Mallory pressed herself against the closest wall, peering through the open door and only seeing a part of Grin's bulky form kneeling on the floor. Behind him, a green drone stood motionless, weapon trained on the big duck's head. She couldn't see his face, but based on his position and the relative silence in the room, she figured the rest were in similar positions next to the pacifist.

She hesitated. If she went in with guns blazing, it wouldn't be just herself facing injury. She needed to draw them out, or distract them, somehow.

"I suggest you hurry, boy," an eerily familiar voice rang out from within the laboratory.

"You want to try and charge down volatile beryllium?" Buzz's sarcastic reply snapped back. "You don't just disconnect a transporter and expect that kind of energy to dissipate!"

Mallory's frown deepened. Who was Buzz arguing with? She knew that voice, but it couldn't possibly be—

"Is it stable?" that same voice demanded.

"Well, if it wasn't, we'd be nothing but ash by now, along with the better part of Southern California, so what do you think?"

"Do not mouth me, child!"

There was a painful gasp at that—Buzz's painful gasp—and Mallory saw nothing but red.

Her body jolted, itching to jump out and attack, but she forcefully held back, taking a few deep breaths to calm her instincts. Focus, she instructed herself.

If the transporter was disconnected, as Buzz had mentioned, then that meant that Tanya probably had it, unless Lucretia or Falcone had double-crossed Fortaineau. She didn't have a lot to go on from this vantage point, but she sure as hell wasn't going to wait around long, either.

She took a shaky breath and pressed a small button on her puck-launcher. A red laser light shined from below the mouth of the weapon, and she carefully aimed the laser guide toward Grin's arm.

Long moments passed where nothing happened, and Mallory's impatience made her wiggle the laser light ever-so-gently, enough to cause a small amount of movement on the pacifist's forearm.

"There has to be evil, so good can prove its purity above it."

Grin's voice boomed the random quote in the otherwise quiet room, and he received a mountain more of silence in return for it.

"I bow to this goodness."

The big duck did as he said, and with such a prominent enunciation on the word that Mallory had her cue. She turned into the open doorway and fired on the drones, who no longer had their weapons aimed at her teammates' heads, thanks to some well-timed faux worshiping.

The redhead didn't have a lot of time to work out the logistics of the scene, but after taking out the four drones holding her team (and Falcone) hostage, she turned on Fortaineau and a back-from-the-dead Viper. Her mind tried to process that, as well as the more important question of where Buzz had gone, as she swiftly reloaded her gun. She shot at the two men, saw their weapons coming towards her, saw another two drones on the other side of the room aim at her, and—before she could react—saw the green machines explode where they stood.

Buzz appeared from around the corner of the control station, crouched and holding one of Nosedive's puck-launchers. Mallory dived to the side as Viper fired some sort of super-powered rifle at her, a small explosion of drywall erupting where she'd just been. She fired back as she rolled, forcing him to hide behind the terminal once more.

Her team's hands were figuratively and literally tied with what looked like electronic cuffs, but Nosedive was already working to turn on Wildwing's buzz-saw from his forearm armor, most likely to slice the restraints apart.

Grin opted to attack without free arms, barreling himself into another two drones that had been stationed next to the control desk. Mallory quickly covered him with gunfire, but kept a keen lookout where Viper and Fortaineau were hiding.

Buzz ran up to her out of the corner of her eye, also shooting in that general direction.

"Your aim's improved," she told him.

"I have a good teacher," he quipped back.

The sound of screeching metal was heard, and a quick glance over showed Nosedive slicing his cuffs down the center links, sparks flying in every direction. Wildwing held still with his own arms still locked, but with the buzz-saw on his forearm armor out and running. As soon as he was free, the teenage duck quickly went to work trying to undo his older brother's chains.

More shots came from the far end of the room, and Mallory saw Viper hunched over the control station, Fortaineau hovering near him and shooting at both Grin and Falcone, who were hiding behind laboratory worktables. Mallory shot at the older man, watching him duck once more, before she heard a loud jolt of machinery starting up.

"What is he doing?!" Buzz cried out incredulously. Mallory saw him looking over at Viper, who was hovering at the computers and looking back at the glowing pedestal of beryllium crystals.

