Hi, everyone, MarcellusMiro66 here! This is: 1) A Jake and the Neverland Pirates story (my first one, actually) based on Before Sunset and Moonrise Kingdom, with a hint of As Good As It Gets and Constantine thrown in for good measure; 2) A Steven Universe subplot involving Pearl as she feels guilty about lying to Garnet ("Cry For Help") and travels away from Beach City to gain some closure; 3) A DuckTales tale (half of it, at least) resembling a superhero story...if said superhero story was laced with hints of a Quentin Tarantino/Joss Whedon script. Think The A-Team Meets Arrested Development on both depressants and stimulants.
Story #11: "Flawless Beauties, Finding Closure, and Heroes For Hire" (JATNLP & SU/MCU Romance; DuckTales/MCU Antihero!AU)
London, England. . .
John couldn't do it. John just couldn't do it.
It had been a while since his siblings' last trip to Neverland. When he was going to sleep, it was the only thing he could think about. In fact, it was the only thing to think about. Well, this wasn't completely true; on the subject of Neverland, there was that one person most associated with the land of never growing up. There was this one girl...that one girl who constantly invaded his late midnight dreams. The one girl with the slender figure, the brown hair with matching eyes, the tan skin, the rosy cheeks, the pink-and-purple pirate outfit with pink bandanna and red bucket-top boots, and the golden loop earrings. The one girl...who would always be his.
The one girl...who was the one reason why he couldn't sleep tonight.
"Oh, Miss Izzy..."
Neverland. . .
Izzy couldn't do it. Izzy just couldn't do it.
It had been a while since her friends' last trip to London. When she was going to sleep, it was the only thing she could think about. In opinion, it was the only thing to think about. Well, this wasn't completely true; on the subject of London, there was that one person most associated with the land of flashing lights. There was this one boy...that one boy who constantly invaded her early morning dreams. The one boy with the tall figure, the brown hair with matching eyes, the light skin, the rosy cheeks, the light blue nightgown, the black top hat with matching umbrella, and the black pair of eyeglasses. The one boy...who would always be hers.
The one boy...who was the one reason why she couldn't sleep tonight.
"Oh, Mister Darling..."
London, England. . .
John sat up in his bed and placed on his glasses, getting up and taking a seat by the window. Propping his head up with his right arm and hand, he took a long look at the second star to the right. The thought of Neverland (specifically that one girl of his) came rushing back to him:
'By Jove... What if this was true? What if these dreams of mine meant something? What if these dreams...weren't just dreams? What if they were signs? Signs that this one girl of mine...was the one girl I've adored for so long? Am I...in love?'
Before John could think, he just did.
("Lovin' You" – Minnie Riperton)
[John:]
Loving you is easy because you're beautiful
Falling in love with you is all I want to do
Loving you is more than just a dream coming true
And everything I do, I would do it for you. . .
No one else can make me feel the joy you bring
Stay with me as time passes
And we will live from winter to spring
Neverland. . .
Izzy sat up in her bed and placed on her bandanna, getting up and taking a seat by the window. Propping her head with her left arm and hand, she took a long look at the second star to the right. The thought of London (specifically that one boy of hers) came rushing back to her:
'Shiver me timbers... What if this was true? What if these dreams of mine meant something? What if these dreams...weren't just dreams? What if they were signs? Signs that this one boy of mine...was the one boy I've adored for so long? Am I...in love?'
("Lovin' You" – Minnie Riperton)
[Izzy:]
Loving you has made my life so beautiful
And every day of my life is me loving you
Loving you, I see your true colors shine through
And every time you and I see eye to eye, it's true
I'm more in love with you. . .
No one else can make me feel the joy you bring
Stay with me as time passes
And we will live from winter to spring
At the same time. . .
