The Mighty Ducks and all related characters are the property of Walt Disney Corporations. No copyright infringement is intended. Hi! This came to me at nine-thirty on the Fourth of July while I was watching the fireworks and I rushed home to write it so I could post it before the Fourth was officially over. Therefore, if you notice anything weird, it’s most likely because I typed this in an hour. PS All the fireworks described below are the ones I saw tonight. The finale was spectacular (to quote Mook). It was a bunch of fireworks that went off at once and formed the US flag! Okay, NOW on to the story! ________ Independence Day “You guys coming down to see the fireworks?” Wildwing glanced up from the novel he was reading. “Fireworks? What fireworks?” Phil Palmfeather stood in the doorway to the main room and gave him an exasperated look. The same exasperated look he gave them every time they asked about something he considered common sense. “The fireworks for the big Fourth of July celebration.” “Fourth of July?” “Right.” “What’s the Fourth of July?” Phil gave the ceiling one of his ‘Why me?’ looks. “Yes, Wildwing. The Fourth of July.” “I think I’ve heard of that,” Nosedive chimed in. He slipped off the headphones he’d been wearing - after Wildwing’s repeated comments about ‘heavy-metal racket.’ “When Mook and Thrash took me to the New Year’s celebration they had fireworks. And Mook told me that the Fourth of July was even better.” “She was right,” Phil said. “The Fourth is a major celebration. I can’t believe no one’s mentioned it before. Don’t you watch TV?” “We’ve been rather busy lately, Phil,” Wildwing felt compelled to point out. “We haven’t done much for the last two weeks but chase after Dragaunus.” “Well, then you deserve a break, don’t you?” Phil asked. “Even if it is only an hour or two.” “What is the Fourth of July?” Nosedive asked. “Mook didn’t say and I never bothered to ask.” “Listen, call the others in here so I only have to explain it once.” Wildwing complied. Nosedive listened to Phil grumble about ‘I’m a manager, not a history teacher.’ When the four other members of the team had gathered in the main room with them, tough, Phil seemed to relish being the center of attention. “The Fourth of July is a national holiday,” he explained. “Only for Americans. It’s our Independence Day.” “Independence Day?” Mallory interrupted. “Independence from what?” Phil glowered. “I’m getting to that. Now here’s the deal. Hundreds of years ago, America was colonized by settlers and immigrants from England. England treated America like a colony, and America paid taxes to England and obeyed English laws. “But over time America and England became very different. What was fair in England - which was an ocean away and generations ahead economically at the time - wasn’t very fair here. Besides, the American people had adjusted to the rough frontier life in America and were used to doing what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted and not having to answer to anyone. They began to protest English laws and taxes. “The English cooperated mostly, but the Americans wanted more. So one day, when England refused to grant them more liberties than they already had, several American individuals - don’t ask who. What do I look like, a history major? - got together and wrote up something called The Declaration of Independence and sent it to England. Basically it proclaimed that the American people wanted to be free and that they wanted it to be peaceful. “The problem was that England was making a lot of money off America, and that the number of people there, people who could be drafted into armies and navies, gave England strength. It also kept their enemies from gathering up that land and becoming stronger. So England ignored the Declaration. “With little enough choice left, the American people revolted. Militias sprang up, and farmers and fishermen and shippers all got together and got what weapons they had - mostly hunting rifles - waiting for England to retaliate. Which it did. “It took a long time, but the Americans won and England backed off leaving us to ourselves - and we’ve done a pretty darn good job if I do say so myself.” Phil stuck his chin out proudly. He was obviously waiting for them to say something, so Wildwing obediently replied, “Yes, you have.” Phil beamed. “Like I said. So anyway. The leaders of the revolution wrote the Constitution, which guarantees us certain rights that can’t be taken away. It also details legal and justice systems. Anyway, the reason we celebrate on the Fourth is because that’s when those leaders declared that England ruled us no longer and that the Constitution was law. And every year since, the Fourth has been celebrated across the country. So, we clear on this?” “Yes, Phil.” “So you coming?” Seeing the brief hesitation, and not giving them time to answer, he rushed on, “I really think it would mean a lot to the public. You know, showing up to support the holiday. It’s a pretty big deal.” “You said that already,” Wildwing pointed out. “What do you say guys? It sounds like it could be fun. And I’d like to see those…. Fireworks.” “Let me guess,” Phil said exasperated. “You don’t know what fireworks are?” They each shook their heads. “It could just be the wording,” Nosedive said thoughtfully. “We’ve run into a lot of that. Different words for the same things.” “Trust me. You’ll love them. So…?” Wildwing glanced at the others before responding. “All right. We’ll go.” “Great! Now move it. We’re late already. No way we’re gonna get good seats.” *** Wildwing examined the crowd of people spread out before them. “You weren’t kidding when you said this was a big deal, Phil.” “No kidding,” Phil grumbled. “Look