The Mark

Written by Zelda

 

                Dragaunus sighed heavily after sealing The Chameleon in a separate chamber so that little shapeshifting rat with scales wouldn't annoy him any longer. He felt stuffy, cooped up. It was time for another one of his evil plots to rise up again. He started to think. Wraith came into the room slowly, with The Chameleon trailing close behind, hiding in Wraith's smoke trail. Siege marched into the room with a heap of scrap metal in his arms and set it down in a far corner. Suddenly, Dragaunus had an idea.

                "Siege." he ordered. "Set up a com link to scan the delta quadrant of sector seven." Siege looked at him strangely but obeyed and started setting up the link at the console.

                "What would you want there?" Wraith asked.

                "There are some of Saurian descent that could be of some use to us. The Overlords were on pretty good terms with them, perhaps we've gathered enough scrap on this miserable planet to deal with them." he said. The com link was fuzzy at first.

                "Who is this?" a deep voice ordered. The picture focused to reveal a Saurian creature! It had a ceratopsian crest with a large, meathooked horn on the snout that sloped forwards, and five horns on the frill. "Who is this? Come in?" the beak snapped.

                "This is Lord Dragaunus." The red lizard said, adjusting himself in his throne. The ceratopsian on the other end stood back.

                "The Saurian Overlord Dragaunus?" he asked. Dragaunus nodded. "Amazing. I heard that your kind disappeared into limbo."

                "My henchmen and I are the only survivors."

                "A better status than many." the ceratopsian mused.

                "So have I reached the group I intended?" Dragaunus smiled.

                "Indeed. I am Stock, leader of The Mark." Wraith and Chameleon stood back. They knew of The Mark. They were an elite and deadly band of Saurian descendants who were notorious intergalactic bounty hunters and hired hitmen.

                "Ahh, good to meet you Stock. If your Mark are available, I have a bit of a task for you." Stock cocked his head. "You see we were banished into limbo by a race of Ducks. When we emerged we tried to attack, but they drove us to this planet and six of them were trapped here. They're crippled our warship and smashed our inter-dimensional transportation. And they've gained allies while they've been here. Our own descendants have rallied against us!" Stock shook his head.

                "The Mark would be happy to alleviate your problems... but it's a long trip to Earth from where we are." he started. Dragaunus knew what he was talking about.

                "We've got enough Solarinite to fill three of your ship's storage rooms." Dragaunus offered. Stock grinned.

                "Solarinite? That's pretty rare stuff Dragaunus." he said.

                "Believe me we've got a vast source on this planet. And we'd be more than happy to share..." Stock mused over this for a moment, then grinned. He leaned over his shoulder and yelled for someone. A muscular Stegosaurus, resembling Seige in build, marched up.

                "Almaron, this is Lord Dragaunus. He wants us to do a bit of Duck hunting for a good amount of Solarinite. Dice?"

                "Definitely." Almaron grinned, looking at the Overlord. "Sounds like a jumping off point to me." Dragaunus smiled.

                "Then we'll see you on Earth. I'll send you our coordinates. Be sure to be discreet, we can teleport you once you enter the atmosphere."

                "Excellent." Stock said. The transmission was terminated. Dragaunus leaned back and grinned.

                "The Mark are coming to work for us?" Siege asked.

                "Huh, it'll be good to see them again eh?" Dragaunus said. Wraith and Chameleon looked up. "Before Siege was called back to the Saurian army for the war against Puckworld, he was in training to become a Mark." Wraith looked on in admiration.

                "Why didn't you go back?" he asked.

                "Huh, this is a cushy job compared to being a Mark." Siege grinned. "They're the best of the best."

                "And they're coming here." Dragaunus smiled.

 

                Stock peered cautiously as he exited his ship.

                "Nice situation you got here Dragaunus. I wouldn't mind having a crippled ship if it were this one." The Mark's ship was much smaller, an agile fighter. It was shaped like a warbird. It had docked in the Raptor's ship bay. Dragaunus led him and his team up to the control room, where his henchmen were waiting.

