Friendly Fire

Written by Zelda

 

(Author’s note: This is a multiverse crossover fic, containing not only Ducks and my original characters, but heroes and villains from Freakazoid!, Earthworm Jim, and Animaniacs. Consider it a snapshot of one of animation’s greatest eras, and enjoy!)

 

                It was getting late as the Ducks yawned and stretched, settling into bed in their mass sleeping quarters. The Ducks slept in a long room, walled on the sides by bunk-beds that stretched halfway down the room, and storage lockers and tables that stretched down the other half. When one entered the room, the bed assignments would be as follows: on the right side, from back to front, top rows would be Nosedive and Tanya, bottom would be Mallory and Grin. On the left side, Duke had the top, Wildwing had the bottom, and Zelda slept in a small reed hammock she had made herself, hung closest to the door. The Ducks crawled beneath the covers, snorting and sighing goodnights. It was often in these dim, dark, drowsy hours that tales of personal pasts, philosophies, and just plain stories were told to the rest of the group, who were always willing to listen.

                "So Zelda." sighed Grin. "Tell us about the others you fight for. I hear they are quite the noble band." Zelda raised her head, swaying drowsily in her hammock, and smiled proudly.

                "Oh, I work with some of the best, including you guys." she yawned. "I have one, by the name of Earthworm Jim, and his sidekick Peter Puppy. They work for Universal, and are quite the comical pair. But they are determined in their causes, and battle evil all over the universe. Another is Freakazoid. He also has his nonchalant humor, and takes on a more earthly-but just as hideous-evil. Besides that, I am always willing to work for anyone who fights for a good cause, as you know."

                "Zelda, I'm just curious. How do they manage to call you and the other leaders?" asked Wildwing.

                "Yeah." joined in Tanya. "I mean, you guys don't have any communicators or anything." Zelda stood up and leapt out of her hammock, starting to rummage through a chest she had hewn out of a log, which usually contained most of her musical instruments.

                "Ahh, but that's where you're wrong." she smiled. She pulled out six thin whistles made out of reeds, each tied to a woven strand of soft rope. "These are the tools that hail me and my leader friends, whenever our comrades are in need of assistance." She trotted around the room, and handed out one to each Duck. "I need to give one to Phil as well." she muttered as a thought.

                "But Zelda, what are these weedy things?" questioned Nosedive, interested.

                "Blow into the thinner end." she instructed. Nosedive did as told, and a small, thin, high whistle wavered through the air and dissipated quickly.

                "I couldn't hear anything." said Mallory. "Yes, but I and my fellow leaders could." said Zelda, uncovering her ears. Duke blew on his whistle, causing Zelda to wince and withdraw very slightly.       "Looks kinda painful." started Wildwing.      

                "Naaa, just lets me know you need me." assured Zelda. "In time, I'll get to know each of your separate calls, because each whistle is different. The number of times you whistle and the strength of the noise it produces will act as an indicator of distress, to help me tell how dangerous the situation at hand is." She yawned and paced slowly back to her hammock, leaping back into it and laying down again. "The only thing I ask of you is not to use them unless you need to. You know, no practical jokes."

                "A reasonable rule." noted Grin, as he hung his whistle around his neck, and settled back down as well. Zelda smiled, nestled down into the soft moss padding at the bottom of her hammock, and fell asleep.

 

                Zelda awoke suddenly, Something was wrong! Drake One's alarm was going off, but it must be at least 2 in the morning! Zelda stood up on her forepaws and blinked to clear her vision, as the Ducks leapt up quickly.

                "Okay, which bozo reset the alarm clock?" yawned Nosedive.

                "Come on!" called Wildwing, running out the door. Zelda galloped along with the others as they ran into the Ready Room. Zelda stopped short, screeching to a halt on the metal floor of the Ready Room, staring in fear at Drake One's screen, depicting a huge red dot right smack dab in the middle of "Warner Brothers and Universal Studios!". Suddenly, the others turned as Zelda whined and winced. "What is it Zelda?" asked Wildwing. Zelda regained herself and stared up in fear.

                "It's Earthworm Jim!" Zelda clapped her claws over her ears and winced again. "And Freakazoid! They're both calling me!" she whined.

                "Come on!" yelled Wildwing. The team leapt into the Aerowing, and blasted away.

