Longer Days Pass
Chapter 7
The thunderstorm was still blowing through St. Canard with full force, not showing any sign of letting up. This didn't make things any easier for Darkwing and Launchpad as they tried to make their way through the city streets. Unfortunately, due to the heavy amount of lightning, they were unable to go by air, and were forced to go by the Ratcatcher.
With their helmets on, the rain was staying out of their eyes, but that was the only good thing about the situation. From head to foot, the two friends were both soaked to the bone, making them miserable and unhappy. Especially Darkwing.
"Ugh. Stupid lightning! If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be out here soaking wet, probably catching my death out here!!" he grumbled out over the wind.
Launchpad sulked in the sidecar at the very thought. "Oh, please don't say things like that, DW. Just thinking about it makes me anxious…"
"Sorry, but it's true!" Darkwing snapped back. He rammed up the gas on the Ratcatcher, making them go faster. The sped through the streets, heading for the Eastern part of town was, where they knew that one of the two hospitals that were in St. Canard were located.
Another bolt of lightning pierced the sky as Darkwing screeched the Ratcatcher to a halt. Launchpad blinked at their surroundings, realizing that they still weren't at the hospital. "Why did you stop, DW?" he inquired, scratching underneath his helmet.
"Look ahead of us, LP, and you'll find out" whispered Darkwing darkly. Launchpad did as he was told and low and behold, he was able to see two shadowy figures a ways ahead of them. "See them?" Launchpad squinted through the rain, trying his hardest to see. He was able to see the shadows. One of them looked very out of proportion, as though it had four arms instead two. It was then that the pilot realized that those weren't arms at all, but a part of the shadow's hat. The other shadow looked to have spikes coming out of its head. It was then that it dawned on Launchpad. The shadowy figures were Quackerjack and Megavolt.
"Oh, now I see them, DW!" cried out Launchpad.
"Shh!" shushed Darkwing urgently. "We don't want them to see us just yet."
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Quackerjack shivered as he rubbed at his arms. The rain wasn't letting down, his spirits had long gone been shattered, and Megavolt was sneezing like crazy, now unable to talk without confusing himself since his English was so bad.
"Ooooooohh! Those clowns had better hurry up in there!" he whined in a high voice. He moved back and forth on his heels and tiptoes, anxious.
"I didn't know I had a wrench in my pocket" mumbled Megavolt, searching inside the pocket on his jumpsuit. He sneezed. "Doh…..stupid cold…"
Quackerjack glanced over at Megavolt, who was now admiring a piece of lint the had also found along with the wrench. "Oh, would you please try to stay focused, Megavolt!?" Megavolt sneezed in reply to that. The rodent rubbed at his nose, looking up at his jester friend.
"Oh, well, its hard you know…" he moaned, though sounding serious. "You think of one thing for a minute and then out of nowhere, you sneeze." He paused for a moment. "The thought you were thinking of completely gone now…" he raised his arms up at this in emphasis, only to have them flop back done a moment later. He was staring at the ground as he said this. "Then when you try to remember what it was you were thinking of before, the process happens again and then……Oh! Pineapple!"
His train of thought jumped entirely onto something new, now smiling as he thought of how tasty it would be to eat a pineapple at that moment.
Quackerjack pulled down on his jester hat a bit, frowning sadly. He then reached a hand and felt Megavolt's forehead. "I really need to get you someplace dry…" he whimpered.
"That would be nice. Throw in some light bulbs and I'm there!" laughed Megavolt. A bolt of lightning pierced through the sly once more. Thunder soon followed as it started to rain even harder. "Great…."
It was then that the door to the doctor's office suddenly opened, and Quackerjack gave a squeak, moving back quickly to hide in the shadows of the alley as the police man came out, who was laughing at something. A second later he took his hand and yanked Megavolt back into the shadows with him.
Quackerjack poked his head out a bit so that he could see what was going on across the street. "Quacky…." came Megavolt's whiny voice. "I'm nod feeling all thad good. Do I eefen need to be here? Ids not like I can do anyfing…"
Quackerjack turned around to look at Megavolt, barely able to see him due to the low amount of light. "Yes, Megsy, you have to be here. Negaduck's orders. Plus, I'm not letting you outta my sight until you get rid of that cold!"
