	Sign In Sign-Up

The Battle leads us to our fate,
The Blood connects us to our home,
The Power grants us the strength to fight
But only the Honor grants us Life.
	- Excerpt from Sons of the Power

The Blood of Ancients

Part One: Revelations

Chapter Four: The Honor

"We'll split up into teams of two, same as before. Spread out and start searching. Canard, have you got a location on any of the hostages yet?"

Canard nodded. "I've got most of them. Drake and Tre can probably find the others the old fashioned way."

Tremaine Calex snorted as she checked to make sure her puck launcher was fully loaded. " 'Old fashioned.' Hot-shot clairvoyants. Think they know everything."

Canard smiled at his younger cousin. "We do know everything. That's what makes us clairvoyant."

Wildwing surveyed his surroundings, blocking out the teasing. "Canard can you tell us where we need to look?"

"You still not thinking like a telepath, Wildwing," Drake said lightly. "A mental link will enable the rest of us to know what Canard knows and it will allow us to communicate without using the wristcomms."

Canard made a face as his older brother spoke. "We'd still have to be careful, though. Mental links are generally secure, but with so many of us participating, combined with the fact that more than a few of us don't have the power or the training to secure their thoughts, Dragaunus may be able to overhear us. So be careful what you say."

"Do it," Wildwing approved.

As soon as he spoke he felt a light touch in the far corner of his mind, gentle and unintrusive. He concentrated on it and felt a semi-familiar presence there. <Drake?>

<Greetings, fearless leader. How's this for getting to know the troops better?>

<On their way.> The communication stopped, and Wildwing could feel Drake's presence moving away, but the knowledge remained, the link remained firm. One by one he felt the others joining in the link, each a feather-light touch in the back of his mind. The pure awareness of the rest of his team in such a way was both intimate and terrifying. An intensely private man, Wildwing didn't often share his thoughts and feelings with others, preferring to let his actions speak for him, but here and now, there was no other way, and he accepted that.

He felt Nosedive join the link, then Canard and finally Drake. <Here's the deal gang,> Canard's voice remained steady in Wildwing's voice even as the teams moved further and further apart, each heading toward a different location. <Wildwing, you and Drake want to take the building directly in front of you. I'm getting three people in there. Be careful, bro, there's psi-dampers in there. And about three hunter drones.

<Nosedive, Duke, there's a restaurant to your left with a small apartment above it. Klegghorn's in there, along with the restaurant employees. Same as before; psi-dampers and hunter drones.>

<What are psi-dampers?> Mallory interrupted.

<You don't read comics do you?> Canard asked. <Psi-dampers limit the level of telepathic abilities a person can use. If you get too close to them they interfere with anything telepathic. Including mental links. So be careful and let us know before you get near one. That way we'll expect to loose you from the link. As soon as you get out of range you'll find yourself back in the link like nothing had happened. Get it?>

<Do the psi-dampers interfere with the other stuff?> Nosedive asked. <Telekinesis, fireballs, that sort of thing?>

<Gotcha.>

His teammates glanced at him for approval, and Wildwing nodded. This was Canard's territory. Best to let him take the lead here. <Be careful,> he added. <You all remember how hard it was to get a replacement the last time one of us left the team.>

Dive and Duke were already heading away, but Wildwing felt the laughing mischievousness that could only have come from his little brother. <You replace me with Stanley Strazinski and I'm gonna be pissed, bro.>

Wildwing returned the amusement. <Not you, baby bro. You're irreplaceable.> A sudden, fierce protectiveness hit him, and he cursed the logic which kept him away from his brother. <Watch your back.>

<Always.>

<Not hardly,> Wildwing retorted fondly. Duke was there, a calm and reassuring presence, reminding him that Dive wouldn't be alone. It was all he had, and he took it. Duke was a far better fighter than any of them and he cared for Dive almost as much as Wildwing himself. It should have been enough to reassure Wildwing.

So why did he still have the horrible feeling that something was going to go desperately wrong, and that Dive was going to be right in the middle of it?

Not willing to dwell on instincts which had proven accurate far too often, Wildwing headed toward the target set aside for him and Drake, a small delicatessen, and gestured for Drake to join him. Wildwing let Drake take the lead, trusting the older man's abilities to sense threats and traps better than his own. Keeping his puck launcher at the ready, he watched both their backs, and prepared for whatever they would find inside the building.

<Keep your eyes open,> Drake reminded as they carefully approached the building. <And your thoughts. The High Lord doesn't intend to make this easy for us.>

Wildwing responded an affirmative and they both paused outside the door. Drake was silent and still for a long moment, his gaze seeming to pierce through something else. Which was probably exactly what was happening. Wildwing contented himself with the normal five senses for the moment as he kept lookout. The power still took a lot out of him and he couldn't afford to be dead on his feet before the battle even started. He would save the power and his strength for when The High Lord showed himself again. Until then, the Mask was as good in some ways.

Drake snapped out of his semi-trance at the precise moment Wildwing finished his quick survey. "There are people in there," Drake informed him in a low voice. "Top floor. I can't tell how many or what surprises may be waiting for us. There's a psi-inhibitor blanketing the whole area. I barely got that much."

"I saw three people with the Mask," Wildwing replied. "And some sort of bomb with a digital timer. He's got the whole place electronically shielded as well as psi-shielded. I can't tell anymore about the top floor. What worries me," he continued, "is that I don't see anything at the entrances or on any of the other floors. A trap, you think?"

"Worse," Drake sighed. "He's giving us a clear path upstairs. He wants us to get there."

"Which means whatever's up there is something we don't want to see," Wildwing finished. "Yeah, that's Lizard Lips' style, all right."

Drake bit off a quick, surprised laugh. "I'll never get used to hearing you call him that," he admitted. "It's sort of like hearing the Jews call Hitler "Tubby," or something."

Wildwing smiled slightly. "If Dragaunus were too big and frightening for us to make fun of, we'd never defeat him," he said seriously. "The jokes just make it easier to see him as an enemy to be stopped, and not as some super-powerful warlord with more weaponry and strength than we could hope for. Does wonders for morale. One night we got a little out of hand after a really close battle. Came too close to losing too many people. We ended up spending half the night crashed in the living room with soda and ice cream dragging Dragaunus and his ancestors through the mud."

"I would have loved to see that," Drake said sincerely. "And Canard would have loved to join in. I bet Mallory came up with some of the worst."

"You'd be surprised what Grin can be like when sufficiently hyped on caffeine."

Drake snorted and ducked his head, fighting a brief internal battle against breaking into laughter. "Oh stars, I can only imagine."

Wildwing waited until the older man had himself under control, before slapping him on the shoulder. "Come on. We'd better get moving."

Drake nodded and together they entered the building.

"Just like you said," Nosedive reported. "Five people on the second floor. There's a psi-inhibitor - or at least what I assume a psi-inhibitor is, considering I've never seen one - between us and them, directly in the middle of the staircase leading from the first to second floor. Elevators are non-functional."

Even in the middle of battle, Duke couldn't resist the temptation to tease. "Non-functional?" Spending a little too much time with Tanya, are we?"

Nosedive humored him with an amused glance. "Someone's spending too much time with Tanya, but it's not me." Duke blushed a little under the knowing glance as Dive continued, "Or should I say trying to spend time with her. It looks like a losing battle to me, Duke."

"Hey," Duke defended himself, "I needed something to pass the time the last few weeks. Seems my apprentice is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that binds three worlds together and he needed the time to train in the use of his psychic powers."

Dive snorted. "Oh, stars. It has been a weird month, hasn't it?"

"As compared to what? We lead interesting lives, junior." Duke had his lockpicks out and carefully began working the lock of the door. The lock snapped open by the count of ten, and Duke carefully eased the door open. Nothing blew up, fired or fell, so he assumed he was temporarily in the clear. "Nothing so far. I'll take the lead. Keep your eyes open."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dive muttered. "Like one big brother wasn't bad enough."

