Kiss of the Black Widow

by: Calandra Drakeler

 

(Okay, fellow readers. First off, Sonica Thunderbreak is NOT copyright to me. She is
the property of a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless....but you probably
already know her if you read Jewel in the Battlefield. I’m using her as a thank-you
gift for her. She helped me to create most of my story ideas. If you do not like this
fic, tough luck. Second, there ARE some mature themes here and there. I admit it;
I’ve been reading TOO many romance novels! And third, I apologize for the delay in
its arrival. My computer deleted the document TWICE, I had several sailing races I
had to attend, and then there’s SCHOOL. It’s hard to concentrate on writing fanfics
when you’re trying to do at least three hours of homework a day, followed by
continuous studying for test after test. >:P. Anway, on with the story! ~.^)

 

Wildwing pulled the long barbell over his chest again. Sweat not only dripped
down his forehead and underarms, but his arms as well; especially his biceps. Even
though he was wearing black fingerless gloves, he was still having a hard time keeping
a firm grip on the barbell.

“Fifty-nine,” Wildwing grunted through his teeth, pulling the barbell down towards hi
chest. One more and he could end his tormenting muscle workout.
“S--------i----xt----y!”

 With his last ounce of strength, Wing rested the barbell back on the handles of the
bench press. He quickly grabbed his water bottle and squirted the clear liquid into his
beak, gulping the cold water down his throat, until he had drank over half the bottle.

Wildwing needed a break from the world. He began to believe he should’ve let
Canard resume the roll of leader; it was all too much for him to handle. Making plans
on his feet quickly, looking after his little brother Nosedive, and keeping peace
between various team members. Even though he had help from everyone else, and
now has two new recruits, he was still exhausted from the tiresome task.

Besides, he couldn’t afford to have his appearances slack off. His body needed
to be in shape for their next game; the Mighty Ducks were going up against the Los
Angeles Kings in two days. And he needed something to keep himself occupied for
the moment. He couldn’t tell anyone about it, or else he would be teased about it all
for the rest of his life...as far as he was concerned. His younger brother would love to
gloat about any type of problem that came to him. Not that Dive could be blamed.
After all, that was a younger sibling’s job; to annoy his or her older sibling. Still, Wing
didn’t want to give Dive the opportunity to do so.

Wildwing kept having a strange dream every night for the past two weeks. A
beautiful female figure stood before him, her hair blowing in the wind. Wing didn’t
know if the figure was a female duck or a female human; the figure was no more than
a mere shadow. Hell, the only reason he knew the shadow was a female was because
of the physique!

“Wildwing,” the shadow whispered. Her voice was so light he couldn’t figure out the
accent...if his mystery female HAD an accent.

Even though he didn’t’ know what she looked like, Wildwing could guess she
was very beautiful...in a mysterious way. He wanted to come closer to the female
shadow, hoping he would then be able to recognize her. But everytime he took a step
towards the female shadow, she’d hold up her right arm in the air. A ball of red fiery
wind would form into her hand, and she’d swirl it around her, disappearing into the
light.

“Who are you?!” he kept calling to the shadow.

“I am one you know,” the shadow whispered to him. “But I am also one in the form
of one you know.”

 The dream, [;plagued his ,mind for more than two weeks/ At first, Wing ignored the
dream, thinking it only came from something he ate. The cheese on the pizza his
teammates ordered tasted a bit funny to him. But after three days, Wing started to
become worried. o same dream lasted more than two days. I t was obvious to
Wildwing that the dream DIDN’T come from the odd-tasting cheese on the pizza, OR
from any other type of food he ate. But if his late-night vision didn’t come from the
food he put into his beak, then where DID it come from?

Wing didn’t know what to make of his dream. He didn’t even know if it WAS a
dream. It could’ve been a sign or a warning of some sort for all he knew. And Wing
was too afraid to go to therapy and see a psychiatrist to talk about his vision. Not of
the cost, though; he could afford it with his salary. It was what would happen if he
entered. Reporters would be all over him, bugging Wing left and right with their
cameras, microphones, and recorders. He didn’t need anymore people adjictating him
further; after all, that’s where Nosedive and Jessica came in. He had it hard enough,
breaking up their fights and keeping them from trying to strangle the life out of each
other.

His thoughts were interrupted when Wing suddenly heard a ‘ki-ya’ yelp,
followed by a chain rattle. Surprised by the sudden noise, Wildwing turned his head,
and was even MORE surprised by what he saw.

Wildwing expected to see either Mallory or Calandra sparring, or Jessica hitting
the punching bag over and over to get some steam off her chest. Instead, he saw the
female he least expected to find with him. The emerald haired beauty, Sonica
Thunderbeak, was practicing her Fireshang, techniques right in front of him. Even
though her clothes were simple: a black tank showing a generous portion of her
cleavage, gray sweats that were somewhat tight around her legs, and red boxing
gloves, her radiance was brighter than the very sun. Even with her hair tied back, she
had more beauty than ten beauty queens combined. Every kick she performed
dazzled him. He was marveled by the way she lifted her legs forcefully, yet gracefully
at he same time. Such a strong woman, yet utterly feminine at the same time. Her
kicks were so powerful, that no even Mallory could be able to compete with her.

Wing didn’t know how any female could’ve gained so much strength in seven
years. He was also surprised how Sonica could look the way she did; fearsome, yet
beautiful. To him, she was the ultimate and only example of perfect beauty. The
shape of her eyes were like almonds, his favorite type of nut. Problem was, Wildwing
didn’t’ know which part of Sonica’s head glittered the most; her eyes, her sweat
drenched forehead, or her hair.

Her eyes were like emeralds; at least a hundred stacked together. For each eye.
Her hair wasn’t any different from her eyes, yet they were in some way. Not many a
woman had green hair. In fact, it was her green hair that made her look so appealing.
The color gave her that different and exotic look.

Wildwing also loved admiring her body; every curve and every angle. The firm
shape of her arms and legs made her look like an amazon with feathers. Her stomach
curved inwards, with its athletic lines. The black tank did nothing to hide her
attractiveness. In fact, her attempts at hiding her beauty were pointless; it only made
her more beautiful.

Wing started having trouble stifling his laughter. While Sonica was practicing her
Fireshang, she was also practicing some boxing punches as well. She obviously loved
to add variety to her training. He finally let out a small chuckle.

“Are you practicing kickboxing, Sonica? Or that a special Tae Kwon Doe of yours
from years ago?”

Surprised to hear someone speaking to her, Sonica turned her head just as she
attempted to make another punch to the punching bag. When she saw Wildwing’s
face, her heart skipped a beat. The white bang that flipped over his head gave him
that innocent school-boyish appeal. But she was more fascinated by his brown eyes;
those chestnut eyes of his staring right through her own eyes.

She couldn’t help but star at his sweat drenched chest. His perspiration made his
light gray tank cling to his torso, showing off the angles and shapely lines of his chest
and abdomen. His chest might as well have been bare; the sweat revealed every
chiseled inch.

“Oh; hi, Wildwing,” Sonica greeted, her slight Australian accent sending him into a
dreamy fantasy. “I didn’t see you back there. I hope I didn’t disturb your workout.”

“Nah; I was just about to leave anyway,” Wildwing assured her as he pulled his black
fingerless gloves off his hands.

Sonica turned back around and continued her kicks. Wildwing stared in
amazement at her martial arts kicks. When he grabbed his towel to wipe off the sweat
on the bench press, he heard Sonica’s ‘ki-ya’ shriek a lot louder, followed by the
sound of a chain breaking and a bag hitting the wall. When he turned his head, he saw
the punching bag on the floor, with a hole in it. he turned his head back to Sonica,
who’s cheeks were red in embarrassment. It turned out that she kicked the bag so
hard it went flying off the chain and against the wall, finally sliding onto the floor.
Wildwing narrowed his brown eyes at Sonica’s face.

“You need to learn to control your strength, Sonica.”

“I can’t help it, Wildwing,” Sonica confessed. “It’s not easy to control my urge to use
full strength on something.”

Even though Wing didn’t completely understand Sonica’s strength and urge to
demonstrate it at its fullest, he had a brief idea about that urge. He heard about it from
Jessie’s mindless chatter about a race of people called ‘Saiyans’, aliens that looked
like humans, except they had monkey-like tails and abnormal powers and strength.
Jessie said that it was in their nature to crave fighting and challenging someone with
greater strength.

Wildwing never paid much attention to Jessie’s comic chat. He considered it to
be mindless rubbish; a waste of the brain. Yet her lecture on humans with monkey
tails gave Wildwing an idea about Sonica’s behavior. Not wanting to make his best
friend’s sister feel bad, Wildwing continued the conversation in an optimistic tone of
voice.

“That was a pretty powerful kick you performed there, Sonica. Did Canard teach you
it?”

“Unfortunately, no. He was always busy with his strength training and other stuff to
teach me. I learned form my Fireshang teacher, Master Zenfeather. His teachings
were very strict, but he’s on of the reasons that I’m able to defend myself. Zenfeather
was the best and most powerful teacher in the DuCaine metropolis. NO one could
beat him. Not even Grin himself!”

“Damn,” Wildwing said, followed by a low whistle. “He must’ve been one hell of a
teacher if he made you one of our strongest fighters.”

“He was,” Sonica sighed, removing her boxing gloves. “Until he died...”

“I’m sorry,” Wing apologized. “How did he die? Cancer?”

“Cancer would’ve been merciful for him,” Sonica said in a melancholy voice.
“Dragaunus’ servant men in our work camps tortured him to death. And don’t look
so shocked; Dragaunus tortured just about EVERYONE of his slaves and prisoners to
death. Master Zenfeather was no exception. He tried to escape the prisons to join the
resistance, but he was caught and tortured to death.”

“I’m sorry about the death of your teacher,” Wing said in a sympathetic tone. “He
probably would’ve made a great ally to us all.”

“So true,” Sonica agreed, her foot on the benchpress. “And maybe I would’ve had
the chance to see him again. But at least he gave me the skills I need to protect
myself.”

As Sonica leaned forward to retie her shoe laces, Wildwing leaned forward to get
a better view of her body. He knew what he was doing was completely wrong and
perverted of him, but he couldn’t help himself. Sonica looked so appealing to him, the
way her chest was shaped. They looked like cantaloupes, except much smaller. But
the shape and ample firmness of her breasts excited him, making him hard. He
wanted to grab Sonica’s waist and pull her against him, and kiss her feverishly. But
Wing didn’t dare do such an act. He was far to sensible for such a task. And even if
he wasn’t, he knew Sonica would pound the tar out of him for such an act. But he
couldn’t help but imagine Sonica’ against hi , running her fingers through his hair as
he kissed her.

In thinking over his fantasy, Wing forgot that he was staring at Sonica’s bosoms.
When Sonica looked at Wing’s face, thinking he became ill, she began to wonder
what he was staring at. When she realized that he was staring at her chest, her cheeks
became redder than a bush of strawberries. In embarrassment or anger, she had no
idea.

“Wildwing,” Sonica said sharply. “Would you please stop peaking down my
breasts?”

“Huh? Oh; sorry,” Wing blushed heavily. “I didn’t mean...are you going to punch me
in the face?”

“Nah; I’ll just let ya off with a warning for now,” Sonica assured him, sitting next to
him.

“Thanks,” Wildwing thanked, his face redder than a beet. What’s gotten into me?!
Wildwing thought. I shouldn’t be behaving this way! Why did I do that anyway?
“I’m glad you didn’t decide to get violent on me.”

“Well..I WAS surprised by your behavior. But...since you’re my big brother’s best
friend, and it’s not in your nature to behave that way with women, I won’t inflict any
pain on you. But normally I would.”

“EVERYONE knows about your flaming temper and you Herculean strength,”
Wildwing said. He wasn’t kidding either. Sonica was the strongest female on the
team. Not stronger than him, canard, or Grin, but had more strength than everyone
else. “I was afraid you would resort to violence and try to pound the tar out of me.”

“You’re my brother’s best friend,” Sonica reminded. “Besides, would he believe me
if I told him you were staring at my cleavage? Still....you know I have every right to
do so, given the circumstances.”

“Like the time when you punched Eric McQuack in the stomach when he threw your
only hockey stick into that giant paper shredder?”

“He deserved it! He was just being a bad sport because I beat him ten times in a
row!”

“Still; it was FUNNY!” Wing chuckled. “I still remember the look on his face after
you punched him in the gut. You should’ve seen the way he was wailing: ‘Mommy!
Mommy! That mean girl hit me!’ And he was crying like a little baby!” Wildwing
laughed harder then. “Everyone was teasing him about it for an entire week!”

“Got what he deserved,” Sonica shrugged. “Oh; remember the time when we were in
summer camp?”

“How could I forget? You always got to ride on Thunderbolt, the stable’s best
horse.”

“And I also remember pushing you into a big pile of hose manure when you released
him out of the stables. ON PURPOSE!”

“That was over seven years ago!”

“But still! I had to look for Thunderbolt for at least two hours! You realize how many
scrapes and bruises I got while searching for him?”

Wildwing had no response to Sonica’s question.

“I thought so,” Sonica remarked, then started laughing again. “Then when I got back,
I pushed you and wrestled you in a big pile of mud. By the time Canard pulled me off
you, you were covered from head to toe in the much. Everyone, INCLUDING the
counselors, called you ‘Mudwing’ for the rest of camp!”

Sonica then doubled over in laughter, wrapping her arms around her waist to
keep her sides from aching. In a normal circumstance, Wildwing would either blush
crimson red, or glare at his teaser for making fun of him. Especially if it were eight
years ago, he would’ve been humiliated by the memory. A girl, at age thirteen,
beating up a male, at sixteen, who was older and stronger than her. But for some
reason, he didn’t find the flashback one bit embarrassing. In fact, he couldn’t help but
find it humorous as well. Wildwing joined Sonica in laughter.

“Yep; those were the good old days,” Wildwing said, folding his arms behind his
head. “Too bad they ended so soon.”

“I know,” Sonica sighed sadly, hanging her head down. “Now everyone we knew and
loved....is gone. Dead. Like my parents....”

 Wildwing felt like hitting himself across the face for opening his big beak up. He
forgot that Dragaunus killed Sonica’s parents nearly eight years ago. She was so
young and innocent then. Her parents didn’t deserve to die the way Dragaunus killed
them; slowly shooting every part of their bodies. They didn’t deserve to die at all!
And Sonica didn’t deserve any of that suffering she went through. Yet she did. Not
only was she forced to watch her parents die a painful and undeserving death, but she
was thrown into Dimensional Limbo. If luck wasn’t upon her side, she probably
would’ve died in there. Wildwing wanted to find the words to soothe Sonica’s
miserable heart. To erase all of her painful memories and take away all the pain.

