The One Weakness

Written by Zelda

Introduction

                This story is a sequel to a Ducks episode entitled "Mondo Man". If you're already familiar with the episode, you can skip this introduction part. If not, read on, and you'll be provided with a summary.

 

                The Mighty Ducks were involved in a battle with the Saurians, when a rather foolhardy, geeky guy, pretending to be a superhero, interrupted the battle long enough to let the Saurians get away again. Nosedive and Mallory encountered him the next day, whereas he explained himself as being a clean living, human superhero, who didn't appreciate the Ducks at all. Seeing his opportunity, Dragaunus offers Alvin Yazbeck (afore mentioned geeky interloper) real superpowers by zapping him with the DNA accelerator. Dragaunus tricks "Mondo Man", now a pumped up, super strong, flying hero with poofy hair and a classic "save the day" voice, into believing that the Saurains are good, and the Ducks are evil! When the Ducks and the police respond to a bank robbery, Mondo Man makes his debut, and literally blows the Ducks away. Hounded by the police, they beat a retreat. *Important plot point!* The Ducks split up, Wildwing, Tanya, and Grin stopping off at last night's battle scene to search for clues, and the rest to question Thrash and Mooky, who know Alvin as a friend. After the latter half departs in the Migrator, Mondo Man reappears, ties the three ducks up, and exposes them to a special rock he created called Ducktonite, which is designed to work like Superman's Kryptonite. Seeing as the others can't help, the three ducks, in desperate need of help, have to rely on Phil to destroy the rock by throwing it into the street, causing it to explode. Though I have left out a lot of the minor details, that's it for the stuff which pertains to this story. Dragaunus retracted the powers he gave Alvin, returning him to his normal state. He was arrested, and the Ducks thought that was the last of him, and the trouble he had caused. But they were wrong.......

 

 

                As the Ducks practiced on the ice, Zelda watched, as usual, from the top of the boards. Pausing for a moment's rest, Duke suddenly had an idea.

                "Hey Zelda, think you could play hockey?" he questioned slyly.

                "I could certainly try." she smiled, rather delighted at the idea.

                "Want a stick?" asked Mallory, offering her one that had been broken in half. Zelda paused thoughtfully, then grinned.

                "No thanks, I think I can wing it." She leapt off of the boards, and skidded to a stop on the ice beside the puck. The Ducks skated into position.

                "Okay Zelda, your on the offense." said Tanya. Zelda unfolded one wing, and dug her claws into the ice. Grinning, she leapt forwards, catching the puck up in her extended wing. Scampering across the ice, she ran for the Ducks. As Nosedive skated up to her, with an intent on stealing the puck, Zelda hesitated, then ran forwards again, grinning. As Nosedive tried to swipe the puck away, Zelda lifted her wing, letting the puck slide backwards into her curled tail. She then whipped her tail forwards, the puck sliding past Nosedive, and being cradled by her wing afterwards. Grin was the one who skated up next. Since she was so small, he boarded her with his leg. Snarling, Zelda slammed into the boards, as Grin withdrew and skated away with the puck. Zelda got up quickly, and laughed.

                "Quit babying me!" she snarled, and ran off, trailing Grin. She came up beside him, and then wheeled off towards the boards. She leapt up, off of the ice, and used the boards as a spring to propel her back out. Quickly, she slid in front of Grin, knocking away his stick, and snatched the puck up in her tail. Once again, she headed down the ice.

                "Let her come!" chuckled Wildwing, as Mallory and Tanya skated into a defensive position. "Let's see what she does now." Zelda scampered quickly up, until she was about ten feet away from the goal, and then stopped to shoot. "Come on, give me your best!" laughed Wildwing. Zelda snarled, spun around, and slapped the puck hard with her tail, sending it flying. Wildwing dove forwards, and was just able to catch it. "Nice shot!" he giggled, as he slid to a stop.                

                "Hey, not bad." praised Duke, as he came up to Zelda. She blew the shredded ice off her claws as one would blow on a smoking gun, and rubbed her tail.

                "Well thanks." she replied, spreading her wings. "Next time lemme try being the goalie."

 

            Suddenly, the cavernous space of the Pond echoed with the ringing of Drake One's alarm.

