Dream League Issue #1 (Open+Liquidator)

[Duck Avenger]

I remember it like it happened last night. It started as just another ordinary night as Duck Avenger. I didn't expect the night to turn out the way it did, and, boy, I never suspected that my life--all our lives--would change forever.

---

It was 7:24 PM, a warm night. Even if Epcot City's street lights weren't sufficient, the area would still be illuminant because of the bright, full moon on this night. Of course, even with such a bright moon, the Waterfowl Warrior, the Duck Avenger himself, could conceal himself in the rooftops' shadows if he wanted to.

His eyes peered down on the city streets below, from the high rooftop on which he stood. He was in the ritzier part of Epcot City, where the residents ranged from comfortably well-off to 'rolling in it.' But Duck Avenger didn't have his eyes on women with grossly expensive jewelry. Every night Duck Avenger scouted the city for crime, and this upper-class division of Epcot City was just one of the stops in his rotation.

But he never patrolled this area at this time before. He didn't know why, but something in his head told him to be in this vicinity at night. What could explain this mental voice?

Duck Avenger suddenly thought he saw something. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out compact binoculars. He brought them up to his eyes so he could better look at what was down on the street below.

[The Liquidator]

An amorphous blue fluid flowed out of the storm drain on the street Duck Avenger was watching and onto the city street. The puddle of water grew and reformed itself into a humanoid shape with canid features.

The Liquidator grinned in a decidedly calculating manner as he studied the row of fancy homes lining the street. Once upon a time, he had lived in this neighborhood. It was almost like that had been in another lifetime ago. Sometimes he supposed he should thank Dipwing Duck (or Darkwing Duck, as he called himself) for transforming him from ordinary CEO of Sparkling Crystal Pure Floodwater Bud Flood into the supercriminal known as the Liquidator. With his new powers, he could go anywhere he liked. And where he presently wanted to go was inside those houses. He knew that their owners had all manner of valuables inside just waiting to be taken off their hands by an enterprising businessman such as himself.

He had always been about accumulating wealth, and now he could take it as he pleased. Things like security cameras and guard dogs were of no concern to him. Becoming a puddle of water yet again, the Liquidator headed for the nearest mansion, rapidly flowing through the metal bars of the high gate and over the expansive and well-manicured lawn, leaving a wet trail behind as he went.

[Duck Avenger]

Through his binoculars, Duck Avenger watched a large puddle of water. This was odd because the sky was mostly cloudless, and what clouds were up there certainly weren't filled with rain. Of course, the lone puddle itself wasn't enough to set the world on fire: it was only when the puddle formed the shape of an anthropomorphic dog that got Duck Avenger's undivided attention.

As Duck Avenger stared at this watery being via the binoculars, his brows raised in interest and he thought to himself. Well, I'll be a son of a gun. That's different. The Avenger watched the living liquid until it flowed through the ritzy gate of an even ritzier property. This calls for an investigation!

Duck Avenger slipped the binoculars back into its designated place in the utility belt, sealed the pocket, and prepared to glide. He got a running start and jumped off the roof. In an instant, his large cape billowed and acted like a hang-glider. The Avenger had obviously practiced this ability for many hours, because he had no trouble at all gliding to the rooftop that was next door to the property targeted by the water creature.

Duck Avenger made sure to remain quiet during the whole time it took him to reach this rooftop, and he also made sure not to be seen. Now on this rooftop, he kept a very low profile and watched the water dog. Alas, the Duck Avenger couldn't intervene just yet. He had no credible evidence to speak of, so he simply watched in silence, to make sure that this walking puddle was on the moral side...

[Bongo]

Meanwhile, through the upper-class district of Epcot City, another unusual passerby was making his way through town - albeit one that would probably appear far less sinister.

A short little brown bear, dressed in bright red circus clothes and wearing a snappy little blue bowtie, strolled down a nearby street at a casual pace, looking all around him with an impressed grin on his muzzle. The bear cub, who went by the name of Bongo, had discovered this city just today, and, ever curious, made his way out of his forest home to have a look around. Born and raised in a traveling circus, and having lived in the woods for the rest of his life after that, he had never even seen a city before, no less one as impressive and expansive as Epcot City. He would, no doubt, stand out among the crowd, being a decidedly non-anthropomorphic bear cub in a circus uniform strolling around the ritziest part of town - but he didn't seem to mind one bit, or even notice the odd glances he received. Bongo was no stranger to people, anyway, and certainly didn't mind them in the least.

