Hya, everybody, and welcome to Felidae's very first Darkwing Duck story!

Truth be told, I have so many other started stories, I should finish these ones fi-eh? Sorry, my muse just tried to strangle me. I really should stop bothering her, when my schedule is as packed as it is. *cough* As I was saying, I have been out of writing for quite some time, so please be lenient with me; I'm a tad bit rusty.

This is the first instalment of my personal DW challenge; twenty-six stories centred around our favourite caped crime-fighter. There'll be one-shots, action-packed novels, cooky comedies, weird romance and the usual brouhaha that comes with St Canard's protector and family.

So there, without much further ado, read, enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: Darkwing Duck and all related characters belong to Disney. This is done for pure entertainment and without no profit what so ever.

Warnings: PG-13, though I'm not aware of any grave violence or swear words.

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Zenith

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Smoothly, the shadow glided past the carrier beams, ducked to avoid being silhouetted against the large, battered and dirtied bay windows and crept closer to the lone figure standing in the centre of the empty fabrication hall. Nervously, the person below turned their head to all sides; although they could feel that something was wrong, it was obvious that they were unaware of their observer.
Still glancing around for any possible intruders, Megavolt pulled the remote control for the newest version of the Delurian 3000TM out of his vest pocket and hit the 'On' button.
Nothing happened.
Again, Megavolt pressed the highlighted knob, but the expected whirr of the1.4 Megawatt powered engine didn't arise. Furious, the electrically enhanced maniac repeatedly hammered the button, but to no avail.

"Nice try, Megavolt, but as you no doubt have already realized, your attempts at stealing the Delurian 3000TM are bound to failure. Especially since I took the precaution of removing the ignition wire!"
Panicked, Megavolt swerved around, searching the bizarre mosaic of darkness and dim light for the source of the voice.
"Wha-who said that? Where are you? Show yourself, you coward!"
A dark, vaguely familiar chuckle made the hairs on the villain's neck stand on end, and then the voice boomed:
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!"
Megavolt rolled his eyes and palmed his face.
"Oh golly! Not him again..!"
"I am the lose horseshoe that makes your 80:1 runaway favourite trip on the finish line!"
Megavolt trembled with anger. "Ooouhh, that's what cost me my life savings -and my favourite lime-green suit!" he seethed, as he replaced the remote control with his laser pistol and checked if he was fully charged.
A smoke bomb went off only a few feet to his left. Megavolt aimed into the blue vapour, even as the voice concluded: "I am DARKWING DUCK!"
"And in a second you'll be Deadwing Duck, duck!" screeched Megavolt, shooting a bolt of concentrated electricity into the dissolving screen. Which, to his utter surprise, revealed -nothing.

"Looking for me, Megavolt?" came Darkwing's voice from over the miscreant's shoulder. Who squeaked in surprise, twisted around -and met face-first with a waiting fist, the blow making him lose his laser pistol. Stumbling backwards, the felon held his hurting nose with one gloved hand, trying to will away the stars before his eyes. "Well, what have we got here, Sparky? Playing with toy cars again?" teased the masked mallard, as he stepped closer.
"DON'T CALL ME SPARKY! I hate it when you call me that!"
A flicker appeared at the tip of Megavolt's index finger. Pointing at Darkwing, he bellowed:
"Let's see how well you can dance, duck!"
With a squawk, Darkwing backflipped and escaped the electrical assault. Again and again, he somersaulted, hopped and evaded being electrocuted, much to Megavolt's chagrin.

"Would you hold still so I can turn you into a crispy stain on the floor?" he foamed. Ducking and rolling out of harm's way, Darkwing taunted,
"Not likely, you egregious, emaciated, electrically enhanced evil-doer! I'll have you wrapped up and ready for transport before the cops even realize that you've triggered the silent alarm."
Puzzled, Megavolt stopped his shooting to scratch his head in confusion.
"Silent alarm? But that's impossible. I rerouted the entire alarm system into a self-repetitive cycle and -hey!"

