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 The only battle ever fought
is that between good and evil.
And the only battle ever won
will be the last one fought.
	- excerpt from The Ducaines

The Blood of Ancients

Part One: Revelations

Chapter One: The Battle

Had anyone been there to see it, the pulse of bluish-white light that heralded the sudden appearance of three young people in the middle of a blizzard would have been a wonderful sight to see.

However, no one was there to see it.

Except the travelers.

They were young; the oldest appeared to be in his early twenties, and the youngest, a young woman, couldn't have been more than seventeen. All three were dressed in blue and white body armor, although the girl's was less bulky, and carried some sort of weapons. A utility belt holding various devices, which - if one were there to see - could have been identified as medical scanners, hand-held radios and tools of various purposes was worn by each. They did not appear to be out in the mountains for a hike.

The oldest male shielded his eyes against the pounding winds and turned to his companions. He was tall, at least 6'3 with short blond hair and a powerful build. His companions in contrast were slimmer, more lithe. The second male was only an inch or two shorter, with blond hair that fell across his eyes and a swimmer's build. The female was easily half a foot shorter with long brown hair, which the wind whipped about her face and shoulders.

"You know what we have to do?" The older one asked. The other two nodded.

"Okay, let's head out. And may the stars forgive us."

Together, they headed toward Anaheim.

Duke cheered as Grin scored another goal against their opponents. "All right!" He slapped Nosedive's hand in a high five. "Ducks Rule!"

The crowd in the stadium echoed his shout. Ah, Duke thought. Nothing boosts the morale like a home game.

Grin and the other center squared off in the center of the court. The referee held the puck over the center line. But that's as far as he got as a vicious explosion suddenly rocked the stadium.

"What the-?!" Mallory stared. "That came from the visitor's locker rooms!" She skated over, ignoring the panicked screams from the crowd. She didn't go down, past experience had taught her that the cops wouldn't much appreciate it when they finally arrived, but she could see the smoke drifting out onto the rink. "I hope there's no fire."

Nosedive, Duke and Grin skated over to join her. "Does it look bad?" Nosedive asked.

"I can't see much," Mallory replied. "Just a lot of smoke."

"I hope there isn't a fire," Duke said.

Wildwing came up. "Everyone okay?" They all nodded. "Good. The cops and firefighters are on their way. This should all be wrapped up soon." He sighed and looked out over the audience. "This is going to be a public relations nightmare," he muttered. "I hope no one gets trampled."

"Where's Tanya?" Mallory asked.

"She's dealing with the other team's coach. He's throwing a fit. Give him a couple of minutes and he'll start blaming this all on us."

Nosedive shrugged. "Typical."

"Why would somebody bomb the locker room during a game?" Mallory asked. "If they wanted to kill anybody they should have gotten it before the game, or after."

"Maybe it was just a threat," Nosedive suggested. "You know. Some crazed fan or something. Although it's hard to imagine the Comets having any fans to begin with, let alone crazed ones."

Wildwing nodded. "Nosedive has a point. This attack does seemed to be aimed at the other team. I hadn't even considered that."

"So much weird stuff happens around here that's aimed at us," Duke said, "that when something else weird happens we immediately assume it involves us. But I suppose strange things do happen to other people every now and then."

"Okay, out of the way!" The Ducks looked off to the side. Stadium security was rushing through the crowd toward the locker room. "Looks like the cavalry's here," Grin said.

"Let's go," Wildwing said. "There's nothing we can do here." The others followed him back across the ice, where Tanya was still talking with the Comets' coach.

And a young woman with long brown hair watched them go.

"The locker room!" The oldest of the two men paced the room, frustration in every step. "We've been expecting an attack from every direction in every area at everyone, but I never even considered the locker room!"

"And worse," the younger man added, "it wasn't even theirlocker room."

"This is serious, Canard."

"So am I. We did plan for practically everything. One oversight slipped passed us. It was foolish not to expect it, I admit, but we were lucky, no one died, and we'll be better prepared next time," Canard pointed out. The second man scowled at him, although it was doubtful Canard saw him, buried as he was in a thick textbook.

"We were careless."

"We couldn't have known Dragaunus would strike so soon, Drake." The young woman sat before a computer, typing at a speed that most people wouldn't even attempt. It didn't seem she was paying any particular attention to the argument between her two companions until now.

"That's no excuse, Tremaine," Drake sighed. "We knew what he'd be doing, even if we didn't know the particulars. They apparently screwed this up, no one was hurt, but we should have been better prepared. We can't afford to let something like this happen again. You know the consequences if we fail."

"Canard, deal with your brother," Tremaine sighed. "I've almost found what I'm looking for and I don't have the time to listen to him be morbid."

Canard snickered and Drake sighed. "Would you two at least attempt to be serious?"

"I'm very serious, Drake," Canard said. "I have no desire whatsoever to fail at this. But Tremaine's right. We all know we made a mistake. Sitting here griping about it's not going to help any."

Drake sighed again. "I'm not griping."

"No, you're sighing."

"What's our next step?" Tremaine interrupted. "We need a plan."

Canard closed the book with a sharp snap. "I've been tracking Dragaunus ever since we got here. He's been moving closer and closer to Anaheim with every day." He took a pushpin from the desk and rolled it idly between his fingers while he talked. "Whatever he's up to it's going to happen soon." He aimed for a large map of California. "He's right about there." He threw the pin.

Drake frowned. The pin was embedded in the map dangerously close to Anaheim. "That's only twenty or thirty miles out of the city. Do you have an exact location?"

Canard shook his head. "I'm no good at precision, bro, especially over such a distance. You know that. We can sick Tre on it later if you want exactness."

"I do."

"Then I will," Tremaine said absently. "Meanwhile, where are the others?"

Canard grabbed a few more pins. "Wildwing, Tanya, Grin and Mallory are all at home." Four pins hit the map at the same spot. "Duke and Nosedive are, if you can believe this, at an arcade a couple of blocks away." Two more pins hit the map. "Phil is at home, although I doubt he'll be a target." Another pin. "Same for Mook and Thrash. Mook and Thrash. What were they thinking?" Two more pins. "And Shorty is at the station."

"Klegghorn."

"Whatever. And the Other, as you all so quaintly call him, is about there." Another pin. "Inside Anaheim. But according to my information he always was, so that shouldn't be too big a deal." Canard met his brother's gaze. "Fair warning, bro. I'm at my limit here. If one more player enters this arena, I won't have the ability to deal with them."

"No sweat, kid. No one expects you to be perfect. We can handle it." Drake studied the map. "Dragaunus is moving faster than I'd thought he would. We're going to have to adjust accordingly."

"Are you sure, Drake?" Tremaine looked away from the computer screen. "If we push this too fast there's a very good chance neither of them will survive." She frowned slightly, but Drake knew it wasn't at him. "We can't afford to lose them. Not after all this. Personal concerns aside, the planet depends on this mission being a success."