Just then, though, the bear's leisurely stroll was interrupted by a sudden cold, wet sensation underneath one of his paws. With a jolt, he looked down to see that he had stepped into a... puddle of water? It seemed watery enough, but looked and moved markedly different from any water Bongo had seen... and felt different, too, almost rather slimy. With a disgusted grimace, Bongo shook off his paw and was ready to continue his walkabout, until he noticed... the puddle was no longer there. It was several feet away from him, now - moving on its own!

Bongo was baffled, to say the least; he stared wide-eyed at the living puddle, as it crept through the bustling crowd and over pavement and grass. Succumbing to his curiosity, the little bear hurriedly tried to keep up with the puddle, following it - until it slipped right through a large iron gate, which Bongo promptly collided with head-on. His eyes whirling about, the dazed bear stumbled for a moment before recuperating surprisingly quickly, and glanced up at the gate for a moment. It didn't take long for him to figure out how to get by it: with a simple shove of his paw, the locked gate creaked right open (causing the lock to break, but the bear didn't even notice that). It was clear that Bongo was far, far stronger than the average bear.

The cub continued to follow the living puddle, trying his best to keep up with it and not making any effort to keep himself concealed.

[Duck Avenger]

Duck Avenger stood at the edge of the roof with his arms folded on his chest. He kept his eyes on the puddle, but a noise distracted him. The night duck's eyes started before his head turned; he looked at the gate and noticed a bear enter. A cute bear in a cute outfit, that cutely broke and entered the property. Of course, at the time Duck Avenger didn't know that Bongo meant no harm, but at that moment the Avenger was wary.

Is he an accomplice? I still don't know enough; I'll just keep watching.

The expression on the Avenger's face did not change as he watched the bear scamper after the living puddle that, put lightly, defied the laws of nature. It was a good thing that the moon was so bright, because even if the exterior lights of this property weren't on, Duck Avenger could comfortably watch what was happening, thanks to the moon.

[The Liquidator]

Now in the driveway of the home, the Liquidator moved around to the side of the house. He knew that the owner of this house was a young woman, and most likely out partying somewhere in the city, and her hired help had gone home for the night. Indeed, the darkened windows indicated that no was at home. He would slip in through the chimney, like Santa Claus, only instead of leaving gifts he’d be making off with some of his own. The thought cause the hydromorph to let out a watery chuckle.

In spite of being made entirely out of water, he was still a dog, and his ears heard the sound of the iron wrought gate creaking open and footsteps behind him. Quickly, he reformed the upper half of his head and face to see what was behind him. The moonlight brightly illuminated the furry form tailing him. It was clearly not a house pet.

He couldn't believe his eyes at the sight. Why was a bear following him? And why was it wearing clothes? His solid dark blue eyes, which had grown wide with surprise at the sight of his strange pursuer, quickly narrowed as the wheels in his head turned. The bear would spoil his heist if it continued following him around. He decided to give the animal the slip, hoping that it would loose interest and go away.

The Liquidator returned to puddle form and flowed into the drainpipe on the side of the house.

[Duck Avenger]

Duck Avenger's focus returned to the canine that more than defied logic. The night's protector's eyes narrowed as he watched the dog decrease in size, until he resembled nothing more than a puddle, and he flowed into the drainpipe on the house's side. Duck Avenger smirked as he watched this possibly dubious thief.

Clever.

He hastily yet quietly stepped along the roof he was on so he could be closer to the portion with the drainpipe. From his new position, he quietly watched the bear's next move.

[The Masked Mallard]

"Maybe I should invest in a jet or something," thought the Masked Mallard as he used his grappling hook and line to swing from rooftop to rooftop. Granted, having one might clash with his image as Epcot City's "Gentleman Crimefighter", but he wasn't as young as he used to be, as loathe as he was to admit this, and sometimes it'd take him a while to arrive where he wanted to be. He needed to be swift if he wanted to get one up on the lowlife scum who prowled the city's streets.

