She reacted differently than the triplets to certain events. When she heard a sudden noise, her first instinct was to drop into an attack position and reach for her weapons. Since Scrooge McDuck wasn't letting her carry her weapons anymore, she came up short. It increased her anxiety, as her weapons had become like a suit of armor. Steelbeak had impressed upon her the importance of never letting the weapons leave her side, much less have someone confiscate them. However, one of the conditions she'd agreed to abide by to live in this house was that she couldn't walk around armed. It made everyone too nervous, Scrooge claimed. Considering that the last time someone had snuck up on her, she'd grabbed them by the throat, she supposed she could see his reasoning.
The triplets weren't like that. They would turn their heads toward the sound or spin about to see what it was. It was never anything dangerous and they usually relaxed afterward. Webby didn't. Webby assumed that the noise was a decoy and that the real threat was elsewhere. Two weeks into staying at McDuck Manor and she remained keyed up, only able to relax her guard on rare occasions when her grandmother, Lena, and Dewey calmed her down enough.
For all that she was supposed to love her grandmother, Mrs. Beakley remained a stranger. She knew she ought to trust her, but she'd been brainwashed for years to believe her grandmother was weak and pathetic. Her grandmother had allowed love to pollute her judgment. Webby knew that love wasn't a contaminant now. That didn't mean she didn't regard Mrs. Beakley without suspicion, though.
The same went for Lena and Dewey, unfortunately. While she trusted Dewey, far more than she should considering how little they actually knew each other, he was still a stranger. Lena was too, try as she might to rectify that. It wasn't easy for Webby to reach out to people; after her upbringing, she was paranoid and wary. Trust was the backbone of any relationship and Webby didn't have it. Plus, she was socially awkward and had difficulty starting and holding conversations.
At present, Webby was poring over The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck to see whether anything within it jogged her memory. She'd learned to read at three and she had an eidetic memory, which came in handy for learning languages and memorizing tedious lists. The problem was that she knew she'd memorized this stuff once before, but she had a mental block. Nothing before her arrival at FOWL would pierce through the fog. She didn't remember being abducted, for instance, and while she had recognized Mr. McDuck and her grandmother on sight, she didn't remember being in the manor before. She had the feeling that Black Heron or Steelbeak might have beaten that lesson into her. Most probably Black Heron.
As before, she had sequestered herself in her room and locked the door, despite multiple people telling her that doors were not locked in McDuck Manor. Frequently, doors weren't even closed. Webby valued her privacy too much to leave it unlocked, much less open. Plus, if the door were open, someone could creep up on her at any time. Without her weapons, she'd be defenseless. Well, except for her body, which was a weapon in and of itself.
There was a knock at the door and Webby grabbed a scrap of paper, bookmarked her page, and strode over to the door to unlock it.
"Yes?" she said.
"So, we were all thinking that you might wanna do something normal, like go to the mall," Huey said. "Especially since you spend all your time locked in your room. And…"
"And we don't know what you're doing in there," Louie added. "It could be secret spy stuff or it could be something way worse."
Reluctantly, she opened the door to find the triplets arrayed before her along with Lena, whose expression told her that the "we" in this instance did not include her. Judging by Louie's identical expression, it did not include him either. Lena probably expected aloofness from Webby considering what Magica had put her through. Louie, on the other hand, didn't trust Webby as far as he could throw her.
"It's not secret spy stuff," she said and reluctantly retrieved her book to show them. "I've been reading up about Mr. McDuck and the McDuck family. I used to know all about them before I was kidnapped. Now I don't remember anything from before I was, like, six."
"You don't remember being kidnapped?" Huey asked and she shook her head.
"All I remember is what FOWL taught me," she admitted. She couldn't meet Huey's gaze. "I guess some of what Granny taught me stuck subconsciously, because I'm not a psychopath, but I don't really recall her. Or the manor. Or Mr. McDuck. Or anything but Black Heron and Steelbeak."
"No wonder you attacked your grandmother," Huey said.
"No, that was because I thought FOWL was going to kill me," Webby said. "I didn't really want to kill her. You probably noticed."
"You didn't want to kill anyone and that's okay," Dewey said. "Just because you were trained to do it doesn't mean you have to."
She shook her head again. "You don't get it. In FOWL's eyes, I'd failed them."
"But in our eyes and in the eyes of anyone with a conscience, you didn't," Dewey said, taking her hand. Her heart thudded in her chest. His gaze was so earnest that she caught her breath.
"So, you've been spending all of this time holed up in your room when you could've just spoken to one of us?" Louie asked.
"I'm...not great with socializing," she said. "I didn't have anyone my age growing up to talk to and no one ever really wanted to talk to me. I was kinda in the way."
The boys winced. Lena, however, was nodding as if she understood completely. Webby supposed she did. After all, she'd grown up isolated too. That made them kindred spirits.
