Can't Keep a Good Pilot Down
By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.
Loosely based on "Waste Of Talent" by Lasse Bo Andersen and Lars Jakobsen, Just as well that hasn't been translated into English, there's no way I'd buy it.
This is what they COULD of done, if they'ld wanted to. Disney still COULD write stories like this. I'd buy them.
Launchpad and every other pilot in Duckburg were temporally grounded by every pilot's nightmare: GROUND FOG! A nasty, thick, stubborn fog had hugged Duckburg for days, grounding all flights in and out of Duckburg.
Even with his classes at the Duckburg Flying Academy keeping him busy, poor Launchpad was soon going buggy. Mr. McD gave him a broom and told him to sweep the airfield to keep Launchpad from climbing the walls.
Pilots were not the only ones grounded. So was Magica. She could not safely fly on her broom in this mess of a fog, either. And her magic could not effect it, there's only so much even magic can do vs. Mother Nature.
Magica took her frustration on being grounded out on her favorite flying broom, screaming at the loyal, hard-working broom simply because it was handy to blame stuff on.
Soon the annoyed broom ran away from home. It went to the only other "person" to ever fly it before: Launchpad McQuack.(1) I'm not sure why, I'm not sure how smart the broom is. Maybe it sensed Launchpad gets yelled at when he doesn't deserve it, too. Maybe the broom knows how much Launchpad belongs in the sky. Maybe it had no place ELSE to go.
It found Launchpad when he was about to start sweeping the airfield with a normal broom. When Launchpad went to get a dustpan, Magica's broom hid the normal broom and waited for Launchpad in its place.
Launchpad started sweeping, suspecting nothing. Till the broom he was holding stared flying straight UP, right thru the fog.
The broom had wanted to try this method of getting thru fog: by going straight up until it was above the fog for quite some time. It had TRIED to use it with Magica, but she just got mad at it. (She didn't realize what it was up to. Not being able to talk has definite disadvantages.)
Launchpad hung unto the broom for dear life. For a second, he was terrified of going so high up he'd run out of air. But once the broom was above the fog, it straightened up and flew right.
"Let me guess, you're Magica's broom, right?" Launchpad asked. It bobbed up and down as if nodding.
"Well, I suppose there can't be too many magic flying brooms around. But I got to take you back to Magica. For one thing: you're not mine. If I keep you, that's stealing. Besides, Magica will turn me into fried duck when she finds out." Launchpad said.
But just then a bunch of ravens, including Poe,(2) started attacking Launchpad and trying to peck him off the broom. Launchpad gulped and hung on tighter.
" I didn't steal the broom! I found it and I'm returning it!" Launchpad yelled.
The ravens just kept pecking!
"I'll destroy the broom! If you don't stop pecking, I'll tear it to pieces! If I'm going to die anyway, I'll take it with me!" Launchpad bluffed.
Peck, peck, peck.
"I know how to get rid of this blasted fog, but I need Magica's magical help to do it!" Launchpad screamed.
The pecking stopped.
"Follow me! I, Poe, will take you to my sister!" Poe said.
Launchpad followed the ravens to Magica's house and landed right next to Magica herself.
"I did NOT steal your broom. One minute I was sweeping with what I thought was a normal broom, next thing I knew I was flying! I realized it was your broom and was bringing it back!" Launchpad said.
Magica was going to zap Launchpad ANYWAY, but the broom flew in front of him, blocking the blast.
"What? Hmm. It wouldn't do that if you weren't telling the Truth. And I don't see how you could of found this place by yourself, never mind have snuck in here and stolen my broom. What's this about knowing how to get rid of this fog? I've tried creating wind to blow it away and heat to vaporize it, but it doesn't work!" Magica said.
"Can you make it rain? Fog is just low-laying clouds. If you can make them rain..." Launchpad started to explain
"They'll either rain 'till there's nothing left of them or else become normal clouds! I didn't think of that! But I need to fly to make rain and I can't fly in this fog!" Magica said.
"Your broomstick can fly in this fog by going straight up 'till it's over the fog. It did it for me and will do it for you, if you let it. Promise to let me go unharmed and I'll give you your broomstick back. Try to hurt me, and I'll take it and keep it." Launchpad bargained.
"Deal. Anything to get rid of this blasted fog." Magica agreed.
Magica gathered some magical stuff and got on her broomstick and this time did not fight it as it flew straight up. It took her straight above the fog where she did some magic to make it rain. The fog got thicker and darker. It RAINED. It rained pickles and it poured soap. Finally, it stopped leaving blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Magica landed to find Launchpad long gone.
"Definitely smarter than he looks. He knew better than to trust me!" Magica cackled.
Launchpad was later telling me about this turn of events as he worked on his new term project for the Duckburg Flying Academy.
"You were just given a partner for your project yesterday, but have not decided on a theme yet?" I asked.
"Yeah, but this gave me an idea! I noticed what Magica took with her to make it rain. My project partner knows more about chemistry than I do and I know more about building rockets then he does, so I'm going to suggest we build tiny rockets to fly above fog and make it rain and thus get rid of the stupid fog! We can try the stuff Magica used to make it rain with frozen carbon dioxide and see if it works!" Launchpad said.
The End.
(1) "With a little help from my friends and family" by yours truly.
(2) Magica was watching this thur her crystal ball. Even if Poe is working as a double agent for Mr. McD, see "Little Bird Told Me", Poe STILL had to attack Launchpad since Magica was watching him.