My Beautiful Balloon
By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

Based on "Superducktales"& the Hidenpanic and inspired by a recent Disney movie that stars an old geezer who should be heckling the Muppets with his crony Waldolf.


A nice old "man" (two-legged talking dog), a friend of Launchpad's had a problem. His house had been seized by eminent domain to make room for a highway. And Nick Nackpaddywack had promised his wife, Giva they would always live in their house. It looked like Nick would have to break his promise. But me, Launchpad and a bunch of volunteers including the Jr. Woodchucks and my crazy in-laws, the Flying McQuacks came to help.

We worked hard to carefully dismantle Nick's old house. It took lots of hard work, prying out nails, prying up boards without damaging them, knocking down brick walls and collecting the bricks. We loaded bricks, planks, and even straightened nails in boxes- into the blimp.

We had made the blimp ourselves. It was a beautiful patchwork blimp, made from balloons left over from the Duckburg Thanksgiving Day parade lashed together.
Since it was made out of five parade balloons bound together, I dubbed it: "The Fifth Dimension". (1)

After we had loaded everything onto the blimp, Nick insisted on staying to watch. Launchpad tried to jolly him out of it.

"There's nothing here anymore! Let's blow this stand!" Launchpad said.

However, Nick refused to budge. Until the workmen started tearing up the land that his home once sat on.

"My home!" screamed an anguished Nick.
And Nick ran towards the bulldozers, heedless of the danger. Launchpad risked his life to save the poor snook.
"It's gone, you idiot!" Launchpad screamed. (2)
"You saved my life! But you also called me an idiot!" yelled Nick.

"You were trying to save a house that isn't there any more! I'm sorry if I think that's silly!" Launchpad replied.

Nick shamefacedly agreed and was talked into leaving. We climbed onto the balloon and Launchpad steered it. The Flying McQuacks flew in their biplanes close to the blimp, to make sure we arrived without incident.

However, Launchpad and my crazy in-laws are Trouble Magnets and Trouble was attracted by their presence. First, a comet streaked down towards Earth- right in front of us!

"It's the comet Convenienttotheplot! Crashing stright ahead! And don't blame ME, I'm NOT flying it!" Launchpad screamed.

Then Launchpad slammed on the brakes and held the blimp stock-still so the comet missed us- but not by much! It landed right smack dab in the middle of the site where the Nackpaddywacks' house had been. Fortunely, the workers had just finished digging up the land and had parked their vehicles on the side of the site and nobody got hurt. The comet, being made mostly of ice, melted and turned to steam on re-entry. It turned into a large lake.

"See? Isn't it a good thing we had to move, Nick? If we had still lived there, we would of been killed for sure! I TOLD you everything works out for the best!" Giva said.

"They're going to have a devil of a time building that new highway with that lake in their way! Serves them right!" chuckled Nick.

Then, the wind shifted and blew in the opposite direction we were going. This can slow a balloon down to a crawl, so Launchpad shifted it.

Then what Launchpad had been trying to prevent from happening, happened anyway. The wind was blowing in one direction and the blimp's engine was pushing it in the opposite direction. The parade balloons that had been bond together, started to come apart from the strain.

"I can fly the balloon if you want to do something" I said. (3)

"Thanks! I'd better do something before this patchwork blimp comes apart at the seams!" Launchpad replied.

Launchpad climbed up and started reattaching the balloons, "sewing" them together. (4) Loopy flew her plane near the blimp and stuck a "club" around the joystick to plane on a steady course. (5) Loopy climbed onto the blimp and helped her brother. I had my hands full holding the blimp steady so they wouldn't fall off.

Ripcord steered his plane and used it as a windbreaker and sheltered us from the wind. Birdy did likewise.

Finally, I had ever so slowly shifted the blimp so the wind was no longer blowing against us. Launchpad and Loopy finished fixing the blimp and their parents flew their biplanes back along side the blimp. I steered the blimp closer to Loopy's plane so she could climb back onto her biplanes. Once she was safely onboard, I held the blimp steady so Launchpad could come on down.

When we finally landed the blimp onto the property Nick had bought, we all breathed a sigh of relief. We got to work rebuilding the Nackpaddywack's new old home. Once we were done, we threw a party to celebrate.

The End.


(1) Launchpad considered using the Hidenpanic II, from "The Glicthy Gremlins" by Yours Truly, but it's a passenger blimp and its cab is too small.
(2) That's my take on events in one of the episodes of "Superducktales", that Launchpad risked his life when Mr. McDuck's almost lost his trying to rescue an EMPTY Money Bin- but Launchpad ALSO called Mr. McDuck an idiot for doing that.

Launchpad: "It's empty, you idiot"
Mr. McDee: "Launchpad, you just saved my life- but you also called me an idiot!"
Launchpad: "You were risking your life to rescue an empty money bin! I'm sorry if I think that's silly! Not that I get what good a full money bin will do you if you're too busy being DEAD to spend it!"

Mr. McDuck: "You have a point there."

(3) I'M NOT brave enough to climb up there and NOT athletic enough to do so even if I was!
(4) Guess who remembers "The Brave Little Tailor"?
(5) Antique biplanes don't have autopilots.