 

                Inside the ship, Wildwing turned attentively to Zelda.

                "What's happening over there?" he asked.

                "They're whistling me like crazy." whined Zelda distractedly. "But we should have help. I'm willing to bet my scales that Diamond, Silver, and Northstar are on their way to help if they aren't there already." With this, the ship landed with a hiss and screech in the parking lot of  the Warner Brothers Studio.

 

                Zelda was let out first, and leapt in concern up to two figures that stood in shadow a ways off. The team followed behind her, and came upon a wearied Jim and Peter standing in the middle of the lot.       "Jim!" she whined. "What's happening? Where are they?" Jim looked down happily at Zelda, and then up at the Ducks.

                "Zelda, I assume you brought the Mighty Ducks to help?" asked Peter.

                "The ones who attacked you are our enemies." explained Wildwing.

                "They're over in the lot between the studios! Hurry!" yelled Jim, and he ran off, with the team following behind him.

 

                The team rounded a bend, to have Freakazoid thrown violently at their feet. Jim and Nosedive helped him up, and he turned to face the group.

                "Zelda! I knew you'd come!" he said happily. "And I see you brought some help." Zelda grinned.    "My friends, this is hardly the time for a formal introduction, so I'll make it short. I present to you, the Mighty Ducks! Team leader Wildwing, Tanya, Grin, Duke, Mallory, and Nosedive. The lizards that attacked you earlier are our hated Saurian enemies."

                "Umm, speaking of attacked...." interrupted Nosedive. The group turned slowly around to see Siege and Wraith leap in front of them. "Get ready for a rematch!"

 

                The group flew off in all directions, trying to dodge a fireball of blasts and lasers. One half got up and charged Siege as a force, while the others took on Wraith. Zelda smacked Siege in the head, and was about to do it again, when a huge arm grabbed her by the back of the neck and lifted her high in the air. At first, she thought it was the Chameleon, but turning around, she was horrified to see Dragaunus himself fighting!

                "Nighty night, foolish dragon!" he laughed, and threw her to the ground. Zelda bounded up and ran away, but skidded to a stop in front of a line of hunter drones, turning and scurrying away just in time to avoid their blasts. Zelda ran up to Wildwing, who had also been knocked to the ground. The drones marched up to them and aimed, and Zelda stood protectively yet helplessly in front of Wildwing. Just as she squinted in fear and preparations to receive the drone's fire, she heard the screeching and smashing of metal instead. She looked up in suprise to see that Northstar, Diamond, and Silver had arrived, and toppled the drones over! She bounced up happily to greet them, and then let them know of the situation. Wildwing stood and looked about, too see that even the wearied Freakazoid and Earthworm Jim had once again been enswirled in battle.

                "Come on!" he yelled. "The others need out help!"

 

                The Chameleon had snared Tanya, Peter, and Duke up as he pretended to be a giant snake, Nosedive was trying to thwart of Wraith, Grin was in a shoving match with Dragaunus, Freakazoid and Mallory were trying to get shots in-between fights. In the meantime, Earthworm Jim was firing haphazardly against Siege's laser, and Zelda and Northstar ran off to help. They approached Siege quickly from the back, but he heard them coming and let loose with his tail club, delivering a smashing blow across Northstar's stomach, and sending him flying. Zelda paused in dismay, but Wildwing ran in from behind her and checked Siege against the pole of the watertower. He pointed his puck-launcher at Siege's nose and waited for Zelda and Jim to flank him. Suddenly, Mallory gave a cry of distress and pointed upward. The group turned up to see Wraith himself holding Yakko by the belt strap.

                "Yakko!" cried Northstar.

                "One move Ducks, and your toon is toast!" he pointed a finger directly at Yakko's head, threatening to blast him. The others glanced at each other in dismay. Suddenly, a scream came from high up in the air. Silver has flown up behind the tower, and now swooped in from behind Wraith, snatching Yakko from his grasp, and flying off. Wraith roared in anger and shot his power blasts at Silver, who was easily hit as he struggled to hold Yakko's weight. Silver flung Yakko out as he was hit, and Yakko landed in a pile of cardboard boxes. Silver however, continued to receive fire, and landed with a loud thud on the asphalt.