"How's that for incentive?" Canard asked softly.

The three regarded each other in silence for a long moment. "Tomorrow," Drake said finally.

"Excuse me. May I have a word?"

Wildwing looked up and saw a young woman standing at the edge of the ice. Gesturing to Mallory that he would be right back, he skated over to join her. "Can I help you?"

"If you can't no one can. My name is Tremaine Calex."

Wildwing shook her hand, thoughtfully. Something about this kid was familiar... "We'd be happy to help you if you're in trouble."

Tremaine smiled thoughtfully. "Yes. I'd definitely say I'm in trouble."

Wildwing blinked. That was not exactly the response he'd been expecting. But before he could say anything the girl continued. "But that's not why I'm here. I have reason to believe I may be able to help you with some trouble that's going to come up in a couple weeks."

"'Going to come up'?" Wildwing asked. "What do you mean? If you know something-"

"I assure you, Wildwing, my last intention is to place you and yours in any harm." Tremaine met his gaze squarely. He saw no trickery or nervousness in her eyes. "Stay here. I'll get the others and we can talk about this."

Tremaine watched him go. That hadn't been as bad as she had feared. He was suspicious, but then Wildwing always had been a bit paranoid. If she could just convince him to help her the others would follow. And she had time to prepare them for the battle that was to come.

No pressure, she thought wryly. None at all. Only the fate of the world riding on my shoulders.

Less than twenty minutes later Wildwing, his five teammates and Tremaine were gathered together around a table at the Mighty Ducks HQ. Tremaine was mildly impressed. She'd known that they'd had to make do with what they could salvage from their ship and what they could find here on Earth, but she'd never imagined that Tanya would have been able to get set up so well in such a short amount of time. "Impressive set-up," she murmured. "Very nice. I'd hate to see your power bill though, even with the fusion generator. Have you ever considered supplementing the power supply with solar energy?"

Tanya nodded. "I've been working on a way to collect the solar energy for a while now, but the technology on this planet hasn't done much in that area yet, so I pretty much have to build it all from spare parts and what I remember of the technology of our home."

"Puckworld, right?" She smiled slightly at the alarmed look that crossed Wildwing's face. "You're impossible, you know that?" she asked fondly. "I already promised that I meant you no harm, Wild. I've just done my homework to see what kind of people I'm getting mixed up with." Not quite the truth, but close enough.

"Why exactly, are you 'getting mixed up' with us?" Mallory asked. The young redhead woman leaned forward slightly as she studied Tremaine.

Tremaine regarded her thoughtfully. So Mallory's paranoid too, huh? I guess I didn't do my homework that well after all. Out loud all she said was, "What do you know about the space/time continuum?"

Four blank stares met her gaze. Only Tanya and Nosedive seemed to have any idea what she was talking about - due in part, she suspected wryly, to a multitude of late-night sci-fi movies - and she doubted either of them was taking her seriously. "It's like this," she said. "Imagine a straight line. That's the time line. Follow?" They nodded and she continued. "Suppose someone from the far end of the timeline went back to the beginning of the timeline." She sketched a pattern on the table with her fingers as she spoke. "That in and of itself, is no big deal." She tapped the imaginary line at the beginning. "But if that person changed something at the beginning of the line, a battle, an important governmental decision, if he killed someone, then that would create a fissure of sorts that would cause the timeline to shear off in a new direction." With her fingers she drew a new line, slanting down from the first, then running parallel to it. "In this new timeline everything before the change would be exactly the same, no differences whatsoever. Even after the change there may be no visible differences except for a few people, a few situations, unless the change was a nuclear war or something equally drastic. But eventually, this timeline would evolve into something else, and over time, the differences could become so drastic that there is no similarities at all between the two timelines. You follow?" She looked up from her imaginary sketches.

"Think Back to the Future 2," Nosedive said softly.

"Exactly," Tremaine threw him a quick smile and turned her attention to Wildwing. "Dragaunus has found a way to go back to the beginning of the timeline and change it. He wants to create a new timeline where he can shape the world under his hand, to his specifications."

"Where is he going?" Wildwing asked. "What is he going to change?"

Tremaine shook her head. "I can't help you there, Wild. I came here to warn you, and - if you will let me - be a watcher of sorts. A firespotter for lack of a better term. You see, I've been trained for this sort of thing. I can spot the fissures as they occur. Please, don't ask me to explain, I'm not sure I can. But if you will have me, I will stay here and help you prepare for Dragaunus' next move."

She didn't expect and immediate answer and she wasn't disappointed. "This is all very interesting," Wildwing said. "But what assurances do we have that you are who you say you are?"

"None," Tremaine admitted. "There's no way for you to check my story because as far as the government is concerned, I don't exist. There aren't any birth certificates or marriage licenses for you to check. My fingerprints aren't registered, my name won't check out with the authorities. I do have two cousins who'll vouch for me, but there's no way of proving who they are either. Basically, all you have is my word. And I'm more than willing to give it." A glance around the table revealed what she had expected. Dive, Tanya and Grin seemed willing enough to trust her - to a degree at least. Dive looked a little suspicious, but there was no way around that. Training or no, he'd be able to tell there was more to her than met the eye. She'd have to be especially careful around him. Wildwing, Mallory and Duke looked a little more dubious, each for their own reasons, but there was no sign that they suspected her as anything more than one of Dragaunus' flunkies. I just may live through this yet.

"Do you have someplace to stay while you're in Anaheim," Wildwing asked suddenly.

Tremaine shook her head. "No."

"In that case, we'll set you up here." He ignored a questioning look from Mallory and continued. "I'm not sure about this time-line thing, but I'm willing to hear you out. And besides, it's not safe out on the streets." He stood, making it clear that if anyone wanted to say anything, they could say it later. "Tanya, why don't you show Ms. Calex to one of the spare rooms? It's getting late. We can finish our discussion tomorrow."

Tremaine stood and followed Tanya out of the room and down the hall. "Here you go," Tanya said brightly, leading Tremaine into a medium sized room furnished with a double bed and a bureau. "There are blankets and sheets in the closet. You want a hand making the bed?"

"Yes, thank you. If you're not busy." Tanya shook her head and pulled a set of sheets out of the closet. Tossing one end to Tremaine she began to make her side of the bed.

Tremaine followed her lead, not particularly caring at this point if she had to sleep in the alley. She tucked the sheets on auto-pilot, not really paying attention to what she was doing. Her mind was busy with other tasks.

She calmed herself, forcing her mind to concentrate on the woman across from her. Gently, slowly she reached out, searching the other woman's thoughts. Memories and images flooded through her, her mind instinctively sorting through them, searching for something she could use. But if Tanya knew anything about what was happening, she was hiding it very well.

Tremaine pulled away, restoring Tanya's privacy. Tanya hadn't seemed to notice anything was wrong, she probably hadn't sensed the gentle probe. Tremaine hoped the others would be as easy to search.