Fortaineau, clumsily handling the rifle Viper had been shooting at Mallory, turned back and shot at them. The redhead darted towards the nearest row of benches, dragging Buzz with her. The older man's aim was both poor and frantic, making it far more dangerous.

"He's starting the machine back up without the transporter!" Buzz cried.

"What does that even mean?" Mallory asked, her back against the heavy table.

Buzz tried to peer over the top of the desk, but the redhead yanked him back down to safety. "Without the transporter, the beryllium's energy isn't regulated. It doesn't know where to direct the wormhole!"

Shots hit the other side of the lower cabinets, a few sections splintering the wood on their end. Mallory pulled the puck bazooka off her back.

"Are you crazy?!" Buzz hissed, seeing what she was doing.

"Well, aren't they about to blow this place up anyways?!" she shot back.

"No—or, at least I don't think so," he replied, his brow furrowing as he thought. "When I was trying to power down the machine earlier, I noticed another external device attached…" he paused, eyes widening. "I bet they tried to duplicate the transporter data and are trying to use its coordinates!"

The wind was beginning to pick up inside, making it even harder to hear what was going on. Fortaineau seemed absolutely maniacal with his continual firing.

"All right, squirt, layduck's terms. We don't have a lot of options here."

"He's trying to use the information to open another gateway, but I don't think it's stable enough to control the beryllium's core."

Mallory growled in frustration. "Are we going to blow up or not?!"

"Uh," Buzz cringed, "like, 67% maybe?"

Sudden mechanical whirring alerted the commando of commotion behind her. Two more drones entered the laboratory, with a clear line of sight towards Nosedive and Wildwing, who were currently hiding behind another large bench and still fighting to undo Wildwing's cuffs.

There wasn't enough time to warn them.

"There!"

Tanya successfully closed up the transporter, Lucretia watching on with an arched brow.

"Now what?"

The blonde duck stood up, the red T-shaped device in hand. "Now we, uh, go back."

"You are such a glutton for punishment," she sardonically replied.

As Tanya bent down to cut the wiring she had wrapped around Lucretia's legs, the traitor suddenly brought her now-free hands forward, backhanding the scientist to the floor.

She hopped up, the cuffs falling off and a lockpick in her hand, before stooping down to grab the transporter while Tanya was still trying to regain her bearings.

"Word of advice, hun," Lucretia called out, running towards the exit, "don't forget to check the sleeves of a jacket!"

Before she could reach the doorway, however, two green drones blew it open with laser fire. Lucretia yelped, falling backwards and diving sideways to avoid the shrapnel that flew.

With a newly-enlarged doorway, the green drones entered and pointed their weapons at Lucretia. "SURRENDER," a robotic voice echoed from its speaker.

"Eh, I'm thinkin' not!"

The sound of metal shearing filled the air, a yellow glow fighting the backup light's red atmosphere. Tanya stood back up, holding the table for support, and smiled as Duke used his saber to tear apart the two machines.

When he finished, his sword instantly pointed at Lucretia. The purple-haired duck let out a sigh, standing straighter as Duke's business-end of his blade hovered inches from her face.

"Fancy meetin' you 'ere," he said to her. "Mind if I 'ave d'at?"

She rolled her eyes at him, but tossed the transporter into his waiting free hand. He pocketed it, but brought his palm out again.

"Don't 'old out on me, now," he cheekily added. His hand open and closed for emphasis.

With a frown, she pulled out the knife in her sleeve, as well as the lockpick she'd used earlier to free herself from Tanya's restraints. Deftly flipping the knife so its handle faced outwards, she handed over both weapons to the ex-thief, as well.

Duke took out his own cuffs, then, and placed them on Lucretia's wrists in front of her. She let out another perturbed breath while he did so. "You two really aren't much fun," she sulkily complained.

Pulling up Lucretia's sleeve, he took off Tanya's COM unit, wiggling it in front of her face. "I dunno, I'm 'avin' a lot o' fun right now."

Turning to the blonde duck, Duke barely had time to get out, "Angel, are you—" before Tanya had bounded up to him, hugging him fiercely.

"You're okay!" She paused, pulling back and checking his shoulder. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

He was stunned silent for a moment, but quickly covered it up with a smirk. "Well, obviously ta get d'at kind o' reception, o' course."

