Questions
Chikorita-Trainer1
T
Disclaimer: I don't own Mighty Ducks, Archer, White Castle or anything else I reference in this story.

Author's note: I have been a Mighty Ducks fan ever since the show premiered. I have the action figures, the collectible figures, sticker albums…in fact, you can see a video about my fandom on my YouTube show Child At Heart. I have never written a Mighty Ducks fanfic and posted it to this site before, but stories have always been floating around in my imagination.

Author's note 2: As usual, I can't write action sequences to save my life, so I apologize for how badly written/unrealistic the crime-fighting scenes are.


Dragaunus had been defeated. The Raptor now lay at the bottom of the ocean. The Mighty Ducks had completed their mission. They had not qualified for the playoffs, but they were still pretty darn proud of themselves.

However, Anaheim still had its share of whack-jobs and criminals. Even the laughable villains-of-the-week were regrouping and back to causing trouble.

The Ducks were out patrolling in the Migrator when they got an alert of energy being siphoned off from a nearby power plant.

"Well, we know it's not Dragaunus' goons," Wildwing declared, remembering the time Siege and Wraith were sucking volts from the town to create a giant energy monster.

"I just hope nobody's stepping up trying to take old lizard-lips' place," said Nosedive.

"I doubt it. How smart could these Earth criminals be?" said Mallory.

"In any case, we've got to check it out," said Wildwing, turning down a street towards the power plant.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," groaned Duke when the team saw their villain du jour.

"That brain guy?" cried Nosedive. "Didn't we make short work of him last time?"

"Tanya, what's he doing?" asked Wildwing, as the ducks piled out of the Migrator.

"Uh, d'yuh, looks like, uh," Tanya stuttered. "I, I really don't know." The criminal, known as the Mind-Bender, seemed to be powering up what looked like a giant flashlight.

"Hey, brain-boy! Think you got enough voltage?" Nosedive said as he bent on one knee, aiming his puck launcher.

"It's never enough for the MIND BENDER! HOO HA HA HA HA!" laughed the maniac.

"What's he up to?" Wildwing muttered, turning on the Mask, hoping to get an inside view of the device.

"EAT LIGHT, DUCKS!" The Mind-Bender cried, suddenly activating the device, shining an ungodly amount of light at the team. Most of the ducks held up their arms to shield their eyes from the light, but Wildwing was particularly affected.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the leader. He covered his face in his massive gloves and collapsed to his knees, then fell forward on the ground, rolling onto his back.

"Take that!" Duke yelled, firing two tethered pucks without really looking where he was aiming. The tether miraculously did hit the target, binding the Mind-Bender and causing him to lose his balance.

"Anybody able to see yet?" said Mallory, still rubbing her eyes from the flash.

"MY EYES!" cried Wildwing.

"D' oh boy, this is bad," said Tanya, staggering over to Wildwing. It only took a minute for the ducks' vision to come back, but Wildwing was a different story.

"Wildwing, move your hands," said Tanya, trying to examine her leader.

"Urrrghhhhh! I can't!" Wildwing groaned. He rolled back onto his stomach and sat up on his knees, and took the Mask off.

"We'd better get back to the Pond," said Duke.

"Yeah, and to the infirmary," Tanya added.


Back at the ducks' headquarters, Tanya had Wildwing up on a bed in the infirmary, and was trying her best to examine his eyes, which were watering constantly in the light.

"So Tanya, what's the diagnosis?" asked Nosedive.

"Uh, well, his retinas are inflamed," said Tanya. "Obviously when that light went off, we all got blinded for a sec, but since he had the Mask activated…"

"Oh, it was like, a hundred times more powerful for him," said Mallory.

"D'yuh, yeah. The light was like, magnified."

"Duh! Just like on Archer when he forgets to take his night vision goggles off," said Nosedive. Everyone in the room just looked at him with annoyance. "What? Am I the only one who watches that show?"

"You're the only one who watches any shows," said Mallory.

"What happens now?" asked Wildwing, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hands.

"Well, I mean, OBVIOUSLY, you've got to lay off, well, SEEING for a while," Tanya answered.

"Meaning what? I just have to be blind?" said Wildwing. Tanya was already wrapping bandages around his head.

"I'm afraid so, pal," said Tanya. "Your eyes have to heal, and to do that, well, they can't be exposed to any light."

"For how long?"

"Uh, well, I mean, like, uh," the genius duck stuttered. "Y'know, can't be more than a week."

"A WEEK?!" shouted Wildwing. The other five ducks flinched and covered their ears. It wasn't often that their leader raised his voice. "A week? Seven days?!"

"Well, I mean, it's either that or a full-on eyeball transplant," Tanya snorted.