They finished with the sheets and Tanya spread the blankets out. "If you'd like, I can scrounge some clothes for you. Or else get the stuff you're wearing now cleaned. It doesn't look like it'll be too comfortable to sleep in anyway."

Tremaine smiled her thanks, accepted Tanya's offer. Half an hour later, curled beneath the warm covers and warm in the sweatpants and t-shirt Tanya had found for her, Tremaine closed her eyes to what she had done today, and what she would be forced to do again.

"I don't understand. Are you saying you trust her?" Mallory asked.

Wildwing sighed. He'd expected someone to challenge his decision to let Tremaine Calex stay, but he'd thought they'd wait more than five seconds after the door shut behind her. "No, Mallory, I don't trust her. The opposite, in fact. We have no way of knowing what she's here for or what her intentions are toward us. And frankly, I'm finding all that time travel stuff hard to swallow. But if she knows something about a way to stop Dragaunus we need her on our side."

Duke sighed. "Wildwing's right, Mal. I don't like it very much, but we don't have much of a choice. The stuff this kid was talking about - changing history and everything - could be disastrous if Dragaunus manages to pull it off. Think about it. He could go back in time and make sure we never chase him off Puckworld. He could keep us from escaping from the dimensional limbo. I can't count the number of times he's been in a position to kill one or all of us. Can we risk him changing all that? Aside from the fact that I'm not that anxious to see any of us die, there's always the fact that he could conquer the world with that kind of power. We've spent too long trying to keep that from happening to just sit back now. No matter what our reservations are about this kid, we have to take the chance that she might be telling us the truth."

Grin nodded. "Only through perseverance may truth be found." Taking in the blank gazes that greeted this pronouncement he sighed and elaborated: "I agree with Duke."

Wildwing shook his head. "Right. So, Dive? We haven't heard from you yet."

His little brother gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Duke's right. We really can't afford to take the chance."

Wildwing knew there was more to it than that. "But..."

Dive smiled. "But..." he agreed. "I really can't explain it, but there's something about her I just don't... She's not... She's hiding something, Wild. I can feel it."

"Stars help me, but I have to agree with him," Mallory said. "There has to be more to it than this. How did she get inside the Pond without us noticing? The alarms were all on. We should have known about her the second she got within fifty feet of the building, but I checked the security tapes, and Wildwing, there's no sign of her anywhere. How could she do that? Dive and Duke are the only ones who've ever managed to get through our security and they had access codes."

"You've all made a good point," Wildwing conceded. "I agree that we can't afford to trust her. But I agree with Duke that we can't afford not to, either. For now, she'll stay here. We'll keep an eye on her around the clock, and I'll make a point of all off-limits areas. Right now, that's the only course I see." He stood. "We'll just have to keep on our guard."

Oh, now this was just too cute.

Tremaine smiled at the scene before her as she entered the main room. It was early Saturday morning, almost a week after she had come to the Pond to offer her assistance against Dragaunus. In that time she'd thought she'd come to get to know the Ducks fairly well, but she had not expected what she was seeing.

Mallory, Nosedive and Duke were sitting on the floor of the main room, talking softly, probably hoping not to wake anyone. Every now and then a laugh would escape one of them. And they seemed to be playing with something...

A kitten. A little grey kitten. Tremaine hid the smile quickly and leaned against the doorway watching these three without their constant masks, seeing them as they really were. It was... enlightening.

Duke looked up and saw her. "Morning, Tremaine. How're you doing?"

"I'm fine." Mallory almost jumped when she heard Tremaine's voice. The hardened military officer- turned-revolutionary-turned-professional-hockey-player may have been willing to let down her guard with her teammates, even ones she disagreed with as much as Duke and Dive, but she was constantly on her guard around strangers. That included Tremaine.

Tremaine was determined not to let it get to her. "Where'd you get the kitten? I'm positive there wasn't one around here yesterday."

"Mallory found her in the alley," Duke explained.

Tremaine gave Mallory a surprised glance. The woman was nice enough, but Tremaine hadn't seen her as the type to rescue stray animals, not at this point in her life at least. "She was cold," Mallory said defensively. "And the poor thing didn't look like she'd eaten in a week. I wasn't going to leave her there to starve."

"Well, of course not," Tremaine agreed. "May I hold her?"

Dive nodded and slid over, gesturing for her to join them on the floor. She did. Sitting cross-legged between Dive and Duke she welcomed the small kitten into her arms. "Well, hello, honey," she crooned softly. "How are you? What is a pretty little girl like you doing out in the cold, hmmm?" She rubbed the fur on top of the animal's head and was delighted to hear a soft purring in reply. "Are you going to keep her?"

"I don't think Wildwing would go for it," Mallory said.

"I don't know," Dive objected. "Wild's always been a bit of a soft heart."

"Has to be to put up with you for seventeen years," Mallory interjected.

Dive aimed a glare of mock-anger in her direction, but didn't take the teasing jab to heart. "He had a couple of pets back when we were kids, especially after we stopped moving around. He just might go for it. That is," he added, "if we even decide to do this."

"Do it," Tremaine encouraged with a slight grin. "I think it'll work out fine." She handed the kitten back to Dive. "What are you going to call her?"

Three blank gazes were exchanged around her. "Oh, come on," Tremaine laughed. "How hard can it be to pick a name for a kitten?"

"What's a good name for a pet?" Duke asked.

"You never had one?" Dive asked.

"Closest thing I ever had to a pet was my cousin, Dalaine."

"I am not naming my cat after Duke's crazy cousin," Mallory objected. "She needs a name, not a complex."

"Crazy?"

"Your cat?" Dive interjected.

"What's your idea then?"

"How should I know? We don't have cats on Puckworld."

"Oh, some excuse!"

Dive shook his head at his two companions. "There's a comic book," he interrupted calmly, "and one of the main characters is a girl named Shadowcat."

Mallory frowned first at him, then at the kitten he still held. "Shadowcat."

"I like it," Duke offered.

"Yeah, I guess," Mallory conceded. "It kinda fits. I mean, she's grey, so the shadow part is right."

Dive lifted the kitten until they were face to face. "What do you think? Shadowcat? Is that a good name?"

Shadowcat mewed in his face.

Dive laughed. "It's unanimous, then."

"All right," Mallory smiled at the sight and stood. "But you get to tell your brother."

Dive grimaced and Tremaine laughed. "I was just going to make some breakfast," she said. "Have you all eaten yet?"

They hadn't so they all joined her in the kitchen. Duke and Mallory played with Shadowcat while Dive and Tremaine started the bacon and eggs. Tre breathed deeply, wondering when she had last had bacon. Drake was a stickler for health, breakfast when he was around was usually fruits and fiber. And unbelievably boring. But the Ducks, despite Wildwing's constant attempts to reform them, were less concerned about fat content and calories and more concerned with taste.

