(Darkwing Duck: The Webfoot Chronicles, PART ONE) by Zebeckras
The man in the mask ran as fast as he could, looking over his
shoulder periodically. The large bag he was carrying weighed him
down, but he was pretty sure he'd given the duck the slip. He was
looking forward to getting home- which would be reached through
the sewers, of course, to avoid the risk of the cops or the vigilante
tracking him down- and settling down to count the cash he'd lifted.
"So, banks ARE useful for something after all," he said, wasting
precious breath but not caring. He slowed down to get his bearings
and check what street he was on.
"West and Main... that's to the east of Third, right?" he said to
himself, not noticing the dark figure advancing silently behind him.
"Yeah.. I passed my turn point by about two streets," he said. He
wondered if it was worth going back and risking running into
Dorkwing Duck (he and his friends considered the name their own
original invention, and sniggered over it constantly), but decided
that he'd left the do-gooder far behind.
He was wrong, of course.
"Going somewhere?" said Darkwing as the masked man turned
around. He smiled a little as the man's face twisted into a mask of
complete horror and paranoia.
"You-- you--!" spluttered the criminal.
"Too true," said Darkwing.
"And me!" said Launchpad, standing just behind Darkwing with his
arms across his chest. The man started to regain his ability to
think, and looked like he was getting ready to run away. Darkwing
withdrew his gas gun and pointed it at his enemy. "Suck gas,
evildoer," he said confidently, and squeezed the trigger.
Much to Darkwing's surprise and dismay, instead of the usual
launch of gas the gun broke apart in his hands, falling into three
separate pieces. The canister of gas fell at his feet and exploded,
letting off a large amount of bluish-gray knockout gas and allowing
the villain ample time to escape.
Darkwing and Launchpad, meanwhile, emerged from the cloud of
gas hacking their lungs out. "What happened?" gasped Launchpad.
"*Gack*- Looks like I lost three of my 4 1/4 double-plait bolts!
Boy, go figure on THAT timing!" said Darkwing. "Come on, LP, we
can't let this masked felon escape! It's a slow night! He may be all
the excitement we get!" Launchpad, who was gathering up the
separate pieces of the gas gun, straightened up and they both set off
after the criminal.
"Say, Launchpad, how many 4 1/4 bolts do I have left at
headquarters?" Darkwing asked his sidekick later, as a passing
newsvan that was also having a slow night had them pose as the
"daring heroes that apprehended a dastardly criminal". The criminal
himself had been apprehended mere minutes ago, and was now safely
incarcerated.
"Uh, are those the kind I used to fix the video game controller?"
said Launchpad. "In that case- two," he said. Darkwing sighed,
rolling his eyes. "Well, I guess we're going to Bindler's Hardware
Store tomorrow," he said.
"Bindler's? I thought we usually went to Outlet Hardware," said
Launchpad, turning his head to look at Darkwing.
"They went out of business," said Darkwing. "Turn around! You're
going to ruin the picture!" he snapped, facing Launchpad, and at that
moment the flash went off. "What the- Hey!! I wasn't ready! You
take that picture again!"
The photographer shook his head and said, "That's what you get,
bud!"
*****
It was early in the afternoon the next day when the bell over the
door rang in the hardware store. Henny Chickstein was sitting in the
back room, reading her movie magazine and admiring Flynn
O'Rapture's biceps, and she didn't even bother to look up from the
picture as she shouted "Customers!" to the younger woman doing
inventory behind her.
"I heard, Henny! I'm going!" said Beth Webfoot, a timid looking
duck whose appearances weren't deceiving. She carefully placed the
clipboard she was writing in down on a bench and pushed up her
glasses. She hoped that this wasn't more weirdness. It had been a
hectic day, as days for Beth went, starting with a weird phone
conversation about appendixes with her mother at six-fourty-five
that morning, right up until the last customer had come in about an
hour ago. Beth was routine, and preferred it that way. Change was
scary, and at the moment, she was really in need of something
normal to latch onto. She sighed and went through the door that led
to the main part of the store.
"...well, I only need one!" Drake Mallard was saying to Launchpad
as they walked through the door. He flicked a small piece of lint off
of his shirt sleeve as he muttered to himself, "Makes a weird kind of
sense that I'd run out of 4 1/4 bolts when I only need one more..."
"Hi, can I help... you...," Beth trailed off as she slowly regarded
her customers, and they her. She felt reality slipping away from her.
Breathing became hard, and her heart started beating several
hundred miles an hour. Having lost control over her muscles, her jaw
drifted open, as did Launchpad's as he regarded her. It was love at
first sight for both of them. Drake, meanwhile, gave them both a
look of utter impatience. "Um... excuse me...," said Beth, darting back
into the inventory room. "Henny! I've just seen the handsomest duck
in the world! I think I'm in love!" she exclaimed.
"YOU? Miss Straight-as-a-Line Beth Webfoot? This must be
some guy!" said Henny forgoing her magazine and peering out the
door. She spotted Launchpad, who was trying to remember how to
breathe, and swooned. "Ohhh, man, he IS something! I love a guy
with red hair. You can't have him, he's mine!"
"Huh? Oh, no, not the tall one! I like the other one- the one in the
sweater vest!" said Beth. "The... The NORMAL-looking one!"
"His bill's a little too big...," said Henny critically. Beth's face
fell. "Listen, love or no love, they're waiting to be served out there!
Get out and deal with them! If they don't get good service, who's
going to get blamed? ME."
"Right," said Beth as Henny pushed her out through the open door.
Launchpad, who had just started to recover, saw her and fell on the
floor.
"Hi again!" said Beth a bit self-conciously. She looked Drake over,
trying to think of something to say. Henny was right, his bill was a
little large, but it added to his appeal. And his eyes... His eyes were
a pale blue, the color of so many other men she'd seen before. So
ordinary, but somehow so wonderful. He wasn't too tall- in fact, he
was sort of on the shortish side. She figured she was at least two
inches taller than he was. But that was okay... He had a look to him,
the look of someone who liked to spend a relaxing Sunday at home,
and would probably make a great father. She realized that she'd been
standing there, staring at him, for over thirty seconds, and
scrambled for something to say. "Hey, is he okay?" she asked Drake,
pointing to Launchpad. She leaned over the counter to look at him
and make sure he was all right, and he jumped back onto his feet,
startling her.
"Yes, he's fine- don't worry," said Drake. Launchpad attempted to
assure her that he was alright, too, but was unable to speak and so
just nodded his head vigorously.
It was as good a start as any. She picked up from there. "Well,
that's good. I'm Beth Webfoot, how may I help you?" she asked
professionally.