Wildwing sighed and touched the chest of his armor, transforming himself into his civilian clothes. "Well, at least with hockey season over, we won't miss any games."

"Yeah, but crime doesn't take a season off," said Mallory. "You'll have to appoint a leader in your absence."

"Too bad we all suck at being the leader," said Duke.

"Actually, our little friend here did not, as you so eloquently put it, suck," said Grin.

"Whoa. We don't hear a word out of you all evening and then that's what you bust out with?" said Mallory.

"Actually, yeah. You and Duke had been taken away by that plant, but Nosedive was actually the only one of us who really took charge and got stuff done," said Tanya.

"Is that true, Dive?" asked Wildwing.

"Yeah," said Nosedive. "I mean, up until the plant took down the Aerowing and snatched me up, too."

"But he was doing a pretty good job," said Tanya. "Better than the rest of us when we had our turns."

"Yeah, first I tried…and immediately got captured," said Duke.

"Then Mallory wanted me to be the leader, but it was just too much to think about," Tanya explained. "I got so much going on up here, being a leader was like…" and then she pointed to her head, and made a sound with her mouth like an explosion.

"I tried next, but no one else on this team is military, so they didn't understand a word I said," said Mallory. Nosedive, Tanya and Grin all gave the redheaded duck a look. "…and then I got captured, too."

"Yeah, then Grin put on the Mask, started meditating, and I was like 'THAT'S IT! MY TURN!'" said Nosedive.

All this time, Wildwing was chuckling. Now it all made sense what his teammates had told him at the end of that adventure, that he had no idea how good a leader he was. He thought they were just flattering him, but now he understood- they were just admitting how bad at it they all were.

"So if I appointed Dive the leader, you'd all be cool with that?" asked Wildwing.

"Yeah," said Duke. "I personally never saw the kid in action, but I'd be willing to give him a chance."

"You mean it, bro?"

Wildwing nodded.

"And you'd all follow my orders, and not bust my beak about it?"

The rest of the team nodded.

"Alright! The Dive's in charge, baby!" The young duck picked up the Mask from the bedside table it had been resting on, and put it on his face. "Am I rocking this look, or what?"

"I don't know," said Tanya. "The Mask is gold, and your hair is blonde, it all kind-of clashes."

The rest of the team laughed.

"I think you look great, little bro," said Wildwing.

"Well, thank you!" said Nosedive. "It's nice to have some support-" The rest of the team laughed. "Very funny. You just rest up here, bro. I got everything under control," said Nosedive.

"Just don't get carried away and show off like you do on the ice," said Wildwing.

"I won't," said Nosedive. "Alright, ducks! Onward!" Nosedive pointed up, and then forward, and led the rest of the team out of the infirmary.


It wasn't long before Drake One alerted the ducks to a crime in the city. This particular one was a bank robbery. Nothing they hadn't faced before or couldn't handle.

"To the Migrator!" said Nosedive. The rest of the team followed. Once the team had arrived at the bank, they were shocked to see what a huge crowd had gathered. Hundreds of people just waiting for the Mighty Ducks to save the day.

Man, talk about pressure! thought Nosedive as he emerged from the vehicle. Alright, what would Wing do in this situation?

"Stay back, you birds! The police have got this under control!" growled Klegghorn.

"I thought he finally trusted us," said Duke.

"Yeah, but with this many witnesses, he probably doesn't NOT want to look like the hero here," said Mallory.

"This ain't about heroics, it's about protecting innocent people," said Nosedive, in a deep voice he was clearly TRYING to do. "Duke, get up on the roof and see if you can find another way in."

"Aye aye," said the former thief, as he fired his grappling hook up onto a taller building and propelled himself over to the bank building.

Once on the roof, Duke located an air duct and stealthily made his way down into the bank. He opened his com, and contacted Nosedive.

"I'm in, Dive. They've got…one, two, three, four, five…" he trailed off as he counted. "Sixteen hostages. Your orders?"

"Sleep gas pucks. Knock everybody out," said Nosedive. "Then we'll come in and apprehend the crooks. By the way, what do they look like?"

"Eh, they're all wearing ski masks. Nothing original," said Duke. "OK, launching sleep gas pucks."

The gray duck tossed a few pucks into the bank, where they landed on the floor and began dispensing gas. Knowing it would also affect him if he stuck around, Duke fired his grappling hook back up the vent and propelled himself back up to the roof.

"Should be clear now, Dive," he said into his com.

"Alright, Ducks! Let's take 'em out!" Nosedive pointed towards the bank entrance and started running. Suddenly, he was shot in the chest with such force, that it knocked his feet out from under him and sent him smack onto the concrete. "AAAAGHH!"

"NOSEDIVE!" screamed Mallory. "What happened? Who-?"