                "My friends, I would like to introduce you to my henchmen, Siege, Wraith, and The Chameleon." The three stepped forwards and bowed nobly.

                "Ahh, yes, I remember you Siege. I heard you made some waves in training." Siege nodded. It was here that the Saurians had a chance to observe Stock in full form. His scales were a grayish green. His shoulders were muscular and broad, his beak sharp and his eyes cunning. His chestpiece was accented with several spines. He had a belt studded with extra bullets, and thick legs. His tail was long and heavy, with a row of backwards-pointing thorns on each side, that terminated in a large spike on the tip of the tail. He matched Wraith in height. Stock smiled. "Now let me introduce you to my band of warriors. Next to Stock stood four other Mark. "This is Alamaron, one of our best in battle." Almaron was much like a Stegosaurus. He had a rounded snout and fat cheeks, with cold beady eyes. Two rows of pointed plates ran down his back and tail, ending with four upward-pointing spikes at the tip. He wore a jungle camouflage shirt over his green skin and a belt heavy with grenades. He wore an anklet with a large curved spine on each leg. His hands and feet were large and heavy, groping things. "Next up is Cirria, our pilot and chief spy." Cirria was a sleek Pterandon type. She had long, graceful wings and slender claws. She wore a white tank top and blue jeans over her tan skin. Her beak was long and pointed, with a sharp crest protruding behind. She had a long tail with a finlike rudder on the end. "Next is Mortar, our top technician." Mortar was a long necked Saurian, and heavily armed. Down his long neck there were three rings, each studded with upward-pointing thorns. There were two of these rings on his arms as well. Like Stock, his chestpiece was bronze over his grayish blue scales. He had spikes on his elbows, knees, and heels. His feet were large and broad. His tail was long and whiplike, having three thorned rings spaced along it, between a row of sharp spines. The tail terminated in a pair of bladelike spikes. "And last but not least is Fireblood, our best in hand to hand combat." Fireblood was a sleek Parasaurolophus type creature. Her beak was rounded, with a long and rounded crest behind the head. She had a large spine on each shoulder. Her tail was long and graceful, protected by a row of bony scutes. She wore a blue shirt and gray pants over her dull red scales. In her hands she held a curved, long staff, tipped on each end by a large, sickle shaped blade. The Mark grinned at them proudly. Indeed it was an excellent force. "So, tell us more about this Duck hunt we're to go on." Stock said. Dragaunus led The Mark over to his computer, where he proceeded to open the files he had on each and every Duck.

        "Humph, we've been on bigger hunts than this." Fireblood scoffed.

        "But it's a good hunt." Stock said. "Now about the Solarinite... Dragaunus led him off to the storage rooms to show he meant business. Manwhile, The Mark and the henchmen milled about and conversed. When the two came back, they had made a deal.

       "Your Ducks are as good as gone, and that dragon too." Stock shook his head.

       "Wait, there's just one more thing." Dragaunus said as The Mark started to pack up. "Do what you like with your prisoners, but I want the leader with me, alive." Almaron grinned.

       "As you wish." he snorted happily, and The Mark headed back for their ship. Dragaunus watched them go with a grin on his face.

       "The Mark have made trouble for everyone they've fought against." he thought aloud. "This may be the end for our friends." For a moment he felt guilty, him hiring hitmen to do his work, to defeat his enemies for him. But those Ducks were a nuisance. He needed to get them out of his scales now. And at least he could get Wildwing...

 

       Grin put his bag down on his bunk and flopped down in a chair next to it. He was happy to be back after a 5 game road trip. It was lucky Dragaunus hadn't made any trouble during that time, it was always a concern during road trips. Grin was getting more tense about the subject lately too. Everyone was. Draguanus hadn't made trouble for weeks now, it was unusual. It was possible that he was plotting or building some new weapon. It was just like Dragaunus to use physical muscle to get whatever he wanted. Grin sighed and got up, deciding to go get a snack.

