Stegmutt was nervous. How was he going to convince this woman to put the helmet on without scaring her? Most people ran screaming from dinosaurs.
Maybe he should approach Bushroot. He knew Stegmutt and wouldn't run from him. He could tell the woman not to be scared.
Heather and Bushroot were completely oblivious to Stegmutt until he spoke.
"Hi, Bushroot," he said happily.
Bushroot and the woman jumped.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."
"What are you doing here?" Bushroot asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Heather hadn't seen the villain in Bushroot and he didn't want her to. He wanted to be rid of that part of his life. He and Stegmutt were enemies, though; Bushroot would never forget the first time they met. He didn't want another round of put out the Bushroot.
"I came to help stop you and the others," Stegmutt said innocently.
"Stop him?" Heather asked, puzzled. "What others? There's just me and him here. How do you two know each other?"
Heather wasn't afraid of him because Reggie wasn't. He didn't need his psychic powers to keep her calm; she trusted him. If he wasn't afraid of this dinosaur, the dinosaur was no threat.
"I mean Mr. Bushroot and the rest of the Fearsome Five."
"Fearsome Five? You mean those crooks who go around terrorizing the city? Reggie, please, tell me you're not with that Negaduck guy And the rest of his friends!"
It was always big news when the Five got together to wreak havoc on the city. Heather had a horrible feeling Reggie was going to tell her he was with them. If this was true, there was no way she could keep associating with him. She wasn't going to leave one criminal for another; Marvin deserved a male role model who would teach him the right values. Aside from wanting to protect her baby, she couldn't handle watching someone else she loved go to jail. She didn't love Reggie yet, but she thought she could.
"Is he controlling you with his psychic powers?" Stegmutt asked gently.
Heather stared at both of them.
"Heather, I swear," Reggie began frantically, "I never used my psychic powers on you! I was really only with the others because they accepted me, even if it was just so they could get me to do what they wanted. Stegmutt here is one of the Justice Ducks; they do everything they can to stop the Fearsome Five."
"Then you are one of them?" Heather demanded, horrified.
"Yeah," Bushroot admitted softly. "I don't want to be; I-"
"Wait a minute," Heather said as what Stegmutt had said sunk in. "What's he talking about, Reggie? Why does he think you have psychic powers? I know you can talk to plants, but-"
"He and his friends took a very secret weapon that gives people psychic powers," Stegmutt said in his cheerful, innocent, "I want to be everyone's friend" tone.
Bushroot wanted to mow him down. If he wrecked his friendship, if he turned Heather against him-
"My name is Stegmutt. What's yours?"
"I'm Heather."
"I need to ask you to do something, Heather. Will you please put this on?"
He showed her the helmet and she eyed it suspiciously.
"What is it?"
"This will protect you from his mind control."
Heather looked doubtfully from Stegmutt to Reggie and back again. Reggie didn't seem dangerous, but what if he really was controlling her with his mind? This was the only way to find out for sure. She took the helmet and put it on.
Negaduck began to feel a gnawing suspicion. Something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was the same feeling he'd had earlier that day when Darkwing had been following him.
He looked around, cursing Licky for not having the foresight to check Shush for weapons against the Norma Ray's affects and taking the helmets before Darkwing and Launchpad could get their hands on them.
Darkwing was here; Negaduck could feel it. But how should he lure him out of hiding? He knew he would have to listen to another one of his dorky double's corny introductions, but right now he didn't care. He wanted a fight.
He saw Heather put the helmet on and became even angrier for a minute, then had a sudden thought. This would be good; he could tell Heather and Bushroot what they had done to them and watch the friendship disintegrate right before his eyes. But he didn't want to do it too soon; the timing had to be perfect. If it was too early, Bushroot might find a way to talk himself out of the situation. If it was too late, he would lose his chance. Maybe he could find a way to get Darkwing to help him. If Bushroot was mad enough at Darkwing, he would shift his focus to him instead of Negaduck and the others. With proper motivation, Bushroot could do to Darkwing what he had done to Gary and Larson. Negaduck felt another surge of frustration as he realized he still had to play things by ear for a while instead of taking immediate control of the situation.