Launchpad sighed. Beth. It was a nice name, not flashy or
anything, but it suited her perfectly. She wasn't especially flashy
herself... A moderate height, good posture, dark brown hair that was
a bit longer than shoulder length. It was tied back in a loose
ponytail. Her eyes were blue, the color that was most often
described as "ice", or "crystal". He figured that, if he thought about
it, he'd remember having seen eyes the same color as hers on other
women. But at the moment, he felt like he hadn't seen any women
who were exactly like her in his life. Her eyes were partially
obscured behind a thick pair of glasses, which gave her a very brainy
look. And in addition to all of that, she had amazing hands.
Launchpad wasn't sure what exactly drew him to her hands, but they
were remarkable. They were delicate and slender, and her fingers
were long and graceful and white. In addition to all of that, as she
stood there watching them both timidly from behind her glasses,
Launchpad suddenly realized that Beth was also painfully, crushingly
shy. She almost had the look of a deer caught in a car's headlights.
But she was fighting to overcome it. As Launchpad admired her
efforts, Drake was doing the talking, and he was now answering her
question.
"Well, I have a sort of a desperate need for a 4 1/4 double-plait
bolt," said Drake, not recognizing the fact that her introduction was
made in hopes that he would tell her his name.
A 4 1/4 double-plait bolt. Beth was impressed- that was one of
the less-used kinds of bolts in America. He was so perfect, she
thought. Even though her ploy to find out his name had failed, she
still was cheerful as she reached under the counter, exclaiming,
"Wow, what luck! We just got a shipment in yesterday..." Suddenly,
however, her face fell. "Oh no..."
"What? What's wrong?" said Launchpad, finding his tongue.
"I can't believe this! We're all out-- I'm so sorry!" she said, and
genuinely was sorry. In fact, she was on the verge of tears, she was
so sorry.
"It's okay--it's not that big a deal!" said Launchpad, his heart
going out to her immediately. Drake also reacted with his
characteristic understanding.
"Oh, great! I come all the way out here, and you don't even have
any! The Outlet store always had plenty, although now that I think
about it they always looked sort of deformed. Maybe _that's_ why
they went out of business." Beth, who felt bad enough to start with,
became desperately afraid that he was mad at her and starting
wringing her hands nervously. Launchpad watched her twist her thin,
beautiful hands for a moment, and then helpfully offered his scarf
for her to cry into.
"We don't HAVE any?? Where'd they all go?!" cried Henny, coming
around to the front of the store.
"I... sold them!" said Beth in her quiet, shy voice. She had
obviously never stood up for herself before and wasn't about to start
now. Henny, on the other hand, was obviously quite used to berating
her, and slipped into the routine easily.
"You sold a full shipment of 220 in two days? I don't see the
profits in the register, Beth..." She stole a couple of looks at
Launchpad to see what he thought of the way she was handling this.
She was bent out of shape to notice that, instead of being impressed
by her business-like manner, he seemed displeased at the way she
was talking to Beth.
"This is ridiculous. It's not worth THAT much of an effort, we
can just go someplace else. Come on, Launchpad, let's go," said
Drake, pulling Launchpad from Beth's side towards the door.
Launchpad, unwilling to leave, dug his heels in and resisted as much
as he possibly could.
"Well.. that last customer that was in here bought them, but he
sort of forgot to pay for them and I didn't want to bother him about
it."
Henny rolled her eyes. "Oh, ter-RIF-ic! We got robbed, and you
didn't even report it!"
"Did you hear that, DW? They got robbed! Isn't that a case for
Darkwing Duck?" said Launchpad urgently.
"NO! A robbery at a hardware store- so what?! That sort of case
is a trifle, fit only for the police- IF them," said Drake. "Now,
maybe if they'd been robbed by someone in particular, like... Well,
who WOULD rob a hardware store?"
Meanwhile, the conversation between Henny and Beth continued.
"Who was it? Maybe we can get in a description or something...,"
said Henny, exasperated.
"Oh, I don't know- he wasn't so special or anything! He had a big
plug on his head...," said Beth. Drake stopped tugging at Launchpad at
this, and rushed back to the desk. Launchpad, relieved, followed.
"Oh, you mean the guy with the battery on his back? What a kook!
Looked like he'd stuck a finger in a few too many lightsockets!" said
Henny.
"Excuse me... You wouldn't happen to be talking about Megavolt,
would you?" asked Drake, trying to be nonchalent.
"Who?" they both said blankly. Drake muttered something and
smacked his hand onto his forehead.
"Listen, ladies, any information you can give me would be
extremely helpful," said Drake persuasively. He was happy to see
that Beth seemed to be willing to comply. All too willing, in fact-
she had an adoring look in her eye, and smiled at him sweetly.
"Well, he was about this tall," she began, and started to indicate
a height. She was cut off by Henny, who slapped a hand over her
mouth.
"Are you a police officer?" asked Henny.
Drake paused, considering considering his answer. "...Well, no, not
_technically_..."
"Then we're not going to be giving you any information, sorry. We
have a right to a lawyer!" she shouted, and then started in on Beth
again. "You know, I've been tolerant up until now. But I mean, if you
keep making trouble, I won't be able to get Employee of the Month for
the Bindler's chain anymore! You KNOW I'm going for a record..."
"Yes, I know," said Beth.
"It's _my_ job, you know. You're just the assistant here!" she
said.
"I know," said Beth dully. This was obviously a routine for them.
"What am I going to do now?" said Henny, knowing full well what
was going to be done.
"I'll gladly pay the money lost out of my own salary," said Beth,
none too gladly.
"Darn right you will," said Henny.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" said Launchpad. Drake, Henny,
and Beth all looked at him at once.
"I don't care HOW cute you are, sweetheart- keep your nose out of
other people's business!" said Henny.
"Are you going to be much longer, Mr. Chivalry? I'll be waiting
outside!" whispered Drake, having put up with all he could, and he
left.
With Drake's departure, something went out of Beth and she hung
her head. "I'm sorry, Henny. Okay?" she muttered. Henny decided to
save the rest of the berating for later so she could make a better
impression on the Hunk of the Month (who actually seemed to have
taken a shining to Beth- go fig).
"Yeah, I guess so. We'll talk later, okay? I'm going into the back,
call if you need anything." As she walked back through the door, she
turned and gave Launchpad a wink.
"Thank you for standing up for me," said Beth, still looking at the
floor.
"Aw, it was nothin'," said Launchpad, blushing. "Uh, my name's
Launchpad McQuack. Are you okay?"
She looked up and smiled at him, a trifle sadly. "Yes, I'm fine. My
name's Beth Webfoot."
"I remember. You told us earlier," he added, noticing her
confusion.
"Oh, right. Well, Mr. McQuack, um, what was your friend's name?"
she said, seeing her chance.
"Oh, you can call me Launchpad," he said, beaming at her.
"Well, then, you call me Beth!" she said, smiling genuinely.
"Okay. Well, my friend's name is Drake Mallard, and I..."