Alas, Wildwing couldn’t’ find the words to comfort Sonica’s aching heart. He
didn’t know COMPLETELY what it was like to lose his family. He and his little
brother Nosedive hadn’t seen his mom and dad for nearly five years; wasn’t sure
about their health or if they were able to return to a normal life or not. But he knew
deep down that they were still alive. Not just from Calandra’s reassurance, but there
was a feeling in Wildwing’s gut that his folks were still alive.

Not knowing what to say, yet wanting to comfort her, Wildwing cupped Sonica’s
chin in his hands. Slowly, he leaned forward and with the utter most care and
gentleness, he kissed the left side of her face. Sonica blinked in surprise by
Wildwing’s reaction, but then closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of having a man
kiss her. No one as EVER kissed her before. At least, no one that wasn’t related to
her. She remembered her father used to kiss her on the forehead every night before
she went to sleep. Her mother used to kiss her and Canard on the cheek every
morning before they left for school. And sometimes when her Uncle David came to
visit he’d twirl her around in the air before and after he’d kiss her over and over on
her cheeks.

But the way Wildwing kissed her; the way his beak gently brushed against her
cheek, made her feel weak in the knees. She just wanted to melt against him. Instead,
she just sifted her fingers through his hair, her hand leaving his head when he
removed his beak away from her cheek.

Sonica didn’t know how to respond to Wildwing’s kiss. Her beak trembled
slightly. She couldn’t figure out anything to say to him. Which came to her as a great
surprise. No man had ever been able to make her feel weak and helpless by a mere
kiss. Then again, Wildwing was the first male to kiss her after her father died. Other
men in her life were either her superiors, partners in combat and training, or the
people she had orders to assassinate. The training she went through included a special
type of therapy to destroy any interest she had in men. The therapy worked...until
now.

Wildwing and Sonica leaned closer and closer until their beaks touched, resulting
in a fresh, timid and gentle kiss. A new feeling surged through Sonica’s blood. She
didn’t know how to describe it. Whatever it was, it flowed through her entire
body...and it felt so...wonderful to her. When they broke away, they looked into each
other’s eyes; Wing’s chestnut brown eyes staring into Sonica’s emerald green eyes.
They were still for a few seconds...which seemed like eternity for them. They leaned
closer against to each other, preparing for what was going to come eventually.

Their lips touched once more, then again and again, their kisses becoming more
and more intense and passionate. Waves of passion and lust filled Wildwing’s brain as
he pulled himself and Sonica off the bench press and into his arms, deepening the
strength of his embrace. Sonica quickly gasped for air, but it was muffled by the swift
contact of Wing’s beak. Their beaks clinged desperately to each other’s, and slanted
this way and that. As Wing laid a trail of kisses down Sonica’s neck, he grabbed the
blue bands that kept her hair tied in its ponytail and pulled them out of her hair.

Her hair, which looked like a wave of glistening emeralds, fell down her head
like water down a cataract. She was truly a beautiful goddess when her hair was
down. A tempting and seductive goddess. Like Aphrodite, except with feathers and a
beak.....and green hair. Such beauty in such a fighter. Wildwing was mesmerized so
much that he pulled her tighter against him.

His beak nuzzled her neck as his hands gently massaged her shoulders. Sonica
swooned in pleasure while running her fingers through his hair and tightly but gently
squeezing his shoulder. Wildwing smiled as his hands gently slid down her shoulders,
down to her hips. All sensibility in his brain lost, Wing’s hands went straight to her
firm buns. Sonica blinked in the shock of the feeling. In a normal circumstance, she
would beat up the guy. But for some reason, Sonica didn’t want to do that. In fact,
she was ENJOYING the feeling! It didn’t feel dirty like she was trained to believe it
felt. It actually felt....right. Like she was wanted; in a way that made her feel loved.

Sonica’s hands grabbed the rim of Wildwing’s tank and quickly tore it off his
body, slightly ripping it in the neckline. When she gazed at his bare chest, Sonica felt
like her jaw would drop right to the floor any second. Wildwing’s torso was a pure
master-piece! Even Michaelangelo himself would never be able to sculpt anything that
would come CLOSE to being as marvelous as Wildwing’s bare torso. His chest was
well sculpted; well muscular. Not heavily muscular, but very well-built. His pectorals
were as hard as a rock. Then there was his abdomen. The chiseled washboard pattern
caught her breath tightly. Sweat dripped down Wildwing’s chest, making the dark
hairs that grew out of him glisten and sparkle in the light. Sonica ran her fingers
through his chest, loving the feel of his soft hairs against her feathers.

Wildwing lifted Sonica high up into the air, her legs intertwining around his waist.
Grasping onto his shoulders for support, Sonica planted a passionate kiss on him
again. His knees buckling and his legs straining, Wildwing laid Sonica onto the bench
press, him on top of her. His hands gently but firmly grasped her waist while her
hands wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him down firmly on top of her.
His chest was crushed against her breasts, rising and falling with every breath they
took. They kissed passionately for a few minutes, then Wildwing started to kiss her
neck gently. While Wing kissed her, Sonica ran her hands gently up and down his
chest, feeling his chest hairs.

“You HAVE changed,” Sonica sighed, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Did you say something?”

“Oh; I’m sorry,” Sonica blushed. “When I was younger, I used to spy on you and
Canard swimming during summer vacation at the DuCaine lakes. You know; that one
summer when I had a severe ear infection and I wasn’t allowed in the water?”

“Yeah; I think you were around twelve at that time.”

“Yes. Well, anyway, I always spied on you and Canard trying to dunk each other or
surfacing for air when you were playing underwater hide-and-seek.”

“And when your ear infection FINALLY was cured, you and Dive joined us in the
water,” Wildwing chuckled. “You were always pretending to be a famous explorer;
diving underwards to find sunken treasure or any remains to the first Saurian
Invasion.” The two laughed for a few seconds, then Wildwing looked into her eyes
again, returning to the subject at hand. “So I’m not the same as I was eight years
ago?”

“Well....you’re VAGUELY the same,” Sonica said, staring at his chest again.
“Just...um...bigger than before.”

God; this woman is so vulgar!!!!!!!!

Wildwing’s face turned beet red again. He knew a woman couldn’t be so naive
even at Sonica’s age. But to talk about matters like that made him feel so...ashamed.
He would’ve expected that type of talk from Mallory and Calandra, since they were
both bold and somewhat vulgar women. But not from his best friend’s little sister.

“Well, a man DOES grow,” Wildwing confessed. “I’m sure a tutor on Earth here
would’ve taught you about mating relations while the military was training you.”

“Wildwing!” Sonica laughed. “I wasn’t talking about THAT! Although I’m SURE it
must’ve grown.” She smirked at the sheepish smile on Wing’s lips. “I was referring to
your arms and chest. ESPECIALLY your chest....”

 Sonica buried her face in Wildwing’s chest, and inhaled the manly scent of his sweat
on his body. Gently, she kissed the center of his pectorals. She looked up at him, and
saw a strange look in Wing’s brown eyes. Was it lust? Confusion? Surrender? A mix
of all three? She couldn’t tell exactly, but it excited her slightly. Even though his facial
statement was hard to read, she could tell that he wanted more..

Sonica smirked, then started leading a trail of damp kisses up the base of his
neck, then kissed him down to the rim of his pants. Wildwing knew this shouldn’t
continue on. It wasn’t right. Someone could walk in on them at any second. But he
couldn’t get the words to escape his throat. The feel of Sonica kissing him was too
much for him; felt to good to stop. The feeling was too strong for him to call out for
mercy. In fact, he felt himself lying down on the bench press to feel more of her
seduction.

“Sonica,” Wildwing sighed. “I beg of you; stop! I--I won’t survive!”

“Please try,” Sonica pleaded, giving him a siren’s smile.

Wildwing had no choice but to surrender. But it was one battle he was grateful to
lose to. The feel of her mouth against his chest felt wonderful; better than a massage.
Even though he felt his chest swelling up a bit with every kiss, he didn’t’ fight it. In
fact, all he could do was moan in pleasure and ask Sonica to kiss him more. His
pectorals became tighter with every touch of Sonica’s lips.

“No more,” Wildwing finally said. “Please...no more. My body can’t take anymore.
Please stop Sonica.”

Instead of answering Wildwing’s plea, Sonica merely lowered her head to
Wildwing’s, and gently kissed him. To Wing, her kiss was better than an answer. He
wrapped his arms around her back and slowly sat up, Sonica still locked up in his
embrace. His hands gently moved up her back and entered her hair as they
passionately kissed each other again. Even though it was messed up, her green hair
still felt soft and silky. He finally moved his beak away from her so he could speak
and breathe. He then looked into her eyes, fully amazed at its sparkling green color.

“Did you really meant what you said?”

“About what, Wing?”

“About me being different than from eleven years ago?”

“Yes. You’ve grown into a big man. And very handsome too.”

“Well sweetness, why don’t we see how much YOU’VE changed over the years,
hmm?” hen Wildwing realized what he said, he felt like slapping himself straight
across the face.

Wildwing, what the hell’s wrong with you?! you just asked you best friend’s sister to
strip in front of you!!! Canard’ll kill you for what you just asked Sonica to do! If HE
doesn’t, SHE will!!!!!

But Sonica did no such thing. Instead of throwing him a swift punch to the eye
like she normally would, all she did was smirk at him. Wing forgot that Sonica wasn’t
the type to back down from a dare. He forgot that detail a long time ago. Even though
her stubbornness of not turning down dares always got her into trouble all the time,
Wing admired her courage.

Sonica grabbed the bottom of her black sweat drenched tank and slowly started
to peel it off her body. Wing had to hold her by her hips to keep herself still while she
struggled. The sweat made her clothes hug her body tightly, making the tank harder to
take off. At last, her struggle ended, and the black tank came off her torso.

All that covered her breasts was a gray sports bra. But covered or not,
Wildwing’s jaw was ready to drop to the floor...if it could. He was amazed by the
size of her breasts. The only thing bigger than them were watermelons! Actually, her
breasts weren’t THAT huge. They were bigger than cantaloupes, but smaller than
watermelons. But Wildwing was more amazed by the SHAPE of Sonica’s breasts.
They were perfectly well rounded like melons, and by their appearance, very firm. If
Wing stared at them anymore, he would start drooling. And that wouldn’t have been
good.

“You’re...you’re gorgeous, Sonica. Ab--absolutely gorgeous.”

“You mean me? Or my breasts, which you’re still staring at?”

“You; you as a whole person,” Wildwing blushed furiously. He felt guilty right now
for noticing mostly Sonica’s chest. “You’re VERY beautiful!”

“So I HAVE changed?” Sonica asked him. Me? Beautiful? Never. I’m not that
pretty; not pretty at all. He’s only saying that to make me smile.

“Yes. Tremendously.”

“Well,” Sonica said, leaning closer to him. “Look at you. A full grown man. And
VERY handsome too.”

 Sonica pressed her palms against Wildwing’s hairy pectorals to kiss him. As they
kissed, Sonica felt herself falling backwards. She then realized that she was back
against the seat of the bench press, her arms wrapped around his sweaty and sinewy
back. She felt his beak gently massaging hers, capturing her beak and every exhaling
breath. Finally, Wing stopped to look into her green eyes. He loved their glistening
shine. He cupped her chin in his hand, and smiled in adoration.

“Beautiful,” Wildwing complimented, sending goosebumps down Sonica’s arms and
spine. “So breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Daring and dauntless maybe,” Sonica said, looking up at his chestnut brown eyes.
“But beautiful never.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Wing said, kissing the top of her forehead. “I think you’re the
only and ultimate example of perfect beauty.”

 Sonica smiled, rummaging her fingers through the bangs upon his head. Her hand
gently slid down his head, resting against his warm cheek. It felt soft and light. She
could imagine that cheek against hers if she ever received the opportunity to snuggle
up against him someday. Her hand moved away from his cheek and grasped the
barbell tightly, Wing’s hands covering them. They locked in for another kiss. But this
was unlike the kisses Sonica received from Wildwing earlier. Earlier, his kisses were
intense and passionate, almost draining the energy from her lungs. This time, they
were soft, slow, and gentle. Sonica loved these long and gentle kisses. She felt like
she was in heaven.

“I love you,” Wing whispered between every kiss. “I love you like the stars and moon
love the heavens. Like the ocean waves love the pebbly beach.”

“Oh Wildwing,” Sonica sighed dreamily. She loved this new side of Wildwing; poetic
and romantic. “Wildwing; KISS me!”

“Sonica, I AM kissing you,” he laughed.

“Then don’t’ STOP kissing me!” she begged.

Wildwing needed no further encouragement. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t
stop himself. She felt to good to let go of. Her beak tasted so sweet. Like firewood
honey; hot and spicy, yet sweet and sugary at the same time. he loved the way her
hands massaged his shoulders; it felt so god. Neither of them wanted to stop. They
wanted this moment to never end.

However, bad fortune was on their side. A few minutes after Wildwing
confessed his love to Sonica, someone walked into the gym. After seeing the two
making-out, he started to become enraged; not out of jealousy, but out of feeling
betrayed. He gripped his water bottle so tightly that it broke, the water splashing onto
his face and oozing down his arm. His rage overflowing the fibers in his brain, he
looked at his two targets; eyes burning in a furious rage. Finally, he couldn’t take it
any longer, and exploded.

“WILDWING!!!”

 The sudden shout of that voice made Sonica and Wildwing stop suddenly, their
beaks immediately breaking away from each other. Their hearts beated rapidly in
fear. They both hoped, no; PRAYED that the voice wasn’t who they thought it was.
Wing slowly turned his head around, a nervous tension flying through his stomach.
What he saw before him made him feel like screaming and hacking a knife across his
face right then.

“C-C-C-CANARD!!!”

Canard, Sonica’s big brother and Wildwing’s best friend, was as furious as a
wild bear. If not, more. The veins of his muscles were popping out as he clenched his
fist. His breathing was heavy with every breath he took.

“Wildwing, you son of a BITCH!” he screamed as he stormed over to them. “WHAT
THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH MY BABY SISTER?!?!”

“Bro, calm down,” Sonica pleaded.

