Disney, if you care about this show enough to sue me, you’d care enough to start running it again! I barely own anything, let alone these characters, so even if you did sue, it wouldn’t be worth your time. However, the character of Athowing is hereby the property of yours truly, therefore, please do not steal her! The character is original and the ideas aren’t plagiarized…there, is that all I’m supposed to say? And let’s go with a PG-13 rating just for the heck of it. Oh, and no money is being made off of this fanfic. If I were making money, I’d be traveling, not writing this! I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to e-mail me!

 

 

 

The Mightier They Are, The Mightier They Fall

By: Athowing

Send reviews to athosweasley@yahoo.com

 

Part I: Bittersweet Reunions

 

“Damnit!” Wildwing screamed at the sky. The Raptor was floating above Anaheim, circling mockingly as it ascended, revving it’s beyond-impulse power. They were too late. The Saurian ship was fully functional, and Dragaunus wasn’t hesitating to make his getaway. Wildwing slumped to his knees, tearing the Mask off so he could commit the tragic picture to memory with his own eyes. His armor was cracked and a mosaic of blood and dirt clashed with his white feathers. He heard the rest of the team stumble up behind him, out of breath, gasping from frustration and shock. They were equally at a lost.

 

“Wing…” Nosedive gasped, setting a wobbly hand on his brother’s shoulder without lowering his eyes, “What do we do now?”

 

Wildwing could do nothing more than watch, barely noticing his brother as he stared, hypnotized by guilt and failure. The Mighty Ducks watched helplessly as the Raptor gradually gained speed and height. Civilians crowded the street outside the Pond to watch the spectacle, and not even the police around them could tear their eyes away from the alien ship.

 

“Wildwing,” Duke stepped forward, the first one to impatiently snap out of it, noticing the panicking populace, “Come on, what should we do, Wing?”

               

But suddenly, there was a high pitched whine that could be heard all the way down in the streets below. The Raptor was slowly pivoting back towards the planet. Without warning, the thick beam of a laser shot straight at the Pond. The stadium’s ceiling caved in with a deafening roar, sending screaming Anaheim-ians running for cover.

 

“What should we do?” Wing mimicked, finally getting to his feet and pulling Nosedive behind him as another blast took out a building perpendicular to them, “RUN!”

 

And just like that the Ducks blended into the crowd of panicking residents, scurrying for cover as the Raptor continued to cripple the Pond and buildings around it for blocks. The team weaved in between falling buildings and people, glancing back at the Pond once in awhile as it gradually surrendered to the attack.

 

Duke had to tug on Tanya’s arm when she skidded to a stop, staring in horror. The Pond was indeed imploding. “There’s-no-way-I-can-get-all-that-fixed-for-the-next-game-that-stupid-lizard-when-I-get-my-hands-on-him-I’m-gonna-kick-his-“ Duke was shocked to hear Tanya let loose a rare string of curse words. But he hauled her, kicking and screaming, as far away as possible as the group retreated. 

 

Wildwing reached his destination and tugged open the door, shoving Nosedive inside before following. He activated his com as they dashed down the steps a half-flight at a time.

 

“Team! You ok?”

 

“Grin and I are fine!” Mallory’s voice echoed over the static, “We just ducked into sewer, dragged plenty of civilians down here with us. Duke?”

 

“We’re good too! Tanya and I are under the concrete bridge of the interstate, shouldn’t cave in on us anytime soon. Wing? You got the kid with you?”

 

“I’m here,” Dive responded, yanking on Wing as they went deeper and deeper below the city. “We’re in the subway.”

 

“By the way, fearless leader, what’s the plan?”

 

“Come on, let’s go!” Wing was shouting at some straggling civilians as he waved them down the tunnel, “Dive, get these people underground…For right now, Ducks, we’re just gonna have to wait this out. There’s nothing we can do with at this point with everything destroyed. Just protect the humans as best you can. We’ll regroup after this is over!”