In the back of her mind she felt the others beginning to wake up, as the noise from the kitchen and the smell of bacon and coffee finally reached them. She was a little surprised to realize that Wildwing was still asleep, he was usually the first one awake. He must have been up later than she'd thought last night. She wondered what he did all that time. He hardly seemed the type to enjoy the Late Night Movie Matinee.

She scooped the scrambled eggs into a bowl and passed them to Dive who set them on a table. The youngest Duck still didn't trust her, even less than Mallory did, but he was better at hiding it. Tremaine knew why he suspected her, but it still drove her crazy that for all her powers, all her training, her telepathy was useless against him. If he suddenly decided she was a risk she wouldn't have any warning. And she knew that the others would listen to him, they already were. They'd noticed his unease around her and Wildwing especially was watching her a little more carefully. And she hadn't been left alone with less than two of them since that first night, when Tanya helped her get set up. For all their teasing she'd seen that all of them, even Mallory, valued their younger teammate. They'd listen if he said she wasn't trustworthy. They might not admit that they were taking his advice, but they would. And that would make it virtually impossible for her to do what needed to be done. So she needed to stay on Dive's good side, try to keep him from finding out who she was and what she was doing until it was time for them to know.

In the meantime, she needed a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese.

The others trickled into the kitchen slowly, in varying stages of wakefulness, perking up a bit as the coffee and food hit their systems. She watched with amusement as Dive calmly dumped the small kitten onto Wildwing's lap, but the team leader simply stroked the kitten's fur and gave his team a look that clearly said 'What am I going to do with you?' It seemed the team had a new pet.

Tremaine started as a sudden alarm sounded throughout the building. She jumped to her feet, nearly spilling her breakfast to the floor. Wildwing and the others were already up and running. Tremaine stared at Grin, the only person left in the room beside herself. He had obviously stayed behind to watch her. "What happened?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Grin said calmly. "If it requires either of our attention, they will let us know." He stood and went over to the counter. "Would you like some more coffee?"

"No, thank you." Tremaine stared into her still half full cup. Something was happening, she could feel it. She could sense Dragaunus' presence, far too close for comfort. But there was something wrong about it... She frowned suddenly. Why hadn't Drake and Canard warned her? Instantly worried for her cousins' safety she reached out to them mentally. <Drake? Canard? What's happening?>

<Trouble, cuz.> Canard's normally easy tone was now filled with tension and worry. <Dragaunus is on the move. Near as I can tell, he's heading right for you guys.>

<Great.> Tremaine stood, on the pretense of clearing her plate. <Is it Dragaunus? Or the Other?>

<There's a difference? I can't tell.>

<They're both gone, Tre. Just all of a sudden. Everything was normal, and then they both disappeared. Them, the raptor, the crew. Then a Raptor starts heading in your direction and I sense Dragaunus on board, but I don't know which one. And I can't find the other one.> Canard sounded frustrated. <I'm not very strong in the power, Tre. Nowhere near as strong as Dragaunus. If he was blocking me, I'd never know it.>

<What about the Other?> Tremaine asked. <He shouldn't know how to use the power yet. Can't you track him?>

<Sure. As soon as you read Nosedive's mind.>

Tremaine scowled at the dish washer as she loaded her plate. Canard had a point, much as she disliked it. Untrained or not, the Other wouldn't be any easier to track or read than Dive had proven to be. <What can we do?>

<Stop them.> Canard's reply was succinct and too accurate. <Wildwing agreed to let you help. We can only help he'll trust you enough to take it now that the time has come. Drake says good luck. You know we'll be watching your back.>

<Thanks, cuz.> Tremaine faced Grin and met his gaze squarely. For an instant he looked entirely too knowledgeable and she unconsciously began to shield her thoughts before common sense kicked in. He was perceptive, but he didn't have the power. "I need to talk to Wildwing. Now."

Grin nodded and led her to the Ready Room.

Tremaine fretted over what she would say the entire walk down to the Ready Room. But to her surprise, when she arrived she knew exactly what to say, and how to say it.

"This is what I was warning you about," Tremaine said calmly, meeting Wildwing's gaze head on. "Dragaunus is beginning to put his plan into action."

A sudden understanding reached Wildwing's eyes and with it, accusation. "You weren't telling us the whole truth, were you? Dragaunus isn't going back in time. He already is back in time. And so are you."

Tremaine ignored the startled reactions of the other ducks, the surprise on their faces. The increased suspicion that came with the knowledge that she had deceived them. "Precisely. I and two companions followed Dragaunus here, hoping to stop him from completing whatever plans he had. I'm afraid we won't be completely successful." She hesitated a moment, debating whether or not she ought to tell them anything further. "Dragaunus has some...knowledge that I believe he will give, or already has given to his younger self, whom we call the Other by the way. If the younger Dragaunus has this knowledge, this information, it could upset the balance of the space time continuum." She examined the monitors of Drake One showing Dragaunus' position. "If the Other learns too much," she said softly, "about what is to come, he could very conceivably destroy you. For example, battles not yet fought. He could learn from his older self, just where and when you will attack, how you will fight, what strategy you will use. He could know where you will be before you know you will be there. And the technology he could gain would give him an advantage over you that would be almost impossible to combat."

"What if Dragaun-the Other has already gained this technology? This knowledge?" Mallory asked.

Tremaine sighed and looked defeated. "Then I will teach you what you need to know."

"Wouldn't that upset the space-time continuum as well?" Duke asked.

"No," Nosedive said, looking at her with sudden awareness. "If the Other knows what will happen, he can change the future, or past as the case may be, and will change the future. Does anyone here honestly doubt he'd do anything to get to us?" No one disagreed with him and he continued. "As soon as Dragaunus came back here he changed history, and with every move he makes, every action he takes, every word he tells his younger self, he just makes the change greater. If Dragaunus does indeed know the future, the future is no longer valid, not for him at any rate, because he knows just what to do to change it. But we won't know that, because we don't have the knowledge Dragaunus will. Or does. Therefore, by telling us the same information Dragaunus was given, the future is no longer valid for us either. We'll know what to expect and avoid, to a degree at least." Dive shook his head slightly. "I'm not doing a very good job of getting this across."

"It makes sense, what you're saying," Mallory said. "Since we'll know what happens, we won't do it, Dragaunus won't know what to expect any more, and all his information will be useless."

"Exactly." Nosedive looked at Tremaine. "But there's one thing I don't get. According to popular theory, which must be pretty close to accurate, since I've gotten this far, as soon as Dragaunus came back in time the future began to change. You said so yourself. So if the future is already changed, how would that knowledge be useful to him?"