Megavolt blushed a bit at this, piping down and leaning against the brick wall.
The mad jester turned his attention back to the doctor's office, swirling around. He grinned as he watched the officer leave, jogging down the street as he tried not to get too wet and got into his car. Quackerjack waited until he was out of sight and down the road before grabbing onto Megavolt's arm and dragging him across the street. The two of them snuck their way over, hiding along the wall beside the office's large window.
Quackerjack snuck a peak and saw that the doctor was about to come out of the door. He readied himself, feeling inside his pocket for the cherry bombs he knew he had.
A puff of purple smoke appeared from the middle of the street, which grabbed Megavolt's attention. He quickly pulled at Quackerjack's large colorful sleeve, trying to get his attention. "Uh….Quacky…"
"Not now, Megs!" hissed the playful duck.
Megavolt looked back at the smoke. "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the--" the masked mallard stopped in his speech, the sound of someone yelping and falling to the ground being heard. Darkwing coughed a bit, groaning. His smoke was still covering him, but it was starting to clear. With audible strain, Darkwing stood back up. "I am the…." he panted. "duck who is in a lot of pain, right now…" he paused, catching his breath. He stood up then, regaining some of his balance as the pushed away the pain. "I….am Darkwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing Duck!"
The smoke finally disappeared, showing a very strained and tired looking Darkwing and a very concerned Launchpad standing behind him.
Megavolt narrowed his eyes at them. "Well, if it isn'd Dardwind Ducked" he sneered, though his speech was terrible.
Darkwing blinked at him. "I'm sorry….what?"
Megavolt growled in frustration. "Dardwind Ducked!"
"What's the matter? Forget how to talk, Sparky?" taunted Darkwing.
"Oooooohhhh……" hissed Megavolt in frustration, shaking a bit. He clenched his teeth, his eyes shut tight. "Don't call me Sparky!!!!" he screamed in fury.
This burst of anger caught Quackerjack's attention, who quickly saw Darkwing and Launchpad. "Ooooh, have you boys come to play?" he asked innocently, standing up straight, his arms behind his back. Darkwing and Launchpad didn't reply, just readied themselves for whatever the crazed jester had planned. "No? Too bad. Because it's PLAYYYTIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!"
He pulled out a bunch of his toy teeth and threw them at Darkwing and Launchpad, who both cried out as the teeth tried to bite them. They dodged as well as they could.
Meanwhile, Quackerjack took his advantage to open the door to doctor's office, stealth as he walked. The secretary at the desk happened to glance up, seeing Quackerjack inch his way closer to the doctor, who was in front of her desk talking, and screamed.
The doctor turned around, only to be gagged. Struggling to keep hold of the man, Quackerjack reached into his pocket. "Ah, ah, now….That's not how you play the game…" he tsked.
The secretary threw a book at him. "Owie!" cried Quackerjack, who let go of the doctor and rubbed at his head. He glowered at the secretary. "Hmp! You don't play very nice, girlie!" He whipped out Mr. Teddy, an evil, muscular bear, who looked up at him as he was set down, waiting for his orders. "Make her scream teddy. I don't care how, just make her scream!"
Immediately the teddy started after the woman, who cried out as she tried to back away, running back into the back rooms of the doctor's office, Mr. Teddy following.
Quackerjack giggled a moment as he heard her scream. He then turned his attention to the doctor, who was trying to run out the door, but was stopped by Megavolt. "And where do you think you're going, doctor?" grinned Megavolt, looking threatening. He then sneezed. He rubbed at his nose and then looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I get any on you? It's this damn cold I've got….It's really--"
"Megsy! Now is not the time for Story Time!" scolded Quackerjack.
Megavolt blinked. "Oh, right." He then looked up at the doctor again and sneered.
It was then that an arrow flew past his face, nearly hitting him. He flinched back, his eyes wide as he saw what happened. All three of them looked to see where the arrow came from.
In the corner of the room, darkened by the shadows, stood a girl. "I am the shadow that haunts you at night, I am Quiverwing Quack!"
Quiverwing stood tall on the chair underneath her, ready to shoot another arrow if she needed to.