 

“Copy that, Wing.” Another explosion echoed behind his teammates’ voices before the signal cut.

 

Wildwing frowned and allowed himself a moment to put his head in his hands. He was supposed to be saving the day right about now. I can’t believe I’m letting that damn dragon get away with this…I could’ve done something, somehow I should’ve stopped this…

 

Nosedive had read his brother’s thoughts. He reappeared and grabbed Wing by the wrist, urging him downward. The laser blasts were getting closer. “Come on, bro, there’s nothing we could do about it. We have to stay alive to help them, let’s go.”

 

The Flashblade brothers retreated into the depths of subway.

 

~*~

 

“Ha HA!” Dragaunus roared triumphantly, pounding a red-scaled fist on his throne’s armrest, “Finally! We’re free of this wretched planet and those miserable mallards!”

 

From their front row seat before the view screen, Wraith and The Chameleon cackled in agreement. Seige looked up from the weapons controls and snarled along with them, his tail wagging like an excited dog, “Consider the Pond destroyed, boss!”

 

“Excellent!” The giant lizard hissed, leaning back into his throne as if he hadn’t relaxed in years, “It’s about time you three did something right. Now, how about a few more parting shots before we hit the road, as those earthlings would call it. Anaheim didn’t throw us a goodbye party so we might as well give them something to remember us by!”

 

The henchman spent a few more joyous moments reveling in the pleasure of demolishing their former home, secretly hoping they were taking a few Ducks with it. Finally, satisfied with the billowing smoke that made the city barely visible from their height, they made a spectacular exit as the engine fired up and the triumphant Saurians sped off into space.

 

“Now my brothers, we are free! And just to make a point, perhaps we should return after a well deserved vacation. It’ll be a reunion! That’s assuming Wildwing and his clan aren’t completely destroyed!”

 

The bad guys cackled evilly as they escaped the atmosphere and neared earth’s moon. Dragaunus was just about to consider taking a hard-earned nap when the Raptor suddenly rocked to the side. Seige rolled across the floor and slammed into Wraith and The Chameleon not unlike a bowling ball colliding with pins.

 

Dragaunus staggered over to the controls as another shot glanced off the hull, sending Seige tumbling end over end in the opposite direction. “What’s going on?” the Saurian overlord demanded.

 

Wraith braced himself against the control panel which was beeping warning after warning. There were hull breaches and systems down. After years they finally had all the power they needed and now they were losing it.

 

“It’s a ship! Puckworld origin!”

 

“Wildwing?”

 

“No, it’s not even an Aerowing…this ship is similar but smaller…and it’s coming around again!”

 

“Then fire at it you idiots!”

 

Seige had regained his footing and managed to nail the intruding ship as it swung around for another shot. Injured, it retreated. Dragaunus was about to declare victory and order his henchmen to get them out of there as fast as possible. But out of the blue, the Puckworld cruiser rotated around and landed three more shots against the Raptor before being forced to dodge the same amount.

 

With furious rage, Dragaunus wrestled from his throne to the computer and hit the communications panel. “Meddlesome Ducks! I demand that you to get out of the way or else—“

 

“Why Dragaunus, it’s truly an honor to finally meet you,” a sassy voice sarcastically interrupted as the Raptor was rocked again, “We haven’t been formally introduced. Unfortunately I don’t plan on letting you live long enough to exchange polite formalities. I suggest you let us board your ship or there won’t be anything left for Mighty Ducks fans to frame!”

 

Dragaunus chuckled villainously, though he was not thrilled in the least bit. Impatience was an accurate description, though an understatement. He’d finally managed to gain the ultimate upper hand and the last thing he expected was yet another unwelcome nuisance. “This is all very entertaining, I assure you. I have to admit I’m disappointed though, at least Wildwing tries to be creative with his threats. Be sure to give him my regards when I send you to Hell!”

