Author's Note: I had to stop writing because I ran out of steam. XD Also, it's supposed to start raining soon and I brought my laptop out of the house without putting it in a bag. I'm brilliant, I know. -_-

Megavolt wasn't romancing a lightbulb. Instead, the mole was swooning over the newest power plant installed in Duckburg. It ran on hydroelectric power and was much cleaner than the previous one. He didn't care about that, however. All he cared about was output. That baby could juice more than a few circuits if you know what I mean. He rubbed his palms together gleefully.

His phone vibrated and he hissed. How dare someone interrupt his moment. Who had his number, anyway? Until the phone vibrated, he'd forgotten he'd owned one. Little things tended to slip his mind. Big things slipped his mind too if he was perfectly honest. At best, his memory was patchy.

The phone was still vibrating and he yanked it off his toolbelt. The number didn't look familiar, although he'd been getting a lot of spam calls lately, so he wasn't surprised. Ready to snap at the poor soul daring to call his attention away, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Megavolt. I wasn't sure you'd answer."

"Who are you?" Megavolt said. "What's with the stupid accent?"

"You don't recognize me?" The male voice on the other end sighed, sounding exasperated. "How could you not have heard of me? Darkwing Duck's heard of me."

"You're not Darkwing Duck. And I have more important things to do than chew the fat with a random telemarketer. Goodbye."

"No, wait! I'm not a telemarketer! I am Tuskernini!"

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"Tuskernini. I specialize in movie and television productions. I believe in art for art's sake. Surely your memory's been jogged by now."

"Gonna take a lot more than that. Look, I'll call you back when I care."

With that, he was about to hit the 'end call' button on his phone when Tuskernini cried, "Stop! I have an offer for you!"

Megavolt put the phone back to his ear. "I'm listening."

"How would you like to work with me on a movie production at McDuck Studios?" he asked and Megavolt heard the desperation. He was amused by it, though it wasn't enough to hook him, not yet. It was enough to keep him from hanging up and that was about it.

"You would have access to all the electricity there and it is connected to the new power plant," he continued. That piqued Megavolt's interest. Straightening from his position where he'd been overlooking the falls that helped power the hydroelectric plant, he put the barrier to his back. He was almost amazed Tuskernini could hear him over the roar of the falls behind him. All that power, all that potential. He was surprised Liquidator hadn't hopped over to Duckburg because of the water. He and Liquidator never hung out; it was always him and Quackerjack and Liquidator and Bushroot.

(No one, of course, hung out with Negaduck in their off hours).

"You don't say," Megavolt said casually, smiling. "Complete control over the electricity?"

"There is also a mock-up of the Gizmoduck suit, which is powered by the brain," Tuskernini continued. "If you would like to play with that."

"Sold!" Megavolt cheered, practically bouncing on the balls of his heels. "I'll be right there!"

He'd never committed crimes in Duckburg before. This was a whole new playground. Of course, he assumed that Tuskernini would want something in exchange for his assistance, but he wouldn't worry about that now. As always, the future was a distant spark compared to the present.

"In exchange," Tuskernini continued, sensing that Megavolt's attention was drifting, "I need you to help me keep the captives from revolting, overthrowing me, and escaping."

Megavolt scoffed. "I can do that no problem. Now, about that suit...do you know how it hooks up into the brain? What its power outputs are? What kind of demands does it make on the body? What the dimensions of a person might be to fit in there?"

"Er…"

That meant 'no'. Megavolt brushed that off. He'd worry about it later, then, like everything else.

"Tuskernini, baby, you're killing me."

"How soon can you be here?"

Yeah, he was definitely desperate. If Megavolt had a little more brains and a little less impetuosity, he might've been tempted to toy with Tuskernini and see where it took him. Negaduck would have felt him out. Megavolt wasn't good with artifice. What you saw was what you got.

"How far is the studio from the power plant? I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Assuming your ADD doesn't kick in," Tuskernini grumbled.

"What was that?" Megavolt demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," Tuskernini said hurriedly. "Come as soon as you can."

Hanging up, Megavolt shoved the cell phone back into his belt. Man, he didn't know what he'd done without that toolbelt and the cell phone. The internet brought such great wonders and abilities to tweak electricity. The water roaring drew his attention again and he stared as it churned, frothing white. It was hypnotic. He could stand here all day and watch it.

Wasn't there something else he was supposed to be doing? It'd slipped his mind. Oh, well. Shrugging, Megavolt stared overhead at the power lines. Yes, it was something, something important. A movie studio, maybe? But what did Megavolt have to do with movies? This wasn't a fantasy where he'd killed Darkwing Duck and was trying for the movie rights.