“Canard; please,” Wildwing said as he stood up. “I can explain. You see--”

But before Wing could explain what happened between him and Sonica, Canard
threw a swift punch to his face. Wing fell on his knees, covering his face with his
hands. Sonica quickly went to Wing’s side to try and comfort him, but Wing gave her
the stop signal. Slowly, he rose from the ground. His knees still felt weak from his
fall, yet he firmly stood his ground. He removed his hand from his face, and glanced
at his palm.

Inside, he found blood. Not a lot of it, but a decent amount was on his palm.
When Wildwing touched his cheek, he felt more blood upon his palm. He began to
grow furious. He glared at Canard, eyes burning like the fires of hell.

“Canard,” Wildwing growled. “If you want a fight with me, you got it.”

“Wildwing,” Canard said, cracking his knuckles. “I’d like nothing more than that.”

“Canard, Wing; don’t,” Sonica begged. “Please; this isn’t necessary.”

But Wildwing and canard paid no attention to Sonica’s plea of peace. Both
stared at each other for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity. Then, without
warning, Canard lunged at Wildwing, shoving him to the ground. Both fell as hard as
boulders. Wing quickly gave Canard a swift left hook...right after he received an
upper cut from him. Wing quickly his jaw, giving him a chance to shove Canard to
the ground. Sonica quickly got up from the bench press and tried to pull Wildwing off
her brother.

“Wildwing! Canard! Stop it! Now; we shouldn’t be fighting each other!”

“Sonica; let me go!” Wildwing commanded. “This’ the only way I can get through to
him.”

“And THIS’ the only way I can keep YOU away from MY SISTER!!!!”

 With that, Canard threw Wildwing back to the ground, making a large thudding
sound on his head. Even though Sonica’s efforts were worthless, she was still
determined to keep them from fighting each other even more. While she tried to
separate them, Nosedive walked in while reading a comic book. He glanced up from
his comic; and his blue eyes nearly popped out from their sockets.

“WING; BRO!!! CANARD! STOP!!!”

 As Nosedive grabbed Canard by the throat, he began to try and pull him off
Wildwing.

“Get off my bro, Canard!”

“Out of my way, you piece of worthless shit!”

 With that, Canard grabbed Nosedive by the scruff of his neck and, using his strength,
hurled him against the bench press. Dive fell to the ground with a loud thump. Wing
looked at his unconscience little brother in horror. He might’ve been bleeding to death
for all he knew! He quickly scrambled Canard off of him and ran to Dive’s side. He
turned him over and gently shook him. No movement came. But Wing wouldn’t give
up.

“Dive! Wake up! C’mon, little bro! Don’t give up on me. Please!”

Nosedive gave a small grunt, then finally opened his ocean blue eyes. Wing gave
a sigh of relief, yet there was still tension in him.

“Dive? Are you okay?”

“Yea. Except for a little bump on my head. And a major headache.”

Oh thank God, Wing thought as he tightly hugged Dive in his embrace.

At first, Dive didn’t know what to do; to hug Wing back, or to push himself
away from his embrace. Nosedive was almost a full-grown man now; he didn’t’ want
people thinking him to be nothing more than a little baby. But at the same time, he
didn’t’ want to hurt his big brother’s feelings. Finally making up his mind, Nosedive
shrugged his shoulders and returned Wildwing’s hug.

Canard gulped. He opened his beak to say something. But now sound came
from his beak. He was so horrorstricken by what he did to be able to speak. His
voicebox was dry and barren; like a desert. Finally able to get his voice working again,
Canard at last spoke.

“I’m so sorry, Nosedive,” Canard finally said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. My rage
took over me, and I just...reacted.”

“No biggie,” Dive said, patting his bruised head. “After playing with Jessie for so
many months, I’ve become used to pain in the head. Besides, I’ve been tossed A
LOT harder than that.”

Canard smiled, obviously amused by Nosedive’s assurance. But it was a weary
smile; very faint. He then turned to Wildwing. His face was filled with guilt and
shame. Shame in himself for what he did to his best friend...and his baby sister.

“I’m sorry, Wildwing,” Canard said, his voice dry and cracky. “I didn’t mean to
attack you; honestly. It’s just that...when I saw you and my sister on the bench press,
making out, and your tank tops on the floor--”

“You assumed that she and I were making love.”

“Yes.”

With that, Sonica slapped her big brother across the back of his head and
grabbed her black tank. Canard gently rubbed his injured head. He forgot a while ago
that his sister had a very mean slap. And her punches were worse.

“What was THAT for, Sonica?!”

“For assuming that Wildwing and I were going to make love,” Sonica growled.
“Canard, how could you have ever thought of such a thing?! You know that I’m still
a virgin. A sassy one, but a virgin nonetheless. You of all the people in the world
should still remember that I vowed not to break my virginity until the day I marry!”

“And you should’ve remembered I’m no cad or player, Canard. I would NEVER
make love to Sonica unless she and I were married and she was willing. And even if
we DID decide to make love, we wouldn’t be doing so in the gym! It would be in
either my room or Sonica’s room, where we’d have privacy.”

Canard hung his head down in shame. How could he have let his imagination run
away with him? he should’ve known better than to assume that his little sister would
toss away her morals and make love with his best friend without being married to
him. Horrible guilt ran through his veins as he stood up and walked out of the gym.

“Canard?” Sonica spoke, sounding worried. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah; I’ll be okay,” Canard assured her, smiling slightly. “I just need some time to
think over what I saw.”

“I hafta get going too,” Dive said. “I still have some American Government
homework to finish up on.”

 As Dive tried to snatch up his fallen comic book, Canard grabbed it first to see what
‘junk’ Nosedive was reading now.

“Nosedive?” Canard blinked. “What the hell are you reading THIS time?”

“Huh? Oh; I’m reading Battle Chasers. It’s kind of like Dungeons and Dragons,
STAR WARS style. It’s REALLY cool.”

“That’s nice. But...who’s the red-head?”

“Red Monika. She’s a feared bounty hunter in the comic series.”

“One more question. Why the hell does she have breasts that’re twice the size of my
head?!!”

“Ummmm,” Dive blushed, grabbing his comic book. “I’ll....get back to you on that.”

 Nosedive took a few steps back, then he ran out of the gymnasium. Canard looked
back at Wildwing and Sonica, who were trying to keep themselves from laughing.
Canard shrugged his marble hard shoulders, snickering slightly.

“Heh; teenagers,” Canard said. “That’s all boys that age do these days.”

“At this rate, he might become as perverted as Duke,” Sonica smirked.

“I’m going to have to talk about that kind of stuff over with Dive later on,” Wildwing
said.

As Wildwing and Sonica talked it over more, Canard snuck out of the
gymnasium. Passing by several doors, he opened the door to his room. He then sat
down on the edge of his bed, his knuckles tucked underneath his chin, elbows on his
knees.

He had to figure out what was going on; what he had to do. The shock of seeing
his baby sister and best friend making out in the gym was too much for his eyes to
bear. Despite the shock of seeing them kissing and groping each other, he knew all
along that someday they’d fall in love with each other. It was only a matter of time
before it happened. Canard remembered that Sonica always had a crush on Wildwing
since she was a little girl. Ironically, his parents never minded that important detail;
they knew Sonica had a good reason to like Wing. He was kind of handsome...in a
school boyish way. AND he was very trustworthy and very sweet.

But even if Wildwing WAS trustworthy, Canard was still unsure whether or not
he should allow Sonica to start dating. She was barely twenty-one. He and her had
been separated for nearly ten years, and they were just reunited nearly a year ago. He
didn’t want their special bond to be bended or broken. To have Sonica falling in love
with his best friend not only felt kind of weird, but he was also worried if their bond
will break or not. He decided to go and talk with Grin. The tall and bulky, but gentle
and humble meditator could help him. Grin was always good at causing people to get
along, and having others open up their feelings to him, telling him their problems.

As he left his room, he pulled something out of his pocket; a necklace. A gold
necklace, the pendant shaped like a heart. Encrusted in the middle was a silver swan,
Sonica’s favorite type of bird. He remembered the smile on her face when he gave
her the necklace for her tenth birthday. And the sadness the necklace brought to
him...

~Flashback~

 

“Canard! Canard!” Mallory shouted, huffing and puffing.

“Slow down, Mallory!” Canard urged, his hands on her shoulders. “Tell me what
happened...slowly and calmly.”

“Mallory and I have our report about the examination on Dragaunus’ headquarters,
Commander Thunderbeak,” the pink haired Unistanian(Russian) Felisha
DeMalard(Calandra Drakeler if none of you have read Betrayer of the Secret Heart
yet) said as she dug a recorder-like machine out of her pockets. “We have some good
news, and some bad news, sir. The good news is that we downloaded the blueprints
of Dragaunus’ headquarters into Tanya’s microloader. It should be able to locate the
master computer...and if we’re lucky a weak spot in it.”

“Great,” Canard complimented, holding the microloader in his hand. “All we need
now is to display it on our main computer...and see if we can scrap together some
megaexplosives.”

“And we found your family,” Mallory added.

“My mom, dad and my sister?!” Canard exclaimed. “That’s great! I can’t wait to see
them! Where are they?”

Mallory and Felisha looked at each other. Both were asking each other the same
question in their eyes: “Should we tell him?” Canard sensed this, and his happy
statement began to drop slightly. He could tell that they were hiding something from
him.

“Well?”

“That’s...where the bad news comes in, unfortunately. They’re...dead,” Mallory said,
her voice slightly shaky.

“They’re WHAT?! It..it can’t be.”

“I’m afraid it is, sir,” Felisha sighed sadly. “You’re...you’re joking, right? This’ just a
trick to get people in the Resistance to see that I have feelings, isn’t it?”

 Canard nearly had a heart attack when Felisha showed him the heart necklace. He
recognized the swan insignia engraved in the middle, along with the chain attached to
it. He knew it belonged to his little sister. The golden piece of jewelry slid through
Felisha’s fingers, right into Canard’s hand. Weak from the shock of losing his family,
and the horrible sadness tearing his heart into millions of pieces, Canard fell to his
knees. Bringing the necklace, and his palms, to his face, Canard began to sob
hysterically. Felisha and Mallory looked at Canard’s reaction to the sudden outcome.
They never expected him to take the sudden outcome so horribly. Felisha nodded to
Mallory, and walked off to who knows where; most likely to the weapon room to
restock her knife supply.

Mallory was then left all alone with the weeping leader of the Resistance. She
didn’t’ know how to comfort him; she couldn’t think of anything to say that would
cheer him up or get him to stop crying. His tears were hysterical now; they were
followed by hiccuping too. His crying was sounding like the crying of a newborn
having a tempertantrum.

Not that canard could be blamed for his immoderate amount of tear shedding.
Anyone would be doing the same thing in his position; possibly even more, if they just
found out that their family was dead. His reaction to the news was a normal one.
Even though Mallory had no idea how to comfort Canard’s pain, she wasn’t going to
allow him to continue crying hysterically. She had to do everything she could to stop
him from crying so much. She didn’t know how, but she had to try anyway.

“Canard, please calm down...”

“Calm down? Calm down?! CALM DOWN?!” Canard screamed in Mallory’s face,
standing up now so he was towering over her. “HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO
CALM DOWN AFTER THIS?! DON’T YOU GET IT?! MY MOM! DAD! BABY
SISTER! THEY’RE DEAD! I’LL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN! EVER!”

Mallory blinked surprisingly at Canard’s hysterical behavior. She had never seen
him this upset before. It was so surprising to see canard acting this way. But she
wouldn’t allow him to see the shock in her face. If there was one thing she learned in
the military was how to mask her emotions from her superiors.

“I can imagine how you feel,” Mallory said, her green eyes glittering from an attempt
to keep herself from crying as well as canard. “I may not know what it’s like to lose
one’s family; truth is, I’ve never had the type of family you had before. My folks
died when I was little, and I was forced to move in with my grandparents in a trailer
when I was five years old. I spent my entire life in military school, training to become
a soldier in the army when I wanted to be a track star. My grandparents forced me
into the military when they knew my dream career involved athletics. At least you had
a family who loved you and allowed you to follow your dream career!”

Canard was speechless; he didn’t’ realize that Mallory had been through all of
that hardship and pressure to be something she hated. He wiped the remaining tears
out of his eyes, but the tear streaks were still staining his cheeks and just underneath
his eyelids.

“I’m sorry, Mallory. I didn’t mean to explode in your face. It’s just that...with the
shock of loosing my folks and my sister and all, I just...I couldn’t....I...”

“No need to explain to me, Canard. I understand,” Mallory assured him as she
wrapped her arms around his waist, her head on his shoulder.

As Canard hugged Mallory tightly, rocking side to side with her slightly in their
embrace, he still couldn’t help but think over what happened. Silent tears still streaked
his eyes as he thought about the sudden death of his parents and baby sister. They
didn’t deserve to die; especially Sonica. He then vowed silently to himself that he
would do anything in his power to avenge the death of his family. He wasn’t going to
allow Dragaunus to get away for what he did to his family, or to any other innocent
life.

~Present Day~

Without realizing it, Canard nearly walked past Grin’s room. His flashback
caused him to daydream. Tucking the necklace back into his pockets, he knocked on
Grin’s door, waiting for him to respond to the knocking sound.

“Who may I ask is knocking?”

“It’s me, Canard. I...I need to talk with you.”

“Enter, my friend.”

When Canard opened the door, he blinked at what he saw. It was like a room in
a Buddhist temple in China! Meditation crystals, inscented candles, oriental music,
and a big blue yoga mat gave him the Buddhist feeling in the room. Canard tried to
step in, but Grin held out his hand; a signal to stop.

“Shoes off fist,” Grin ordered. “One cannot reach the soul with the soul’s windows
shut tight.”

This made no sense to Canard, but he didn’t dare argue with Grin. Even though
Grin was as gentle as a lamb, his huge size still scared him at times; and at any time,
he could rise up and attack him. After taking his shoes off, Canard sat down on the
floor, Indian-style; the same style as Grin was sitting in.

“What is troubling you, my friend?”

“It’s...something I saw earlier today. I saw my little sister, and my best friend in the
gym together. They weren’t doing anything naughty, but...it WAS a pretty good
shock for me.”

“What were Sonica and Wildwing doing that caused you to be so shocked?”

“They were....kissing. Kinda passionately.”

“And this is bothering you because?”

“It’s just a little unusual to be seeing my baby sister and my best friend making-out.
And a gymnasium isn’t exactly a good choice to make out in.”

“That’s not what’s troubling you, Canard. Something else is weighing your heart
down. Release it from your body; get your worries off your chest.”