 

The female voice didn’t take the bait. She continued in a sarcastic, flight attendant tone. “I do hope you’ve enjoyed your round trip, have a nice flight back to earth.” The Raptor shivered from the fire as if it was experiencing a numbing cold. Apparently this chick meant business.

 

The firefight intensified.

~*~

 

                The city was oddly quiet. So quiet that the suspense gave Tanya a headache. She raised herself onto her elbows to find Duke beside her and in the same position. The scorching dust was settling over Anaheim as civilians cautiously emerged from hiding places to find their homes and businesses either part of the debris or covered in it. The two teammates carefully crawled out from under the highway, struggling to get a good look at a hopefully clear sky through all of the smoke.

 

                Duke took a deep breath but inhaled more ashes than calming fresh air. Though they were blocks away he could still make out the pile of rubble that used to be their home. He sighed and helped Tanya to her feet. “Well, we’ve been meaning to redecorate.”

 

~*~

 

Below on the city streets, Grin squinted when his head emerged from beneath a manhole. “All clear, Mal.”

 

                Mallory helped him squeeze back through by pushing from below and the two Ducks freed themselves, hauling up the civilians they’d managed to protect. Dusting herself off, Mallory scrubbed her fist in a circle over her com unit before questioning, “Tanya, Duke? You two all right?”

 

~*~

 

                “Wing? Wildwing!” Dive had been separated from his brother, an experience that never ceased to make him uncomfortable no matter what the situation.

 

                “Nosedi—Dive co—in.”

 

                “Mal! You four all right?”

 

                “Just dandy as usual…” the com crackled again. Someone was sobbing in the background. “You two?”

 

                “I’m fine but my brother seems to have—“

 

                “I’m here,” a voice grunted from behind Dive and he grinned wider than he would have had the rest of the team been there to roll their eyes. Wildwing emerged from the shadows of the tunnel, a dust-covered little girl in his arms who was tugging on his feathers out of curiosity. The leader sighed, forcing a reassuring smile for the terrified young human, “Let’s get outta here.”

 

                “Meet you at “home” then,” Mal concluded with a sarcastic waiver in her voice. “See you—what the Hell?”

 

                Wildwing straightened and Dive brought his com closer to his beak, “Mal? What’s wrong?”

 

                She didn’t waste time telling them, “You’d better get up here, you gotta see this!”

 

                Wildwing and Nosedive blinked rapidly as they left the subway station and dashed towards the remains of the Pond. The girl was promptly deposited in the arms of a startled police officer. The other ducks were already in the vicinity, all four heads tilted upwards while hands shaded their eyes. Blinking smoke out of their own, the two brothers joined their teammates, and both gasped at what they were witnessing.

 

                “Holy Mother of Ducks!” Nosedive breathed, “Is that what I think it is?”

 

                “If that’s not the Raptor cart wheeling out of the sky,” Duke shook his head, “I’ll eat Grin.” Grin grunted in agreement.

 

                “Where did that other ship come from?”

 

                Wing pressed on the Mask and squinted through it as he zoomed in, “That’s a Puckworld cruiser! But where did it come—Uh oh…”

 

                There was suddenly a huge burst of fiery light in the sky. Both ships were awkwardly falling back towards the planet, mortal blows simultaneously exchanged. The panic that had haunted Anaheim for the past hour began to crescendo once again as the two alien ships spiraled towards the city.

 

                But suddenly the fighter realized their disinclined target. It didn’t try to even itself out with that last of it’s engine’s resources, but swooped below the Raptor to physically butt it. The ducks watched in amazement as the Raptor was given such a nudge that it went spinning past California’s shoreline and well into the horizon. They didn’t even hear the splash it made when it rammed into the ocean.

 

                But now everyone’s attention was on the smaller, lighter ship which was still weaving towards the ground. It was obviously trying to get away from the city and make a soft landing in the water but “They’re not gonna make it!” Mallory exclaimed. With a sickening crunch, the team heard the ship crash between the outskirts of the city, the shoreline, and a wooded area northwest. The city collectively sighed with relief but the Ducks remained anxious.

