“They seem to be taking it a little better now…” observed Cheri, hearing no more bickering, moans or complaints anywhere within the Pond, “You don’t supposed they finally excepted the fact that they may be changed for life?”“I beg to differ… as soon as Dive get the chance, he’ll start it all over again…” responded her spouse, peeping into the Rec-Room where the ‘guys’ were last seen, “But since it’s so quiet anyhow…” he turned towards her and kissed her lightly as he dimmed the lights, “Let’s make the best out of it, eh?”“Wing… are you sure?” whispered Cheri, staring wide-eyed at him as he guided her to the couch, “I mean… they could come back anytime…”“So? Let them…” Cheri was touched. These are the little times that I wished would come more often, she thought as she let him seat her gently on the couch and kissed her lightly under the neck. Wildwing’s always so up-tight… so worrisome… now that he’s relaxed…she daren’t think about it anymore. She just wanted to enjoy the moment.She returned his kiss with a tickled under his beak, and led him forward for a head-lock. Then she gazed into his eyes… his dark mahogany eyes, drinking deeply in his handsome feathers…He pulled her close for an embrace, gathering her in his wings, letting her taste the splendor of a kiss…Then Drake One’s siren rang once again, ending it all…Darn! gritted Cheri as Wildwing left her side to the surveillance screen in a flash, doesn’t Dragaunus know we’re sharing a few private moments together? One look from her frantic spouse working furiously at the computer console gave her the answer, obviously not…“So, what have we got?” she asked as she recomposed herself, “Where’s the fish this time?” “Down-town. Anaheim museum,” he signaled for the others, “Shall we?”“Not like there’s much of a choice, love,” she answered, changing into her cuirass uniform with a touch of her wrist-com, “Just save a piece for me, eh, Wing?”

***

“What’s up, bro?” asked the blond-haired tech, running up to his brother. Wildwing was just about to voice to ‘Tanya’ that he wasn’t her ‘bro’ when he remembered what had happened, “I think Lizard-lips’ sent his goons to take up Duke’s old job…”“Would that be firing pucks or picking locks, now?” asked a jovial female voice behind him, “Cause I’ve got two…”“Thievery.”“Where?” asked a deep voice, now entering the Migrator. The slim blond-banged once mischief-maker ran over to the surveillance screen and provided an answer, “Anaheim museum, down-town.”“Okay… now that we’re all here – let’s shake, rattle and ROLL!” came a voice from behind. Everyone turned. Cheri grinned sheepishly, “Hehe… I thought since everyone’s a little different now, why not join the fun?”

***

“… AND MAKE SURE YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME!!!”“Does he always have to yell at us like that?” whispered Chamelyon to Siege who was standing beside him, “We did zap 4 the last time…”“What was THAT, Chamelyon?” roared the crimson styracosaurus, smoke curling out of his nostrils, “I ordered you dundaheads to fire on Wildwing, and you fired on that meddling thief, that dim-witted militarian, that smart-mouthed kid and that bad-hairstyled tech! This time, however, make sure you don’t miss!”“Don’t worry, Lord Dragaunus,” said Wraith, handling the mind-switch ray-gun in his scales, “We won’t dream of defying you this time…”They teleported to the Anaheim museum where Dragaunus’ hunter drones were tearing up the natural history section. Chamelyon morphed into a little kid and sulked, “When do I get a turn? You guys always have all the fun…” “Quit whining and get to work!” bellowed the oversized beach-ball, kicking his smaller sidekick to one side. Chamelyon morphed back to his original form and shouted, “Alright, alright – I’m working! I’m working!” “Too late, Beryllium-breath!” The Ducks charged into the half-wrecked exhibit and into the line of hunter drones. The drones quelled quickly in their steps as they were up to their ankles in debris. On one side, Mallory fought the drones with ‘ferocious strength’. Never thought I’ll say this, but thanks Duke for this saber…In a corner, her body inhabited by the persona of the ex-thief was firing endlessly on her puck-launcher, “I’m feeling trigger happy today – and you’re the unlucky targets!”Tanya’s body was doing flips and dodges, as well as earning dust and tar stains, as Nosedive sent it right into the heart of fire, “PUCK POWER!!!”The real Tanya was using her usual tactics, however, and was firing from a sheltered place with Cheri beside her. Cheri threw her a sympathetic look, “You’re gonna yell when you find out what Puckcannon’s doing to you…”The youngster turned back to her and nodded, “I know. Oh boy, do I know…”

***

Meanwhile, Wildwing was left unguarded. The old magician was chuckling to himself. Fools to let their leader to his fate, he waited for the masked duck to get closer to his own teammate – currently the Mallory-dominated Duke – before he aimed to fire. Just a few steps closer…Wildwing had no idea what was going on as he approached his female companion, “Mal… how are we doing?” he voiced, ducking a hail of shots from another squadron of drones. “Well… speaking on behalf of Duke, I think they’re wasting plenty of good gems,” said the gray-feathered lass, “But on my part – we’re doing bad… very, very bad…”Wildwing shook his head and groaned. This is not good – definitely not good…Wraith, seated above him, was just about to fire as Wildwing was caught off guard, when a shrill war-cry shattered the air around him. Startled, he dropped the gun in alarm. He turned to see Duke, in Mallory’s form, swinging towards him on a grappling hook. Frightened, he teleported out of there just as Duke grabbed his sleeve. And the ray-gun, their only hope of returning back to normal, heading straight for the ground…Duke screamed (yes… and it’s excusable cause he’s a girl now…) and flung himself to catch the falling weapon. He caught it, held it tight, somersaulted in the air… and landed, rolled, and back on his feet.“I don’t believe I did that…” he gasped, blinking in surprise. But he recovered quickly as he took aim at the first thing he saw and fired – at Chamelyon and Siege…Back at the Raptor, Dragaunus watched in fury as his plans were backfired. With a roar of rage, he teleported his unconscious henchmen back to his ship.