“Alright,” Canard groaned. He forgot how annoying Grin could be at times. “I’m
afraid I’ll be losing my little sister to some old childhood crush.”

“Now I understand your troubles,” Grin said. “You are afraid that if Sonica falls in
love with your best friend, the special bond that you two share will be broken
forever.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Canard said. “You read my mind! So...what do I have to do to
assure myself that our bond won’t break?”

“You must trust her,” was Grin’s only answer. “Trust that she will make the right
decision that will affect us all in a positive way.”

 

~            ~

The warm water fell down Sonica’s tan colored body; dripping down her
voluptuous curves. As she lathered her hair with the strawberry scented shampoo, the
shower head smothered her body with its warm rainfall. The soft warm water
reminded her of Wildwing’s caresses from earlier.

Wildwing Flashblade. His name was on her mind all day. No matter what she
did, she couldn’t stop thinking of him. Not that she wanted to forget him. His kisses
sent goosebumps down her spines when they left a trail down her neck. His caresses
and his words of love were what made Sonica love Wildwing most of all. No man
besides her father, brother, or her uncles and grandfathers ever told her he loved her
before Wildwing had. And that love wasn’t the same as the love Wing gave her;
family love was much different than romantic love.

At long last, Sonica’s dream of her big brother’s best friend falling in love with
her was beginning to come true. Even though it was what she always wanted, it felt
strange when it blossomed. Probably from her years as an assassin for the Australian
military. Throughout her years of growing up in the military on Earth, she was trained
to resist a male’s charms and seductions; always hitting a guy in the jaw or cheek
everytime they put the moves on her. All men ever wanted from her was pleasure.
They all claimed to have been madly in love with her at first sight, but Sonica was too
smart to fall for that trick.

But now, the situation was different with Wildwing. She knew that his whispered
words of eternal love were real. She didn’t know how she knew, though. What if she
was wrong? What if Wing only wanted her for one purpose? She shook her head.
Wildwing is not that type of male. After she rinsed the body wash and conditioner off
her body and hair, Sonica quickly changed into a white spaghetti strap tank and black
jeans. As she walked down the hallway, her head bumped into the something. When
she looked up, she saw Wildwing. He looked very handsome in his white windbreaker
and green pants, with his ‘mow-hawk’ gelled back.

“Hi Sonica,” Wing greeted, his cheeks slightly red. “I was on my way to see you.”

“Really?” Sonica asked. “I was on my way to talk to you also.”

“Really? What a coincidence.”

“I know,” Sonica said. “So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Ummm....I was wondering. Would you...like to go out tonight? On a date?”

“A date? You serious?!”

“If...you want to, that is.”

 Sonica’s face beamed with joy as she jumped into Wildwing’s embrace, legs
wrapped around his waist, and kissed him passionately.

“I’ll...take that as a yes.”

“You’re good at these little guessing games of mine,” Sonica giggled “So..what’s the
plan for our date tonight?”

“Well...I was thinking of a small romantic Mexican dinner tonight at Acapulco.”

“Ooo; I LOVE Mexican!”

“I know. I know nearly everything about you.”

“Really?” Sonica smirked, leaning her forehead against Wildwing’s. “What else do
you know about me?”

“I know that you’re the greatest thing ever in my life ever since I came to Earth.”

Sonica smiled, kissing Wildwing. As the two new love birds kissed, Jessica
Lockheart walked down the hallway, a basketball looped underneath her arm. She
paused midway when she saw Wildwing and Sonica kissing madly Jessie felt her
stomach becoming upset at the very sight. Unless they stopped kissing right now, she
would hurl all over the hallway. She crept up to the two lovebirds and spied on the
way they were pressing their lips together. No stopping for take breaths. It was as if
they were trying to consume each other.

“Unless you guys stop and take a breath,” Jessie teased. “You’re gonna die from
oxygen deprivation.”

The moment Sonica and Wildwing heard someone, they immediately stared
downwards to look at Jessie. They were pretty much shocked to see Jessie looking at
them; like a curious six year old.

“Jessie!” Wildwing gasped. “H--how long have you been standing there?”

“About long enough to wanna vomit,” Jessie said, a look of disgust on her face.
“Can’t you do that in one of the rooms?”

“Can’t,” was Sonica’s only reply. “My bro’ll assume that Wing and I’re...how can I
say it to a fifteen year old girl?”

“Having sex,” Jessie said, flat out. “Don’t be surprised, guys. I learned about that
stuff in seventh grade.”

“How MUCH of it?”

“A little; only a week’s worth, though. We didn’t have a lot of money for sex
education booklets.”

“Speaking of education,” Wing said. “Jessie; shouldn’t you be studying for your
Geometry test tomorrow?”

“I did, though.”

“Doing the homework doesn’t count as studying,” Wing argued. “Now hit those
books. And don’t assume that you’ll get away with NOT studying your material; I’ll
be coming by your room in an hour to quiz you.”

“But Wing! I wanted to shout some hoops!”

“You can play basketball tomorrow. Right now, your studies are more important.
Now get upstairs and study those Geometry problems, young lady.”

As Jessie walked back to her room, muttering something about adults being
unfair, Sonica couldn’t help but feel pity for her. She knew that all teenagers wanted
to do was have fun; not study. while she knew that studying was the only guaranteed
way to pass a test, she knew that it was also the most BORING way to pass.

“Wing, weren’t you being at least a little too strict with Jessie? I mean, she’s only
fifteen.”

“Phil’s hassling Jessie to get at least a B- on all her tests. I’m just making sure she can
make it past the minimum.”

“But still...a little TOO much pressure on her, don’t you think?”

“She’ll thank me tomorrow when she passes her test.”

Sonica didn’t dare argue with him further. No one wanted to do anything that
would make Wildwing angry. When he gets angry, it’s a very, VERY, scary sight.

~            ~

Sonica hummed the song ‘Kiss Me’ while she got ready for her date. Her
leopard print high cut tank fitted her like a dream; almost felt like silk rubbing against
her body. The same thing went for her tight black pants. While she brushed her jade
green hair, Sonica couldn’t help but look at the picture of her deceased parents.

Her mother, Cornelia Thunderbeak, was what the people of Puckworld would
call her ‘The Bell of the Ice.’ She was very pretty with her green hair, brown eyes,
and peach feathers.

Eric Thunderbeak, Sonica’s father, looked like a proud old man, even though the
picture was taken when he was about nearly forty years of age. Despite all that, he
looked very handsome. His feathers were the same tannish brown color as Canard
and her; and his eyes were the same green color as hers.

Sonica felt her eyes brimming with tears. Her parents didn’t deserve to die so
brutally; didn’t deserve to die at al. Yet they did. Even though their deaths occurred
nearly eight years ago, she could still remember it as though it happened yesterday.
Their screams of terror and pain. The fresh, wet sounds of guns blasting through their
bodies, ripping straight through their flesh. The sight of their blood oozing through
their wounds, like sap oozing out from a maple tree. Sonica also remembered the way
Dragaunus laughed when she weeped hysterically.

The very bastard! He cared about nothing; only himself being the master of
every known universe. The had what Canard called a grandeur complex: will do
anything to obtain his goal, even if it meant the death of innocent people in the
process. Dragaunus cared for nothing more than universal domination. Anger flowed
through Sonica’s veins at the very thought of Dragaunus. She would give
ANYTHING to take her bazooka and shoot the very life out of him. She knew it
would put her on the same level as him; but knew that killing Dragaunus would serve
him right for the misery he caused her as well as millions of other innocent lives.

Thoughts of murder vanished when Sonica heard knocking on the door.

Must be Wildwing, Sonica thought as she sprayed on a light scent of White Diamond
perfume. A little early, though. Must be excited about tonight; more than me.

Sonica made a few last minute checks to her attire. Something was missing. But
what? Her clothes were in perfect condition, her hair was straight and was brushed at
least a hundred times. She then remembered she forgot the black belt buckle and her
choker. She grabbed her black leather belt with the black circular buckle, with gold
swirls around it, and buckled it around her waist. She looked at her choker; black with
a golden heart in the center.

Before she went to answer the door, Sonica made one last check in the mirror.
She zipped her leopard print tank down a little; low enough so she could breathe, but
high enough so her cleavage would be well hidden. The last thing she wanted was
men staring down her breasts...or Wing threatening to hurt any pervert that came her
way.

Taking a huge deep breath, Sonica opened her door. About a split second after
she opened her bedroom door, a huge bouquet of red roses nearly touched her face.
Sonica looked up at Wildwing, and smiled at him.

Wildwing looked very handsome in his white long sleeved shirt and beige colored
pants. Sonica could tell he put a LOT of effort into getting dressed; especially if he
was wearing cologne and hair gel.

“Surprised?” Wing smirked.

“Somewhat; yes,” Sonica confessed, holding the big bouquet of red roses against her
face. “Thank you for the roses, Wildwing. They’re beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like them. I’m still surprised I was able to get us both the night off.
Ready to go?”

“You bet I am!” Sonica said with eagerness, tossing the roses onto her bed and
draping her arm around his, head on his shoulder. “By the way, how DID you get
Phil to give us a night off anyway?”

“I told him Jessie’s getting an F in Geometry.”

“WILDWING!”

“I’m just kidding; jeez,” Wing argued, putting his hands up in self defense. “You
know how much Phil loves to make deals? Well...I made one with him. He told me
that if I tutor Jessie in Geometry, I’d have every other Thursday off. This is one of
those Thursdays.”

“Ohh...good deal,” Sonica complimented. “By the way, IS Jessie REALLY getting an
F in Geometry?”

“Yep. She claims it’s impossible to understand proofs and remember all of the
theories.”

“Geometry was ALWAYS my worst subject at her age. I could NEVER understand
slopes and parallels OR proofs. It was all ‘blah blah blah’ in my ears. How did your
tutoring with Jessie go?”

“Good...but a little frustrating. It took me nearly half an hour to explain to her about
the importance of proofs, and ANOTHER hour to have her memorize all of the
theorems from line segments quadrilaterals.”

“That stuff was always hard in my eyes. No matter how many times I studied that
stuff, it NEVER made ANY sense.”

“So in other words, Jessie shares the same brain as you.”

 Sonica laughed at Wildwing’s comment. He was always at his funniest when he
wasn’t attempting to be funny. Without warning, Wing lifted Sonica into his arms;
one draped around her shoulders, and the other looped underneath her knees. In
order to keep away from the feeling of falling over, Sonica draped her arms around
Wing’s neck.

“What does this remind you of?” Wing smirked as he continued walking down the
hallway.

“The day we re-met,” Sonica answered. “I could never forget the day you rescued
me from the clutches of Dragaunus. If it weren’t for you, I’d have become fried duck
a LONG time ago. This was the way you held me when you rescued me.”

“I could never forget either,” Wing said. “But I was slightly embarrassed when I
found out who you were. I couldn’t recognize my own best friend’s baby sister!”

“Well...it HAS been nearly eight years since we last saw each other. One can change
in eight years. Physically, mentally AND emotionally.”

You got the physical part right, Wing thought to himself. “This also reminds me of
when we were younger.”

“How so?”

“Well...think. Remember when your thirteenth birthday?”

“Oh yeah! Back down at Old Farmer McDrake’s barn! We used to play on his old
tire swing every summer we went there. Since it was my birthday, I got to have first
dibs on the tire swing.”

“How could I forget?” Wing smirked. “You were on there for at least an hour. We all
wanted a turn on the swing, but you refused to get off. That is...until Canard pushed
Dive against the swing.”

“Then I fell flat on my arse and somehow sprained my ankle,” Sonica grunted. “Not
a pleasant birthday memory.”

“But I didn’t hear you complaining when I lifted you into my arms,” Wing smirked
again. “In fact you were encouraging me to carry you. Your exact words were”
‘Please carry me, Wing’”, he said, trying to mimic Sonica’s voice as a thirteen year
old. “ ‘I can’t walk anymore.’ Honestly; that showed how greedy you were for my
attention.”

“Lot’s of people at that age are greedy,” Sonica argued. “Oh; and remember Canard’s
reaction when he saw you holding me? He looked so pale and red at the same time.
He looked like a blushing clown.”

“And did you see the look on his face when I told him you and I eloped? You’d think
the guy would’ve known I was only kidding around with him and would know a joke
when he heard one.”

“I know. My brother took everything WAY too seriously back then. Then
again...from the way I was clinging onto you, anyone would’ve assumed that we DID
elope.”

 All the talk of eloping made Wing look directly into Sonicas eyes. The deep emerald
green pools made him feel as though he’d fall into them at any second. Not that he
would mind, of course. Her eyes were the perfect place to fall into. he leaned down to
kiss her, but there was no need to; Sonica’s beak met Wing halfway there.

His mouth sent her hormones raging in an uncontrollable fire. Nothing would be
able to control her raging hormones. Wing briefly tossed Sonica into the air, and when
he caught her, his arms enveloped around her waist. Sonica’s knees interlocked with
his as her arms intertwined around his neck. When their beaks clicked together again,
he world around them vanished. All that surrounded them was a white bright light.

In the back of her mind, Sonica felt her body hitting something. Something hard;
with metal bars in front. She knew it was the front of Wildwing’s jeep, but she didn’t
pay any attention to what it was that hit her back. The feel of Wildwing’s hands
roaming up and down her arms was all she wanted to know right now. God; she
knew she was not putty in his hands. And she liked that feeling.

Suddenly, Wildwing stopped. Sonica didn’t know why, though.

“Wildwing? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Sonica. I didn’t mean for us to...we can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

God, how naive can she be?! Wildwing thought angrily. “Well...it felt like...God;
there’s no sugar-coated way to say this. We can’t make love. Especially in the
garage.”

“What’re you--ohhhhhhhhhh. Just because we were kissing on the top of your car
DOESN’T mean that--”

“But we almost DID. My mind realized that when they were roaming your arms.
Anymore and...you could’ve imagined what I would’ve done to you. It took me all
the willpower in my body to stop myself.”

“I admire your honest and attempts to control yourself,” Sonica complimented,
caressing Wing’s cheek. “Many a man would just give into his lust and do it.”

“Not like it didn’t hurt me stopping myself,” Wing confessed. “To be honest, my
mind was screaming to take you here and now.”

“Well...I applaud you for resisting temptation. What’s the name of the restaurant
we’re going to again?”

“Acapulco. You’ll love it there; I can promise you that.”

~            ~

Sonica looked out into the star filled sky as she took a sip of her soda. The
evening looked so beautiful to her. The stars were shining so brightly. As if...they
were shining down on her. The cheery fiesta music filled the entire restaurant, even at
the outdoor patio Wing and Sonica were at.