"Really! What a nice name! Does he have any hobbies?" she said,
pressing him.
"Uh... Well, not REALLY... There is ONE thing that he does to pass
the time, but...," he trailed off, and she pushed him on, grinning.
"Tell me! Maybe it's my hobby, too!"
"Uh, I really doubt it," he said, starting to catch on to what she
was doing. It was kind of depressing him. "It's kinda... unusual."
"So am I! Try me," she said, desperate to have a conversation
topic with Drake if she ever saw him again. At the word "unusual",
her heart fell a little. So he wasn't so normal, after all. But it was
probably only a little thing, she reasoned, and besides, no one could
be COMPLETELY ordinary.
Drake poked his head in the door. "Launchpad? If you can tear
yourself away for a moment...?"
"Sure thing, DW!" said Launchpad, and tried to leave before Beth
asked him what "DW" stood for.
"Well, so long! I hope we meet again some day!" she said, from
behind him. Drake rolled his eyes and went outside again.
"Yeah... that'd be nice," said Launchpad, turning around to smile at
her. She smiled back, and waved a little.
"Tell Mr. Mallard 'hi' for me," she said.
"I will," he vowed, trying not to let the disappointment show in
his voice as he turned and left.
*****
That night, Darkwing began his search for Megavolt. "Wait here,"
he instructed Launchpad, outside a large building, "and when I give
the signal from the roof, you come up and ambush Megavolt."
"Right-o, DW!" said Launchpad cheerfully, giving him a thumbs-up
sign. Darkwing returned it and set off to the roof of the building.
Launchpad, meanwhile, stood outside the building keeping an eye on
the roof. It was obvious that Darkwing hadn't been mistaken in his
deduction that Megavolt was here-- electricity, sometimes involving
large sparks almost the size of lightening bolts, permeated the air.
Inside the building, Darkwing discovered that all the power had
been drained. The interior was dark, except for a few generator-
powered lights, and that wasn't the only problem.
"Naturally," said Darkwing, sighing. "The elevator's out." With
that, he set off on a sixteen-story trek up the stairs.
Meanwhile, up on the roof...
"Two-hundred and seven, two-hundred and eight, two-hundred and
nine... *gasp!*" gasped Megavolt, looking over the odd, flimsy-looking
chain of wire and metal bolts before him. "What?!?!?!? Only two-
hundred and nine?!? I must have miscounted somewhere!" He
groaned a little at the prospect of counting the WHOLE THING all over
again, especially because this would be the third time in this half-
hour, including the time he was midway through when a big pigeon
came along and sat on his head. Megavolt wasn't sure what lured the
bird to his head, but the darned thing refused to fly away. Let's just
say there was now one less pigeon in the world, which Megavolt
figured was no great loss.
Suddenly, the door to the roof was flung open from the inside.
Darkwing, panting a little, whipped out his gas gun and shouted,
"SUCK GAS, EVILDOER!"
Of course, the gun still wasn't fixed, and it misfired. "Oh, yeah... I
keep forgetting about that...," said Darkwing as the gas once more
enveloped him. 'A pox upon that girl at the hardware store!' he
thought, unable to speak because of the coughing fit that now came
upon him.
Megavolt, on the other hand, was more than able to speak
(although thinking clearly might have been asking a little much).
"Well, well, well," he said, advancing on Darkwing as he choked in
the bluish cloud, "if it isn't the main guest at the BARBEQUE!" Little
sparks began to shoot out of Megavolt's pores as he charged himself
up.
*****
Meanwhile, at roughly the same time that Darkwing began
climbing the stairs to the roof of the building, Beth was just
finishing up counting out the money needed to pay off the "debt." She
counted out the last fifty cents in pennies- after all, you needed to
have the right amount of change- and then sighed and closed up the
shop.
As she walked out the door, she noticed that the air was
unusually charged that night- her hair seemed to be close to
standing on end because of all the static in the air. "Was that
lightening?" she asked herself, noting a burst of something
electrical out of the corner of her eye. When she was a little more
than a third of the way home, she reached the building upon which
Darkwing and Megavolt were having their little showdown.
Launchpad was standing outside the building, and Beth recognized
him and decided to go up and say hello.
"Hi," she said, coming up behind him. His face had been upturned,
towards the roof of the building, and at the sound of her voice he
jumped.
"Oh, hi," he said, turning around and smiling at her nervously.
"Soooo... How've you been?" he asked.
"Oh, fine... And you?" she said. He nodded and shrugged, still
nervous. "So, where's Mr. Mallard?"
"He had to... go to the grocery store," said Launchpad.
"Well, is he going to come back? I mean, any time soon?" she said
eagerly.
"I don't know for sure."
"So, what did he say when you guys left the store? Did he
mention me at all?" said Beth, getting more and more excited by the
second.
Launchpad sighed, his hopes of becoming the object of her
affections getting lower by the second.
Meanwhile, back on the roof, Darkwing recovered quickly from the
gas. He had long ago developed a tolerance and the right breathing
techniques to overcome such things as knockout gas, and this gave
him a great advantage over the common criminal. He executed a
flying kick at Megavolt, spouting an intimidating quack-fu phrase as
he went.
Behind them, their shadows loomed, battling each other violently.
Sparks were flying off of Megavolt and filling the air, providing
plenty of light and adding to the dramatic ambiance. The two
tussling titans continuously traded comments such as "Take that!"
"Had enough yet?" and the ever-popular "YEARRRGH!!!"
At this point, it was unclear as to who was winning. The shouts
continued to be heard dimly, even under Beth and Launchpad's
conversation.
"You know, I feel terrible for not having the bolt he needed. Were
you guys able to find one anywhere else?" she asked.
"No, it's kinda funny. See, apparently the only hardware store in
the area that carries them now is Bindler's!" said Launchpad.
"Hm. Oh, wait, now I remember- They've stopped making 4 1/4
double-plait bolts because they keep slipping out of things. But the
makers had a bunch of surplus ones or something, and Henny was able
to make this deal with them that we would get them until they ran
out. I'm not sure how she negotiated it... Actually, knowing Henny, I
don't think I WANT to know. But anyways, what I could do, see, is
put in a special order for the bolt and I'll get it in a couple of days,
on Monday or Tuesday. When I get off work that night I could just
come by and hand-deliver it," she explained. For the first time in her
life, she felt totally at ease talking to someone. She figured it was
because he was Drake Mallard's friend- just the fact that he was
close to Drake must put her nerves to rest.
In the background, Darkwing began signaling to Launchpad by
discreetly leaning his arm over the side of the building and waving
his hand four times. True, it was slightly obtuse for someone as
slow as Launchpad, but they had worked it out prior to the plan going
into effect, and it should have worked. It would have worked, in
fact, if only Launchpad had been looking at the building instead of
Beth.
