This bit of fiction is something of a homecoming for me. For you see, in the mid 1990’s, I left New York City, my place of birth, and I now live in Miami. New York City will always be with me, in my behaviour, and make up a good portion of how I am for many more years to come.
I had no friends when I left the city, nor do I regret my leaving. For me, the city was nothing but people that seemed to live to disappoint and betray me. But there was the good with the bad, and I did have some fun times there as well.
Still, on with the fic.
Lucus carefully drove the armored truck through the city streets. He looked at all the humans and muttered under his breath. “Where are we?”
Archie just floated next to him. “This unit is not sure.”
Lucus thought about it for a while. ‘If the Saurians broke out of a dimensional prison…’ he then blinked. “We’re in another dimension!”
Archie intoned, “Shall this unit attempt a transfer of your funds into a local financial institution?”
Lucus leaned back once they had stopped at a red light, “I think we’ll need a place to stay first...” He looked over and saw a jewellery shop with a sign on it reading Gold Bought and Sold.
Lucus looked back at a couple of the drones he built to fight the Saurians with. “Archie pull us over… I ‘m going to make some quick cash.” With that he stood up and went to get his toolbox.
The man in the store wore a simple black suit, with a white shirt and dark green tie. He gaped a bit as a tall brown duck entered the store, then thought to himself. Well this is New York… weirder things have happened.
He then grinned a white toothy smile to the duck. “Hello there sir, how might I help you today?”
The duck walked over. “I’m Lucus, and newly arrived here. I need some money so I can get a place to stay.”
The man lost his smile, and thought ‘Great. Another would be thief.’
Lucus put his bag on table and pulled out some gold filaments, and a couple of blocks that looked like gold microchips, “Well what do you think?”
The man blinked, and picked up one of the microchips examining it, he then put it on a scale, and then scrapped of part for a acid test. “18 karats.. but I never saw jewellery like….”
Lucus shook his head, “They’re not jewellery. But you can melt them down and reuse them if you want. They’re parts from some robots I made, but no longer need.”
The man nodded and weighed the lot. “I can give you eight hundred for it all. It’s enough money to get a decent apartment, in Brooklyn maybe, where it’s cheaper.” The man then shook his head. ‘I must be crazy….’ He handed Lucus the cash, still shaking his head.
Lucus left, stopping to pick up a newspaper from a man on the corner.
As they drove down the street, Lucus sat looking through the newspaper, “Here’s one, large spacious studio apartment, will rent for six hundred a month, with option to buy, located in the old Brooklyn Navy Yards… where ever that is.”
Archie intoned, “This unit has tapped in to this planet’s GPS system. There is a street map available.”
Lucus nodded. “Okay, pull over again and let me make the phone call so I can get the address.”
***
About a hour later Archie parked the armored vehicle where he could, though no one really paid the vehicle, which was easily twice the size of a van, much mind.
A old man looked up at Lucus, and tapped his cane on the ground. “You know you have a beak?”
Lucus looked down at him. “Well, I said on the phone I looked unusual.”
The man adjusted his glasses, and looked back at the warehouse behind him. “Well, this is the place…The first floor is yours, but I warn ya, the other three are falling apart. No one can live in those legally.”
Lucus looked at the old brick structure, considering. “Alright, fine. How about this… I give you the six hundred cash, then the rest later for what you’re asking for the building.”
The man looked at him. “Fifteen grand?”
Lucus nodded. “Yes. I like my privacy. For well--” He flicked a finger over the end of his beak. “--obvious reasons.”
The old man just raised an eyebrow. “Well… sure sonny. Just don’t go playing any loud music, and bothering the neighbors, or I’ll kick ya out faster then you can say Jack Robinson.”
***
Lucus spent time refurbishing some of the old drones and had Archie program them with basic construction skills, so that they could remodel and rebuild the building. True to his word he bought the building, having Archie input his Puckworld funds in to a bank account, and making some investments via the internet. He also managed to find a store willing to sell him food and supplies and drop them off on his door step. He chose to wear a simple black shirt and pants, with black boots and gloves, while out wandering around the city, when he did feel the need to get out.
A few weeks later, he sat down in his chair and looked at the TV. “This city has a lot of crime in it.”
Archie floated near it, asking, “Maybe we should offer robots to this world to help?”
Lucus gestured to the TV. "No. Their tech level is too low, and I shudder to think what a planet like this would do with our technology." He looked at one scene on the TV of a car bombing in downtown Manhattan, then gaped. "Archie! Record that!"
Lucus watched the image of the burnt car on the screen, enhancing the image with his computer. “Archie, that car, does it look melted to you?”
Archie just intoned, “Edges are smooth and misshapen, suggesting that it was exposed to extreme heat.”
Lucus rubbed his beak. There was more, though. It was a concentrated area on the wreck, like a concentrated blast of heat. He dismissed the idea of a laser, because it would cut, not melt metal.
He remembered a rumor he heard while in the camps. The Saurians were heard to be testing out plasma weapons, if so…Maybe he landed in the same dimension as Dragaunus, and could have several questions answered.
Lucus stood up, retrieved his overcoat, and headed out to the scene.
***
The street was nearly empty at this time of night, it was almost 2am. He saw that they hadn’t towed the wreck yet, and made his way through the police tape to the car.
The inside was burned out, and looked rather normal. Then Lucus found the hole he saw on TV. It was near where the gas tank would be. Running a finger through the hole, he felt the smoothed sides. They where slightly lumpy, consistent with melted metal.