 

                “We have to get over there, team, Tanya, any luck on some transport—“

 

                “Ye of little faith!” Her voice came from behind Wildwing. The team spun around to find Tanya standing on the ruins that used to be their hockey arena. “Living in the basement of this place has certainly paid off.” She jumped up and down on a flat sheet of metal just above ground zero of the Pond. There was a hollow echo among the squeaks of adjusting steel.

 

                “Phew,” Nosedive sighed, “So my comic books are ok?”

 

                Tanya shook her head, not necessarily sadly, “I doubt that, the living quarters and Rec Room seem to have all combined into one cube of metal. Drake 1 is barely salvageable; some of the hard drive might have survived because I put so much reinforced protection around it. However,” Tanya stomped again, the metallic clang beneath her feet thankfully concave, “Because we put reinforced steel around the hangar, the Migrator, Aerowing, the cycles and the Foil are thankfully not completely buried. If we’re lucky, there might even be plenty weapons in the vehicles.”

 

                Duke shook his head, “Tanya, remind me to kiss you after this is over with.”

 

                “Let’s start digging,” Grin prompted, before Tanya could voice the emotion that made her face screw with disgust.

 

~*~

 

                Half an hour later, the Mighty Ducks and the Aerowing shook off the remaining debris as it sped towards the coast. There was no sign of the Raptor, but it wasn’t difficult to notice the ever-present cloud of smoke that pointed them to the location of the fallen ship. They set the Aerowing down a good quarter mile away but there were still pieces of the cruiser beneath their boots from the moment they stepped off the ramp.

 

                Tanya gripped the pole of the ramp in alarm at the sight. The fighter had obviously tried to belly land but had only succeeded in scraping a jagged ditch that seemed to have mowed down every tree in sight. The outer walls had either collapsed in or out. Glass, charred metal, blood and…white feathers, were everywhere, littering the ground for a lengthy radius. The windshield had been shattered and through the flames and wreckage, Wildwing caught a glimpse of a body lying on the ground near the nose of the ship. It was a female duck who had obviously managed to jump through the windshield, hopefully to safety.

 

                Wing flagged his arms, immediately taking charge, “Spread out, team, see if you can find any survivors, anything salvageable.” Wildwing himself tiptoed as mannish as possible across the area between twisted slabs of metal and gently rolled the wounded duck onto her back from where she had passed out. The movement shook her awake and Wing tried to calm her when her eyes opened in obvious in distress. Petrified, she grabbed his wrists and flexed upwards, scanning, wide-eyed, past him. 

 

“My sister, where’s my sister?” The duck demanded between wheezing breaths, “Where’s Kirowing?” Her white armor was smeared with blood, warped and splintered in discomfited angles. Glass shards had torn the pearl-colored feathers and skin on her arms and forehead, matting thick brown hair against her neck. Suddenly she raised herself to her knees only to pitch forward dizzily, her eyes skimming the devastation urgently, still unable to really focus. Wildwing caught her by the shoulders, supporting her neck as she collapsed. For a few moments she resisted his touch, still calling out for her sister. Then she fingered his chest armor in a desperate effort to figure out where she was and who had her.

 

“Shhh, settle down, you’re all right.” Wildwing soothed, embracing her reassuringly as she continued to thrash.

 

Finally she calmed down as the last of her adrenaline resources seeped out and her eyes fluttered with exhaustion. Squinting, she concentrated on Wildwing who was lowering her to the dirt. Tanya hurried over to them, “Wing! There are a half dozen more ducks but none of them survived!”