                "Blast 'em!" yelled Wildwing, and the team proceeded to fire at Wrath and Siege with their pucks. Dragaunus and the Chameleon stepped in with them, and they disappeared all at once. The battle was finally over.

 

                Tanya helped Silver up gingerly, and they walked over to the center of the lot, where the rest had regrouped.

                "Everyone okay?" asked Wildwing.

                "Fine here." said Zelda, speaking for just about everyone.

                "What was that about?" asked Yakko.

                "I don't know. What could Dragaunus possibly want here?" asked Jim.

                "Perhaps this is linked to me. After all, I am a friend to all of you guys." whined Zelda slowly.            "True, Zelda, but I still don't see a legitimate reason..." continued Wildwing. It was getting late as the smoke cleared from the lot.

                "Do you think it's safe to stay here?" asked Yakko.

                "I don't see why not. I mean, we scared them off once." replied Duke.

                "Hey, It's getting late." yawned Frekazoid. "Why don't you guys just go back to Anaheim. Take the four with you. I'm sure you're more in danger than we are, and if not, we'll stay here until morning."    "That's very considerate of you." started Northstar.

                "Hey, it's nothing. Besides, the Road Rovers, Huntsman, and maybe even Superman might show up to help." laughed Peter.

                "Well." said Wildwing, turning to Silver, Northstar, and Diamond. "You guys are welcome to stay at the Pond as long as you like."

                "Well, I guess we could stay for a game or two..." started Diamond politely.

                "Oh come on you guys, you know what a long trip it is back, and you've never seen the Pond." grinned Zelda.

                "Okay, we'll come along" chuckled Silver, and the team waved good-bye, piled onto the Aerowing, and flew off for Anaheim.

 

                The Ducks were all too glad to get back to sleep, and Zelda, Diamond, Silver, and Northstar all fit cozily into one hammock. Zelda nestled down proudly with her friends. Now, they could rest.

               

                Awakening, tired and sore, in the morning, Zelda led her leader comrades on a tour of the Pond, while the Ducks readied for practice. As the Ducks crisscrossed the ice, the four sat in the rafters and contemplated the events of the night before.

                "So why do you think Dragaunus attacked the studios?" asked Northstar.

                "I still don't see any link but me." sighed Zelda.

                "Perhaps Dragaunus is trying to get you mad, so that you get hasty and make a mistake in a future battle." volunteered Silver.

                "Possible, but I know Dragaunus... sorta. He would have wanted a technology to help get his ship in the air." replied Zelda.

                "But the studios don't have anything like that." said Diamond.

                "I still don't see a very legitimate connection." Northstar sighed. Just another mystery, Zelda thought. But her leader comrades didn't see the intense rage she held against Dragaunus from the inside. He, one of what she thought were her long gone ancestors, dared to come to this planet and fight his descendants and their friends, to dirty the name of the dragon with his brand of evil. It was despicable, and Zelda hated Dragaunus for it. Yet, she knew she would never hate him as much, or as coolly, as the Ducks could. The Saurians had destroyed their planet once, and had threatened it again. Even poor Wildwing had lost his best friend in that dimensional limbo. Zelda slumped down. The battle against Dragaunus would be long and hard, but she was ready.

 

                Two days afterwards, the three leaders had kindly taken their leave, and things went back to normal. But that one incident at the studios kept haunting Zelda. She finally decided to go and do a little research herself. Zelda flew down to the studios on a free afternoon, to look around and see if there was anything to arouse suspicion. On her arrival, Dot offered to accompany her. They both went around to each of the studios, until they came to Soundstage #19, the last one in the lot. Although it was basically just like all the others, Zelda didn't mind poking and prodding about the dusty corners. It gave her a better feeling for what the toons of the Warner Bros. really were. Digressing for a moment, Zelda was rather suprised at how some would look harshly down upon a toon simply because of the name they worked under. Toons were toons, no matter what brand name they carried beneath their belts. It was a rather foolish assumption, in her opinion, to blast a toon in such prejudice. Anyway, looking through the dark corners of the soundstage's recording room, Zelda came upon a strange device she had never seen before. This wasn't unusual to her. She knew so little of human technology, many things puzzled her.

                "What's this?" she asked, turning to Dot.

                "Umm, looks like a computer sound scrambler-programmer." commented Dot, turning the device over in her hands.