"A sniper! Up there!" cried Tanya, pointing to another building.

"I told you birds not to get involved!" shouted Klegghorn. "We have people in place to take care of these situations!"

Nosedive, thankfully, wasn't injured, as the projectile had pierced his armor, but he was still a little woozy from the hit.

"Oy. Well, don't wait for me! Get the bad guys! Duh!" Grin and Mallory nodded and went in while Tanya helped the young duck to his feet.

"Hooh, boy. I'll have to take a look at that when we get back," she said, pointing to a crack in Nosedive's armor.

"Aw man, who designed this anyway?" he grumbled.

"Well, the Puckworld military," said Tanya. "And they only make armor that's meant to protect against, y'know, pucks."

Within the next few minutes, Grin, Mallory and Duke had tied up all the criminals and freed all the hostages, though every one of them was still asleep.

"The gas should wear off in about ten more minutes," Duke said to a paramedic. Before the ducks could get back into the Migrator, several reporters ran up to them, thrusting microphones in their faces.

"Mighty Ducks, just foiled a bank robbery, how does it feel to once again one-up the police?"

"How do you balance fighting crime with training during the off-season?"

"Aren't there usually six of you?"

"Whoa, whoa, one question at a time, please!" said Nosedive, absolutely loving the attention. He crossed his arms over the hole in his armor and stood before the cluster of reporters. "First of all, let me just say that the Mighty Ducks will always be here to protect the fair city of Anaheim!"

The crowds cheered and clapped.

"And second of all, yes, there are usually six of us, but our team captain, my bro, is out of commission at the moment, and he has put me in charge." With a smug look on his face behind the Mask, Nosedive couldn't help but take a little bow.

"What happened to Wildwing?"

"Are you only replacing him because you're his brother?"

"Do you think you have what it takes to lead the team?"

"Alright, enough!" said Mallory, getting thoroughly annoyed with the theatrics. "We have more important things to do than answer your pointless questions."

"OK, Mal. Sheesh," said Nosedive. The team piled back into the Migrator and went home.


"So Tanya, you think you can repair my armor?" asked Nosedive when they got back to the Pond.

"Well, let's go to my lab. I mean, I may have to whip you up something totally different."

"OK. And can we not tell Wildwing what happened today?" asked Nosedive, as he began removing his shoulder pads and breastplate.

"What? He's probably already seen it on the news," said Tanya. "We were trending before we even got back."

"No, I mean about the sniper," said Nosedive. "Look, just don't tell him my armor didn't hold up."

"Why?"

"I don't want him to worry," said Nosedive.

"Well, I think it's going to make it on TV that you were shot. There were reporters everywhere," said Tanya.

"I know, but they didn't necessarily see this hole in the armor," said Nosedive, pointing to the small place where his breastplate had been penetrated. The bullet from the sniper was still lodged in it. "Just don't tell Wing unless you have to, OK?"

"OK, fine," said Tanya. Jeez. It's not like he's THAT protective of his little brother.


"Hey, guys," said Wildwing as the rest of the team entered the infirmary. "I heard about the bank robbery. Great job out there."

"Ah, it was nothing," said Duke. "Swoop in, save the hostages, tie up the bad guys, rinse and repeat."

"Way to dodge all those annoying questions, too," said Wildwing. "Though I'm sure you would have liked to milk the moment, right?" The team was awkwardly silent, except for a few throat-clearings. Wildwing reached out into the air and moved his hand around. "Where is he? Where's Dive?"

"Right here, bro," said Nosedive, squirming through the other four ducks to get to his brother's bedside. Eventually Wildwing's hand found Nosedive's head, and he gently ruffled his brother's hair.

"Come here, you," said Wildwing. He wrapped his right arm around Nosedive's neck, and his left hand around his waist, and pulled his brother onto his lap.

"Ha ha! Watch the Mask, bro!" Nosedive exclaimed playfully.

"Hey, how come you're not wearing your armor?" asked Wildwing, feeling his brother's upper body.

"Oh, eh, I changed. No need to keep the gear on when we're off the ice, right?" Nosedive fibbed. Tanya motioned for Grin, Duke and Mallory not to say anything about Nosedive being shot. The three other ducks kept their beaks shut.

"So, be honest, how did he do out there?" asked Wildwing, wrapping his arm around Nosedive's shoulder.

"Oh, y'know, couldn't be better," said Tanya.

"Affirmative. I hate to admit it, but the kid handled himself pretty well," said Mallory.

"Yeah, I mean, I did most of the work, but he's the one who told me to do it," Duke shrugged. "Heh. Just kidding, Dive. You did good."

"Agreed," said Grin.

"Thanks, guys," said Nosedive, taking the Mask off and setting it on a table beside the bed.