Like a purple bolt Darkwing launched himself at his nemesis, bringing them both down. Rolling across the floor, they traded blows and insults, before Megavolt managed to shake off the vigilante with a well-placed spark. Darkwing yelped and shot five feet high in the air, holding his singed tail feathers, even as Megavolt scrambled for his laser pistol. Growling, Darkwing reached for his trusted gas gun and snarled,
"Oh no, you don't!"
"Wanna bet?" cackled Megavolt, weapon in hand. He took aim, Darkwing pulled the trigger...

Both guns went off at the same time. The electric bolt hit the gas canister dead on, sending it spiralling into a bucket of oily rugs, a maintenance worker had forgotten, where it exploded. Immediately, the soaked cloth caught fire. Both Megavolt and Darkwing gaped at the miniscule flames, then the rat took advantage of the caped crime-fighter's distraction and struck him down with a haphazard shot.

Cackling, Megavolt made for the exit.
"Bye-bye- Dimwit! I'd love to stay, but as they say: the rat who runs away, gets to rob another day! Ahahahahaaa!"
"Not..likely.." rasped Darkwing, loaded his gun with the grapple hook and aimed for the water faucet across the fabric hall. Megavolt barely had time to register the whirr of the projectile breezing past him when the hook had already found and twisted open the handle.
"Uh-oh!" was all Megavolt managed to say, just before a blast of water hit him dead-on, short-circuiting him.

Grunting, Darkwing marched over to where the scorched villain lay in a puddle of water and forced the faucet closed. Naturally, that was the very exact moment the smoke detector finally decided to take notice of the still smouldering oil rags and set off the sprinklers.
Darkwing wasted one moment to gaze at the drizzle soaking his hat, then scowled.
"Terrific. And I just had this suit pressed."
In a decidedly darker mood Darkwing bound the semi-conscious Megavolt with his rope and pushed him out the hall via fire exit.
"Come on; I'm sure the police commissioner would like to have a word with you about breaking into a scientific research facility and trying to steal yet another priceless electric car. And before it's even built, too."
"What?" sputtered Megavolt incredulous, struggling against his binds,
"But-but the news said-!" Darkwing shook his head.

"No, the news only reported that all the individual pieces had been finished and brought here. They're going to assemble the parts tomorrow in a special life feed."
Megavolt stared at Darkwing's smug grin, then bawled,
"All the hard work for nothing! I spent hours figuring out how to override the alarm system, and for what? A pile of worthless junk and wires! That's so unfair!"
He paused, then turned to glare at the vigilante.
"But you-!"
Darkwing rose one hand in defence.
"I had nothing to do with the scheduling of the report or the assemblage. But I knew you couldn't resist the new Delurian; seeing as how the old one had already drawn you like the flame does a moth."
"Yeah, and thanks to a certain crime-fighter, the poor Delurian ended in a Matchbox case!" snapped Megavolt. Darkwing cleared his throat embarrassedly, as he steered his captive towards the main gate. Already, they sirens could be heard in the distance. Darkwing shouldered the slender nemesis and with little difficulty scaled the iron bars.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Megavolt had learned from his previous mistakes. Hidden within a secret, waterproof sealed compartment inside his left glove lay a single battery. Given, it had nowhere enough power to help him recharge, but it still held enough wattage to generate a spark.
And that spark was all he needed.

While Darkwing hefted the both of them over the gate's crown and landed safely on the other side, Megavolt was busy scorching the ties around his wrists.
"See? That wasn't so bad, now was i-"
The lights hit them even before the sound of screeching tires met their ears. Flinching away from the spotlights, Darkwing rose his hands to shade his eyes in order to make out the-
"News wagon! Oh great! Where's the police when you need them?"
Megavolt, whose eyes were used to sudden flashes of brightness and adjusted almost instantly, seized the opportunity. Pouring all his remaining energy into one finger, he managed a flare strong enough to burn through the rope.