"That'd be great!" said Launchpad to Beth, delighted at the
prospect of seeing her again. "Oh... Wait a minute. What time?"
"Well, I get off at around 8:30--" she began.
"Oh, that's no good. Drake and I are out every night starting at
around 7:30." He thought hard. "What time do you go to work?"
"Usually at about 9:00 a.m., and the store opens at 9:30 a.m."
"Well, you could come in before you go to open the store," he
suggested, not considering that Drake _really_ liked to sleep late.
"That's great! Just give me your address..." she said, taking out a
little piece of paper and a pen.
Behind them, Darkwing continued to signal. He had passed four
hand waves quite some time ago, and actually right now it was more
like he was just shaking his arm. Megavolt pulled him backwards,
and there were a few zapping sounds.
"...Okay, great! I'll put in the order tomorrow and be by in a couple
of days!" said Beth, putting the beloved slip of paper into her pocket
and walking off, looking over her shoulder and waving.
"Bye," said Launchpad. Naturally a chipper person, his old cheery
disposition had returned and he was eagerly looking forward to
having her come over. He casually turned back towards the building
and something flared in his mind... Something he was supposed to be
doing. Something IMPORTANT.
He looked up at the roof quickly, just as Darkwing made one last
desperate attempt at a signal-- leaning so far over the side of the
roof he looked like he was about to fall over, he hollered
"LAUNCHPAAAAAAAAAD!!" at the top of his lungs. Promptly, he was
once again pulled back by Megavolt.
"Uh-oh," said Launchpad, and darted to the building's stairs. He
made it up onto the roof just in time to see Megavolt, looking
slightly frayed around the edges-- although that was normal--
heaving a big bag over his shoulder and preparing to jump off the
edge of the roof.
Darkwing, on the other hand, was looking more than slightly
frayed-- actually, he was closer to fried-- around the edges, and
was lying on the ground.
"Next time, Duck!" said Megavolt, giggling madly, and he stepped
off the edge. "Oh, yeah-- I was up REAL high," he said as he
plummeted sixteen stories straight down. As Launchpad tended to
Darkwing, a long, continuous scream began. It ended abruptly at the
sound of a heavy thud, and then a low moan floated up.
"Well, niiiiice job, LP! What were you doing down there, getting a
kitten out of a tree?! Or maybe you went to get some coffee!" said
Darkwing angrily as Launchpad wiped soot off of his jacket for him.
"Gee, I'm sorry, DW! I was talking to Beth!" said Launchpad,
helping Darkwing up.
"Beth?! Who the heck is Beth?" said Darkwing. He paused a little
and arched his back, and a loud "crack!" filled the air.
"Don't you remember? That girl at the hardware store?" said
Launchpad, trying to jog his memory.
"Oh... which one?"
"The pretty one," said Launchpad, sighing at the memory of her.
"Oh, the one with the glasses that you liked? Right... Well, the
next time you're talking to your girlfriend, remember that you're MY
sidekick! Because of you, Megavolt got away!"
"Aw," said Launchpad, blushing, "she's not my GIRLfriend..."
*****
A bit later, Megavolt was recovering on a distant rooftop, and had
resigned himself to recounting his bolts. "Two-hundred and...
eiiiiight.... two-hundred and niiiiiiinne.... D'oh! How can I only have
come up with two-hundred and nine? I asked for two-hundred and
ten bolts! That little ditz at the hardware store shortchanged me!
HOW CAN I TAKE OVER THE CITY, IF I CAN'T GET THE SERVICE I NEED
TO GET ONE MEASLY BOLT???!!" he yelled into the late night sky, then
realized that this was a great way of letting Darkwing know where
he was. "Wow, I sure wish I could take _that_ back... Oh, well, I left
that duck in need of intensive care! Let's see, what am I gonna do... I
suppose I could go to another hardware store, but that's really such a
waste of a day when I only need one more..." He sat, pondering his
dilemma, when his attention was distracted-- admittedly not a hard
thing to do-- by something on the street below.
Beth was walking home, talking to herself. "Why, Drake, this is
all so sudden! Well, of COURSE I'll marry you, my little apple pie-
cake...," she was saying, and suddenly stopped. "Yeah, right, like I
could ever even call him Drake," she said in a sudden burst of reality.
"Ah, it's hopeless." She walked slowly, looking down at the
pavement, and this was how she noticed the small metal object lying
just in front of her feet.
"Is that-- it is! What are the odds of finding a 4 1/4 double-plait
bolt lying on the pavement in front of me like that!" she said to
herself. At this, Megavolt's ears perked up and he leaned forward to
get a better glimpse of her.
Excited, he started to get down off of the top of the building to
follow her, but then remembered his bag of the bolts he already had
and went back for them. While she was out of his sight, she reached
her house-- a small, shabby-looking place just a few houses down
from where Megavolt was sitting. She got out her key, and by the
time Megavolt turned around again with his bag over his shoulder,
she had let herself in and was gone.
"What the-- she didn't just disappear, did she?! Huh, maybe she
did!" he said, but set off to find her anyway.
*****
The next day, which was a Saturday, Beth awoke early and got
ready. She spent nearly an hour in the bathroom, showering and
primping, and ended by brushing her teeth. Singing to herself, she
exited the bathroom, and took the bolt from the bedstand where she'd
left it.
"You're my link to him, little 4 1/4 double-plait bolt. Send him
my love- even if he has a girlfriend already, deliver my love to him,"
she whispered, and then kissed it on the top. Suddenly she thought
about what she had just done, and returned to the bathroom to brush
her teeth again.
Later, at the house of Drake Mallard, Beth walked up the sidewalk
nervously and rang the doorbell. The door was answered by a young
red-haired girl, who couldn't have been out of elementary school yet.
"Can I help you?" she said politely, although it was obvious she
didn't really care and would rather have gotten back to her cartoons
or video game or whatever it was that kids did these days.
Beth, confused, checked the slip of paper that the address had
carefully been printed on the night before. "Um... I'm sorry, I think I
must have the wrong house... This is the right address, isn't it? 537
Avian Way?" she asked, handing Gosalyn the piece of paper.
"Yeah, that's us... Did you want to see Dad?" said Gos, hoping that
the woman wasn't trying to sell anything, because if she got her foot
in the door now, Gos just might end up buying whatever it was, as
long as it was cool. This compulsive buying habit of hers never
failed to enrage her father.
"Oh-- wait, are you Launchpad's daughter?" said Beth, noticing
the red hair.
Gosalyn smirked, pondering the concept of being related to
_Launchpad_, and then gave off a little snort and shook her head.
"Nope, I'm Gosalyn Mallard. You want to talk to Launchpad?"
"Uh... No... I'm sorry, I didn't realize Mr. Mallard was married," said
Beth, slightly ashamed of herself, and confused as to why Launchpad
hadn't told her.