"You are pretty accurate," Tremaine told him. "And you've pretty much gotten it. But there are certain events that are almost destined to happen, there's practically no avoiding them. For instance, in every possible version of the time-line I've seen, one of you is lost in the dimensional limbo. Not always Canard, but someone. And Phil and Klegghorn are constants, also. And a few other things you don't know about yet. Those basic events will remain basically unchanged, giving Dragaunus room to strike."

"He'd have to know what those constants were, though," Mallory argued. "And how could he?"

"They same way I could," Tremaine said sadly. "And better."

"How do you know what they are?" Wildwing asked.

Tremaine shook her head. "That, Son of Ancients, is something you'll have to discover on your own."

He would have asked, was going to ask, just what that was supposed to mean when Tanya interrupted. "All this is well and good," she said, "but it won't matter what she does or doesn't tell us if we let Dragaunus keep doing whatever he's doing. In case you hadn't noticed, that's a scientific laboratory he's ransacking. Who knows what he could be getting out of that place?"

Tremaine gave her a rueful smile. She knew very well what Dragaunus was up to, whichever one it was. And she knew that Tanya was right. He couldn't be allowed to continue. "I will accompany you, Wildwing, if you will allow it." She sensed the doubt he felt toward her, magnified a hundredfold now that he knew the truth, or some of it anyway, but she also sensed that he wanted to trust her, to have something to battle this new threat with. He broke the gaze between them, turning his gaze only so slightly toward the others and her eyes widened. The air practically pulsed with the power, washing around her with a nearly electric feeling. Unbelievable, the amount of power in this room, more than she could ever hold. And all of it used without knowledge, without effort, without training. She saw Nosedive catch his brother's eye and nod slightly. And suddenly she could sense him, that he trusted her now, without knowing why, and that he was telling Wildwing as much, with both that slight nod, and with the power. If he could harness that he'd be more than powerful enough to handle that which would come. But untrained as he was he would surely fall, and he would need time and guidance to train, more than she could offer. For the first time she truly began to believe that Kirin had been right, that they were going to fail, because she knew that she could not do what she had to do.

But that was enough self pity. More than enough. Wildwing had decided to trust her. Even without the power she could see it on his face. Was that due to her words, Nosedive's show of trust, or the subtle influencing of the power that filled the room? And if the latter, what power? Hers? She knew her own shortcomings. It was very likely that she was influencing him unconsciously. She'd done that before, without intending to. Canard still teased her about the day she made the professor burn his planbook and promise them no homework because she'd had a particularly vivid daydream of just that happening. It had been a flight of fancy, taking less time for her to think than it took her to remember it now, but the effects had been there. And she had wanted Wildwing to allow her to help. But it could just as easily have been Dive's power, unknown and beyond his control, yet still used - even if only in the most basic form - taking the truth from her emotions if not her thoughts, and then conveying that information to Wildwing, through the same technique.

Or Wildwing could have just said, 'What the hell, let's do it', and decided to give me the benefit of the doubt, Tremaine mused darkly. This is getting tiresome.

"I'll allow it," Wildwing said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "But when this is over, I want the truth."

"When this is over you won't need the truth anymore." Tremaine didn't really see him, her eyes were on him, but her mind was elsewhere, trying to determine just how much she could now sense Nosedive. Not much as it turned out. After that first moment of trust he had rebuilt the barriers between himself and the rest of the world. And he never knew what it was he did. Amazing. "I will tell you the truth though, I swear it. I did not come all this way to see you die."

No. That was the last thing she had come here for. And yet, it may be all she could do.

Dragaunus was getting impatient.

He'd raided this laboratory almost fifteen minutes ago and there was still no sign of those accursed Ducks. They had what they'd come for and he'd sent Wraith back to the Raptor with the chemicals and equipment they'd stolen. Siege and Chameleon were busy trashing the place. He watched the enjoyment they took in this task with vague contempt. No finesse at all. What he wouldn't give for a couple of lackeys with brains...

He growled and his tail lashed at the air. He'd been waiting two months for this. Two months. This was his chance to test the Ducks, to finally defeat them! And they hadn't even shown up!

He'd been warned about going against the time line. But he'd been waiting a year to get at these rebellious upstarts and hadn't wanted to put off his victory any longer than necessary. So he'd sent Siege and Chameleon to bomb the Pond, but they hadn't been able to get even such a simple task right. And now... This looked to be shaping up to be nothing more than a total waste of his time. If Wildwing and the others didn't show up in five minutes he was leaving.

He was inordinately pleased when he spotted the Aerowing approaching.

"They're here," he said shortly. Siege and Chameleon ceased their wanton destruction and joined him. Where the wall of the laboratory had once stood there was now a rather large hole in the side of the building. Dragaunus stood right at the edge. An inch or two forward and he'd step over the edge of the building.

He watched them as they exited the Aerowing and stood below him, facing him. Wildwing stood at the head of the group, wearing the Mask of Ducaine. Dragaunus allowed a leer of pure predatory anticipation to cross his face. The Mask would do them no good this time. They would know defeat when he was through with them. They would know pain when he was through with them.

Oh yes. They would know pain.

Wildwing was saying something, Dragaunus wasn't paying him any real attention. A young human girl grabbed Wildwing's arm and leaned close to say something. Dragaunus growled. He recognized this child. Tremaine. He'd been warned that she may come after him and try to stop him. He'd also been warned that she would be difficult to stop once she got going.

Well then, he'd just have to stop her before she got going, wouldn't he?

Dragaunus smiled. This was going to be fun.

With something less than a conscious thought he reached out, his mind searching out the mind of the young woman beneath him. He found her and skimmed the surface of her thoughts. Oh, this was rich. She'd brought the Ducks here, and hadn't even told them what they would be facing! This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel! Whatever that meant.

There was something else, though. Dragaunus frowned and burroughed deeper into her thoughts. She was hiding something... Tremaine must have sensed him now, he felt her begin to shield her thoughts from him, the information he sought slipping away. He resisted the urge to laugh. This child had the power, but compared to him she might as well not have. With one simple move he shielded her, making it virtually impossible for her to use her powers. He felt a flash of startlement from her before he leapt from the building to land on his feet, ten stories below. "Hello," he growled. "I've been waiting for you to get here." He swept his gaze over each of them, and paused when he reached Tremaine. "Trying to warn them about me, hmmm? We can't have that, now can we?" He gestured at her and she twisted, as if struck. The force he struck her with was sufficient to knock her to the ground. "He warned me you'd come. He warned me that I'd need to deal with you." He gestured again, and Tremaine rose off the ground, like a puppet on a string. She struggled against her bonds, unsuccessfully. "From what he's told me, I gather that I'm going to enjoy killing you."

"I don't think so, Dragaunus," Wildwing said. "Let her go."

Dragaunus laughed. A true, deep, heartfelt laugh. "Oh you fool," Dragaunus finally said. "You truly have no idea do you?" He pointed at Tremaine. "She has told you nothing. Nothing! She has recruited you into a battle in which you are overpowered and outskilled, a battle that will, I promise you this, lead to your deaths, and she hasn't even bothered to tell you why aside from some babbling about the space-time continuum! Makes you wonder whose side she's on, doesn't it?" He leered at the young woman. "I must admit, I could use someone like you on my team."