“Beautiful night, don’t you think so Wildwing?” Sonica asked just before she bit into
her shrimp fajita.

“Yeah,” Wing said. “But not as pretty as you.”

Sonica smiled at Wildwing’s compliment. She was not only enjoying the
Mexican environment surrounding her and the fiesta music, but the peace as well.
Since it was a school night, not many people were at the restaurant. A few little kids
came to their table for autographs, but all in all, it was bliss. As Sonica prepared to
take another sip of her soda, two little boys came to their table. One had red hair, red
freckles, green eyes, and big, thick glasses. The other boy was Hispanic with tan skin,
dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Both were about six years old; and very adorable.

“Hello boys,” Wing said. “A little late for you to be up, isn’t it?”

“Would you both like an autograph?” Sonica asked.

“Yes pwease,” the red haired boy asked.

The two boys both held out hockey pucks, along with their glittery silver pens.

“Who should I make this out to?” Sonica asked as she clicked open a pen.

“Nicky,” said the red haired boy.

“Pedro,” said the Hispanic kid.

After Sonica and Wildwing signed the boys’ hockey pucks, Sonica gave each
boy a kiss on the forehead. The Hispanic boy blushed and ran back to his parents,
practically screaming: “Mama! Mama! Senorita Thunderbeak kissed me!”, while the
freckled face Nicky just stood there. He looked very calm, yet looked like he wanted
something else.

“Is there anything else you want little one?” Sonica asked him.

“One thing,” Nicky said, nodding vigorously. He then laid his head on Sonica’s lap,
giving her the innocent puppy-eye dog look. “Would you be my mommy?”

“WHAT?!”

Wildwing bursted out in laughter in Nicky’s question. Sonica gave him a look
that either said ‘It’s not funny!’ or ‘Shut up or you’ll wish you were never born.’
Wildwing then stopped laughing. The last thing he wanted was to have Sonica beat
the tar out of him. And she was good at beating up anyone; especially males.

“Kid, I CAN’T be your mom,” Sonica told him, brushing a strand of his hair out of
his face. “You wouldn’t want me for a mommy. I lose my temper easily and I’m
always hurting people. Besides, you already HAVE a mommy.”

“But I want YOU to be my mommy!” Nicky whined. “My OTHER mommy’s mean
and she has no time with me. She always way at job. She no love me.”

“I--I’m sure that’s not true.”

“There you are!” a tall man with brown hair and green eyes, obviously the kid’s
father, said. “You said you were just going to get their autographs. Instead I catch
you clinging onto this female?”

“She my new mommy, dada,” Nicky said.

“Nice to meet you. C’mon Nicky; time to back to your REAL mommy,” the tall man
said, pulling his six year old son off Sonica’s lap. “Let’s go back to OUR table. If
you’re good, I’ll buy you a balloon before we leave.”

“Yay! A bawoon!”

As the boy and his father left, Sonica looked back at Wildwing. He was, by the
look on his face, trying to keep himself from laughing. Sonica gave him another cold
look, yet it did nothing to make him stop.

“I don’t see what’s so funny Wildwing.”

“I’m sorry, Sonica,” Wing said, trying to stop laughing. “It’s just that it’s so funny
that...heh.” Wildwing took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “You have to admit it IS
funny. Having the kid begging you to be his mom, then pretending you were. And
you were looking pretty much amused with his behavior. And by the look on your
face, you WANTED to be his mother.”

“Well...,” Sonica flushed. “He WAS very adorable. That I must admit. But..I would
never be a good mother.”

“Why not? You get along with Jessie, and she’s impossible to deal with sometimes.”

“That’s because I was the same as her at that age. That’s the only reason I can
handle her better than the others.”

“Yeah, but--”

 Before Wildwing could finish what he was going to say, dancing music started. And
as much as he wanted to keep talking, he also wanted to dance to this song with
Sonica. So he rose out of his seat.

“Join me?”

“Would I ever!”

 Sonica almost ‘jumped’ out of her seat to go to the dance floor, dragging Wildwing
by his arms. The saxophones were almost as loud as the drums as the guitars played
their song. Two people, man and woman, were singing a duet together:

 

“Let’s break all the rules

C’mon baby; me and you.

 

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Let’s break all the rules

C’mon baby; me and you.

“You turned my love to another level and

For you’re so happy I have enough to settle for

Nobody else but you; ‘cause everything you do

Breaks all the rules.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Let’s break all the rules.

C’mon baby; me and you.

 

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Es sabado!

Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

And dance with me.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Just move your feet.

Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

And dance with me.

“Let’s break all the rules.

C’mon baby; me and you.

“For you’re my destiny

My final ecstasy.

There is no higher place

That I could ever feel.

“A love so strong; so real

The way I feel with you

Breaks all the rules.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Let’s break all the rules.

C’mon baby; me and you.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

I don’t care what they say.

C’mon baby; dance with me.

 

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

Es sabado!

Baila, c’mon baby; baila

And dance with me.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

Just move your feet

Baila, c’mon baby; baila

And dance with me.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

Es sabado!

Baila, c’mon baby; baila

And dance with me.

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

Just move your feet

Baila, c’mon baby; baila

And dance with me.”

 

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

 

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila.

“Baila, c’mon on baby; baila

“Baila, c’mon baby; baila........”

 

 While the music played on, a man in a gray hat, long trench coat, and a camera sat
on a table, taking pictures of a certain avian couple. Wildwing twirled Sonica out if his
arms, his hand still gripping tightly on hers. CLICK! The photographer’s camera went
off. Wildwing then twirled Sonica back into her arms. He dipped her to the floor, her
green hair touching the ground. CLICK! The camera went off again. The camera kept
going ‘CLICK!’ every two minutes on Sonica and Wildwing.

At long last, it was time for the restaurant to close up for the night. As the crowd
began to thin, the man in the big overcoat began to sneak out the back door. He hid in
the alley way; behind the trash cans. He took off his thick sunglasses, revealing dark
red eyes, with green spots underneath his eyelids. His red eyes glowed a bright red as
he snickered...and morphed into the Saurian Chameleon.

Chameleon morphed his camera into several floppy disks; each containing either
info or pictures of Wildwing and Sonica. He smirked at the thought of what the
pictures would be used for. He looked both ways to make sure no one was looking in
his direction. When he was sure, Chameleon teleported out of the alley way.

In the Raptor(which was disguised as an old and abandoned mining shaft in the
mountains if you readers are curious), Chameleon teleported into the main chamber
room. Kirtland, holding his trusty spear in his hand, gave him the usual, cold-blooded
look.

“Well? Where are they?!” Kirt demanded.

“Keep your feathers on Quackson! They’re right here!” Chameleon shouted as he
threw three floppy disks to Kirt.

“They better be in here,” Kirt said bitterly, catching the floppy disks between his
fingers. “The data in these disks are a vital part of Lord Dragaunus’ plan for
victory...as well as universal domination.”

“Don’t ya think I already know that?!”

“Quiet!” Wraith commanded. “Dragaunus will be here any minute. And if he hears
you two arguing again, I fear chaos will be showered upon us.”

“You say that EVERY time these two fight!” Seige complained.

“And it’s ALWAYS true. Remember two months ago?”

“No comment,” Kirt and Chameleon muttered under their breaths.

“SILENCE!” a loud voice bellowed. “I will NOT tolerate anymore of this rubbish
from you incompetent fools!”

 The moment Dragaunus entered the chamber, all was silent. The foursome stepped
to different sides of the room; Kirtland and Seige on one side, and Chameleon and
Wraith on another. Dragaunus walked through, his tail swishing from side to side. His
hands were tied behind his back, which was a sign of formality and deep though.
Everyone but the Saurian Overlord himself was frozen in fear. They were afraid of
what to expect from him. Not that they could be blamed. Dragaunus was a ruthless
and heartless beast. The only thing in life which he cared for was nothing but power
and expanding it. A complete monster from head to toe; in more ways than just his
appearance. He had what the other Saurians knew as a ‘grandeur complex’; caring
only for power, and would do anything to achieve it.

“Is the Dimensional Gateway prepared?” Dragaunus demanded.

“Yes, Lord Dragaunus,” Seige answered. “We’re prepared to send her through any
second.”

“Then begin Phase 1 of....‘Operation Black Widow.’”

As Kirtland activated the dimensional gateway, many swirled colors began to
form; like a type of rainbow-colored tornado. A strong gust of wind blew forward. All
of the Saurians struggled to stay on firm ground, except for Dragaunus. He just stood
there; firmly, not budging an inch. The gust of wind became even stronger, almost as
powerful as a hurricane. Chameleon, with Seige grabbing his wrist to keep him from
being sucked in, started flying like a kite in the vortex’s wind. Kirtland’s long ponytail
flew vigorously as he struggled to hold onto something.

“We need to turn the machine off!” Wraith hollered, kneeling down to be kept from
being swallowed by the vortex’s mouth. “We’ll be sucked in at any second if we
don’t!”

“FOOLS!” Dragaunus laughed. “Afraid of a little gust of wind?! BAH! I should’ve
expected this from you bunch of scale-covered COWARDS!”

 The others didn’t dare to argue back to Dragaunus. They were either afraid of his
wrath...or they were more afraid of the wind of the vortex. Either way, all that
mattered to them was trying to survive the vortex. Lightning gushed through the
gateway; thunder cracked afterwards. The wind blew harder and harder with every
crack of thunder and lightning.

“This isn’t a dimensional gateway!” Seige complained, shoved to the floor to keep the
force of the wind from sucking him in. “It’s a death trap!”

“We’ll be sucked in at any second!” Chameleon shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Cant’ we turn that machine to low power?!”

“It IS on low power!” Kirt shouted. “I can’t turn it any lower than this!”

 Thunder and lightning continued on as the wind gushed faster and faster. The others
fell to the floor to avoid being sucked in. But Dragaunus just stood there, snickering
evily. The only part of his body affected by the wind of the vortex were his purple
robes. The evil-minded warlord was an idiot; suicidal!

 The lightning hit the floor, yet nothing caught on fire. Sparks flew in certain
directions, but that was about it. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground. Then
another. And another. And another! The lightning began to take form. Each crack
formed part of a body. After what seemed like an hour’s worth of time, the lightning
began to cease. The bodily form created by the lightning glowed a bright white light;
almost as bright as the sun itself. The others shielded their eyes to keep from
becoming blind. All except for Dragaunus, of course. He just stood there like a wax
manican. Silently; emotionlessly. The only parts of his body that twitched and moved
were his tail, which was ALWAYS moving, and his mouth, which turned from a
slight smirk to an evil grin. All that complete now.

“Quackson! Turn off the dimensional gateway!”

“At once, my lord!” Kirtland gratefully agreed to as he turned off the machine.

The moment Kirtland turned off the dimensional gateway generator, the wind
began to cease; from a raging hurricane, to a slight breeze, to no wind at all. The
bright light that nearly blinded everyone in the Raptor began to fade away. At last, the
light was gone; and morphed into a female physique.

The female, a female duck, was very attractive. With her ankle length pink hair,
tied in a ponytail reaching her knees, peach colored feathers, and extremely
voluptuous build. She had almond shaped blood-red eyes; and very curly eyelashes,
with pink eyeshadow.

Her attire, mostly of metal and purple colored armor, did very little to cover up
her body. Her purple choker, from her neck to her shoulder blades, was trimmed with
diamonds with a big sapphire in the middle. The chest plate she wore, shaped like a
corset with no straps, had a low v-neckline, with the sides curved slightly, also
trimmed with diamonds. Her tight purple cat pants, also v-shaped below the navel,
were outlined with a black v-shaped utility belt. Her boots, a dark black, touched her
knee-caps. Tightly enclosed on her arms were silver arm bands, with specs of
diamonds trimming them. The sleeves below her warm bands were a tight dark
purple, followed by black gloves with the wrists extremely loose. To complete her
attire, besides the two katana blades tied behind her back, was her thick golden tiara.
In the center was a big ruby, with the tiara edges trimmed with diamonds. On the
sides of the ruby were sapphires, two on each side, with pears in the middle.

“Greetings, Lord Dragaunus,” the female spoke in a deep, seductive, yet feminine
French accent. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“As is here, Roguewing,” Dragaunus greeted.

“Roguewing?!” Chameleon was in shock. “As in...SEDUCA Roguewing?!”

“The most feared mercenary on Puckworld?!” Seige choked, his voice shaky
slightly.”

“SO my reputation HASN’T gone unheard of in the Saurian crowd,” Seduca smirked,
walking to the foursome.

“Stay back witch!” Wraith commanded, pointing his staff at Seduca. “I know every
bit about you! You’re that mercenary the Resistance hired to assinate our kind during
the second conquest of Puckworld!”

“One must do all that is necessary to make money,” Seduca remarked calmly, tipping
Wraith’s staff to the side. “Mercenaries like me do what they can to survive.”

“You must learn how to be nicer towards our guests Wraith,” Kirt mused, taking
Seduca’s hand and gently kissing it. “Allow me to introduce myself, ma sharie. I am
Lutenit-Commander Kirtland Quackson. It is a pleasure to have
your...acquaintance.”

“That will be all Quackson!” Dragaunus ordered. “I did NOT bring Roguewing here
for you to seduce. She is a vital element in my plans to rule the universe!”

“F-f-forgive me, m-my lord,” Kirt apologized, bowing briefly. “It--it won’t happen
again; I promise.”

“See that it doesn’t!” Dragaunus yelled at Kirt. He then smiled at Seduca. “You must
forgive Commander Quackson. A great ally and assassin he is for me. But his habits
with women need adjusting too.”

Kirt hung his head low to avoid exposing his face; red in embarrassment. All
Chameleon, Seige, and Wraith did was smirk and try to stifle their laughter. Seduca
only rolled her eyes at Kirt as she walked towards the main computer with
Dragaunus.

“It is no trouble for me, Lord Dragaunus,” Seduca assured him. “I have dealt with
men FAR worse than your Lutenit-Commander. You summoned me for what
mission?”

“For years I’ve been trying to conquer this miserable planet its inhabitants call
‘Earth’. But,” Dragaunus paused, turning on the main computer. “A band of
rebellious mallards from Puckworld have been thwarting my plans. They call
themselves ‘The Mighty Ducks’.”

“These ‘Mighty Ducks’,” Seduca asked. “Are they the Resistance lead by Canard
Thunderbeak?”

“Yes...but now they have a new leader: Wildwing Flashblade.”