Confused, he gazed at the structure before him with its turbines. Movies...McDuck Studios...like Megavolt was stupid enough to tangle with Scrooge McDuck. No one was that stupid, except maybe the Beagle Boys and Magica de Spell. Magica de Spell. That reminded him. He hadn't seen Morgana around lately, not after she'd socked Negaduck. He couldn't say that Negaduck hadn't deserved it for getting in between Darkwing and Morgana.

(The problem, as Tuskernini was about to find out, was that Megavolt's thoughts didn't follow a logical pattern. For that matter, when his mind drifted, it seldom returned to its previous track. The shocks he'd gotten over his life had scrambled his thought processes).

Heh, Darkwing Dork. He hadn't seen him around lately either. He'd been spending time in Duckburg. Duckburg. That was where Megavolt was, wasn't it? Why was he here again? He'd forgotten.

Oh, right, the power plant. Tuskernini? The walrus popped into his mind and he huffed. Tuskernini had nothing to do with anything. Except...he did.

What had he been thinking about before? McDuck Studios? His gaze followed the power lines as they trailed out over the city. Somewhere in that congested mess was McDuck Studios and there was Tuskernini. He wasn't sure why the villain was in Duckburg, especially when this wasn't his usual haunt. He hadn't exactly explained that, had he? Or had he and Megavolt didn't recall? His short term memory was often on the fritz.

When he looked at his phone, a half hour had passed with him just standing there, thinking. The phone vibrated again-it was Tuskernini.

"Talk to me, baby."

"You got distracted again, didn't you?" Tuskernini groaned.

"I'll be right there. But why are you here?"

"McDuck Studios is botching a movie and besides, there are artifacts here that I cannot procure from anywhere else, ancient movie cameras and the like. Why do you care?"

The walrus was back to sounding exasperated and Megavolt smiled.

"I wanted to know. Jeez, curiosity never killed anybody."

"I believe curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back."

"Is that how that line goes?" Tuskernini was contemplative. "Well, whatever. Get here. I will keep calling you until you arrive here."

Megavolt heard a ruckus behind the villain and he recalled belatedly that Tuskernini had said something about a possible uprising. Perhaps he'd better stop procrastinating and get over there before things got worse. Or before he lost his opportunity to play with the expensive electrical toys. He grinned. That sounded like fun. Why hadn't he gone first thing?

"Be right there," he promised and this time, he meant it. He wouldn't let anything distract him from getting there. Even if it meant he'd have to somehow rein in his ADD. He would get there and he'd show everyone the foolishness of keeping him from his beloved electricity. They abused it in all the wrong ways. He'd abuse it in all the right ways.

It didn't take long to locate the studios, although getting in was another story. It seemed someone had called the Duckburg Police Department and they were having a stand-off with Tuskernini. Megavolt hung back, wanting to avoid capture. This was problematic. Hmm. He could always hide behind a shrub, though subterfuge was not his strong suit. He normally liked to launch himself straight into a situation, but if he did that here, he'd be arrested on the spot and questions asked later. The police tended to harbor a grudge against him just because he'd electrocuted one of them once. It'd been an accident!

There were fewer cops near the studio's rear and he crept through the foliage. The bushes were scratchy and he had to wriggle on his stomach to avoid notice. Since the DPD was concentrated on the front gates, however, he managed to evade notice, slip inside the studio, and then realize he had no idea where he was going.

There were multiple lots back here. Moreover, Tuskernini hadn't narrowed it down for him. Megavolt wanted to pull out his phone to call him and demand more information, but he'd forgotten his number. Plus, the cops were lurking nearby and he didn't want to risk being overheard. He'd have to check all the lots and see who was where.

He just hoped it didn't take as long as he suspected it would. Because if it did, he would not be a happy camper. It could take hours to go through all the lots and find where Tuskernini was hunkering down. Stupid rich McDuck. Why couldn't he be poor like everyone else? Or use his money to enrich people instead of...ooh, a brand new extension cord leading to a powerful surge protector. No, focus. He was here for a reason and it wasn't to admire the scenery, though that was part of it.

He had a mission and he was going to complete it, come hell or high water. Or the high seas. Wow, those were some fake looking waves on his right. He thought movie magic was supposed to be expensive, not scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of special effects.

Where was McDuck spending his money if not on his studio?

