" Little Bird Told Me"
By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.
With thanks and apologies to one who asked to remain nameless. I'm sorry I made you mad. I did not mean to anger you.
And special thanks to Stretch Snodgrass for reminding me that Magica's Raven/brother is named Poe! I can't believe I forgot that!
Mr. McDuck was working in his study in the Mansion when a raven flew in.
"Magica's raven!" Mr. McDuck said.
"I'm POE!" it reminded him. "Why so surprised? I've been coming to you on the sly for quite some time now."
"You never came to the Mansion before. I always went and met you someplace." Mr. McDuck asked.
"I "cased the joint" before entering. The Triplets are at school. Launchpad's not here right now. Mrs. Beakly is fixing the boys' afternoon snack and Duckworth's sneaking in a nap before they come home. It seemed the perfect time to talk to you, alone." Magica's raven, Poe said.
I was Magica's brother, until she turned me into a raven. Magica told me it was an accident and she did not know how to change me back. She said if I helped her, she might someday find a way to change me back and like a fool, I believed her!" Poe said.
"Only recently did I find out she had transformed me on purpose, to steal my magic! That's when I started playing "double agent", started feeding you information about Magica. You defeating her means she is forced to move from pillar to post. I can steal bits of her magic in the chaos of the move and Magica just thinks she is tired and getting old." Poe continued..
"But I need your hands- without your help, I can not cast the spell to change me back to normal. I have no hands as a raven. You are honest and honorable and Magica's enemy. You can use your hands to cast the spell, while I say the words! Without your help and hands I am doomed to spend my life as a raven!" the bespelled bird said.
Just then, the study door flew open and Launchpad and the boys ran in.
"Unca Scrooge! Mr. McD! Magica's raven was flying around the house and now... you're talking to it?" they said, flabbergasted.
"It's OK. Magica's raven, Poe has been "ratting" on Magica to me for quite some time now. I did not tell you because I was afraid you might let it slip. And if Magica finds out..." Mr. Mc Duck began."
Then it's "Nevermore" for that raven!" Launchpad said, who doesn't know the entire poem anymore than I do, but knows that much.
"What are you doing here, anyway? Why aren't you three in school?" Mr. McDuck asked. "There was a fire drill at 2 o'clock. They let us go home early." Huey said.
"We ran into Launchpad on the way here and then we saw Magica's raven flying towards the Mansion. We thought it was up to no good and we came to warn you." Dewey said.
"Are you sure you can trust that..thing?" Louie asked.
"It hasn't steered me wrong yet." Mr. McDuck replied.
" I came to you that a Magic Meteorite has fallen on Earth! Magica could use it to see nexus- important points in history- and change them to her liking! She must not get that meteorite. " The raven said. "The Magic Meteorite landed in the ocean, off of the big island of Hawaii." Poe warned them.
"That's a very big area to search! If you hurry, you can get there first!" Poe said.
So Launchpad loaded a sub aboard his VTOL (Vertial Take-off and Landing craft). They got into Launchpad's VTOL and flew in it to Hawaii. Soon, they were aboard the sub, looking for the Meteorite . After much searching, they found it. But no sooner did they surface, did Magica swoop down on her broomstick and grab the Meteorite.
Launchpad doubled back to the VTOL and they gave chase. Magica could not lose them over the empty sea. So she headed to the island of Hawaii and landed near a beach.
She ran into a changing room, and into a changing booth. She conjured up a bathing suit and a beach bag. She changed into the suit and put the Meteorite in the beach she disappeared into a crowd of beach-goers.
"Well, we have to find her...some how." Launchpad said.
Launchpad looked at the mob. A zillion "people" in bathing suits. They waded thru the crowd, looking for an ugly woman in a bathing suit.
Then they got a lucky break. A beach goer, a perfect stranger, accidentally knocked out the beach bag from Magica' hand. They heard her yell and recognized her voice. They came and saw her- and saw her bag fly thru the air, to fall among a pile of visually identical beach bags.
Magica tried to get her bag- with the Meteorite in it- back. The beach visitors whose bags she was riling thru thought she was a common theft trying to rob them and tried to stop her.
"Be careful! That's Magica De Spell, a very powerful witch!" Mr. McDuck warned them.
"That's right"! she hissed. "Stay back, Scrooge- or I'll fry your nephews!" Magica hissed.
Magica came towards the bags, keeping a sharp eye on Mr. McDuck and his nephews. But she forgot about Launchpad, who tried to grab the bags and knocked them in the sand instead. Mr. McDuck used his cane to grab them. One bag had only a single item in it: something hard and round, about the size of a bowling ball. He opened the bag, it was the Meteorite .
"Mr. McD! Look out!" screamed Launchpad.
For Magica was about to zap Mr. McDuck. Mr. McDuck made like he was going to toss the rock back into the ocean.
"Stay back, Magica! Or this thing goes back into the ocean!" Mr. McDuck said.
Magica saw that they were at an area of beach that was "red flagged": "people" were eating, sunbathing, playing volleyball- but they were NOT allowed to swim in this section of the beach, the undertow was too powerful.
"No! If you toss it into the ocean here, in will get caught in the undertow and be lost forever!" Magica said.
"I'd rather lose it then trust it to someone like you! You're pure evil and I don't want to know what you'd do with it!" Mr. McDuck said.
"Bah, you're bluffing!" Magica said.
And Magica tried to grab the rock. Mr. McDuck tossed it far into the ocean. Magica screamed, but did not go after it. She did not want to get caught in the undertow and drown.
Magica then got on her broomstick and sped off, muttering curses at Mr. McDuck.
"I'm sorry you lost the Meteorite, Mr. McD!" Launchpad said.
"Who says I lost it?" Mr. McDuck asked.
And he moved a few inches and started digging in the sand... and dug up the Meteorite!
"How? I SAW you toss it!" Launchpad asked.
"I got lucky. The beach bags were resting on a beach rock, about the same size and color as the Meteorite. I pushed the Meteorite into the sand with my foot, took the rock. Then I used to rock to fake out Magica." Mr. McDuck said.
We ended up with the Meteorite after all. So that's OK." Mr. McDuck said.
The End.