"Could be worse," Duke retorted. "I could get it into my head to start acting like your father."

"No thanks," Dive returned cheerily. "I had more than enough of those, too."

"Just a barrel of laughs, aren't you? A veritable font of witty comebacks." Duke carefully surveyed the small restaurant they were in. "Looks like the rooms upstairs are apartments, just like Canard said. Is there any way up except for the stairs?"

"Like I said, the elevator's down. There are no other stairs, and I'm not supposed to broadcast who and what I am to the Saurians, so flying upstairs is pretty much out of the questions." Dive shrugged. "I don't like it, but it's the only option we have right now."

"We're doing just what Dragaunus wants us to do," Duke said unhappily. "It's almost definitely a trap."

"At least it's a trap we're walking into with our eyes open," Dive pointed out. "So lead the way, old man. Let's see what Lizard Lips has got waitin'."

"How much time do we have left?"

Mallory's quiet whisper seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the store as she and Canard made their way carefully toward the stairs. There was no sign of human life - or Saurian, or Puckworlder or anything else, for that matter - and the only sounds came from them as they navigated their way through racks of clothing and jewelry to the stairs. From above came the occasional sound as the four police officers being held prisoner continued to try to escape.

"Less than forty-five minutes," Canard replied. "If we're careful, and we time it right, we can probably get out of here with time to spare."

"But will we be out of range?" Mallory asked. Her experience with the military had begun as a very young girl, when she would watch her father and older brother talk about their careers in the military. As she grew older her father had taught her a great deal of what she knew today - including the fact that being outside a building when it blew up didn't necessarily mean you were safe. "Any idea what the blast radius on those bombs is going to be?"

"Haven't a clue. The High Lord has quite the arsenal at his disposal. We don't even know for sure that there are any bombs. He could just be planning to have hunter drones shoot the place up, or burn it down." He smiled wryly, a little bitterly. "He doesn't like to be predictable. We never know what he's up to until it's happened."

"Great," Mallory sighed. "Our Dragaunus - stars, did I say that? Our. Ick. - Anyway... He's always been pretty predictable. Violent, messy, cruel and with a tendency toward grandstanding, but predictable. We don't always know the details of what he's up to, but the basic premise is usually the same."

"Sounds like he's changed a lot," Canard said sadly. "I think I'd prefer yours."

"You know what? I think I do too."

"Come on," Canard urged. "The stairs are this way. Keep quiet and watch your back."

"I do know what I'm doing."

"Never said you didn't." Canard paused at the door leading to the stairwell, scanning the area beyond carefully. <We're clear for the second story. Psi-inhibitors don't kick in until the third. Hostages are on the second and fourth floors.>

<That doesn't make sense. Why leave the hostages on the second floor where we can get to them easily, but put security on the hostages on the fourth floor?> Mallory frowned fiercely as Canard led her into the stairwell and began slowly making his way up the flight of steps. <There must be a catch somewhere.>

Canard replied. <There's a lot of left over interference from the fourth floor, and it's keeping me from getting a completely clear look at the second floor. There may be traps there as well.>

<Oh, like that's better?>

<Look on the bright side,> Canard said with false cheer. <Worse case scenario, there's no one up there but the High Lord himself messing with my head waiting to grind our bones into dust.>

Mallory glanced at his askance. <Won't happen.>

<'Cause Wildwing'll kill you if you get me killed.>

Canard smiled fondly. <Team leaders are all the same, aren't they? Overprotective mother hens.>

From somewhere outside, two presences within the link made themselves known, as Drake and Wildwing simultaneously gave theatrical sighs. <We're unappreciated,> Drake sighed. <Misunderstood.>

Canard smiled slightly, glad for the reassuring presence. <Never misunderstood. I understand you all too well. That's why we're having this conversation.> He paused as they reached the entrance to the second floor. <We've reached the second floor. No apparent traps or sentries. Looks clean. We're going to head in.>

<Yessir,> Canard retorted lightly. <See ya on the other side, bro.>

He placed one hand on the door, palm flat against the cool metal, as he sent his mind into the rooms beyond.

<I'll take that as a 'No' then.>

Mallory flashed the briefest of smiles before taking up a position on one side of the doorway, puck launcher held ready. <Let's go.>

Tremaine rolled her eyes at the mild bickering that filled her mind, even as she envied her cousins for it. Her nerves were on edge and she's kill for a moment of light banter to dispel the apprehension that filled her. For a moment she wished Kirin had been able to join them, but she banished the thought almost immediately. If not for Kirin they would not be where they were. Her betrayal had led the High Lord to them and endangered the entire world.

What were you thinking, Kir?

Tanya's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her maudlin thoughts and back to the present. They stood in the center of a bank, decorated in earth tones and a variety of plants and flowers. There appeared to be no one in there, in fact, there were signs that employees and customers had made a mad dash for the door as soon as the fighting had started. Any regular search and rescue team would have thought there was no one left behind.

But this was no normal search and rescue, and Tremaine knew better.

She had never been strong with clairvoyance, so telepathy was her main tool as she searched the building. The bank itself, as well as the offices, were empty, but she found three conscious minds coming from the back of the bank. Sharp eyes examined the interior of the bank and settled on the one place the three hostages could be. "They're in the vault."

Tanya and Grin followed her gaze. "How are we going to get them out?" Tanya asked. "Blow the doors?"

<No,> Tremaine objected. <Give me a few minutes to check it out. There are bound to be a few traps.>

Tanya nodded and took her hand from Tremaine's shoulder. <Good luck.> Tremaine nodded briefly, and turned her concentration to a task more arduous than her companions would have thought.

Clairvoyance was a remarkable tool, Tremaine had always believed. The ability to know anything at any time was invaluable in battle and reconnaissance. But there were severe drawbacks. The knowledge - the sheer awareness - that comes with clairvoyance was often overwhelming. It took a strong mind to cope with it and Tre just wasn't that strong. In small amounts, for short periods, with plenty of recovery time in between, she could deal with it, but constant use, day after day, over great areas, was just too much for her - and most everyone else - to cope with. Tre had known only three people her entire life who could manage full scale clairvoyance for more than a few moments at a time: her teacher, Canard and Drake. Only Canard had managed massive use over a long period of time without serious mental or emotional damage, and sometimes, even he was pushed to the limit. Tre could remember three occasions upon which the awareness had become too much and Canard's mind had preserved sanity the only way it could - by shutting down. Twice they had been running from the hunter drones and Saurian patrols, forcing Canard to make use of his abilities nearly continuously for days on end, and the third time had been when Drake and two others were shot down into the Cascade mountains after a patrol. Canard had searched relentlessly for days, not stopping until they found the three missing men, then collapsing as soon as the medics declared Drake would be all right. Each time Canard had fallen into a coma-like state for at least eight hours, at most - after the incident in the mountains - two days, and his abilities had been extremely sensitive for several days afterward.

All in all, Tremaine's reluctance to scan for traps clairvoyantly was understandable, but it wasn't enough. She had a responsibility, one she had taken on the day she vowed to avenge her family, and the humans, and fight Dragaunus and his new Empire to the end. She had never shirked that duty, no matter how dearly she may have wanted to on one or two occasions, and she would not start now. She kept the scan limited, confined to the immediate area of the vault. By confining the scan she used more strength and energy, but also placed less strain on her mind. She took her time, probing carefully. She could not simply peruse the area with a brief scan, then know instantly what was there, as Canard and even Drake could. No she needed to concentrate and take her time, or it would be pointless.

She grimaced at the amount of time this was taking. She knew there was only 43 minutes before

Dragaunus' time limit ran out, and it would take a few of their precious minutes to check for traps.

For the moment she ignored the door, scanning the interior of the vault itself. "There are three people," she confirmed her earlier statement. "Bound, but not gagged. There are two hunter drones in there with them. No psi-inhibitors. The doors..." She concentrated on the vault door. "There's a bomb wired to the lock. As soon as I unlock the door the bomb goes off. I can probably shield us from the blast itself with a telekinetic field, but..." Her head cocked to one side as she searched further. "Damn. Some sort of plastic explosive. There is no way I can shield from that."