He had already apprehended a purse snatcher on the way over to Highfeather Heights. Was this city getting worse and worse by the day? Sometimes it seemed like that for every criminal he stopped, more would spring up to take their place. It used to be such a lovely place to live too.

The Masked Mallard realized that he had finally arrived in Epcot's finest neighborhood. From the news he had heard that there had been a string of strange robberies of houses and businesses in the area lately: no one could understand how the culprit had gotten inside the buildings, or why puddles of water were always found at the scene. To the Masked Mallard, this case had "mutant" written all over it. He had dealt with some of the superpowered beings before, when they had started attacking his factories. He hoped to spot the crook tonight and stop him.

He continued his patrol of the division, looking for anything strange. He hadn't come to the house the Liquidator was targeting yet.

[Bongo]

Bongo jumped back with a start as the puddle suddenly formed into a very doglike head, and looked right at him. Surprised and just a little frightened by this, at first, the bear quickly realized this was a living creature of some sort - and like most all living creatures he met, he figured it couldn't hurt to be friendly towards it. After a few seconds of coming to terms with this strange phenomenon, Bongo greeted the liquidized dog with a cheerful open smile, and politely lifted up his dandy strap-on cap. Unfortunately, his friendliness wasn't so well-received (possibly not even noticed, for that matter) - the living puddle slipped away in an instant, sliding up into the house's drainpipe.

Bongo felt just a little insulted, and made a slight frown. How rude! Well, perhaps the puddle dog had better things to do... and Bongo wondered what those things were. Unable to control his curiosity, the little bear quickly decided that he, too, should enter the house. Nonchalantly, he strolled up to the front door and tried twisting the knob - but the darned thing wouldn't open. Not a problem for this little bear, though. Applying just a bit more strength to his arm, Bongo, with a simple tug, yanked the door right open - whether it was locked or not, now, was irrelevant. Satisfied, Bongo waltzed right in.

By this point, he had a feeling that the puddle dog didn't really want any company right now - so Bongo realized it probably would be best to stay hidden. Gotta find a good hiding spot, quick, he thought... a-ha! That vase looked to be a good enough size to hold him. Without any hesitation, Bongo hopped onto a table and slipped himself into the spacious piece of pottery. His fuzzy head peered over the vase's rim, but he would duck it back down immediately if the puddle dog noticed him.

[ze]

The evening was pretty late, but it was barely late enough for a certain crooning parrot. His performance had run late and he had been ducking through yards to try and get back home before the sun decided to make an appearance. The good thing about the richer neighborhoods was that the yards were big, and Ze was fast enough to avoid any nasty surprises.

Then again he wasn't expecting to see some sort of circus act breaking into one of the houses. He paused behind a few bushes, wondering briefly if it was worth getting involved in all of this. Looking around he shrugged, the night was shot anyways. This would at least give him an excuse to sleep in later come the morning. He slunk into the shadows, waiting until the bear was inside before pulling his bumbershoot out from under his hat.

The parrot wasn't about to go into this without some sort of a disguise.

[Duck Avenger]

Oh, how adorable! The cute and cuddly bear tore off the door. That was a step up from his less harsh treatment of the front gate. The Avenger watched as the bear slipped into the house, obviously to follow the sentient puddle. Duck Avenger still wasn't convinced that the bear was an accomplice. But by the same token, who was to say that the bear wasn't affiliated with the more stealthy intruder?

Fortunately, Duck Avenger now had concrete reason to enter the house for what would likely become an intervention. But how to get down there quickly? This was an easy decision; a grappling hook wouldn't be the best way, but that's what his cape was for. Duck Avenger jumped off the roof and his cape once again billowed out, and he safely glided to the ritzy property's yard.

He was completely unaware of the nearby parrot, who was actually among Donald Duck's best friends. Duck Avenger didn't even look back before he entered the house, probably a big mistake for a sleuth.

Once inside, Duck Avenger passed by the bear's hiding spot and looked around for any sign of either said bear or the watery intruder.

[The Liquidator]

Surging from out of the drainage pipe, the Liquidator found himself on the roof. Unperturbed by the fact that he was three stories off the ground, he flowed over to the chimney and slithered down it.