"Well, I've got to get back to my lab," said Tanya.

"We'll see you later, huh Wildwing?" said Duke as he, Mallory and Grin turned to leave.

"Catch you later," said Wildwing. The infirmary doors hissed shut, leaving the two brothers alone.

"How're you feeling?" asked Nosedive.

"My eyes still sting, but it's bearable," said Wildwing.

"Want me to get you anything for the pain?" asked Nosedive.

"Nah, it's not that bad. Thanks, though."

"Want to listen to some music or something?" asked Nosedive, snuggling up to his brother and getting more comfortable on the bed.

"That sounds fun."


The next day, bright and early, Nosedive made his way down to Captain Comics.

"Hey, Nosedive! Heard you're the new leader, man," said Thrash.

"Nah, just till my bro recovers," said Nosedive.

"What happened to him anyway, dude?" asked Thrash.

"We were out fighting this nerd-wad called the Mind-Bender, and he shot this huge thing of light at us! It blinded most of us just for a second, but since Wing had the Mask on, it like, totally multiplied the light and now his eyes are all bandaged."

"Whoa, so he's blind?" said Thrash.

"No way, man. He's just sore. Tanya said he'll have to keep light out of his eyes for a week or so."

"Oh, well tell him I hope he gets well soon, dude. Is he in any pain?"

"He said a little."

"Then I got just the thing for that, dude!" said Thrash, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a joint. "Does he want some chronic? It's totally legal."

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot it IS legal!" said Nosedive. "Radical, man! I'll take it! How much?"

"No charge, bro. You practically keep us in business as it is," said Thrash.

"Thanks, Thrasher-man! I'll see if he's interested!" Nosedive put the joint in his vest pocket and hurried home.


"Nosedive, I'm glad you're back," said Tanya.

"What's the story with my armor, girly-girl?"

"Oh, well, the entire structure of it was compromised by that bullet. It was never designed to repel or even absorb Earth-weapon projectiles. Just lasers and pucks."

"Meaning…?" Nosedive prodded.

"I'll have to build you something new. And I can't recommend you go out fighting until I do."

"But what if there's trouble? I've got to lead the team!"

"D'yuh, sorry, Nosedive. But I can't in all good conscio—cons- con—I can't let you go out there unprotected," stuttered Tanya.

Nosedive just put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Well, you'd better whip something up, fast, 'cause crime doesn't take a holiday."


"Hey bro! How's it hanging?" asked Nosedive. Wildwing had just been lying on the infirmary bed with his hands folded neatly over his abdomen. Nosedive came over and sat down on the bed at his brother's feet.

"Uh, boringly," said Wildwing. "Not sure that's even a real word…"

"Hey, check what Thrash gave me," said Nosedive, handing Wildwing the joint. "You want to blaze while you're laid up?"

Wildwing rolled the joint in between his thumb and forefinger for a moment while he thought about it.

"You know what? Yeah."

"Alrightskee!" Nosedive cheered. "Hey, is there a way to like, shut off the smoke detector in here, though?"

"Yeah. Isn't there a keypad on the wall by the door?" said Wildwing. Nosedive looked over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, there totally is!" he hopped off the bed and punched a few keys on the pad, disabling the smoke detector. Then he returned to the bed.

"Got a light?"

"Why would I have a light?" asked Wildwing.

"Well, I don't know! Why would I?"

"Duke might," said Wildwing.

"Oh yeah, he smokes cigars sometimes. Yo, Duke! Can you come to the infirmary for a sec?" Nosedive said into his com.

"Yeah, what's the problem, kid?"

"Oh, Wing and I need your lighter. Thrash gave me some weed."

"Alright, I'll be right there," said Duke. Within moments he entered the infirmary and tossed his lighter to Nosedive. "Just make sure you give it back," he said.

"Word. Thanks, man!"

Nosedive put the joint in his beak and carefully lit it, taking a deep inhale.

Without letting the smoke leave his mouth, he handed it to Wildwing. "Here," he choked out.

"Where is it? I can't…" Wildwing blindly reached out, but Nosedive had to actually guide his brother's hand to the joint. Wildwing took an inhale.

Nosedive held his breath for another second, then exhaled the smoke through his nostrils.

"I'm surprised you even wanted to do this," he said, leaning back on his palms. Wildwing exhaled and coughed.

"Well, at one time I might have said no. But it's legal and we don't have any games coming up. So why not?"

"Yeah," said Nosedive, taking it back from Wildwing. "Hey, uh, have you ever been shot by a bullet? Like an actual bullet?"

"Pffff what?" chuckled Wildwing. "Wouldn't you know?"

