A loud explosion shook the streets and rattled the windows of a nearby building early in the morning. People walking near the Beneficial Back screamed in panic and ran for cover as smoke billowed out of the doors.
Sirens could be heard from a distance as a second explosion rocked the streets.
A second later, a white van came peeling out from around the side of the building.
A brown car slammed on its breaks, barely avoiding a collision with the van.
Ten squad cars that were following the brown car slammed into each other, resulting in a pile up.
A white duck with black hair peered through one of the windows and waved, then burst out laughing.
Inside the brown car sat Captain Klegghorn, stunned, and then furious. He kicked the door open and stepped out.
"Egad!" he shouted, as he slammed the door shut. Klegghorn glanced back at the pile of squad cars behind him.
"Those ducks better catch him first before I do. . .or else!" he shouted.
X
Duke groaned as Mallory checked him into the boards. He slid to the ground, trying to shake the stars from his vision.
"Time out!" he heard Canard shout.
"Are you okay?" he heard Mallory ask.
He heard someone skating up to him. "What's wrong, Duke?" That would be Wildwing.
"Just lost my focus," Duke muttered, trying to stand up. Mallory and Wildwing helped him.
"You've been distracted," said Canard.
"You think?" Duke shot back, shaking Wildwing's and Mallory's hands off.
Canard looked momentarily taken aback.
Mallory glared at Duke.
Tanya just stood with her mouth open.
"Duke," Wildwing admonished gently.
"Sorry, sir," Duke muttered. "The idea that the Saurians beat us once is enough to shake everyone up. And each day that passes with Nosedive under their influence is another day of defeat."
Canard wisely remained silent.
Wildwing turned away, and Duke felt a twinge of guilt.
X
Phil sat in his desk, rummaging through a pile of papers and a stale sandwich. The sound of a ringing phone could be heard.
"I know it's around here somewhere," he said, pushing another stack of papers to the side. "Aha!"
Phil pulled out the phone. "Don't know why they just can't call the cell," he said to himself.
"Hello! Phil Palmfeather speaking, manager and. . ." Phil paused. "Oh, hey, Captain! His cheerful face fell. "Oh, really? Oh, man. . .boobula, you're killing me! Tell me it ain't so!" Phil sighed. "okay, thanks."
Phil hung up the phone and stood up, wondering how he was going to tell the ducks the latest news.
X
Canard was trying to keep his anger in control. He could not believe that Duke had spoken to him with that much contempt.
"Listen, Duke," he started.
"Hey, guys," Phil interrupted. "And girls," he added, nodding towards Mallory and Tanya. "I've got some good news and some bad news."
The ducks looked at him.
"Good news is that Klegghorn spotted Dive, or Darkflame. Whatever his name is now. "
"And the bad news?" asked Wildwing, almost fearfully.
"The bad news is he was driving the get away car of a bank robbery. So now he's not only wanted for aiding the escape of a convict, but as an accessory to an armed robbery."
"Swell," muttered Canard. "Who else saw?"
"Several people nearby."
Canard shook his head in disgust. "We can only hope people don't make a connection between Nosedive's disappearance and Darkflame's appearance."
"Yeah," Duke added bitterly. "Or it may make the team look bad."
Mallory shot Duke another look as Phil agreed, oblivious to the growing resentment.
X
"I need to step out," claimed Wildwing, dressed in his street gear.
"You're not the only one," spoke Canard. "Tanya and Duke stepped out. I'm ready to do the same." Canard turned away and paused. He glanced back at Wildwing.
The duck looked so miserable and lonesome.
"I could use the company, if you'd like," Canard added, gently.
"Sure," responded Wildwing, giving Canard a small smile.
"Hey, wait for me!" they heard a voice shout.
"Both Canard and Wildwing let out a small groan.
"What is it, Phil?" Canard asked.
"Don't leave me! I mean, hey, seems like I've got stuff to do. Besides, you never know when I might need you."