                "Come on team, let's move!" yelled Wildwing, as the team went into a quick change, running down into the Ready Room. There, on the giant map of the city, they saw Dragaunus had raided a large chemical storehouse. "Come on Ducks." ordered Wildwing. "Let's check this out!"

 

           The Migrator skidded to a stop in front of the warehouse, and the Ducks trooped out in the hazy twilight of the evening. Surprisingly enough, the building itself had not been broken into, but Siege, Wraith, and the Chameleon seemed to be combing the sidewalk areas around it.

                "Takin' up street cleaning as a hobby, Saurian sleazoids?" laughed Nosedive, as he and the rest of the team ran off of the Migrator. The three henchmen turned to look at the team. Siege put a restraining hand out to Wraith, as he prepared to flick a fireball strait for Mallory.

                "No! We got what the boss wanted! No confrontations!" he yelled, pressing his teleporter.               "Aww, we never get to have any fun!" whined the Chameleon, as the three faded away into a great green shadow, and disappeared.

                "Whoa, now that was slightly weird." commented Duke, as the team stood in the road. Wildwing looked around, puzzled.

                "What was that all about?" asked Tanya. Wildwing scanned the grounds with the Mask.

                "Well, whatever they came here for, I guess they got it." he concluded.

                "So what do we do now?" asked Zelda, still suspicious.

                "Perhaps we can try to find what they were looking for." suggested Grin.

                "Grin's right." seconded Wildwing. "Let's do a quick sweep of the block, and that chemical storage building. We just might turn up something."

 

           Dragaunus shook the glass vial that Siege handed him, listening to the faded green stones within it clank and rattle.

                "Is it enough boss?" asked the Chameleon. Dragaunus glanced down, and then grinned.

                "Yes, this should be enough to do the job."

                "But what job are those little rocks gonna do?"            

                "These 'rocks' are the fragments of the Ducktonite crystal created by a certain 'super zero'. Now, they'll serve the purpose they were meant to."

                "You don't mean that Mondo Man creep?!" laughed Siege.

                "Yes, I do." grinned Dragaunus, as he dropped the stones out of the vial, and into a beaker of acid, whereas the stones dissolved, leaving a glowing, thick green liquid behind. He then picked up a syringe, and loaded it full of the stuff, which bubbled and flowed inside the glass tube. He set it down on a table, and brought out a dart gun and a series of tiny darts.

                "Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" he grinned maliciously.

 

                As Wildwing and Grin emerged from the doorway of the storage building, the rest of the team came from all sides, to regroup around them.

                "Find anything?" he asked.

                "Not even a fringe of a clue." sighed Zelda.                  

                "Yup. This place is clean." agreed Nosedive.                

                "Okay." sighed Wildwing. Dragaunus had to have been after something..... Suddenly, there was a sort of swishing noise coming from the alley nearby. The whole team heard it, and turned to face the shadowy alley. Zelda slowly padded up to the corner, and peered around. Suddenly, she yelped, panicked, and scampered away, as a hail of red and yellow lasers shot through the air, ripping up the ground where she had once stood. Dragaunus himself, flanked by his henchmen and a line of about five hunter drones marched out of the alleyway, as Zelda bounded back up in front of the team.

                "Hello Duckies!" he laughed, holding a tiny dart gun out in front of him.

                "What do you want now Dragaunus?" demanded Wildwing.

                "Why, your heads mounted on my throne, of course!" he laughed ferociously. "Siege! Stuff these featherbrains!" he commanded, and Siege powered up his laser cannon. Tanya stepped back. The next thing she felt was the building next to her explode.

 

                Siege had misaimed, hitting the wall of the storage building next to them, and the bricks from the wall came hailing slowly down on the Ducks. Shaking the debris off, Mallory reared up and started firing back. Duke used his duck saber to cut the bricks around him to pieces, freeing himself, and he and Grin started a charge towards Wraith, while Nosedive and Wildwing unearthed themselves as well. Tanya swept the remaining bricks off of Zelda's wings, and started firing back. Zelda joined Grin and Duke, and rammed powerfully into a drone, smashing it against the wall. Grin did the same, and Duke used his saber to slice one in half, before they started receiving fire from the Chameleon and Wraith. Zelda flew up, withdrawing, and plunked herself down in front of Wraith, slapping him with her tail. He met her with his wooden staff, and the two sparred off. Dragaunus ignored his henchmen. They could take care of themselves. He walked carelessly up to Wildwing, loading the one dart into the gun.