                "A what?" asked Zelda, alarmed slightly at the terminology.

                "I think they used it to help the computers manipulate the sound effect they make in here." smiled Dot.

                "Okay, that's better." Zelda put the small piece of machinery back down on the control panel. Slowly, Zelda and Dot approached the crack of thin sunlight that signaled the mostly closed door. Suddenly, the door was thrown open, and three shadows stood before them in the blazing light. One thick and bulky, one thin and tall, and one short and lanky.

                "Goin' somewhere?" hissed a familiar voice. "We don't think so."

 

                The Ducks were returning from a practice, when Drake One's alarm went off. Running into the Ready Room, they were surprised to see a transmission from The Lobe, a villain unbeknownst to them.        "Good day, Mighty Ducks!" he laughed in greeting.

                "What's this all about Lobe?" asked Wildwing.

                "Such hostility, waterfowl?" he chuckled.

                "Any evil is a foe of ours, now what do you want?" Wildwing snorted.

                "Very well. We have a little present for you, a bit of a tape from a friend." The Lobe backed away, revealing a TV screen, as he flicked a few switches, and revealed a live image form a hazy camera.             "Wildwing? Ducks?" asked a familiar voice in a frightened tone. The Ducks leaned forwards in alarm as the picture cleared. Zelda was trapped in a huge metal cylinder, which looked like a giant hamster wheel. Next to her, Dot was trapped in the same situation.

                "Zelda!" Mallory yelled. "Let them go!" Suddenly, Wraith loomed into the picture.

                "I don't think so." he laughed. "Dragaunus has sealed the greatest union of evil in this universe! The unification of evil of both brands!" The Ducks were horrified. Dragaunus must have struck a deal with the Warner Bros. and Universal villains! This was not good. "At this time, this message is being broadcast to Earthworm Jim and Freakazoid. My dear, dear opponents, A final union of our evil powers shall crush you all!" Siege and Longhorn suddenly stepped into view, and went over to a switch on the wall.

                "Now, you filthy do-gooders, run!" commanded Evil the Cat. Dot folded her arms.

                "Yeah right, and what if we don't?" she snorted angrily.

                "Good question, silly toon!" laughed the Chameleon. "Throw the switch!" Longhorn and Siege both yanked the huge switch down, and all of a sudden, a long row of spikes shot out of the inner top of the wheels. Moving quickly, the spikes retracted and moved downwards, coming out of the next set of holes. As they neared the two, they instinctively started to back away.

                "Run Dot!" yelped Zelda, as she launched into a dash, breaking away just in time to avoid the spikes. As the wheels turned, the spikes went along faster, and the two were forced to run faster in turn, as the villains rolled on the floor in a ruckus of evil laughter. Psycrow recovered himself and stood back up. Your timer has been set, Duckies." he laughed wildly. "You know where to find us!" With that, the transmission ended suddenly. Without another word, Wildwing turned and ran for the Migrator.

 

               Just as the Migrator screeched to a halt in an empty lot on the borders of the two studios, Earthworm Jim and Peter landed on their Pocket Rocket, and Freakazoid screeched up in his Freakmobile. Wildwing knew they had come to help.

                "Diamond, Northstar, and Silver are on their way." said Freakazoid. As he spoke, a distressed Yakko and Wakko ran up to them.

                "Where are they?" Yakko asked. Wildwing pressed his hands to his Mask, looking for them.             "Siege is in Studio #15, Wraith in Animation building #9, and the Chameleon is in the props storage warehouse." he said.

                "And Zelda and Dot could be with any one of them!" growled Tanya.    

                "We'll split up!" suggested Earthworm Jim. "Peter and I will go with Nosedive and Duke to the soundstage. Tanya, Freakazoid, and Grin can check out the Animation building, and Wildwing and Mallory can take on the props building."

                "But what about us?" whined Wakko. "I think it's best for you guys to take cover. Go back to the watertower and wait for Dot." Yakko and Wakko shuffled away, disappointed, while the rest split up.

                "The leaders can catch up with us when they get here!" yelled Freakazoid, as he disappeared around the corner of a building. The three teams ran to each destination, hoping it would be they who found their comrades first...

 

              Duke and Tanya bounded around a corner, with Freakazoid right behind them.

