In-Production

Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a AU DWD fic, where the characters from the DWD show are actually just actors performing their roles in the show. Did that make any sense? Haha. If you will, this is sort of like a Roger Rabbit sort of thing, and how he and Baby Herman perform and then walk off stage where the humans are trying to work with them and get them to get the scenes right. This fic has been written for a friend and I hope it is well-liked. Give it a shot. J

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The night was chilly and dark as Darkwing Duck flew out from the jack-in-the-box that he had just been trapped inside of. Quackerjack, the childish jester convict, fell to the cement roof top of the building, passed out. Darkwing brushed himself off.

"Yep, yep, yep……Another villain wasted…" he grinned smugly. He was then attacked by a forced hug as Gosalyn Mallard rammed into him, holding him close.

"Dad! You're alright!!" she cried out in happiness.

Darkwing just smiled down at her. "That's right, Gos. It's all over." He hugged her back. The tender moment between the father and daughter lasted a good thirty seconds.

"CUUUUUUUT!!!!" cried a man's low voice.

Darkwing and Gosalyn looked up, letting go of each other. They smiled at each other and then went their separate ways. "Good work there, Gos!" called over Darkwing as he walked off the set. Quackerjack immediately bounced up from where he had been lying and bounced off.

The set was made to look as though the scene was taking place on the top of a high roof of an office building with several other set pieces behind the main set to make the illusion of other buildings in the background.

Behind the cameras, dozens of people were trying their hardest to get everything ready for the next shot. Darkwing walked off and walked into his dressing room while Gosalyn went and sat in her actor's chair, which had her name on the back. A woman came up to her and offered her a tray of candy. "Oooh, yeah! I'll have some of those!" she smiled, grabbing a handful of candy.

Quackerjack, who had bounced off the set as soon as 'cut' had been said, was also in his actor's chair, not far from Gosalyn, sitting there, slumped slightly with one leg over the other. He was talking on a cell phone that resembled a banana. "Oh, phoey…" he was saying. "You can't come by any sooner than that tomorrow?" He paused and waited for an answer. "Well…It's alright, love. I'll see you later today then, I guess. Bye."

Gosalyn, who was in earshot of Quackerjack, glanced over at the tall duck, stuffing a piece of candy into her mouth. She took a moment to chew, but didn't wait to finish it. "'Love'? I didn't know you had a girlfriend Quacky" she said between chews.

Quackerjack pulled back slightly, a frown on his face. "Errr….no…" Gosalyn gave him a curious look. "Well….It was an expression" he shrugged nervously, his banana phone in one hand.

Gosalyn just continued to give him an odd look before going back to her candy. Quackerjack sighed with relief when she didn't go into more questioning about his phone call. That had been too close. Far too close. He had been warned about this and speaking over the phone with him and yet he still let little things like that slip.

A tall canine director came up from off of the set with a large megaphone in his head, which he brought up to his mouth and shouted into it. "Alright, everyone Great job today! I think we could do a littler better…but since you won't listen to me anyhow…" There was some soft angry mumbles from everyone on the set. "Just---Just be here tomorrow at the same time!" The canine ended his speech, exasperated. One of the set workers came up to him and handed him a paper, which he quickly looked over and then sighed.

Darkwing looked up to him, standing in front of his acting chair. "What's is the matter with you Myers? Don't you think we're doing a good enough job? I mean, in last week's polls alone we were on the top of the charts!" he pointed out with an air of pride.

Myers, the director known for never being satisfied, looked down at Darkwing with a sour look. "Listen Dark, I don't care if we're on top of the charts….Other cartoons will soon beat us and when that happens, there goes our jobs!" In emphasis, he threw down his large red megaphone.

Darkwing sighed, shaking his head. He reached a hand up and tried placing it on Myers arm in a parental or comforting/supporting way but gave up when he realized he was too short to do so. "Listen, Myers…I think I speak for all of us actors, we're trying our very best." Myers just rolled his eyes. "Besides, if you don't stop acting up, Negs is gonna walk out of here. You always put him in a such a bad mood!"

"He's Negaduck! He's always in a bad mood" growled Myers.