 

                Wildwing looked up, to see Dragaunus advancing. He raised his puck launcher, aiming it strait at him. Dragaunus just smiled. Quickly, he cloaked himself and dodged, disappearing into thin air.

                "You won't get away that easily!" yelled Wildwing, activating his Mask. He saw Dragaunus aiming his dart gun, and then was distracted. Something from within the gun was glowing! Dragaunus sensed his hesitation and growled.

                "You won't even know what hit you!" he smiled, and pulled the trigger.

 

                Suddenly, Wildwing felt an intense surge of pain stab forcefully into the area above his left elbow, the space that wasn't covered by his armor. He stumbled blindly backwards, and reached up to grip his arm, but found he simply didn't have the strength to move it. Looking up in alarm, he could feel his mind, and his vision fogging over. He struggled to maintain his balance as he could feel the lack of strength spreading throughout him. Suddenly, he felt Zelda's claws on his side, helping to steady him. She was yelping out something of some sort, but he couldn't understand. Helpless, he could feel himself falling.

 

                Zelda yelped and dashed underneath Wildwing as he fell, desperately trying to help support him. He landed hard on her back, and rolled over onto his stomach. He loosely clasped his left arm around her neck, while he braced the other one against the pavement.

                "Wildwing?! What's wrong?" she whined in his ear. Wildwing squinted his eyes in frustration and pain as he tried to hear and answer, but found himself not accomplishing either. He grasped onto anything he could hold, but could quickly feel himself losing his senses, one by one. As the lasers started to explode around her, Zelda roared for the others. She had to get Wildwing out of the crossfire! Looking over, she could see the Migrator across the street. "Hang on Wing!" she growled. She clamped her jaws firmly around the back of his armor's collar, set her teeth, and launched herself forwards. Her head was jerked violently to the side, as she managed to haul Wildwing's weight a few inches across the pavement. Wildwing's grip tightened slightly around her neck, then loosened, weaker than before. She repeated this several times, as the air around her smoked with laser fire. Finally, the fighting ceased, and Zelda looked up, alarmed, to see that Dragaunus had retreated. She roared again, as the team ran up and regrouped around her. Grin helped Wildwing up, supporting him on one shoulder.

                "Come on! We'd better get back to the Pond!" said Tanya.

 

                Wildwing lifted his right arm shakily, weakly. Zelda whined, looking at the Medicom's scanning data.                             

                "So what's wrong with him?" asked Mallory, concerned.

                "I don't know! Whatever it is, it's seeping his strength up like a sponge." sighed Zelda. Wildwing let his arm fall, and managed to creep it over to his left elbow, which he loosely gripped in intense pain. Zelda frowned, and went over to him. "Hey Wing, relax." she said, easing his arm away. Suddenly, hidden among his armor, Zelda spotted the tiny dart. "So that's what's been the trouble!" she growled. She quickly plucked the dart out. Wildwing suddenly crimped up and screamed in an intense spurt of pain. The team stepped back, alarmed. "Sorry! Sorry!" Zelda yelped, panicking. She glanced in fury at the tiny dart she still clutched in her claws, as Wildwing fell back weakly. "Jeez, what's in this thing?" Tanya took the dart up, and started to examine it.

                "Maybe if we can get a sample of the stuff inside." she thought.

                "Hey, you guys remember that guy, Mondo Man?" asked Duke, hesitating.

                "Alvin? I thought he was still in jail." replied Grin.

                "Yeah, I know. I mean that crystal thing he used against you, Wildwing and Tanya." said Duke.       "Ducktonite!" said Tanya. "But what would that have to do with this? Phil destroyed it!"

                "Phil threw it, and the crystal exploded." corrected Grin. "The pieces flew everywhere all over the street...."

                "Where those goons were searching earlier!" finished Mallory.

                "So that's what those creep-os were after!" snarled Nosedive.

                "But how could they have reactivated that rock when it was so damaged?" asked Duke.