She supposed, after having saved up all her vacation days and sick leave, Mr. McDuck owed her a nice cruise. She wanted to enjoy it, but her stomach had been roiling all day. Seeing Lena made rage flare up and she knew it was Magica, even if the sorceress hadn't condescended to speak to Bentina. The worst part was that the rage was homicidal and focused on Lena, Webby, and Webby's best friend/sister Gosalyn. It sickened Bentina and there was nothing she could do about it.

Webby had promised they were looking into it and she had no choice but to believe her, because the alternative, being stuck with Magica forever, was unthinkable. Of course, Webby didn't know the extent of Magica's power over Mrs. Beakley, even now. Bentina had no intention of telling her granddaughter that. She didn't want to worry her more or cause her to freak out. Lena had taken to avoiding rooms that Mrs. Beakley was in and when she was forced to be in the same room, she stood with her back to the wall and looking like she was about to fight or fly. Needless to say, she wasn't making a good impression on the teenager.

Then there was the fact there was a random raven hanging around Mrs. Beakley's room now. Mrs. Beakley didn't recognize it (should she?), yet when she encountered it, the fury subsided temporarily and was replaced by melancholy. Bentina had no idea what might have incited that, as Magica was the last person she would have expected to be stricken by sadness.

Nonetheless, she found it ominous. She knew that whatever money Mr. McDuck had shelled out for the cruise would be a waste because she'd never step foot on that boat. The worst part was she had no idea what Magica was plotting. She was as in the dark as she'd been before.

It was wreaking havoc with her self-esteem. Magica was determined to keep her from telling Scrooge or anyone else, too. So Bentina suffered in silence. She was stoic. She was British. She had a handle on this. She didn't need friends or confidantes. She didn't need-oh, who was she kidding? Yes, she did. Everyone did. No man is an island.

She had no idea what to do about any of this. Sighing, she stared at the TV without seeing it. Well, she hoped the girls were having a better go of it than she was.

"So far, all we've found are things that don't work," Gosalyn complained.

"We could always ask Morgana-" Webby suggested and Gosalyn shot her a dirty look. Gosalyn still bore a grudge against her father's girlfriend for betraying him, even if it hadn't been her idea. Webby thought that if she'd been coerced into doing it, then it wasn't her fault. Lena didn't seem to have an opinion, at least not on that. But ever since they'd learned that Magica had never left the manor, Lena had grown waspish and unpredictable. Webby could tell she was running on anxiety.

"We have to ask someone," Webby pointed out. "None of us know what we're doing."

"I'm all for banishing Magica, pink," Lena said. They were gathered in the attic with magic books surrounding them. Since they'd come from the Duckburg Public Library, Lena had regarded them with casual disdain. She hadn't thought that anything available to the public would contain what they wanted. So far, Lena's supposition had proven accurate.

"As much as I hate to admit it, though, Gosalyn's right. We don't know if we can trust Morgana."

"She hasn't done anything and she beat the crud out of Negaduck after she recovered," Webby said, finding herself defending Morgana against her sister. "Besides, we have to start somewhere. And Morgana knows more than we do. Plus, why would she help Magica?"

Lena frowned. "No one has a reason to help Magica."

She shuddered and Webby put a hand on her shoulder. Lena glanced at it; Webby got the impression that touch was a foreign concept for her. After a moment, she pulled Lena into a tight hug and rested her chin on her shoulder. Lena smiled, though a shudder went through her again.

"She didn't hurt Darkwing," Webby pushed. "And everything turned out okay, didn't it?"

"Well, yes," Gosalyn admitted begrudgingly. "But what if she changes back? What if she decides she'd rather be a villain?"

"She was a villain," Webby pointed out. "And even then, she didn't hurt your dad. She loves him."

"Or claims she does," Gosalyn said, stubborn.

"It can't hurt to ask, can it?" Webby continued.

Gosalyn shot her a withering look, particularly because she knew she was wearing her down. There weren't any decent arguments and she knew it. Instead, waving her hand and looking irritated, she gestured for Webby to call Morgana. Webby shook her head in response.

"Magic and tech don't mix, remember?" Webby said.

"Then I guess we wait for Dad and her to get back from their date," Gosalyn said and rolled her eyes. "He really wanted to be alone with her. They'll probably be busy for a while."

Lena snorted and Webby looked at her curiously. Despite being trapped within the vault for the past fifteen years, Lena mysteriously knew more about adults than they did. She wasn't sure how to countenance it. It didn't make any sense to her, but then again, Webby could be oblivious. The teenager stretched out on the floor.

"What do you think they're doing, anyway?" Webby asked.

It was Gosalyn's turn to snort. "Probably kissing a lot. Gross."

They were silent for a while. Lena picked up a book and paged through it in a desultory manner. She sighed, tossing the book aside.

