Gosalyn, Tony, Darkwing, and Negaduck scrambled towards the subway tunnel, wrestling their way up the ladders and swinging up into the utilities room. She had the good sense to snag a lantern on their way up so they wouldn't flounder in the darkness, Negaduck using his matches to light the wick.
The four of them made their way through the utilities room slowly, the light from the lantern not reaching very far ahead.
LP's warning played through Gosalyn's mind over and over, her imagination running rampant at what a robot hoard could possibly look like. And who the Chancellor might be. The Adjudicator would, at least, be a familiar, though not welcome, face.
Speaking of, she should probably warn the others about who they were about to come in contact with.
"So, the Adjudicator. Do you guys know who he is?" Gosalyn asked.
"Unfortunately," muttered Negaduck.
"Okay, but he and Lyn need to meet, then they'll both chill out," Gosalyn said, "right?"
"They already met," said Darkwing, looking up at Gosalyn with a rueful expression. "It went about as successfully as our first meeting."
"Where I socked you in the gut?" Gosalyn asked with a grin.
"So badass," Tony said.
Negaduck settled for a grin, eyes glinting.
"That's the one," Darkwing said, his expression softening at the memory.
"I give them a day before they're inseparable," Gosalyn said.
The group exited the utilities room and shuffled down the subway tunnel, the lantern's reflection bouncing off the tracks.
"Your suit is inbound, sir," MORGANA said, her sultry voice soothing in the abandoned tunnels of St. Canard as it emanated from Tony's bracelets.
Tony stopped dead, Gosalyn, Darkwing and Negaduck also halting. The three of them crowded against the walls, not knowing what an inbound Iron Duck suit was about to do. But Tony held out his arms wide as a red bullet raced towards them. It expanded as it drew closer, something resembling arms and legs springing from it as the red and gold armor wrapped itself around Tony. Within the blink of an eye, the Iron Duck was fully assembled, eyes glowing through the darkness.
"As promised," Tony said, handing over a duffel bag. He unzipped it to reveal a brand new suit for Gosalyn as well as a quiver. A bow was attached to it, but it seemed to be folded into three sections. Gosalyn took the bag eagerly, glancing at Tony.
"It has all the features of your regular bow," he said, his voice modulated through the armor as he nodded at the new weapon. "I just added the collapsible option. It's strong enough to act as a bow staff if you'd need it to and has the one handed release you enjoy. There's a few new arrows in there, too," he said, pointing to the quiver, "that I'd like your feedback on. Nice to know if they're products of a caffeine-addled insomniac or something that's actually useful."
"Did you brother to test all of these before handing them over to my daughter?" Darkwing demanded, arms crossing over his chest.
Knowing the answer, Gosalyn handed Negaduck the lantern, who was also looking at Tony dubiously, before she backtracked to the utilities room to change. Tony likely hadn't tested the weapons outside of his lab, if at all. But he had an impressive track record creating weapons for her. She trusted him. Tony wouldn't hand her anything that would hurt her.
Well.
Not on purpose.
Best to not mention that to her father or to Negaduck.
Her new suit had just as much stretch as her regular one, but it felt thicker. Tony had probably reinforced the Kevlar. Or added more. Knowing Tony, it was a combination of the two. She zipped the suit closed, the sleeveless forest green unitard fitting her perfectly. It always did; Tony never made her anything that was less than perfectly designed. The knee pads were reinforced with leather amethyst patches and the black combat boots had enough give to be comfortable, but were stiff enough to keep her ankles supported.
She tugged on her black archers gloves before securing the maroon gauntlets on her forearms. The duffel bag wasn't quite empty once she'd grabbed all her gear, so she buckled on her quiver, the first strap under her collarbones, the second at the bottom of her rib cage, and the third and final over her hips before hoisting the bag over her shoulder.
As she stepped back into the tunnel, she found the boys arguing.
She hadn't been gone for more than five minutes.