at this crowd! Man, we’re gonna be so far back from the show that we’ll be lucky to see it!” An exaggeration, knowing Phil. The ‘fireworks’ were apparently going to take place over the water - leading Wildwing to wonder just how much was ‘fire’ and how much was ‘works’ - and easily hundreds of people had shown up to see them. They were crowded over the docks, the piers, the property along the water, even the roofs of buildings and homes overlooking the water. Wildwing could see boats out on the water, some filled with people, others holding only a few. All there for the show. Phil was right about one thing, though. Didn’t look like they were going to get any closer to the water than they already were. Which wasn’t close at all. “Hey, Nosedive!” Wildwing glanced at his brother, who was looking down toward the piers, searching for whoever had called his name. “Who’s that?” he asked. “Sounded like - Mook!” Nosedive waved. Wildwing saw her then. The petite human girl had somehow managed to get above the rest of the crowd and was waving at them. “Over here, guys!” she called. “We’ve got room!” “Come on,” Dive urged. He grabbed Wildwing with one hand and Phil with another, pulling both through the crowd. The rest of the team followed. They broke through the crowd until they reached the end of the pier. Then they saw how Mook had gotten above the crowd. She was sitting on Thrash’s shoulders. “I didn’t know you were coming!” she exclaimed as she leapt down. “We would’ve brought more soda and stuff.” “We didn’t know we were coming either,” Dive explained. “Last minute change of plans.” “You’ll love it,” Mook assured them all. “If you thought New Year’s was great, you should see this,” she told Dive. “The finale is spectacular.” Wildwing lifted an eyebrow. It had to be good if Mook had just said all that without using the word ‘like’ even once. “It’s starting,” Thrash called. “They’re setting up the barge.” The Ducks pulled back a bit, making sure that Thrash, Mook and Phil, being the shortest, got to the front. Nosedive and Tanya, being the shortest of the Ducks, also took advantage of this. Then the first of the fireworks went off. “Skylighters,” Mallory said elatedly. “I haven’t seen these in years.” They weren’t exactly like skylighters, Wildwing mused as he watched the display of lights spanning the sky before him. No surprise; it was another universe after all. And it wasn’t like he’d seen skylighters all that often, so he could be wrong. Either way, Mook was right. It was spectacular. Some were simply colored flashes of light, other were spiraling bundles of sparks, shooting across the dark sky like a shooting star. Some were white, others yellow, more still red and green and purple and pink. There were a few that reminded him of - what was it? - a weeping willow tree, as they exploded high above them, and left colored streamers behind them. Other were similar, but smaller, more like palm trees. Some exploded into circles of colored light with another burst of light in the center. Some were oval shaped. One left sparkling trails behind it, bringing to mind a sunflower, while another was startlingly like a Venus Fly Trap. One, that flew higher than most, exploded into white lights, which then exploded into bright purple lights which drifted down to touch the water. Another was bright green that lit the surrounding area. One was simply a shower of golden glitter. And all the while the thundering percussion of the skylighters - fireworks - exploding beat a uneven rhythm across the water. His thoughts drifted, as he remembered Phil’s explanation of the holiday and he saw the people around him, enjoying themselves as they stared in wonder at the brightly lit sky. With a twinge of pain in his heart he realized the similarities between their story, and his own. The humans - Americans at least - had fought off their unfair rulers. And while the English had not ruled with the hateful cruelty of Dragaunus, the Americans had still been denied the freedom they truly desired. The Americans had yearned for equality. They had won it, just as the Puckworlders had yearned for freedom from the Saurian overlords and won it. Only for the Americans it had happened hundreds of years ago. Wildwing tore his gaze from the colored sky for a moment and glanced at each of his teammates. Grin was watching the lights with his usual rapt attention, only the glint in his eyes giving away his excitement. Duke seemed to be totally immersed in the lights and colors and the thundering reports of the fire works. Mallory sat beside Mook at the end of the pier, dangling her feet over the edge, paying every bit as much attention as any of the humans. Tanya was examining the fireworks, explaining how they got each light to do whatever little bit of glory was it’s trick, as interested in how the skylighters worked as she was in the display they presented. From beside him Wildwing heard Dive’s quiet voice. “Hey Taunny? Later, ‘kay? Just… Go with it, for now.” Tanya blinked at him, then grinned and nodded, turning her attention back to the sky. Wildwing glanced down at his little brother and had to grin at the expression on Dive’s face. Let it never be said that the kid didn’t know how to enjoy himself. Dive watched the lights with a enthralled attention that most of the humans lacked. He seemed to notice Wildwing’s attention, for he met his brother’s gaze, shrugged and said only, “It’s sorta like us, you notice?” Wildwing nodded and threw an arm around his brother’s shoulders as they both turned back to the brilliant lights and colors decorating the sky. Yep. They had all won their freedom. And one day, they’d see their own world again, and their own independence day. ***