She didn't reply out loud, Dragaunus held her in a tight telekinetic grip, making speech difficult, but she sent such a feeling of hatred and disgust at him that there could be no doubt what her feelings were regarding the situation.

"Your choice," Dragaunus shrugged. "Kirin did warn me that you'd be difficult."

Kirin?! Tremaine stared at him. What was he saying?

"Oh, yes. Kirin, you're old friend. Tell me, child, who do you think warned my future self that you would be coming?" Dragaunus shook his head. "Foolish child, don't you know by now that you can't trust everyone?"

Why? Tremaine thought furiously. Why would she do this to us? She couldn't use her powers, he had blocked her from her powers too well for that, but if he had even the slightest power, and half a brain, he would be scanning her thoughts and would know what she asked.

<Why do you think, child?> he replied scoffingly. <Everyone has their price. Young Kirin's just wasn't very high.>

What did you promise her?

<Wealth, power. What more could she want?> One arm snaked out suddenly, palm up in the universal gesture for 'Stop'. "No, no, no, my little duckies. We can't have any of that, now can we?" The six ducks froze in their tracks a few feet away. "Trying to attack me while me back was turned? How rude." Five of the Ducks were forced to the ground. Wildwing, Dragaunus kept where he was. "Well, isn't this pleasant?" he asked, false innocence written on every feature. "I've been waiting for this moment for more than a year. And now, now I have the power to destroy you with a thought."

Nosedive grinned. "So just get that thinking thing down pat and in another year or so you'll have us right where you want us."

Dragaunus growled, and Nosedive was suddenly enveloped in a flash of light. He didn't scream or cry out, but Tremaine saw him writhe in pain before the light vanished.

Dragaunus stared. "How-" He turned on Tremaine, anger flaring in his eyes. "I underestimated you, child. Rest assured it will not happen again."

Tremaine's thoughts whirled. What the hell was he talking about? She replayed the incident in her mind...then it hit her. Dragaunus hadn't ended the attack on Dive. He thought she had, that's why he said he'd underestimated her. She hadn't of course, she was too tightly bound to lift a pebble. But if he hadn't ended the attack, and she hadn't... Oh. Well, of course.

Well, this was encouraging.

Tremaine kept careful hold of her thoughts, careful to think no names, no faces, no details. Dragaunus could scan her thoughts, but he would have to work to get past the mental shields she had developed over the years. And everything about the reason she was here was buried beneath those shields. She had time before it all came out.

From the look of things, Dragaunus wouldn't have that much time.

She smiled at him.

What the hell is going on around here?!

Wildwing glared at Dragaunus. He couldn't move or speak, and it was difficult to even breathe, but that didn't stop him from trying. Maybe if he could find a way to get loose he could figure out where things went so strange.

Dragaunus' powers - now that was one hell of a surprise. He recognized some of what Dragaunus was doing - how he's survived that fall from the building, how he was holding them, and what he'd done to Dive - in a vague sort of way. He'd never really believed in such things, but one doesn't spend eighteen years growing up with a comic book freak for a little brother without learning something about them.

Telekinesis was the word he wanted. Literally, mind over matter. The ability to move objects with your mind. Dragaunus had doubtlessly used that to keep himself from breaking every bone in his body when he jumped ten stories to the pavement, and it was probably also how he was holding them still. As for whatever he'd done to Dive... Wildwing's glare deepened. He couldn't see what was going on with the others, but he'd heard the snap of electricity that had been Dragaunus' reply to the verbal taunts. That combined with the grimace on Tremaine's face had given him some idea what was going on. He wasn't sure what it was called, but he recognized it from those stupid X-Men or whatever comics that Dive was always reading. Energy that could be sent into another object, or in this case, person. Generally painful, potentially deadly. He was beginning to wish he'd paid more attention to those things. It might come in handy.

But where had Dragaunus gotten so much power? Wraith had something like it; Mystic bolts and mind control; but never anything to this extent. Was this part of those 'Ancient Saurian Powers' Wraith was always going on about? Wildwing fought back a vague grimace at the thought. Aside from the fact that even so small a movement hurt, he didn't want to give Dragaunus any idea what he was thinking. The Saurian warlord seemed busy yelling at Tremaine about something and didn't seem to be sparing him any more attention than it took to keep him held tight, and doubtless could read his thoughts in any event - how else could he and Tremaine have communicated earlier? - but no point in making it any easier for him. Much more point in keeping whatever he could to himself.

Although how much good it would do him was open to debate.

Tremaine was up to something. Wildwing reserved a glare for her too. It would have been nice of her to warn them that they would be facing SuperDragaunus here. He couldn't figure what her part was in all this, though. She seemed to be perfectly honest in her desire to help them stop Dragaunus, despite the half truths and hidden secrets. And the look on her face when she'd heard about her friend's betrayal had been real enough. But according to Dragaunus she had deliberately kept them in the dark about what they would be facing. Not that he believed anything that came out of Dragaunus' mouth, but... Wildwing sighed. His head was starting to hurt.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dragaunus sneered, false concern practically oozing off him. "But I wouldn't worry about it much if I were you. You have much greater things to be concerned about."

Once the initial shock of realizing Dragaunus had read his mind was past, Wildwing ignored him; over the past year he'd heard enough of Dragaunus' threats to write a book. He could almost see it: Prepare to die, miscreant fowl!: The Dragaunus Story.

Now he was just being ridiculous.

Wildwing focused on Tremaine. She was watching the whole thing with a resigned expression on her face, as if she'd known all along that this was exactly what would happen. For a moment her talk about the history of the future and changing the time-line came back to him. Was this confrontation one of those things that remained constant throughout each time-line? In that case she could at least have warned them.

Tremaine met his gaze. She offered him only a reassuring smile and turned her attention to Dragaunus. She was waiting for something.

Wildwing had a really bad feeling that he wasn't going to like it, whatever it was.

Dragaunus approached until he was only a few feet away. "For more than a year you have been a thorn in my side. Constantly ruining my plans for world conquest, thwarting me at every step! I have dreamed of destroying you. Of making you suffer for what you have done to me. And now - now I can make my dreams come true!" He paused and glared somewhere off to Wildwing's left, obviously waiting for a smart comeback. When none was forthcoming, he continued. "You especially, Wildwing. You and that accursed Mask have made it possible for these misfit miscreants to oppose me. And you," he growled, leaning over so his face was only inches from Wildwing's, "you will be the one to die first."

Wildwing didn't even have time to scream.

Nosedive wasn't sure exactly what happened.

