DUCKS IN A ROW
Copyright 2008 Q Illespont
All characters trademark their appropriate owners
Chapter 10

Herb Muddlefoot had already arrived by the time Darkwing and his party exited. With him were a team of police officers; they were summonned by the nurse that had fled earlier, likely from a cell phone she had. A few cameras whirred, but Darkwing didn't pay attention as he carried Gosalyn's tired body out of there. Behind him, Launchpad ungracefully dropped Ordinary Guy on the steps. Fenton walked out with Honker. The two stepped into Herb's car, and they drove off.

Without a word to the press asking questions, Darkwing and Launchpad met in the street. Launchpad pulled out a control, and shortly afterward the Thunderquack flew overhead, its hatch open. Darkwing fired his grappling hook into the hatch, grabbed Launchpad, and pulled the three of them up into the ship, flying off into the night.

--

They stepped out of the Thunderquack. As they did, they saw Gizmoduck flying in. His armour still looked batterred, but apparently it had been restored when his abilities were.

'Gee,' Launchpad said, 'without that suit on you really looked like that bean-counter for Mr McD.'

'It's a side effect of Ordinary Guy's power draining ray,' Darkwing said. He then looked, and saw the Smiths cowering in a corner, near the expired rocket. 'Get Alice and Bob back home. They've had enough, and they're gonna need help later to undo what he did to them.'

Gizmoduck paused. Darkwing can't have missed it, could he? Still, Launchpad saluted and went to the two, leading them to the Thunderquack. They tried to protest, but his firm hand guided them into the plane, and he took off.

Darkwing carried Gosalyn over to the bed he used to sleep in, and set her down. He watched over her, and pulled the covers up over her. She shivered and squirmed, turning around. Darkwing sighed, and took out a Darkwing doll, setting it by her. She snatched it up, and seemed to relax, clutching it tightly in her arms.

When he walked down from the dais, he looked over at Gizmoduck. He fidgeted, his gauntlets clanking. 'Weird how his ray turned me into that, wasn't it?' he said.

'Weird isn't the word.'

'What is, then?'

Darkwing smiled grimly, facing away from him. 'I'd go with "Blathering blatherskite".' As he said that, he heard Gizmoduck shake, and when he turned around, he saw Fenton Crackshell lying on the floor.

Fenton himself got up, staring at Darkwing. 'When did you know?'

'When he hit you with the ray. It doesn't change your shape, and when you yelled that it seemed like a command word. And between that and Launchpad's comment, I guess I know your secret identity now.'

'What're you gonna do with it?' Fenton asked.

'First, change back.'

Fenton stared, but nodded, and yelled, 'Blathering Blatherskite!'. Soon enough, instead of the meek accountant, Gizmoduck stood on the metal floor, balanced on his tyre 'What now?'

'Nothing changes. You're still Gizmoduck, protector of Duckburg and Scrooge McDuck.' He snorted. 'Beloved by millions.'

'And what about your secret identity?'

Darkwing growled. 'It stays secret. If you're as good as you say you are, you should be able to figure it out. If not, then no loss to you. Not that I needed the codewords, but it's useful. Just in case you go rogue again, for whatever reason. Saves on the sugar, anyway.' He thought for a few moments. 'What plan do you have for me if that happened?'

Gizmoduck shrugged. 'None, actually. You're not superpowered, so I thought normal tactics for mundane criminals would work.' Sensing the cold shoulder Darkwing was giving, he hastily added, 'After tonight, though, I'll have to do extra research, since if you ever went evil you'd be a huge threat.' That seemed to satiate that aspect of Darkwing's ego.

Gizmoduck then scanned the television waves, and caught one. 'Think the news is reporting.' He switched his monitor on, and Darkwing's back was bathed in light.

'Dan Gander here, reporting on an amazing discovery. It seems that the Friendly Outreach for Uniform Love, whose breakthrough procedures have dramatically affected the rogue elements of society, has instead been experimenting on unwilling subjects in an effort to brainwash the citizens of Saint Canard, and indeed the world!' the reporter gushed.