Dragaunus brought up Wildwing’s image on the main computer. Seduca couldn’t
help but smirk at the image. Wildwing did look very handsome...in a school boyish
way. She loved his mowhawk hair style. And those eyes! A deep and rich chestnut
brown color. The same color as Rene...

No! She refused to think about Rene again. He was dead; Seduca had to get
over him. Had to forget his seductive voice. Had to forget the way he caressed her in
the nights. The way he kissed her... Dammit! Why must EVERYTHING bring back
memories of Rene?!

“So...you want me to assassinate this Wildwing Flashblade?”

“Yes...but first, I need you to obtain his mask; the mask of Drake DuCaine.”

“That will be a challenge,”

Seduca said. “Although the picture of him makes him look vulnerable, he doesn’t
seem to be the type to be easy to capture and trick.”

“Right you are on that one,” Dragaunus complimented. “But, like with any other
opponent you faced, Wildwing has a certain weakness.”

 Dragaunus pointed to Sonica, the green-haired femme fatale. Seduca couldn’t help
but feel slightly jealous of Sonica’s appearance. Her long green locks of hair were
very shiny; like the pile of emeralds her father once abducted onto his pirate ship
when she was young. She had beautiful tan feathers. Men LOVED women who had
tan-colored bodies! And her physique made her jealousy increase. Even though
Sonica’s bodybuild wasn’t as voluptuous as her own, the muscular curves made up
for it.

“This is Sonica Thunderbeak,” Dragaunus said, pointing to Sonica’s face. “The
younger sister of Canard Thunderbeak. And...the only one who can let down
Wildwing’s guard.”

“So you want me to find this ‘Sonica Thunderbeak’, capture her, bring her to the
Raptor, take her form, and drop Flashblade’s guard and steal his mask.”

“By all means necessary.” Dragaunus then smirked. “And I hope you plan on using
‘seduction’ in your part. I have a special plan to break Thunderbeak’s spirit...for
good.”

~            ~

On the drive home, Wildwing gave Sonica an occasional glance. She looked so
peaceful, resting in her seat. The night of dancing wore her out entirely. Wing wanted
to reach out and touch a lock of her hair. But he didn’t dare move his hand from the
steering wheel. The last thing he needed was a policeman coming out of nowhere and
giving him a ticket. But it hurt him so much to NOT touch her hair.

Sonica stirred slightly, and then woke up. She gave a small yawn.

“Did I fall asleep?”

“Ten minutes ago; yeah,” Wildwing answered, keeping his eyes on the road. “I
thought you’d be used to being up late at nights. After all, most of our battles last until
3 a.m.”

“For missions, I can handle staying up late. But I’m not used to social events late at
night. Oh my God; it’s playing! I LOVE this song!”

Wing looked puzzled at first. But when he heard the Everly Brothers sing
‘Dream’, he just smiled and listened to them sing.

“I can make you mine

Taste your lips of wine

Anytime; night or day.

“Only problem is

Jee whiz;

I’m dreaming my life away.

“I need you so

That I could die.

I love you so....

And that is why

“That whenever I want you

All I have to do

Is dream.

Dream, dream, dream.......”

“Sonica? You still here?”

“Huh? Oh; sorry Wing. I just got so absorbed in the song that I...”

“Don’t worry about it. Nosedive does the same thing when he jams to Kid Rock,
Korn and Limp Biskit. Same goes for Jessie and that Ricky Martin guy.”

“Actually, his name’s Enrique Iglesias.”

“What’s the difference? They’re both Mexican and they BOTH get on my nerves.”

Sonica couldn’t help but laugh. As was said before, Wildwing was at his funniest
when he wasn’t making any attempts to be funny at all. She found it to be...very
charming in him. One of the many things in him she never saw in him until tonight.

As Wildwing parked his red jeep inside, Sonica reawoke from her daydream
again. The night went by so fast in her eyes. Wildwing smiled at her as he turned off
the car’s ignition.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Wing asked as he undid his seat belt.

“Oh you bet I did!” Sonica said enthusiastically as she undid her seatbelt. “I LOVED
the fiesta music the most. It was so much fun!”

“No; no,” Wildwing urged, holding Sonica’s hands. “Allow me.”

 Sonica looked somewhat puzzled at Wing’s response. But when he left on his side,
then opened the door on HER side, she smiled at him. Then he lifted her into his
arms as if she was nothing more than a bag of air. His beak hiked a trail of sensual
kisses up her neck, right to the area where she would have ears if she was a human.
He kissed that area over and over. Chills of excitement spread all over Sonica’s body
as she clung onto Wing’s body, holding him tightly. She felt her blood becoming
enflamed with desire. Desire to feel him...inside her.

She felt something hit her back as Wing pressed his mouth against hers, crushing
his body against hers. Sonica knew she was against her bedroom door, but she didn’t
pay any attention to that. All that mattered to her right now was Wildwing and the
waves of pleasure he created in her. Her body was on fire with desire and pleasure.
And all she could do was fell his mouth suck wind from her own.

Sonica’s hands hiked down Wildwing’s neck, enveloping her arms around him.
She eagerly returned every kiss he gave her and more. Wildwing chewed on Sonica’s
neck, chuckling as short briefs screams of pleasure escaped her throat. Sonica’s hand
banged against her door as she searched for her computer lock.  Sonica tried to turn
her head, but Wildwing wouldn’t allow her to turn away from him. Especially now
since he wanted to clamp his mouth hard over hers. Her hand rubbed over the
combination key as Wing’s beak savagely kissed hers. When she finally found the
entrance key, Sonica slammed her fist on the entrance button. The moment the doors
slid open, Wildwing and Sonica fell onto the floor, creating a loud ‘thudding’ sound.
The moment they fell, Wing stopped what he was doing.

Wing looked at Sonica. Her face was flushed with desire, with sweat falling from
her forehead. Her eyes; those sparkling, emerald green eyes. It filled his lust and
desire even more. If her eyes weren’t enough to make his lust rise, the rise and fall of
her breasts would do the truck. But he had to resist his urge to take her now. If not
for HIS sake(to save himself from Canard’s wrath), then for Sonica’s well being at
least.

“Wildwing?” Sonica asked in a confusing tone of voice.

“I’m sorry, Sonica?” Wing apologized, leaning against the wall. “But we can’t. I don’t
think I’m ready; WE’RE not ready.”

“I’m...sorry. I didn’t think that...I....”

“I know. I’m the one that should be blamed; not you.”

“I was willing. I started the whole thing. I’m the one that let us in.”

“True,” Wildwing agreed. “That part IS true. But I’m the one who got the ball
rolling.”

“Let’s just say that we were both responsible for this and leave it at that.”

“Deal,” Wildwing agreed to. “So....”

“So....ummm....”

“I...guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

“I guess you will be. It’s my turn to cook breakfast tomorrow, isn’t it?” Sonica
laughed.

“Yeah; I guess it is,” Wing agreed, laughing slightly. “Good night then.”

“Night.”

 Wing stood still for the longest period of time. Then, as if unexpectedly, Wildwing
gave Sonica a small and gentle kiss. Even though it came as no surprise to her,
Sonica’s body went numb. After Wing gave her one last good-night kiss(on the cheek,
of course) and walked out, Sonica kept asking questions to herself as she changed
into her gray sweats and black halter tank. What WAS it about Wildwing that made
her feel this way? The way he kissed her; caressed her; EVERYTHING about him! It
made her feel so...appreciated and wanted. No one had EVER made her feel that way
before. Except for her family. In a different sense; but it gave her the same feeling.
Even though Wildwing wasn’t the cutest male on the team, he was abundantly
handsome in her eyes. It was more than his appearance and position that caught her
eyes. His formality, his intelligence, his sweetness; the way he was willing to risk his
life for anyone, friend or foe. That had to be his most attractive feature.

“I must be the luckiest female in the universe,” Sonica sighed dreamily, tying her hair
in a flat bun. “Mommy? Daddy?: I did the impossible. Are--are you--proud of me?”
she asked to the walls as she fell asleep, pretending that her mom and dad were right
with her.

Wildwing smiled at himself as he stared at Sonica’s bedroom door for a few
seconds. As he turned around he bumped into something. Something hard
and...feathery. Wing looked at Canard’s hard brown eyes. Even in his pajamas that
consisted of a black muscle tank and gray sweats, he didn’t look one bit sleepy. More
like...stern and slightly angry. With a bit of concern hiding within him.

“H--hi, Canard,” Wing greeted, in a slightly nervous tone.

“Hi Wing,” Canard acknowledged, nodding his head slightly. “Where were you and
Sonica a while ago?”

“Nothing happened. All I did was take her out to dinner at Acapulco. And we did a
little dancing afterwards. That was it.”

“That was it?”

“That was it,” Wildwing repeated. “Then I drove her back home. Honest to God.”

“I believe you,” Canard assured. “Look; I was on my way to your room to tell you
that...I owe you a grave apology.”

“You already apologized earlier today at the gym.”

“Yeah. I apologized for trying to pound the crap out of you and knocking your
brother out cold. But I didn’t apologize for not trusting you with my sister. I didn’t
think about her feelings....or yours.”

“Canard--”

“No; let me finish,” Canard said. “I thought it over for a while. And here’s the
conclusion I came up with. Sonica may still be my baby sister, but she’s no longer a
baby anymore. I have accepted the fact that she’s grown-up now and can take care of
herself. And besides, you’re my best friend. I know you’re trustworthy with her.
So...you have my permission to date my sister.

“Canard, I--this is--thank you.”

“But if you hurt Sonica in any way; and I mean ANY way at all...I’ll make sure your
life becomes a living nightmare.”

“U--understandable,” Wildwing agreed to.

“Glad we both agree,” Canard said. “Good night then, Wildwing.”

“Night, Canard.”

 Canard and Wildwing went their separate ways then. When Wildwing closed the
door to his room, he couldn’t help but sink onto his bed. He was tired. Every muscle
in his body ached. But it was worth it. He and Sonica had the night of their lives. A
night neither of them would forget for a long time. But his muscles; they were so stiff!
He barely had the energy to change into his dark sweats and white undershirt before
his head plopped against the pillow.

Wing stared at the ceiling for a while. He kept imagining Sonica over and over. It
then clicked in his brain. It was her; Sonica was the mysterious shadow girl in his
dreams! It HAD to be her; no one else could come close. At last; he figured out the
puzzle in his brain. Or at least, the first half. But another part haunted him:

“I am one you know. But I am also one the FORM of the one you know/”

 Wing understood the first part. But the final part of the puzzle perplexed him the
most. What did it mean? Wildwing tried to solve it, but his mind was too hazy. As he
tried to think, Wing fell asleep.

~            ~

The smell of bacon frying and bread being toasted filled the kitchen the next
morning. Yawning, Jessie walked into the kitchen, her green sweatshirt wrapped
around her waist. Always preferring the tomboy look, she wore a black long sleeved
shirt with a white T-shirt over it, encrusted with a picture of a man with purple hair, a
big sword, and a small blue jacket, finished off with her favorite pair of blue jeans and
sneakers. Jessie noticed Sonica looking strangely happy as she set her backpack onto
he floor.

Sonica looked so cheerful that morning as she flipped the bacon over on the
frying pan with her spatula. She seemed to have been humming a song. ‘Stone-aged
music’ was what Jessie called it. Music that was around since the 50s was awful in
her eyes(and ears). Jessie also noticed a strange change in Sonica’s appearance. It
wasn’t the clothes she was wearing. The white v-neck shirt with the green sleeves and
blue jeans was what Sonica wore a lot. And it wasn’t her hair either. Sonica always
had it tied into a bun while she was cooking. Yet Jessie couldn’t help but sense
something different about her. But what WAS it?

“Good morning Jessie,” Sonica said cheerfully, piling a small but generous portion of
bacon on a plate.

“Morning,” Jessie returned, grabbing a small bottle of Sunny Delight from the fridge.
“Where are all the Cokes and Sprites?”

“Hidden from your vision,” Sonica answered, closing the refrigerator door. “The last
thing this building needs is you on a sugar high. Go pile up on some fruit salad. Your
breakfast’ll be ready in a minute,” she ordered as she cracked two eggs on another
frying pan. “And don’t make that face!”

How’d she know? Jessie thought as she scooped a big helping of pineapples, apples,
strawberries, grapes, kiwis, bananas, tangerines, oranges, pears, and cherries into a
small bowl.

As Jessie took her first bite of grapes and pears, Nosedive walked into the
kitchen. Dressed in a beige shirt, white jeans vest, and brown jeans, he looked like a
cute but messy surfer rat. Jessie tried to stifle her laughter as she looked at Dive’s
hair. All messed up from not being properly brushed.

“My hair would be neater if a certain brown haired tomboy didn’t replace my hair
moose with whipped cream,” Dive grimaced, staring into Jessie’s green eyes.

“That’s what you get for taking my Enrique Iglesias CD and replacing it with some
stupid Barney song; which was BADLY out of key, I might add.”

“Jessie! Nosedive! That’ll be enough,” Sonica commanded, piling another plate with
bacon. “You two need to learn how to stop arguing with each other every five
seconds. You go rinse your hair, Dive. Your breakfast won’t be ready for another
two minutes anyway.”

Dive walked out of the kitchen, then came back two minutes later. His blonde
hair was slightly damp, tied back in a ponytail. He was better looking than
before(even though Jessie still thought of him as dog-ugly). When Dive sat down,
Sonica had just prepared the final touches to breakfast; bacon, eggs, has brown, and
toast.

“Here’s your breakfast,” Sonica announced, putting the plates in front of them.
“Better hurry up and eat it. You have to leave for school in twenty minutes.”

 No sooner had Sonica finished speaking did Jessie and Dive began to dig in. Sonica
rolled her eyes. She forgot how much teenagers liked to eat. IF they kept it up, they
would each turn into Rolly-Polly.

“This’ DELICIOUS, Sonica!” Jessie complimented.

“Thank you. Just do me one favor; don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude and
disgusting. Nosedive; don’t chew with your mouth open.”

“Sorry mom,” Dive and Jessie teased at the same time.

Jessie was scooping up the remainder of the egg yolk with her toast while
Nosedive was swallowing the last of his hasbrowns. As Jessie gulped down some of
her Sunny Delight, she glanced at the clock.

“Jeez!” Jessie exclaimed. She stuffed the last bit of bacon into a piece of toast, and
jammed it into her mouth. After swallowing, Jessie gulped down the remainder of her
orange juice, then grabbed her backpack. “Almost time to leave!”

