A Christmas Peril
A Disney Duck Fanfic:
Instead of being purely based on one entity, this story takes background from Classic Donald Duck cartoons, Ducktales, and Darkwing Duck.
Contains Major Spoilers to Braced Company
Written By:
Stef with an F and Nightw2
Note: This story is part of the Bella Widgeon Saga. It comes after Braced Company in the continuity.
Disclaimers
Disney owns most of these characters. Dumbella's past as Bella Widgeon is mine, as are the characters of Melanie Widgeon, Cindy Ganderquack, Jeffery and Ashley Ruddy / Arachnia Ink, Ronnie Mallard, Lisa Mallard, Regina Duck / Lady Lightning, Skylark McQuack, Randy Muddlefoot, and Beau and Bonnie
Time Setting
The action of this story mostly takes part six months after Braced Company, which is roughly nine years after the time setting of the Darkwing Duck cartoon series. Parts of the story will also take place twenty-five years in the future of this stories setting.
WARNING
This story contains some adult themes; therefore it has received the Teen rating. This could but not necessarily so pertain to every chapter, yet may include: moderate language and violence, and sexual themes.
Chapter 1
Twenty-Five Years, Six Months after Braced Company
Drake Mallard barged into small, yet private hospital room.
He would have came sooner, but he was across town, doing some Christmas shopping with his wife and one of his granddaughters when a bunch of Poinsettias attempted a raid at the mall's jewelry store. The cops, busy chasing Randy Muddlefoot and a pair of his hoodlum friends out of an electronic store where it was suspected they were stealing, among other things, the newest version of Whiffle Boy, were oblivious to the scene. As a result, Drake found an empty photo booth, and changed into his now respected hero persona. Even at the age of 61, Darkwing Duck kept himself in top physical condition (after all, he had a premature brush with old age more than 33 years earlier and wanted to make the best of it the second time around). He was, however, in retirement for the most part; has been for about eleven years. His daughter, Quiverwing, with the other members of the Foursome of Fury had succeeded him and Gizmoduck (Fenton had also retired his super-hero alter ego a long time ago; about four years before Drake did, truth be known) as the main heroes of the border cities of Duckburg and St. Canard.
The Fury was in pursuit of members from Megavolt's crime origination that had fled into space the night before and he hasn't heard from them since. He couldn't and wouldn't allow himself to worry about both his daughters at the moment. Hah, he thought again. Who was did he think he was kidding? That was like telling the sun not to shine.
He was forced to leave one of Bushroot's several attempts on Christmas mischief to the police (Bushroot was mostly reformed nowadays, but he still couldn't resist committing mostly harmless, but still technically disruptive, holiday havoc on occasion just for old times' sake) when a phone call made him feel all hollow inside.
"Mr. Mallard?" a gentle female voice called, meeting her concerned eyes with Drake's own.
Drake held himself together for just a moment. If it was any other doctor he would be barking out orders and demands, but he knew this doctor since she was seven years old and he couldn't take out his feelings of fear and regret on her. And if he did, he wouldn't hear the end of it from her mother... who was happily married to his best friend.
"Hello Melanie," Drake managed trying to hold his position.
Melanie ran over and helped him to a chair.
"She's resting peacefully right now, we gave her something to relax," Dr. Melanie Widgeon informed Drake.
Drake sat down and caressed his daughter Lisa's head, "What about the baby?" he whispered.
"He's doing fine," Melanie said with a slight smile, the only good news she could give the concerned father and grandfather. "But…" she hesitated, "If Lisa's condition doesn't change soon; we might have to consider a Cesarean."
Drake rushed out of his chair and pushed some papers off a near by end table.
"I could kill that husband of Lisa's" Drake yelled. "How dare he leave her alone like this?"
Melanie considered putting her hand on Drake's shoulder in order to comfort him but thought different. Thank goodness Morgana walked it at that moment.
"Drake…You know her husband is away on 'business'" Morgana called, she stood at the archway of the door, grasping the hand of a young girl, her seven-year-old granddaughter, and Lisa's first born.
Melanie rushed up to pick up Molly (Midget Molly, as she was often tenderly called) who was her goddaughter, and allowed Mr. and Mrs. Drake Mallard to talk in seclusion.
"Why did you bring…"
Morgana held back a desperate laugh; it was just like Drake to try to start a fight when he could not bear the current emotions he was feeling.