                "Don't worry guys." he assured them, as they entered the darkness of the animation studio. "I know this place like the back of my hand."

                "Too bad you couldn't know of this coming!" hissed a sinisterly evil voice. Suddenly, the tail of a huge cobra lashed out, ensnaring Tanya and dragging her off into the shadows. Out of the darkness, the Cobra Queen loomed over them, along with Bob the Goldfish and his cats. Beside him stood Wraith and Candle Jack. Grin slowly advanced to the giant snake that was preparing to strike him.

                "Grin? What are you doing?" yelled Freakazoid, who was backing towards the door.

                "Stay mellow, animals like me." he murmured. Freakazoid turned, hesitatingly, as he was enveloped in a sudden cloud of smoke.

                "Going somewhere, feeble superhero?" Wraith laughed. He drew forward a fireball, and hurled it strait through the swirling smoke. Grin swirled around, alarmed, as Freakazoid was enveloped in a sudden explosion. Bob and his cats quickly surrounded him, backing him against a wall, away from Tanya, who had withdrawn her infrared laser.

                "If I can just distract it...." she muttered. As the snake writhed and coiled about her, she shone her laser against the far wall, flashing it and wavering it over Wraith. Suddenly, the snake became distracted, seeing as how a snake's eyes are sensitive to infrared light. The snake suddenly lunged out at Wraith, who was smacked against the wall. Tanya freed herself from the now loosened coils, and ran to help Grin, who was currently wrestling with the cats. Stopping short, she saw Freakazoid floating high up in the air, tied fast with a long strand of rope.

                "Freakazoid! What happened?" she yelled at him.

                "Candle Jack got me!" he yelled back.

                "Who on earth is..."

                "No! Don't say his...!"

                "Candle Jack!?" finished Tanya, to late to be interrupted. Suddenly, Candle Jack emerged from the wafting smoke, carrying his thick band of rope with him. Tanya suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath her feet, as she was lifted off of the floor. This was not good....

 

            At the same time, Nosedive charged strait into Longhorn's side, making him stumble away from his assault. Duke was currently deeply enveloped in fencing with the ever-elusive Chameleon (who had transported in from the props building), While Jim was involved in a haphazard shooting match with Queen slug-for-a-butt. All the while, Peter was bouncing around from confrontation to confrontation, trying to avoid The Lobe's bulky henchmen at the same time. Duke snatched up his duck saber as the Chameleon began to change shape again, knowing that neither Zelda nor Dot were here. They all had to get out and help the others! Suddenly, A thick rope fell over Duke's body, constricting around him. Duke soon found himself tangled in a lasso, thrown by the Chameleon-turned-cowboy.

                "Good shot, partner!" praised Longhorn, admiring the ropework as he marched up to him. "Now, it's my turn to practice a little steer-wrestling!"

 

           Wildwing and Mallory searched carefully through the jungle-like mess of the prop building.

                "I'm surprised that the other leaders aren't here yet." whispered Mallory. Wildwing nodded in agreement. They continued to search through the dark building, not knowing what they might find...

 

                Dot was exhausted. I mean, really tired. She felt as if her legs were gonna literally fall off, they ached so. But she had to keep on running. Zelda too, was panting and choking with a lack of air and overexertion of energy. Dot was desperate. She had tried slowing down, nearly getting her tail sliced off upon attempt. Glancing around her, she noticed the gears that turned the wheels located behind her. If she could just jam them with something... Discreetly, she took off the pink bow in her hair, and started to run backwards, to help her aim. As she stumbled and shook, she carefully raised her arm, and threw her bow between the spokes of the wheel. After a few horrifying seconds, she heard the creaking of gears, and smelled the stench of burning, straining machinery. Suddenly, the wheel she was in erupted in a loud explosion, and slowed to a stop. Then, Zelda's wheel followed a few seconds later. The villains cried angrily and advanced towards the smoking machinery. Zelda yelped. Exhausted, she knew she had to get out. Fixing her claws in the seams of the metal wheel, and wrenched her aching muscles as she pried the metal apart. Slipping through the small hole she had created, she then landed, panting, on the floor. No sooner did she land then she was met by intense fire from all directions. Enraged, the villains that had stayed to guard them had now started to attack! She leapt up and ran to Dot's wheel, helping her out. No sooner were both of them out, than they were overcome by the fire.