Darkwing was not only bored, but confused. Why was Negaduck just sitting there? Why wasn't he doing something? What would he of all people come to sit in a park for? He was up to something; Darkwing knew it, but he was acting so strange. What was he waiting for?
Darkwing could hear the conversation between Stegmutt, Bushroot and Heather. Maybe Negaduck's weird behavior had something to do with that. The only thing he would admit to sharing with Negaduck, besides their physical appearance, was the frustration of having to wait and see what happened instead of controlling things.
Launchpad looked at the two close dots on his tracker. DW's purple and Stegmutt's green were very close together in the park. There was also a yellow dot that could only be Negaduck. Launchpad hoped there wasn't going to be trouble before they could get there. He knew DW and Stegmutt still had their helmets, and they had spares, but anything could happen, especially with Negaduck involved. He could find a way to destroy the helmets, or at the very least knock them off DW and Stegmutt's heads.
Charlie, sensing that Launchpad was worried, put the siren on and took the shortest route to the park. He wanted to wrap this up as much as Launchpad and Gosalyn did. He was tired of the people he was supposed to serve and protect being in danger and not being able to do anything about it. Now, thanks to Darkwing, Launchpad and the rest of the Justice Ducks, he could finally take action.
At the park, Stegmutt was questioning Heather.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No," Heather said, confused. "I was having a panic attack yesterday and he calmed me down."
"I would never hurt Heather," Bushroot said. His voice was half pleading, half angry.
"I don't know why," Darkwing thought as he listened, still keeping an eye on Negaduck, "but I believe him."
"I'm not so sure of that," Negaduck said maliciously, coming out from the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" Bushroot asked, not bothering to hide his anger this time.
"Use your head, Bushy. I knew the Justice Ducks would come after us sooner or later; tonight's the night. We gotta finish this. We need you to help us defeat them, or it's all over. We'll lose our psychic powers! Do you want that?"
Bushroot thought about that question seriously. He decided he didn't want to be psychic anymore. His plant telepathy was fine, but his more advanced powers were hurting people, including himself. Heather looked betrayed. He didn't need telepathy to know what she was thinking; she was wondering if she really did like him now, or if he had just made her think she liked him. She was also doubting now whether he really liked her, or if he was just using her for some evil purpose.
Bushroot didn't have the chance to answer. There was a rush of water behind him and Liquidator appeared with Neptunia somehow swimming in his puddle. No, Bushroot realized, it only looked like she was swimming. She was actually holding on to Licky's legs with her fins and moving with him to keep him from getting away from her.
"Darkwing, are you here?" Neptunia called. "I've got him!"
There was a sudden sound of a helicopter and everyone looked up to see Gizmoduck's helmet copter. Gizmoduck was holding a bag with a struggling, grunting, angry figure.
"I also have succeeded, my camouflaged compatriot!" Gizmoduck called in his most dramatic voice. "I have cleverly captured the Maniac Megavolt; now all we have to do is wait for-"
"There was a pop and Morgana appeared with Quackerjack magically bound. The clown was actually crying.
Darkwing smiled. Now was the perfect time to make his entrance. It couldn't have worked out better if he'd planned it.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night," he said through the smoke. "I am the song you just can't get out of your head." That was the best reference he could come up with that had to do with psychic powers and mind control. "I am Darkwing Duck!"
The Justice ducks grinned at Darkwing. The Fearsome Five felt varying degrees of frustration, anger and resignation. Negaduck was the only one of the five who was glad to see Darkwing; he was itching for a fight.
"OK, Justice Ducks, release them. This is going to be a fair fight; we're not going to stoop to their level. Besides, we need to have room to blast them to take their powers away once we get the ray back."
"Quackerjack's already free, Dark," Morgana said. "I mean, without the magic, he'll be free; there are no ropes tying him. Are you sure you want me to unbind him? He'll try to get away."
"He won't try to get away; he knows better."
The threat in Darkwing's voice, coupled with the fact that the rest of the Five were essentially captured, was enough to cow Quackerjack into staying where he was. He had enough trouble fighting Darkwing on his own; he didn't need to make himself look stupid by trying to take on all five justice ducks. At least Launchpad and the little girl weren't here; then he'd have seven people try to beat him, and he still wasn't sure the woman Bushroot liked wouldn't try to get in on the fun.