"If your mission hadn't changed, would you still have left FOWL?" Huey asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I mean, it's not like FOWL had a lot to offer me, but it was the only thing I knew."
"Next time, just talk to us, okay?" Louie said. "We don't bite."
Webby's beak curved into a slight smile and she pulled away from Dewey to put the book down on a nearby bureau. This was more than she ought to have said and she couldn't help but wonder whether the information might be used against her. Then again, they weren't like that. They were supposed to be the good guys. She was supposed to be good now.
Her chest tightened. She didn't believe that. FOWL had tainted her and corrupted her. Even if she hadn't killed her grandmother, she'd still made the attempt. She'd kidnapped Lena and attacked the triplets. That didn't make her a good person.
"Hey," Dewey said, reaching out to grab her shoulders. "Hey. Where do you go when you stare off into the distance like that?"
He was the only one who could touch her without her starting. She remembered a cheesy line from a Gothic novel she'd read long ago, also inserted in the "cautionary tales" section of FOWL's library. Wuthering Heights. "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."
"Sorry," she whispered, shaking her head. "I go off on tangents mentally."
"Like what?" Huey asked, curious.
Webby reddened. "Nothing important."
She let them lead her away from her bedroom and the book. They were talking to cover the silence and Webby noticed that Lena hadn't spoken. She cast her a quizzical look and Lena shrugged, returning to her phone and typing away furiously. It was her own little world and Webby envied her ability to escape. If she'd had that before, she could have dealt less with her tormentors.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Huey said.
She debated how much to tell them and hugged herself. Seeing her discomfiture, Dewey wrapped an arm about her waist. Every time she looked at him, she felt such a strange combination of emotions. Part of her wanted to kiss him, another part wanted to ask him whether he was out of his mind, and a third part felt grounded by him. Like she would fly away if he weren't nearby.
"Do you think I'm a good person?" she asked and the words seemed to fall between them.
"You're not an evil person if that's what you're asking," Lena said without looking up from her cell phone. "I know evil. You did what you had to do to survive, Webs. You can't blame yourself for turning out how you did."
"You're a good person," Dewey said, which wasn't quite what Lena had said. It was like the difference between innocent and not guilty. "You have a good heart. If you didn't, you wouldn't have stood up to Steelbeak and Black Heron. You wouldn't have pulled your punches with me or given Mrs. Beakley a poison that you knew wouldn't kill her."
"She still poisoned her, though," Louie pointed out.
"That's what I mean," Webby said. "I'm not a good person, Dewey."
"I don't think you've had time to experiment with being a good person," Huey said.
"You can be neutral, you know," Lena said, looking up finally as they traversed the halls and headed toward the front door. "You don't have to be good or evil."
"You've spent your life being squashed under FOWL's thumb. You had to do what they wanted or they'd kill you. That doesn't mean you're not a decent person, Webby. Like Lena said, you did what you did to survive," Huey argued.
"You don't know who you are yet," he continued. "You haven't had a chance to explore that side of you."
Her secret heart. The one she'd kept hidden for so long that she had almost started to forget it existed. Dewey pulled her up against him and she leaned against him. Her heart thudded. She was falling in love with him. The thought struck her with alacrity. She could feel herself thinking the words "I love you", despite only hearing them in the distant past and now that she'd joined her grandmother in the manor.
"Where do you five think you're going?" Mrs. Beakley demanded and they stopped dead in their tracks. She was standing in front of the doorway and her gaze searched Webby for a few seconds. Whatever she saw softened her countenance.
"To the mall?" Louie said. "We'll be fine."
"The day before Thanksgiving?" Mrs. Beakley said, incredulous. "The place is going to be a madhouse."
"So?" Louie said, unperturbed. Webby shivered.
"You don't like crowds?" Dewey asked.
"I've never been in a crowd," she said. "FOWL kept me pretty isolated. Duckburg was the first time I'd ever left the compound, remember?"
Dewey kissed her on the cheek and she turned and kissed him on the lips. Mrs. Beakley cleared her throat and Webby pulled back, swallowing the words "I love you".
"As I was saying, not a good idea," Mrs. Beakley said. "Perhaps you might…"
She trailed off as Mr. McDuck approached them. Webby's chest tightened, apprehension gripping her. She knew that if she put a foot out of line, he could throw her out. She considered her housing status temporary, regardless of what the others said. One word from him and she'd be out on the street again.
"Another treasure, this time the lost Scepter of the Incas," Scrooge announced, his eyes alight with the thrill of adventuring. "Care to join us, Webbigail?"
"I...what?" she said, baffled. "You want me with you? You trust me?"
"Mrs. Beakley has vouched for you. Repeatedly, I might add," he said and rolled his eyes. "And what better way to prove your loyalty than a rip-roaring adventure with life or death consequences?"
"Yeah, leave me out of that," Louie said. "I'm all for a trip to the mall, but I'm out of adventuring. Someone always gets hurt and that someone is usually me."
