DUCKS IN A ROW
Copyright 2008 Q Illespont
All characters trademark their appropriate owners
Chapter 7


Gosalyn fretted, awkwardly wiggling her fingers through one of the ribbons on her dress. She'd been sent to her room again. She didn't mean ill, but ...

It was a scene that replayed itself every so often in her new home. Sometimes it would be a mistake, sometimes it would be a question put wrong. The Smiths weren't horrible, or hurtful, but whenever she crossed the line she'd be sent here.

Each time she tried to figure out where the line was, she'd get an instant answer from both Bob and Alice: she was supposed to stay ladylike, defer to her betters, and not question. She wasn't supposed to push or try anything to rock the boat. She was supposed to conform.

The last time, she had been helping dust in the main room. A good thing for a girl to do on a Saturday night. In the process, she had accidentally turned the television on, and found herself up close to see a night game. College, by the looks of it.

She spent a few moments watching up close, then remembered her chore. Well, polishing the screen is easier when it's lit up, so she can see if there are any smudges that would mar the picture for the rest of the family, right? And she's supposed to make sure she does a good job of cleaning while the Smiths were out. She wondered what they were doing, but it wasn't her place to ask. She frowned at that, although she had to accept that. For now?

Once she finished polishing and dusting, she had some time to herself; she'd finished the chores before her foster parents had returned from their night out. And the halftime break had just finished, with the score tied. She smoothed her skirt, sat in the couch the proper distance away, and watched the game.

She'd been told that football wasn't something that girls should play, but there were girls and women watching, so it should be OK to watch. And if they were there, what was so wrong with it, anyway? Besides, she recognised what was going on there ...

When the Smiths returned, they saw Gosalyn jump off the couch, barely restrained in anger as she landed. 'That was not pass interference!' she yelled. 'The defender did not touch him!'

Gosalyn sighed as she remembered that, and the incident before that. She'd been in a bookstore with the Smiths, looking for another Bible. Apparently theirs wasn't good enough, especially after Bob accidentally dropped it in the sink while trying to add reading time to dishwashing. In the bookstore, she was separated, and found herself next to some comic books. She saw a rack full of heroes, flinching away from the proud gleaming Gizmoduck covers, and whimpered as she turned from that to a dark, shadowy Darkwing Duck, gun in hand. Those kind of people are wrong, right?

She fled from there to the newspapers, and tried to lose herself in the local newspaper. When the Smiths returned, she'd pointed to an article and asked, 'Why are the bad men arresting other bad men?' It was describing the latest Gizmoduck exploit.

And before that, she'd questioned why Bob kept trying to repair the sink, and why Bob always drove. And before then, it was a video game--yes, it was a war game, but it wasn't real, so it should be OK, and it was fun too.

And each time she was told that she was a dainty, delicate flower of a girl, that she needed to grow up like Alice, meek and ready to do as her future husband asked. Alice looked on the verge of tears most of the time, though, and Bob seemed terrified whenever he asked for anything more than the time of day, although he passed it off as his responsibility as the Man of the House.

She looked at her nightstand ... fluffy cuddly toys. Cats, bears, mice. She kept imagining the bear in a suit, and grumbling in a Russian accent. She looked at her dresser and the vanity there, full of curlers, combs, brushes, and makeup. Even though she wasn't supposed to even try wearing it until she was 18, they said, she had to get familiar. That didn't make any sense, did it? And why would she need that stuff then, anyway? To look good for boys at that point, but why look good when she can impress them on the field?

Oh, right, the dainty flower thing. She cringed as that brought itself back to her mind, remembering all the lectures on how to act ladylike and how wrong anything else was.

She staggered to the door, which featured a poster showing some generic actress. She didn't know her name, and didn't really care. What had caught her attention were echoes from the living room; the Smiths had a one-story house, and she could hear them discussing things in the room beyond.

'Sir, I'm worried about Gosalyn. I think she needs a little more help. ... Yes, I found her watching football, again ... You can? When? ... OK, thank you, sir.'