Izzy and John silently stood up and spun around in a somewhat choreographed dance routine:
("Lovin' You" – Minnie Riperton)
[Both:]
No one else can make me feel the joy you bring
Stay with me as time passes
And we will live from winter to spring
Loving you is easy because you're beautiful
Falling in love with you is all I want to do
Loving you, I see your true colors shining through
And every time you and I see eye to eye, it's true
I'm more in love with you. . .
John and Izzy held tightly their hearts as they finished their soulful dancing:
I'm more in love with you. . .
The two children sighed lovingly before a yawn soon followed, prompting them to head back into their beds and drift away back to Dreamland. They were both right: loving each other was more than just a dream coming true. Every time they did see eye to eye, they were more in love with each other than they both could ever expected. It was strange, the feeling of love. The power of love...was a curious thing. One person weeps, the other person sings. When push comes to shove, it's more than a feeling.
That was the power of love.
During This Time. . .
"Aww, isn't this sweet?"
"I thought you hated sweet, me love."
"Well...this is an exception."
"An exception? Hmm, quite interesting of you."
"What is?"
"You – the self-proclaimed Queen of the Sea – acting all lovey-dovey around two little brats and their little puppy love."
"I wouldn't exactly call their romance – or whatever it is now – "little". It is growing, blossoming...flourishing. Doesn't it remind you of a certain someone in your life?"
"... Uh...well..."
"Oh, baby. I'm hurt."
"No, no, Captain. That's not what I meant."
"Hon...can't you tell that was just a joke?"
"... Oh, it was? Oops, my bad."
"Yeah. You're bad...to your love, anyway. Speaking of which... What's my name, Harry?"
"... Uma. Uma is your name."
"That's right. And don't you forget it."
(Monday, July 13th 2015)
(12 N)
Pearl watched as Steven, Garnet, and Greg left the premises and slinked off to the couch, slumping down in defeat. It had been a few days ago when her deception was revealed over her usage of Garnet when dealing with the Communication Hub. It had been a few days later that Garnet was still infuriated with her teammate and friend, but to a lesser extent. To her, it became much more easier to conceal and nit feel for the most part. Everybody was very disappointed with Pearl, but everybody also knew that Garnet couldn't stay angry forever.
"P?"
Pearl took one glance up and found Amethyst heading downstairs, "Oh, hello, Amethyst," she greeted her with a fake façade of a smile.
The purple gem returned the smile and added, "You can drop the act, P. They're not gonna be back for another few days."
Pearl instantly dropped the smile and sighed heavily, "I know that things between me and Garnet haven't been pleasant – "
Amethyst chuckled softly, "I know. Things have been unpleasant."
"Amethyst!" Pearl was clearly ticked off and she soothed her nose bridge, "Look, I just...need to be alone for a while."
Amethyst frowned in confusion, "Alone? For a while?"
Pearl huffed and elaborated, "I mean...I need to go somewhere and get what's left of my sanity left. I need to leave...for now."
Amethyst's frown dropped and was replaced with a look of pure shock, "Whoa, P... Are you sure?"
"I'm sure of what I said."
Amethyst was hesitant to do so, but she nodded. When the time came, she felt her eyes tear up and hugged Pearl, who returned the hug in response. She then watched as her fellow gem began to leave... For now, Amethyst told herself. Pearl was gone..for now.
(7:00 PM)
It was evening when Pearl somehow ended up in Washington, D.C. This city's culture was explained through its sense of security; the President, the leader of the United States, had resided in Washington at his residence – the White House. However, from what Pearl learned from other sources beside Steven, a terrible thing called crime was another subject residing there with him as well. This was drastically different from Beach City, which had little to no crime whatsoever. Pearl had to keep her guard up because of this.
Pearl then realized something: she had nothing to wear. She needed something that was both stylish and functional. Utilizing her gem, she changed into a black leather jacket, a light blue long-sleeve collared shirt with a white undershirt, and a pair of navy blue jeans with matching flats and a black leather belt with a gold belt buckle. No, she didn't like anything leather (it was a serious crime against nature), but it was better than nothing.