"He's not," said Gos, sort of confused herself. Where'd she get
THAT idea?
"He's not?" the conflicting feelings of relief and even greater
confusion battled within Beth. "Um... Divorced, then? I'm sorry..."
"No... I don't think he's ever been married," said Gosalyn, now truly
weirded out by whoever this woman was. She could still have been a
salesperson with a truly bizarre approach, or she may have just been
some wacko. Gosalyn prepared to slam and barricade the door.
Beth, meanwhile, got a funny look on her face after the last
comment as she tried to figure everything out. "Oh... OH."
"Oh, no-- not THAT," said Gos, suddenly realizing what the whole
confusion was about. "No, I'm adopted."
"Ohhhhhh! Oh-- I'm so sorry! I thought... well, never mind. Uh, my
name is Beth Webfoot, and I'm here to see your father," she said.
"Cool. C'mon in. He's still asleep, but I can wake him up," said
Gos as Beth stepped into the house.
"Oh, no, you don't have to do that, I can just--"
"DAAAAAAAAAD!!!!" yelled Gosalyn, up the stairs.
Beth was stunned silent by her vocal capacity for a moment, and
then she recovered. "Listen, you don't have to do that. It's not that
important. I don't want you to have to bother him."
"Oh, it's okay," Gosalyn assured her, just as Drake called
back,"WHAT, GOSALYN?"
"SOMEONE HERE TO SEE YOU!!"
"WHO?"
"I'M NOT TELLING!! YOU'LL HAVE TO COME DOWN AND FIND OUT!!"
"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON!"
"IT'S A WOMAN-- AND SHE'S CUTE!"
There was a pause, and then Drake yelled back down, "BE DOWN IN
A SECOND!"
"Won't you sit down?" said Gosalyn, turning back towards Beth.
"Thank you... Do you really think I'm cute?" she asked shyly.
Suddenly there were footsteps on the stairs. Beth's heart began to
pound furiously as she anticipated Drake's arrival, but was only
slightly let down to discover that it wasn't him. "Hi, Launchpad!" she
said cheerily. The sight of him made her feel a bit more at ease.
"Uh... Beth!" said Launchpad, who was coming down the stairs,
still in his robe, to see what the commotion was all about. "...Hi!" He
hadn't expected her to come by for at least another day, but mentally
kicked himself for not anticipating her. Realizing that he was
standing there in his robe, he began to get very self-conscious and
would maybe have said something more except that he was pushed
out of the way by Drake.
"Oh-- it's you," said Drake, seeing Beth sitting in his favorite
chair-- and incidentally, one of the two transporter chairs that led
to Darkwing Duck's headquarters.
"Hi!" she said, trying to be cheerful despite his less-than-
enthusiastic welcome.
"Okay, what is it? I WAS asleep, you know," he said, crossing his
arms and glaring first at her and then at Gosalyn for having let Beth
into the house.
"Well, I mean, it's 8:15... I didn't think it was _that_ early. Were
you out late last night?" said Beth apologetically.
Before Drake had the opportunity to come up with an excuse,
Launchpad cut in front of him and said, "Uh, we went...bowling. See,
we're part of a bowling league, and we go out every night."
He turned to see Drake glaring at him. "Right... bowling," said
Drake unenthusiastically. "Wait a minute-- how'd you get my
address?" He turned again to Launchpad, who looked sheepish and
shrugged.
"Well, anyway, I just came by to drop off this bolt I found last
night. Free of charge, too, since I never actually had to order it!" she
said, holding it out to him.
He took the bolt from her, looking it over carefully. Then he
looked up at her somewhat disdainfully. "Gee, thanks. I can die
happy now. Well, see ya, nice of you to stop in, sure am sorry you
have to leave so soon, have a nice life!" he said, pushing her gently
towards the door.
"Oh, I don't have to be going just yet," said Beth, mostly oblivious.
"'I don't have to be going yet'," he mimicked under his breath,
turning away from her.
"Yes, I can stay here for another good half hour. Henny _never_
comes to work on time," she said. She could sense, though, that he
didn't want her there. His back was sort of tense, and he had his
arms crossed in front of him. To pile on more proof, there was a
little vein in the back of his neck that was sticking out. That was
never a good sign.
Drake was in the middle of thinking hard of a way to get rid of
her, when his face lost all expression, his head fell forward limply,
and his whole body lost its vitality within a second. "Coffee break,"
he muttered tonelessly, and disappeared into the kitchen.
"I guess I better just go...," said Beth sadly, once Drake was out of
earshot.
"No, stay here! I- We like havin' you here," said Launchpad, trying
this best to keep her from leaving until he could think of a way to
invite her to come back. He glanced at Gosalyn, who had picked up a
soccer ball from the corner and was twirling it on her finger. "And
Gos, you know you're not supposed to play with that in the house."
"Get crucial! I'm not gonna break anything!" said Gosalyn, and if
that isn't a set-up line, we don't know what is.
"Oh, I should go... He doesn't like me," said Beth, very distinctly on
the verge of tears. Launchpad's heart went out to her.
"Aw, of course he likes you," he said tenderly.
"You really think so?" she said.
Launchpad nodded. However, at that moment, Drake came out
from the kitchen holding a large cup of coffee and said, "As I was
saying, Ms. Webfoot, Launchpad and I have quite a few things to do
today, so why don't we just see you some other time?" Beth was
simultaneously elated that he had remembered her last name, and
crushed to find out that her suspicions had been correct, and he
didn't want her there.
The door from the kitchen swung in his wake as he came out of
the kitchen, and it knocked the soccer ball from the tip of Gosalyn's
finger directly toward a fragile-looking lamp on a table. Everyone
gasped, and time seemed to stand still.
Moving in slow motion, Beth made a leap for the lamp and fell on
the ground behind the couch, just as the lamp fell. Everything was
deathly silent.
After a moment, she held her arm up just above the visiblity line
of the couch, holding the lamp-- which was still intact. A huge sigh
of relief washed over the spectators, and speech was once again
permitted.
"Gosalyn, I've told you over and over not to play sports in the
house! Oh, my favorite lamp!" said Drake, grabbing it from Beth's
extended hand and holding it protectively. "Every place I move it to,
you find some way to nearly destroy it!" Launchpad went around and
helped Beth to her feet.
"Sorry, Dad. But I keep telling you, keeping it here is just asking
for trouble!" said Gos, never one to accept a scolding.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to keep it in a storage warehouse,
like YOU suggested!"
"Cool save, Beth!" said Gosalyn, ignoring her father.
"Oh-- thank you. I have a lot of little brothers and sisters, and in
a house like that, you have to move fast," said Beth, playing off the
compliment.
"It WAS cool!" said Launchpad, admiration evident in his voice.
"Wasn't it, Drake?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so," said Drake somewhat distractedly as
he clutched his lamp.