"You know why, our little girl's little girl is as intuitive and her mother, she knows Drake, she knows…and she made me bring her or she would have brought herself. And least with me she got her permission."
"This isn't entirely my fault. It's that selfish power hungry, by the book bear's fault…no… What am I thinking? Morg, this is my fault. I allowed my life style to endanger my children's lives."
"Dark Darling, the children are all grown up. They have made their own choices. It's not your fault—at all. Lisa chose her path as a SHUSH agent. Things like this happen."
Drake shook his head, "No, only if we let it happen!" He knew he wasn't making sense but he didn't care. Lisa was going to go on Maternity Leave the next week, just one more week and she would be away from her stressful dangerous job. But the thing is, F.O.W.L. denied responsibility (despite the fact that Steel, who was now F.O.W.L. High Command DID admit that they wouldn't MIND seeing one of SHUSH's top agents bite the big one). It was not them that harmed his daughter. It was something else.
The doctors claimed it was as if she was poisoned but they didn't know from what. They could not detect any known toxic in her blood. But something was making her sick, and they only had a limited time to find out what because every hour, Lisa became weaker. And it had to be foul play.
Darkwing Tower
Returning from the space mission, Quiverwing, Speed King (he changed the last part of his code name to "Prince" to "King" after he finished college) , Major Mind and Quackules, who had forever abandoned "kid" when he turned 21, were greeted by a tearful young woman wearing a gray and yellow costume.
Speed King stared at the teen in the costume in shock, recognizing her immediately like he had her mother. He knew he was about her age the first time he embraced his persona, but, as a father he began to understand how it was like for Uncle Donald, and his mother.
Quiverwing placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, and then tended to their daughter.
"Regina," she said gently. Not sure what type of care her daughter required. Was it a boy that she would allow Huey to kill? Or was… did something happen to Darkwing. Something she could not bear to fathom.
"What's wrong?" she asked at last.
"Mom…it's…it's…" she took a deep breath. She had to or she knew she would fall into many pieces. "It's Aunt Lisa. Grandpa wanted to wait and tell you, but when he called, I wouldn't let him keep it from me. His voice, you know you can tell how Grandpa is feeling just by the tone…"
"What happened?" Quiverwing quickly asked, not factoring how much her 17 year-old daughter would even know.
"Poisoned, and they don't even know by what," Regina asked.
Speed King glanced over to his two brothers, each sharing the same horrified expression.
"F.O.W.L. denies credit," another voice revealed.
Quackules removed his mask, "When did you find this out, Skylark?"
"Dad called from the hospital," Skylark McQuack answered, the daughter of Launchpad and Bella.
"We have to find out," Major Mind said redundantly as he fine tuned his helmet, searching for any clues he can find.
Present Day...
Donald started to pace back and forth. He and his wife Daisy Duck, were expecting their first baby. Early in the day, Daisy came to the hospital with intense contractions.
A young doctor named Dr. Webster entered in the room holding a chart.
Daisy looked eagerly to the doctor. "Donald," she whispered. "He is back."
"Dr. Webster, so what is the news?" she asked.
Dr. Webster smiled at his charge, "Over zealous, but not ready to go. It's a false alarm, Mrs. Duck."
Daisy laughed, "I guess he or she is trying her best not to miss Christmas with mixed results."
Dr. Webster nodded, "Perhaps. Just go home and get some rest. The baby will come when he or she is ready. Have a great holiday."
A nervous Donald helped his wife down and the two of them walked toward the parking lot.
Donald wrapped a scarf around his wife and made sure she was all bundled up. "Just making sure the baby is warm," he said.
Daisy rested her head on Donald's shoulder. "I'm fine Donald. I just wish our daughter would just decide to be born already."
"Our daughter?" Donald asked bewildered. "I thought we decided to wait on the gender."
"Or son," Daisy added. "I know Donald, we are going to wait. She just feels like a daughter."
"What kind of doggone logic is that?" Donald mumbled under his breath as he opened the door of the mini van for his wife and helped her to get inside.
Meanwhile, the newly wed, Launchpad and Bella were still in bed.
Launchpad rolled over to be closed to his wife.
"I love you", he informed.
"I know", Bella coyly replied.
She began to playfully rattle Launchpad's red hair.
"Not to steal Daisy's spotlight, but I have been thinking. Should we think about having a child of our own?"
Launchpad kissed Bella tenderly on her collar bone.
"I suppose it is possible that we could," he replied.