No, Pearl didn't want eat and/or drink at the moment and/or at all, but she just needed something to get her mind off things. She had made coffee when she was depressed, but due to the situation she was in, depressed seemed like a potential understatement. She had never in her entire gem life seen Garnet incredibly infuriated over something important as...fusion. After all, she was Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby represented one half – her wild, destructive half – and Sapphire represented the other half – her tame, constructive half. Together, they were Garnet, the most pragmatic and straightforward Crystal Gems as well as the occasional Peacemaker. To her...Garnet was a mystery waiting to be solved.
BANG!
Pearl and the other customers, along with most of the city in range of it, jumped in fright at the sound of a gunshot ring out. The citizens began to panic, but Pearl began to wonder, Where was it coming from?
BANG! BANG!
Pearl and everyone else jolted again, running in separate directions.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Pearl continued to run to the source.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Pearl felt her mind bang.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Pearl felt her eyes blur.
BANG! BANG!
Pearl felt her head swirl.
BANG!
Pearl felt her legs bruising.
BANG!
Pearl felt...something. It penetrated her side and she collapsed to the concrete floor, shouting in pain as she did. She was beginning to reconsider her decision to track down the shooting source. So...this is what it's like...getting shot, Pearl heavily panted. At this point, she could've poofed, and yet...she didn't. Why?
Suddenly though, she felt the urge to stand up despite her now profusely bleeding wound. She did just that, grunting as she trudged on, and summoned bandages to wrap around her waist. She limped a few more inches toward the confrontation and she looked on in awe at the one person against overwhelming odds: a seemingly ordinary man with a red, white, and blue uniform (the red and blue portions significantly darkened) with an utilitarian style and functionality; his weapon was an equally colored shield with a star as its symbol. Just like Steven, Pearl thought to herself.
Steve blocked the shots of the Glock 17 with his offensive weapon and eventually disarmed the assailant of his pistol. He then was swiftly finished with a kick to the jugular, sending him stumbling backwards into a stand. As he handcuffed and left him for the authorities, Natasha arrived a moment later and picked up the Glock and its two spares, something Steve remarked on,
"This is what happens when you leave home unprepared."
"And this is what happens when I listen to you, Steve," Natasha snarked back as she chambered the G17.
"Guys, kill the chitchat." A male voice voiced through the duo's separate earpieces, "The remaining baddies are getting away while you two are partaking in not so witty banter."
Rolling their eyes, the two broke into a sprint, unaware of the Crystal Gem slowly gaining speed behind them, "How many, Cap?"
"Body armor, M4A1 Carbines... I make ten hostiles...minus one."
"So, nine?" Natasha smirked. A manly groan of pain sounded through the earpiece and a female voice made out, "Make that eight."
The two plus Pearl ran to the Potomac River, where the getaway boat was waiting for the eight remaining hostiles. From there, they (the agile assailants) had ditched their automatic weapons and resorted to melee attacking, some of which were quite brutal to say the least. Steve, Natasha, and their arriving comrades – Sam and Wanda – had fought off the attackers valiantly, but they knew that they couldn't fight them forever and had to finish it...somehow.
Suddenly, a corsage of clouds appeared out of seemingly thin air and blocked everybody's sense of vision. Each group gathered together and looked on in confusion. Steve recognized it as...
"Nephelokinesis."
"What?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"The ability to channel clouds around the person controlling them and create a fine mist," Wanda explained, "Thus, reducing visibility – "
"And making for a slight advantage in a fight," Falcon nodded in understanding.
But...how? Steve questioned himself, but was quickly answered by a shout of stress. Pained stress. Unbeknownst to them, Pearl had successfully incapacitated all of the hostiles save for one.
"Hey, freak!"
Pearl frowned in annoyance and turned to face her final foe, a machete-wielding male, "You want a piece of me? Come get some," he smirked as he spun his blade around. He was evidently increasingly overconfident...to his great misfortune. Her stern look remained and summoned her straight-bladed sabre used for fencing, "So be it."