"It makes me wish I'd listened to Magica's lectures. Almost. She complained a lot-I had to tune it out after a while," Lena said.

"How did she lose her body, anyway?" Gosalyn asked.

"She and Scrooge were fighting on Mount Vesuvius, where her base was. It was the night of the eclipse and he wound up sucking her into his number one dime," Webby said.

"But she had the dime. Why wasn't she freed then?" Gosalyn persisted.

"There's something else at work," Lena answered and self-consciously flicked her pink floof stripe aside. Webby loved that pink stripe.

"Scrooge must've put another layer of protection over her regaining her body or her spell backfired so tremendously when she fought him that she needs additional help," Lena continued. "When Scrooge sucked her into his dime, her shadow disengaged and she used her remaining magic to create me with her as my shadow until she could regain her form. Scrooge panicked and threw us both in the Bin."

"How do you not hate him?" Gosalyn asked, wrinkling her beak. "He imprisoned you."

"Thanks for the reminder," Lena said sourly. She hugged her knees. "I don't trust him. I don't trust any of the adults."

She stretched out, perhaps realizing she'd revealed too much vulnerability. "They're all liars."

Webby wanted to defend her grandmother, but given what had happened earlier, maybe she had better not. Mrs. Beakley was becoming more like Agent 22 again and less like her foster grandmother. It reminded Webby of the lonely days she and Gosalyn had spent at the orphanage and her stomach clenched. Her gaze landed on the floor. While she was grateful for a place to live, new clothes, and family, she didn't feel as connected to the others as she might have wished. The boys were supposed to be like siblings, but she wouldn't exactly quantify them as that. As for her foster grandmother...she didn't know where she fit in with her. She didn't feel the love she'd always desired.

"You have that look on your face," Gosalyn informed Webby and she lifted her head to regard her sister.

"What look?" Webby asked flatly.

"The one that says you're suffering silently."

"Why don't we go back to the library?" Lena announced loudly, sparing Webby the necessity of responding. She cast Webby a sympathetic look that told Webby the older girl had spent a lot of time trapped in her head and understood where she was coming from. Webby's stomach clenched again. What Lena had endured was far worse.

"We haven't gone in the restricted section yet or whatever you nerds call it," Lena continued.

"You two can do that," Gosalyn said. "I'll call Dad and see if he can bring Morgana along."

She pulled out her phone and then frowned at it. "That's weird...do you guys have service?"

Webby and Lena took out their phones as well. While Webby was connected to McDuck Manor's wifi (which one of the boys had set up, probably Huey or Louie), she had no bars on her cell phone. Lena's eyes narrowed.

"No, we don't," Lena answered.

The lights flickered overhead, stayed on, and then died entirely. They stared at each other in the dark. Lena put her phone on flashlight mode and kept it dim to avoid blinding anyone. Gosalyn glanced out the window, as if she could see anything from there. McDuck Manor was too far away to see what was transpiring in Duckburg, which was how Uncle Scrooge liked it.

"Power fluctuations mean Megavolt, but what would he be doing here?" Gosalyn mused. "He lives in St. Canard with us."

"What's he doing that he knocked the entire town off the grid?" Lena grumbled.

"Mr. McDuck had a biopic in the works about Gizmoduck…" Webby said and Gosalyn cursed. Lena smirked and Webby's eyes widened. While she'd known that Gosalyn had an extensive vocabulary, she didn't normally swear.

"Tuskernini! That's gotta be it!" she said. "Tuskernini recruited Megavolt and now they're messing with the town's powergrid! We've gotta call Darkwing! Tuskernini's probably at McDuck Studios right now!"

"Oh, right, Tuskernini," Webby said flatly. Gosalyn had told her about him and she'd let it slip her mind, considering Magica and her grandmother. Lena put a hand on her shoulder.

"We can't call Darkwing without reception," Lena said wryly.

Gosalyn cursed again.

"You keep that up, kid, and we're gonna need to wash your mouth out," Lena remarked, amused.

"Then we need to figure out where Dad and Morgana went and crash their date!" Gosalyn announced.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Lena said, shaking her head. "They might be doing more than kissing. Do you even know where they are?"

"They probably went back to the Bridge," Gosalyn scoffed. "And what else is there?"

Lena burst out laughing. "You two are so naive, it's adorable."

"But he has to know!" Gosalyn pressed, unperturbed. "We have to tell him. And if the phone lines are down, then we need to get there in person."