Wildwing raised an eyebrow as Canard stared at Phil curiously.
Phil's self centeredness never ceased to amaze them.
Canard, Wildwing, and Phil stepped out of the Pond.
And suddenly, they were swarmed by the media.
"Mr. Wing, Mr. Wing!" some reporter was shouting. "Is your brother really missing?"
"It's been noticed that Canard has been hard on the kid. . ."
"Kidnapped or a run away?"
"Fall into the wrong crowd?"
"Rumor has it. . ."
All the voices blended into one, as Wildwing and Canard stepped back, unsure of how to proceed.
Phil was shouting, arms raised. "Right now, my clients have nothing to say. Everything that needed to be said was done at the press conference. If you still want an interview, place your bids."
"One simple question, Mr. Palmfeather," said a dark haired man. "Is this just another publicity stunt?"
Canard, Wildwing, and Phil, stood speechless. The other reporters surged forward to hear their response.
Phil was the first to snap out of it. "Of course not!" he exclaimed.
But the damage was done. The silence between the ducks and their manager seamed like an admission of guilt. The reporters began murmuring amongst themselves before shooting a new round of questions.
In the midst of the chaos, the brunette reporter that started it all, sneaked away.
Richard glanced back and grinned. "Operation Media a success," he said into a tele-comm unit.
Darkflame grinned back at him. "Excellent."
X
"So," said the sales man, beaming at the man on the other side of the counter.
The blond haired man was dressed in a business suit and was wearing shades. A small smile brightened his face.
"Which will you have?" the salesman finished, motioning to the various diamond and gold bracelets and earring.
The man looked up at him. "All of them."
"Excuse me?" the salesman asked, his voice faltering.
"You heard me," the man replied, brandishing a small gun.
A loud snap followed and the room was covered with black smoke.
The few people inside screamed as several large droids appeared in the store. They smashed all the glass casings and grabbed the jewellery.
The man with the gun swept off all the bracelets in front of him into a bag.
"A pleasure doing business with you," he said.
One of the droids blasted a hole in the side of the building. The droid and the robber made their way out using the hole.
The salesman slammed the alarm button.
Outside, the blonde man jumped into a white van as the droids disappeared with the loot in a flash of green light.
The white van took off.
X
Tanya was standing in front of Drake 1 when the alarm sounded. She scrambled to find the location of the disturbance and frowned. It was gone.
Canard burst in, followed by Wildwing. "Tanya, what was that?"
"I, I don't know!" she stammered. "It just came and went like that!"
The other ducks entered the room.
"We heard that alarm," said Duke.
At that moment, the screen went haywire, fuzzing everything out.
It came back into focus, revealing the face of Darkflame.
"Who's going to stop me?" he asked with a sneer. He laughed. "Loo-hoo-zers!" The transmission cut off.
"Can you get a trace on that?" Canard asked, looking at Tanya. Wildwing stood still, shocked.
"I, uh, it was reroo. . . rerah. . .re, uh, it will take days and by then. . ."
". . . they would have moved," finished Canard, with a nod.
Tanya nodded. She glanced at both ducks. "What do you think Nosedive meant by stopping him?"
"Probably playing games," muttered Canard. "I don't think he'll be a problem to deal with."
"That's where you're wrong," said Wildwing, looking up. "And for two reasons. One, I am always under-estimating my baby bro. Two, that thing controlling Nosedive is a completely different individual."
Canard turned away. "I'm kind of hoping it's just some serious brainwashing."
Tanya and Wildwing glanced at each other.
A few minutes later, Phil entered the room. "There was a jewel heist and someone reported seeing the new duck in the get away car. The whole thing took less that two minutes."
Canard and Wildwing looked at each other.
X
Darkflame let out a laugh as he switched off the transmission. "Let them figure out where that one came from," he said. "This modern technology rocks! And the language is most spectacular! So, what do yo think, Dad?"