The two charged at each other and began their brutal brawl. The clanging echoed as their two blades clashed with each other, catching the team's attention and propelling their search for the noise. This particular man was charged with primary primeval rage as he was grunting and screaming profanity laced curses with each slash of the machete. Pearl, on the other hand, was fueled by grace, elegance, and presumed apathy as she barely made a sound other than the occasional grunt; her gunshot wound was slowly seeping through her clothes. Nonetheless, she continued to dodge each slash with her own.
Ultimately, Pearl scored a stab on the man's shoulder and arm, disarming the man of his weapon, before tripping him with a swift kick to the ankle. He landed back first on the concrete, shouting and wheezing in pain as Pearl slowly advanced away from him, exiting the scene. By this point, the clouds had cleared up and the team was left baffled by the battle that ensued. As for the gem, she made her way far away from the team and the brawl entirely before she literally fell into unconsciousness.
And then, she poofed.
(Monday, July 27th 2015)
(7:00 PM)
Two months. Two months since the extinction level emergency. Two months since the Sokovian Setback. Two months since the Age of Ultron.
Four weeks ago was their two month anniversary (May 1 to July 1) since the cataclysmic catastrophe the antagonistic A.I. had intentionally invented to save the world from...the world. While that in and out of itself was a realistic reason to do so, it was also ultimately unrealistic to place innocents in harm's way. This plot point in pretty much all of their missions pretty much occurred most of the time, and quite frankly, the team leader was terrifyingly tired of it.
Terrifying in the way that he downright dismissed his displeasure for the dirty deed.
Steve shined his shield before prudently placing it in his display case, a gracious gift from Agent Coulson three years ago. He was an allegiant agent, a courageous colleague...and a faithful friend. While his ominous obsession towards the super soldier was off-putting, he was a confirmed comrade even to the end...even when he was literally stabbed in the back. He still loathed Loki for his dastardly deed, even if he was really remorseful.
Steve got going to his grieving gaze into the glooming glass. Steve then commenced his contemplation concerning his command in the Avengers. Was he really the right man for the job?
"Steve."
Steve shifted his head to the side, but never faced Natasha,
"Nat."
"You need to rest."
"I need to know."
"You will...only if you sleep."
"Nat, I slept for 74 years and I don't plan on sleeping for 74 more."
"Okay, now you're just extremely exaggerating things, Steve. 74 years ago, the world was at war; 74 years later, the world is still at war. The world needs a war hero... Yes, it comes across as cliché, but it should work."
Steve slightly scoffed and chuckled to himself, "Maybe. Again, sometimes I wish that the weirdest thing in the world was me and me only."
"You and me both, Steve. You and me both." Natasha turned tail and walked away, leaving Steve to his now lessened lamenting to join the others in the kitchen. His halfhearted heartfelt talk with his second in command most likely lifted a burden off his shoulders. Still...who was it that controlled the clouds that allowed them to claim their current victory? Even so, was it even a victory?
Steve glanced at the stark spot where Nat used to be and then back at his suspended shield.
I could, I could not... Steve thought.
"First things first..."
Pearl's eyes fluttered open and her body shot upward; she instantly regretted it as she winced and writhed in pain, groaning as she did so. She glanced down and around to find her midriff bundled up in bandages and an assemblage of appliances on a metal tray. These particular appliances were applied to the medical field, hinted by the appearance of the bloody blade, bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a class of cotton swabs by the middle item. This only considerably confused her: How could her laceration last even after a possible two weeks?
"Are you okay?"
Pearl was snapped out of her survey and glanced over to her right; a young girl had been sleeping on a chair for some time now. She had fair skin, bright blue eyes and long, wavy brown hair with straight cut bangs at her eyebrows and that reached to her waist, and peachy-pink lips. She wore a purple top with a matching headband, black skirt with a matching pair of flats, and a pearl white beaded necklace. She also wore a shy yet sincere smile on her face,
"What?" Pearl cocked her head in confusion.