"Is there any way we can bypass the bomb?" Tanya asked worriedly. "Maybe with the omnitool?"

"No. Not in the amount of time we have left."

"So what do we do?"

Tremaine sighed. "That's a very good question, Taunny."

"Ready?" Drake asked.

"Ready," Wildwing confirmed. "Go."

Drake lashed a hand through the air, clenched fist opening and reaching toward the door. Telekinetic force slammed against the door, throwing it off its hinges and several feet into the room before it landed with a loud crash.

The inhabitants of the room looked up at the sudden movement. Two police officers; one in uniform, the other apparently a detective. Wildwing and Drake ignored their startled expressions in favor if the two hunter drones aiming at them. Drake mimicked the motion he'd used to open the door, this time creating a fireball from thin air which streaked across the room and into one of the hunter drones. Wildwing fired off three shots with his puck launcher, each striking the second hunter drone before it could fire a shot. The drone crackled with energy and billowed smoke as it collapsed to the ground. Drake didn't spare the ruined drones another glance, his attention turning to the two bombs which had been triggered by the opening of the door. he reported tersely, <but not for long. See how badly these guys are injured.>

Wildwing didn't say anything, simply turning to the closest police officer. The young woman didn't appear to be harmed, but she was bound and gagged. Necessity intruded and the pressure of time, and instead of trying to undo the metal cuffs that bound her wrists and ankles, he exerted a bit of telekinetic pressure in just the right place to trigger the lock and release the cuffs. The cloth gag he simply eased down around her neck, freeing her mouth. "There are at least two bombs in here," he told her. "I'm getting your friends out of here. You go down and get out of range. Understand?"

The woman, Candeloro, according to the badge of her uniform, nodded. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

At least she isn't going to make a fuss about police procedures, Wildwing though, relieved. "Just get to safety. Now go!"

She didn't pause, simply ran from the room as quickly as her legs could carry her. Truth was, Wildwing could have used her help, especially if the other two were injured, but she had been tied up for so long that her legs could barely support her own weight. She wouldn't have been able to help with the others. <How much longer, Drake?>

Drake replied. <My concentration is starting to slip. Make it quick, Wildwing.>

Only one other person was readily visible. A man in his thirties and dark-haired, he was the one Wildwing believed to be a detective. He was propped against one wall across the room from the doorway, directly beneath the inhibitor Drake had sensed. Wildwing could smell the copper tang of human blood, and saw the red splash of blood decorating the wall around him. He approached and stopped in shock at the sight that greeted him.

Metal spikes had been driven though each of the detective's palms, pinning them to the wall at the same level as his shoulders. Pain-glazed eyes opened as Wildwing approached. "Who-?"

"It's all right," Wildwing said softly, even as he realized what a ridiculously stupid thing to say that was. "I'm here to help you."

"My partner..." Brown eyes drifted shut, exhaustion fueled by pain and blood-loss pushing the man to the edge of his strength.

"Officer Candeloro? She got out," Wildwing knelt beside him and examined the thick metal spikes. Stars...

"No... Nicky. He's-" His breath caught and he paused for a moment, chest heaving as he tried to get enough oxygen to beat the exhaustion. "He's in the back. Was hurt. You gotta... gotta help him."

"As soon as I get you out of here," Wildwing told him. "Just hold on-"

"No!" The human's eyes were more focused now and they held Wildwing's gaze. "I'm dying but I'm not stupid. It'll take time to get me out of here, time we don't have. The thing that did this to me told me what would happen when someone opened the door. Those bombs are going to go up any minute now. I assume your friend is doing something to stop them," he tilted his head toward Drake momentarily, "which means you're the only one who can help. And if you try to free me, you'll never be able to get to Nicky in time. Please," his voice became pleading, "just go find Nicky. I couldn't live with myself knowing I'd left him to die."

Wildwing hesitated. There was no way he could pull the spikes loose through brute strength and the inhibitor made it impossible for him to attempt pulling them loose telekinetically. Seeing his indecision, the detective tried again. "Please. He's my partner, my best friend. Practically my brother. Just go and get him out of here and don't look back."

"All right," Wildwing said hoarsely. "All right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the human assured him. "Better me than him."

"Wildwing!" Drake's voice was tense with strain. "We've only got a few minutes!"

With a last regretful glance at the trapped human, Wildwing ran toward the back of the room. There was a small hallway which led to a few other rooms, and he despaired of ever being able to search them all in time. Reluctantly, he reached out with his mind, testing the boundaries. The effects of the inhibitor were still felt, but they were sufficiently damped by distance that they only mildly interfered with his abilities. He opened his mind, looking, listening, feeling for the presence of the missing detective. The onslaught of sensation slowly - too slowly - slid into order and he caught the vague, shadow-lie presence of an unconscious person. Following it was like tracing a thin strand of spider silk through the dark, his untrained mind nearly loosing the trail several times in the short distance he covered before finding the young man stuffed in the back of a closet. He was younger than the other man by maybe five years, and his blond hair was darkened by blood from a gash along his forehead. "So you're Nicky," Wildwing muttered. "We gotta go, kid." He lifted the man and slung him over one shoulder as he began to hurriedly make his way back toward Drake.

<We're rapidly running out of time here, Wing!>

<I've got him. I'm on my way back now.> Wildwing turned the last corner and there was the detective, still trapped, unconscious now - I never asked his name - and beyond him, Drake, obviously tense eyes seeming to gaze out at something that wasn't there Sweat had soaked the feathers of his face, and he was trembling with effort and exhaustion. <When I let this go it'll go up within a minute.>

<That's not enough time to get out,> Wildwing replied. <What can we do?>

<I'd tell you to go without me, but I don't have the strength to hold it even that long. Do you trust me?>

<No. Follow me.>

There was an almost tangible sensation as Drake released his control of the bombs. The energy in the room was suddenly gone, leaving only the weighted knowledge of a bomb about to go off.

As soon as he dropped concentration Drake was racing across the room, away from the door. Wildwing followed, and bit back a heartfelt groan as he saw the floor-to-ceiling glass window directly ahead of them. While they were still several feet away, the windows shattered into a cascade of glittering crystal shards.

<Jump!>

Duke was feeling the past two years catching up with him. The sense of vague hysteria and the overwhelming impression of impending doom which had shadowed him ever since the Saurian warships first appeared in the skies of Puckworld almost two years ago were growing by leaps and bounds until he had to fight the urge to curl up in a corner somewhere and babble incoherently for a decade or two. Only knowing that he was needed to help senseless and needless deaths kept him from doing just that. Well, that and the knowledge of what Wildwing would do to him if he left Dive on his own in Dragaunus' Little House of Horrors.

"Huh?" Dive's 'voice' took Duke by surprise. "What?"

Dive smirked. <You were thinking too loudly. Hush.>

Duke grimaced slightly. <Well pardon me for thinking.>

<No, don't think I will.> Dive ignored Duke's sour look, most of his concentration focused on the small apartment where the three police officers were being held, trusting Duke to catch any threat from elsewhere. It was getting harder for the teenager to concentrate as they made their way up the stairs toward the apartments. The inhibitor device he had sensed previously was only a few feet ahead of him and it made it almost impossible to sense upstairs. The stairwell itself was a blank to him. He couldn't sense anyone or thing, not even Duke.

A few more steps brought them to the inhibitor and Dive's abilities faded completely. He shook his head, wincing at the headache that assaulted him. "That's it. I'm blind right now." He frowned at the section of wall that held the device. "Once we get a few feet away I'll be able to start scanning again."

"But?" Duke prompted.

"But DragonDope wouldn't have put that thing here without a reason, so be ready."

"Got it, kid."

"There's more," Dive added, a little uncomfortable at giving orders to his mentor, but enjoying it too much not to.

"Always."

"I have got one doozy of a headache so keep your eyes open for some Tylenol, all right?"