Well, with that much ego in the tunnel, it was a wonder the place hadn't imploded.
"How can you even say you're trying to keep her safe when you give her untested tech?"
"My tech has a very high success rate."
"How high?"
"Self-proclaimed success rate."
"I don't just create things on a whim! Okay, that's not true. But I don't create something without double checking the math. Triple checking it, though it's not necessary. My math is always right."
"No one is always right."
"MORG, back me up!"
"Mr. Mallard's math is always correct."
"You probably programmed her to say that!"
"MORGANA is state of the art! Above state of the art. She's her own classification. And she makes her own decisions and thinks for herself; I don't do anything for her."
"Thank you, sir."
"You still haven't given us the exact success rate."
"Tony," Gosalyn said, stepping in between her father and Negaduck, "helmet off."
He hesitated for only a moment before the front visor of his suit flipped up. Gosalyn smiled and stretched up onto her toes — he was so much taller in the suit — and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said.
His cheeks colored and he cleared his throat. "It's not a big deal."
"The bag isn't empty, by the way." Gosalyn held it out and Tony snapped his metal-encased fingers as he remembered what else he'd brought.
"That's right!" He grabbed the bag and dug through the fabric folds. "I hope you don't mind, though, who am I kidding? You'll both be offended, but what's done is done, so it doesn't really matter."
"Are you ever going to start making sense?" Negaduck growled.
"I made you weapons." Tony tossed the empty duffel bag away, said weapons cradled in his hands.
One looked like Darkwing's gas gun. Exactly like it. But Gosalyn knew this one would have improvements and enhancements Darkwing could only dream of. The other weapon was a chainsaw. Again, ordinary looking enough, but likely with something state of the art apart of its infrastructure.
Negaduck eyed the chainsaw, skepticism lining his face. Darkwing couldn't help but look intrigued, even though his hands were still resting on his hips, his argument clearly not forgotten.
"When did you make these?" Darkwing asked, looking up at Tony.
"The night you guys stayed at the Tower."
"You made these in one night?" Negaduck said.
"Well, MORGANA helped. I drew up the schematics, she manufactured them, and then I made sure they came along for our little journey. And you're welcome," said Tony as he handed over the weapons to their new owners. "Because those little prison bots took away your weapons and you'd have no way to defend yourselves during this battle otherwise."
"Clearly," scoffed Darkwing as he examined the gas gun, "you haven't seen my patented double foot webbed kick."
"You're right," said Tony, reaching out and taking ahold of the gas gun, "you got this. No other defense necessary except for fisticuffs. Like the old robot battles of yore."
"I could fight the robots off with my own unique fighting style," said Darkwing, gripping the gas gun and pulling it out of Tony's grasp. "Still. Even the most equipped warrior knows to adapt to his circumstances, using whatever may be around him to take the advantage. Even an ordinary ballpoint pen could prove deadly in the right hands."
Tony surveyed Darkwing for a moment of silence before asking, "Did you just compare my tech to office supplies?"
"Okay," Gosalyn interrupted, seeing the fire in Tony's eyes and how her father's jaw was set. "We have a robot army to go fight." She tightened her ponytail and started walking down the tunnel, Tony following and muttering under his breath.
"You're going to use everything he gave you without testing it?" Darkwing balked at her.
"Where better to test it than on the battlefield?" Gosalyn said, glancing over her shoulder with half a shrug and a grin.
"That is not—"
"Young lady, I—"
But Gosalyn didn't stick around to hear her father's protests or Negaduck's arguments. She took off down the tunnel, Tony laughing and launching into flight beside her.
"How's it looking up there?" she asked.
"Couple hundred bots are marching toward this subway entrance," said Tony, his helmet settling back in place and his voice modulated. "But the path to the bakery is clear."