"Silly, girlie! Isn't it past your bedtime?" asked Quackerjack, glaring at her.
"Not likely" replied Quiverwing, aiming her arrow. She let it go, where it hit Quackerjack in the side of the head.
The jester cried out. "Hey! That's sharp!" He pat at the spot a couple times, looking at his hands. He saw a bit of red. "Hey! You made me bleed!"
Her arrows weren't too sharp; nothing that could do serious damage, but sharp enough to cause a bit of blood. Quiverwing jumped down from her chair, and stepped forward.
Darkwing and Launchpad then burst in, pushing Megavolt aside. Megavolt stumbled, looking at his surroundings, and moaned. "Oooh, I'm outside again…" he mumbled irritably, getting rained on.
Quackerjack grabbed the doctor, tying his hands up.
"Help me!" choked out the doctor through the material around his mouth. Darkwing growled, taking himself and ramming himself into Quackerjack, pushing the jester over. However, losing his stepping, Darkwing fell and landed on top of the jester, who quickly took his foot and kicked him off. Darkwing landed with a groan, panting as his chest burned with pain.
"DW!" cried out Launchpad in alarm.
Everything was so dizzy. The floor beneath him wouldn't stop spinning. He tried to get up but his limbs were too heavy and the pain made him want to scream in agony.
Quiverwing, seeing her dad in pain, knew she had to take over. She went for another arrow but saw that Quackerjack was now holding the doctor hostage, holding him tightly in front of him, looking over the doctor's shoulders. He took a quick note that Darkwing didn't seem himself before saying, "Not so fast, girlie! Unless you want to see this man get hurt, I suggest you let Megavolt and I go…"
Quiverwing grumbled a bit, her hand twitching to get one of her arrows, but she knew she couldn't. It wasn't smart to underestimate a threat like that. She glanced over at Darkwing and Launchpad and seeing that they couldn't do anything, she sagged her shoulders in defeat.
"Fine, Quackerjack. Have it your way…" she sighed dejectedly.
Quackerjack giggled with glee and made his way out the door. "Come on Megsy! Gotta go!" He blinked, looking around. "Megsy?"
"Up here." came the rodent's voice. Quackerjack and the doctor looked up to see Megavolt sitting on top of the light pole, content. "I was hoping if I sat here long enough, I might get hit by a lightning bolt and get some of my electricity back…" His voice sounded soft and far off.
Quackerjack rolled his eyes. "Come on, Megsy! We gotta go now!" He kicked at the light pole, making it shake a bit, and making Megavolt lose his balance. He fell to the ground, groaning, and sat up. "Why do I see stars?" Quackerjack pulled both him and doctor away.
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Back inside the doctor's office, Quiverwing ran over to see how Darkwing was doing. Darkwing whimpered a bit as he tried to get up. Launchpad was kneeling beside him, trying to help in any way possible. He gently grabbed Darkwing around his torso, holding him up so he could stand.
"Please, no" breathed Darkwing as Launchpad did this. Launchpad placed him back down.
"Are you going to be okay, dad?" whispered Quiverwing anxiously, worried.
Darkwing sat up, panting, and looked up at his daughter. He half smiled. "Takes more than that to take me down…"
Quiverwing beamed at the response, knowing it was her dad's stubbornness that was keeping him going. Darkwing sat there for a few minutes, trying to catch himself, having been winded from being kicked by Quackerjack. "That jester really knows how to kick…" he shook his head, thinking out loud. Launchpad and Quiverwing nodded.
"When you didn't show up at the hospital, I started to worry about you, dad!" informed Quiverwing, helping Darkwing to stand.
Darkwing looked at her, nearly falling, but Launchpad was behind him to catch him. "You mean you let Bushroot and Liquidator get away on behalf of me!?" he demanded, sounding affronted at the thought that she would let criminals get away so easily.
Quiverwing blinked at him, then shook her head. "No, dad! When I got there, Bushroot and Liquidator were already gone! They fled the scene before I even got there!" she defended herself. She then looked indignant. "'Sides, you know I would never let those guys get away easily!" Darkwing nodded, still leaning against Launchpad for support. He placed a hand on Quiverwing's head, smiling fondly at her.