Held tight in Dragaunus' grip, unable to move or even speak once the pain started, barely able to draw a breath, he suffered the punishment in silence, although he would have screamed if he could have. He made no illusions about that; his throat was practically raw from the screams that built up and then were stifled by the force pushing down upon him. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, a quarter of a minute tops, but for all he cared it could have been a century. If he could have formed a coherent thought, he would have prayed for it to stop.

In pure desperation, through sheer force of will, he strained against the force holding him and the energy that wracked his body. It was as if he could see it, a line of pure power reaching away into the darkness which some part of his mind recognized as Dragaunus, dark and polluted. His fear and anger and pain came together at that one moment and suddenly, something at the back of his mind shifted - and snapped.

The pain was gone as suddenly as it had come, leaving its bitter reminder in the form of a raw throat and burning lungs and the searing echoes of pain in every muscle and nerve in his body. He gasped for breath as best he could, never able to force enough fresh air into his lungs. He finally forced his eyes open and saw Mallory staring at him, worry and concern written on every feature of her face. Somewhere he found the strength to meet her gaze before allowing his eyes to slip closed again. Far away as if through a haze he heard Dragaunus saying something, but he couldn't make himself concentrate, he felt the exhaustion creeping up on him, out of proportion for something that had lasted so short a time. He wanted to sleep and never wake up.

<No. Now's not the time.>

<Go away,> Nosedive replied wearily. He didn't even bother to think of a sarcastic comment. He just wanted to rest.

The idea of one of the others enduring that was enough to pull Dive away from the oblivion he so badly wanted. <No.>

<Why are you telling me this?> Dive asked. <What can I do about it?>

<I don't know what you're talking about,> Nosedive objected. <What do you mean I stopped him?>

By now Dive had managed to push aside the last remaining shreds of exhaustion. <Lemme get this straight. You want me to suddenly jump up and take out Lizard Lips? Right. What next? Shall I part the Red Sea?>

It was - indescribable. Tremaine's voice in his mind - for really, who else could it have been? - had been startlingly clear, almost a part of himself. He'd known what he would hear before it had been spoken, and replying was a reflex, like something learned long ago and then forgotten. It had been amazingly simple and amazingly complex at the same time. But this - this was something else.

It was as if suddenly he had opened his eyes after living in the dark for a life time. His mind was filled with sensations: sights and sounds, knowledge, thoughts swirled through his mind as if they'd always been there. He could feel his teammates, their concern and fear as they faced what would very likely be their deaths; Dragaunus as he gloated over his victory, vengeance and powerlust rolled into one; he could feel the power of the very earth beneath him, the very air around him.

He concentrated and it became focused. Instead of emotions he could hear thoughts. Most were jumbled together, a piece of Mallory here, Grin there, some Tanya, but beyond that he could hear Tremaine calling him to hurry. He didn't ask why.

Dragaunus he could hear clearly now. Thoughts and spoken words echoed in his mind as one, no hesitation between them, but as different as night and day. He was speaking to Wildwing, babbling about vengeance... nothing new there.

That simple thought, the recognition of his brother was enough to shift Dive's thoughts to Wildwing and the pain hit him full force. He gasped, and his eyes flew open, but he didn't loose his hold on... whatever it was he was doing. Mallory was staring past him, eyes wide with anger and fear. Nosedive shuddered, horrified at the amount of pain Dragaunus was causing his brother. It was more than he'd experienced, and it had lasted longer. Much more and Wildwing wouldn't survive.

Dragaunus must have known it too, because he stopped, for just a moment. And Dive saw his chance.

Dragaunus laughed as the glow of the energy faded away, making sure that the power holding Wildwing in place didn't fade as well. "Not very pleasant, is it?" he snarled. "I wanted you to die first, so you'd know how I plan to kill the rest of your team after you're gone. I figured that allowing you to go to your grave, helpless to save your friends was only a suitable fate."

Nosedive ignored him, relegating the Saurian's words to the back of his mind. He felt the power Dragaunus was using to hold him and the others in place, and with a thought, reached out and broke it apart.

The pressure was gone, like a weight being - literally - lifted from his shoulders. Dive drew a deep breath, barely noticing that his lungs no longer burned, and stood. Around him the others registered as startlement in the back of his mind as they too felt the change and made their way to their feet.

Dragaunus hadn't noticed. He was still standing face to face with Wildwing, who remained held in Dragaunus' mental grip. The force used to keep him in place was a different one than had been used against the rest of the team and hadn't been broken. Tremaine, too, remained held tight. For the best perhaps. Nosedive was far from willing to trust her right now.

"I believe you've about reached your limit, Wildwing. Has the mighty leader fallen already?" Dragaunus still hadn't noticed them as he continued to taunt Wildwing. "It shouldn't take much more to get rid of you forever. A pleasant thought."

Nosedive scowled, wishing that just for once Dragaunus could be original in his threats. But the thought flitted away as soon as it occurred to him. All his concentration was filled with the power rushing through him. It was like a pure adrenaline rush. Fire coursed through his veins, filling him. He felt like he could move the world at that moment.

"A very pleasant thought indeed," Dragaunus continued. "To know that soon I will be rid of you once and for all! To know that soon, my dreams of conquest will be realized! Oh, Wildwing," Dragaunus laughed, a deep booming laugh, more frightening than joyful, "I will enjoy killing you."

"Over my dead body."

Nosedive didn't realize he'd spoken until he did and even then he barely recognized his own voice. Harsh and slightly grating, there was an unspoken threat along with the spoken one. Dragaunus turned to face him, shock written on his face and in his thoughts. Dive grinned at him, a grin filled with wild energy and more than slightly feral. He knew it made him appear dangerous and a little out of control, and the knowledge only made the grin wider.

And then he cut loose.

Completely.

Before Dragaunus could do more than register his presence he lashed out, pure energy erupted from the air in front of him and slammed into Dragaunus with the force of a truck. The Saurian was flung across the parking lot and into the ground and when he stood there was pain in his stance. Before he could gather his thoughts enough to return the attack, Dive struck once more, pure force smashing into Dragaunus' abdomen, doubling him over in pain, another striking his head, and knocking him unconscious.

It was anticlimatic as Dive turned to his brother and carefully broke the hold Dragaunus had used to hold him, easing him gently to the ground. Wildwing gasped for breath and braced his hands against his knees. He raised his eyes to meet his little brother's worried gaze. "Nice shot, bro," Wildwing managed. "I don't know how you did it, but the look on his face-!" Wildwing shook his head and stifled a breathless laugh.

<Very good indeed, Son of Ancients.> Tremaine's voice rang with approval and celebration in Dive's mind. <I don't suppose you're willing to let me go?>

His wordless reply left no room for doubt just what he thought of setting her loose, but he did. Her thoughts were as open to him as those of his teammates and he sensed no ill will from her. And she had helped him. Without her, Wildwing would have died. Dive owed her that much at least.

