselvesout cold. Tanya hurried to Mallory's side while Wildwing went to Canard and Grin. Within a matter of seconds, both attackers were subdued. With that taken care of, Mallory and Tanya went to the aid of Duke.
Canard and Wildwing were prepared to help Dive when they noticed that he was done. At his feet sat the leader, a metal ring around his arms, entire upper body covered in food products.
Canard took a step forward, stepping on some mustard and pickle juice. Wildwing watched in shock as Canard came crashing down onto his back.
Duke burst out laughing, ignoring the dirty look that Mallory was giving him.
"I'm gonna kill that kid brother of yours!" Canard roared as Wildwing helped him up.
"Huh?" Nosedive looked up in surprise. What had he done wrong now?
"If he had paid attention, we wouldn't have lost the element of surprise!"
"I don't know," muttered Duke. "I think they were plenty surprised. I know we were."
"Nosedive, why don't you wait by the Migrator," said Wildwing, hoping to calm down Canard a bit, away from his little brother's presence.
"But. . ."
"Now, Dive."
Nosedive took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. He walked past the other ducks, wiping off the flour and pickle juice from his forehead.
"I stopped the guy, didn't I?" he asked no one in particular as he made his way to the Migrator. With a sigh he dropped himself against the side of the vehicle, sitting down in the shade. He saw a couple of police cruisers arriving at the diner. He smirked, recognizing one of the cars. Klegghorn was gonna blow a gasket when hesaw the mess inside the diner.
The smirk immediately faded as he realized that that was probably the reason he was in trouble.
Looking down, something glittery caught his attention. He reached over to pick it up. It was some kind of necklace with a pendant, and a cool one, too. It almost begged for him to put it on. So he did. A strange feeling came over him, then it was gone. Shaking his head, he looked up at the diner, spotting several of the gang's members being put into the back of the police cruisers. He unconsciously rubbed the charm with his fingers, not noticing the small glow that it was emitting.
"Unbelievable," said Klegghorn, taking in the view.
"Sorry about the mess, Captain," said Wildwing, preparing himself for an outburst.
"Mess? This is a catastrophe! But that's not what I'm referring to."
"You're not?"
"No. I'm referring to that!" Klegghorn pointed over to the man that was still being held by a metal ring. "You telling me that the kid went against him and survived?"
"What do you mean?"
"That is Jacob Shyster, gun for hire as well as terrorist, assassin, and everything else that is a federal crime! He was trained in the military, top secret agencies and things like that. There was only one survivor of people who went up against him, and that guy's in a mental ward."
Wildwing felt as if the floor dropped from underneath him. His brother had gone against an extremely dangerous criminal and stopped him by pure dumb luck?
Canard stared at the criminal who was shouting promises of getting revenge against Dive. "That kid's got luck on his side. That's the only explanation."
"Whatever the reason, tell the kid congratulations. My men have been after this guy for years! And don't worry, we won't let him out of our sight."
"Uh, don't you need our statement?"
"Later. I know where to find you. Why don't you go home and rest. Dealing with Jacob and his squad of gorillas is enough to tire anyone out."
The Mighty Ducks slowly left the building.
"You're still gonna punish Nosedive, aren't you?" asked Duke to Canard, an accusing tone underneath.
"Why not?" responded Canard. "Not only did the kid not listen to me when I called him back, but he put himself in a situation that could have gotten him killed!"
"And resulted in you being in pickle juice," added Wildwing.
"That isn't an issue," growled Canard.
Wildwing raised an eyebrow.
"Fine. The kid did manage to stop the terrorist, though his methods are questionable. I won't punish him, but he's still getting a lecture from me."
Duke gave Wildwing a small smile. It certainly was a start.
"We will, we will rock you!"
The roar of people singing, clapping, and stomping always set the adrenaline pumping in athletes. The Ducks were no exception to the feeling.
"Are we in for a treat tonight, ladies and gents," said the sports announcer. "It's the Mighty Ducks playing against the new Florida Cats. As we all know, the Cats have been off to a rocky start with several suspensions and ejections so early in the season. We'll find out if they have cleaned up their act. As for the Ducks, we have a new player, folks, and the name is Canard!"
People cheered loudly as Canard stepped onto the ice, followed by the rest of the team. They began skating in a circle, warming up.
On the other side of the arena, a group in red was also doing the same thing.
"These guys don't look like they've cleaned up," muttered Duke.
"They look ready to maul someone," agreed Mallory.
Their opponents kept glaring at them, and they couldn't shake the feeling that these players would rather have ducks for dinner than play against them.
"All right, listen up," said Canard. "We'll play your normal positions for this game. I'll play next period taking center. For now, I want to watch you guys play. Got it?"
"Ay, ay Capitano!" said Nosedive, momentarily forgetting who he was speaking to. "I mean, sir."
Canard grinned. "I'll let it pass this time. All this excitement is enough to make anyone forget himself."
"Then let's go for it," cheered Mallory.
"Ducks rock!"
Nightbloom stood high in the rafters, watching the ducks in action. The lights were below her so no one was able to spot her through the glare.
She turned her attention to a small crystal ball in her hand. She watched as a Florida Cat came charging towards it. She glanced down again in time to see Nosedive dodge the player. Her charm has definitely been serving its purpose, but she was a tad bit concerned over whether it would still be intact when the game was through.