"Come on. Let's go home" he whispered to them both. The three of them slowly left the doctor's office and back out into the pouring rain.
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The old factory looked as though it was about to collapse at any moment. It was a ways away from St. Canard, but if you looked hard enough, you could still seen the Audubon Bridge.
It was incredibly dark inside the room, nothing inside of it but a desk and a red office chair. The chair was facing the wall. The room was made entirely of cold concrete, minus a bared window. This was the room where the factory had once had their machinery parts kept. But since it had been abandoned years ago, it was no longer needed. A perfect hideout.
The door to the room opened, shining light coming in. No one appeared to be at the door, until vines started to creep their way inside by clinging to the floor, ceiling, and sides of the door. Another moment later and in came a great heap of vines, which carried in them the doctor that had been taken from the hospital. A separate vines altogether was covering his mouth tightly, wrapped around his head once, so that he couldn't cry out for help.
Liquidator and Bushroot came inside afterwards, beaming with self pride at what they had accomplished. They walked into the middle of the room, where they waited.
"I am amazed. You actually went through with your orders and did what you were told. This is a first…" spoke a deep angry voice. "You brought a doctor?"
Bushroot nodded, shaking a bit. "Yes, boss, we did exactly as you told us. We didn't even have any problems with Darkwing."
The red chair swerved around and the two of them were able to see Negaduck sitting in it, slouching ever so. There were dark circles under his eyes, sweat around his temples, and his feathers seemed ruffled and out of place. He still work his red turtle neck and yellow jacket, his red fedora hat in its usual place. He glared out in front of him.
"Really? Now there is a surprise. He didn't come to ruin things?" he asked. He looked towards the barred window. "Is our blundering fool slacking or is it something else?"
"Have you got questions? Is something puzzling you? The Fearsome Five will figure it out!" announced Liquidator. Negaduck looked over at him at this, not saying anything. He then turned his attention to the doctor who was tied up in the vines.
"So…you are the lucky doctor who has been chosen….TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!!!!"
Bushroot and Liquidator shrunk back at the screaming while the doctor could only wince since the vines held him from moving. Negaduck stood with a bit of strain, looking dead tired. But his temper didn't falter, even when he was sick. He began circling the doctor, looking up at him as he moved through the vines that held him.
The doctor whimpered as he saw Negaduck's deadly glare look at him in the eye. "So, doctor, what is your name?"
The doctor moved his head about, trying to get the vine to move away from his mouth. With a quick wave from Bushroot the vine moved away. The doctor blinked, yet answered the question. "Kerch" he gasped.
Negaduck nodded. "Now, can you tell me what is wrong?"
Kerch moved a bit, repositioning himself in the vines. "Well, first I have to know what's wrong, s-sir…"
Negaduck, still circling, nodded his head again. "Of course, of course" he said casually. He thought a moment, putting together the right words. "Well, my chest feels as though a bullet has been shot through it, then burned with gasoline. My head pounds like mother f--" he restrained his speech, looking up at the doctor. "You understand what I mean. " He then looked away. "I feel like shit, I am dizzy, and tired beyond reason." Kerch nodded, taking it all in. "I see. Well, is there any sign of injury in the spot of your chest that hurts?"
"Of course not, you imbecile! Don't you think I would have thought of that and checked!?" snapped Negaduck.
Kerch flinched and nodded. "I didn't mean to offend you sir. Just asking. It could be some sort of infection or cancer of some kind-"
"Wait a minute. Wait a minute……" he stopped his pacing and looked up at the doctor. His eyes were gleaming with anger, hate, and uncertainty. "Did you just say cancer!?" Kerch didn't reply, flabbergasted and not handling the pressure of being near Negaduck. "I SAID, DID YOU JUST SAY CANCER!?"
Bushroot squeaked from where he stood next to Liquidator, but Negaduck hardly registered it. Kerch winced, panting slightly at the tight vines around him. "I-It is a possibility, sir…"
Negaduck went silent at this. He began pacing again. He was muttering something that none of them could decipher. He then abruptly stopped, looking back up at Kerch. "How can you tell for certain!?"