"I don't want to lead them there," said Gosalyn, slowing as she approached the subway platform. Reaching up, she gripped the edge and hauled herself up before kneeling and reaching down to help her father up. Tony offered Negaduck a hand, but he refused, preferring to haul himself up as Gosalyn had.
"We'll just fight off as many as we can before we go to the bakery, then," said Tony. A compartment on his suit opened and he took out a small box. Flipping open the lid, he held it out the others. "Comm units. Gosalyn's used to these," he said as she took one and easily fit it into her ear. "They have a radius of 1,000 miles, which I doubt we'll need, but you never know. Whatever you say, we'll hear it."
Darkwing and Negaduck took the other two comms and, after glancing darkly at one another, fit them into their ears.
"Let's take out these bots and then head to the bakery." Tony nodded at the other Mallards before turning to Gosalyn. "Wanna lift?"
"How is that even a question?" Gosalyn eagerly grabbed onto the handholds he'd installed by his shoulder blades. He lifted off from the ground and propelled up the stairs, Gosalyn wrapping her legs around his waist.
"What if we wanted a ride?" Darkwing said sullenly, his voice coming in loud and clear over the comm.
"Like I'd want anything from the likes of him," Negaduck scoffed.
"I can take that chainsaw back if you keep whining," Tony said. "All right, kid, I'm thinking a barrel roll out the gate. You game?"
"Of course you'd go for the most dramatic entrance," Gosalyn said, but she tightened her grip on the handholds and leaned closer to him to show her readiness.
"If only I had access to my AC/DC albums," Tony lamented, the repulsors in his boots and hands kicking into a higher gear and increasing their speed. "I'd blast 'Back In Black'."
"I had you pegged as a 'Shoot To Thrill' guy."
"Oh, a much better choice," Tony said. "And who says I'm not open to criticism?"
Gosalyn grinned and tucked herself closer to Tony as they approached the top of the staircase. The pinprick of light expanded until it enveloped them, Gosalyn blinking in the brightness.
True to his word, Tony barrel rolled as they emerged from the subway entrance, pale blue sky and the promised hoard of glinting chrome robots whirling around them interchangeably in a blur of colors. He soared up towards the sky, stopping several hundred feet in the air, looking down at the robot army. Gosalyn peered over his shoulder, reaching back with one hand to grab her bow.
"Tell me how this new bow works, Tones," she said, examining it and finding several new buttons.
"Push the small red button," he said, head swiveling this way and that as he surveyed their enemies, no doubt allowing MORGANA to scan everything and asses the best course of action.
Doing as Tony said, the bow sprung to its full form and Gosalyn grinned. "Which button do I push next?"
"The gray one. Next to the red."
The bow string slotted in place and she nearly laughed. He really thought of everything.
"Magnets?" she asked.
"And some interlocking screws and other science stuff."
"Love science stuff."
"Are you two going to banter the whole damn time?" Negaduck groused around his panting. Gosalyn looked over to the subway entrance, watching both her father and Negaduck clamber out, Darkwing leaning against a nearby street light as he caught his breath, Negaduck bending and resting his hands on his knees.
"Wow," said Tony, a smile clearly on his face if his bright tone was anything to go by. "Never in my born days would I think Negaduck would take Cap's place and tell us to watch our chatter on the comms."
Holding onto Tony's handhold with her fingertips, Gosalyn pressed her bow into her palm as she reached back with her free hand, feeling for the best arrow to use. "Wanna start with an EMP?"
"This is why we're friends," said Tony.
"Attention, multiverse travelers," came a female voice over a megaphone. Gosalyn looked over Tony's shoulder down at the crowd of bots and easily pinpointed Posiduck in his all white. A woman dressed in all black stood next to him, a jacket belted at the waist and a long skirt.
There were a few generals standing beside her, also in military garb and one man dressed in a long gray doctor's coat.
"Who's she?" Gosalyn asked.
"Don't worry about it," said Tony.
Oh.
She must be someone he knew personally.
Someone significant tied to Drake Mallards.