***

“You did it! Duke! You…” cried Mallory gaily, clapping her hands, then silently recomposed herself and muttered, “Good job, L’Orange… except one thing… my body gave you that ability…”Duke grunted. “Whatever…”Wildwing gathered his team together and surveyed their looks. Tanya and Nosedive was eagerly eyeing the gun, Duke and Mallory weren’t talking to each other, Grin was quiescent as usual, and Cheri was beaming with pride (except he didn’t know whether she was happy for Duke, or Mallory’s body who caught the gun, or both). “Now… before we get our hopes up, perhaps we should give the ray-gun to Tanya for inspection, just in case,” he suggested, handing the gun to his brother’s form, “So… let’s get back to the Pond before we test this thing out…”Six nods of eager anticipation later, the Migrator left the Anaheim museum. Meanwhile, Captain Klegghorn’s car arrived at the scene just as the Mighty Duck’s super vehicle pulled out. “HEY! WHO’S GONNA CLEAN UP THIS MESS?!!”

***

“Boy, do I feel strange…” voiced one henchmen to the other, sitting up. He heard his master hissing above him and groaned, Uh-oh… we messed up again…“OF ALL THE HENCHMEN I COULD CHOOSE… I HAD TO GET YOU THREE IGNORANT WIMPS TO SERVE ME!” boomed the large Saurian Overlord. Wraith cowered in the darkness, while his two now-stirring henchmen staggered slowly for the door. Dragaunus picked up the closest one, and sneered, “You, Chamelyon… have disappointed me more than any other henchmen alive. I should throw you and your meddling shape-shifting abilities into the engines as fuel instead of using beryllium crystals…”The small advocate looked up at his towering master, then looked down at his orange, armor-clad comrade below and stammered, “But… boss… I’m Siege… he’s Chamelyon… and if I’m there… then…”Dragaunus dropped the reptile and let them both stare into each others eyes. Simultaneously, as if by some sudden realization of what had happened, the two lizards let out an ear-piercing yell. Wraith, muttering to himself in the stygian darkness, “This is going to be a long night…”

***

The three eager ducks stared anxiously at the slim, ‘teenage’ tech, now turning around with the mind-switch ray-gun in her wings. “Well?”“All set… all Wing has to do is to pull this trigger, and we should return to normal…” cried the blond teenager. “*Should*?!”“Only one way to find out…” said Wildwing as he pushed Tanya towards the others and took the gun in his hands, “Ready? One… two… THREE…”There was a blinding flash. When that cleared, they found the four on the floor, motionless.“Gray! Red! Puckcannon! Tanya!” called Cheri, frantically trying to wake them up one by one. She slapped them gently and shook them, at the same time, checking their pulse and breathing.Almost at once, they began to stir. “Oww… boy does my head ache…” cried one. “And my shoulder…” said another. “What just happened…” claimed the third.The four slowly blinked their way to consciousness, Cheri kneeling beside them patiently. She touched the forehead of her gray-feathered friend and called again, “Gray? Is that you?”Duke looked down at himself, grinned, and faced her, “Boy, it’s good to be home…”Immediately, Grin and Wildwing smiled. The team was back to normal again.“I’m back! I’m back! Normal! A girl! This is GREAT!!!” cried Mallory, punching the air. “Whoohoo! Back to my cool teenager ducky form!” celebrated Nosedive, imitating a cow-boy, “Yee-hah!”“It’s great to be back! Finally…” smiled Tanya as Cheri helped her up, “Eww… Nosedive, what’cha do to my uniform?” Nosedive was too busy jumping up and down to respond. When he finally did, he sheepishly shrugged, “Sorry… just didn’t watch where I was going, I guess…”Duke caught his younger teammate’s arm and grinned, “But then again… we did something more than that…”The two females stared blankly at the two males as they erupted into uncontrollable giggles. Finally, ever the leader, Wildwing broke their laughter, “Okay, okay, okay. I’m guessing that you’re all tired after you’re little switch-a-roo… why don’t we all head to bed and talk about this in the morning?”All heads nodded.“Goodnight, everyone,” said Cheri as she closed her door, “And sweet dreams… in your own minds…”A series of mumbles emitted from each of them.20 seconds later, just as she was about to slip into the bathroom for a shower, she heard a yell. “DUKE L’ORANGE! WHY IS THERE A LITTLE CUPID TATTOO ON MY LEFT SHOULDER?!?!?!”