Darkwing seemed unfazed by this. "Yeah, says you." And he walked off without another word towards where Quackerjack was sitting with a can of Coo-Coo-Cola in his hand.

Quackerjack gave a toothy grin at Darkwing. "Myers still in a bad mood?" he questioned, his legs crossed as he sat comfortably in his chair.

Darkwing shook his head. "Yep, yep, yep. That Myers is still ready to chop our heads off….." He gave Quackerjack a bemused smile. "And he always will be ready to…." As the two of them spoke, Myers happened to walk by and walking behind him was the villain from today's show.

"But…I just don't think it was a performance my fans would have liiiiiked…." moaned a depressed Paddywhack, who was walking a few steps behind Myers. Since he was so tall, once of his steps equaled four of Myers' steps. "I'm….reaaally not that nasty of a person…..I actually am very niiiice…"

Myers stopped walking and glared up at Paddywhack, who flinched and cowered slightly, his hands up to his chest. He looked like a little puppy after a spanking. "This is your first job, Paddywhack! You have no fans! Now get out of my face!" Myers then walked off like a black cloud.

"Hey, Paddy, what's the matter?" asked a sympathetic Quackerjack. Both he and Darkwing watched as Paddywhack walked up to them.

"Ooooh, I told the casting lady I didn't waaaant to play a villain. But…." he threw his arms up and let them fall back down. "Heeeere I am….A feared ghostly villain. I don't even drool or have fangs!!" He then promptly took out the fake vampire teeth.

Darkwing just crossed his arms and looked up at him with a gentle smile while Quackerjack leaned a bit towards him in his chair. "Don't worry, Paddy! Playing a villain is actually VERY worthwhile and excellent experience. Besides, you were great! Just try to be more positive! That's what I do! Why else do you think I always do cartwheels in the hallways!? I'm HAPPY!"

Paddywhack nodded and bid them goodbye, walking off and muttering the advice Quackerjack had given him. The jester than looked back to Darkwing with a lazy shrug, taking a sip of his cola. "Actors…." Darkwing sighed and nodded, looking off to the rest of the set. Quackerjack couldn't stop himself from laughing heartedly.

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The room was crowded with people of all kinds. It was mainly the cast members that were inside the room, along with Myers, several camera men, and the producers. Rows of seats lay before where Myers and the producers were sitting in chairs in front of the room.

In the first row of the cast members sat Darkwing, with Launchpad McQuack and Negaduck beside him. Gosalyn Mallard sat beside Launchpad and Morgana McCawber sat at right. And then sat Honker Muddlefoot, who sat at the end of the row next to Morgana. The second row contained Quackerjack, Megavolt, Bushroot, Liquidator, Tuskerini, and Splatter Phoenix; with Quackerjack being the one behind Negaduck at the end of the row. The rest of the four rows consisted of other villains and superheroes in the production, along with a few extras, and some camera men.

Megavolt and Quackerjack were sitting next to each other in the second row, both sneaking glances at the other when they thought that other one wasn't looking. Bushroot and Liquidator were quietly conversing, but for the most part, the room was quiet. Everyone knew the importance of this meaning, or at least the importance Myers made them think the meaning had and therefore tried to keep their conversations to a minimal. They all knew very well how frantic and erratic Myers could get if he didn't get his silence when he was ready to begin.

Myers looked as though he was about to pull his hair out while the other producers sat calmly in their seats before the cast and crew members. They watched as Myers paced back and forth before them; neither of them understanding what he was going through his head and why he was torturing himself the way he was. The two producers were not nearly as stressed out as he was.

The two producers were nothing alike. One of them, who sat at the far right, was a medium build mallard with green markings around her eyes. She has short curly blonde hair that she was constantly fluffing. Her outfit looked like something a wife from the 50's would wear with matching high heels to go with her outfit. She held a clipboard in her lap, stiffly waiting to write notes on it.

Another one of the producers was a heavy set canine, who appeared to be half asleep as he sat there in his chair. His blazer was dirt brown color with shoulder pads on the elbows and the very little hair that he had looked quite unkempt.