The screen showed Darkwing stepping down from the front of the building, carrying Gosalyn. 'The girl in his arms was identified in the company's internal files as the focus of their brainwashing experiments. A later press release said that she was taken into protective custody by the Midnight Mallard until her family could be reached. Authorities are ongoing, and emminent child behaviourist Dr Jeffrey Foxtail has been put in charge of therapy for the countless victims of the scheme.'

Darkwing smiled slightly at that, but didn't turn around. Gizmoduck did see him untense, and switched the set off.

'Go home, Gizmoduck. Go on and round up the victims, or whatever. Patrol Saint Canard a bit.'

Gizmoduck stood stunned for a few moments--Darkwing, handing off an actual patrol to him? 'Are you sure?' he asked. 'Usually you unwind by rounding up a street gang or two.'

'I have more important matters tonight.' He walked back to the bed, watching over Gosalyn.

Gizmoduck thought for a few moments, then shrugged. 'Allright,' he said, and flew off through a window into the night.

--

The next day, Launchpad walked into the living room from the kitchen. As he set a tray of brownies down, he heard a knock at the door. 'Coming!' he yelled, and whipped his oven mitts off before opening the door.

On the stoop were the Muddlefoots. 'Hey, Herb, Binkie! Long time no see!'

'Yeah, Launchpad,' Herb said, slapping him on the back. 'Sorry about the whole neighbourhood ostracization thing. Just thought we'd invite you to a welcome home bash! Now that all the charges are cleared, we're gonna celebrate!'

'That's right, dear,' Binkie said. 'Plus, Herb's got a new grill, and he's dying to try it out!'

'Say, where's Drake and Gosalyn?' Herb said.

'They're ... busy,' Launchpad said. 'But I'm in, sure!'

--

Gosalyn rose from the bed, sighing. She saw she was in the Tower, and hugged the doll she held to her, then looked at the foot of the bed. Darkwing had leaned there, and was sleeping, his hat slumped forward over his face.

She crept down the stairs, and went to where he kept his spare costumes. After a few adventures with him, she knew she should have a set of spares up here, too, and found herself holding up one of her jerseys. She stared at it for a few moments, then put it on.

As she stepped back from the changing room, she saw Darkwing walking down the steps. 'Heard you come down. Thought I should give you some time,' he said in reply.

She just nodded, holding her former outfit in her arms. 'Thanks, Dad,' she said, and sighed. 'What'll they do with me now?'

'The charges were dropped, and with them all the other court orders. Basically, it's back to normality.' He reached the ground level, and looked to her. 'How're you feeling, sweetie?'

She cringed at that, bringing a wince to Darkwing's face. 'I don't know. What're they doing with the other kids?'

'They're all getting cured. We can even get you in, make sure that everything's allright in there,' he answered, ruffling her hair a little. 'They say after a while, you should be back to normal. He was more interested in putting up mental blocks rather than true reprogramming.' He paused, but figured Gosalyn should know. 'He wanted folks to suffer while they were treated. I'm sorry he got you.'

'I know.'

Darkwing waited. Gosalyn stood there, staring at the clothes in her arms. 'Can I borrow the gas gun, Dad?'

Darkwing blinked at the request. 'My gas gun? Why?'

'Please.'

Darkwing handed it over. Gosalyn took it, and crammed the dress and shoes into the barrel, then aimed out the window, and fired. The outfit flew out into the night air, fluttering for a while. She then flicked a knob on the side, and fired again. This time an explosive round flew out, and detonated, reducing the frills to fragments.

'You know, Gos,' Darkwing said, 'you didn't need to do that.'

She then turned to look up at him, a questioning look in her eyes. Darkwing looked into them, and smiled, patting her head. 'Good shooting, slugger.'

She smiled, the first one he'd seen from her since before she was taken away. 'Thanks again, Dad.' She hugged him tightly, and he held her as well. 'I'll be OK,' she said after a few moments.