"Are you okay?" The girl's grin grew slightly further, "This is only the start of the second week you've been here and...here you are."
First, Pearl clearly saw that this girl clearly had trouble explaining what happened. Then, Pearl's suspicion that she was out for two weeks had been confirmed.
"Well, this had been complicated for you to comprehend, is it not?"
"Oh yeah," the girl nervously blushed and looked away, "My dad remembered finding a gemstone, not a girl. What are you anyway? An alien or someone like that?"
It was Pearl's turn to bashfully beam but she readily gave a reply, "You could say something like that...um..."
"Oh! Sorry! Blythe. Blythe Baxter."
For the next two hours, Pearl and Blythe shared a deep discussion concerning the origins and objectives of Homeworld and the Crystal Gems. The latter on one hand was amazingly appalled by the planet's decision to obliterate organic life; her appalling amazement was further strengthened by the fact that one of the organic life was Earth. The former on the other was amazingly astonished by the astounding appearance of this young girl; her astonishing amazement was further strengthened by the fact that Blythe was indeed the daughter of the young woman she had met a long time ago.
"So let me get this straight: You stayed away from the Crystal Gems because of your desire to become stronger?"
"In a way, yes. I didn't know what I was thinking and I paid the price for my ignorance."
"It's not your fault, Pearl. Everybody makes mistakes."
"Not like mine; my mistake may as well cost my respect and friendship with Garnet."
"Garnet may as well be outrageously overreacting like a perfectly normal human being would. She just needs time to get a hold of herself."
"... Perhaps you're right," Pearl nodded in understanding.
"I'm not always wrong. So, I'm confused. You said so yourself that Gems can't bleed. How come you were bleeding when you returned to form?"
"Oh, that was a masterfully made illusion to issue myself as a human."
"So, when you were shot, you couldn't feel the bullet blasting open your side?"
"Oh, no, I could feel it, but it just didn't hurt as much as it would a normal human being. It was a mere flesh wound in my own opinion."
Blythe stood up and walked off, "I'm going to retrieve a package from elsewhere. Do you mind waiting here?"
"Oh, not at all. Wait, before you go..."
Pearl was hesitant to ask her but she mustered any remaining strength, "Is your mom Lauren Baxter?"
Completely caught off guard by Pearl's question, Blythe managed to answer it, "... Yes. How did you know?"
"Just a feeling."
At that moment, Blythe instantly knew Pearl had been in contact with her mom for some time now, but her small smile masked this knowledge as she left. Pearl in turn knew that Blythe knew and wanted to break down to her slowly.
"First things first..."
Logan Lazuli wanted nothing more than to be reunited once more with his beloved sister Lapis. She was two days younger than himself when his gem was first formed. Despite his former foresight of her being a subnormal stone, she gradually gained his reluctant respect...just in time for the Homeworld War between them and the planet Earth. In the process, his dearest sister was dead...or so he believed.
5,000 years Logan walked the world. 5,000 years Logan pillaged the planet. 5,000 years Logan stringently stalked the three gems who trapped his sister inside the infernal imager known as the mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most powerful of them all? In reality...no one. He couldn't do anything, not even if he tried his hardest. However, they could.
They were the Crystal Gems. The world believed in them all.
So why should he?
Episode 1: "Call To Arms"
Part 1: "The Leader"
(Friday, January 12th 2018)
(12:00 M)
("State Trooper" - Drop The Lime)
Falcon Graves frowned as he slipped into his signature black-and-white business suit with tie. He frowned when he fitted on a pair of black sunglasses. He frowned when he loaded his 3rd Generation Glock 17 and tucked it into his Galco Royal Guard IWB (Inside-The-Waistband) handgun holster. And this frown remained when he exited the hotel he stayed in...and moved on to the next one. After the "Project Ta-Dah!" fiasco left him in shambles, he vowed to make the duck known as Mark Beaks rue the day he hired him as his corporate saboteur...for a brief moment or less (or more, depending on how he and you saw it). Yes, he chose not to pursuit any revenge-driven madness as he saw it completely unnecessary and worthless to seek vengeance on meaningless billionaire scum. Of course, with Beaks being a billionaire...he considered this pursuit of retribution being placed on the cutting board. In other words, it was put on hold for the time being.