 

Wing frowned at Tanya’s inconsideration while the woman in his arms moaned and violently arched her back in denial, broken by the news. Tanya grimaced and mouthed “Sorry!” when she realized her technique of communicating the bad news was a bit insensitive. Wild gave a helpless shrug and turned his attention back as the Duck weakened from grief as well as injury. It was several long moments before she made any noise again. And as she stared at him, Wing began to be convinced that she could somehow see through the Mask. She was beholding him as if he was familiar.

 

Suddenly, just when the leader thought she was finally about to surrender to unconsciousness, he heard a faint but distinctive snort, “Bloody Hell, Wildwing…?” Wing frowned, how does she know my name? Nosedive and Mallory had joined Tanya and all three were now huddled behind him, watching the scene helplessly.

 

Wing bent closer to her, lowering his head to hear clearly. “You’re alive…?” she continued. She coughed, still winded, and a trail of blood leaked from the corner of her beak to mix with the darkened stains already soaked into her feathers. Finally her eyes surrendered as her body went involuntarily slack, “Wildwing…”

 

Swaying back on his haunches, Wildwing let go of the female duck and wiped his own blood from his brow. At least the crash site was under control. The team had put out the fires while Grin and Duke somberly assembled the bodies of the deceased crew. There were three male Ducks that were older than the female and also so alike in appearance that they had to have been brothers. Their hair color seemed to match the girl’s. Two adult females, one with a ring on her finger, were found near the back of the ship. A third woman seemed to be older than all of the younger ones’ years put together. But it was difficult to tell considering her body was scarcely distinguishable.

 

And then there was a little girl, a good five years younger than Dive. Her eyes, still wide open with fear from when she died, were the most brilliant shade of blue. Duke had to bite his lip when he noticed that the tears on her cheeks hadn’t dried up yet. Grin and Duke finally shuffled over to the rest of the group and the Ducks waited patiently for their leader to make the first move.

 

Wing looked up at a disheveled Nosedive who was staring unceremoniously back. He forced a smile for his little brother’s sake, “All right, Mighty Ducks, there’s nothing else we can do tonight. Let’s get her to a hospital.”

 

“Hey, Wing, check it out.”

 

Duke had wandered away and was leaning to look into the cockpit of the demolished aircraft. Carefully, he reached between the shards of glass and when he retracted his hand, he gripped a pack of arrows with a bent hockey stick-shaped quiver. Mallory, equally curious, went to look at the discovery.

 

The elder duck shook his head, “I’ve never seen anything like these.”

 

Mallory was silent for a moment, her brow lined. Suddenly she snapped her fingers, “I have! I thought this looked familiar. I remember seeing an entire brigade of the Resistance learning how to use these arrows, their commander invented them.”

 

“Well,” Tanya started, and Nosedive joined in as they both inquired, “What is it?”

 

Mal shrugged, “Just your basic bow and arrow set from what I’ve seen. But it’s the heads that are revolutionary. They’re computerized, matter-morphable, kind of the Puckworld version of those replicators on that Star Trek-king show Dive always watches. You can set what you want each one to do. The arrow can morph into a grappling hook, a smoke bomb, fire, water, popcorn, pencil, Nosedive’s butt, whatever! But only so many of these sets were invented. I think that section of the Resistance got wiped out trying to liberate one of the prison camps. That’s all I remember.” Mal cocked her head at the Duck Wildwing was now lifting up into his arms, “She must’ve been involved in the Resistance to have access to a weapon like that.” 

 

Wing hobbled towards the Aerowing, “Well, I’m sure all of our questions will be answered soon enough. Let’s get back to the Pon—back to Anaheim.” He placed the sleeping girl in one of the cots and took the pilot’s seat. Tanya started fumbling with bandages and cleaning the girl’s wounds. Duke slung the pack of arrows over his shoulder and climbed in.

 

~*~

 

“Wow, Athowing, it sounds like your sister was wonderful.”

 

It was two days later, the Ducks had recovered but the city was thoroughly wrecked. The Pond wasn’t repairable with the exceptions of the vehicles and weapons they’d recovered. The team had set up camp in a couple of recently (regrettably) available offices at police headquarters, thanks to an uncharacteristically cooperative Klegghorn. They soon realized why he was so accommodating. Phil had been killed during the attack. Along with a running tally of about 500 others.