"I know, I know, but Tanya told me that our armor came from the military on Puckworld, right?" Nosedive took another slow inhale, and had to form his next words without actually letting air escape his lungs. "Never meant to come into contact with bullets and stuff made on Earth." He barely finished his sentence before coughing out a mouthful of smoke.

"Huh. I don't think I ever have," said Wildwing, reaching for the joint again. "That's weird, isn't it? We've been on this planet for a year, fighting lizards with lasers, and we've never been shot by an actual bullet?"

"Must be all the strict gun laws here on the golden coast!" said Nosedive. Both brothers laughed and coughed.


An hour later, the brothers were high as balls, and Nosedive had stretched himself sideways over the bed, with his head dangling off one side and his legs hanging off the other.

"Hey, why does Mallory only wear one shoulder pad?" asked Nosedive.

"I don't know," said Wildwing, hands crossed over his abdomen, head leaned way back on the pillow.

"Is it 'cause like, she rests the puck bazooka on that shoulder?"

"No, 'cause she always rests it on her other shoulder," said Wildwing.

"Ohhhhhh yeah…weird. Should we just ask her?" said Nosedive. Wildwing lifted his head off the pillow. The brothers were silent for a moment before they both said

"Nahhhhhhh!" And then laughter ensued.

"Hey, and have you ever noticed how one of Grin's shoulder pads looks like a bowling ball?" said Nosedive.

"Huh?" said Wildwing.

"Yeah, there's like three holes on it. Looks like a flattened-out bowling ball."

"Oh my gosh, you're right! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" wheezed Wildwing.

"What's that white thing on Tanya's shoulder, for that matter?" asked Nosedive.

"Yeah, I never understood why she has that. But it must be for something," said Wildwing.

"She's building me some new armor," said Nosedive.

"Why would she do that?" asked Wildwing, not really paying attention to the conversation.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…I forget," said Nosedive.

"Tchhhhhhhhhh hahahahahahaha!" laughed Wildwing.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I'm hungry," said Nosedive.

"Yeah, me too. What should we get?"

"I could go for White Castle, myself," said Nosedive. Wildwing looked back up at the ceiling for a moment, then answered.

"YES. That's what I want," he said.

"Coo-L-a!" said Nosedive, getting out his phone and hitting up GrubHub. "We better ask the guys if they want in."

Nosedive opened his com and contacted Grin.

"Hey, Grinster…" then, he and Wildwing remembered their observation of Grin's shoulder pad, and they both cracked up. "Tcccccccccccccchhhhhhh!"

"Shh! Just ask him!" laughed Wildwing.

"Listen, Wing and I are going to order some sliders. You want anything?"

"No," said Grin. "But I thank you for your forethought."

"OK. Can you ask the others if they want anyth—hello? Grinster?" Grin had already closed his com. "I think he knows we're high."

Wildwing lifted up his wrist to his beak and spoke into it.

"Mallory, you hungry?"

"Other wrist, bro," said Nosedive. Wildwing let his arm drop to his side before cracking up.

"Shut up! I'm blind!" he laughed. Raising his com to his beak, he said "Mallory, you want White Castle?"

"No thanks," she said. "I assume you two got the munchies?"

"You could say that," said Wildwing. "Hey, if we get it delivered to the Pond, you think you can bring it down here for us?"

"Ugh, Wildwing, you're not crippled! You can move about our headquarters! Get your own food!"

"She's right, bro. Just let me guide you," said Nosedive, getting up off the bed and taking Wildwing's hand in his own.

"I guess I should," said Wildwing. "Just don't lead me into a wall."

Nosedive carefully led Wildwing to the elevator and up to the entrance to the Pond to meet their food delivery. The brothers sat in the stands of the rink to eat. By now, the effects of the marijuana were starting to ebb.

"Hey, Wing?" asked Nosedive.

"Yeah?"

"How come Canard didn't want me on his team?"

Wildwing's expression sobered and he turned away from his brother.

"I never had time to ask him that," he said softly.

"I mean, we were both right there, and he told me to get lost."

"I know," said Wildwing. "Not sure what he meant by that, because that would basically mean you marching off to a life of slavery."

"I mean, I'm glad you made him take me, but I still think about it all the time," Nosedive admitted.

"I know, Dive. I do, too," said Wildwing. "Back on Puckworld, when you'd follow us around and hang out with us, he kind-of thought you were annoying, but when the planet was invaded, you'd think he'd have been able to get over that."

"You would think," said Nosedive. "And he said 'you're responsible for the kid's safety.' Like you weren't already looking out for me! What did he mean by that? Was he just saying he WOULDN'T look out for me? Like, if anything happened to me, even if he COULD do something about it, he wouldn't?"

"I don't know, little brother. I just don't know," said Wildwing. "But I'm glad you're here."

"If Canard were still here, would you ask him?" said Nosedive.