He heard some voices approaching and ran over to a nearby dumpster.
“I hate this stink’n city, there aren’t any ducks to beat.”
“Now Siege, that’s the brilliance of Lord Dragaunus’s plan. This city sees this as a car bombing, nothing more.”
“Then tell me this ya stink’n sorcerer. Why do we have to come back?”
Lucus peeked over and saw the two Saurians walking over to the wrecked car. He recognized them as Wraith and Siege, two of Draganous’s advisors and enforcers. Lucus quietly placed his puck launcher on to his cyber-arm, making the weapon’s armed light turn red , drawing power from his arm.
Siege picked up, and ripped free the section with the plasma hole in it. Wraith calmly said, “Because we can’t leave anything to clue the humans in…”
Lucus stood up and stepped out from behind the dumpster, his hands in the pockets of his overcoat. “Well , I’m afraid you already clued me in, Dino-breath.”
Wraith and Siege blinked as they saw the thin brown duck standing there, dressed all in black, with a black overcoat. Wraith groaned. “Not another duck…”
Siege then grinned, and pulled out his blaster. “Eat hot tychon, feather boy!”
Lucus leapt aside as tychon bolts hit the ground around him. He let the overcoat fall free then pointed his arm at Siege, blasting the Saurian’s blaster from his hand.
Wraith just moaned. “I just knew this would happen…”
Siege tightened the grip on the metal plate. “We got what we came for, lets blow!” With that they teleported away.
Lucus retrieved his overcoat, and picked up Siege’s discard blaster. He popped open the side, and noticed newer looking components. “Vipertronics. Interesting.” Lucus then walked away pulling out a cell phone, and hitting the auto dial. “Archie, see if there is a Vipertronics somewhere in the city. Get the address and ready my power suit.”
He stopped for a moment by a movie theater, and looked at the poster, comparing how he looked with the guy in it. “Nice look for a human. Sounds like a dumb movie though. The Matrix. Heh. Dumber name…”
***
Back at the Vipertronics Siege pounded his first in to a control panel, “Blasted ducks are here!”
Dragaunus just crossed his arms. “Are you sure it was a duck you saw?”
Wraith looked up at Dragaunus on the screen. “Yes my lord, it was a single duck. However my lord, it is a new duck, and I believe him to be alone.”
Dragaunus snorted. “Then if he interferes with us again, destroy him.”
Siege picked up a new blaster, and cocked back the handle. This one was a bit larger and more awkward then his old one. “Don’t worry m’lord, if he comes by, I’ll give him a case of heart burn he’ll never forget.”
***
Lucus flew his power armor suit over the city, weaving between the various buildings. ‘First I try to hide my stuff from the cops, now this… what next.. the native’s military will want my weapons?’ he thought to himself.
He landed on the roof of the warehouse in Bronx, and looked through a skylight. He saw a assembly line, a few drones, and Wraith supervising. ‘Looks like a large scale operation’, he thought. ‘Time to close those lizards down.’ He leapt up and crashed through the sky light, landing on one knee looking at the ground, with his rifle straight up.
Wraith gaped. “What in the name of the dark powers are you?”
Lucus looked up, and looked at Wraith through the duck-like faceplate of his helmet, the eyes glowing red. “Your worse nightmare, Saurian.” He then pointed his rifle at the assembly lines and fired several rounds of explosive pucks in to them.
“Not so fast, duck.”
Lucus turned and saw Siege with a larger awkward blaster. Siege fired, hitting him in the chest with a bolt of hot plasma, making him fall onto his jet pack.
Wraith just looked at the fallen duck. “That was two easy.”
Siege just grinned. “Then I’ll just...” as he walked up and pointed the blaster to Lucus’s head, “...finish the job.”
Lucus just grinned in his helmet. “Bad move, lizard breath.”
He kicked up with a metal boot between Siege’s legs making him yelp and drop the blaster. Lucus stood up and cocked back the rifle making it hum a low tone.
Wraith just moaned. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
Lucus then fired at them with his rifle set to rapid fire. Siege and Wraith ran behind a control panel, “He’s nuts! At least the others didn’t want to kill us!”
Wraith nodded. “Lets get out of here.” With that they teleported away.
Lucus felt the melted chest plate of his armor, and let out a sigh of relief, “At least it’s just armor there, but I’ll need local materials to repair the damage.”
Archie commed him. “Local police headed your way.”
Lucus quickly set some explosives to level the building and left, detonating them before the cops arrived.
***
Lucus waited a couple of days, then went to a local bar he knew to relax. The bar was in reality, a club known as The Bank. It was dimly lit, and the regulars looked weirder then Lucus did, so he fit right in.
He moved to a private table, and looked at his newspaper. A short dumpy man came over to him and asked, “Excuse me? But are you a Mighty Duck?”
Lucus quirked a brow. “Pardon?”
The man just looked at him. “A Mighty Duck. Part of that hockey team.”
Lucus looked back to his paper. “I don’t play hockey. Never did, never will.”
The man nodded, and walked away. Lucus saw in the sports section that there where pictures of these Mighty Ducks, so he looked.
He then gaped, and ran for home.
***
2 weeks later, Anaheim
The Greyhound bus pulled up near the Pond, and a figure in black overalls, and boots stepped out. Lucus picked up his large duffel bag and walked to the Pond and knocked on the door.
He saw Duke and Calista walking to the door. He then quickly ran his fingers through his head feathers and looked at them as they opened the door.
“Hi. I’m Lucus Drakestone Jr. Mind if I come in?”