"All right, you mental menaces, which one of you has the Norma Ray?"
"I do," Negaduck said in a gloating tone.
"Why would he admit that?" Darkwing thought. Why was Negaduck acting so out of character tonight?"
"Licky!" Negaduck said unexpectedly. "Drench this thing! If we can't have the Norma Ray, Shush and the Justice Ducks won't have it either! Just get me wet; that way the ray will be destroyed."
"Neptunia!" Darkwing said urgently.
Neptunia grabbed onto Liquidator with her fins. She was actually trying to drink Liquidator's water to keep him from solidifying. It wouldn't work, but it would slow him down.
Stegmutt suddenly grabbed Negaduck and turned to Darkwing.
"I've got him, Mr. Darkwing. Now you can search him and get the ray."
"Good work, Steggers!" Darkwing said with a grin.
"Let me go, you-" Negaduck began.
Stegmutt glared at him. Even Negaduck wasn't crazy enough to mess with a dinosaur, especially when the dinosaur was already holding him captive.
"Got it!" Darkwing said triumphantly. The ray was in the same place on Negaduck that Darkwing kept his gas gun. "Big surprise," he said sarcastically to Negaduck. "I'm a little disappointed, Negs; I thought you'd be more original."
"I could use some help here!" Negaduck said to the rest of the Five. His tone said someone better help him or they'd all be sorry.
He glared over at Heather. Bushroot took the hint and tried to move to free Negaduck from Stegmutt. Darkwing backed away and pulled out his buzz saw cufflinks. Bushroot didn't want a repeat performance of the night Harvey was killed, so he backed away, looking guiltily at Heather. He hoped she wouldn't be angry with him for not standing up to Darkwing after seeing those cufflinks.
"You soggy piece of lettuce!" Darkwing smirked. "One encounter with my buzz saw cufflinks and you run away every time you see them."
"Buzz saw cufflinks," Heather thought. "I can see why Reggie would be afraid of those. No one in their right mind would want to be buzz sawed, especially a plant."
Bushroot saw Heather's look of understanding and sympathy and was relieved. Maybe he wasn't going to lose her friendship after all.
"We can defeat them," Negaduck thought at the others. "We still have our psychic powers. Let's move things around, get in their way, do anything we can to take them out!"
Bushroot was torn. He didn't want to do this in front of Heather. Negaduck, sensing this, sent a mental image of him going after Heather and her son with his machine gun. That decided Bushroot; he had to do it in order to keep Heather and baby Marvin safe. No one else would protect them. He sent a grove of trees after Darkwing.
"They're all in the park now," Gosalyn said, relieved as she looked at the tracker. All the dots were in one place now; pink for Neptunia, red for Morgana, green for Stegmutt, silver for Gizmoduck and purple for Darkwing. She noticed another dot, colored red and blue, that she hadn't seen before. She looked at it and saw that it was in the police car.
"Launchpad, what color is my tracker dot?" The person holding the tracker didn't see their own dot.
"It's red and green. What color is mine?"
"Red and blue."
"DW must have used our hair and eye colors. It makes sense; he had to find something obvious so no one would get confused."
"OK," Angora said, "we're here. Uh-oh!"
They all looked and saw the chaos at the park. Trees were chasing Justice Ducks, fountains were flooding and actually moving on their own. Everything that could be moved was being moved, and even some things that shouldn't be able to move at all."
"Stop the car!" Launchpad said urgently to Charlie. "Let us out and then yah can park!"
Charlie stopped and Launchpad, Gosalyn and Angora jumped out and ran towards the psychic battle.
"How are we supposed to stop this?" Angora's nervousness made her sound angry and almost accusing.
"We need to blast the five again with the ray to take away their psychic powers," Gosalyn said.
"But we don't know who's got the ray; the Five could still have it."
Darkwing felt a rush of relief when he saw Launchpad. Gos and Angora were behind him.
"Launchpad," Darkwing called. Launchpad looked over and saw him battling with his buzz saw cufflinks to defeat a grove of trees. He was only half done and it looked like he was slowly losing ground. "Catch"
He threw the Norma Ray to Launchpad.