"Would I ask him why he didn't want you on the team? Yeah," said Wildwing.

"…what do you think he'd say?"

Wildwing was silent. He searched his brain for a logical answer. The longer the silence lasted, the sadder Nosedive got.

"I know I'm a screw-up," he said softly. "But I still deserve to live, don't I?"

"Dive," Wildwing reached out towards Nosedive, and Nosedive leaned into his brother's hand. "You are not a screw-up. You're my brother. The only thing I can think of, knowing Canard…" Wildwing trailed off.

Nosedive sat up straighter and looked at his brother.

"Maybe he didn't think we'd be coming back."

Nosedive's heart clenched and his blood went cold.

"Maybe he thought the team would likely die when we blew up Dragaunus's headquarters, and just thought you should be spared all that."

"It didn't sound like that when he told me to scram," said Nosedive.

"Yeah."

"And even if it was a suicide mission, I would still want to come," said Nosedive. "I would rather die by your side than live free without you."

Wildwing smiled. Unable to see his little brother's face, he could tell that Nosedive was close to tears.

"And I have to tell you, I would rather have lost Canard than lose you."

"You don't have to say that, bro."

"Yes, I do. Because it's true."

"Thanks."


After that, Nosedive helped Wildwing back to the infirmary and onto the bed.

"You going to be alright, bro?" asked Nosedive.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You'd better get over to Drake One and keep an eye on things," said Wildwing.

"Sure. Get some rest, Wing."

The rest of the day passed without any criminal activity. The next day was a different story.


"Yo, Mal! Anything shaking?"

Before Mallory could answer, Drake One started sounding the alarm.

"Apparently so," said the redhead.

Tanya suddenly came running into the Ready Room and said "I just hacked into the Anaheim traffic cams, you're not going to believe this…it's those car-crazed beatniks!"

"Whoa, you mean Daddy-O? But last time we saw him, he had been transformed back into a lame-o insurance agent!" said Nosedive.

"See for yourself, O Mighty Leader," said Tanya, pressing a button on Drake One, pulling up video of odd monster trucks driving over smaller vehicles.

"I guess Digger and Dragster are back to avenge their boss!" said Nosedive.

"I don't suppose we'll be taking the Hyper Migrator X3?" asked Grin.

"Absolute-abso-ab-ab—d'yuh, no way," stuttered Tanya. "The regular Migrator will do just fine. Oh, but Nosedive, I still haven't finished making your new armor."

"No time, Tanya! Besides, those hipsters don't use guns!" said Nosedive, leading the four other ducks to the Migrator.

"How do you know that?" asked Mallory, strapping herself in as Nosedive took the wheel.

"Too mainstream, girly-girl!" said Nosedive.

"So you're really going to go into battle with no armor?" asked Mallory.

"Hey, Duke, Tanya and Grin never wear armor!" said Nosedive.

"Yeah, but they're—"

"Look, I'm the leader, and I say we're going in! End of discussion!" shouted Nosedive. Mallory, being of a military mind and lifestyle, didn't talk back. It wasn't her place.

When the ducks arrived on the scene, Nosedive's assumptions had been correct; the beatniks hadn't brought any guns. The only thing they were firing was 'on all cylinders.'

The Migrator made short work of their vehicles, but after Digger and Dragster were forced out of their trucks, Nosedive leaped out of the ducks' tank, puck launcher blazing, and ran over to the enemies.

"HEY, BONGO-BREATH! THIS IS FOR TRYING TO WASTE MY BROTHER!" he yelled, firing puck after puck at the two hipsters.

"Ow! Hey, man! That goose is going gangbusters!" cried Digger.

"Like lighten up, man! Ow! Ow! Yeowch!" exclaimed Dragster. The two criminals covered their faces and hopped away, trying to escape the duck's rapid fire.

"Little friend, stop!" bellowed Grin, grabbing Nosedive's wrist and hoisting him clear off the ground.

"Hey, let go, man!" yelped Nosedive.

"No! You are abusing your power as leader. It is not honorable to fire upon an unarmed enemy."

"Cut the Zen mumbo-jumbo, Grin! You don't know what these guys almost did to Wing!" Nosedive grunted, trying to extract himself from Grin's grasp.

"Yes, I do. I was there. I saved him."

"We got this, kid! No worries!" said Duke, running past Nosedive and firing tethered pucks around the bad guys. "See? No harm, no fowl."

Nosedive was still fuming, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath, wrist still gripped in Grin's massive fist.

"I'll call this in, everybody relax," said Mallory. Once the police arrived, the ducks drove back to the Pond. Nosedive didn't say much during the trip.


Once they got back home, Tanya spoke up.

"Hey, why'd you get so crazy out there, Nosedive?"