“You’re right!” Dive agreed, stuffing the last two slices of bacon into his beak, only
chewing it slightly before swallowing. “Can’t afford to be late; my French teacher is a
BEAR on tardiness!”

Sonica gave a loud whistle seconds before Nosedive and Jessica left the kitchen.
They stopped instantly.

“Aren’t you two forgetting something?” Sonica reminded, her hands on her hips.

“We’ll do the dishes when we get home; PROMISE!” Jessie said!

“Good girl,” Sonica complimented. “But that’s not it.”

“Huh?” Dive and Jessie asked at the same time.

“Jessie; you forgot your report on the Aztecs for History and your essay for English,”
Sonica said, handing Jessie the separate thin folders. “And Dive; you forgot your
re-write of the Constitution for American Government, and your French homework.”

“Thank you Sonica!” Dive and Jessie said in unison, running out of the kitchen.

Sonica rolled her eyes and smiled as she made herself a cup of coffee. Those
two were very energetic; always caused a great deal of trouble. But they’re what
made the lives that lived I the Anaheim Pond so interesting. She had to give them
credit for that. Sonica opened the fridge door again and pulled out four eggs, along
with cheese, mushrooms, and onions. She was so hungry she could eat a whole
elephant! After she made herself a mushroom and cheese omelet, she added some of
the leftover bacon and hashbrowns still left on the frying pan. There wasn’t much of
the two left. Dive and Jessie made sure of that. Sonica rolled her green eyes again.

Those two have black holes for stomachs. I just know it.

As Sonica took her first bite of omelet, Wildwing walked into the kitchen. Sonica
acknowledged his ‘pajamas’ as she sipped her coffee. He gave a slight yawn, then
walked to the bread cabinet and grabbed a salt bagel. When he reached into the ridge
to pull out the cream cheese and lox(a type of salmon), Sonica faked a small cough.

“Is that anyway to treat your own girlfriend, Wildwing?”

“Huh?” Wing asked, turning his head just as he finished slicing his salt bagel in half.
“Oh; Sonica! I...I didn’t see you when I walked in. My mind gets pretty foggy during
the morning.”

“That’s good. For a moment there, I thought you were ignoring me.”

“Now why would I ignore my girlfriend?” Wildwing teased, kissing her cheek. Sonica
giggled in response.

“Would you like me to cook you breakfast? It may be a while, but--”

“--No need,” Wing assured. “I’ll be content with my salt bagel, cream cheese, and
lox.”

“I don’t mind cooking,” Sonica smiled, pulling more eggs and bacon out of the fridge.
“Besides, the others’ll be waking up any minute. Saves time preparation in cooking.”

“I’m content,” Wing assured again, spreading the cream cheese over his bagel. “So
there’s no need to cook for me.”

As soon as Wing sat down and began to eat his lox and cream cheese, Calandra
walked into the kitchen. Even though she was freshly dressed in a white, turtleneck
cashmere sweater and tight light blue jeans, her hair was tied in an extremely messy
french bun. Her face looked flushed, with sweat dripping down her forehead. Sonica
looked somewhat surprised at Callie’s appearance.

“What happened to YOU?!” Sonica asked as she cracked two eggs into the frying
pan.

“ A bad hair day and bad dream” Callie answered in a sleepy tone, yawning as she
pulled a mug and medium sized bowl out of the cabinet.

“Well, THIS’ll make you feel better,” Sonica smiled as she piled hasbrowns onto
another frying pan. “I’m making has browns, eggs, and bacon for breakfast.”

“That sounds sradoste,” Callie complimented, pouring hot water into her mug. Sonica
gave her a confused look. “Oh; sorry. It means ‘delicious’ in my home country.”

“Ahhh...,” Sonica remarked. “Please try not to say stuff in Russian so much. No one
here can translate your home country’s language.”

“Sorry,” Callie apologized again, dunking a tea bag into her mug of hot water. “I’ll
remember that in the future.”

 Calandra had just sat down to her raspberry tea and fruit salad at the very moment
Duke walked into he kitchen. He too looked very messy in his black pants and dark
maroon tank; with his hair do all messed up. He yawned a good morning to the three
already in the kitchen.

“Morning love,” Callie said, gently kissing his cheek. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Sure did,” Duke said, playing with a loose strand of Calandra’s hair. When he
moved in to kiss the area where her ear would’ve grown(if ducks could ever HAVE
ears. ;), he seductively whispered into her ear so slightly that only she could ear
it....barely. “Next to you, who WOULDN’T have a good night’s sleep?”

Callie’s blushing increased when Duke gave her a gentle yet passionate kiss on
her lips. One by one, the others woke up at the smell of frying bacon and hasbrowns.
A small conversation broke out while everyone was eating their breakfast. Wildwing
announced that he and Sonica were now officially dating. At first, everyone but
Canard laughed, thinking Wing was only joking around. But it turned out that Wing
was serious. Canard assured everyone that Wildwing was telling the truth; he and
Sonica WERE actually dating. From the shock of the situation, Mallory spat her
coffee onto the floor at the same time Tanya almost choked on her bacon strips. The
only four people that remained calm about the whole ordeal were Wildwing, Sonica,
Canard, and Grin.

“You? And Sonica? DATING?!”

“It’s not that big of a surprise Duke,” Wing muttered, sipping his coffee.

“Wh-when did this, uh, ya know; happen?”

“Yesterday,” Sonica told Tanya. “It’s not like we’ve been hiding it for years or
anything.”

Calandra was about to give her congratulations to Wildwing and Sonica. But
before she could open her beak, the alarm on Drake 1 went off. Conversation would
have to wait. Dishes clattered around the table as the seven ducks raced to their super
computer. The siren on Drake 1’s alarm whaled louder and louder with each passing
second. Tanya quickly started typing frantically on Drake 1’s keyboard.

“What’s happening NOW, Tanya? Where’s the signal coming from?”

“I’ll have the results in a minute! Stuff like this isn’t easy ya know!” Tanya
complained. “Signal’s traced at the Anaheim Broadcasting Tower.”

“A TV station?” Duke was in slight shock.

“That’s where they broadcast the Orange County news and some of ESPN,” Mallory
acknowledged.

“Dragaunus wants to announce to the world that he’s going to become its new ruler! I
just know it!”

“Well, we’re not letting him,” Wildwing promised, silently wishing that Dive didn’t
leave for school. “Everyone; to the Migrator!”

“Ummm....Wildwing?” Callie said.

“What is it now, Calandra?”

“Aren’t you forgetting two things, Komendant(Leader)?”

“What do you mean?” Wing questioned. “I don’t--” Wing looked down, realizing he
was still in his sweats, and didn’t have his magical mask with him. “Oh.”

 Everyone else looked down, and everyone else but Sonica and Callie, who were in
their regular every-day clothes, and realized they were still in their pajamas. They
quickly morphed into their battlegear. The moment Wing inserted the mask of Drake
DuCaine on his face, they were FINALLY on their way. As the Migrator sped off,
Grin realized something.

“I sense something wrong with this mission,” Grin said.

“Dragaunus is involved with this,” Mallory reminded. “Of COURSE there would be
something wrong.”

“No. There’s more to it than that.”

“What d’ya mean, Grin?” Duke asked.

“I sense another life form with Dragaunus. More than the usual henchmen he sends.”

“Grin,” Canard spoke. “No offense, but I think you drank one herbal tea too many.”

 As the Migrator parked right at the Anaheim Broadcasting Company, they noticed
many people running out from the building. Every man and woman in there were
screaming their heads off. When Wildwing opened the door, the screaming was even
louder. FAR above the decibel scale. The others tried to ask the running crowd what
was going on, but he couldn’t get a response out of them. Only ear-burning scream of
terror. Unable to try any other options, Grin grabbed a female with curly shoulder
length hair and green eyes. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use. Grin was
much too strong for her puny body to handle.

“Let me go! Let me go!” the woman screamed. “Help! Help me! HEELLLP!!!”

“Calm down, madam,” Grin urged gently, loosening his grip upon her. “Reach deep
inside yourself. Calm your frightened spirit, and tell us as calmly as possible what
happened.”

“Well,” the woman breathed, trying to calm herself down. “We were working on a
new up-coming TV series when...when...we were attacked!”

“Attacked? By who, ma’am?” Canard asked.

“By....a....three giant lizards! And....a.....” Before the lady could finish her sentence,
she fainted; right into Grin’s arms.

“Gee; THAT went well,” Duke said sarcastically.

“Who was the other person the lady tried to tell us before she fainted?” Callie
wondered.

“I, um, well, dunno,” Tanya shrugged.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Wildwing snapped. “There’re lizards in the building;
move in!”

As the ducks ran into the building, the lady that fainted, smirk.

“Oh, and DO be careful,” the lady silently smirked in a French accent, her eyes
glowing a bright red..........

~            ~

Inside, small fires were around several corners of a TV set. Seige hurled a giant
lighting lamp against a TV camera, sending multicolored sparks everywhere. Several
sparks got into more studio equipment, causing MORE fires to appear. Wraith hurled
fireballs at the TV sets’ drapes, flames engulfing the fabric. Then he formed another
fireball at the sounds equipment, causing a gigantic explosion.

“Pheh,” Wraith spat on the floor. “And they say magic and sorcery are inferior to
technology.”

Chameleon blasted more TV cameras with his spaced-aged laser gun. The fires
only increased. Smoke started to rise from the fires. The thick gray fog filled the
entire studio as the ducks entered. All seven were thrown into a fit of coughing. The
smoke burned their eyes as it entered their throats, suffocating them.

“Duke! Grin!” Wildwing coughed. “Find the fire extinguishers and put out these
fires!”

 As Duke and Grin extinguished the fires with the while foam erupting from the fire
extinguishers, Calandra cornered Chameleon against a prop table. She pulled out one
of her knives out of her golden armbands, allowing the remaining light from the fire to
bathe the blade part in an orange-reddish light. She pulled the blade out slowly, as if
to torture him with a promise of agonizing death. Revenge for the suffering she
endured many years ago. She smirked as she saw the look of a coward on
Chameleon’s face.

“Any last requests, trooslevy(coward)?”

“Yeah; one last one,” Chameleon said, hi look of fear turning into an evil smirk. “An
old friend of yours wants to see you again.”

“Old friend?” Callie asked in an irritated manner. “Who are you--”

“”--Turn around and see for yourself, ma sharie.”

 That voice. The accent. Its depth. No. I couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be!....Or
COULD it? Callie turned her head slightly, one of her violet eyes looking back. It saw
what she feared most: Kirtland Quackson, alive!

“K--k--kir--Kirtland!” Callie stammered. “But--but HOW?! You died! I saw you die
myself!”

“You of all people should’ve been able to tell that ANYONE can overcome death.
Especially when their death was.....how do I put it in terms in where your feeble
female brain can understand?......FAKE!”

Calandra tried to say something to counter Kirtland’s insult. But when the
Russian beauty had barely opened her beak, Chameleon morphed into a big green
sumo wrestler. He grabbed Calandra from behind, leaving her at Kirt’s mercy. She
struggled to become free, but it was no use. Chameleon in his sumo wrestling form
was just too much for her. The sight of his ex-fiancé struggling for freedom made
Kirtland excited. The sight of her struggling sent rivers of sweat dripping down her
forehead. Her bangs stuck to the sides of her neck. And her face and body from the
neck down was completely flushed. Her ragged breathing and gasps excited him the
most. Unfortunately, there was no time to admire her ragged state of appearance.
Duty called. Remembering his orders, Kirtland erased all lust-filled thoughts on Callie,
pulled his right arm back, and began to repeatedly punch her in the stomach.

Meanwhile, Sonica was in the struggle of a life. At least six hunter drones circled
around her, Tanya, and Mallory. If divided evenly, each could take on two at a time.
The drones’ arms morphed into guns; each pointed at the threesome’s heads. Before
the first drone could draw its first blast, Sonica made the first attack. Using a special
technique learned the Australian military, Sonica created a special cartwheel,
combining her cartwheel with her favorite karate attack; the jumping back spin kick.
When the lower part of her leg formed a hook, it locked around the drone’s neck.
Sonica dropped to the ground, her hands firmly planted on the floor. Throwing her
waist to the ground, Sonica used her leg to throw the drone against another drone,
causing them to crash against the wall, falling to the floor like old scraps of metal.

Mallory’s technique wasn’t as fancy as Sonica’s, but did the trick nonetheless.
She went into a fighting stance, her hands in the form of blades. When a hunter drone
attempted to punch Mallory, she drew her hands back, performing a double
knife-hand middle block; one palm out, blocking the punch, while the under formed a
blade under her chest. Then, after a split-second of relaxation, Mallory quickly turned
her waist around, jumped into the air for a brief moment, and side-kicked the drone
before her feet landed on firm ground. The drone crashed against the wall, falling to
pieces. Two seconds after Mallory landed on the ground, she hurled another Hunter
Drone against the fallen hunter drone with her bare hands, adding to the scraps of
metal already laid upon the ground.

Tanya, on the other hand, had no martial arts skills. Then again, she didn’t
NEED any karate skills. For she pocessed a muscle FAR stronger than any kick or
punch could hope to surpass. That muscle was....her brain. Tanya unleashed a
magnetic magnifying glass from her Omnitool on the eyes of one hunter drone.
Reflecting the light of the last fire, its bright light entered the drones circuits through
its lenses, melting and short-circuiting its internal wires and circuits. The drone then
fell apart on its own accord.

“Pheh. WAY too easy,” Tanya complained.

“That’s what worries me,” Sonica muttered, pulling out a big bazooka from behind
her back. “An easy battle guarantees only one thing: a trap.”

“It is time,” Wraith said, a magical ball of a bright white light forming in the palm of
his hand. “I summon the dark powers of our Saurian ancestors. Imprison this
accursed wench!”

 As Wraith spoke, the bright white light began to surround Sonica. The light encircled
her body, turning into solid metal chains. They were enveloped around her entire
body; from ankles to neck, squeezing her tightly. So tightly, that the bazooka in her
hands crumbled to pieces. She struggled to get free, but it was no use. The chains
were too tightly wrapped around her body. The shackles began to spark slightly, then,
without warning, sent waves of electricity through her. Sonica screamed out as the
pain engulfed her entire body, wave after wave of electricity shocking her.

“SONICA!!!!” Wildwing screamed, trying to run to her aid, but Seige grabbed him
and managed to hold him back.

“LET MY SISTER GO!!!” Canard commanded as he desperately struggled to free
himself from the grasp of the Hunter Drones.