"That takes care of that problem," he said to Angora with a grin. "OK, now I can blast them and put us all back on even ground."
"But where are the Five?" Gosalyn asked. "I can't see them."
"They're probably hiding so the Justice Ducks can't attack them directly," Charlie said, coming up behind them.
"No problemo," Launchpad said cheerfully, and blasted himself with the ray.
"Why did you do that?" Angora asked in her nervous, angry, accusing tone.
"How else are we gonna find out where the Fearsome Five are?"
"OK, Launchpad," Gosalyn said eagerly, "blast me!"
"I'm not sure Darkwing would-" Angora began. Gosalyn glared at her.
"Don't worry, Annie," Launchpad said. "None of us are gonna keep our powers; we'll blast ourselves again when it's all over. Besides, if Gos can sense them with her mind she'll know where to aim when she shoots." He pointed at Gosalyn's quiver.
"You're gonna blast us, too, right, Launchpad?" Charlie asked. His tone was almost demanding.
"Sure,"" Launchpad said, as if he thought that had been clear all along. "That's one of the reasons we brought you and Angora; we can't do this ourselves."
He took off his helmet, then blasted Gos and the cops.
Negaduck was the first of the Five to notice something different. Something had changed, but what was it? He paused, which was a mistake because it gave Darkwing the chance to physically attack him. He wondered angrily how Darkwing knew where he was hiding.
It was the homing device, of course, but Darkwing wasn't about to let Negaduck know that. Darkwing was cocky and egotistical, but he was not stupid.
Negaduck grinned evilly. He was in a very interesting and advantageous position now. He could attack Darkwing both physically and psychically. But before he had a chance to use either method, he saw the blue and white light of the Norma Ray. Launchpad had blasted Darkwing and given him psychic powers. Negaduck realized furiously that now he and Darkwing were on even ground again and Negaduck wouldn't be able to fight dirty.
"Thanks, LP!" Darkwing called over his shoulder.
At the same time, he paralyzed Negaduck with a thought, making him completely immobile. Negaduck broke the hold in seconds, though, and tried to force Darkwing into the path of an oncoming fountain. Darkwing counter attacked by changing the fountain's path and knocking Negaduck over with it, simultaneously drenching him in water.
Coughing, Negaduck tried to get to his feet, but tripped over one of the trees Darkwing had buzz sawed.
Bushroot tried to maneuver the trees after the other Justice Ducks, but kept being blocked. Launchpad had blasted all of the heroes by now and the Five were outnumbered, and because of the lack of intelligence and sanity of most of them, out maneuvered.
Heather watched all of this with a feeling of unreality. What was going on here? Reggie was a criminal; he and the rest of these crazy people had been behind all the strange disappearances that had been happening today. These Justice Ducks, one of them being a dinosaur and one being a fish rather than all of them being ducks, plus two Saint Canard police were trying to arrest the man she thought of as a friend, and the crooks he associated with. Part of her wanted to run home to Marvin and her mother; the other part was too curious to see how this would play out. She didn't know whether she wanted Reggie to be arrested or not. If they were going to arrest him, she wasn't going to watch. She had seen the cops drag Max off to jail; she wasn't going to go through that again.
Launchpad had a sudden idea and decided to act on it. What better way to find out whether Bushroot could be reformed? He could read Bushroot's mind, have a mental talk with him, and then either let the cops haul him off to jail or try to convince the cops and DW that he wasn't all bad, depending on the way the conversation went.
He was distracted, though, by a flying bench that was headed right for Charlie. The cop didn't see it because he was distracted by the trees Darkwing hadn't managed to buzz saw before he was blasted with the ray and engaged in battle with Negaduck. Launchpad easily used his mind to direct the bench back to where at had been before the psychics started rearranging the park.
Megavolt suddenly fried the ground at Angora's feet. Annie jumped back, startled, and Gizmoduck mentally sent a jet of water from one of the fountains at Megavolt. He backed up, but collided with Liquidator, who had been trying to avoid being zapped by Morgana.
"Can we wrap this thing up before someone gets hurt?" Angora demanded.