"You have exactly ten seconds to surrender before we will take you in by force," said the woman.
"Get that arrow ready, kid," said Tony, maneuvering so that he was parallel to the ground and Gosalyn was able to sit up straight.
Gosalyn brought the arrow out of the quiver and nocked it. Drawing, the aimed for the middle of the hoard. "Ready when you are."
"Fire away."
She released, the arrow sailing true.
"Hang on," Tony barked, immediately shooting up towards the sky. Gosalyn gripped on furiously, keeping an eye on the robots below. She grinned when her arrow made contact, the waves of electric energy taking out most of the hoard, bots collapsing onto others like a game of dominoes and hitting the ground hard. Posiduck whirled around, his dumb white cape fanning out in an arc around him.
The robots on the edges of the group tottered but didn't fall. The arrow had done some serious damage, though, taking out most of the robot army. Any operating bots wheeled toward Posiduck, the woman in black, and the other living operatives.
"I am the Terror that Flaps in the Night!" came her father's voice over the comms, his blue smoke billowing out in an impressive cloud near the subway entrance. "I am the city blackout that hits when the series finale of your favorite TV show is on. I am Darkwing Duck!"
Tony slowed to a stop high above the city. It was all gray, glinting pale and lifeless in the sunlight. No wonder the more lively citizens had gone underground; it was at least colorful down there.
"Surrender now," came the megaphone voice from the woman in black again. It sounded grainy and distant filtering through her father's comm unit; she and Tony were too high above the city to be able to hear it fully. "We may yet be merciful."
"I can't promise the same," growled Negaduck, his voice dropping into one of his more dangerous registers. "You traveled all the way to our universe to kidnap one of our own. You brought this on yourselves."
Wait.
There was something to that….
Something important that she needed to remember.
What was it?
"I was tasked with retrieving you. It was a delicate matter and needed the precision, we agreed, that I possess," Posiduck had told her.
"All crime every time was their new motto," Stellar had said.
Oh.
No.
"Tony," Gosalyn said, tapping him on the shoulder even though he could hear her loud and clear through the comm system, "drop me off by Posiduck, would you?"
"He ain't worth revenge, kid," Tony said.
"I'm not—"
"This is your final warning," said the woman in black.
"Tony, please," Gosalyn begged.
He sighed, the sound echoing out of his modulator and through her earpiece at the same time. "Fine, yeah, hold on." Angling himself downward, he shot down towards the bots. "There's an electro-arrow with gray and light blue feathers. He gives you any problems, jam that in his neck and he'll get the shock of his boring life."
She was half-listening, half-watching the bots as they crept closer to the subway entrance. Her father had his Tony-built gas gun out, Negaduck revving his new chainsaw. They were taking out any bots that approached. Bright electric currents shot out of the end of Darkwing's gas gun every now and then, and Negaduck's chainsaw must have been lighter than normal, because he was swinging it around like a mad man, mowing down bots as if they they were little more than blades of grass.
There was a small group of bots moving towards….
She hoped she made it.
She had to.
Daring to release one hand as Tony dove back towards the ground, she reached back and pulled out another arrow. Not the electro-arrow; Posiduck was many things, but violent wasn't one of them. This one was a dark gray bordered with a light purple.
A suction cup arrow.
They fast approached Posiduck, Tony shooting several clumps of bots along the way with his hand repulsors.
Finally.
Finally.
They approached Posiduck.
Tony slowed down.
Gosalyn reached around, sticking the arrow to Tony's side, and used it to swing herself down to the ground. She landed next to Posiduck, who was looking at her like he'd never seen anyone fly before.
Which, he probably hadn't.
Not anyone sitting astride a duck wearing a red and gold titanium alloy suit, anyway.
"Did you just stick a suction cup arrow to me?" Tony asked.
"Keep Dad and Negaduck out of trouble," Gosalyn said, maintaining her eye contact with Posiduck.