The others tried to come to Sonica’s aid, but their efforts proved worthless.
Wraith had added around Sonica a giant and invisible force field bubble, shocking
anyone that touched it. All felt helpless to aid their green haired comrade. Suddenly,
the force field that surrounded Sonica generated more electricity, electrocuting her
even more. Her screams and cries of agony and pain grew louder with very wave of
electricity. Without warning, the chains turned to a bright light, enveloping Sonica
with its hideously bright radiance. It flashed so brightly that the entire studio was
bathed in light and smoke. When the light finally disappeared, Sonica’s screams of
pain were gone as well, along with the forcefield...and Sonica herself.

“We did our job; now let’s get outa here!”

 With Seige’s command, the foursome disappeared; along with Sonica herself.

Canard fell to the ground on his knees as the drones disappeared. He felt them
form. The tears in his eyes. The tears of pain he hadn’t shed in a long, long while. He
pounded the floor with his bare fists, crying and cursing with every hit.

Wildwing couldn’t blame Canard for his immature behavior. He was also
tempted to join him. But he couldn’t. As leader, he had to keep a strong and calm
image. It was painful to do so, but he had no other choice. He knew he had to keep
his cool. If not for HIS sake, then for the sake of his team members.

“What the hell are we doing just standing around here?!” Calandra demanded, her
hands enveloped around her wait ward off its pain. “I say we go look for Sonica!”

“You’re in no condition to go anywhere, sweetheart,” Duke reminded, gesturing to
Callie’s stomach. “Not after what that guy did your gut.”

“I’ll heal,” Callie assured her boyfriend. “We Unistanians were built to withstand all
kinds of pain.”

You Unistanians were also born as stubborn as mules, Duke thought.

“No,’ Wildwing ordered. “That’s not a good idea.”

“And you call yourself Sonica’s boyfriend?!” Mallory yelled.

“Yeah! They just grabbed her outa, you know, nowhere! You’re just gonna let them
get AWAY with it?!” Tanya yelled as well.

“I didn’t SAY that,” Wing corrected.

“I believe what our leader is trying to say is,” Grin calmly spoke in his usual
meditation voice. “That we shouldn’t just charge into another fight without a plan.
We need to form a strategy if we are to successfully rescue our comrade.”

“Thank you Grin,” Wildwing thanked, nodding his head briefly. “We can’t just
charge in without a plan; like a pack of wolves. First we need to figure out where
Sonica is.”

“She’s right near the outskirts of Anaheim,” Canard said, showing Wing the signal on
his communicator.

“O--------kay,” Wing nodded. “Now we need to form a plan. There’s bound to be a
decent amount of security where she’s being kept. Then we’ll have Seige, Wraith,
Chameleon, and Kirtland to deal with afterwards.”

“Quackson ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout,” Duke assured. “I’ll deal with that overgrown
pack of feathered muscles.”

“You better let me help you with him, dooshamoya(darling),” Calandra said. “I know
more about my ex-fiancé than you do. Know his battle tatics and strategies.”

“That leaves out one henchman of Dragaunus’ to deal with,” Wildwing said. “That
leaves--”

“Grin and I’ll deal with Seige, since we’re the stronger ones of the team,” Canard
informed.

“And Tanya and I’ll breach security and fight Wraith.”

“Why don’t you let ME breach the security alarms?” Duke asked. “I AM, after all, an
expert at picking locks and dodging alarms. Let MALLORY go near that technical
stuff, and we’ll be running for our lives.”

“Are you implying--”

“Enough!” Wildwing yelled. Soon there was complete silence in the studio. “Better.
Duke; you’re in charge of breaching the security. The rest of us know what to do
next, right?”

“Right.”

“Let’s move, team!”

~            ~

Silence. Darkness. Those two elements surrounded Sonica as she woke up.
From the way she felt her body being crushed, she knew that the Saurians chained
her wrists and ankles to the ground. And judging by how light her body felt, Soncia
knew that they removed all of her weapons as well as her communicator. From their
previous encounters with her, Sonica knew that Dragaunus wouldn’t take any
chances with her. She didn’t know whether to feel good about others thinking her as
dangerous; or, feel angry for having no defenses to get her free.

Just then, the dark room was filled with light. As Sonica adjusted her eyes to
become adjusted to the sudden brightness, she recognized the area where she was
being held prisoner. It was an old underground prison. The place smelled of foul
water and rotting corpses; though none ere in sight. Rats scampered around the
underground prison. Sonica gave a look of disgust as she cringed her body in
repugnance, despite the chains locked around her.

Footsteps were then heard. Sonica’s breathing deepened as her pulse became
quicker. She then felt the chains pinning her down rattling slightly, their grasp upon
her beginning to loosen. Without warning, someone grabbed her by her choker. The
feeling made her struggle to breathe. Air. She needed air.

Then, unexpectedly, Sonica was released; fell on her back. When she recovered
from her back pain, she looked into a pair of eyes. Evil yellow eyes. Eyes that
promised any victim no sympathy. No mercy. Just pain. Torture. And death. Sonica
knew those eyes from anywhere.

“Dragaunus!” Soncia gasped.

“Glad to see me again, Thunderbeak?” Dragaunus smirked.

“Whatever you want from me, you won’t get it!” Sonica yelled, springing up
suddenly and going into a fighting stance.

“Oh, I doubt that VERY much,” Dragaunus said. “How can you fight me without
your weapons? You know that on your own you are no match for me. So why even
bother?” Dragaunus then grabbed Soncia by the throat, squeezing precious air out of
her lungs. Sonica tried to say something, but she couldn’t. Dragaunus squeezed her
neck so tightly that trying to BREATHE was a struggle; let alone talking. “For years,
you wretched water fowl have interfered with my plans for complete universal
domination. I have put up with you long enough. As of today, you and your feathered
friends are no more.”

 Dragaunus, his hand still gripped tightly on her neck, slammed Sonica’s head against
the wall. She wanted to feel the back of her head; to make sure it wasn’t bleeding.
But her arms were too numb to move.

“You’re probably wondering what’s making me so sure I’ll win this time, aren’t you,”
the evil red Saurian snickered, obviously enjoying the pain he was inflicting on her.
“Well then, I believe it’s time I showed you. ROGUEWING!”

ROGUEWING?! Sonica thought over in her brain. He couldn’t mean ‘Seduca
Rogeuwing’, could he?!

The moment Dragaunus yelled, a cloud of swirling gray smoke emerged in the
center of the room. When the smoke cleared, the shadowed form of a female
physique was replaced. The physique stepped out of its shadowed prison, and her
sulky attire, pink hair, and red eyes were revealed.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Seduca Roguewing, no?” Dragaunus snickered, enjoying
the look of horror on Sonica’s face. “The most feared assassin and mercenary on
Puckworld. As you may remember, that human friend of yours Rebecca--”

“--Jessica!” Sonica corrected.

“Fine! As you many remember, that human friend of yours JESSICA Lockheart tore
apart my Gateway Generator nearly a year ago. And without the Gateway Generator,
there would be no way to summon any of my allies to this wretched human-infested
world. Then, when our hopes seemed to have looked bleak, a miracle was bestowed
upon us. A dimensional storm broke in, and our Army’s general, Lutenit-Commander
Quackson, was brought to us. After weeks of thievery and months of hard labor, we
were able to rebuild our Dimensional Gateway.”

“And as I can tell, you used it to bring this pink haired whore here--”

“WATCH who you call a whore!” Seduca growled, pulling out her katana blade.

“Relax, Ms. Roguewing,” Dragaunus smirked, pulling Sonica away from the wall.
“Your desire to kill will be fulfilled eventually.”

 Just then, Kirtland teleported in.

“Lord Dragaunus,” Kirt informed in a formal tone of voice, bowing down with his left
arm crossing his chest. “The Mighty Ducks have approached our outskirts.”

“Excellent,” Dragaunus smirked, rubbing his hands together. “Wait for them to arrive
inside before you begin the attack. Harm them in anyway you want them to, but no
killing. That pat will come in the last phase of my plan.”

“I don’t get it,” Seduca said. “You have them where you want them, Lord
Dragaunus. SO why not kill them now?”

“The timing isn’t right,” Dragaunus said. “They’d be expecting us to do so. NEVER
do what your enemy expects you to do. Besides, I prefer to torture my victims before
I kill them. It’s so much more invigorating to hear the cries of pain from my prey and
listen to them beg for mercy and death.” Dragaunus then released Sonica from his
deadly grasp; only to wrap his tail around her waist, squeezing her body.

Why do Saurians insist on choking or squeezing others?

“You understand your assignment t then, Roguewing?”

“But of course, my Lord,” Seduca said, giving Sonica an evil smile. Pressing the
black diamond button in the middle of her belt, Seduca’s body glowed a bright white
light. When the light vanished, Seduca reappeared...in Sonica’s form.

“WHA--” Sonica tried to shout. But before she could finish, Dragaunus used his tail
to slam Sonica flat onto the floor. When she tried to push herself up, Dragaunus used
the spikes on his tail to hit her in the neck, knocking her out cold.

“How pathetic,” Seduca insulted, kicking the REAL Sonica out of her way. “I
would’ve expected the sister of Canard Thunderbeak to be stronger than this.”

“Don’t underestimate those ducks,” Dragaunus ordered. “They may have hidden
strengths of which you may be unaware of.” Dragaunus used his wrist blaster to
create a yellow light net around Sonica. “I’ll be taking Miss Thunderbeak back to the
Raptor with me. And Roguewing...,” Dragaunus tossed ‘Seduca’ a small satchel of
gold coins. “Half of the eighteen thousand in gold coins you requested. You’ll receive
the remaining half when you finish the other half of your assignment.”

 Dragaunus then teleported out, with an unconscience Sonica in his yellow light net.
Seduca, in Sonica’s form, tossed the coin sack slightly in her hands. A small snicker
escaped her throat.

“Time for Phase 2.....”

 

~            ~

The Mighty Ducks were having the fight of their lives...or so it would seem.
While Duke managed o breach the security successfully, Mallory(a.k.a., the Queen of
Machine Klutzes ;) tripped over an infa red beam. Sirens whaled loudly inside the
underground prison. The ducks quickly pulled out their weapons; all on complete
guard. Two dozen hunter drones surrounded them on each side, along with
Chameleon, Wraith, Seige, and Kirtland.

“A trap,” Wildwing growled, firmly grasping his puck bazooka. “I thought as much.”

“Pity you didn’t see it coming,” Wraith snickered, holding his staff above his head.
“Now you will face the wrath of our ancestors.”

Fireballs, laser fire, and flying pucks zoomed around the hallway. Mallory
dodged a laser blast, and returned the blast with two pucks, breaking apart two hunter
drones in one shooting. Calandra side-splitted in order to avoid being shot in the
forehead. Grabbing two of her knives out of her golden armband, Callie doubled
rolled over her head, throwing her daggers into two hunter drones’ necks, short
circuiting them. After nearly another half hour of slicing and shooting, all hunter
drones became nothing more than big piles of fallen scrap metal. Wraith, Seige,
Chameleon, and Kirtland, with a trickle of blood flowing from his cheek, backed up
against the wall.

“I--I think it’s t-t-time to r--r---retreat,” Chameleon said, his voice a shaky one.

“I didn’t think we’d lose so easily,” Kirt growled, covering his cut with his hand. “But
mark these words, ducks. This isn’t over!”

The foursome disappeared, leaving the seven exhausted warriors all on their
own. Calandra resheathed her fallen daggers into her armband, cursing under her
breath.

“Damn trooslevys!” Callie muttered. “IF they had HALF of the courage they’d
claimed to own, they’d have fought us to the bitter end.”

“And given the circumstances Drakeler,” Canard snapped. “THEY would’ve had the
upper hand on us.”

“Dah; that IS true,” Callie agreed, a hand pressed firmly on her hips. “But I still
would’ve preferred a fight to the death anyway.”

“Back on task guys,” Wildwing ordered, his hands still firmly holding his puck
bazooka. “We’re here to find Sonica and leave; NOT debate over which is the best
way to kill a saurian.

“Sorry,” Callie apologized. She then muttered under her breath. “Although I STILL
say my way would’ve worked better.”

 That comment earned Calandra an annoyed look on Canard’s face. All Callie did was
struggle to keep a straight face by covering her beak with her hand. Wildwing rolled
his eyes at the two. He then took two steps forward, jumping slightly when he heard a
noise. When he turned, his puck bazooka pointing forward, a rat scurried by his feet,
into a small hole by the wall. Wing breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his attention
back to the mission. Banging sounds were heard in that dusky prison. Fists banging on
hard iron.

“Who’s that?” Wildwing shouted into the air.

“It’s me; Sonica!” Seduca lied, imitating Sonica’s voice. “Dragaunus locked me in
here and he took all my weapons!”

“Hold on sis!” Canard shouted, peering his head through the barred window. “We’re
gonna get you out of here!”

“Please hurry,” Seduca pleaded. “I can barely breathe in here!”

 Wildwing tried to pull open the iron door, but it refused to budge open for him. He
then pulled on the door again, with Canard aiding him that time. The door barely
budged an inch, though. Canard and Wildwing pulled on the door again. It budged
again, but only slightly. Giving into anger, Canard punched the door....only to retract
it, cursing in pain.

“That sure didn’t work, DID it Canard?” Duke laughed.

“Duke!” Calandra shouted, slapping his forehead. “You don’t know when to keep
that big beak of yours shut!”

“Actually, that’s Tanya’s problem, sweetheart,” Duke reminded.

Why do I even bother? Calandra thought as she sighed, shaking her head.

“Hurry!” Seduca pleaded. When she was sure no one was looking, the impersonator
smirked. Hurry up and fall into your trap, Flashblade.

“The door won’t budge,” Wildwing said. “Grin; can you tear the door down?”

“Sure,” Grin said, grabbing both ends of the door with his bare hands. “The mind...is
more powerful...than metal.”

 As if on cue, Grin tore down the door with his bare hands, aided by his unnatural
strength. Seduca walked out, holding onto the sides of the wall for support. canard
quickly went to his ‘sister’s’ side to keep her from falling over, then wrapped her into
a tight embrace.

“I was so worried about you, Sonica,” Canard said, fighting back tears forming in his
dark brown eyes. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, big bro,” Seduca said, wrapping her arms around him. God; this explains
why Thunderbeak is such a weakling.

“I’m glad you’re okay, sweetie,” Wing responded, kissing Seduca’s cheek. “Let’s
head home now.”

“Good idea,” Seduca said. Bet he time you find the truth, Flashblade....it’ll be too
late.

To be continued........