Disclaimer: I do not own Darkwing Duck, Scrooge McDuck or any other Disney character.
Authors Note: Again, this fic ties in with "The Path Chosen." This is the story of the one called Guardian, the Duck in White.
Meant to be: Part 10
Hours pass. The police finally arrive and leave again, being of no help to the dilemma.
Gyro wastes no time in starting repairs on the Gizmo suit and Fenton – poor Fenton – took a beating in spite of the protective armor. He's home resting after having his injured arm properly cared for.
Back at the mansion...
Scrooge, LaunchPad and Darkwing are on the patio watching the kids play in the courtyard close by. The boys and Webby are excited to have Quiverwing Quack as their house guest. It doesn't take long for them to talk her into archery lessons.
Scrooge watches as Louie attempts to shoot the bull's-eye target, set up by Duckworth.
The boy finds the bow string is much harder to draw back than he would have thought. He lets the arrow fly, which misses the target, ricochets off a nearby rock and smacks him right between the eyes.
"Ahh!" Scrooge yelps, jumping up from his chair in fear as he sees the arrow strike his nephew in the face.
But Louie just pulls the arrow free and proceeds to clobber his snickering brothers with it.
Darkwing laughs "It's alright Mr. McDuck, Those are rubber arrows with suction-cup tips. I don't allow my daughter to have real arrows."
Scrooge clamps a hand over his heart, sinking back into his chair. "Oh, I think that just took ten years off me life!"
"And Bulba didn't?" LaunchPad ask jokingly.
"Bulba didn't shoot at me nephews." Scrooge replies as he takes the cup of hot coffee Mrs. Beakley serves him.
"Do you think it's really safe to let the children play outside right now, Mr. McDuck?"
she asks as she takes the pot of hot coffee to pour for Darkwing and Launchpad.
"I think so Mrs. Beakley. I do not think Bulba will be back today."
"Well, what about that Phantom. He was in the mansion just this morning, after all." she reminds him.
"Aye, but I'm not so sure this Phantom truly means us any harm." Scrooge admits.
"After everything that has happened ma'am, I think it wise to let the kids do anything that will take their minds off the situation at hand." Darkwing speaks up as he pulls a folded newspaper from his vest. He steals a glance at his daughter. Bulba had brought so much pain into her life. She still has nightmares over him.
"Oh, I suppose you're right Mr. Darkwing," she says softly as she turns to leave "The children need to enjoy themselves after everything that has happened."
Darkwing hands the paper to Scrooge.
Taking the paper offered to him, Scrooge looks at it. He sees the picture of his family with the large letters scrawled across the front that spell out TAURUS BULBA.
"Where did you get this?" He asks feeling rather unnerved by it.
"I found it last night in my secret hide-out." Darkwing replies.
"You mean your not-so-secret hide out don't you DW?" LaunchPad points out since whoever left the paper obviously knew the where abouts of Darkwing Tower.
Before Darkwing could reply Scrooge spoke up "Err – that would be Audubon Bay Bridge."
Darkwing and LaunchPad both look at Scrooge McDuck in surprise.
"Mr. McDee – how – how did you know..." LaunchPad stammers nervously.
Scrooge smiles slyly "I have my sources, lad."
"A Source you mean," Darkwing corrects then looks LaunchPad in the eye ands says flatly "Gizmoduck."
"Oh," LaunchPad says weakly. Feeling some what betrayed by Duckburg's hero. "Well you always said Gizmoduck had a solar powered mouth, DW."
"Solar Powered Mouth?" Scrooge asks not understanding that remark, he glances at Darkwing.
"His mouth runs from sun up to sun down," Darkwing quips.
Scrooge can't help but grin "You need not worry lad, your secret is safe with me, You have me word on it."
"But is it safe with Solar Power mouth!" Darkwing queries.
"Gizma'duck only told me, if in case of an emergency, I would know how to find you. He'll not tell anybody else, I promise you of that." Scrooge assures him. "Now, about our little problem," he holds the newspaper up.
"Yeah," LaunchPad starts but a confused look shows on his face "Uhh..would that little problem be Taurus Bulba or this Phantom?"
"Both," Darkwing and Scrooge say in sync.
"You know, I'm not sure this Phantom as we keep calling him is a threat after all," Scrooge confesses.
Launchpad looks at Scrooge with bewilderment "How can you say that Mr. McDee! This guy has been stalking your family and he stole that Super Elasticy Stuff, and he totaled Gyros place to get it."
" Super Elastio Alloy," Scrooge corrects "And Bulba trashed Gyros lab, he told me as much." he pauses "But he also said he didn't get the Alloy formula."
"So the Phantom got it."
"Maybe, but I still don't know if he's out to harm anybody. I had help today when I was fighting that monster, and so did Gizma'duck, he told me so."
Darkwing leans forward, listening with interest "What kind of help?"
"Well, at some point, somebody stop Bulba from blowing Gizma'duck into the great-beyond, by throwing a Bola." Scrooge explains.
"Wow, if somebody threw a big snake at me, I'd high-tail it out of there!"
"That's Bola not Boa." darkwing explains with amusement. "A bola is a rope with weights attached to the ends; it is thrown to entangle the legs of it's quarry."
"And somebody threw a smoke bomb to help me escape Bulba." Scrooge adds.
A smoke bomb. Sounds like somebody ripped off your trademark gimmick, DW."
"Well," Scrooge injects "This was unusual smoke. It was a glittering silvery smoke with strong spicy smells..."
"...with a hypnotic effect." Darkwing finishes for him.
Scrooge looks at Darkwing in surprise "Aye...aye! What do you know about it, lad?"
A look of deep ponder shows in Darkwing's piercing black eyes. "That would explain some things...but still..." he speaks aloud almost to himself.
"What are you talking about. Lad? Who are you talking about." Scrooge asks anxiously.
Seemly Darkwing is lost to deep in thought, he doesn't hear Scrooges question.
He rises from his chair and walks to the side of the patio. "If it is him. Why wouldn't he come forward?"
Scrooge grows some what annoyed with being ignored by the crime fighter. He gets up and walks over to Darkwing "Just who is it you are talking about?"
Darkwing looks at Scrooge "Just before you started being haunted by this Phantom, I think he payed my family a visit. One night last week, when we got home from a night of patrol, I went to check on Go -err-Quiverwing. I got this overpowering sensation that somebody had been in her room. Her window was open and she didn't recall opening it."
"What!" LaunchPad exclaims with a look of shock. "Why – why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, I wasn't sure, LP and I was afraid you might let it slip to Quiverwing. I didn't want her getting all upset until I was certain. That's why I have been letting her go on patrol with us every night."
"But you have an idea who this mysterious person is?" Scrooge asks.
"Yes, I think I do..but if it is who I think it is, I don't understand how he can be here."
He taps a finger on his lips. " If I'm right, then he's probably close by, right now, watching us, listening..."
Alright, now Darkwing has managed to unnerve both Scrooge and LaunchPad. They both look around with a sense of great unease.
"I should have know..." came a low even voice from the garden next to the patio. Everybody turns quickly to see a figure dressed in a dark trench coat, mask and grey fedora move from behind a evergreen bush.
He steps onto the patio. LaunchPad and Scrooge stand staring in shock , as they recognise this person, having expected to never see him again.
Darkwing feels numb. He hears himself utter a name that has been etched forever into his memory. "Tracker."
To be continued...