"Hey, did you say you have a lot of brothers and sisters?" asked
Launchpad, an idea forming slowly in his mind.
"Well, yeah...," said Beth.
"So... You know how to take care of kids, right?" he continued.
"Oh, definitely," she said.
Launchpad went over to Drake and said in a low voice, "Get it,
DW? She could babysit for Gos!"
"No! I don't want her in my house! We barely know her!" snapped
Drake. Launchpad was thankful he was whispering.
"Aw, come on, DW! She's trustworthy! She came out all this way
just to give you that bolt! Besides, she seems like she'd be great
with kids..."
Drake looked at Beth, who was watching Gosalyn closely as she
picked up the soccer ball again. "Um, I wouldn't go through the whole
thing again if I were you," she advised her. Gosalyn sighed, but she
listened to Beth and put the ball down.
"Well... maybe you're right. I mean, it couldn't hurt...," said Drake.
Launchpad beamed. "Say, Ms. Webfoot?"
"Yes, Mr. Mallard?" said Beth instantly. Despite her eager answer,
she was expecting no more than another 'We'll see you later'
dismissal.
Instead, Drake said, "Are you available to babysit in the
evenings?"
"Uh?" said Beth, stunned by the resemblance this was taking to
her fantasies. (Beth was the type of girl who had some _really_
tame fantasies, as opposed to Henny, who had interesting dreams
concerning Jello and Reddi-whip. When she once took the time to
explain these to her coworker, Beth had gotten really flustered and
embarrassed and turned a deep shade of pink.)
"WHAT?!" yelled Gosalyn at the top of her lungs. "Since when do I
need a babysitter?"
Drake carried on as if she wasn't there. "You know, come in every
evening to take care of Gosalyn, make sure she doesn't blow up the
house, the like. Interested?" For the moment, he himself was
mostly interested in getting Beth out of the house ASAP. After all,
it WAS only 8:30 in the morning.
"Well, sure, okay!" said Beth happily.
"Great. You can just come by when you get off from work, and
then leave at around midnight, after making sure she's asleep," Drake
explained as Gos cried persistantly that she was too old for that
sort of thing. "What time do you get off from work, anyway?"
"Well," she began. The store closed at eight, and Beth usually left
at around eight-thirty. Henny left at about six- even though she
could get into a lot of trouble that way- and usually got Beth to
cover for her. Beth had often told the store's owners that the store
needed to stay open until at least eleven o'clock, because people
would come in at any time, but Henny had managed to convince them
that St. Canard had no real need for an evening hardware store, so
that she would be able to keep from working late. "I get off at 7:00,"
she lied. 8:00 would probably be okay, but she wanted desperately to
be able to see Drake before he left. It was about time for Henny to
start staying for her whole shift.
"Fine, then. As I was saying, you can leave after midnight,
Launchpad and I should be back a little while later." In fact, it would
be about 5 hours later, but Beth didn't need to know that. "So, how
much do you charge?"
Gosalyn gave up and started planning her revenge on her father.
Beth smiled. "Heck, you don't have to pay me anything."
"Oh, okay. Well, that's settled, then--" said Drake, and was
promptly cornered by Gosalyn and Launchpad.
"Pay her," whispered Launchpad firmly.
"Pay her a LOT. She's taking care of ME, you know," said Gosalyn.
"But-- but she just said--"
"That doesn't matter. _Pay her_," hissed Gos, and Launchpad
nodded.
"Fine, fine. Ah, how's... $10 an evening sound?" he said aloud to
Beth. She looked surprised.
"More," said Launchpad out of the corner of his mouth as Gosalyn
elbowed him.
"I mean $20. Is THAT okay?!" said Drake, feeling his wallet
groaning.
"Oh, that's too much! I couldn't possibly take that much!" said
Beth.
"Take it. Just take it," said Drake through clenched teeth. Gos
and Launchpad smiled in approval.
"Well... okay," she said. "I guess that's all I came for. You have
the bolt?" she said, remembering what she was doing there in the
first place.
"Oh, yeah, it's on the coffee table over there. _Bye_," prompted
Drake.
"Bye!" said Launchpad and Gosalyn, smiling.
"Bye...," said Beth reluctantly. But as she was about to leave, the
door was flung open and Megavolt stood on the front step.
*****
"Boy, you really gave me some chase! Where WERE you all night?"
exclaimed Megavolt to Beth as he stumbled into the house,
exhausted.
"Um... At home, in bed?" asked Beth, utterly perplexed and not
sure why she was telling Megavolt this.
"What?! Is this some sort of trap?" yelled Drake.
"No, no-- I have no idea who he is! What's going on?" said Beth,
confusion not only setting in but actually taking control of her mind.
"Okay, look, I don't have all day. Where is it?" said Megavolt as he walked up to her.
"Where's what?" said Beth.
"You know perfectly well what!" he said, putting down his hand as
a balance on the coffee table. "YOW!" he yelled, pulling his hand back
in a flash. "Oh... Heh heh... Here it is," he said, picking up the bolt
that he had just smashed his hand into. "At last, the final component
to my plan! Things will all fall into place now!"
"Hey, hey, wait a minute! You're that guy who stole all the 4 1/4
bolts!" said Beth, finally recognizing him.
"I am? Oh, yeah, I mean, of COURSE I am! Boy, are you slow!
Well, it's been fun, but I must be going now! See you when I've taken
over the city!" he said, heading for the door.
Drake ran after him. "Oh, no you don't, Megavolt! Your dastardly
schemes won't be fulfilled as long as I'm here to stop you!"
Megavolt stopped, his fist clenching.
"What do you do, take diction lessons from that DUCK?!" he said,
whirling around, just the thought of Darkwing being enough to raise
his hackles and goad him into a near-frenzy.
Seeing that Drake was in danger of being electrocuted, Gosalyn's
only thought was to distract Megavolt from her father. She did this
by diving at his legs and throwing him to the ground. Unfortunately,
she didn't think things through far enough to really be able to figure
out what to do next. Megavolt recovered, and picked her up by the
back of her shirt as he got up off the floor.
"You won't be able to get away with this, you nutcase! Darkwing
Duck will put a stop to your plans!" she shouted as she hung in the
air, taking swings at him and just missing.
"Hey... Haven't we met somewhere, little girl?" he said, looking at
her closely.
"Well... there was that time that Darkwing Duck's good and bad
sides split apart because of that Tron Splitter thingie; and then
there was the time that you and Quackerjack went into the future in
the Time Top, and I got brought along, and it was up to me to get us
back to the present; and of course, the time that you and Darkwing
teamed up to defeat the three evil energy-freaks that came from
different parts of my brain...," said Gosalyn, ticking off each
occasion on her fingers.