 

      Olivia hugged Duke warmly as he came outside.

      "Have a good road trip?" she asked.

      "I'm happy enough to be back with you sweetie." he laughed. The two went off together. Tanya, Zelda, and Mallory stood a ways off, while Lindsay, Candy, and Erin laughed their heads off.

      "You should have seen Matt with it all over his face!" Lindsay laughed.

      "I can't believe he fell for the 'put-the-shaving-cream-on-your-hand-and-tickle-your-nose-so-you-slap-your-face' trick!" Candy giggled.

       "He's probably off somewhere sulking." Erin agreed.

       "Or plotting against us?.." Mallory started. The girls stood silent for a moment.

       "Plotting!" they all yelled in unison, and then burst into laughter again. Lindsay jumped away and hid behind the trunk of a palm tree.

       "We have to be careful and alert, the attack could come at any time!" she yelled. "This is a job for the best! This is a job for...." The others groaned as she pulled out her sunglasses. "AGENT L!" They turned her back on her, giggling, and went inside. Linds---er-- L, followed them, ducking behind any object that would give her cover. The palm tree L had just been hiding behind rustled softly. Hidden way up in the fronds, Cirria grinned. She reached for her radio and clicked it on.

       "Cirria here, spotted some of our targets right where Dragaunus said they would be." the radio crackled.

       "Good. Report." Mortar ordered.

       "Are you kidding? This will be too easy. They outnumber us, but we've got little to worry about otherwise."

       "Excellent. Report back--"

       "I've got a situation here, sure we can't start now?" Mortar stopped.

       "How many?"

       "One."

       "Spotted you?"

       "Not yet." Mortar thought for a moment.

       "Alright, take that one down. Might be a useful hostage. Be careful though."

       "I'm on it, Cirria out." The Pteranodon crouched down further in the leaves. The dragon. So that was the one Dragaunus had told them of. Cocky little lizard going against her own blood line. She would show her...

 

 

      Zelda stood on the roof, sniffing the fresh air rather enjoyably. It was good to be back. She spotted the thick palm tree across the way and decided on getting a snack. She licked her lips and took off. As she neared the tree, she noticed something weird in the branches. Suddenly there was a flash of tan, something grabbed her viciously by the back of the neck and threw her into the tree. Zelda roared in panic and struggled to get away, but she came face to face with....

      "Silence you pathetic little lizard!" Cirria hissed. "You are property of THE MARK now!" She clamped some kind of manacle over Zelda's snout. The dragon couldn't open her mouth. She whined and struggled violently. Cirria suddenly took out a laser gun from her hip pouch and hit the dragon hard on the head with the butt of the gun. Zelda fell silent. "Stupid." Cirria snorted, peeking around to make sure she wasn't seen. If she didn't get away scot free...

 

                Duke and Nosedive walked out of the Pond.

       "Okay so we have one pie with pepperoni and one pie plain..." Duke said, trying to remember what everyone had wanted.

       "Man I can't believe we're actually getting all this for 'em while they just sit back and watch movies!" Nosedive yelled. Suddenly they heard a loud swoosh off to their left. The two Ducks turned to see a huge tan creature flapping out of a palm tree and flying away.

       "Hey what the heck is that thing?" Duke asked.

       "I dunno, but it's got Zelda!" Nosedive yelled. "Where's Gretchen?"

       "Inside---" Duke started.

       "Good!" Nosedive ran after the fleeing creature and whipped out his launcher. Duke leapt out after and caught him.

       "You might hit Zelda!" he hissed. He whipped out his grappling puck and shot. It looped around the creature's wing base and the animal was snagged immediately. Duke grinned and yanked down hard.

 

       Cirria snarled as she was pulled back.

       "Blasted avians!" she snarled. She activated her radio. "I've got trouble here!" she yelled. Stock answered.

       "What?"