"I am the trouble!" Negaduck snarled, his chainsaw whirring even through the comms.
"Why, what are you doing?" Darkwing demanded.
"Wait, that's better. Answer his question," Negaduck demanded.
"You know," said Tony, rising into the air and peering down at the arrow at his side, "I look pretty badass flying around with an arrow sticking out of me." He sent another repulsor blast to a few more robots before shooting back up into the sky.
Gosalyn stepped towards Posiduck, reaching up to switch off her comm.
This would be between just the two of them.
"It was you," she said, maintaining their eye contact, "who came to get me. From my universe."
Posiduck straightened, looking at her down his beak. "I never took you as vindictive."
Gosalyn's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't take me for vindictive, either."
"And yet you corner me in this fight," said Posiduck, eyes flicking to her bow, her quiver, "well armed and listing my supposed transgressions. It plays to the super villain motif, coming to get your revenge."
"That is not— Okay, no, back up to those transgressions," Gosalyn said, hoping he'd make the connection she had. "They're not supposed. They're real."
When he studied her in silence for a moment, Gosalyn elaborated, "You traveled the multiverse."
Finally seeming to understand — putting together that he, too, had broken the rules — Posiduck's eyes widened.
"Which, according to you, is the worst crime anyone could commit," she said.
Posiduck threw his shoulders back, schooling his features into indifference. "I was under orders."
"But the reason behind a crime doesn't matter, right?" Gosalyn said. Wanting him to see what she saw. The danger that was likely on the horizon. "The crime was still committed. By you."
Posiduck's face drained of color.
Gosalyn took a step towards him, careful to keep her own expression as soft as she could make it. "I'm not judging you. It's actually the only interesting thing you've done. I just wanted to warn you that your people will probably come after you."
Posiduck blinked and he turned his head to one side, eyeing her. "Why tell me this? Why try to warn me, your kidnapper, of impending doom?"
Gosalyn smiled. "A version of you is my dad. I love you no matter who you are."
Posiduck stiffened, his composure slipping slightly, something like desperation leaking through the cracks, but Gosalyn continued on, "Besides, people deserve a second chance. No one is all bad."
He opened his beak as if to say something, then closed it. He did this several times, unable to come up with any words to break the silence that lingered between them.
Over his shoulder, Gosalyn saw robots advancing towards the two of them.
"What I'm trying to say," said Gosalyn, reaching back and feeling for a new variation of feather, "is watch your back." She pulled out the foreign arrow, verified the colors were gray and blue as she brought it around. Then she nocked, drew, aimed, and fired. The elecro-arrow did its job, electrifying the robot that was looming behind Posiduck. Gosalyn neatly stepped around him and swung her bow wide, hitting another robot at the neck and decapitating it.
She paused for only a moment, wondering what Tony had made this bow out of, before she grabbed another arrow and fired at a different robot. Spun around, fishing out an arrow and firing as she came to a stop. The putty arrow had proven effective, the robots sagging in the putty, their systems failing as the goo leaked into their circuitry.
Turning to look behind her, she quickly grabbed out another arrow and stabbed the robot that had nearly overtaken her in its neck. It experienced a quick death, the acid arrow eating through its metal quickly, causing it to collapse.
Posiduck looked at her incredulously. "Where did you get those weapons?"
Gosalyn scoffed and kicked the headless robot so it flopped onto its back. "You're welcome." She turned away, hand raising to flip her comm back on, but Posiduck reached out and gripped her arm tightly.
When Gosalyn met his eyes, he hissed, "Is it really worth it? This," he motioned between them with his free hand, "relationship?"
Gosalyn smiled gently. "Of course it is."
"Enough to break the law? To lose everything?" He looked ill. His eyes were wide and his breath rattled deep in his chest.
Gosalyn reached up, pried his fingers from her arm, and held his hand in hers. "You end up gaining so much more."