 

But while the humans were struggling with repairs, the Ducks spent most of their time in a hospital room waiting for their new acquaintance to heal up. Athowing was sitting up in her bed, Wing sitting beside her on the mattress while the other Ducks sat and stood around the narrow room. Bandages diagonally crisscrossed her chest, protecting cracked ribs and swelling bruises. Considering her chances and the fact that everyone else involved hadn’t lived thorough their ordeal, Athowing was beyond incredibly lucky. And she knew it too, didn’t hesitate to thank God for it. Tanya was still concerned though. 

 

Every once in awhile, the young Duck would cough, careful to cover her beak with her hands. But with all of the white feathers, bandages and sheets, it was impossible not to notice the red blood that splattered out of her mouth with each rasp. Wildwing kept her supply of tissues nearby so she could at least make a grab for them to intercept the blood. But Athowing barely acknowledged this defect. Wild didn’t seem worried but Tanya vaguely wondered why anyone would be used to something as unhealthily indicating as that.

 

Athowing inhaled a deep breath to gather herself enough to respond to Wild’s observation, “Quite the understatement, Kirowing was…perfect, everything I wanted to be while I was everything she wanted to be. Heh,” Athowing shook her head, sweeping her thick brownish-blackish hair behind her uninjured shoulder, “The crew didn’t even want her to leave Puckworld with us, claimed she was too young, not capable of taking care of herself. They figured she would just distract me…but I wouldn’t leave without her.”

 

Dive and Wildwing exchanged quick but intense looks, this was sounding all too familiar. They couldn’t even imagine, never wanted to have to.

 

Within a few rushed days, the team had gotten to know Athowing intimately. At least one of them was always in the room while the others assisted the humans with the clean up efforts. Athowing was about Tanya’s weight, Wing’s age. Her armor, since she was indeed in the Resistance, was almost exactly like Mallory’s. Duke had suddenly realized who this Kirowing was the moment he noticed Ath’s eyes. The memory made him shudder.

 

She and the crew (Ath had been the pilot) had managed to pursue the Raptor and Aerowing through the limbo, hoping to back their fellow Ducks up. But with such a small ship, the damage from the journey had been nearly fatal. They’d only made it as far as the moon.

 

“We wouldn’t have even noticed the Raptor from the moon if it hadn’t started shooting down at Anaheim, the laser blasts caught our attention. Naturally we figured you guys were out of commission if he was escaping. We knew we didn’t have much time so we hurried off of the moon to stop him before he could escape the solar system.”

 

“So that’s how you know my name?” Wing said slowly, “You’ve been keeping track of us?”

 

Athowing snorted, a sassy reaction that caused pain to vibrate her cracked ribs, she winced. “I’m insulted, Wildwing Flashblade.”

 

Wing raised an eyebrow, “Pardon?”

 

Athowing laughed quietly to herself, “Sixth year, Professor Quackerson’s Puckworld history course?” Wildwing blinked, drawing a blank. Athowing sighed, blushing a bit with embarrassment. “Third row, last seat…the geeky girl with the glasses and braces who carried her goalie stick with her to school every day?”

 

Suddenly Wing’s beak parted and his eyes widened in recognition. Athowing winked at Mallory and Tanya, already comfortable enough with the two girls to joke with them, “You know how it is, ladies.” The two Ducks smiled politely back. Duke and Dive simultaneously rolled their eyes. 

 

Wildwing was still subconsciously scratching his head when Grin continued the conversation. “So what did you do on Puckworld?”