       "Got a hostage, two Ducks on my tail. One's got me roped." Stock frowned. The rest of The Mark was beside him.

       "Do we have those teleporters Dragaunus gave us?" Almaron nodded. "Good." Stock growled. "We go now."

 

       "It looks like some kinda dinosaur.... you sure it's not a Gargoyle?" Nosedive asked as Duke pulled with all his might. Duke paused for a moment.

       "No." he replied. "Help me pull or get the others!" Nosedive opened his com.

       "We got trouble up here guys!" he yelled, and slammed it shut. He grabbed the rope in front of Duke and yanked backwards. The creature dipped again, then snarled and began to pump her wings harder. The two yelped as they were driven forwards, heels dug into the pavement to try and slow themselves down. As they pulled and strained, a large green shadow erupted far to their right. Four other creatures came running out. Nosedive slapped his forehead. The four immediately came barreling towards the two.

       "Aside worthless avians!" cried Fireblood. "Prepare to die at the hands of THE MARK!" Duke and Nosedive cringed as the ground erupted in explosions. But they didn't let go. The one who appeared to be the leader shot ahead and stood a few yards away.

       "Where is the one called Wildwing?" he yelled. Suddenly he snarled as a puck whizzed just inches over his head.

       "Right here!" Wildwing yelled, as he and the rest of the team came charging out of the Pond.

       "Lord Dragaunus requests you alive." Mortar grinned, patting the muzzle of his bazooka in his hand.

       "Thank goodness Gretch decided to take a nap..." Wildwing thought. He lifted his puck launcher and aimed it at the long-necked dinosaur's nose. "Then tell Dragaunus I said to go and---" his nasty reply was cut sharply by the firing of a laser inches from Wildwing's beak.

       "The rest of your team is to die." Fireblood grinned. She raised her staff and twirled it around. "If your unwilling to come I suppose you'll have to die with them!"

       "Mark!" yelled Stock. "Attack!" Duke and Nosedive cried out as Cirria suddenly stopped pulling and turned, swooping at them. Duke drew his saber and stabbed up just as she flew over them. Cirria cried out and dropped Zelda with a thud. Nosedive scooped her up and the two ran for cover. Cirria rolled on the ground and slowly got up. The rest of The Mark had stopped fighting to watch over her. Fireblood saw Duke's saber and hissed.

      "He's MINE!" she roared. The Mark whipped around again and started firing. Their lasers weren't Saurian. They were about 10 times more powerful. Coolbeak and Turbulance were forced back. Slowly, the others followed. They snuck into an alley and stood their ground there. Fireblood broke ranks and ran off. Duke followed her with his eyes and shot. She snarled as the puck bounced in front of her and past. She continued running out of sight. Duke shot again and leapt out.

      "Duke!" Mallory yelled after him. "Get back here!" He didn't listen. Suddenly, a huge grenade ripped up in front of them.

      "Okay team, break ranks, spread out!" Wildwing yelled. The team leapt out in all directions. The Mark also broke ranks and came charging. Zelda had woken up by now and flew over Laura and Candy as they came charging Mortar as a pair. He had his back turned and they rammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He snarled and rolled over. Candy followed pursuit with a kick aimed for the stomach, but in mid air Almaron swiped up his tail, one of the blades catching Candy on the arm. She screamed and hit the ground. Almaron coiled his tail tightly around her neck and choked her. Laura drew her launcher and started shooting. A puck hit Mortar in the head and he yelled in pain. Zelda hovered overhead, looking desperately for a place to attack. The guy was loaded with armor and the like! Finally, she dove down and clamped onto the top of his head. Mortar roared shrilly and whipped his long neck down, Zelda clinging on desperately. Zelda hit the ground with a thud and screamed, letting go because of the pain that rocketed up her spine. But there was blood on her teeth. Almaron snarled and reared back up. Candy had gotten out. She was sitting on the ground, gasping for breath. Laura and Zelda stood protectively in front of her. Mortar stood rubbing his head angrily.