Gosalyn sighed as she returned to her bed and picked up the book sitting there. It was pink, with a princess on it. She vaguely remembered seeing its prequel in the orphanage. From what she remembered, the princess on the front mainly was captured, kidnapped, ransomed, or just stood around until the prince rescued her. She remembered disliking it and thinking of times when the princess could've resisted. A well-timed kick in the ...

NO! echoed in her mind, authoritatively, in a different voice. Princesses should wait for rescue! She should be a princess! Don't fight back! Fighting back is wrong!

She dropped to a knee, holding her head as the voices pounded their lessons through her thoughts. That must be why they want to schedule me for more therapy, she thought.

--

Gizmoduck struggled in his bonds, weakened after Ordinary Guy's power-draining weapon. 'Mertz? Never heard of it!'

Ordinary Guy chuckled. 'I'm surprised, actually. It's a planet FULL of self-righteous, obnoxious, nosy busybodies like you. Always thinking that their stupid powers give them carte blanche to barge in anywhere, all for the "greater good". And why? They thought I was helpless and meek. That I needed them.' He went back to the table. 'So I got revenge, and it was all interrupted by YOUR superhero. He stopped me, and sent me drifting in the empty depths of space.'

'I've never been to Mertz!' Gizmoduck protested.

'Who's talking about you, Gizmodumb? I meant Earth's best hero, Darkwing Duck.'

Gizmoduck looked amazed. 'Where do you get your information from?' he asked, then followed with, 'And where is Darkwing?'

'I haven't found him yet, although everyone in this city knows about him. So while I'm working on HIS revenge, I'm also using his citizens as guinea pigs for the weapon that'll destroy him. Know that little power sapping ray I hit you with, huh?'

'You're the sap!' Gizmo retorted. A weak reply, but he felt weak anyway.

'Nice. Well, it won't work on Darkwing. He has no superpowers. Cunning little man, knowing how to evade my ray. But I'm working on one that doesn't just sap physical prowess. It crushes the spirit of the man!'

Darkwing gulped, and reached into his cape for his gun. Gizmoduck sneered. 'The spirit of a TRUE hero can never be dominated by evil!' he stated. 'Heroism will triumph!'

Ordinary guy opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a hiss of smoke. He looked around hurriedly as a booming voice echoed from the walls of the cell ...

'I am the terror that FLAPS in the night! I am the new writing staff that recklessly retcons continuity! I am DARKWING DUCK!'

Ordinary Guy turned to Darkwing as the smoke cleared. 'You?! The ray's not ready for you yet!' He backpedalled to a desk.

'You're out too late, Ordinary Guy. We need to get you home. I'm sure some Official Guys on Mertz would LOVE to talk to you about supervillainy!'

'Ha! I've seen your villains. Posers and drama queens! A few turns in the Therapy Ripper and they're gibbering wrecks of fear. Same with anyone who showed any sign of getting out of line! That's what this was all set up for.'

'Do tell,' Darkwing said. A monologue would help fill in details, and let him unlock Gizmoduck on the sly.

'All right, I will!' Ordinary Guy yelled, stamping his foot. 'I'm gonna make sure to wipe superheroes off the face of the universe! And you taught me it's not just superpowers, it's super will. All a crimefighter needs is courage, conviction, and a clean cape ... so I'm gonna get rid of ALL of them!

'I've been using your citizens as guinea pigs. Finding out how to crush their spirits, make them fear everything--but ESPECIALLY fear the exceptional. They'll tremble at the thought of speeding, break into a panic over littering ... and when given the choice of supporting heroes or eradicating them ... well, we know which way they'll vote there, won't we?'

'It's genocide!' Gizmoduck yelled; Ordinary Guy nodded in agreement.

'And the children?' Darkwing asked. 'Wait ... you're making sure they grow into meek little nobodies who wouldn't lift a finger for anything!'