"You're a real piece of-"

A mechanical whir and the hum of electricity filled the small stairwell as a section of wall shimmered and dissolved, revealing a small square space behind the wall, from which floated four small sphere shaped robotic devices, each about the size of a volleyball and gunmetal grey in color. There was a whirring sound again as panels along the center of the sphere opened and revealed what could only be lasers, all aimed at the two Ducks.

"-work," Duke sighed. "Great."

For a second, no one, or thing, moved. Then the spheres opened fire, just as Duke and Dive dove to separate sides of the stairwell, each pulling out their puck launchers and firing back. The little spheres were quick, though, and avoided the shots easily. Dive wasn't quite so lucky and he caught a laser blast in the side that knocked him halfway back down the stairs. He heard Duke shout at him, but the blast and the fall had knocked the breath out of him and he couldn't reply for a long moment. He lay curled on his side on the stairs, and watched, vaguely detached, as two spheres floated down toward him while the other two kept Duke busy. He saw them getting ready to fire and allowed himself a grin. "Dumb move, you metallic morons," he said in a sing-song voice. "You knocked me out of range of the inhibitor." The grin grew wider as he concentrated and a telekinetic bubble formed around each of the machines. He held out his left hand and closed his fist, the bubbles constricting as his hand closed, until the machines began to shatter and crumble, and finally were crushed under the sheer pressure of the mental force. He slumped against the stairs for a moment, the force of destroying the spheres so close to the inhibitor taking a lot out of him. The headache he'd been nursing since they came into range of the device doubled and the thought that there were two more spheres to deal with yet wrung a groan from him. At least these two would be more easily handled.

Between the pounding in his head and the fact that the spheres were still within range of the inhibitor, he wouldn't be able to handle them the same way he had the others. No problem.

He rose to his feet, leaning against the wall, willing his nerves to settle and his exhaustion to fade away. Duke was doing well, managing to avid being struck, despite the lack of cover or room to maneuver. However, this left him no time or opportunity to fire back.

Dive drew his puck launcher and took careful aim. He was a crack shot, but his hands shook with exhaustion and pain and he didn't want to take any risk of hitting his teammate by mistake. He fired once, the shot hitting the sphere head on. The sphere was damaged, but not destroyed, and it turned toward him,. He fired twice more and the sphere exploded in a shower of sparks and metal shards.

The last sphere, apparently deciding he was a greater threat than Duke, turned its attention to him. A mistake, as it turned out. Duke took advantage of its distraction and blew it apart.

Duke grinned down at him. "Nice shot, kid. Let's move." He turned and started taking the steps two at a time.

Dive grimaced at Duke's back, but followed, pausing just long enough to shoot out the section of wall where the inhibitor was hidden. The heavy sense of oppression which had hung over him since he had first entered the building fell away and the pounding headache immediately began to fade. He cast his mind forward, to the upstairs rooms, searching for further traps. With the inhibitor gone his senses were clear, sharp. The dullness gone and everything coming into focus. It was... relieving. He really was growing far too dependent on these powers.

He joined Duke at the top of the stairs. "Door's clear," he reported. "Three people inside. One is definitely Klegghorn." Dive grinned. "He's mad."

"That's not an understatement or anything, now is it?" Duke replied. "I'm going in."

"Clear. Go ahead."

The door was locked, but Duke didn't waste any time trying to pick the lock. One swift kick broke the door open and Duke entered the room, puck launcher drawn and held ready.

They entered into a short hallway which led to a simple living room. Duke paused at the entrance to the living room and glanced back at Dive. A quick scan proved the room was clean of traps and Dive gestured him forward.

One man, a plainclothes detective from the looks of him, was laying, tied and foot on the couch. Duct tape covered his mouth and startled eyes gazed up at them. "I'll get him untied," Duke said. "Where are the other two?"

"Bedrooms," Dive replied. "Klegghorn's to the right, and the other guy is to the left. I'll get them and meet you back here."

"Keep your eyes open."

Dive nodded once and headed into the back of the room. There was another short hallway which led to two bedrooms and a small bathroom. The master bedroom was on his right, and he turned in there first, carefully checking the door and room for booby traps. He turned the knob and swung the door open gently. Klegghorn was in much the same condition the first man had been, bound and gagged with duct tape. There's gotta be irony here somewhere, Dive thought with amusement. Draggy using duct tape for stars' sake! Klegghorn was glowering at him and Dive quickly moved to until him, wincing a bit as he ripped the duct tape loose. Klegghorn flinched, but made no sound. "We're clear so far," Dive said quietly. "It doesn't look like there's anyone here."

"What's going on out there?" Klegghorn demanded.

Dive filled him in as quickly as he could while untying him. He gave Klegghorn a moment to get the feeling back in his legs before hurrying him across the hall to the other bedroom. The scene there was identical to the one he'd found Klegghorn in: a young plainclothes officer tied up on the bed and looking distinctly uncomfortable. Klegghorn went to untie him while Dive waited at the door, keeping watch for any unpleasant surprises Dragaunus might have left behind. Once the younger human had regained his footing they joined Duke in the living room.

"Hey, gents," Duke greeted. "Dive, this is Detective Ingalls."

Klegghorn indicated the man with him. "And this is Detective Morrisson. Can we get out of here?"

Duke glanced at Dive for the go-ahead, but paused when he caught the expression of pure concentration on the teenager's face. "What is it?"

Dive shook his head slowly. "Something..."

"What does he mean, 'something'?" Klegghorn demanded.

"Trust me," Duke said wryly. "You don't want to see the things he sees."

Dive's eyes widened in shock. "Oh stars - get away from the couch!"

Duke didn't hesitate, grabbing Ingalls by one arm and practically leaping across the room away from the specified piece of furniture. Dive saw Klegghorn moving for cover, pulling Morrisson along with him. Confident they would all get out of range in time, he too moved away, taking cover behind a telekinetic shield.

He'd barely gotten the shield erected when the slight energy surge he'd felt from beneath the couch increased a hundredfold and the couch disappeared in a ball of flames. The explosion wasn't very large, but it could easily have killed them all. Dive shivered slightly. If it had been Wildwing, or Tre or her cousins, then they would have died. Nosedive had barely sensed the energy surge. The others could have sat on it and not known it was there.

Stars.

He reached out tentatively, making sure everyone was all right. The humans were fine, a little shaken, and Klegghorn was more than slightly suspicious as to how he'd know the bomb was there, but nothing unexpected. Duke, like the others, had learned to recognize when Dive scanned him, and tossed him a half-hearted glower. <Who is supposed to be the surrogate big brother here?>

<Sometimes, I think you need one even more than I do.>

Predictably, Duke ignored him. "What was that? And are there any more of them?"

"It wasn't a bomb," Dive said confidently. "It's more like Dragaunus is just reaching out and planning them here one by one."

"Is there any way you can stop him?"

Dive snorted. "I don't even know how he's doing it, let alone how to stop him. I could try shielding the entire building, but even that won't work for long. With enough time, Wildwing can get through my shields. Dragaunus will manage it even faster."

"Especially since he's had more time to train than you." Duke said grimly.

"Exactly."

"So what," Klegghorn demanded, "would you recommend we do, oh mighty and mystical ones?"

Dive grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"You would," Duke teased. "Anyone object to running for our lives?" He waited, did a quick head count, shrugged and said, "All right then. Run!"

As the three humans began their stampede toward the door and the stairs and - hopefully - freedom, Dive turned to Duke with a withering glance. <And how long have you been waiting to use that line?>

Duke grinned and ran for the door.

They had barely hit the stairs when another explosion ripped through the room behind them, throwing Dive to the floor and causing Duke to loose his footing, falling down the entire flight of steps and only just missing the three humans as they headed into the caf�. Dive risked a glance behind him as he got to his hands and knees, and saw another of Dragaunus' - or was it the High Lord's? Like there's a difference - energy bursts beginning to form. This one was easily ten times as powerful as the first, and would probably take the entire top story with it when it went. There was no way Dive could make it downstairs and outside before it exploded.