He was considerably less careful about it, though and Tremaine had to brace herself as she dropped the foot to the pavement. She stood straight and faced him consideringly. She had not expected for him to best Dragaunus so easily. Perhaps she had underestimated his abilities.

"He was careless," Nosedive said flatly. Tremaine started. He'd heard what she was thinking? "Of course I did, Tremaine. You said so yourself. Son of Ancients." Wildwing cast him a confused look, and Tremaine remembered that she'd called him by the same name before this had all started; only half an hour ago?

"You know what it means?" Tremaine asked, amazed. "You were able to get that from my thoughts?"

"Some of it," Dive admitted. "Nothing that explains what you're doing here."

"Would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on around here?" Mallory burst out. She and Wildwing had come to stand at Dive's side and, along with the rest of the team, were studying Tremaine hostily.

"I promised you the truth once this was done," Tremaine agreed. "Although I doubt you really need it. I think you understand more than you know."

Tired of this whole thing already, Dive scowled and started to tell her just what she could do with her opinion. Before he got the first word out though, he sensed something and turned just in time to see Dragaunus heading for them at full speed. "Incoming!" he shouted.

The Ducks scattered out of the path of Dragaunus' charge. All except Dive. Dragaunus hit him head on shoving him to the ground. Nosedive winced as his head slammed into the pavement, but he barely felt it, much more concerned with the angry Saurian practically sitting on his chest. Dragaunus' claws were digging painfully into his chest and shoulders and probably would have ripped his heart out by now if Dive hadn't had the presence of mind to try and push him away. It wasn't succeeding totally, but he was still alive so it wasn't pointless either. "You dare strike me, boy? I will teach you to regret that!"

Nosedive laughed in his face. "You've been trying to kill us for more than a year, Lizard Lips. What makes you think this time will work out any better than before?"

"Because," Dragaunus replied fervently, "now I have power."

Dive glared defiantly and met Dragaunus' gaze levelly. "So do I."

Dragaunus roared and raised a hand above Dive's head. "See what good it does you," he hissed.

"Dragaunus! Get away from him. Now!"

In the back of his mind Dive saw Wildwing aiming a puck launcher and Mallory and Tanya taking similar stances. Duke had his sword out and Grin - Grin was mad enough to rip the Saurian apart with his bare hands.

What I wouldn't give to see that, Dive thought bemusedly. But they weren't being serious about the threat. There was a shield of Dragaunus' making separating them. The puck launchers wouldn't make a dent. They were a distraction. For Tremaine.

The young woman stood a few feet away, and Dive could practically see her working to break down the shield Dragaunus had erected. He examined it himself, carefully shielding his thoughts from Dragaunus. It would be easy enough to undo, if he could give it his full attention. Oh man. This is gonna hurt. Instead of working to keep the Saurian's full weight from crushing him, he now focused on the shield, following the lead Tremaine had already set, and began to carefully undo what Dragaunus had done.

The instant he felt the shield flicker and fade he struck out with all the strength he could manage and watched with tired satisfaction as Dragaunus was thrown to the ground a few feet away. He stumbled to his feet, dismayingly weak. <First time you use the power it really takes a lot out of you,> Tremaine's voice floated somewhere through his mind and he cursed at it briefly. He didn't have time to be tired. This was not the first time Dragaunus had used the power and he was already on his feet. Not stopping to think about it, Dive held out his arm, hand reaching as if to grab something. A subconscious thought, and just beyond his fingertips a ball of flame appeared out of thin air and erupted toward Dragaunus. The Saurian screamed in pain and lashed out with an attack of his own. Dive saw it coming and managed to shield himself in time, the fire glancing off the shield and dissipating into thin air. Dragaunus pressed his advantage with another burst of flame forcing Dive to concentrate on the shield. He could feel himself growing weaker and he knew Dragaunus could tell as well. Maybe if force wouldn't work, subtlety would.

Keeping the bulk of his concentration on the shield in a sort of auto-pilot, he focused on the blacktop just in front of Dragaunus' foot, willing it to bend to his will. He strained with the effort of breaking the blacktop and reshaping it to wrap around Dragaunus' left leg, then holding it still, much as he did the shield. Weak as he was becoming, it would take only a moment for Dragaunus to shatter it, but in the meantime it would provide a distraction and give Tremaine her chance to act.

And act she did. Too tired to do much more than keep the shield around himself and the rest of the team, he watched as Tremaine reached out with her mind and pulled at the shield Dragaunus had woven around himself. It fell away into nothingness and Tremaine shouted: "Now! The puck launchers! While he's distracted!"

Dive let the shield fall even as the others let loose with a volley of pucks, mostly explosive. Dragaunus roared, unable to create his own shield in time to deflect the attack and when it passed moments later he was unconscious on the blacktop. "All right," Mallory said exultantly. "We stopped him!"

"But you didn't stop us!" Two green shadows appeared and dissolved into the familiar forms of Siege and Wraith. Nosedive erected a shield just in time to block one of Wraith's 'mystic bolts' and a burst from Siege's blaster. He watched as Wraith approached Dragaunus and both disappeared into the familiar green shadows, Siege following a moment later.

"They're gone," Wildwing reported, coming to stand beside his brother. "Probably run back to the Raptor. I don't know how, or what, but you did it, little bro."

It was true, they'd gone. He could feel Wraith's anger fading away as they moved farther and farther away from the Ducks. It was over. Dive turned a worried gaze to Wildwing and the rest of the team. They'd all come through.

And he finally was able to surrender to the oblivion.

"Dive!" Wildwing caught his brother as he slumped to the ground, cradling the still form carefully. "What's the matter with him?" he demanded.

Tremaine actually flinched under his glare. "It effects everyone that way," she replied quickly. "The power isn't an external force, it comes from within and every time you use it, you use some of your own internal energy. Considering the amount of power he was using it's no surprise that he's exhausted. Most first timers collapse after something as simple as telepathy. The amount of power he has is unbelievable..." she let the sentence trail off under the combined glares of the five ducks standing opposite her. "He'll be fine," she rushed to assure them. "Let him rest for a day or two, make sure he gets plenty of proteins and vitamins and stuff and he'll be back to normal in a couple of days."

Wildwing didn't look overly reassured. He stood, carrying his brother in his arms. "Tanya, let's get him back to the Aerowing. Duke, Mallory, take a look around and see if you can find out what Dragaunus was up to here." Tremaine started to say something but Wildwing glared her down. He really didn't want to hear anything she had to say right now. He could still feel the effects of Dragaunus' torture and the headache it had caused was getting worse by the second. "Grin, why don't you escort Ms. Calex back to the Aerowing." Wildwing's expression hardened as he took in the evidence of the battle: the blown out wall of the building before them, the torn and smashed blacktop, scorch marks left from the firefight and the pressing weight of his brother's unconscious body in his arms. "This time, Tremaine, I want the truth. And believe me, I will have it."

To be continued in Chapter Two: The Blood.

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