A voice from the hallway interrupted the intimate conversation.
"Mom! Launchpad!" Melanie shouted. "Louie is home from college!"
She ran toward the door, which rang for the second time. "Are you going to answer it?"
Bella placed two fingers of her right hand upon Launchpad's lips, silencing him.
"Go ahead and answer the door, Melanie, I will be out in a moment."
Dewey licked a stamp and placed it on an envelope. After Ashley started to refuse his visits, the written word was the only way, he was able to reach her.
She did send him a letter weekly, though, some were very cryptic, but they were regular all the same. Except, for the last few weeks... She seemed increasingly distant, and it really worried him. It was Christmas time. And even though she was in prison, he knew she desperately needed some sense of familiarity.
The cell phone rang, and he picked it up. Hoping it was news from Uncle Donald about the baby.
"Dewey?" the voice called, a sad voice, at the brink of collapsed.
"Jeff?" Dewey replied, his voice both eager and fearful. "Something wrong with Ashley?"
He fingers clammed up, while waiting for the answer.
"I hope not," Jeff answered, staring up at the ceiling, on Ashley's bed.
It was here, the last time he talked to Ashley before her arrest. She was distant all through Launchpad and Bella's wedding, and since the arrest, the half-siblings kept their contact to a weekly phone call.
"What happened?" Dewey demanded. Though he attempted to keep his tone polite, it failed. And he almost felt as if he should apologize, but he knew he wouldn't.
"Nothing," Jeff replied. "And that is the problem."
"What about Tank?" Dewey asked.
Jeff sighed, remembering the words that Ashley told him so many months before.
"I made a mistake…And it turned into several more."
"Does it involve Tank", Jeff pressed.
"Yes Jeff" Ashley sighed "Part of it involves Tank but I can't tell you anymore than that."
Ashley kissed Jeffery on the forehead before grabbing her keys and storming out of the door.
"She has avoided him too," Jeff stated. "Why won't she allow any of us in?"
Dewey looked down.
"Her mother, and Negaduck," he whispered under his breath.
The Future…
Back in future, somewhere, in an unknown location, the future's Negaduck paced back and forth.
"Father, what is wrong?" asked a male white-feathered duck, slightly taller than his father.
"Megavolt is up to something," he replied, as he glared at the stars outside their hideout's window.
"Why do we even care?" the young man duck posed. "That traitor left years ago."
"He is stealing the entire spotlight from me."
"So what else is new?" the duck cringed, yet steadily continued, "But father, that means the Fury will be out dealing with him. Our gang will be able to regain our presence as the number 1 villains of St. Canard and Duckburg."
"Ooh!" Negaduck gleefully replied. "Well, if you put it that way."
Nearby, and unknown to Negaduck and his son, an ash colored female duck, was spying on the pair. She ran from the scene and ran into a white-feathered half-duck, half-goose just about her height.
"Where's the fire Bonnie?" he asked.
She tried to stare into his eyes, but she could not and instead looked away quickly.
"I was spying on Negaduck for Mister M- I can't let him see me."
"As much as I hate to say this," the male half-duck, half-goose said, staring at the young female duck's shaking frame, "I am not sure you picked the right side. I can't say you weren't better off in Negaduck's organization."
The female turned away, in disgust.
"Be quiet Beau," she pleaded. "Or I won't tell you about the secret."
"What secret?" Beau asked.
"The one about the SHUSH agent," she whispered, as she started to walk away.
He grabbed her arm, restraining her, "What are you talking about!" he demanded.
"There is only one way to save Lisa Mallard, and Mister M, is planning to go back in time to prevent the cure."
"Huh?" Beau asked bewildered. "Is this the only thing you are going to tell me?"
Bonnie looked down to her vibrating cell phone. "It's Mister M, I gotta go. Follow me later, but now leave. You don't want Father catching you."
Bonnie ran into the alley, so fast, and Beau tried to watch her until he couldn't follow her with his eyes any longer.
He picked up his own communications device, "A little bird, told me a secret. I am on my way."
To Be Continued
Author Note: This is a slightly different chapter that was written so many years ago. Don't worry. It is mostly a grammar and word chose revision. I wish to be able to finally put a "The End" to this story who has been in a state of incomplete for over three years. I hope you enjoy the journey. I really hope you have enjoyed this series, and I hope that my technique has matured and improve from "Back to the Nest" though that story too was fun. Thanks for reading.