'That's right. No misbehaving here,' Ordinary Guy said, and pulled a sawed-off shotgun out from his desk. 'I was hoping to let you see the world die around you, Darkwing, but I know you can't do anything about this!' He fired.

Darkwing spun wildly. Pellets pierced and perforated the protagonist's paraphrenelia, but his elusive evasion education from Estonia served to keep him shot-free. 'Ha!' he said, and kicked the weapon away with ease. 'You think just because I don't have superpowers that I'll just stand there and get shot? How stupid are you?'

'I'm smart enough to have hired GUARDS! GUARDS!' Ordinary Guy replied. At the yell, sirens and klaxons sounded, bathing the whole facility in red light. 'I knew better than to come here outnumbered.'

Darkwing looked to the door, where three large goons with truncheons appeared. They advanced into the room. Darkwing reviewed his options when he heard a loud roar, and a crash.

When he turned around, he saw Gizmoduck lying atop Ordinary Guy. 'That was the last of my power reserves! Forget about me, Darkwing!' Gizmoduck yelled. 'Get out and warn the others!'

Ordinary Guy himself was pinned under Gizmoduck's weight; two goons went over to help while the third came at Darkwing. With a quick yell, a dive between the legs, and a solid kick in the back, he sent that thug into the pileup as well. He paused, then drew his gas gun and set it for a grappling hook, then fired it into the melee. 'And yoink!' he said as he pulled, and fished out ... the goon he'd kicked into the pile. He swore to himself; he'd hoped to fish Gizmoduck out.

'I said run!' Gizmoduck said. Darkwing kicked the goon back into the melee, let off a smoke round, and disappeared.

--

Ordinary Guy sighed. Darkwing had gotten away, and all due to even more stupid superheroism. He sneered at his captive, Gizmoduck. 'We're gonna put you to good use.'

'I won't ever allow it!'

'Don't worry, all you have to do is move our headquarters. There's an abandoned cinema that we acquired from a former patient ... and we can't afford having your buddy drop in on us.' Ordinary Guy then flipped some switches on Gizmoduck's front panel. 'There. Now your suit's set for remote voice command; I control your motor functions. And if you try anything funny, we can see how many deathtraps I can drive you into.'

An orderly came in. 'Sir, we need to prepare for the next run.'

Ordinary Guy grumbled. 'Great. Tell the patients we're gonna be delayed a while, and give them the new address.' When he heard that, Gizmoduck tried to activate his radio link ... and a bolt of writhing pain shot through him. 'Nice try. You thought I'd forget about radios, huh?' Ordinary Guy gloated.

'Curse you!'

--

Launchpad, Honker, and Foxtail stared as Darkwing returned to the Tower alone. 'What happenned to Gizmoduck?' Launchpad asked.

'He got himself captured,' Darkwing answered. 'I couldn't get him out, but he bought me enough time to find out what's going on, and who's responsible.'

After he finished telling the story, Honker raised his voice. 'Mr Darkwing, sir, couldn't we contact Mertz to have them fight this guy?'

'They never left me a way to get a hold of them; it's always been one of their heroes coming here for communication and property damage. And he's still got that power draining ray. We're the ducks for the job.'

Foxtail looked around the room as the other two nodded. 'Maybe the police would help,' he asked. 'This is something the authorities need to know about!'

'Dr Foxtail,' Honker said, 'the police know about it already. They're giving this guy test subjects.'

Launchpad then looked at the doctor. 'So did you, come to think of it ... ' He started approaching the fox, backing him into a corner. 'Like all the kids from Gosalyn's school. Including Honker's brother, and Gosalyn too.'

Foxtail held his arms up. 'I always said the Mallard girl was OK!' he pleaded, looking to Darkwing for help.

'Leave him alone, Launchpad. Ordinary Guy duped all of them. Even the principal; I hope she's allright. But still, it's time to fight fire retardant foam with fire!'

'You can do that?' Launchpad asked, distracted from revenge.

'He wants to make people safe and pliable. I've got a better idea ... let's get dangerous.'