She continued to watch in her calm state, reflecting back to the practice she had seen earlier that day. Through the charm and her crystal ball, she had seen how hard the duck named Canard drove his team players. Personally, she found it as a waste of energy. Practice was good, but Canard was over doing it. It was starting to show, especially on the young duck.
She had watched previous taped games and seen how fast he was and how he had always been the one to put the Ducks in the lead. Along with his brother to keep the opposing team from scoring, they won just about every game.
An alarm went sounding as a puck made it's way into the Cats' goalie net.
"And the Ducks are in the lead, an excellent pass by Nosedive to Duke which gave him an open for the shot. I must say, Nosedive has come a long way from when he first started. He is acting more like a team player, knowing when another team mate will have a better chance at making the goal."
"Yap, yap, yap," muttered Nosedive, his voice coming clearly through the crystal ball. "I wasn't that bad."
"That's what you think," teased Duke, skating past him.
"Hey! I've always been a team player!"
Nightbloom continued to watch.
The game went on finishing it's first twenty minutes. During the duration, Nosedive scored one goal, but missed three. Then he got in the way of Grin as he tried to steal the puck away from one of the Cats' players.
The Cat's ended up scoring a goal.
Wildwing was shocked. He had never let a puck go pass him like that before.
That goal made the Florida Cat's act more aggressive.
At one point Duke saw stars when someone elbowed him in the head, sending him crashing to to the floor.
"Oh, that must have hurt!" said the announcer. "And the ref calls foul, and we're not talking poultry, people!"
Another player checked Nosedive against the boards. Nosedive went down, almost positive that he had felt the hockey stick being jabbed into his ribs.
"I really hate this," he muttered, realizing that the referee hadn't seen the move.
He pulled away from the boards and promptly received the puck from Duke.
"Kid, this way!" Duke shouted, setting himself up for another pass. Nosedive began to skate towards him until he caught sight of the Cat's defender.
He panicked, not wanting to be slammed into the boards again.
Nosedive just hit the puck in Duke's direction without aim. The Cat's center got it instead and immediately passed it up to another player.
The Ducks and Cats had tied.
"C'mon, get your act together!" shouted Canard from the side lines.
"Get your act together, dude," Dive muttered to himself. "You've been checked before. No need to be afraid." Nosedive took a look at the guy who was about as big as Grin. "Yeah, right!"
"Aack!" Mallory landed hard on the ice as on of the Cat's shoved her aside.
"I really hate this," Duke muttered, heading back towards their goal.
Grin stopped one of the Cat's, but a smaller team member ducked under him and headed towards the goal for a third time.
"Stop him!" shouted Canard.
Tanya moved towards him, but it was too late. The Cat player bounced the puck off of Wildwing's skate, and the puck went into the net, just millimeters from under Wing's glove.
First period was over and the Cats were in the lead.
Nightbloom watched without real interest in the game. She was more focused in how the ducks played. She could see that they were physically tired, and their endurance was waning. Had it not been for theearlier battle practice, she was sure that the Mighty Ducks would have been doing better.
Either way, for exhausted ducks, they were playing well. Most species would have collapsed by now.
"On the bench, Dive," came Canard's voice through her crystal ball.
"No, Canard! I swear I'll do better!"
"I'm taking over, Dive. You missed three goals that would have kept us in the lead."
Most species would have also begged to be pulled out of action.
Nosedive sat on the bench as the last two minutes of the last period were ticking away. Never had he felt so humiliated, and the feeling had increased when he spotted his face on the overhead TV screens. They had caught him ranting and raving earlier on the bench.
Further more, he could hear the voices of two sports announcers on one of the radios that some fan had behind him.
"Shame to see such a star player deteriorate so suddenly, Bob" one of voices said.
"So true, Rob. Dive's performance on the ice seems to indicate that he is burning out."
"He did have some talent, and at least managed to make a goal and an assisted goal."
"But by this time, Dive usually has three goals set in."
"However, Bob, it looks like Canard came just in time to take over Dive's place."
"In your dreams, pal," Dive muttered, not wanting to listen anymore.
People stood up and cheered as Canard scored his fourth goal.
Twenty seconds later, the final whistle sounded.
"And the Duck's win the game!"
Nightbloom watched as the Mighty Ducks gathered together to congratulate each other. Nosedive joined them, but with less enthusiasm. He put on a false smile as his brother draped an arm over his shoulder.
"A shame you can't see the destruction your brother is going through," she said to herself out loud. "Tell me, Wildwing. How much destruction could you handle?"
She stretched out her arm and dropped some dust. It hit the floor and then rose up in purple smoke, covering her completely. The smoke dissipated, and Nightbloom was gone.
Lord Dragaunus was pacing in front of his hench robots. "If she says she is going to help the ducks, blast her!" he told them.
"No need," said a female voice.
Dragaunus whirled around in surprise to face Nightbloom who was staring at him without a trace of anger.
"I have made my choice. The Ducks have an honorable cause, but are also worthy as a challenge. I will aid you as much as I please, but mind you, I will not do your work."
A sneer formed on Dragaunus's lips.
"Good enough," he said. "Do you have anything that could help me? Can you break into their headquarters. . ."
"As I see fit, Civilian. And as I please. I will only offer advice and some help. And I will begin with this. There is one duck on the team that can and will bring the downfall of the Mighty Ducks. However, you must play the cards right."
"Deal away."