"What do you say?" he said, smiling at Webby. "You wanna try your hand at treasure hunting and exploring the great unknown?"
"C'mon, say yes," Dewey said and beamed at her. "You know you want to. Adventures are so awesome. You'll love it."
"I'm sitting this one out too," Lena said, not looking up from her phone. "Not big on life or death situations, not after dying the first time."
"You might enjoy yourself," Huey said. "It's a chance to get to know us better, too. Other than sitting in your room and reading about the family."
"Okay," she said. "I'll go."
Dewey whooped, Louie rolled his eyes, and Lena frowned, looking up from her phone and then right back down. Webby's heart thudded. She hoped she hadn't just made a huge mistake.
It was the first time she'd met Launchpad. He was...unusual. Apparently, he found her fascinating and kept asking her strange questions about her time with FOWL. Webby, who hadn't wanted to field so many questions about herself in the first place, felt increasingly awkward. She was grateful when Scrooge told Launchpad to focus on his piloting and not on 20 questions.
"You don't really like to talk about yourself, do you?" Dewey said as Webby sat back down in relief.
"No one ever asked about me before now…" Webby said. "Not unless they were asking about what I could do or be for someone."
Her heart clenched and she stared at the floor. Dewey cuddled her close; affection came so easily to him. What must it have been like to grow up with a guardian who actually cared about you? Who loved you?
Seeing as Huey was preoccupied checking the JWG about the Incas and Scrooge was making sure Launchpad stayed the course, Webby chanced kissing Dewey on the beak again. She couldn't help herself. She really liked kissing him. And being held by him. And just him in general.
It didn't hurt that he always kissed her back. He cupped the back of her head.
When they pulled back, her nerves, already taut from everything, snapped and she lost control of her mouth.
"I love you," she blurted. She then turned scarlet and jumped back to put a seat between them. "Shit. I didn't mean to say that. Just pretend you didn't hear that."
"It's okay," he said, as if talking to a skittish animal. "Ssh, it's okay, Webs. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I shouldn't have said that. Pretend I didn't say anything," she begged.
"Webby," Dewey said, taking her hand. She yanked it away. Her heart was pounding. "Webby, it's okay."
"I...I'm gonna go for a walk," she said, despite the Sunchaser's small size. She needed to get up and away from this situation. Her chest was tight and she bolted, jumping down from the seats and sliding down the ladder toward the cargo hold. Dewey sprang after her.
"Wait!" he said. "Why are you running?"
"I can't-I shouldn't have said that," she said as he descended the ladder. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never had feelings like that for someone before and I couldn't keep my mouth shut and-"
She didn't know what she feared, specifically, although rejection would've been on that list. Perhaps she thought Black Heron would swoop down and punish her for saying that and exposing weakness. She hugged herself again and Dewey put a hand on her shoulder. She stepped back.
"Don't," she said. "Please pretend nothing happened. Please."
"I don't get what you're so afraid of," he said. "No one's gonna hurt you, Webs."
"What's going on down there?" Scrooge called.
Webby gazed imploringly at Dewey. If he told Mr. McDuck the truth, she'd be utterly miserable. As far as she was concerned, this was best buried somewhere deep down and never spoken of again.
"She thinks I'm gonna punish her or something," Dewey said, baffled. Scrooge descended the ladder and Webby shot Dewey a venomous look.
"Are you okay, lass?" Scrooge inquired.
"She said she loved me!" Dewey said and Webby hit him. Hard. He went flying across the cargo hold and rolled over. Her stomach flip-flopped and she immediately felt guilty for striking him. But she'd told him explicitly to forget she said that.
"You can't keep running away from your feelings," Scrooge scolded. He glanced over at Dewey. "Or hitting them."
He had a point. She wasn't going to be able to escape this plane and it'd be a long flight. It'd also be an awkward one if she didn't apologize to Dewey for the assault. But…
"I told him not to tell," she said, glowering at him as he got to his feet and rubbed his sore cheek.
"There's nothing wrong with what you said," Scrooge said. "No one's gonna hurt you, lass. You don't have to keep acting like we're going to jump you in the dark."
"I'm sorry, Dewey," she murmured as he came back over. His cheek was already turning colors and she couldn't bring herself to look at him.
"You do know it's okay to love someone, don't you?" Scrooge said and tilted her head up to look at him. "Oy, Bentina's gonna have a lot of fun with you."
"Agent 22-" she caught herself-"Granny-"
"I know a few weeks won't erase years of cult mentality," he said. "Baby steps, Webbigail. Don't be frightened of what you feel."
That was all well and good for him to say. He wouldn't have been tormented for a slip of the tongue.
"I'm not even mad at you," Dewey said.
"I don't know if I'm in love with you or infatuated with you," Webby murmured. "I just know I've never felt like this about someone and it terrifies me."
Dewey hugged her.
"This is gonna be a long flight to Peru," Scrooge said with a sigh, heading back up the ladder. "A very long flight."