He got to his feet, and immediately dropped into a crouch, balanced on the balls of his feet, hands braced against the floor. He offered a brief prayer to the stars, and whatever deities ruled on Earth that this wouldn't be the last stupid stunt he ever pulled - and jumped.

"Holy-!"

The staircase was narrow, and really the ceiling wasn't high enough for this sort of stunt, causing Dive to end up on the fourth step from the bottom. He braced himself telekinetically, the shock of jumping such a distance almost nonexistent. His foot caught against the step and he stumbled, but Duke reached up and caught his arm, steadying him. "What the hell was that?" the older man demanded.

Dive didn't bother explaining. "Go!" he shouted as he took the last of the steps in one jump, barreling through the doors and into the caf�. Klegghorn had waited in the caf�, apparently intending to make sure they made it out all right. Morrisson and Ingalls were long gone. "We've got to get out of here," Dive called out, and Klegghorn nodded, heading for the doorway. He shoved the door open just as Dive and Duke reached him-

-and the building exploded.

Canard knocked the door in with one well placed burst of telekinesis. Mallory watched in mild awe as the door flew more than ten feet before slamming into the ground. <Impressive.>

<Thanks,> Canard said cheerfully. <Hostages are... in the changing rooms? Whaddya know? Draggy has a sense of humor!>

<A twisted one. Maybe,> Mallory conceded grudgingly. <Where do we go?>

The entrance was an emergency exit which had brought them into the store near what appeared to be men's clothing. Racks of slacks, sweaters, jeans and ties surrounded them, dotted here and there with mannequins sporting the latest in men's fashions.

<Changing rooms are to the left and forward,> Canard reported. <Maybe forty feet from here.>

<No.>

<Don't sound so disappointed,> Mallory scolded. <We don't need any more trouble than we've got.>

<Why,> Canard said thoughtfully, <do I get the impression that the High Lord doesn't agree with you?>

<Because he's an egomaniacal lunatic,> Mallory said flatly. <Let's get moving. Sooner we find those hostages, the sooner we can get out of here.>

Canard rolled his eyes at her but moved ahead. There was a concentration in his eyes, and Mallory got he feeling that he wasn't really there, that his mind was in places it shouldn't be able to go. It was a sensation she'd become familiar with over the last two weeks, but she still didn't like it. The idea of any one person controlling this much power was frightening, but she wasn't willing to say anything about it just yet for several reasons. Well, three to be exact. She didn't know enough about it to make any reliable judgement on it's potential dangers. She trusted Wildwing and - stars help her - Nosedive. And even without the first two, there was no way she was going to admit to this when she knew Duke felt the same way. Three very good reasons to keep her mouth shut.

Canard shook his head and the vaguely dulled look disappeared, his blue eyes becoming clearer, more focused. <I'm still not sensing any traps. What's he waiting for?>

<That's the problem. How can we expect to be ready for it if we don't see it coming?> Canard was moving faster now. <The second floor will most likely be clear - an attempt to get us t drop our guard. We release the hostages on that floor and send them out of here. Once they're clear we deal with the inhibitor on the third floor, which is almost definitely hiding some hunter drones. We dismantle the drones and destroy the inhibitor, then head up to the fourth floor. That is where he's going to hit us hardest.>

Mallory checked her puck launcher again. <Have I mentioned I really don't like this?>

<Don't sweat it, sweetheart. Worse comes to worse we bite the big one.>

<Me.>

Canard tossed her one last teasing look before moving ahead, keeping the lead. Mallory followed somewhat reluctantly, knowing it was for the best. She wouldn't spot half the traps that Canard would. Didn't mean she liked it... <How many hostages were there again?>

They were at the changing rooms by that time. Instead of a row of rooms, there was one entrance way which led back into another room, divided into several sections. Canard paused outside the entrance. <Hold up a second, hmm?>

Canard was concentrating again, his eyes taking on the same faraway look they'd had just moments earlier. <Bomb. It's planted inside the wall ahead of us. There's a motion sensor in the doorway. We go through, we set off the bomb and probably kill ourselves and the hostages. Damnit. There's no way I could have missed this. The High Lord's playing with us.>

<Wh- Hey!> Before Mallory could even finish the question she found herself floating into the air and moving forward through the doorway. <Canard!> She struggled, trying to get down.

<Yes!>

Canard snorted. <And kill the hostages, and quite possibly ourselves in the process? Not a chance. Calm down. You're there already.>

Mallory forced herself to be still and realized he was telling the truth. She was through the doorway, and her feet touched the floor gently, the force around her not dissipating until she had her balance. She glanced at Canard as he followed her into the room the same way. <Sorry. I guess I panicked.>

<Don't worry. It's kind of unnerving to have someone else do something like that to you, and you don't know me all that well.> Canard gestured her to follow him as he made his way back toward the changing rooms.

Mallory followed, watching warily for the first signs of discomfort or concentration in the older Duck. If anything was going to get them, Canard would most likely sense it first.

It took only a few seconds to reach the changing rooms, and they found the hostages just as Canard had said they would. There were no further traps - that they could see, at any rate. Canard and Mallory quickly untied them. "Hey folks," Canard said cheerfully. "You don't want to hear this, I know, but there's this butt-ugly lizard threatening to blow up the entire neighborhood. We're going to get you guys out of here, but we need your cooperation, okay? If that's too much to ask, you can always try to get out of here on your own. I'm almost positive we found all the booby-traps. Any questions?" None were forthcoming as the three policemen silently indicated their agreement to Canard's terms. "All right then. Follow me. Mallory you take the rear. Everyone, keep quiet."

<What about the other hostage?> Mallory asked, casting a quick glance at the three policemen. <We can't just leave->

<We're not going to,> Canard assured her. <But these guys aren't in the best shape, in case you haven't noticed, and we can't afford to drag them with us up the next two stories. Whatever's waiting for us upstairs is going to be bad enough without having to watch out for them, too.>

Mallory nodded, but didn't press. She didn't like leaving anyone behind, even if it was only temporarily, but she knew Canard was right. Seem to be saying that a lot lately.

With Canard once again in the lead they quickly escorted the former hostages through the store back to the door they had entered by. They already knew there were no traps except for the one in the entrance to the dressing rooms, and Canard dealt with that easily, lifting the hostages over the sensor the same way he had Mallory. They enjoyed it about as much as she did, too. Mallory smirked. If the cops weren't so shell-shocked already, they probably would have drawn their weapons.

<Draggy disarmed them,> Canard pointed out.

<Oh.> He smirked. <Of course.>

"Just go," Mallory growled. "We need to get out of here."

Mallory ushered the former hostages ahead of her as she began to head toward the exit. Turning to check for Canard, she saw him still standing where she had left him, a look of utter concentration on his face. "Canard?" she called. "Canard! We have to get moving!"

He glanced up at her and she could see something akin to panic in his eyes. "We have to get up there! Now! Send the hostages on ahead and follow me!"

Mallory blinked as he darted out of the room, but didn't waste any time as she turned to the hostages. "Get out of here and as far from this place as you can," she instructed hurriedly. "The entire block is ready to go at any time. We'll follow as soon as we get the other hostages. Understood?"

Two of the three simply nodded and continued toward the exit, but the third remained behind. He was a smallish man, only slightly taller than Tanya would be, with pale hair and watery eyes. "Listen," he said, "I don't know who you are but this is police business and you have no place being involved. I think it will be best for all involved if you just quietly go on your way and leave this in the hands of trained professiona-hey!" He started as the other two officers returned and grabbed him by the arms, pulling him toward the exit. "Good luck, ma'am," one called back. "We'll brief the captain and have full backup waiting for when you need it."

"Just keep everyone away from this block," Mallory repeated. She waited only long enough to see them reach the exit be fore rushing after Canard.

He was on the staircase, paused outside the door to the third floor. "I can't make much of anything out," he reported. "Psi-inhibitors all over the place. Draggy doesn't want me looking ahead."

