Snow fell heavily on St. Canard. Each shop window was more festive than the last, their red and green lights cutting through the harsh winter weather. Most of the shops had closed their doors for the night, and most of the residents of the city were safe and warm in their homes. Tomorrow would be December 24th, Christmas Eve, the day for all the husbands and young lovers to go out and forage some precious trinket for the lovely lady of their desire, and the day for single men and women to gather at parties to find warm arms to spend that one special night in.
Yet there are always some who distance themselves from the season's festivities, be it by choice or necessity. On this wind-beaten night, five costumed figures gathered in an abandoned building as far from the carols and ribbons as possible.
"Bah humbug!" Negaduck cried out. "That's what I think of Christmas! Bah humbug!!"
"Yes, boss," the four others replied in unison.
He continued. "So tomorrow night, we're going to pull the greatest heist in history!"
"But boss, it's Christmas!" Quackerjack said.
"Yeah, don't we get a break?" Megavolt chimed in.
Negaduck laughed. "What would you saps have to do on Christmas? Visit mother?" He sneered down at them. "You probably can't even remember who your mothers are."
No one dared to respond to Negaduck's taunting. Satisfied at having re-established his position as leader for the umpteenth time that night, he began again. "Now, tomorrow night, everyone in this city will be tucked in their beds, dreaming of sugar plum faries. I shudder at the thought. But while they sleep, the streets are left unguarded. Not even Darkwing Dork accepts calls on Christmas Eve. So while the city sleeps, we go out and take it."
"Take what?" Bushroot asked, confused.
"The city, you knucklehead! We sneak in, take control of all the major factories, power plants, police stations and so on, and refuse to protect anyone who doesn't recognise me as the supreme leader!"
"That seems like a pretty big job," Liquidator ventured. "Shouldn't we start with stealing the bridge or something, and gradually move up to taking over grocery stores and playgrounds and…"
Liquidator was cut off when Negaduck placed him rather roughly under a bucket. "Listen, you drip," he growled, "It's the city or nothing. Got it?!"
"We got it, boss!" all four answered timidly.
"Good. Now go get some sleep. You'll need to be well rested for our little adventure tomorrow." With a devilish grin, Negaduck watched the group shuffle out the door.
*
"It's not fair," Megavolt whined as they walked through the snow. "How come he gets to be the boss all the time?"
"Yeah, I think we need a vacation or something," Quackerjack said.
"He's insane," Bushroot muttered quietly. "Taking over the city on Christmas day is a little unfair, even for us." There were nods of agreement from the rest of the shivering group.
"But what can we do?" asked the Liquidator, who was keeping himself from freezing with the use of a clear plastic raincoat and several hot water bottles.
"Can't we just refuse to fight?" Bushroot offered.
Quackerjack looked horrified. "Do you know what he would **do** to us if we tried that???" He shuddered.
"Yeah, we'd be toast!" Megavolt said.
"Well we have to do **something**!!" Bushroot looked at his fellow martyrs. "Don't you have **any** ideas???"
"I don't see you coming up with any clever plans," Liquidator snapped.
"I already said mine, so there!" Bushroot stuck his tongue out at the Liquidator.
They walked on in silence for a few moments. Then, Megavolt spoke. "I might know someone who can help," he said hesitantly. "But I dunno if you guys would like her."
"If you mean that fuzzy karaoke singer…" Quackerjack began. Megavolt nodded, wincing at the thought of Negaduck's apparent fondness for his young friend. The other three exchanged glances.
"Fine!" they said together.
"After all," Bushroot grumbled, "We're desperate!"
*
"Come on, Alice! We're desperate!" Megavolt pleaded.
She looked down at the rubber-suited beggar, who was kneeling on the rug on her living room floor. "Sputterspark, it's **Christmas**!! What the heck are you doing trying to take over the city on Christmas anyway?"
"That's why we want to stop him!"
"So stop him."
"But we need your help!!"
Alice sighed. "All right. Assuming I **would** help you, what would you want me to do?"
"Well, that's part of the problem," Megavolt said sheepishly. "We don't have a plan. We thought maybe you could…"
"You thought maybe I could make a plan for you, right?"
Megavolt nodded.
Alice narrowed her eyes. "I don't like this one bit, Sputterspark," she said. He nodded again. "If it was any other night, I'd be more than willing to help… But if it's for the good of St. Canard, I suppose I'm obligated to do **something**"
"So you'll help us?" Megavolt's eyes lit up.