Driving all the way from Duckberg to a undisclosed location, Graves exited his car and glanced up at the tall building before him. A maximum security prison disguised as a minimum security hospital, he grimaced at the sad sight before him; the "hospital" was indeed a hospital that had been closed down due to a hospitalization gone wrong. A few (rumored to be five) years following its closure, a mysterious benefactor bought the property and transformed it into a mental institution for the criminally insane. He (or she, it was uncertain) even rehired most of the former hospital staff to serve as the prisoners' medic. Whether or not this was considered a silver lining for the future of the foundation, nobody knew for sure. But frankly, Graves couldn't give a shit any lesser than before. He was more concerned about meeting with his new boss, who (hopefully) wasn't that much conceited as his former.
Graves found himself led by the staff to a secluded area. The section where the most dangerous game was held, two wolf guards armed with tasers and remote-controlled shock collars took their place behind the door. Rolling his eyes at the guards' sense of fright and incompetence, Graves marched to Cell Block D. A total of three taps onto the bulletproof panels were all that were required. The prisoner, a large lion in a blue jail uniform, emerged from the shadows; an expression of pride crossed his face.
"So...you did arrive..."
"Yes... I assume you are my new employer?"
"You assume correctly. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Leodore Lionheart..."
"Lionheart... Why would the former mayor of Zootopia need use of me?"
"Simple. I seek to rebuild my credibility and restore my image as a politician hopeful. A...unfortunate incident a year ago forced me into this difficult position to rethink my strategy."
"Maybe you should've thought of the consequences of incarcerating 14 predators in a remote facility far from the city."
"... Yes. Yes, I should've."
The pompous jackass of a mayor actually agreeing with an average citizen's claims? Yes, something is quite wrong.
"So...what does your career comeback have to do with me?"
"Not just you, Graves... Us."
"... Us?"
"Graves... What if I told you that...we were putting a team together?"
"Who's "we"?"
"I'm not giving any more spoilers. I'll see you in a few hours."
Graves frowned in agitation, but he was surprisingly eager to learn more about "them". So he bid Lionheart goodbye and left Cliffside Asylum for the time being. Driving away from Zootopia and back to Duckberg, he arrived at a two-story motel. Sighing in contempt, he preferred the luxurious lifestyle of the five-star hotels, but saw nothing wrong about the decent service of the one-star motels. Yes, even in spite of his tone...
Part 2: "The Second-In-Command"
(12:00 N)
("Blue Monday" - New Wave/Health)
Gabby McStabberson gazed at her reflection in the mirror...and she frowned in contempt. She looked and felt normal, not liking it by the second. She looked and felt abnormal without her black-and-orange hooded suit, powerless even. She couldn't risk her true identity being exposed, however, so she was forced to settle with a civilian identity for the time being. She exited the dressing room donning a black-and-yellow collared leather jacket above a black turtleneck sweater with a dark grey scarf, a pair of blue skinny jeans, black knee-high boots, and leather fingerless gloves with matching sunglasses. Her weapons were hidden in the trash bin outside, assuming no garbage workers had done their job yet. Thankfully, no one did, and she recovered them: her sheathed scimitar slung over her back, her holstered knives in her back midriff.
Gabby tucked her hands in her pockets and was this close to relaxing into her new persona. This close... A few feet away, the sounds of a duckling in distress blared from the right of her; the right of her was an alleyway...the number one hotspot for stranger danger to occur. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she crossed the street and didn't mind the cars and various vehicles threatening to run her down. She was far more concerned about the civilian in harm's way. When she arrived, the shouts were reduced to whimpers, and the laughs of her attackers boomed not soon after. The subsequent scowl grew as she marched to investigate, but she soon dropped it upon getting a much better look at the crime scene.
