Failure to take proper care in doing something. Yep. That's what it means. That's my name. Well, technically, my name is Nell. Short for Nellie. But...ew. The short version of Negligence is Negs. And that's my father. Crime lord of the century. Scourge of the Negaverse. Dark? Yes. Violent? Most definitely. Lovable? HELL no. Did I want to find him and meet him? Oh, FUCK yes.

But let's rewind a bit, shall we? How about back to the day I met...her. Gosalyn Mallard. That girl is… well, I hate to say it, but sort of my savior. I met her at the record store.

There was a storm out. A ferocious, dark, hot storm. It was exquisite. The store was slow, because...duh. Who in their right mind would be out in that crap? I was just coming around the counter, a pack of cigs in hand. I had a mighty need for a puff. I hadn't had one all day, and I could feel a "rager" coming on. Said rager was building like that hot storm outside. Especially since it was fueled with the very fact that I now knew why I got these random violent urges. It also explained my dark red eyes… I had only found out a week before that Negaduck was my father. How, you ask? I mean, shouldn't something like that be kept a secret? Buried beneath the Sand of Time? Just left to moulder in another dimension? I almost was… But I digress.

I had found out from my mother. Magica De Spell. An old crone. I don't even know how old, but dang, those bags under her eyes are a boatload of proof that she's no spring duck. Anyway, she found me. She told me. And I was still wrestling with the idea. Especially after I realized that she had told me, but not my father. That was something I would have to do myself. Thanks, dear old mom. That didn't make me feel like a pawn at all. Not to mention, while I have been known for my bravery, I didn't have cajones of steel. For duck's sake.

So, yeah. I was really hankering for a smoke right about then. The storm was about ready to explode...and then something actually did. All the windows of my shop blew in one go. Glass everywhere. I ducked behind the counter, feeling a hot rush of backdraft. Who the fu- I grabbed for my handgun, a Heritage Rough Rider Single-Action Rimfire revolver. Because yes, I loved guns. And yes, I loved them before I found out about my own heritage. Then I saw her. She hurled herself through the glass and rolled to the floor in one fluid motion. All dressed in red. The Scarlet Shadow. Because Gosalyn wasn't just Gosalyn when I first met her. She was a superhero. And on her tail was him. Negaduck. It was like I'd summoned him with my own mind. Only I hadn't. Because I'm not stupid. And I'm pretty sure I didn't want to meet him this way. Especially since my adopted dad wasn't done paying for his insurance on the record store. He was gonna be pissed.

I jumped up from behind the desk with my revolver. My hand trembled (dammit) and I really wanted to shout out my indignity. But seeing him there, fire surrounding him, artillery in both hands, cape sweeping, eyes gleaming... I was terrified. And exhilarated. THIS was my father. I felt like... Well, like I'm sure Luke Skywalker felt during that fatal scene with Darth Vader. Now I just hoped that I wouldn't lose a hand.
The Scarlet Shadow stood in front of me.

"Get down." She said. Her voice was calm and full of authority. She had this. I wanted to nod and just do what I was told, but I was never good at that.

"Wait just a damned minute! This is my store! You can't just come in here and blow shit up!" I held my revolver in front of me, not even registering that it was pointed at a cardboard cutout of David Bowie in all his fab glam. Scarlet turned around and looked at me like I was nuts. Negaduck's eyes widened, then they narrowed. He studied me for a moment longer than I would have liked. Because… I'll have to admit, I do look a bit like him. I have his eyes (even rather heavy brows for a girl). Not just the shape or the color, but the fiery smolder, like a banked fire. The hunger for violent adventure in the dark. And I think he saw that. We never had to exchange a word. Even Scarlet looked back and forth between us. After waiting for Negaduck to say something, (he just stood there, sort of panting. Bloodlust, I assume) she cleared her throat, almost awkwardly.

"Sorry, but you need to stay out of the way. This is gonna get ugly." Her hand pressed against my chest, and my heart skipped a beat. She really was amazing. This whole situation was making my blood burn through me like never before. All I wanted was for the action to kick into full gear. Even if I ended up bleeding. See, up until then, my life had been pretty damn boring. I had just moved out of my parents place (turned 18 in September) and lived above my garage. I spent a lot of time in there, making and breaking things. I spend a lot of time being alone. I needed this. I needed it like the forgotten cigarettes in my pocket.

So, like the lunatic I am, I pushed her hand away and hauled myself up onto the sales desk, my revolver pointed straight at my father's masked head. His scarlet fedora shifted slightly in the wind that blew in from the naked window frames. The gale outside had blown up, and hail was pelting against his back. However, he was oblivious to any force of nature. Here I was, taller than both of them on the desk, but he only straightened his spine and met me with those eyes. It was like looking into a forge. His teeth broke free of his beak with a growl.