"Does this mean you can't read the fourth floor, either?"

"Oh, I can. I did when we first came in, remember? It just takes a lot more time that I'm comfortable with spending right now. besides, I doubt the fourth floor is what we have to worry about. No, the trap is going to be here." He grimaced. "It's like a test. If we survive whatever's waiting for us, we get to rescue the final hostage. If we fail, we all die."

"Sounds like fun," Mallory said unconvincingly. "Let's go already, huh? Waiting isn't likely to do us much good."

Canard chuckled slightly as he tested the handle of the door and found it unlocked. "You sound like Tre."

"Thanks."

"Oh, that wasn't a compliment." Canard ignored the dirty look she shot him and swung the door inward. The third floor looked much like the second, and for that matter, the third. Racks of clothing stood before them, mannequins dressed in the latest fashions stood against the walls to either side, and various outfits were displayed on the wall. "This place is gonna suck for maneuvering room," Canard said disappointedly. "We're gonna be tripping over things left and right."

Mallory grinned the same grin she used when Dive was especially wearing on her nerves. It usually sent the entire team running for cover, and it seemed to have the same effect on Canard. "So we'll just have to shoot anything that comes our way, now won't we?"

"Right," Canard said warily. "Do me a favor, and go first? I don't think I'd feel particularly safe with you standing behind me with a loaded weapon."

Mallory smirked. "Whatever you say."

"Somehow I doubt that," Canard muttered. "Stay on your guard. I can almost feel something... Something close and coming closer. Whatever he's got planned for us, it's on its way!"

Mallory paused in her slow advance and stood with her back to the wall at her left. She raised her puck launcher and held it at the ready. "This is going to be very bad, isn't it, Canard?" she asked, for the first time seriously.

"Afraid so, kiddo. But look on the bright side. One way or another, we're getting out of here."

Mallory would have glared at him, but at that moment a sound ripped through the air, reminding Mallory unpleasantly of the ancient vacuum cleaner Phil kept around the Pond for the rare days when he felt the need to annoy them with domesticity. She hated that vacuum cleaner, and now she as hearing the same sound, magnified a dozen times over. "I don't like this," she muttered beneath her breath. "I really, really-"

A flash of light split through the air about twenty feet away, looking something like forked lightening - if forked lightening could manifest itself indoors. Canard shouted something that sounded like "Portal!", but the vacuum sound was so loud Mallory couldn't be sure. The light seemed to open, and from it came exactly what Mallory didn't want to see.

"Hunter drones!" Canard shouted. "At least a dozen and more coming!"

"Hit them hard!" Mallory ordered. Even as she spoke, she aimed and fired several shots at the growing collection of robotic killers. They were gathered together in such a tight cluster that each of her shots hit, and three drones collapsed, whole to others sustained appreciable damage. She saw one of them spewing smoke and sparks rather liberally as they all turned to face the direction the attack have come from.

Canard let lose at almost the same instant with a ball of flame, similar to the ones Dragaunus had flung about so casually less than an hour ago. It struck directly in the middle of the pack, completely destroying several drones and damaging several others.

By now the drones were fighting back, firing lasers at the two Puckworlders. "Split up!" Canard ordered. "Keep moving. Don't let them get a clear shot!" He took off to the left and began to work his way around to the rear. Mallory, sensing that was what he intended, began to draw the drones fire away from Canard, allowing him to move unimpeded.

Mallory saw Canard take the somewhat minimal cover of a display case and take aim. At the same moment he began firing, Mallory joined in. It was with satisfaction that she watched their hits score, and the drones begin to fall apart. Canard was obviously doing something more, though, because the drones that didn't explode, simply fizzled to a halt. Mallory easily picked off the last one left standing, and she and Canard both abandoned their cover as they moved to join each other. "How'd you do that?" She asked, kicking at one of the ones that had 'fizzled.'

"I telekinetically rewired their internal circuitry. They shorted out," Canard replied absently. "Mallory, there's an inhibitor device hidden in the brunette mannequin behind you. Blow it away for me, please. I'll take care of the other two."

Mallory calmly blew the head off the mannequin Canard described while he dealt with the two others; one was in another mannequin, the third hidden amongst a rack of sweaters. With the inhibitors out of the way, Canard paused and concentrated o n the upper level. "I sense nothing," he said tiredly. "It should be clean going to reach the final hostage."

"You really think it will be?"

Canard smiled, a little sadly, a lot exhausted, "No." He said nothing more, and began making his way back to the staircase.

The fourth floor was easily reached, and easily breached. There were no traps on the door, or awaiting them within. Mallory spotted the hostage immediately, a young male officer hanging by his ankles from the ceiling. Mallory managed to hold her laughter while Canard telekinetically broke the ropes holding the hostage in place, and Mallory caught the man as he fell to the ground. She steadied the officer on his feet, ignoring the confused and somewhat wary look he gave them both. "You okay, Canard?" The time traveler looked a lot like Duke did when the older man returned from his frequent three and four day disappearances. "You're not going to pass out on me or anything, are you?"

"I'll be fine. Let's just hope that we can get out of here without anymore traps." He caught the skeptical look on her face. "Yeah, I know it's unlikely. I can dream, right?"

They gave the hostage all of a minute to get the blood flowing back in the direction it should be before hustling him to the staircase and downstairs. This time they bypassed the third and second floors, not stopping until they reached the ground floor. Mallory pushed the door open ahead of her and almost ran directly into the hunter drone that stood there.

In the time it took he to register its presence, Mallory drew and fired, hitting the robot directly in the 'face' and reducing it to so much scrap metal.

Canard laughed appreciatively as they continued on to the entrance. "Nice shooting, Tex. Let's move it. Only six minutes left on Dragaunus' time limit."

"Okay, this might just work. Do me a favor guys?"

Tanya and Grin regarded her silently, waiting to see what she would do. Tremaine offered them a grateful smile as she began to unfold her plan. "I'm going to 'freeze' the bomb, for lack of a better word, but that'll only work a couple of minutes before I lose my hold on it. You two need to get the hostages out of the vault and somewhere safe before then. Then I let the bomb go, and we all hope that we have enough cover."

Tanya raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a plan."

"Such as it is," Grin added.

Tremaine shrugged, no more happy with it than they were. "I wish there was another way, but we've only got thirty-eight minutes left. I don't know of any other way to do this without coming dangerously close to breaking the time limit." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Get your puck launchers ready; those drones are likely to start firing the instant they see the doors open. I'm going on three.

"One.

"Two.

"Three!" Tremaine telekinetically seized the trigger of the bomb, holding it in place while she simultaneously reached out and ripped the bank vault from its hinges. "Go!"

Tanya and Grin were already moving toward the vault. Tre heard the puck launchers fire, but she couldn't see anything once they'd entered the vault, and she was too tired to try telepathy. The strain of holding the trigger, which required extreme delicacy and caution, combined with the brute force she'd used to rip open the vault door was taking it's toll on her. She hoped Grin and Tanya were all right.

Tanya was hoping the same thing, right about then.

The two hunter drones Tre had warned them about were easily disposed of and they both moved to untie the hostages. Tanya reached the first hostage and stopped to untie him when she noticed Grin hadn't come any closer. "Grin?" she asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Grin held his puck launcher ready again - a bad sign, Tanya knew. Grin preferred to fight with his bare hands when he had the choice. If he was resorting to the puck launcher he must be expecting trouble.

"The back wall," he said quietly. "Behind the hostages. It rippled."

"Rippled?" Tanya asked. "How can a wall ripple?"

Grin shrugged. "After everything that's happened these last few weeks, do you really doubt that it's possible?"

"No," Tanya sighed grimly. "Keep a watch on whatever it is. I'm going to try and get the hostages free before there's any more trouble." She hit a button on the omnitool and a small vibrating saw appeared. She hurriedly began to cut the ropes that bound the first of the hostages.