                "Hang on!" yelled Zelda, grasping Dot firmly around the shoulders. She was lighter than her brothers...if she could just be flown out... Suddenly, a huge chunk of ceiling came down near them, burying both Zelda and Dot in a thin pile of debris. Shaking it off, Zelda snatched Dot up, raised her wings, and leapt strait up, pumping hard. Struggling and darting through the fire, she flew up, and out of the smoking hole in the roof.

                "Cease fire!" roared a sinister voice as the two flew out of sight. Dragaunus emerged from the smoke, carrying the computer-scrambler that Zelda had found earlier in the sound stage. "Those two may have escaped, but those Ducks will never be able to get past this!" He cranked the device on, which had several wires reattached and led astray, and stood back as it pulsed with a light hum.

                "What ever is that thing going to do?" asked Cave Guy.

                "The Ducks posses certain technology. It's basically the root of their force. Shut it down, and you only have Freakazoid and that Worm to deal with. The Ducks will be rendered absolutely helpless." he grinned, as the machine whirred with a deadly steadiness.

 

                Suddenly, Wildwing ducked and brought his hands up to his head. Slowly, he closed his eyes and started to rock back and forth unsteadily.

                "Wildwing? What's wrong?" asked Mallory, coming up to him. Wildwing continued to wobble shakily, as if trying to fight off a bout of nausea. Mallory reached out a hand to steady him, just as his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor. Shaking and gripping his head in a slow pain, Wildwing groaned raggedly.

                "The noise.....stop the noise!" Mallory tried to pick him up again, but Wildwing wouldn't move. He just lay still, shaking his head in a slow, dull agony. Mallory leaned forwards in panic. Glancing up, she activated her com.

                "Guys? Anybody?" she asked. After a few seconds of soft static, Mallory knew they couldn't help her now. She took the whistle out of her utility belt. It was a long shot, but.....

 

                Zelda landed gratefully on the blazing red roof of the watertower, plunking Dot down as well.            "So now what?" she panted. Suddenly, Zelda winced, and then stared up in panic. "What is it?" Dot asked. At that moment, a round of laser fire snapped across the roof.

                "Mallory's calling me!" yelped Zelda, ducking low. "Go back with your brothers, inside the tower!" Dot slipped down precariously, all too glad to oblige. Zelda heard the tower door slam, and darted up into the sky, swooping over the props department.

 

                Tanya thought she had heard her com go off, but was in no position to get it. She could only float helplessly, ensnared in Candle Jack's rope, and watch Grin get pounded from all sides far below her. Grin had held up pretty well, but was now limping as backed up against the wall, trying to escape the Cobra Queen's venomous spit. Suddenly, Silver slammed into Candle Jack's back, knocking the rope from his hands. He flew up to Tanya and Freakazoid, and started uncoiling the rope from them.

                "The cavalry's here!" he said happily, as the three ran off to help Grin.

 

                Zelda picked her way through the dark props building, over to where Mallory stood. Wildwing lay curled helplessly on his side, still gripping his head in agony. Zelda shook his shoulder gently, after Mallory quickly ran through the situation. Wildwing made no response.

                "He seems to be trying to get at his head...." reasoned Zelda, looking about. "The Mask!" she thought suddenly, and reached forwards to take it off. Suddenly, a row of blue lasers lashed out and shocked her claws, as she tried to touch the Mask. Zelda drew her claws up and roared in a sudden spurt of intense pain. She looked down, alarmed, as Wildwing crimped up even further, and winced in pain. "There's some sort of force field around it...!" she marveled. Mallory reached for her com, and tried to call Tanya again. After a few seconds, she got her.

                "Tanya! Something's wrong with the Mask! We need your help in the props building!" yelped Mallory.

                "Okay....I'm on my way!" she said, through the crackling of explosions. Zelda nuzzled Wildwing up so that he leaned weakly against the wall. For now, they could only wait.