"You've got a lot of brass, girl. Do you even know who the hell you are pointing that gun at?"

Scarlet jumped on the desk next to me, leaning in close.

"Are you crazy? Give me the gun. I'll handle this. Just-"

"Give you my gun?" I didn't even bother to keep my voice down. "Are you freakin' out of your mind?" (I realized the irony of this statement as the two continued to stare at me like I had crabs crawling out of my ears.) Then Negaduck chuckled. It was like a stone grinding against glass.

"I'd do as she says, girl." He brought up both his arms. One held a monsterous gun that resembled a canon, the other a blow torch. I was...less terrified than I should have been. The longer I looked at those weapons, the more I wanted to use them myself. A hunger built inside me. Which was what actually scared me in the end. Not him, but myself.

The crime lord cocked his gun and ignited the torch. His grin would have sent the devil running. I lowered my revolver (her name's Bonnie) agonizingly slow, keeping eye contact with him the whole time. I could feel the heat from the torch, but I made my squint look like a cynical narrowing of the eyes. That was when he shot at me. It happened so fast, I barely registered what was happening. The monstrous gun vibrated the whole building, and I catapulted off the desk. Scarlet took me with her, her body hovering over mine. She smelled like fire and rain. My heart kicked hard against my chest. I had a total lady-boner for this entire scenario. Best two minutes of my life. Even if my biological father just shot at me. Kind of a ball-buster.

I tried to crawl out from under Scarlet, but she had her hands wrapped around my wrists. I flushed red. I had been alone for so long, and to have someone so close… She looked me up and down before sighing.

"We're okay. He only shot the desk…"
"But why would he spare…?"

"Don't move, okay? He's gonna torch the place and-"
"Oh, hell no! Not my records-"

"If you promise to stay put, I'll save it for ya." She pressed her face close to mine and winked at me. "I mean, who doesn't appreciate a good vintage LP, am I right?" I nodded, noticing that her breath smelled like watermelon gum. Yeah, okay. In case you haven't noticed by now, let me make it clear. I'm bi, and a bit far gone on Gos. Even before I had met her, I followed her career as The Scarlet Shadow, along with her father's as Darkwing Duck. I never knew that any of it was related until a bit later. Anyway, back to the explosions and flames.

Scarlet stood up, pulling an arrow from her quiver. She nocked it, concentrated for a split-second, then released. It flew past him, lodging itself into the wall. His eyes were focused on the flames spewing from his torch, and he was laughing to himself. He had no connection to my shop, but he still reveled in setting it ablaze. I had heard that he was a notorious arsonist.

The arrow released a canister of water on the flames. He spun around, and growled. Then his eyes landed on her. He moved closer, walking straight through the remaining flames.

"Heh, heh. Pretty brave of you, Scarlet." He spit her heroine name out like it was it was a cruel joke.

"Going toe-to-toe with me. All alone. Where's dear 'ol dad, huh?" He chuckled again, then pulled his own quiver from behind his cape.

"Ha. You think I'd tell you?" She stood tall, completely unafraid. There was even a twisted smile on her beak. I blinked. Dear 'ol dad? Negaduck knew Scarlet's father? Back then, I knew so little. However, even the news that Negaduck had found out Darkwing's secret identity was not public news. And how he had ever found out about Gosalyn is still beyond me. Drake doesn't like to talk about either subject.

Negaduck pulled out a tremendously huge bow (where was he even hiding it?) and yanked back the string, his arm muscles rippling with the effort. Attached to it was something that looked very explosive. My dad's store… was all I could think. She said she'd save it, but I can't let her do all the dirty work. That's when I thought of the most dangerous, ridiculous thing I've ever done. I pushed myself up with all my strength, then stood directly in his line of sight. I remembered how he's shot at me and Scarlet before, but not into us. There was something holding him back. Scarlet gasped and slid toward me. I pushed out my hand and she gave me that look again. Only this time there was a fear in her eyes. If I was insane, I was insane in a very dark way.

"What the- Get… you crazy…" Negaduck was rendered speechless. I chose that moment to drop the bomb on him. I pulled my revolver out from under my belt and pointed it at his arrow. He was starting to shake from the tension.

"You shoot that, and you're going with it."

"You… wouldn't dare…" He fought the shakiness in his voice. My eyes never left him. Dark red meeting dark red. He knows. He has to. I blew my bangs out of my eyes. Black from Magica. White from him.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" I cocked my gun, then brought it to my beak. He flinched very slightly, and a sound came from him, a warning. I kissed the warm metal, then pointed it back at his arrow.

"Like father, like daughter."

Which was a big mistake. He let out a strangled gasp, letting go of the arrow as all the strength was shocked out of him.

R.I.P. vintage LP's.