As Gosalyn described her past meetings with Megavolt, Drake
worried. "Launchpad, your friend is real fly in the ointment!" he
whispered fiercely. "I can't find a way to leave the room and get
into costume with her here. Maybe we'll get lucky and Megavolt will
electrocute her..."
"Hey! She doesn't deserve to be electrocuted!" said Launchpad
defensively.
Meanwhile, an idea was forming in Megavolt's overactive brain.
"So, then... you know Darkwing Duck?" he asked Gosalyn.
"Do I! He's a close personal friend, so you better let me go _right
now_ or else he'll track you down and--"
"A close personal friend, huh? Well !" he said, turning to Drake.
"You just tell good old Dripwing Duck that I have his Close Personal
Friend, and if he ever wants to see her again, he'll meet me on that
building we were on last night, alone at midnight exactly! No sooner,
or she's toast! Arrivederci!" he shouted, and ran off with Gosalyn in
tow.
"Oh, my gosh, Drake-- he took your daughter!" exclaimed Beth,
miraculously overstating the obvious.
Drake looked at her. "I think it's really time you left now," he
said coldly.
"Okay," she said, backing towards the door. "I'm really, really
sorry. _Extremely_ sorry. Oh, words can't express how sorry I am,"
she said as she swallowed nervously. Drake slowly advanced on her.
"_Get out_," he said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, okay, I'm out, see?" she said, stepping out of the door, still
walking backwards. "I guess this means I shouldn't come over
tonight to babys--" She was cut off as he slammed the door on her.
"Launchpad, I'm going to need some quiet for the next few hours.
I have to come up with a plan, and if you have anything to say about it, you can go join your girlfriend outside. Understood?"
Launchpad nodded. When Drake was in this mood, the best thing
to do was not to say anything at all unless he asked you to. He
wondered silently if he'd ever see Beth again-- or Gosalyn, for that
matter.
*****
That night, up on the rooftop...
Gosalyn was tied to a chair, but was yelling threats at Megavolt
practically nonstop. This was making it extremely hard for him to
count the bolts in his wire-chain, and so even though he'd come up
with two-hundred and ten this time, he thought it best to recount
them.
"Will you SHUT UP?!" he yelled at the girl. Why he hadn't bothered
to gag her, he didn't know.
"Yeah, right! Does this BOTHER you, Megavolt? Oh, I'm SO sorry!
Here, let me apologize as much as I can!" she shouted at him,
wriggling around in her chair.
"Hey, just be quiet for five minutes, and let me count the bolts,
okay? It won't take that long!" he said. He'd realized a short while
ago that he'd made a slight mistake in kidnapping THIS girl. He'd
remembered her after a little while. She was loud, and annoying,
and... spirited. Bad, very bad.
"_Again_?!? You've counted them three times already! I think
you've gotten it accurate by now!" she said.
"Okay... I'll strike up a deal with you. I won't count the bolts
again, if you'll GIVE ME SOME PEACE AND QUIET SO I CAN HEAR
MYSELF THINK!!!!"
She sighed, unwavered by his screaming. "_Fine_." she said,
rolling her eyes. She actually was sort of relieved- she was
starting to get tired, but she'd never admit it to Megavolt. There
was silence between them for once.
"Hey, put your finger right here," said Megavolt suddenly, pointing
to a little metal plate on the chain.
"Uh... no, thanks," said Gosalyn, eyeing it suspiciously.
"Well it wouldn't do anything BAD," he said. "Just send several
thousand volts through your body, while simultaneously sapping you
of your own personal electricity." He paused momentarily to
consider the effect that might have. "...Actually, come to think of it,
I guess that is pretty bad..."
"But WHY?" she asked.
"Why is it bad? Because you could get hurt! And I thought you
were kind of bright... heh, you'd be really bright if you'd touch the
plate... Get it? Electricity, bright...," he started to chuckle a little.
"No, no, no, I mean why should I touch it?"
"Because I want you to!" he said, like it was the answer to
everyone's problems. "Come on, I need a test subject! Please?"
She continued to refuse him. "Why don't you try it out on
yourself?" she asked.
"That wouldn't work! My personal polarity is different from that
of normal people's! See?" he said, placing his finger onto the plate,
and promptly going into a huge and violent electrical backlash. "Well
I'll be--! Wonder why that happened?" he said as the smoke cleared.
He started tinkering with it to figure out the problem. "Oh, I see-- I
had it hooked up to negative to positive instead of positive to
negative! THERE we go!
"I suppose," he continued, having regained his 'composure', "that
you are wondering what all this is supposed to accomplish?"
"Not really..."
"Well, I'm in the mood to gloat, so listen! With this hookup, I'll be
able to absorb all the electricity in the city- including that of
people! I'll be so powerful- I'll be like a GOD! And then I'll kick all
the people out of the city, and give it over to the lightbulbs! My first
conquest will be that do-gooder, Darkwing Duck!" Megavolt's focus
drifted away from Gosalyn as he began to think of what it would be
like to get his hooks on Darkwing. "Boy, will it ever be satisfying to
finally see him floundering like a fish out of water... Twisting as the
electricity hits him like a Mack truck... Hee hee hee... Roast duck,
anyone?" he began laughing maniacally, leaving Gosalyn to worry.
*****
"Aw... It's eleven fifty-nine! Where IS he?" said Megavolt as he
stood on the edge of the roof. "Don't you mean beans to him?" he
said, returning to Gosalyn. He noticed that she was holding her hand
tightly behind her back, but nothing looked out of place... and besides,
there was no way she could do anything even if she DID have her hand
free.
Suddenly, a series of small beeps went off from the alarm clock
that Megavolt had brought with him, chiming twelve o'clock.
Megavolt looked behind him; where a moment ago, there had been
nothing, now Darkwing Duck stood enveloped in shadow. His cape
billowed out behind him in the breeze as he regarded his nemesis
coldly and said, "Where is she? Prove that she's all right."
"Well? He's waiting!" said Megavolt to Gosalyn, stepping to the
right to reveal her to Darkwing.
"Darkwing! I'm okay! Don't come any closer!" she shouted
urgently, trying to warn him.
"I'll let her go if you give yourself up!" said Megavolt shrewdly.
Darkwing sighed heavily, but didn't even pause to weigh his
options before nodding in agreement. "_Don't_, Darkwing! It's a
_trap_!" shouted Gosalyn as Darkwing approached Megavolt.
"I know," he sighed, looking at her somewhat sadly.
"Quiet, you," said Megavolt. As agreed, he released her from her
bonds, but she stood steadfast where she was, refusing to leave.
"Get going! What's your problem?" said Megavolt.
"No! I'm not going anywhere!" she said angrily.
"Gosalyn... listen to me. You have to go. Don't you know that it
would kill your father if anything ever happened to you? You're the
most important thing in his life," said Darkwing solemnly. "Things'll
work out. Have faith."