"I would have to do some tests and such to find out. You would have to come to the hospital so that I may run some tests and scans. Possibly even run an MRI scan…."
Negaduck considered this for several long, tense minutes. "Alright. However, if you haven't already noticed, I'm not exactly the city's favorite person. I'm Negaduck. If I do go to have these tests run on me, it will have to be private." "That can be done, sir!" Kerch informed him.
"Good. No one but you will know that I am ever there, got it!?" demanded Negaduck. He glanced over at Bushroot, who flinched and raised his arms, understanding what he was being told to do without words. The vines that were holding Kerch slowly moved down to the ground until Kerch's feet were on the ground. They then let him go, slithering back out the door and leaving to go back outside. "Now, there will be another doctor here. In case you become unsatisfactory, I have found myself a back-up." he leaned up close to Kerch, who was a whole head taller than him. "And do pray you don't become unsatisfactory, or you will meet my chainsaw. GOT IT!?" he screamed at the end.
Kerch backed away, understanding perfectly. Liquidator then sloshed his way right up behind Kerch, who jumped and turned around.
Liquidator glared at him, his arms crossed. "Thinking about walking out? Thinking about running away? That's not an option at this time of day!!" he announced. Kerch sighed in defeat, knowing he wasn't going to be able to get out of this mess.
Negaduck headed for the door, half panting in pain. He turned around, addressing Bushroot and Liquidator. "Don't let him escape or it'll be your heads!!" He then went out the door, slamming it.
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Inside the apartment building, which was completely vacated, the tension held strong in the air. The building was older than the rest of the buildings around it, having seen more years than most buildings in St. Canard. In one of the apartments in the upper floors of the building, was a large suite, which looked nothing like the rest. It was furnished and more decent.
Inside this room was a couch, a kitchen on the left side, which had a counter top, two windows, and a bedroom on the right side. The door to the room was open and inside a bedroom could be seen. On the bed, which was right in front of the door, slept Megavolt. He snored softly, his right arm underneath his head, as though it were a pillow. His goggles, plug hat, and battery were gone, but he was still wearing everything else.
Outside the room, tied tightly to a chair, sat the doctor who had been kidnapped from his own office.
Quackerjack was sitting on a rocking horse, playing with one of his many toys, rocking back and forth and humming tunelessly.
The doctor was eyeing the jester, terrified of him. He had heard some of the things the crazy villain has done via the news. And now he was one of his many victims and he had no idea why.
Quackerjack and Megavolt had not explained anything about why they had taken him.
"W-What are you going to do to me?" asked the doctor after a while.
Quackerjack looked up from his toy, still playing with it, and regarded his question carefully. "Don't know. What do you want us to do with you? I think that's the real question." The doctor blinked at him, not understanding his logic. "Now, quiiieeeetttt!" he shushed him, a finger up against his beak. "Megavolt is trying to sleep!" They both looked over towards the bedroom. "And he has a nasty temper when he wakes up. He burnt my hat the other day, you know!"
Quackerjack fiddled with the ends of his hat for a moment before turning back to his toy. This went on for about another hour, before finally the door to the apartment slammed open, making Quackerjack cry out, jump off his rocking horse, and hide behind it.
Quackerjack and the doctor looked over to see that it was Negaduck at the door, seething with anger. "Have you knobs managed to capture the doctor like I asked you to!?" he barked out, his voice low with pain and anger.
Quackerjack reemerged from his hiding spot behind the rocking horse and nodded, the bells at the end of his hat jingling. "Y-yes, Negs, we did. Just as you asked. We waited in the pouring rain too." he squeaked.
Negaduck seemed to ignore the last bit about the rain, slamming the door shut and walking up to the chair that the doctor was tied to. "So…..you're the lucky doctor. What's your name?" he demanded hastily. He began circling him, just as he had with Kerch.
The doctor trembled in his seat, flinching, his white coat covered with sweat from his nerves and panic. "Rufener."
"Rufener, eh?" repeated Negaduck, giving the name a moment's thought. "Well, Rufener, I have the pleasure of informing you that you will be one of two doctors who will be helping me out. The other doctor's name is Kerch, who, unfortunately cannot join us here tonight. He is being kept elsewhere. I do not like keeping my prisoners together. That is how plans are formed. Understand?"