 

She shrugged, settling deeper into the pillow that supported her. “Before the war I was training to be a cop,” Duke shifted uncomfortably. Mallory managed to stifle a giggle at his instinctive discomfort. The team wondered if she had to study wanted posters of Duke’s face. “I joined the Resistance of course, became a pilot and a sniper. I never had any military training though so I really wasn’t allowed to do too much. The squad I was with wasn’t exactly following orders when we chose to follow you.”

 

“And you’ve been living on the moon? All this time?”

 

Athowing nodded. “We were both after Dragaunus at the same time, my crew was just further behind because we just wouldn’t stop arguing about my kid sister!” Pain and pleasure combined into a rather unique expression that grazed her face before she concentrated again. Wildwing was familiar with it. “But our ship took even more damage than the Raptor and the Aerowing; we had to land on the moon because we couldn’t make it to earth even to crash land. So we just made a home out of our fighter, repaired it and made sure to tap into the earth TV frequencies to watch your hockey games.” 

 

The team nodded politely as they listened, intrigued. As a group, they were naturally protective of their adopted family, wary to let anyone else into their circle. It was so rare for them to come in contact with those of their kind, and not being betrayed by that Duck seemed to be even rarer. Naturally, they were apprehensive. But Athowing and the rest of her team had risked and given their lives to stop Dragaunus. They had been fighting the same battle. Wildwing knew he couldn’t just ignore her, not after she’d lost her own sister because of his failure. Wildwing let Athowing’s words fade into the background as rekindled thoughts threatened to overwhelm him…Am I really willing to sacrifice Dive to get rid of Dragaunus? He’d considered the dilemma before, but all of a sudden the possibility seemed all too realistic…

 

“…by the time our ship was repaired, you guys were settled into life here on earth, Dragaunus was grounded and although you had your hands full, you had the situation under control. But we knew this day would come, and we were prepared for it. So we opted to sit it out, come when you really needed us.”

 

Nosedive snorted from where he was leaning against the window. He crossed his arms at his chest, “Need you? I’m pretty sure we’ve needed you from day one!”

 

Athowing acknowledged the accusation and spoke up before Wing could interrupt to calm his brother down. “I understand, Nosedive, really I do. We regretted being bloody spectators. Not to mention the lack of hockey practice. But how would earth react if yet another group of aliens suddenly showed up? And I guess we just didn’t want to endanger our crew unless we were really needed. I was a co-leader and the pilot…but maybe those overprotective instincts for my little sister did end up influencing my decisions…” She closed her eyes with regret but managed to corral the tempting tears.

 

Wildwing nodded, “I can certainly understand that. I’m sure Athowing was just doing what she thought was right, Dive, and she certainly made up for it. Her team came through and we should be nothing less than appreciative of that. I for one am grateful she was there to cover for us when the circumstances were out of our hands.” Wing got to his feet, patting the palm of his left hand with the bill of the Mask.

 

“But right now we need to get our priorities straight and concentrate on figuring out where the Raptor landed when Athowing’s crew shot it down. We need to find it and make sure it’s crippled. And if not, that engine has to be shut down again. We have to get to whatever power source they managed to dig up and destroy it. Tanya?”

 

Tanya, who was sitting on the floor by the door, grinned like a kid who had been anxiously waiting for permission to open presents on Christmas morning, “I thought you’d never ask, Wing.”

~*~

 

“Based on Tanya’s calculations of the Raptor’s speed and direction, it should have landed right about—“

 

“There it is!”

 

The Mighty Ducks, with a moderately healed but still effective Athowing tagging along, were probing the Pacific Ocean in the Aerowing and the Foil. Wing was piloting the plane with Duke beside him. Athowing stood behind and in between the two men, squinting past Wildwing’s pointing finger. Below and to their right, Grin, Tanya, Mallory and Nosedive sped across the ocean in the boat, waiting for the Mask to work it’s magic.

 

“Huh? Where?”

 

“Right there, Duke, 2 o’clock!”

 

“Bloody Hell, Wing,” Duke gaped, spotting what Wing was staring at, “The Raptor is cloaked as an island!”