Dragaunus fought the urge to grimace. He glanced at Nightbloom and could have sworn he saw her smirk for a moment.
Dragaunus stepped up to the table where the duck had placed several bags.
Darkflame opened one up and Dragaunus found himself amazed at the quantity of jewels the kid had brought in.
"Very nice," commented the saurian overlord.
Darkflame beamed.
"Cool," he said. "Now to give the humans their share." Darkflame left the room.
Dragaunus remained silent as the duck left. He then glanced at the loot on his table.
He let out a chuckle. "The boy is good, I'll grant him that!"
Nightbloom's face remained still.
On the other side of the room, Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon stood watching.
"I hate him," growled Chameleon in a low voice.
"At this rate we'll be worth nothing to Lord Dragaunus," agreed Siege.
"That duck has got to go," growled Wraith.
X
Darkflame, Richard, and Jarrod were standing around a table in one of Dragaunus's planning rooms. To the side stood watching, Dragaunus, Siege, Wraith, and Chameleon.
Richard stood staring at the map in front of him. He looked up at Darkflame, eyebrow raised.
"Well thought out plan," he said. "So simple yet no one would probably have done something so damaging. Of course, you aliens have more advanced weapons and technology."
Darkflame chuckled. "Even if we didn't have the technology, I'm positive that I would have found another way to do this."
Behind him, Dragaunus couldn't help but grin and roll his eyes. The huge amount of confidence that Darkflame was showing what amusing .
"Oh, hey, Dad," said Darkflame. "The humans and I are ready to tackle the big one. With this money, not only will we create chaos in the streets, but we'll have enough to start buying the equipment that we need to fix this hunk of metal."
Wraith rolled his eyes. "Buy? Please!"
"Yeah," added Siege. "Why buy the stuff when we can steal it."
Dragaunus looked at Darkflame, curious to know the duck's answer.
Darkflame rolled his eyes in return. "Dudes, your lack of insight is totally lame-o. Yeah, we can steal the stuff, but then, like duh, the Mighty Ducks may be able to figure out what we're up to. If we buy what we need, they won't be tipped off by that alarm system they have, and they won't be able to track us as easily." Darkflame then shrugged. "And by stealing the stuff we can't buy, it will also make it hard for the MD's to put two and two together!"
Dragaunus nodded slowly, impressed by the young duck's way of thinking. He dropped a claw on the duck's shoulder. "I like the way you think, Kid," he said.
Chameleon, Wraith, and Siege just looked at each other.
X
The mall was practically empty as the remaining six Mighty Ducks walked inside.
Wildwing stared at the floor as he moved aimlessly through the mall.
"At least we have our secret exits," Canard commented, grateful that they had managed to avoid the reporters this time.
Beside him, Duke snorted. "This, as Nosedive would say, bites!"
Canard sighed. "Duke, we've been through this, we can't exactly look for Nosedive without any idea of where to begin!"
"Well, what about the mask?"
"This is a big city."
"That is the lamest excuse I ever heard!" Duke's voice became louder, attracting the attention several people.
"Don't do this," warned Canard.
"Why? Afraid that people will see how crummy you really are as a team captain?"
"Duke!" admonished Canard, angrily.
Duke turned and stalked away.
"I'll keep an eye on him," Grin said.
"Thanks," Canard muttered.
X
"Can I help the next person?" a teller named Mabel called out. She smiled as a tiny old lady shuffled her way towards the window.
"Yes, dearee," said the old lady. "I'd like to make a withdrawal."
"Why certainly," Mabel replied, brightly, reaching for a paper slip. "How much are you planning to withdraw?"
"Everything in the vault."
"What?!" Mabel' eyes grew wide as the lady in front of her transformed into some sickly green creature.
"This is a robbery!"
"Oh, no! Not again!" Mabel pressed the alarm button. People began running out, screaming, as smoke began to fill the room. Tall robots materialized out of thin air, blocking the exits. Three more forms appeared, a duck and two Saurians.