 

                Nosedive ran about wildly, trying to distract the bad guys away from Duke, who kneeled on the floor, stricken with a fresh blow. Jim circled protectively around him, while Peter helped him up. All four were staying in a small area, hoping for protection. But all it was bringing them was a larger number of higher-concentrated blows. Longhorn suddenly wheeled out of nowhere and struck Nosedive, swatting him into a wall with his horn. Queen Slug-for-a-butt, who was formerly involved in a fit of evil laughter, had recovered, and began her assault of powerful blasts once again, ripping the floor up in front of the point where the Ducks were holding ground. Peter knew they had to get out. They didn't stand a chance in here.... and the only thing blocking the door was the Chameleon.

 

                Tanya stumbled hastily through the jungle of props and backgrounds, searching for the others. Finally, she came upon the weary group, and kneeled down to help Wildwing. He had gone into some drowsy sort of shock, a half-conscious stupor out of which it seemed he could not come. While Tanya prodded carefully about with her Omnitool, Wildwing lay crimped and curled in his own agony.

 

                And intense agony it was. Wildwing could determine nothing through all the pain. He knew Mallory was still with him, she had to be. And he had felt something like Zelda's claw on his shoulder, but the slow, throbbing noise that invaded his head, flowing and emanating purely from the Mask, was mutating and horribly twisting all of his senses. The throbbing pain felt like and aching ringing in his head, but there was no sound. There was only a dull echo of the voices of those around him. He squinted his eyes and clenched his teeth, hoping to ebb the shapeless agony that was flowing from his head, and throughout his body, but he was left helpless.

 

                Tanya leaned back, exhausted.

                "There's some sort of command it's receiving, something's scrambling the system. The circuit board must be going crazy!" she coughed, not entirely sure of what to do.

                "So, how do we stop it?" asked Mallory, who understood little of what Tanya had just said.              "Well, there's some device jamming the Mask, and we have to find it." Zelda suddenly stood up.             "Soundstage 19! Where Dot and I were trapped! I went in there earlier and found some sort of scrambling device in the control room!" "And Dragaunus may have reprogrammed it to the frequency of the Mask!" growled Tanya. She prodded a bit more. She had to get that thing off of Wildwing's head before it went crazy! Finally, she was able to disable the force filed, and yank the Mask away. Wildwing shuddered and sank back against the wall, rubbing his eyes.

                "Are you okay?" asked Zelda, concerned.

                "Yeah" Wildwing muttered, standing up, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, I'm fine. How'd you get free?"

                "Very carefully." growled Zelda.

                "Wildwing, Dragaunus has some sort of computer-scrambling device, and it jammed the Mask! We gotta get it away from him before he uses it on our other equipment!" said Tanya.

                "Well where is he?" asked Mallory.

                "Hopefully still back in soundstage 19, but we're gonna need some help." replied Zelda.

                "Right." said Wildwing. He reached to activate his com, but was stopped by a high-pitched, screeching noise. "Great, Dragaunus must be jamming our coms." he snarled. "Come on! We'll have to get the others ourselves!" he said, turning to run out the door.

 

                Duke sparred powerfully off with Longhorn, trying to keep out of the way of Peter, who had turned into a monster, and was involved in trying to tear Jim limb from limb! The Lobe's thugs had Nosedive in a jam, as they backed him up against a wall, laughing. Suddenly, one of them picked Nosedive up, and slammed him against the wall, hard. As he sank, coughing, to the floor, Nosedive thought he saw something in the stage doorway. Suddenly, Diamond crashed into the side of one of the three thugs, causing all three of them to topple over like dominoes! Northstar bounded after her, and leapt up, crashing strait down on Longhorn's head. Longhorn snorted, and backed away from Duke, shaking his head violently, as Northstar held on for dear life. Finally, Longhorn roared and charged strait for a wall. Northstar leapt up and flew away, just as Longhorn slammed head-on into the wall. By this time, Jim had managed to calm Peter down, and they both stood up, torn and weary.

                "Well it's about time!" Nosedive coughed, running up to Diamond.

                "Where are the others?" asked Northstar, panting.

                "Over here!" yelled Zelda, from the studio doorway.

                "Zelda!" yelled Duke. "We thought you and Dot were trapped!"

                "Long story..." laughed Tanya.

                "Look, we gotta get the others and head over to Soundstage 19! Dragaunus has some sort of device that could jam our equipment!" yelled Wildwing.

                "Jeez, how many more times do we have to explain this?" asked Zelda comically. The team ran off, hoping to find Grin and Freakazoid in a condition good enough for one last battle...