Posiduck looked down at their joined hands, reservation still lingering on his face.
Gosalyn squeezed his fingers. "Lyn is pretty cool. And if you took that huge stick out of your ass, you wouldn't be half bad yourself."
Posiduck snapped his head up to look at her sharply, his beak twisted in a frown of disapproval. "Do you talk to your father like this?"
She grinned. "Oh, yeah. Especially when he gets sticks up his ass."
"Turn on your damn comm!" Tony said as he zoomed by, hovered near Gosalyn to blast some bots, then flew off in another direction.
Gosalyn reached up and flicked it back on, wincing as the noise of three different battles assaulted her ears. Her father and Negaduck were screaming at one another over whether to leave Gosalyn alone until she asked for help or to just burst in and help regardless if she needed it or not.
"I'm fine," she snapped.
"Gosalyn," Negaduck and Darkwing breathed at the same time.
"Switch the chat off next time, kid, instead of turning the whole thing off," Tony said. "We're nearly done with the bots here, but we have to get to the bakery. Lyn's on her way with the portal."
Gosalyn looked back at Posiduck and smiled. "Good luck. And keep an eye out."
Posiduck studied her before nodding once, sharply, and yanking his hand away. He spun on his heel and marched away from her.
Gosalyn turned, pulling out another arrow and nocking it. As Tony had said, most of the robots were down for the count, the area littered with their bodies and parts. The lingering groups were no match for Tony's repulsors, Negaduck's chainsaw, and Darkwing's electricity-wielding gas gun.
But more robots were flying in, fighting against their rag tag group.
As she studied the area, Gosalyn saw, in the epicenter of the fight, the woman in all black flanked by two generals on one side and a man in a long lab coat on the other. She held the megaphone in one hand that hung by her side, and a radio in the other that she was barking orders into.
Tony seemed to be giving the area a wide berth, keeping his repulsor blasts to areas around the group, but not at them directly.
Remembering how the woman likely was someone important to him, Gosalyn made her way over to the group, keeping her arrow at the ready.
"What is taking so long, Dr. Sputterspark?" the woman snarled at the scientist.
Sputterspark? Wasn't that Megavolt's name?
Tony sailed by, shooting at more incoming robots. He halted above the group, turned tail, and soared off in a different direction.
Who was she?
This woman?
Dr. Sputterspark seemed to be typing away on some small pad in his hands. "I did tell you that my specialty is electric currents and efficiency, not these stupid bots. Besides, I can't reboot something that's been incinerated."
"Try harder, or you'll be returning to that cell block of yours," the woman promised.
"I never wanted to leave my cell block in the first place," whined Dr. Sputterspark, the tone of his voice definitely familiar. Megavolt. Without his powers but still a criminal.
Standing and drawing her arrow back, Gosalyn aimed for Dr. Sputterspark and fired. The net arrow pinned him down, a weak cry escaping him as he fell to the ground, the tablet clattering onto the concrete.
The woman turned to glare at Gosalyn, who was pulling out another arrow.
Oh.
That was why Tony was so hesitant to do anything to her.
Ana Mallard.
His mother.
Gosalyn had only come across her a handful of times through her multiverse travels, a woman who was sharply intelligent who suffered no fools.
It would seem she was the extreme example of her unrelenting morals here.
Before Gosalyn could react to seeing Ana, the two generals were moving towards her. Liquidator as a normal dog — his water powers nowhere in sight — and Taurus Bulba.
"How many times do I have to kick your ass?" Gosalyn asked wearily, eyeing the bull as she reached back and grabbed an arrow. She quickly fired it off. Another net arrow effectively trapped both of them, Liquidator knocking into Bulba as they fell on top of one another.
Tony's laugh echoed down the comms. "That's what you get for hiring businessmen instead of generals who actually know combat moves."
"They haven't been trained in combat?" Gosalyn asked incredulously, looking at Ana.