      "Your move." he snapped. Zelda roared at him. Mortar grinned and tried to punch her. Zelda jumped to the side but felt a searing pain rip down her flank. She roared and rolled down. She looked up in surprise to see the spikes on Mortar's right arm stained with blood.

     "Good move." she coughed, getting up slowly. She glanced over to Laura. She was moving. She winked at Zelda. "Oh and I thought the Saurians were the only ones who were evil." Zelda said, putting her paw over her head and sighing dramatically. "I thought my blood line stood for good and right."

     "Huh, too bad girl..." Mortar snorted unsympathetically. He aimed his laser bazooka strait at her.

     "No, it's not." Zelda grinned. Mortar cocked an eyebrow. Suddenly he was thrown forwards as Laura landed a flying kick in his back. He rolled onto his side, allowing her to stomp on his ribs. Suddenly, Gretchen was next to her.

                "Yikes, did I ever miss something..." she started, as Mortar got up.

                "Hey look Gretch..." Candy said, pointing to Mortar's bazooka. Gretchen flew at him, ripped the gun out of his hands, and threw it to the ground.

                "Hey you featherbrain!" Mortar bellowed, running to catch her as she picked up the gun and took off. "That's MY gun!"

 

                His armor scraped metallicly as the horn sheared through. Wildwing felt the impact, it was only inches away from his skin. Stock withdrew his head and tried to hook Wing with his horn again. Grin ran and charged at him, but Stock saw it coming. He whipped his tail across Grin's chest, Grin pulling himself back just so that the spines slit the skin. He growled and ran around to find a different angle to attack at. Suddenly, a fireball came out of nowhere and smacked into Stock. He bellowed in pain and collapsed onto his side. Wildwing and Grin turned about to see Quacker Jax appear out of nowhere.

                "Thanks QJ!" Wing yelled. Quacker Jax came up, panting.

                "Go, we can handle this..." the mage started, gesturing to himself and Grin.

                "But---"

                "Go! The others need help." he said. Wildwing nodded and ran off. Stock was just beginning to get up, holding a charred shoulder.

                "That's the biggest mistake you've probably ever made you no good waste of feathers..." he snarled.

                "Yeah?" QJ dared. "Prove it."

 

                Tanya pressed down harder on Turbulance's shoulder. The wounded duck winced in pain and stared hatefully at Almaron. A few yards away, Nosedive and Cirria were exchanging shots. She saw Wildwing run in to help his brother. Erin darted around Almaron, shooting haphazardly. Almaron was big and rather slow, except for his tail, which was deadly quick, and his laser. Turbulance had learned the latter the hard way, and now she sat on the ground with a burning laser graze in her shoulder. Tanya kept one hand on Turby's shoulder and the other holding a puck launcher. She clicked the dial to 'freeze puck' and fired. Almaron roared as a blast of icy cold ran up his back. Erin caught the idea and started to fire freeze pucks at him too. Ice deposits quickly started to form around him. Tanya hoisted Turbulance up and ran while Almaron was distracted. Erin stayed behind just in case. She looked around quickly. Everyone seemed to be here.... but where was Duke?....

 

                Fireblood giggled as she met the Duck's pitiful thrust with the blunt of her blade.

                "And you call yourself a sword fighter?" she laughed. Suddenly she whipped up her staff and struck with the blade. In a lighting-quick maneuver, Duke sparred to meet her, his blade blocking hers.

                "Very good." she hissed, pressing downwards, pushing Duke down against his will. "Now you're learning." Duke suddenly ducked and rolled, withdrawing his sword. As Fireblood fell forwards, he lashed out and struck her hard across the back. She screamed like a bird and crumpled over. He withdrew, panting. She turned about, her eyes glowing red. She growled deeply.

                "You're going to pay for that you puny avian..." she snarled. She got up slowly, whipping her staff around in her hands. Duke continued backing up farther and farther, until he felt his back thud against the wall. He glanced up in a sudden panic.

 

To be continued.....