Lucretia groaned dramatically. "Oh please."

They ignored her, Duke instead snapping Tanya's communication unit back on her wrist.

"Y-you sure you're okay?" she asked again, watching him.

"I'm fine, Angel. Are you?" he asked more seriously, one of his hands coming up to a rather sizeable bruise forming underneath the feathers on her forehead.

"I'm okay. W-we gotta get back to Viper."

Duke nodded. "Mal went to help the others." He paused. "Wait, Viper?"

The scientist's eyes widened at his first statement and she ignored his question. "W-wait, the others? They're, uh, here?"

"D'ey left before us, to come after you."

He frowned, his beak open and ready to add to that, but Tanya grabbed the transporter out of Duke's waist satchel, hurrying towards the exit. "C-come on, we have to help them!"

The drones' arms were already up and aiming at her teammates.

Mallory jumped up and threw her small frame into the two robots, knocking them into each other and throwing off their trajectory. She pushed herself away and fired her puck bazooka close-range, using her other arm to shield her face as the puck hit and knocked both machines into the wall behind them, shattering it and the doorframe in the process.

Her breathing was ragged with pain, her halfway-healed gunshot wound throbbing. She was on her back and slowly tried to roll herself over into a crawl, her hearing ringing from the blast going off in such an enclosed space.

"MAL!"

She didn't even have time to register who, much less why, before she was knocked off her partial crouch and rolled behind the same laboratory bench she'd been hiding behind with Buzz.

The redhead groaned and coughed, half-slouched against the cabinets in a sitting position, and the ache in her side even more angry. She noticed a heavy form laying in her lap and looked down, seeing Nosedive with a pained expression on his face.

Oh no.

"Dive!" she hoarsely stated, Buzz crawling up next to them. Her eyes traveled to his arm, covered in blood.

"You idiot," she declared.

"Dive!" Wildwing called from across the room, looking panicked at the two but unable to cross the temporary warzone between them.

"I'm fine!" he called out, gritting his teeth in the process.

"Like hell you are," Mallory spat. Buzz helped support the teenager's back and propped him into his own sitting position. As she studied the injury, it looked like a laser wound had sliced deep into his bicep.

"Hey, you've already been shot," Nosedive argued breathlessly, "and Duke's been stabbed. I'm not letting you two hog all the glory in this episode."

"Unbelievable," the redhead muttered. She ripped Nosedive's sleeve on his good arm, earning an indignant "Hey!" from him, but ignored it as she shredded it lengthwise to wrap around his injury like a tourniquet.

Amidst more gunfire, along with what was starting to feel like a small hurricane, Wildwing ran and skidded to their side, his hands still cuffed. "Are you guys all right?" he concernedly asked them, watching as Mallory wrapped the cloth around his brother's upper arm.

"Peachy keen, bro," Nosedive groaned out, holding out a thumb's up with the hand on his undamaged arm, despite the grimace etched on his features.

"Here," Buzz interrupted, coming up to Wildwing and fiddling with the small electronic panel on his cuffs. In a matter of seconds, they opened at the wrists and fell off.

"Show-off," the teenager mumbled.

"They've opened a portal," Wildwing said, quickly glancing around the corner towards Fortaineau and Viper. "And he won't stop shooting!"

"It's unstable," Buzz added, scrubbing some sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "It won't hold much longer before collapsing."

"And then what?"

"Unless the power is discharged, a collapsed wormhole will expel enough energy to wipe out a good chunk of this state."

"Tubular."

"Can we shut it down?" Mallory asked, reloading her puck-launcher since a puck bazooka seemed to be out of the question.

"At this point I'm not sure."

"Let's hop to it and try then!" Nosedive got onto his knees, readying himself to stand, before his older brother firmly shoved him back against the laboratory worktable.

"Nuh-uh, you stay put."

"Aw, bro, come on!"

"I'll distract them," Wildwing interrupted, looking at Mallory. "You get Buzz to that control station."

She shook her head at him. "You can't be serious, Wing. That kind of firepower will deplete your force shield in seconds!"

"We don't have a choice, here."

"Like 'ell we don't!"

Duke appeared through the broken doorway of the laboratory, using his saber to deflect the laser fire from Fortaineau's weapon. Tanya and Lucretia were behind him, the former dragging the latter by the chain connecting her wrists together.