With Grin standing watch, Tanya worked quickly and the three hostages were free in just moments. "Come on," she instructed them. "No time to waste. You have to get out of here!" She herded them onto their feet and toward the vault door.

"Tanya!" Grin called. "It's starting!"

Tanya said something more likely to come from Mallory or Nosedive. "Get out of here! Now!" They listened, rushing past her to the doorway. Tanya turned back to Grin. "What is it?"

"Look."

Reluctantly, Tanya did. The rippling grin had told her about was indeed there, wave after wave of it, like the wall was made of some sort of jelly. "I don't like this..."

"Neither do I," Grin agreed.

They watched silently as the rippling increased until the entire back wall had joined the phenomenon. Tanya watched with growing dread as the ripples seemed to mold themselves, until they originated around a central point, like the ripples left when a stone is dropped into a pond. The central point widened until it covered most of the wall. The center pulsed with an inner strength, then began to iris open.

From the opening came a vicious, bloodcurdling roar and Tanya felt here eyes widen. "That sounds awfully familiar," she said softly. "Grin-"

"Velociraptors," Grin replied. "I remember."

"I remember what they did to Duke and Dive," Tanya said with a slight shudder. "If Dragaunus is sending one of those things our way..."

"We're in trouble," Grin finished.

The opening pulsed again, and a large reptilian head poked through. Beady yellow eyes fixed on the two Ducks and rows of gleaming sharp teeth flashed as the creature roared again. "We can't let this thing get loose," Grin shouted. "Fire, Tanya!"

They opened fire at the same instant, driving the creature back into the - the whatever it was it had come out of. Despite the danger of the situation, Tanya made a mental note to ask Tremaine what this sort of phenomenon was.

"Guys," Tremaine called from outside the vault, her voice quavering with strain. "I can't keep this up much longer. Whatever you're doing, do it fast!"

"I have an idea," Grin said. "Tanya, you and Tre go. I'll hold this thing off until you're clear."

"I can't just leave-"

"Yes you can," Grin said firmly. "We can't risk this thing getting lose, and it's shrugging off the puck launchers. Trust me, Tanya. Get out of here. I'll follow."

"You had better," Tanya said fiercely. With a moment's hesitation, she turned and rushed from the vault.

Tremaine stood exactly where they had left her, sweat coating her brow, eyes closed, brow furrowed in concentration. "Tre," Tanya called. "Let's go. We need to get out of here."

She glanced at Tanya. "Where's Grin?"

"He's staying," Tanya said grimly. She grabbed Tremaine by the arm and began hustling her out of the bank, ignoring her weak protests. "He knows what he's doing, Tremaine. He's giving us the time to get out of here."

"I can't leave!" Tremaine protested. "I came here to try and stop you all from being killed, not to get you killed!"

Tanya tried to ignore the finality of the girl's words. "He's not going to get himself killed. He knows what I'll do to him if he does."

Tremaine stopped struggling, though it was more likely out of exhaustion than capitulation. Tanya didn't worry about the whys of it, she just pulled Tremaine along with her as she ran for the bank entrance. She reached the door and slammed her shoulder against it, barely loosing speed as she hurled herself through the door, still dragging Tre with her. They had barely reached the middle of the street when the bank exploded into a fiery ball.

Wildwing took in the sight that greeted him. The building he and Drake had barely escaped from was missing its windows and about two stories, but was still standing. The same could not be said for Drake, who had collapsed as soon as they were clear of the building. Wildwing had dragged Drake and the human hostage - Nicky - to a spot where they would not be easily seen, and would be somewhat protected from any further explosions. A good move, as it turned out. He'd barely gotten the two of them out of the way, when two more explosions shattered the afternoon. He turned in time to see the small caf� Duke and Dive had entered explode outward, even as he saw Tremaine and Tanya thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion coming from the bank behind them. There was no sign of Grin he realized with his heart in his throat. And where the hell are Dive and Duke?

He took of at a run, reaching Tanya's side in seconds. The blond woman was shaking her head, but otherwise seemed fine. Tremaine, on the other hand, looked almost as tired as Drake. "You two all right?" he asked.

Tanya nodded slowly, apparently testing to see if her head would protest the movement. "We're fine," she said weakly, her voice slightly harsh from breathlessness. "But Grin-"

Wildwing clasped her hand and helped her to her feet. "Where was he?"

"The vault," Tanya told him. "There was some sort of portal or something, and a velociraptor was coming through. We couldn't hold it off, and Tremaine was losing strength, so he told me to go ahead." She shook her head, and when she spoke again she sounded almost angry. "He told me he'd be right behind us. He promised he'd be all right!"

Wildwing glanced back at the bank and winced slightly at the ruined hulk of a building left behind. He concentrated, straining impatiently for his focus, weariness and worry making it even harder than it normally was. But there it, was, the always calm mind he was looking for. "Thank the stars," he sighed. "He's still in there, Tanya. He's alive."

"You're sure?" Tanya asked. She shook her head with a wry look. "Of course you're sure. We need to get him out of there."

"You get started," he instructed. "I'm going to see if Dive and Duke made it out on time. Be careful. And keep and eye on Tre, she looks pretty far gone."

Tanya waved him off. "Go make sure the others are okay. I'll take care of things here."

The caf� was in as bad shape as the bank. Two men lay face down on the pavement, slowly pushing themselves into a sitting position. Two of the hostages, Wildwing assumed. He paused just long enough to make sure they were all right, before turning his attention back to the remnants of the caf�. There was no sound, no movement, and no sign of the third hostage, or his two teammates.

As he had with Grin, Wildwing reached out, searching for the three minds that had to be there somewhere. With an ease that had been present from the first moment he tried this, his mind found the presence that had always been there, just never so strongly as now. <Dive? Talk to me, bro.>

<Hey, Wing,> Dive returned cheerfully. <Nice day we're having, isn't it?>

<Duke? And the other hostage?>

<They're safe. We're just taking a vote on whether we'd be happier if we dug our way out, or if we stayed right here.>

Wildwing chuckled. <Start digging, baby brother.>

<Yeah, yeah. So bossy.>

Wildwing heard footsteps approaching and he turned to see Mallory and canard approaching, ushering a stunned man ahead of them. "Wildwing?" Mallory called. "What happened? Are the others all right?"

"Looks like it," Wildwing said. "Canard, could you give Tanya a hand over at the bank? Mallory get this guy out of here. Oh, and there's a guy over there," he gestured back toward the store he and Drake had just barely escaped from. "A cop. Young guy, about my age. Blond hair. Get him out of here." He waited until they had left before focusing once again on the caf�. <So, how's the vote going?>

<Unfortunately,> Dive grumbled, <my less-than-esteemed colleagues seem to think we should probably get out of here.>

<So why don't you?> Wildwing asked exasperatedly.

<My heart bleeds,> Wildwing replied teasingly. <Time to go, kiddo. This isn't over yet.>

The reply was unintelligible - the same type of gibberish Wildwing usually received when attempting to wake Dive in the morning. From a few feet away there was a shifting of debris and several boards, beams and stars knew what else floated into the air and settled back down a few feet away. Wing caught a glimpse of blond hair as Dive struggled to his feet. Wildwing went to join him, steadying the young man until he could get his balance. "Long day," Dive said. "Thanks."

"No problem. What about Duke and the hostage?"

Dive sighed and closed his eyes as he concentrated. "Over there," he gestured absently. "Gimme a minute." He leaned against his brother's side as he carefully began to pry at the debris covering the other two. Just as it had with him, debris lifted into the air, then moved away a few feet before dropping back to the ground. Wildwing lent his own abilities to the effort, carefully lifting the boards covering the buried men.

The hostage was the first on e completely freed. Wildwing almost laughed as Klegghorn peered up from behind a pile of boards and stared wide-eyed at the debris, seemingly moving under its own power. He looked around; spotted Wildwing and Dive and offered them both a baleful glower before clambering out of his former prison and scurrying toward them. "What is going on around here?!" he demanded.