At that exact moment the doors of the news van slid open and out jumped Roger Lockjaw, his trusty cameraman hot on his heels.
"We're life at the St. Canard Research Facility, where a few moments ago the police reported that both the silent as well as the fire alarm had been triggered. And, unsurprising, we find the self-proclaimed hero and public menace Darkfling Duck holding captive a poor innocent citizen-"
"That's DarkWING Duck!" barked the vigilante, still holding on to Megavolt's arm.
"And who are you calling a menace? I just stopped Megavolt from stealing- hey, hey! Where do you think you're going?" bellowed Darkwing, when he felt the rat twist out of his grip.
He reached out to grab the villain's scruff -and drew his hand back with a surprised yowl, when Megavolt scorched his limb. With a taunting snigger, Megavolt turned tails and ran off, shouting,
"So long, duck! Been nice heating ya!"
Growling, Darkwing took off after him -and almost got his neck broken, when his cape was pulled back by Roger Lockjaw.

"Not so fast, Dartwing; did you just let a known felon escape from underneath your nose?"
"What?" Indignantly, Darkwing bodily removed his cape from the reporter's grasp; his patience steadily wearing thinner.
"I didn't let him escape! And to proof it, I'll capture him right away!"
Two steps was as far as he got, before Lockjaw planted his foot on the vigilante's cape, causing this one to turn an interesting shade of blue, and declared to the camera,
"Once again, this so-called hero let a dangerous criminal escape. Said criminal, who probably almost set fire to the very hall in which the new Delurian3000TM will be presented in a few hours. Again, I cannot help but wonder, what kind of hero let's a fiend like Megavolt escape so easily?"

By now, Darkwing was seething with anger, when he snarled,
"He got away because of you! You pompous-" Lockjaw positioned himself between the duck and the camera,
"And as always, he has an excuse ready for his failure. I ask you, dear viewers, how can the mayor allow such a dubious-"
"Now hold it right there, pal!" roared Darkwing beyond furious. Grabbing hold of Lockjaw's lapels, he used the reporter's chest as toadstool, pressed his forehead against this one's and shouted,
"I have been risking my life for this town since before you were a simple PA on Channel Three's payroll! I go out there every other night to bring some piece and justice to this town and all I get is being ridiculed and chastised for it?! What is wrong with you people?"

Still fuming, he hopped down to earth level. Stunned, Roger Lockjaw regarded the vigilante.
Darkwing took a couple of calming breaths...and his whole body slumped. When his eyes opened, there was a look of such deep remorse in them, the cameraman couldn't help but stifle a gasp.
Addressing the viewers directly, the hero rasped:
"It's true, I have bumbled a couple of times in the past. Still, I try as best as I can, as I'm sure, each and everyone of you people of St. Canard do. Underneath this mask and cape, I'm just an average person. A normal civilian, trying to make the town a little bit safer, not only for himself, but also our children. If that doesn't count for anything..,"
he shook his head sadly, swallowing hard,
"then, I'm afraid, the city has no more use for this here hero."

Thus spoken, he turned and walked away, disappearing in a cloud of blue smoke.

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End of story*ducks various flying objects* -just kidding, just kidding, sheesh, can't you folks take a joke? There'll be more to it, no worries.
Next up: how will react to the news? And what will the criminal element think about Darkwing's retirement?
Will Gosalyn and Launchpad accept the hero's decision or fight both tooth and nails to get him back on the rooftops?
And what about the Fearsome Five? Morgana? The police? S. .H.? F.O.W.L.? The Netherlands? ..err, okay, I'm getting
carried away, here.

Stay tuned -or not- and check back every now and then. I might have a new chapter up..or not.

P.S: I'd like to know who is in charge of the formatting on this site -so I can hurt them.(ref. to DW#69: Fungus Amongus)