"Here!"

Tanya shoved Lucretia down with the rest of the group, before keeping low and navigating to the other side of the benches.

"Buzz, go with her, I'll cover you!" Mallory called, standing up and firing back.

The kid nodded, scrambling up to follow the scientist to the far side of the room.

Falcone and Grin, closer to the men and hiding behind their own laboratory bench, stood up with Duke's distraction.

With the group closing in, Viper quickly pulled back from the terminal, towards the opening portal. Unlike last time, this one was lopsided, and seemed to be expanding and contracting rhythmically. The power could not control its formation.

"We must go!" Viper called.

Fortaineau, still firing the laser rifle, backed up towards the volatile gateway, only hints of a dilapidated Anaheim showing through its opening.

They bent low behind the station to avoid Mallory's firing, but with Duke, Grin, and Wildwing closing in quickly.

Tanya reached the controls from the other side and plugged in the transporter.

There was a huge reflux of energy from the crystals, sending a shockwave through the vicinity that sent everyone to their knees. The gateway wobbled unsteadily, a rainbow of energy waves traversing outwards, shoving both Viper and Fortaineau closer to its epicenter.

"What are you doing?!" Buzz called out, right behind Tanya.

"Sending him, uh, back home!" she yelled back, the wind stronger now that the portal had stabilized.

"NO!" Viper screeched, seeing the formation of his office materialize back through the hole. "I WILL NOT GO BACK!"

He wrenched the rifle out of Fortaineau's hand, the older man holding on desperately to the edge of the command station to avert the pull of the gateway. He turned on Tanya and Buzz, and the blonde duck shoved the boy down just as the rifle fired.

Grin slammed into Viper, his firing hitting the computer and sending sparks flying before veering towards the ceiling. There was a high-pitched hum as the size of the portal shrunk, then a brief blast of air outwards as it expanded to three times its size.

With his arms still tied behind his back, the big duck headbutted Viper on the floor, knocking the man out. The vortex next to them was regaining its strength, however, and no longer showed another world on the other side.

Buzz pulled away from Tanya's hold, running up to the station despite the increasing gusts dragging everything in its way through.

"The connection is fried!" he exclaimed, both Grin and Tanya coming up behind him to protect him. "I need to rewire the transporter to the generator, or the surge is just going to exponentially grow!"

"There's no t-time!" Tanya argued, reaching down to override Grin's electronic cuffs. In seconds they opened, falling to the floor with a clatter before being sucked into the void. With his arms now free, Grin grasped onto each side of the large table, protecting Buzz from the wind.

"Hurry, little friend," he said with gritted teeth.

On the other side of the room, Fortaineau had been tied up by Wildwing and Duke. Falcone, arms still cuffed behind his back, kept himself behind a laboratory bench, away from the swelling gales of the portal. The ex-thief staggered over to him, sword out.

"Good to see you back on your feet, ol' chap," Falcone offered anxiously, the attempt of smirk on his hooked-beak.

Duke glared at him. "You 'ave a lotta nerve," he growled out, his blade pressing against the Raptrin's neck.

"Duke!"

The gray mallard turned around, seeing Wildwing struggling to hold down Fortaineau. The older man's entire body was nearly horizontal in the air, being closest to the portal, with the captain stretched over the workbench to try and keep a grip on the scientist's cuffed wrists.

Letting out a low curse, Duke turned and ran back over to the two to help.

"Mal!"

Mallory, standing next to Nosedive and watching over both him and the scene before them, glanced down. The teenager was looking over to Lucretia, who was backing up towards the exit. When the commando made eye contact with her, she turned to bolt.

"Oh no you don't!" Mallory quickly adjusted the settings on her puck-launcher and fired a bolo puck. It caught the traitor's legs in a bind, tripping her to the floor with a grunt.

In the center of the laboratory, however—and without the cover of a worktable—the purple-haired duck was now in the core of the storm's path. With a strangled cry, she began sliding towards the vortex. Mallory dived to the floor, grabbing Lucretia's chained hands before she slid past them. Nosedive used his bodyweight against the redhead's legs to hold her steady, bracing them both against the bench they had been crouched behind.

Lightning slashed around the vortex's perimeter as it pulsated and grew.