"Look, you weren't there the first time we faced those goons," said Nosedive. "They had me and Wildwing tied up, suspended from a crane, ready to dunk our tails in a pool of toxic waste! Wing managed to cut the ropes that were holding me, but I couldn't hold onto him, and I got major rope burn, and then—"

"Calm yourself, friend," said Grin, placing his hands on Nosedive's shoulders.

"Grin saved him just in time, but I can't forgive those creeps," Nosedive finished softly.

"That was still no reason to barrel in there, with no armor, by the way, and start trying to kill those creeps," said Duke. "We're superheroes, we've got to adhere to a higher standard."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you!" said Nosedive.

"Hey, he's just reiterating what Wildwing said," said Mallory. She wasn't fond of sparing the enemy either, but she respected the ideal of preventing needless death.

"Well, Wildwing isn't in charge right now, is he?" said Nosedive.

"Good point! Let's go tell him what happened and see what he says!" said Duke.

"NO! Don't! I mean—" Nosedive stuttered.

"Look, clearly you're not up to this," said Mallory. "Maybe we should see if Wildwing will appoint one of us to be the leader."

"The only one who can appoint a new leader is the leader, and that's me!" said Nosedive.

"Yeah, but you're letting your emotions get in the way of proper judgement," said Duke. "Wildwing never did that."

"Even when you were in danger, he never made rash decisions," said Mallory. "Like the time you were snatched up by that dinosaur. I wanted to blast it, but he said there was nothing we could do until it put you down."

"You know what? I'm out of here! I don't need this!" said Nosedive.

"Where are you going, kid?" called Duke.

"To see my brother!"


"Who is it?" asked Wildwing, when he heard the hiss of the doors.

"It's me, big bro," said Nosedive. Wildwing could sense the distress in his voice.

"Is something wrong?"

Nosedive sighed and sat down on the bed next to Wildwing. "Just had a bad day," he said.

"What happened?"

"Well, remember Daddy-O Cool and those bohemian bozos?" said Nosedive.

"Ugh. Yes," Wildwing said. If his eyes hadn't been bandaged, he would have rolled them.

"Well, the two of them who didn't get re-square-ified were making trouble again. And I was ready to kill them for what they almost did to you."

"I hope you didn't actually kill them," Wildwing said sternly.

"No. But I wanted to. Anyway, the guys don't think I'm doing such a great job as leader," the young duck admitted.

"It's only your third day. And it's only temporary," said Wildwing.

"Yeah, but—"

Suddenly, Tanya's voice rang out from Nosedive's com.

"Nosedive, I've almost finished your armor. I reinforced it with Kevlar, so if you get shot by another bullet, it won't hurt you."

Nosedive gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. That was NOT something he wanted his brother to hear. He gulped audibly before responding.

"OK, thanks, Tanya. I'll be sure to try it on!" And he closed his com.

"…ANOTHER bullet?" said Wildwing. "Is that what I heard? You were shot? When did this happen?"

"Uh, during the bank robbery," said Nosedive, grinning sheepishly (not that Wildwing could see it).

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry…" mumbled Nosedive.

"Wait—is that why you weren't wearing armor when you came to see me? 'cause Tanya was fixing it?"

"Yeah."

"So you were out there TODAY with no armor?"

"OK, calm down, Wing. Nothing happened."

"You just said you went crazy on Digger and Dragster! What if they'd had guns? What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking I had to put those creeps in their place! And get 'em back for what they almost did to you!" screamed Nosedive.

"Dive, that's in the past! You can't have a vendetta against criminals! You have to follow the code!"

"Well, as long as I'm leader, I'm making my own code!"

"That's it—give me the Mask!" growled Wildwing, reaching out towards his brother's face. Nosedive easily evaded his blind brother. "Nosedive, I'm serious. Give me the Mask."

"Why? You can't use it," said Nosedive.

"GRIN, INFIRMARY, NOW!" Wildwing shouted into his com.

"Aw, come on, bro!" whined Nosedive. Before he could run away, Grin and the rest of the team entered the room.

"Grin, would you kindly remove the Mask from my brother's face?" said Wildwing.

"It would be my honor," said Grin, holding Nosedive's arms at his sides with one fist and removing the Mask with his other hand. He tossed it to Wildwing, who caught it, despite not being able to see.

"Is everybody in here?" asked Wildwing. Each of the ducks answered audibly. "OK. Now what has been going on these past few days?"


After revealing everything the team had been through, Wildwing was pretty upset.

"And none of you thought to tell me about the sniper? Or that Nosedive could have been killed?" said Wildwing.

"He told us not to," said Tanya. "And to be fair, Wildwing, he is the leader."