Is that...
Gabby McStabberson looked on as Webby Vanderquack clutched her right knee in pain and the teenage boys (four to be precise) chortled in amusement. She was now faced with a moral dilemma: help her or not? This was one of Mr. McDuck's nephews' friends, whom she held in the highest regard. By contrast, she showed no contempt for her disrespectful, egotistical, and downright backstabbing boss. You can take three guesses why. Even so, she was affiliated with her boss's proclaimed adversary and therefore was considered an enemy of Glomgold Industries. But was she...?
Her train of thought was derailed by the whines of suffering elicited from Webby as she was kicked around some more. The brown bird sighed in resigned determination and pulled her two knives. Enemy or not... No child should deserve this fate... She leaped out of her hiding place and into the open, hurling both daggers into the backs of two unsuspecting bullies. The screams of agony that were instantly heard all over the alleyway were their own as they fell down, crawling wildly for the sources of their torment. The two remaining assailants turned around to face their party crasher, a bird nearly twice their size and wearing a big ass sword. Their mouths initially agape with terror, they soon shut into cocky scowls as they crackled their knuckles and charged at her.
That was their mistake. From there, Gabby's martial arts training took over as she clearly wiped the concrete floor with the two of them. She performed a jumping reverse hook kick and a throat chop on both bullies at the same time before leg sweeping them. The other two attackers eventually recovered and took notice of their attacker-in-return, the knives still embedded in their backs. Pulling them out, they charged at her...her being an assassin raised by warrior monks who only spoke the language of the blade. She instantly disarmed them of her weapons before kneeing them in their stomachs and roundhouse kicking them in the brick walls, effectively knocking them out.
A few minutes passed before Gabby McStabberson took in her work well done. No doubt a few bones were broken, a few knees were snapped, and even a few blood was spilled as a result of the carnage. She calmed down and regained her composure, remembering why she was here. Turning to found Webby with her back against the wall, she began to make her way towards her, but stopped upon noticing she backed up every time a step forward was made. But why...? She pitted herself against me at Atlantis and won. What happened to her...?
"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
Webby seemed to listen what Gabby said, but she seemed to focus more on her sprained knee. This is something she noticed too and decided to do about it. Crouching down to her knees, she slowly took ahold of Webby's own and faced her.
"This is going to hurt a bit, but if it works...your knee will be healed."
The young duckling frowned in uncertainty, but decided she had nothing to lose. "Are you sure?"
Gabby took Webby's hand with her free one and spoke the truth, "No."
In one swift movement, the knee was popped back into place. Webby yelped in pained surprise and took deep breaths of relief. Gabby herself wasn't feeling any better. Never before she performed emergency surgery on anyone, let alone a young duckling like her. They remained sitting in their spots for a moment or two before Gabby stood and helped Webby up.
"Why...?"
"... I beg your pardon?"
"Why did you help me?"
"..." Gabby didn't have a perfect answer to that imperfect question of Webby's, but she responded honestly again. "I don't know. I couldn't bear to see someone like you in that position." She then walked away with both hands in her pockets, leaving her rescued to look on in confused intrigue. Wait a minute... Did she recognize me? Even with the sunglasses and scarf...?
"Wait! Who are you?"
The one question she dreaded she would ask, Gabby didn't dare face Webby to reply to it. She did reply, though.
"Grace!"
Honestly, McStabberson... "Grace"? That was the best you could come up with?
"Goodbye, Grace!"
... Well, she bought the scam...
"Goodbye, Webby!"
...and now, she would like a refund.
Realizing her mistake, Gabby took off like a prey being hunted by its predator. It was a shame, too; had she stayed a little longer, she would've witnessed a safe and sound Webby smiling as she retreated from the scene. Glancing around, she found the discarded knives "Grace" utilized to instigate the alleyway assault. Picking them up, she examined them both as her smile grew even wider, withdrawing from the locale as soon as possible.