Rufener nodded, understanding immediately. "What can I help you with?" he willed himself to ask bravely.
Negaduck nodded, looking like a nasty business man thanks to his yellow jacket. His fedora hat darkened his face, making it all the more frightening to Rufener. "I have been experiencing some severe pains in my chest, I have been feeling like shit, and I wanna know WHY THE HELL THAT IS!!!!"
Quackerjack, who had been standing next to his rocking horse watching, cleared his throat, which made Negaduck glare at him. Quackerjack raised a tentative hand, looking like a small frightened child. "Umm….Megavolt is trying to sleep in the other room…" he pointed briskly towards the bedroom.
Negaduck sneered at him, biting back a growl. "I don't give a damn!!" he screamed. Quackerjack jumped at this, running off into the bedroom.
Negaduck shook his head, annoyed, and then turned his attention back to Rufener. "I apologize for my cohort's idiocy. Now, as I was saying, I have been having severe pains in my chest and I want to end….NOW!!"
Rufener saw immediately what he was being asked. He thought hard to try to think of what could be causing this. His mind was too muddled about his current predicament to think straight. "Well…" he muttered, beginning. "I'm assuming the pain is not coming from some type of bruise or abrasion of any type. Nothing noticeable on the chest, otherwise you would be able to judge a little more on what's wrong."
Negaduck raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm…so far, you're doing better than the other doctor…"
Rufener looked up at this. He was in his mid forties, a rat with black hair, and had blue eyes. Though at the moment they were filled with uncertainty and fear. He gulped. "Well, I'm assuming that much. Now, the problem is obviously inside you. Perhaps an infections of sorts, or can--"
"Cancer" spat Negaduck with disgust. He looked away. "The other doctor had suggested that too…. Dammit…" he cursed. "Alright, listen. You and that other doctor are going to come up with a way to help me. If you don't, it's your lives."
Rufener moved a bit behind the ropes that bound him. "You know, a colleague of mine might be better suited for this task, Dr. Court--"
But Negaduck would have none of it. "Shut up. I chose you two. Now, let's get to work, shall we?" he sneered. He grabbed at the back of the chair, wincing in the pain it caused him to do so, and dragged him out of the room, where he slammed the door after him.
Quackerjack poked his head out of the bedroom door at the sound of the slamming door. He looked about, still expecting Negaduck to be there. Once he knew he and Rufener were gone, he grinned. "I think their gone, Don" spoke a high pitched voice. The jester brought out Mr. Banana Brain, looking at him and nodding.
"I think you're right" he nodded in agreement. He turned back to the bedroom, smiling at Megavolt, still asleep on the bed. He walked in, closing the door behind him and said quietly in a sing song voice, "It's Playyyytiiiime…." His eyes never leaving Megavolt.
He walked up to the bed, slowly sliding himself onto it, laying down beside his best friend. He took a feathered hand and tickled the rodent around his nose, playing with his whiskers. A minute later, Megavolt sneezed, making Quackerjack chuckle. The sneeze made him groan and turn over. Quackerjack moved up so Megavolt could move. He was now laying on his back, stretching and trying to wake up. Quackerjack just sat there, watching him.
"You awake, silly?" he asked.
Megavolt groaned. "I wish I wasn't…"
This made Quackerjack pull down on his hat in dismay. "Why not?"
"I'm tired…."
"Hmmm…..You can go back to sleep if you want…I'll…." he gulped. "I'll find something to do…." He glanced about the room, looking scared.
Megavolt couldn't help but smile, still lying on his back. "No, cause then you'll get bored…"
"I know…" whimpered Quackerjack, slumping a bit. "And then I'll go insane…"
"You are insane…" Megavolt pointed out.
"Then…..maybe that means I'd end up going….sane…"
The two of them thought about that for a moment as Quackerjack rubbed at Megavolt's chest. "Now, that's a scary thought…" whispered Megavolt.
"Mmm hmmm…" agreed Quackerjack, nodding, the bells on his hat jingling. The two of them sat there on the bed for a while, simply enjoying each other's company.
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