Tears came to her eyes as she realized she couldn't even hug him
without giving something away. Megavolt stood behind them
impatiently. "Okay," she said. Just as she turned to leave, she saw
Darkwing give her a little wink. 'He's got something up his sleeve,'
she thought. Hope came to her in a sudden surge. Remembering
Megavolt's plan, she crossed her fingers and hoped that things
worked the way they were supposed to.
"Now, Darkwing-- we've always had our little... differences, but
after all, we're both men of science, right? All I'm trying to do here
is conduct a little experiment! Yeah, so maybe I DID steal the bolts
instead of buying them! Is that a crime? Wait, disregard that last
part. Old habits are hard to break, don't you understand that? I bet
you still bite your fingernails from time to time...," said Megavolt in
a reasonable tone, pacing back and forth in front of Darkwing.
"Biting my nails is nothing compared to robbing banks, Megavolt!"
said Darkwing, and then realized what his arch-nemesis had just
said. "Wait-- how'd you know I used to bite my fingernails?"
"Aw, you did it all the time in high school," said Megavolt
casually.
Darkwing broke out in a sweat. Ever since discovering that
Megavolt was once known as Elmo Sputterspark, the nerd at Drake
Mallard's old high school, he had prayed that Megavolt would be
scramble-brained enough to forget the information of Darkwing's
secret identity. But now it seemed that the memory had resurfaced.
Thrown off-guard, Darkwing stuttered, "H-how do you remember
that?"
"Remember what?" said Megavolt, his face maintaining the same
vague expression as before while the possibly useful information
bypassed his permanent memory banks completely and circled back
to the Monster-Crusher Car Show that was his brain. "Distractions
won't get you anywhere, Darkwing, old pal! I'm not trying to HURT
you," he lied. "I just wanted a chance to talk to you straight! I'm
really not a violent person. See, I need someone to act as a test
subject for this little experiment of mine. I could have used your
Personal Friend, but I thought you'd be a much better choice. All you
have to do is just put your finger on this little metal pad, and I'll
record your reaction! Then you're free to go! Deal?"
'Okay... risk life and limb by doing what he wants, or risk life and
limb by NOT doing what he wants... What choice do I have, really?'
thought Darkwing, and agreed to the "experiment".
He reached out slowly and placed his finger on the plate--
nothing happened.
"What the-- you should be nothing but a smoking pile of ashes
now!" cried Megavolt, shoving Darkwing out of the way and putting
his own finger on the plate. As before, he went through a complex
and painful looking reaction to the electricity. "D'OHHHHH-- That kid
must have rigged it negative to positive! I'll get her for this!" he
said as he collapsed. "Hey-- my sinuses are clear!"
'What now?' thought Darkwing, watching his enemy lie on the
ground, recovering. He considered flipping Megavolt with a Nostril
Twist to knock him out all the way, but then thought the better of it
after realizing that Megavolt was still streaming with electrical
activity and was possibly acting as a conductor. Not to mention that
he had said that his sinuses had cleared, so who knew what ELSE was
streaming around here. 'Of course,' he thought, 'the gas gun!'
Fortunately, as he withdrew it he remembered the severe
limitations on the instrument for the moment. Looking around, he
noticed the chain of bolts and recognized them as 4 1/4 double-plait
bolts, and in a lightening move grabbed one and stuck it in the
according place.
Raising the gun menacingly, he shouted, "SUCK GAS, EVILDOER!"
Megavolt, who was just raising himself up, groaned and collapsed
again as he was surrounded by a cloud of bluish-gray gas.
Refusing to give up, though, Megavolt once again tried to elevate
himself, this time charging himself up as much as he could. In his
current weakened state, there wasn't much he could do for himself,
but he tried. Recognizing the danger, Darkwing decided to deliver
the "coup de grace" and execute the Belly Bounce. But of course, the
only time he ever had been able to do it was by accident, and so he
still couldn't get it quite right and ended up merely knocking both of
them over.
"Ah-hah!" shouted Megavolt, gaining the upper hand, and he gave
Darkwing a minor shock as he pinned him to the ground.
"Ah-HAH!" yelled Darkwing, recovering and flipping Megavolt over
so that HE was pinned. This had no effect on Megavolt's frame of
mind, and he was still able to get in a good couple of electric shocks
again. The two tussled, rolling around on the ground and raising a
combination of dust and smoke caused by the electricity. Eventually,
the smoke cleared and Darkwing stood TRIUMPHANT! (Yep, yep, yep...
Was there ever a doubt?)
*****
The next night, at the hardware store...
Darkwing Duck was on the 7:00 news. They were trying to give an
account of the events of the previous evening, and if Beth had been
there, she would have known that the facts they were reporting were
grossly inaccurate. "In a daring rescue, Darkwing Duck defeated
Megavolt and rescued defenseless youngster Gosalyn Mallard last
night..."
"Pffff-- defenseless... Yeah, right," said Beth to herself. Even if
she HADN'T been there, she still knew that there was NO way Gosalyn
was "defenseless".
"No, I wasn't talking to you," she said into the phone, and paused,
scowling. "Henny, I can't cover for you tonight. I CAN'T work late
tonight... I have a job. I know. It's a new job, it-- Henny! No, I don't
have a date with Launchpad. ...He's the one with the red hair that you
thought was cute. Yes, I'm on a first name basis with him, he's my
friend, what do you exp-- I'm NOT dating him! No, it's not a date
with Drake either! ...I mean, Mr. Mallard." She paused again, rolling
her eyes. This was a side of herself that she was deeply ashamed of,
and couldn't stand to show to anyone. She saw the fact that she
EVER was impatient with anyone as an awful character trait for
herself.
"I can't stay to close the store tonight, I have to go right now!
Well, maybe you should try putting in an honest day's work if you
want to LEGITIMATELY earn 'Employee of the Month'....No, Henny, I
didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I'll cover for you later, okay? Yeah. But I
really have to go. What? I-- what? I can't make out a word you're
saying! This static is terrible! I have to be going, I have to babysit!
Bye!" She hung up and, humming, grabbed her bag and walked out the
door.
As she walked, vaguely happy and vaguely worried, a small vine
grew up unnoticed out of a sewer grate.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next: A little love story (sorta...)
Copyright Rebecca Littlehales, 1995. Beth Webfoot and Henny
Chickstein created by me, R. Littlehales; all other characters are
owned by Disney and are used without permission; that's why I'm
nice to 'em. :) This story may be duplicated as long as it is not sold
or altered in any form. You may not make money off of this story.
(How could you, anyway??) You may not let your dog chew on this
story... at least, if you do, I'll be very sad and I'll cry. :(
This story has been printed in the APA "WFTB".
My sincere thanks to Kevin Mickel (HKUriah@aol.com) and Kim
McFarland (Negaduck9@aol.com) for their helping me in revising this.