"And I'm still his brother! I deserve to know what's happening in his life!" yelled Wildwing. "OK, new rule: anything that happens to Nosedive, I want to know about it!"

"This is getting out of hand, Wing! I mean, Duke, Tanya and Grin never wear armor, and you let them go out into battle!"

"THEY are consenting adults! And how old are you?"

"Seventeen," muttered Nosedive.

"SEVENTEEN. That's what I thought! Legally still a child! What was I thinking, making you leader? We'd all be better off if I went out there, flying blind!"

"Whoa, Wildwing, you don't mean that," said Duke.

"Yeah. I think you're under a lot of stress, and probably going a little stir-crazy from being cooped up in here all this time," Mallory added.

"No, I'm going crazy because I just found out my brother has been throwing himself into one dangerous situation after another with no protection!" argued Wildwing.

"To be fair, it's only been one dangerous situation since I lost my armor…" Nosedive attempted in defense.

"Kid, not helping," said Duke.

"You know what? Everybody leave me alone. I'll appoint a new leader later tonight. I just—Nosedive, go to your room," said Wildwing.

All the other ducks looked at Nosedive, who was fighting back tears. He slowly exited the room, followed by the other ducks. Duke hung back, though.

After a minute of silence, Wildwing spoke up again.

"I don't know who it is, but one of you is still here. I can hear you breathing."

"Boy, I never saw such similarities between you brothers until now," said Duke, shaking his head.

"Care to elaborate?" growled Wildwing.

"Wing, there was no need to be so hard on him," said Duke, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"He could have been killed, Duke. What was I supposed to do?"

"Wildwing, the kid was only trying to be a hero, like you." Wildwing inhaled, ready to talk back, but Duke continued. "If you could have seen him out there, you'd have been proud. He wants to be just like you, Wing. You know how much he looks up to you."

"Is that the kind of example I've set? Being reckless, and keeping vital information a secret?"

"Vital information? Oh, you mean the sniper," said Duke.

"Yes, that! When my little brother gets shot by a sniper, I want to know about it! How could none of you tell me?"

"I don't know. Tanya kind-of told us not to tell you, I guess we didn't want you to worry. And if you had known, what would you have done about it? You'd just have been in here, freaking out and not been able to help."

"That's NOT why he didn't want me to know. Obviously, he knew I would bench him if I found out," said Wildwing.

"OK, so the kid made a bad judgement call. In my opinion, you totally overreacted," said Duke.

Wildwing sighed and laid back on his pillow. Duke could tell he was considering his words.

"Can I be alone now?"

"Sure, Wing."


Back in his room, Nosedive was just sitting in his bunk when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, kid? It's Duke. You feel like talking?"

"Come in," Nosedive said with a sigh.

"How're you doing?" asked Duke.

"Fine," Nosedive answered softly.

"Look, kid. Wildwing knows he overreacted. He's just protective of you, you know?"

"I know," said Nosedive.

"And, truth be told, we all probably should have told him about the sniper. He deserved to know you were almost killed. Wouldn't you want to know if you were in his skates?"

"Probably," Nosedive admitted. "So what now? Did he appoint a new temporary leader or what?"

"Why don't you just go talk to him?" asked Duke.

"Oh, gee, 'cause I don't want to get yelled at again?"

"Heh heh," Duke chuckled. "Kid, do you remember that show Gargoyles? What was it Goliath said? "You don't know how lucky you are to have siblings to fight with!" Be grateful you've got a big brother to ream your butt when you screw up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Nosedive, hopping down from his bunk. "Hey, you ever notice how you kind-of sound like Brooklyn?"


"Hey," said Nosedive as he entered the infirmary.

"Hey," said Wildwing, sitting up. "Look, Dive, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out on you like that."

"No, you were right. I messed up. I should have told you everything that happened, not just some of it. A leader needs to think of the whole team, not just themselves."

"Maybe so, but how I acted certainly didn't help. I think I've just been feeling powerless, being stuck in here for days. Maybe I just needed to feel powerful again, and that's why I blew up. I'm sorry. It's just…" Wildwing trailed off, his voice beginning to crack. "I can't even see you. How can I protect you when I can't even…"

Nosedive saw how Wildwing was reaching out both his hands, trying to find his little brother, and he teared up.

"I'm right here, Wing," he said softly, leaning toward Wildwing's hands. When Wildwing's hands finally found Nosedive's head, he cupped his brother's face in his palms and stroked his hair.

"I don't want to lose you, Dive," he whispered.

"You won't, Wing. I promise. I'll be careful," Nosedive sniffed.

"Just come here," Wildwing gently pulled Nosedive down onto his chest as he laid back down on the bed. Nosedive curled up with his brother, hugging him close. "I love you, little brother."

"I love you, too."


THE END
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