"We'll have to ask Launchpad to take us," Webby said, all the while aware they were pushing her grandmother to the backburner again. She wanted to say she wasn't upset, but that wouldn't be true. However, she had a lot of experience in putting other people's needs ahead of hers, even when it hurt her. Especially when it hurt her. Sometimes, Gosalyn would reprimand her for it. However, Gosalyn was acting selfishly, she didn't notice. This was the latter case.

"What about your grandmother, pink?" Lena asked.

Webby flashed Lena a smile she didn't feel. "It's no big deal. It can wait."

"I'm not so sure that it can," Lena said and although part of Webby was annoyed at putting Gosalyn off on her quest, another was buoyed by Lena's confirmation that they needed to work on the problem before them first. She hugged Lena and Lena nearly fell over.

"Not much of a hugger," Lena warned her.

"Right, right," Webby said, backing off. "Neither am I. I mean, who hugs people nowadays?"

"You're a giant liar," Gosalyn informed her sister.

"When is your grandmother supposed to leave on that cruise?" Lena asked.

"Uh...the ship leaves tomorrow from Cape Suzette," Webby said.

"Then we don't have much time," Lena confirmed.

"And the power?" Gosalyn huffed. "We have an entire day to stop Magica de Spell."

"You're assuming that she's not going to skip town before tomorrow morning," Lena pointed out. "Since when do villains play by the rules?"

Stymied, Gosalyn appealed mutely to Webby who had nothing to say. She glanced back at Lena and her throat was tight.

"What if she's gone now?" Webby queried. "We didn't bother to check and it's not like we're actively keeping tabs on her. Can you sense Magica?"

Lena shuddered but nodded. She closed her eyes, hand on her amulet.

"She's still here. And so is someone else."

"Someone else? Morgana?" Gosalyn asked.

"No," Lena said. "I don't know who this is. It's a weak magical signature, but it's there. It feels like Magica but that's not quite right. I don't know how else to describe it."

"Can you pinpoint where it is?" Webby pressed and Lena nodded.

"We should check it out," Gosalyn said. She wasn't pressing about going to McDuck Studios, which Webby appreciated. Then again, though Gosalyn was self-absorbed at times, not to mention arrogant (rather like Darkwing Duck), she wasn't insensitive to people's needs when push came to shove. And Webby knew that Gosalyn, regardless of her faults, loved her very much.

Lena led them through the hallways. The backup generator kicked in and she stowed her phone for the time being. That was probably for the best, since Lena was walking about with her hand on her amulet and her eyes closed. They halted in front of an unfamiliar room. (To be fair, most of the rooms were unfamiliar to Webby, who hadn't spent that much time in the manor. The boys knew it better than she did).

Webby pushed the door open and Lena opened her eyes. Sitting on the floor was a raven.

"Was that what you were expecting to find?" Gosalyn asked. "Because I gotta tell you, I was expecting something more than that."

"No, that's it," Lena said. "But I don't understand how."

"Hello, Lena," the raven said. It ducked its head and cast a glance over the room at something only it could see. Webby's heart thudded and she inched closer to Lena. Gosalyn did likewise.

"It's a talking raven. Reminds me of Eek and Squeak, Morgana's familiars. Is this Magica's familiar?" Gosalyn asked and Lena shook her head.

"I'm not her familiar," the raven said. "I'm her brother. Poe."

He craned his neck in the other direction.

"What are you looking for?" Gosalyn asked.

"Magica's around here," Poe answered and Lena's jaw tightened.

"I know," Lena said. "Could you tell us where? Or at least how to get her to leave Webby's granny alone?"

Poe shook his head and then, without warning, took off through the window. Gosalyn flung herself at him and squashed him against the floor. Squawking in indignation, Poe smacked her in the face with his wing. Webby and Lena thronged Gosalyn to prevent Poe's egress.

"Magica's coming!" Poe protested.

"So? Stop her!" Gosalyn shot back.

"I don't have that kind of power. She's been wandering in the shadow realm," Poe said and the color drained from Lena's face.

"She could be anywhere. That explains why I couldn't pin her down earlier," Lena whispered.

"How did she turn her own brother into a raven?" Gosalyn asked.

"A spell gone wrong. That was why she needed Scrooge's number one dime, to change me back. At least, that was the original plan. Now she's looking out for herself. As usual."

Poe groaned.

"Maybe Morgana can help," Gosalyn admitted, albeit reluctantly. "But that means we have to find her and Darkwing."

"And so we're back to that again," Lena said. She glanced at Webby. "Are you okay with this, pink?"

Webby nodded. She had to be, didn't she? It didn't look like there was any alternative.

"All right, well...let's go," Webby said, even if they didn't have the first idea where they were going.