And of course, there was Myers, who was the director and head of the producers. The woman just blinked at Myers with unsatisfied eyes, narrowing them every now and then in distaste for his attitude.

"Well, will you have us sitting here, rotting to death, or are you actually going to start this meeting!?" came a cold harsh voice from the crowd of cast members and everyone grew quite. Myers stopped his pacing and looked to the owner of the voice.

He grimaced.

"Oh….I'm so sorry Negaduck….are you not having fun?" he hissed like poison. Negaduck drew back in his chair next to Darkwing with an unpleasant sneer on his beak. "Are you not getting what you want, Negs!? Well, I am sorry to inform you that I don't care! I'm not getting what I want around here from any of you…..So why should I give any of you what YOU want!?" Myers threw his arms up in the air in emphasis.

Darkwing, who was sitting next to Negaduck, clicked his tongue, leaning forward in his chair a bit. His arms were also crossed. "Myers, you need to understand that…no matter what any of us do…..It will never be good enough…for your standards…." There was a quiet uproar of murmurs of agreement that came from the entire room; even the other two producers gave quick nods.

Myers took a deep breath, scowling at everyone in the room as he watched them all, "Oh, fine…' he chuckled sarcastically and dramatically. "Everyone gang up on the director, That's fine….just fine." he backed off a little, his thin wiry frame moving at odd angles as he bowed to them all. He then rose quickly, his hair flying everywhere. He raised a finger in the air. "It is just that….I could have SWORN….that all of you worked for ME…and that at any given moment, I could easily FIRE YOU ALL!!"

Launchpad McQuack, who sat on the other side of Darkwing gulped at the very prospect of being fired and pulled on his collar a bit. Darkwing saw this and gave him a shake of the head in a way to reassure him that they wouldn't get fired.

Quackerjack titled his head to one side, the ends of his harlequin hat going this way \and that. "Why so tense, Myers? You really need to relax. Maybe we should use the Relax-a-Tron on you from the "Stressed to Kill" episode?"

He then brought out his Mr. Banana Brain, "Yeah, because you sure do look like you could kill, Bill" spoke the doll in Quackerjack's high pitched voice. Megavolt snickered from his seat beside the jester while Bushroot and Liquidator looked down the row of seats and grinned coyly. Negaduck and Darkwing just raised their eyebrows, Gosalyn bit back the urge to giggle and Launchpad hid his chortles through his scarf.

"Oh, haha! Very funny. You just think you're the funniest guy around, don't you Quackerjack!?" huffed Myers, throwing his arms up in the air. Quackerjack just gave him a large toothy smile, bringing his knees up close to his chest and teetering on the chair. Myers sighed, "Look, I know I have been rough on you guys….but you're little quips and remarks aren't going to put me in a better mood. Understand?" Everyone in the room nodded.

The female producer stood at this, knowing that if she didn't act now, Myers would continue on with his rant and nothing would get accomplished. "Here, Lanny, pass these around." Her voice was a soft soprano. "This is the script for the next show."

Myers took the large and heavy pile of scripts from the woman. "Thank you Mindy." he looked at the top copy briefly and then looked up at everyone before him.

"Alright, everyone. Here is this week's show. Now when I call your name, come up and get a copy and if I don't….You have the week off unless called in otherwise. Now,,," he cleared his throat. "Darkwing" he called out first. Darkwing rose from his seat and grabbed a copy of the script.

"Why aren't these being mailed to us like they're supposed to be?" quipped Negaduck, his arms still crossed as he crouched in his chair.

Myers mimicked his question in a disgusted, high pitched voice. "Because, Negaduck, our budget is already low as it is…and frankly….." he leaned down into Negaduck's face. "I just LOVE calling you guys in for these meetings…" Negaduck sneered at this, turning his head away.

"Gosalyn!" Myers continued to call. The young red-haired duckling hopped off of her chair and grabbed a copy. "Launchpad!" The pilot grabbed his own. "Quackerjack!" Megavolt smiled broadly at his jester friend as Quackerjack did a flip over top of Darkwing and his chair and landed, grabbing the script. "Megavolt!" As Quackerjack sat down, the two of them exchanged a knowing look until Megavolt broke it off as he went to get his script.