Once inside, he converted back into his humanoid form. He had picked up a little soot from his journey, but ignored it, looking around at his surroundings instead. The interior of the house was just what he had expected; large and spacious, dimly lit by a lone lamp. The furniture and other decorations like that big tacky vase weren’t to his personal tastes, but he wasn't here to play decorator and critique the lady's place. More often than not, places like offices, studies, and bedrooms was where people kept the goods. Excitement welled up in his chest. He had discovered that he enjoyed the thrill of burgling far more than some stuffy old company meeting.

Making his way down the hall, the Liquidator turned the doorknob of the first door on his left, and peered inside the room as the door opened. It was just an workout room, nothing interesting stood out to him in here. Scowling in his annoyance, he continued with his exploration, trying the next door. As he moved, there was no noise, although the damp carpeting he left in his wake would indicate that something weird was going on...

[kimpossible]

Someone had been watching the chase all this time. Her head tilted to the side somewhat, wondering what on earth was up at the moment. A masked duck....and some water of some sort? The young girl, who looked to be only 18, shook her head, snapping herself out of her little gaze and decided to follow them.

She rushed down the street and shot into an alleyway. She needed to change, and quick as she did not heave her battle suit on, only her civillain clothes. She put her bag down and reached into it, puling out the suit in question, taking a quick glance around before changing into her suit rather quickly....well, as quick as she could before stuffing her civillain clothes into her bag and tossing her bag into the nearby dumpster. She would come back for it later.

The girl looked to the rooftop where the duck and the water had gone, grabbed her grapple hook from her gadget belt, aimed it at the roof and fired before pulling herself upwards and onto the roof.

Looking around, she let off a groan. She had lost them by the looks of it, yet, she scanned the area for any clues on where they might have gone off to...

[The Masked Mallard]

From the cover of the shadows, the Masked Mallard silently observed as the redheaded young woman over at the house next door shot a grappling hook at the roof and pulled herself up.

Well, well, well, now this was interesting. Perhaps he had found his crook. Why would someone be out here at this time of night running around on the rooftop? At least he had an excuse for why he did what he did.

Not wanting to suddenly surprise his quarry and have her bolt, the Masked Mallard decided to wait and see what she would do next. From what he could tell, she seemed to be searching for something now.

[Bongo]

Bongo decided to check if the coast was clear, now, and lifted his head up enough to glance over the vase's opening - and lucky him, the puddle dog had his back turned and was wandering down a hall, not paying any attention to the vase he was in. The stranger was checking every single room that he could... was he looking for something? Maybe he lived here...?

Just then, another presence appeared onto the scene - a short white duck in a rather flashy get-up, with a long flowing cape. Now, who was this fellow? Perhaps he was the one who lived here - and perhaps, Bongo thought, he'd be a bit friendlier than the amorphous canine. Taking this chance in his naivety, Bongo popped his head right out of the vase and waved his paw to get the duck's attention, smiling - to let him know he was a friend.

[kimpossible]

"Now....where did they go?" Kim wondered to herself, a bit out loud as she continued to scan the area around her, but still, found nothing. She folded her arms to think for a moment or two, trying to piece together why there was a masked duck, and some water running around. It just didn't make any sense to her.

She shrugged it off for a bit, deciding that she would just have to figure it out a bit later on as she walked forward, deciding to, for now, take a wild guess on where they had run off to.

[ze]

Ze, now dressed as El Morcego Verde, watched the strange duck pass into the house as well. Another Super perhaps? He tapped his beak before twirling his umbrella and stepped out from inside the bushes. If there were two people inside the house already, eh one more would not cause a problem.

Unaware of extra eyes, the caped parrot waited a moment before sneaking into the house. If he fought or not, perhaps the person who owned this house had a pretty gahtina under their roof as well. The girls were always willing to thank Super Heroes after all.

[Duck Avenger]

Duck Avenger failed to notice the Liquidator. Just as he was about to take the first step to further examine the luxurious residence, something waved and caught the Avenger's attention. The duck snapped his gaze on the bear that hid from behind the vase. The smile on the bear's mug appeared friendly and approachable, but any superhero worth his salt could tell you that looks were more often than not deceiving!

"Okay, bear," said Duck Avenger aloud. His voice was lowered an octave from his normal speaking voice and was ever-so-slightly on the harsh side. It was obvious that this was not his natural voice.

Duck Avenger pointed accusingly at the bear with his right hand's index finger, and the gesture was so sudden and forceful that his cape flapped out of the way as his finger launched.