Alice threw her hands in the air. "Why not? Christmas only comes once a year, right? Where are the other three?"
"In the hallway."
"WHAT??"
"They're in the hallway. We've only got until tomorrow night to work out a plan, and we thought we should start as soon as possible."
"Let them in, then," Alice groaned. "Really, Sputterspark, you **are** impossible."
Megavolt bounded to the door and opened it. "She'll do it!" he yelled into the hallway. Three excited cheers drifted to Alice's ears as the rest of the group leaped into the room, chattering noisily. Megavolt closed the door with a loud bang.
"Atten-TION!" Alice yelled. All four of them bounced to their feet and saluted. "Now, we have to keep the noise level down to a dull roar, otherwise the neighbors will complain and I'll have Mr. Beeste poking his nose through here every five minutes."
"Mr. Beast?" Quackerjack giggled. "Sounds like a winner landlord."
Alice laughed. "Not quite. But anyway, let's start work on this marvelous plan of yours. Any thoughts?"
The mighty Fearsome Four stared blankly at their feet.
"Oh come on! You guys are as bad as Sputterspark here. Okay, since I'm the one coming up with the genius plan, let me suggest that we stick with the basics. I distract Negsie while you four mess up his plan somehow."
"That sounds good," Bushroot said. "But how to we mess up his plan?"
Alice shrugged. "Improvise. Obviously we don't know what his plan is yet, so we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I need to get acquainted with his royal evilness. Sputterspark, you and Bushy introduce me as a possible new member of the group. Quacky and water guy, you two find somewhere to hide. I'll get Negs to tell me his plan, then all four of you meet back here and start throwing wrenches into the works. I'll join you as soon as I can."
"One problem," Bushroot said.
"What's that?"
"You need to look like a possible new member. You can't just show up with a seashell dress and a sketchbook and say you're a villain. We'd all be laughed out of St. Canard!"
Alice grinned. "It's already been taken care of."
*
"This had better be good," Negaduck snarled. "Four in the morning is way too early to joke with me."
"Oh, it's very good, boss!" Bushroot assured him. "We've found a new member for the team! She'll be great help with our plan tomorrow."
"All right. Impress me," Negaduck challenged. Bushroot nodded and ran into the next room, where Megavolt and Alice were waiting.
"Ready?" he whispered. Alice nodded. Megavolt and Bushroot ran back into the other room. They stood in the doorway, holding what looked like a tye-dyed bedsheet over the enterence.
"Deep in the abyss of the night, terror was born," Megavolt said dramatically. "She fights, flies, and fears nothing! I give you… the Dark Angel!!" A cloud of incense spilled into the room when Megavolt and Bushroot pulled the curtian away. Negaduck was temporarily blinded, and shocked breathless by the strong scent of rose and frankencence.
"What the…?!?" he coughed. "When I get my hands on… you two are…" he coughed, trying to see through the fog. When the air cleared enough, he saw two candles burning on either side of the doorway. Between the candles stood a ferret woman wearing a semi-transparent gold Gypsy-like costume. [Author's Note: it's kinda like Jasmine's costume from the movie "Aladdin", only gold and sparkely, complete with one of those mask things that covers the bottom half of her face] On her back, she wore a pair of splendidly made white angel wings, spread out so that she almost looked as if she had been crucified on the shadows themselves.
Negaduck's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Who… who are you?" he choked.
"I am the Dark Angel," she murmured, stepping closer to him. The wings on her back folded down as she aproached. "I am now the terror… that flaps… in the night…" Her face was inches from his. Her dark brown fur glistened in the dim candle light. She put her hand below his beak and held it with a firm grasp. "And I have come to join you."
Negaduck pulled away, shocked at how close she had gotten without him noticing. Or caring. "Um, okay. What can you do?" he sputtered nervously.
"I can fly," she said in the same smooth voice, twirling around to display her wings. "I can fight." Without warning, she leaped clear over his head and grabbed him by the back of his neck. She squeezed hard, forcing the power-hungry villian to his knees. She smiled. "I can crow." She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Cock-a-doodle-do."
"You're a regular… Peter Pan… aren't you?" Negaduck replied, wincing from the pain of her surprisingly strong grip.
"No," she said, releasing him from her hold. "Pan was a mere spirit. I am the Dark Angel."
As soon as she let go, Negaduck leaped to his feet and spun around. He glared at her, his eyes blazing. "Nobody does that to me," he snarled. "NOBODY!!"
"Yet somebody has," she cooed. "Or, have you not had enough? Shall I demonstrate my skills further?"