"Now, before I continue" started Myers, holding the rest of the scripts against his chest and looking up at the crowd. "I would like to explain to you a bit about this episode. First off, if your name has already been called, then you have a major part in the episode. If not, there is still a chance of a small cameo shot of you in the episode and nothing else. Unless you're an extra and therefore you'll possibly be needed." he paused, waiting for any type of reaction and when he didn't get one, he pressed on. "The episode is titled "Time and Punishment". In the episode, Quackerjack built what is known as the Time Top with the aide of Megavolt that will allow them to travel through time. Finding that they are up to something, Darkwing and Launchpad rush from the Ratcatcher, leaving Gosalyn alone at the bike. Wanting to help, Gosalyn sneaks up onto the rooftop where Quackerjack and Megavolt are located. As she tries to help, Gosalyn ends up being sent into the future along with Quackerjack and Megavolt. Because of this, Darkwing believes that Gosalyn ran away and during the years that the three of them are gone, Darkwing takes crime fighting to the extreme and becomes deranged by becoming DarkWarrior Duck. It is then up to Gosalyn, Quackerjack, Megavolt, and the future Launchpad to set things right. Understand?"

The main cast members of the episode nodded, but Darkwing looked anxious. "This….isn't gonna make me look like the bad guy…is it?"

Myers took in a deep breath and turned away from him, suddenly having a great fascination in the scripts in his arms. After a moment, he turned back, allowing Darkwing to know that he was going to be the bad guy. "Now….I want all the extras to stay…..Liquidator, Bushroot, Tuskerini…I want you to stay as well…you three will have small cameos in this episode, alright? Everyone else may leave and have a nice week."

Negaduck and Honker left and several other cast members. Soon it was just the cast that were in the episode.

Quackerjack and Megavolt were both skimming through the script, both of them reading off of Quackerjack's copy. The more they read the more their frowns deepened. They looked up at one another.

They looked around them, at their fellow actors and friends and then their eyes landed on Myers, who was skittishly talking about something with the female producer, Mindy.

Megavolt gave the jester a worried glance. "We'll wait and see…." whispered Quackerjack, gently pushing Megavolt back to his seat and making it look as though he had been reading the script by himself the whole time. Megavolt gave Quackerjack one last worried look before doing the same thing.

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Everyone on the set were where they were supposed to be. The lights for the set were not yet ready, so the set looked a lot darker than it was supposed to. It was day one of the shooting for "Time and Punishment". The first of the shots were going to be of Darkwing, Gosalyn, and Launchpad on the Ratcatcher. The set itself was actually outside in the streets since it was a scene where Darkwing would be driving. The buildings were all abandoned from those who lived or owned businesses there so that there was no chance of unwanted guests ruining the shooting process. Trailers were parked beyond where any of the cameras were facing.

The cameras were set up so that they would be able to ride alongside the Ratcatcher as Darkwing rode it and having a conversation.

Myers was behind one of the cameras, making sure everything was lined up the way it should be for the shot when Quackerjack and Megavolt walked out on the open set, having just come out from their own separate trailers.

"Look, Megsy….A bimbo at work…" snickered Quackerjack as they both watched Myers scream at one of the cameramen for something the man had no control over.

Megavolt moved a bit closer to Quackerjack, looking around them first and then leaned in towards the other's ear. "Are we going to be able to handle this?"

Quackerjack's hat jingled and bounced along with the movements of his body and head flowingly. "Shhhh! Not here, Megs! But yeah…..we HAVE to! We have no choice! If we don't do this and who knows what will happen! Myers would not like this in the least!!"

Megavolt nodded, knowing the duck was right. He just hoped they would be able to get through the episode without any problems.

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Author's Note: Okay, to be honest, I'm REEEALLY nervous about this first chapter. This is for Invderlava….I think, if my memory serves me correct and frankly, I just hope I got the idea of it right. This was a plot bunny that I was offered and asked to write and my main focus this time is to not only keep everyone in character in this already-hard-to-write fic, but to also keep the original idea intact. I just hope I accomplished that goal, at least a little bit. Please, enjoy!