                "Well, whatever happened, we've gotta hurry, cause if this stuff continues at the rate it's going, Wildwing won't have the strength to breathe in a half-hour!" interrupted Zelda. Carefully, Tanya snapped the dart in half, letting a few drops of the green liquid drip out onto a microscope slide. She placed it into a nearby microscope, and slowly went to look at it, when Zelda pulled her back.

                "Wait! Even getting close to that stuff would knock you guys out! You'd better let me look." Zelda squinted one eye shut, and peered through the eyepiece. Zelda took one look, and backed off. "Whoa, this is way beyond what I know." she snorted. "Tanya, I hate to ask you this, but do you think you could take a really quick glance at this?" asked Zelda, slightly ashamed.

                "Sure." replied Tanya, leaning in for a quick look. As she peered into the eyepiece, Tanya suddenly felt cold, weak, and faint. She half stumbled, half fell back, against a Medicom bed.

                "Tanya!" yelped Zelda, concerned. Tanya rubbed her head, and stood up again.

                "What did you see?" asked Nosedive.

                "This is really bad." began Tanya. "That rock solution is made up of an ion that rarely exists on this planet. And it's been combined in an acid solution. What we need to counter it is a strong base, and something that contains a whole lot of vitamin H. That should stop the Ducktonite."

                "Vitamin H, hmmm..." thought Zelda. "I've got it!" she said. "There's a South American rainforest tree that bears the fruit called Timanga. They're full of vitamin H."

                "So we're gonna go into the rainforest now?" asked Mallory, surprised.

                "Oh no, you'd never find one!" answered Zelda. "They're very rare, and why go that far when the Anaheim Botanical Gardens has one of the few captive specimens?"         

                "Okay, let's move!" said Grin, and they all ran back for the Migrator.

                "Zelda! You'd better stay with Wildwing." Duke yelled over his shoulder. "We'll be back as soon as we can!"

                "Good luck!" Zelda encouraged in response, as the infirmary door closed with a hiss. She sighed, and turned back to Wildwing. "Don't worry Wing, they'll get the job done."

                "I'm counting on it, Zelda..." He sighed, barely audible.

 

                It had taken them 15 minutes to reach the Botanical Gardens. As the Ducks ran out of the Migrator, and into the black night, they scanned the grounds. Off on one side was a large concrete building, and a greenhouse on the other.

                "We should split up." suggested Mallory. The team split in two, Mallory taking Grin and Duke towards the concrete building, and Tanya with Nosedive heading towards the greenhouse.

                "Keep in touch." ordered Duke, as they lost sight of each other around a bend in the gardens. Grin went up to the building, and forcefully kicked the painted black door in, revealing a gaping black space beyond.

                "You, um, realize that this is probably a trap." asked Duke hesitantly.

                "Oh sure." replied Mallory. "But what choice do we have?" silently, warily, the three trooped into the building.

 

                Tanya used her Omnitool to melt the lock away, and now easily swung open the light glass door, revealing a neat, moist-smelling greenhouse full of young plants. The building was flooded with the silvery moonlight and striped here and there with shadows. Nosedive walked carefully in, and filed through a laminated booklet of plants housed on the neat racks.                                

"Awww man, these are those full species names!" he snarled, aggravated. "How're we ever gonna find it?" Suddenly, the glass panels on the walls and ceiling rocked slightly, as a loud explosion ripped off nearby.             "I think our field just got very narrowed down!" yelled Tanya, as she and Nosedive ran out of the greenhouse.

 

                The infIrmary lay silent, save for Wildwing's raspy, ragged breathing. It had been an hour now, and Wildwing had been put on what the Ducks' version of a respirator was. Zelda sat with him, but her mind wandered off to thinking of what was keeping her comrades. She knew there was some sort of complication, or they would have been back long ago. But nobody had whistled for her. Torn between two worlds, she trotted out into the Ready Room, and looked blankly at Drake One.

                "Maybe I can hook up a com link..." she muttered, pressing random buttons. Suddenly, a static sort of hissing came from a speaker nearby. Zelda went over, and started speaking into it.

                "Guys?" she asked.

                "Zelda? Is that you?" asked Duke, over the faint crackle of explosions.