 

                Freakazoid fell flat on the floor, wheezing and bruised. He had hoped Tanya would be back by now, but she hadn't returned. Grin was in deep trouble. Limping badly, he had proved and easy target for the Cobra Queen's snake, who was now squeezing him tighter than his structure might permit. Freakazoid struggled up, and ran strait into the side of one of The Lobe's thugs. It was a feeble gesture, yes, but that was all he could do at the time. The remaining two thugs circled him, laughing.

                "So, Freak Boy, we got you in a jam now, huh?" one of them cackled. Suddenly, a huge explosion ripped behind them, sending debris flying everywhere. Through the smoke, Earthworm Jim emerged, holding his laser out.

                "Guess again, ya big lumps o' nothin'!" he laughed, gesturing to them that they should step away before things got messy. The thugs were enraged at such a foolish move, and all three charged at him. Suddenly, Peter, Wildwing, Duke, Tanya, Nosedive, and Mallory loomed up from behind him, holding out their puck launchers and cannons.

                "No playing around this time, creeps." snarled Mallory. This time, the thugs turned and ran for dear life. The four leaders were grappling with the Cobra Queen's snake, until it gave up, and let Grin fall. Jim, Wildwing, and Mallory helped catch him, and place him on the floor. Freakazoid was helped up by Duke, and brought over also, while the remaining circled protectively around the group, fending off any evil-doers.

                "We'll have to get them outta here." sighed Wildwing.

                "Mallory! Nosedive! Help Grin and Freakazoid over to the Migrator and stay with them. There may be trouble."

                "No problem Bro.!" Nosedive yelled in reply, as the two hoisted the others up, and moved out of the studio door. Wildwing turned around to the rest of the team.

                "Now, let's go after Dragaunus."

 

                Suddenly, the ground exploded in front of them.

                "Looks like we won't have to be looking for him much longer!" yelled Jim, as all of the bad guys, minus a few who had been put out of commission, approached them. Dragaunus headed the team, laughing as he cloaked himself.

                "So Duckies, all alone, and without the Mask?" Wildwing reached for his puck bag, which had the Mask in safe-keeping, but Tanya stopped him.

                "Wildwing...that thing may still be jammed!" she reasoned. Wildwing nodded.

                "Now, I am to be the one who destroys you...and your puny little friends too!" roared Dragaunus, advancing further.

                "Hey, wait a minute!" yelled Longhorn from the background.

                "I wanna pound Freakazoid, and those leaders into the ground!"

                "Yeah! What about us?" growled Psycrow.

                "Fine!" snarled Dragaunus, decloaking. "You can have your own, but the Ducks, and Zelda, are mine!"

                "Absolutely not!" sniffed Cave Guy. "I wouldn't mind giving your Ducks a proper thrashing too."   "There's not enough of 'em to go around like this...I say we split 'em equal!" yelled Bob.

                "Quiet! All of you inferior earth villains!" roared Siege angrily.

                "Oh, so we're inferior, now are we?" glared Queen slug-for-a-butt. "Well, I think you need to find out just how inferior YOU are!" The villains suddenly exploded into a flurry of fighting amongst themselves.

                "Ha! Should've seen that one coming!" laughed Diamond.

                "Villain unions can never hold ground for very long anyway!" agreed Northstar.  Wildwing went over to a spot where Dragaunus had left the scrambling device, pulled out a puck launcher, and blasted it into rubble.

                "So what do you say?" asked Nosedive. "Let's leave the bad boys to their peace."

                "For once, kiddo, you've got a brilliant idea." laughed Jim. The team walked nonchalantly out of the studio, and towards the Migrator, leaving the villains to clawing at one another. As they walked out, Nosedive suddenly piped up.

                "Hey!? Whadda ya mean 'for once?'?!?!"

                "Unfortunately, superhero unions aren't very stable either..." chuckled Silver.                                                      

                                                                                The End

 

Mighty Ducks-The Animated Series, including all logos and characters (except mine) are copyright and property of Disney. All characters from Freakazoid!, Earthworm Jim, and Animaniacs are copyright and property of Warner Brothers. You may copy, print, or whatever with this document, so long as it is not altered and I (Zelda) am credited. Thanks!