"Wraith! The vault!" shouted Darkflame.
Wraith muttered something incoherent as he blasted the wall with a fireball.
"Siege!" barked Darkflame.
Siege ran and slammed into the vault door, breaking it down.
The Saurians and Darkflame began grabbing bags of money and passing it to all the droids.
X
Duke stood staring at the window of the Captain Comics store that Nosedive used to frequent.
"He's gonna miss a whole bunch of issues," Duke murmured to Grin, who stood silent behind him.
"Maybe Thrash and Mookie will hold them from him."
"He's gonna come back," Duke added, as if trying to convince himself.
Grin chose to remain silent.
A second later, their com units alerted them to trouble. Wildwing's face appeared.
"Regroup at the Migrator," he said.
Duke and Grin took off running.
All six ducks met at the Migrator and boarded.
"Ah, um, it's that bank again! Anaheim Grand! It's being bur, uh, burgla, um, robbed!"
Canard looked at the screen. "And it shows Saurian activity. Let's go!"
Seconds later, the Migrator went racing towards the bank.
X
Darkflame adjusted the teleportation settings on two droids.
"Take the money and go!" he shouted back to the others. In a green flash, Wraith, Siege, and Chameleon, and all but the two droids disappeared.
Darkflame sneered at the cowering humans. He bowed in front of them. "Do tell the press that there's a new baddie in town, and his name is Darkflame!" With that, the duck conjured up a ball of black fire and hurled it at one of the windows, breaking the glass and the burning a hole in the steel wall that covered it.
Darkflame leaped through the hole, the two remaining droids following. They all jumped into a white van that was waiting beside the building.
Richard and Jarrod glanced back.
"I'm not sure I understand this part of the plan, but I heard dispatch say that the nearest cars are a few blocks away," said Richard.
"Doesn't matter," replied Darkflame, pointing to a large white vehicle screeching to a stop. The front of it had a shape similar to that of a duck's face. "When I say now, you hit that accelerator."
"You got it," replied Richard, looking forward.
Darkflame grinned as he watched several of the Mighty Ducks dash out of the Migrator.
"Now."
X
Canard jumped out of the Migrator, scanning the area and taking tin the view. Smoke was rising from an alley, the alarms were blaring, and people were streaming out of the bank, panicking.
Canard began running towards the bank, Wildwing right behind him. Weapons were drawn out, and the could hear the other ducks exiting the Migrator.
"Okay," he shouted. "Be on guard."
A sharp squealing sound caught their attention. Canard glanced to his right.
Wildwing and Canard jumped back as a large white van veered towards them.
"Look out!" warned Canard.
Wildwing and Canard's jaws dropped when they thousands of dollars fluttering out from the back of the van.
Within seconds, the group of panicked people forgot their fear and poured into the street, collecting the money.
The mob ended up blocking the road, allowing the van to make its get away.
"I don't believe this!" Canard shouted, watching the van speed away.
Duke snorted and stepped away. "Of all things, who would have though that the kid would be outwitting this group."
Canard glanced at Duke, but remained silent.
X
"I feel vile," muttered Chameleon.
"Helping Darkflame makes me feel unclean," agreed Wraith.
They watched Dragaunus laugh, standing in front of a pile of money on a table. Darkflame stood beside him, beaming.
"This is unbelievable," Dragaunus said, with an evil chuckle. "Darkflame, my boy, you did good. And for once, they didn't foul it up." He gave a pointed stare in the direction of Chameleon, Wraith , and Siege. "Maybe they do need more supervision."
The three Saurians managed a chagrined look, which immediately turned into a look of hatred when Dragaunus turned away.
"That duck has got to go," they all muttered.
X
Wildwing stood at the entrance of his baby bro's room. He sighed. It was so empty and quiet, it made his heart ache. Wildwing hit the close button and slowly walked away.
Several feet away, a silent Duke stood watching.