Bonded By Crime
By Robina
Chapter One
All most done now. Just a few more adjustments…Steady. Her hand refused to quiver in the slightest as she inserted the last few pieces into the machine. It had taken her years to design this contraption. If her calculations were right, she’d see her brother again soon. If not, well she wouldn’t be ant worse off than she was now. There! She grinned triumphantly at the finished product. I am too good.
“Dutchess! Are you in there?” Jackel’s voice came accompanied by his fist pounding against her door. She remained silent, praying that he wouldn’t break down the door. He pounded and hollered some more before walking off. Good. she thought with a sigh of relief. Now she could finish.
She could still remember the day they disappeared, her brother, the rebellion task force and Dragonus. The newscasters said that they were all probably dead. She knew better. She had seen the dimensional transporter on the Raptor. She had watched as the Raptor and an Aerowing had disappeared through a gateway. And she was fairly certain the coordinates that her instruments had picked up would get her to wherever it was they had gone. She’d calculated the distance on star maps into being galaxies away. And tonight, she’d finished the device that would take her there. Too bad I only have enough power for one trip. If I’m wrong… She shook thoughts of gloom away. At least Jackel won’t be able to bug me for dates anymore.
She looked around her bare room, debating over what to take and what to leave. Grabbing a backpack, she inserted her toolkit and a few choice inventions. May need them.
Five outfits should cover her until she was able to get some new stuff. She picked up a small “wallet”. Duke… The lock-picks enclosed were her most guarded secret, the only gift she had from her brother. Everything else had been destroyed by the Saurians during the invasion. She placed them in one of her pockets. The only other thing she felt necessary to bring with her was a necklace. It had been the first thing she’d every stolen, and she used it to remind her of that night. A quick glance around and a glance at her backpack Had her put her laptop in. After all, she was a hacker first and foremost. Hope you’re ready, Duke. Here I come.
She activated her teleportation device.
************
“And Nosedive scores! The Ducks win! The Ducks win!” The announcer’s voice hollered over the roar of fans. The Mighty Ducks skated into their traditional circle and let out the cry of “DUUUUUCCCCKKKKSSS ROCK!”, then skated off to the locker rooms. Phil was already waiting.
“Babes! Boibalas! How about a little PR, huh? Got a great-”
“Not tonight Phil. We’re exhausted,” Wildwing interrupted. The team had just come from a battle with Siege and Chameleon. The last thing they needed was one of Phil’s publicity stunts. Groans from the rest of the team supported Wing’s statement. Phil sighed.
“Everyone, go get some sleep. We earned it. Phil, I don’t want to hear one thing from you until noon tomorrow, got it?”
“But Wing baby!”
“Not. A. Thing.” The ducks moved into the underground headquarters and towards their rooms. Duke hesitated before going in to bed. He was tired, yeah, but too worked up to sleep. He sighed softy before deciding to clear his mind a bit so he could sleep. Eh, a little walk never killed anyone. Least not ol’ Duke L’Orange.
Dutchess walked through her portal and looked around at the planet that she believed her brother to be on. A giant sign greeted her with a picture of Duke and the rebellion leaders and the words “Welcome to Anaheim, home of the Mighty Ducks!”. Mighty Ducks? Weird. They’ve got hockey gear on. Everyone thinks they’re dead and they sit on this planet playing hockey? Sounds a little less than heroic. Wonder why? She went to the back of the sign, wondering what else she’d find on this planet and just where her brother was at. A city stretched out in front of her. She decided to take a look around, since Duke must live here. It didn’t take her long to realize that the natives of this planet were strange, featherless people. So where do they play hockey? There isn’t even any ice!
Duke wandered farther than he had thought he would, lost in thought. By the time he came back to earth, he was almost to the sign that had been the first thing they had seen when the landed on earth. He chuckled to himself as he thought back to their first experience on earth. Hey, he, the ex-thief, had been the one to get them started on fighting crime, not just Dragonus. Not that it mattered to some ducks, but hey, he had. He sighed softly and turned back towards the pond. He didn’t notice someone following him.
Lucky for him, Dutchess did.
Chameleon slipped through the trees, get ready to attack the Duck he had found all by its lonesome. He kept a laser gun trained on the Duck while he decided on the form with which to attack when something jumped on top of him from the trees. He yelped, then went down, unconscious. Duke whirled with his saber drawn and went to check out the noise. He found Chameleon’s body laying on the ground, but no sign of who had knocked the Saurian out. He reluctantly went back to the pond, zigzagging to keep whoever had saved him from following him. Not that Dutchess was thrown off that easily. She knew Duke’s evasive maneuvers. She couldn’t believe her luck at finding her brother so quickly. She had attacked the Saurian because… well, he was a Saurian. What other reason was needed? When Duke had come up investigating, she had thought she was dreaming. It just wasn’t the right time to reveal herself. She wanted to find out more about what the Saurian was doing on this planet, what other Saurians were here, and what her brother was up to. No way were the Saurians around and the rebel leaders just playing hockey. She would find out the answers to her questions before revealing her existence.
Duke arrived back at the pond, still not sure who the mystery assailant was. He had already decided to not tell the others about the incident. It was a bit too familiar. He wanted to know who had rescued him first. Only one person I know of who would do that. But it couldn’t be. Could it? Bah, why torture myself? Forget about it L’Orange. He entered the pond, not noticing the small bug land on his saber. Dutchess smiled as she tracked Duke’s path. Her laptop was designing a sketch of what the inside of the building looked like. Enough of Duke moving around and she’d be able to get around in there. She loved her inventions. And Duke never had noticed the bug, even back on Puckworld.
A yawn reminded her that she needed to find a place to sleep. Until next time bro.