                "Yeah, just checking in. You guys okay?" she asked nervously. Suddenly, there was a loud crack over the air.

                "Oh, just dandy." snorted Duke. "Don't worry Zelda, we're working on it. Stay with Wildwing."

                "Okay." replied Zelda. "Good luck." She went back over to Drake One, and switched the link off. She leaned back and sighed deeply. It must have been around 2:30 in the morning as she plodded back into the infIrmary, and reared up, placing her front claws on the Medicom bed. Wildwing was running out of time, but she knew the others were doing their best. As she sank back down, a thought ripped violently through her head. What if Wildwing died while the others were away? What would she do? Zelda shook her head sharply, and sat down. Wing would be fine, and the others couldn't let him down. She wouldn't, either. Drowsy, scared, and frustrated, she dragged a sheet moss blanket over the Wildwing's bedside, flopped down, and drifted off.

 

                Duke reared up, shaking the light debris off of him. It was nearly pitch black, save for the moonlight coming in through the doorway. Still, it only managed to frame out the nearest of objects. Duke saw, looking up, that a wall of crates on his right had crashed down, and that was what the debris was. He saw Mallory's outline stand up again as well, and heard her puck launcher click and whirr as it powered up.

                "How're we gonna see anything in here?" he snarled, leaning closer to her. Suddenly there was a click, and long room became flooded with light. Looking behind them, they saw Grin had flicked several switches on the near wall.

                "Perhaps this can shed a little light on the subject." he said, pointing to Siege, Wraith, and the Chameleon, who stood, blinking in the bright light, halfway across the long, rectangular building. As the three began firing, Tanya and Nosedive appeared in the doorway.

                "See if you can find that tree!" ordered Grin, as the two took out their launchers, and ran strait at the three henchmen.

 

                Zelda awoke with a sneeze, and then jolted up. She had, in reality, only been asleep for about 20 minutes, but she couldn't tell the time now. Groggily, she leaned up, and checked on Wildwing. He was okay, still breathing strangely, but okay. Suddenly, the infirmary doors opened with a loud hiss. The rest of the team was back! Charred and exhausted, Tanya dumped a small armful of Timanga fruit on a table.

                "That better be enough." snorted Nosedive. "Cause we had quite a time getting them."

                "No, this should be fine!" sighed Zelda, delighted. She sliced the guava-like fruit in half, as Tanya held an empty syringe open, and put it into a beaker. Zelda squeezed three of the five fruits into the beaker, and Tanya filled the syringe, and capped it. Slowly, she went over to Wildwing, and raised his left arm once again.

                "Okay Wing, this should help." she sighed, and jabbed the needle in. Wildwing crimped up, wincing, and then relaxed a bit. Seconds later, he opened his eyes drowsily, and coughed. Grin smiled, and removed the respirator.

                "I don't think this machinery will be necessary anymore." he sighed. Wildwing leaned up, looking around him in relief.

                "You okay Wing?" asked Nosedive, rubbing him on the shoulder. Wildwing blinked to clear his vision.                         

"Yeah...I'm fine. Whatever you guys did, it sure hit the spot." Mallory smiled. "Good work, all of you."          

"Yeah, now let's get some rest." coughed Duke, and the team slowly dispersed, settling into their sleeping quarters in a state of exhausted relief.

 

                Dragaunus leaned back and roared in rage. He had stayed up this late, to watch his henchmen get battered about like rag dolls, and to see his plan fall apart at the seams. Siege, Wraith, and the Chameleon crept silently away, leaving their leader to his rage.

                "Those disgusting drakes! They left my ancestors to die in a dimensional prison! They've crippled my ship on this worthless planet! And that dragon! My own descendant, who dares to fight against me?" he stormed. "By my own scales, I will make them all pay with their own blood! The day will come." Dragaunus looked down, out of his viewing window, upon the lights of Anaheim below. "Before I die, each and every creature on this planet shall feel my inextinguishable wrath. I swear  it."

 

The End

 

Mighty Ducks-The Animated Series, including all logos and characters (except mine) are copyright and property of Disney. You may copy, print, or whatever with this document, so long as it is not altered and I (Zelda) am credited. Thanks!