"What're you doing here? Are you with that puddle?!"

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, as his black pupils aimed for the bear's face.

[Bongo]

Once again, Bongo's genial optimism was stomped upon, as the duck returned his friendliness with harsh suspicion. The little bear jerked his head back in surprise as the duck whipped an accusing finger out in front of his face... it had just dawned on Bongo that maybe the duck thought he was doing something bad.

For a moment, Bongo was awkwardly silent, unsure of how to respond to such aggressive forwardness. Slowly, he simply shook his head at the duck, looking up at him with innocent eyes and hoping that would somehow ease the duck's suspicions.

[The Liquidator]

Poking around in the bedroom at the very end of the hall, The Liquidator was about to start ransacking the place, but started when he heard the voice in the living room.

At that point, most criminals would've attempted to sneak out the window. The Liquidator didn't operate like that though. He liked attention, and liked humiliating anyone who thought they could catch him. Going back out into the hallway, the water dog carefully inched forward to peer out into the living room and assess the situation.

A duck in a particularly goofy-looking costume was shouting at someone he couldn't see particularly well, since the corner of the wall he was behind obscured his vision of that area of the living room. The duck asked if the person was with "the puddle", obviously referring to the aquakinetic supervillain. Well, they clearly weren't working together. Liquidator thought he vaguely recognized the duck -- all the avian superheroes tended to blend together in his head. Well, except for Dumbwing, since he was easily the most annoying of them all. He decided to reveal himself, stepping out into plain view. Now he could see that the other person was that bear who had been following him earlier.

"Have a question? Then maybe the Liquidator can provide you with answers!" The canine boomed, elongating his form until he stood at six and half feet tall and hovered menacingly over the two. He folded his arms and smirked at them, basically daring them to make their moves. He was hardly intimidated by some costumed quack and an escaped circus animal.

[Duck Avenger]

Duck Avenger heard a voice from behind him. It was a highly unusual voice because it periodically gargled. The Avenger's pupils constricted humorously with a blink when he heard the voice, but the eyes almost instantly returned to normal. He spun and looked up at the towering aquatic dog. Duck Avenger grinned, and his face exuded confidence.

"I thought I heard a leaking faucet."

[The Masked Mallard]

The green parrot in the cape entering the manor hadn't escaped Masked Mallard's attention. Now that he had seen an actual crime being committed, he could act. He doubted that the second fellow lived there, as most home owners didn't sneak into their own abodes. However, he felt a tug of indecisiveness: should he go after the parrot, or the woman on the roof? Finally, he decided to target the redhead first, not wanting her to get away. He figured that he could still catch the fellow who had went inside the house.

Taking his grappling gun out from inside his tuxedo jacket, the Masked Mallard fired. When the hook had snagged on the eve, he pressed a button on the side of the gun's handle, causing the rope to retract and thereby pulling himself up. Swiftly, he disentangled the hook and put the gun back inside his jacket.

Now that he was up here, he and the woman could see one another quite easily. He doffed his top hat to the young lady, as being polite, even to crooks, was his signature, though he was careful not to take his eyes off her in case she tried to attack or something.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, madame." The duck wryly said with a slight Scottish accent, replacing his hat. "Do you always skulk around on rooftops late at night?"

[Bongo]

Before the interrogating duck could speak another word, another voice spoke up. Startled, Bongo jumped within the vase, almost causing it to fall over, and he looked up to see that watery doglike fellow looking down at him. Was it just him, or did he seem a lot taller, now? As the amorphous antagonist leered down at the two, Bongo could only make a sheepish smile in this awkward situation; it seems he'd been caught, now. Bongo couldn't keep that grin on for long, though, as he looked between the duck and the dog... he had the feeling that a whole mess of trouble was about to unfold, soon - and he was probably going to become involved.

[kimpossible]

Kim turned around at the sound of the voice, ready to strike, only to find that it was another duck. She stopped and folded her arms instead and arched an eyebrow at the masked duck now standing in front of her "Well, I was following a lead on what seemed to be a supervillain chase"

She stepped forward towards the duck some in order to examine him just a little more closely "Just what is someone, such as yourself, doing up here anyway?" she decided to enquire first, arching an eyebrow just a little bit at the duck in question.