"NO!" Negaduck took a step backwards, but caught himself and tried to regain his image of control. "No," he said calmly. "I see that you are… more than capable. Far more than those other morons who follow me around. Very well. You're hired. But keep in mind, this is only a trial period. We'll see how well you do tonight."
"Ah yes, I was told of a plan." She seemed to glide to the couch nearby, and lowered herself onto it with a grace even dancers accomplish only after years of training. "Come. Sit beside me. Tell me more of this… plan."
Negaduck sauntered cooly to the couch and sat on the opposite end. "St. Canard will be mine to command," he said. She inched closer to him. "As the city sleeps, we will sneak into places that are centers of true control."
"What about the guards?" She inched closer still. "Even on Christmas Eve there are guards."
Negaduck chuckled. "But they are **my** guards. I have arranged for those under my command to be assigned to the watch tonight. They will simply hold out the keys and look away."
The Dark Angel sat beside him, her feet folded under her body. "But so many buildings, and only six of us…"
Negaduck waved his hand, dismissing her question as if it were but a mere technicality. "I shall take the government offices, which are all in one building. Just imagine: the Liquidator takes the water supply system, Bushroot takes control of all trade from the airport, Quackerjack takes the police force and replace them with my private army, and Megavolt takes the power company. Then he and Quackerjack will connect all five of us to the television and radio main control so we can inform the public of their new leaders."
"And I?" A black-furred paw crept up Negaduck's arm.
"You, my dear, may guard from the television station, which stands in the center of the other five buildings. We can situate cameras outside the…"
A that moment, Negaduck felt his head jerked to the side. He found himself staring into her eyes, the tip of her nose just touching the end of his beak. "Pure genious," she said, her hands coiling gently around his shoulders. She lifted off the scarf that covered the bottom half of her face. "Pure… genius…" She pressed her mouth to his. Her kiss tasted of sweet wine. Negaduck allowed her to push him back onto the pillows…
*
Hidden in a storage closet in the same room Alice had first emerged from as the Dark Angel, the Fearsom Four huddled around an audio device. Everything Negaduck revealed about his precious plan was heard and recorded.
"Man, she's **good,**" Quackerjack whispered in awe. "You'd never guess she had it in her."
"It says here she won several drama awards in high school," Bushroot said, staring down at an information sheet about Alice Marten. He had insisted on background research, dispite the fact that she was a close friend of Megavolt's. As information sources went, Megavolt was about the worst way to go.
"Prima dona, the lady of the stage!" Liquidator sang quietly.
"She isn't singing," Quackerjack sneered.
"But she can sing," Megavolt said suddenly, his face brightening. "I remember that! She has the voice of an angel when she sings."
Bushroot nodded. "Yep… says right here, seven years of professional voice training. Seven years! Imagine that."
"What does it say about that sketch book of hers, Bushy?" Quackerjack asked.
"Actually, nothing." Bushroot turned the pages of the information sheet, confused. "For all she drags that book around, there's nothing in here about art lessons."
"That's because she never took any," Megavolt said. "Her… her grandmother taught her."
"The information superhighway runs rampent tonight!" Liquidator giggled sarcastically.
"No really," Megavolt said. "I remember. She used to dream about her grandmother after she died. She said she thought… she **knew** her grandmother wasn't really dead… working… in a pawn shop somewhere… far away… I remember that." He closed his eyes, deep in thought. "She used to draw what she saw in her dreams. She said if she recorded the pictures just right, they would come true. She said there was magic in life everywhere, if only you looked for it. And… and… I remember she told me about a dark angel who led her to her grandmother in her dreams…"
"You remember all that?" Bushroot asked. Megavolt nodded.
"She told me about her dreams when we were in high school. She didn't have anyone else to tell. I think… I think it made her sad to remember her grandmother, knowing she could never really find her again…" Megavolt stared at his hands. "Anyway, she always seemed sad when she told me about it. She never cried though…"
The other three were taken aback by Megavolt's sudden memory flash, but it was what he said that impressed them more. They all looked at the young artist with new eyes, as if that brief window they found to see into her soul had opened a door to a broader view.
Bushroot shook his head to clear it of the gathering cobwebs of his own memories. "We've got to get going," he urged. "We only have until tonight to… um… throw some wrenches into the works."
"Right," Quackerjack said. "Let's go. We'll get this recording thing later, in case he says any more."
They crept silently out of the hideout, then rushed back to Alice's apartment to begin throwing wrenches…