"Good idea, Annie," Charlie said, mentally flinging the last of the attacking trees into the sizzling puddle of water that had been left by Liquidator after his collision with Megavolt. Those two were down for the count.
"Why don't you two cuff them and put them in your police car?" Launchpad asked the cops. "We'll take care of the rest of them, then blast all of us to get rid of these powers."
This just didn't feel natural to Launchpad. He preferred using his own mind and body to win fights, not supernatural powers given to him by something that was supposed to be a miracle of science, but often turned out to be a curse of science. Dr. Bellum had said Norma particles controlled psychic powers in the brain, but Launchpad thought if these abilities were natural everyone would have them, well, naturally. He would be glad when the ray was back at Shush and everything could go back to normal.
Gosalyn was frustrated beyond words. She could sense the five, but couldn't get a clear shot because they were engaging physically with the Justice Ducks as well as psychically. She didn't want to risk hurting her dad or one of her friends. She thought about moving things with her mind like the others were doing, but that might give her position away and she would lose the element of surprise.
Finally she saw Bushroot trying to get to the woman who had been watching this whole thing. Gosalyn wondered why she was here; she seemed to be a bystander. She hadn't tried to help either side. Gos didn't want to take a chance that she would help the Five, though. She knocked a glue arrow and aimed. Her shot was perfect. Bushroot took a step and then couldn't move any further.
Launchpad saw his chance when Gosalyn's arrow stuck Bushroot. He made his way over to the plant duck, carefully avoiding flying objects and combatants.
"Can we talk?" he asked in Bushroot's head.
Bushroot stared at him in surprise.
"You never answered my question. What were you guys gonna use Harvey for the other night?"
Bushroot suddenly felt trapped. His feelings were conflicted; he wanted to be good. He wanted to be worthy of Heather. He liked Heather and Marvin and wanted to be part of their lives, even if only as a friend. But the Fearsome Five had wrecked that for him; he was sure of it. He also wanted to keep Gosalyn from being hurt by the Five. Just because Negaduck hadn't done anything to her so far didn't mean he wouldn't. He also wanted revenge on the Five for ruining his relationship with Heather, and on Stegmutt for giving away his secret. But Stegmutt was one of the good guys. Bushroot's confusion made him resentful of everyone, including Gosalyn for being in a position to be hurt by Negaduck in the first place. She was just a little girl. Bushroot thought she had no place following a super hero around. He thought she should be in school and playing with her friends, not fighting crime.
A flood of thoughts and feelings invaded Launchpad's mind; they were Bushroot's, not his own. In a few seconds, Launchpad learned everything he wanted to know about Dr. Reginald Bushroot, and then some.
Contrary to what most people believed, Launchpad could multitask. As he talked with Bushroot with his mind, he blasted everyone, starting with the Fearsome Five, with the Norma Ray. Bushroot was distracted by all his conflicting thoughts and emotions, so he didn't even try to stop Launchpad from blasting his companions. Once the tide of thoughts subsided, Launchpad blasted Bushroot and himself with the ray, then turned to see what was happening with the cops and the Justice ducks.
Charlie and Annie had Liquidator and Megavolt in custody already and Darkwing and Gizmoduck brought Quackerjack and Negaduck.
"Hey!" Bushroot cried, suddenly realizing what had happened. "You took away my powers!"
"Yeah, I did, and the rest of the Five are back to normal, too."
"That's right," Darkwing said triumphantly, "and you're all going to jail."
"Wait!" Bushroot cried urgently. "I need to talk to Heather first!"
"DW," Launchpad began, "I gotta talk to you, too."
"Later, LP, after we take care of these guys."
"Heather!"
Bushroot ran over to her. She stared at him, stunned. She had seen him try to hurt people tonight. She was afraid of him now. He could see it, too, and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Darkwing tried to move towards them, but Launchpad put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, DW. This has something to do with part of what I have to talk to you about."
"What?" Darkwing asked, not sure whether to be curious or annoyed.
"Just watch and you'll see part of what I mean."
"What you mean by what?"
"Just wait and see. It's better if yah see for yourself, anyway, rather than me trying to convince yah. We tried that the other night."
Darkwing did feel annoyed now. This had to do with LP's crazy theory on Bushroot being good.