"Life, death, ancient prophecies," Wildwing shrugged. "Possibly the end of the world as we know it. You know. The typical."

Klegghorn stared for an instant, then turned away, grumbling under his breath. Wildwing let him go, watching as Dive dug away the last of the debris covering Duke. "He's got a head injury," Dive mumbled. "Nothin' serious..."

"Dive?" Wildwing glanced down at his little brother. Dive was still leaning against his side, his head resting on Wildwing's shoulder. He looked absolutely wasted. Wildwing doubted he'd be much good during the next confrontation - and there was no doubt there would be another confrontation. "Hey, bro, take it easy." Wildwing slid an arm around Dive's shoulders and braced him against his side. "Just take it easy. We're almost out of here."

Duke had finished pulling himself free and joined them. "The kid okay?" he asked Wildwing worriedly.

"He'll be all right," Wildwing assured him. "We just need to get out of here."

"Doesn't look like that's going to be happening anytime soon," Duke said warily. "Wing."

Wildwing followed Duke's gaze. "Oh, my-"

"That," Dive said tiredly, "is so not good."

The High Lord grinned down at them.

Canard almost dropped the beam he was endeavoring to shift away from grin. "Shit!"

"Canard?" Tanya gave him a worried glance. "What is it?"

"The High Lord," Canard reported tersely. "He's with the others. We have to get over there now." He lashed out with his right hand, a fierce, abrupt gesture. Piles of debris lifted into the air and were flung away more than ten meters. Canard shook his head, refusing to acknowledge any weariness. "Grin!"

The large Duck emerged unharmed an made his way across the rubble toward his teammates. "We need to go," Canard told him. "The High Lord has Dive and Wildwing."

Mallory knelt beside the unconscious police officer, the blond one Wildwing had sent her after. She slung him over her shoulder and began to stand. A hand grabbed her ankle.

Mallory started and glanced down. Drake was on his hands and knees, slowly trying to get to his feet. "Leave him here," the older man ordered. "We need to get to the others now."

"He's out of it," Mallory protested. "He may need medical care. He may die. I can't leave him here."

"You have to," Drake said firmly, levering himself to his feet. "The High Lord has gone after the Sons of Ducaine and if we don't get there in time to stop him this entire planet is dead."

"This is quaint." The High Lord surveyed the four men before him as he would any annoying insect. "Do you realize I already killed you all once?"

Duke gave him an uninterested look. "Do tell."

"If you insist," The High Lord acquiesced. He moved like a snake, like the lizard he truly was, as he circled around them, examining them from all sides. "You, Mr. l'Orange, were very hard to kill. I dare say it took days before Siege put you completely out of your misery. And you, Wildwing, I must regretfully admit, were not mine to destroy. You met your end at the hands of one of my generals. But this one," the High Lord paused in front of Nosedive, who still leaned heavily against his brother's side and traced one claw along the side of Dive's face, almost affectionately. Dive jerked away from the touch and Wildwing protectively placed himself between his brother and the Saurian without loosing his hold on Dive. The High Lord gave them a tolerant glance and continued. "You, young one, perished at my own hand, I'm proud to say. It is not every day a man gets to kill his enemy in the manner he deserves." The dark smile on his face became even darker and more twisted. "I became a legend when I killed the last son of Ducaine."

"It's not going to happen," Wildwing vowed. "Not this time around. We're here to stop you from ever existing."

"An admirable goal, from your point of view, I suppose," The High Lord said diffidently. "But ultimately a failure. For you see Wildwing, what those children from the future have neglected to tell you, is that without the two of you, all is lost. The prophecy is much deeper than you have been led to believe, and without the Sons of Ancients to join in the Game as it should be played, the outcome is preordained. In other words, my dear Wildwing, if you are dead before the time for the final conflict comes, then I win. For who shall stand against me? Your pathetic teammates?" He laughed. "A couple of them have a trace of the power, but they will never develop it. They will be crushed before me. Your allies back on Puckworld? You know as well as I do that the occupation continues even now. They are too busy trying to survive to worry about what happens in another universe. The human girl? She doesn't even know of the prophecy yet - and I intend to make sure she never does. You see, it's really all finished. You are dead, and this world, and yours, will follow you. The Saurian Empire is about to be restored to all its former glory."

"Go to hell, Dragaunus," Duke said fiercely. "There will always be someone to stop you."

"There will always be rebels. This one, for instance." The High Lord gestured and Klegghorn rose several feet in the air. "He and his friends form a rather effective resistance, but one that ultimately causes little damage. A few more years and the last of them will be wiped out. I repeat. It is over."

"It will never be over, Dragaunus," Nosedive said suddenly, sounding a hundred times stronger than he had just moments before. "Not so long as one of us still lives."

Wildwing realized what he planned an instant before the High Lord. "Dive!"

But Dive was already moving. He shoved Wildwing's shoulder with one hand, pushing him back, and did the same to Duke with the other hand. The High Lord raised a hand, trying to stop him, but Dive struck first, ribbons of energy erupting from the air before him and lashing out to entangle the Saurian. The High Lord screamed his rage, fear and realization distorting his features. He struggled, freeing one hand and striking the air before him. The same strands of energy that surrounded him now reached out to ensnare Dive as well.

Wildwing lunged forward, but met a solid wall of resistance. "Dive, damnit! Don't you dare!"

Dive said nothing, and Wildwing could see the ribbons of energy growing thicker, and stronger and brighter as they twisted around the two silent combatants. A few feet away Duke slammed his fists against the invisible barrier. "What the hell are they doing?" he shouted.

"Making sure Dragaunus doesn't get his preordained victory," Wildwing said harshly.

"Sweet stars..."

The energy strands grew larger and thicker and brighter until it was blinding to look directly at them, but still the two Puckworlders watched and hoped that the outcome of this battle would be one they could live with. Klegghorn joined them as they silently watched.

There were footsteps from behind them as the rest of them team rushed to join them. Canard came to a stop at Wildwing's side. "Oh, God, tell me he's not..." he murmured softly.

"Not what?" Wildwing demanded.

"It's a teleport vortex," Canard said, dawning horror setting into his voice and eyes. "Dragaunus is forming one, and Dive's forming another. No matter which one of them wins, the backlash will kill them both."

Tremaine shook her head. "Dive knew that would happen. I told him what could happen if two people ever tried to do this."

Wildwing felt the barrier before him flicker and fall as Dive lost the strength to maintain it. Canard held a strong grip on his arm, forbidding him from going forward. "Dive was right," Canard said softly. "One of you must be ready to stand against Dragaunus. Going in there will only get you killed. Believe me," he added softly, "I know how hard this is. But you can't."

Wildwing shook his grip away but made no move to go forward. <I'm sorry, Dive.>

There was no reply in words, but Wildwing felt a wash of love and affection as the blinding light became even brighter, and faded away completely.

"No," Duke said, his voice tinted with shock. "No. No, damnit! Not like this!"

Tanya sagged against Grin in silent shock and grief as Mallory turned away, eyes closed in silent sorrow. Tremaine turned to Drake, failure and grief apparent in both their expressions. This had been a loss they could not afford.

Canard turned to Wildwing, but said nothing, realizing there was nothing to be said. Silently he rested one hand on the other man's arm, then walked away to join his own brother and cousin, leaving Wildwing a moment of peace.

Wildwing said nothing, did nothing. His anguish was turned inward as something in the back of his mind shattered, and was lost.

As the stars proclaimed
the new Age
and the world rang 
with the joyous
song of liberty,
the Chosen's song of 
mourning reached
only their own hearts
as the Heralder was lost 
to them.
	- Excerpt from The Song of Liberty

Continued in Part Two.

Return to The Blood of Ancients.
Return to The Mighty Ducks Fan Fiction Page.
Return to The Mighty Ducks Page.

The Mighty Ducks and all related characters and logos are the property of Walt Disney Corporations. No copyright infringement is intended. This site is in no way approved, sponsored or endorsed by or on behalf of Walt Disney Corporations.