JDE: The Coming of Gastricus
Chapter One: Stargazing
It was a typical day in Saint Canard. A superpowered lunatic was threatening the city, and the Justice Ducks had gathered to stop him.
"Surrender, fools!" Sneered the green-cloaked skunk. "For I am... Smellbinder! Every scent in the world is at my fingertips! And soon, I shall be smelling the sweet smell of victory!"
As the villain cackled, the Justice Ducks stared, nonplussed.
"Are you kidding me with this?" Quiverwing Quack asked.
"Cower before my might!" Smellbinder screamed. Glowing with mystic energy, he sprayed a blast of foul-smelling vapor at the Justice Ducks.
"Is that... limburger?" Straight Arrow coughed.
"With a hint of garlic!" Sneered Smellbinder. "Now do you realise how helpless you are against me?"
"Maybe." Shrugged Gizmoduck 2.0 as she reached into one of her armor's compartments. "If we didn't have these."
Gizmoduck 2.0 produced a handfull of noseplugs, which she distributed among her teammates.
"Oh, no fair!" Smellbinder whined.
Five minutes later, Smellbinder had been dumped outside the police station, and the Justice Ducks had returned to their headquarters. The team were taking advantage of the downtime; Gizmoduck 2.0 and Aqueous were sparring, and Spellbound was studying her braille-written magic books. Meanwhile, a helmetless Straight Arrow was scrutinising the main computer, studying the data through disbelieving eyes.
"Something wrong, hon?" Quiverwing asked.
"I'm not sure." Straight Arrow shrugged. "The last few weeks, I've been studying intergalactic energy readings. A couple of planets I was monitoring have suddenly gone dark. A week ago, they were teeming with all sorts of energies, and now, nothing!"
"Weird." Admitted Quiverwing.
"And that's not even the weirdest part." Straight Arrow continued. "There's a pattern. The planets have been dying one after the other. A clear path, which seems to be heading our way."
"Our way?" Quiverwing repeated worriedly. "And you don't think that's a problem?"
"Not especially." Straight Arrow said. "Just before the planets went dark, this strange energy appeared. As long as it doesn't come here, we're perfectly-"
Straight Arrow was cut off by a beeping from the computer. The screen was indicating a white streak crossing the interstellar map.
"We're in trouble." Straight Arrow gulped.
By now, the rest of the team had gathered around the computer, watching the streak approaching Earth.
"Let me get this straight." Gizmoduck 2.0 grimaced. "Everywhere this... thing goes, a planet dies?"
"In so many words, yes." Straight Arrow nodded.
"And it's heading right for us?" Spellbound asked.
"Yes." Straight Arrow gulped. "Wait, what's this?"
The computer had started beeping again. The streak was moving downward.
"Whoa, it is headed right for us! Straight Arrow gasped. "Straight toward Saint Canard. Straight toward this very building, in fact!"
"To the roof, Justice Ducks!" Quiverwing declared, donning her mask. "Maybe we can stop this thing before it does any damage!"
"Hear, hear!" Aqueous bellowed. "Let's show whatever that thing is that it won't destroy our planet without a fight!"
The Justice Ducks charged up the stairs that led to the rooftop, emerging just in time to see a shining metal being descending on them. The being resembled a canine, coated entirely in bronze, and riding a similarly-colored, flying skateboard. He hovered down to their level.
"Earthlings." He declared. "I am the Bronze Boarder. I bring you this message: All that you know is at an end."
To Be Continued...
(Darkwing Duck and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)