"Heather, please," Bushroot began.
"No, Reggie," Heather said sadly. "I told you before. I watched Marvin's father being dragged off to jail. I can't hook up with another criminal. Marvin and I both deserve better. Goodbye, Reggie, and take back your locket. I don't want stolen gifts."
She paused briefly, her fear being mixed with sympathy as she saw the pain in Reggie's eyes. She believed he honestly was lonely, but she had her son to think about. Marvin was not going to be raised around criminals like the Fearsome Five.
"I'm sorry, she said quietly.
She turned her back on him and walked out of the park, pausing only to throw the helmet to Darkwing. She was glad she hadn't put Marvin's picture in the locket yet. Pausing to take the picture out would have slowed her down and she wanted to be away from Reggie and this entire mess.
Bushroot watched her go until she disappeared completely from his view, then looked back at Launchpad and Darkwing. They were both standing there watching him. It made him angry that Darkwing saw that he was fighting back tears. Darkwing didn't believe Bushroot could have any redeeming qualities. He wasn't ready yet to stop living down to Darkwing's expectations, despite his psychic powwow with Launchpad and the advice from Herman. Heather was gone. He had tried to help her, but she'd still rejected him.
"Take me to jail," he said to Launchpad, giving up the fight and starting to cry.
Darkwing moved toward him.
"Not you," Bushroot yelled angrily, "him!"
"Huh?" Darkwing asked, confused.
"You heard me!" Bushroot yelled, his anger building. "I want Launchpad to take me into custody, not you! Stay right there or I'll sick Spike on you!"
Spike, Bushroot's Venus Flytrap dog, had been watching everything and had even tried to fight Stegmutt. He limped over to Bushroot and glared at Darkwing, growling low in his throat.
Darkwing wasn't sure what he was feeling now. Bushroot was crying over a girl. Could LP have been right? And he wanted Launchpad to take him into custody, but didn't want Darkwing anywhere near him. Was that because Bushroot somehow knew LP thought he could be good? Darkwing had the same feeling of role reversal as he'd had the other night when he was arguing with Launchpad over Bushroot's possibly being reformed.
"OK, LP," he said, "uh, bring him to Annie and Charlie."
"Don't worry," Launchpad said softly to Bushroot as he led him over to the police car. "I'll convince DW; I think seeing you with Heather brought him part of the way there. Then we'll see if there's any way we can help yah."
"It doesn't matter now," Bushroot said hopelessly. "Heather's gone. You saw what I was thinking; you know-"
"Yeah, I do, and I'm gonna find a way to convince DW. It'll be OK."
Bushroot had stopped crying by now. He was surprised by Launchpad's gentle tone.
"OK, Annie," Charlie said happily, "cuff this guy and we can put them all in the slammer where they belong!"
Launchpad and Bushroot exchanged a look as Annie put the handcuffs on him. Launchpad wanted to say something to Charlie about the literal meeting of the minds he'd had with Bushroot, but thought he'd better tell DW first. After all, he was DW's sidekick and most of the cops still thought DW was a joke. He thought it would have been disloyal to tell Annie and Charlie about this before he told DW.
"Hey, Launchpad," Bushroot called through the door of the police car.
Launchpad looked back, gesturing for Annie to wait before she closed the door. Annie gave him a puzzled look, but complied.
"Thanks," Bushroot said softly, trying to smile.
He knew instinctively why Launchpad hadn't tried to defend him to the cops. "I may be a villain," he thought, "but I do understand and respect loyalty."
Launchpad gave him the thumbs up sign and a sympathetic smile before turning to go back to Darkwing.
He looked around at the mess the park had become as he walked towards the Ratcatcher, where DW and Gosalyn were waiting for him. Everyone looked as tired as he felt. Psychic powers took a lot out of you. Launchpad wondered why the Five weren't completely exhausted. He supposed it was because they'd had time to practice.
Darkwing, Launchpad and Gosalyn said goodbye to the Justice Ducks and they all went to their respective homes. Darkwing stopped at Shush first to deliver the Norma Ray so there would be no more trouble with it. J Gander promised it would be kept under strict security from now on. To everyone's great relief, the psychic war was over.