Who was holding a pistol in one hand. "Why would they?" Ana asked, pointing the gun at Gosalyn and taking aim. "Everyone follows the rules here. Except for you."
"Rules aren't my style," Gosalyn said, dropping to the ground as the gun was fired. She grabbed an arrow and fired it at Ana's feet, the bola chord tangling around her pristine black boots and causing her to teeter and fall over.
Gosalyn leapt up, running over and kicking the pistol away before Ana could get her bearings and try to use it again.
"Not training your generals for combat," she muttered to herself as she stepped over Ana. "This universe is so stupid."
"Don't mumble, girl," Ana snapped, grabbing ahold of Gosalyn's foot as she was directly over her and shoving it up.
Gosalyn reached back for an arrow as she followed the forward momentum and tucked into a roll. Coming back up on her knees, she nocked, aimed, and fired at Ana, caging her in a net arrow.
Climbing to her feet, Gosalyn scooped up the megaphone and loomed over Ana. Activating it with a screech, she yelled, "This place is so stupid," into it before throwing it as far as her arm could chuck it.
She was about to head down to the bakery when she saw Dr. Sputterspark reaching for his tablet. A putty arrow fired and it was toast, Dr. Sputterspark whimpering as he sent a glare towards Gosalyn.
She grinned before jogging towards the bakery. Tony zoomed overhead, still taking out wayward bots, but hovering nearby as an extra pair of eyes. They came across Darkwing and Negaduck by the subway entrance, the city block a disaster zone of robots, giant slashes and scorch marks in their armor while many of them sat decapitated or missing limbs.
"These robots are pathetic," Negaduck sneered as he and Darkwing joined Gosalyn, the two of them flanking her.
"They're actually pretty impressive technologically," argued Tony, firing a repulsor beam at a bot that rolled out of an alley. "But they are fragile."
"I stand by what I said," growled Negaduck, keeping up with Gosalyn and Darkwing as they jogged through the city.
With the robots fallen, it didn't look like anyone else was willing to stop them. Citizens peered out of windows or stood on the sidewalk, watching them with interest, but they made no move to do anything more than stare.
She remembered Stellar mentioning something about how the officials of this world — the police and army — had all been dissolved in lieu of more robots to do their job for them. It seemed now that it had been their downfall. Everyone had grown so accustomed to the bots policing the streets that no one knew what to do when they were gone. And with everyone so afraid of stepping out of line in fear that they would be arrested, not even a brick was thrown at them in attempts to stop their progress.
"This is weird," Tony said, waving to a group of people.
They didn't wave back.
"I'll be glad to leave it behind," Darkwing said.
The four of them turned down the street where the bakery was and came to a halt.
It was full of bots, all of them packed tightly together to form a barricade down the street. Posiduck stood in front, hands tucked behind his back.
"I thought you took care of him," hissed Tony, hovering down near Gosalyn's side.
"I didn't restrain him," Gosalyn said. She would have thought giving him the heads up about his criminal record and how very screwed he was would be enough to let them go without much more of a fight, but apparently not.
"That's superhero 101," glowered Negaduck, gripping his chainsaw.
"Okay, so I screwed up." She reached back into her quiver. "We'll see how arrogant he is when I fire my other EMP."
"Don't fire it," warned Tony. "We're too close to the bakery. We won't be able to leave."
"I don't know how a bakery solves any of this," said Posiduck, surveying the four of them with disapproval. "But you are all under arrest for a list of crimes I do not believe I could recount in its entirety right now."
He motioned and the first line of robots wheeled forward.
"Forget this." Tony fired a missile, the back half of robots exploding in fire and mangled metal limbs. Posiduck dodged as the street shook, looking back to where the majority of his army had combusted. The front line of bots teetered, a few even falling over, but they still advanced.
Tony flew up, aiming for the bakery. "I'm gonna make sure Lyn's good to go. Gosalyn—"
"Yeah, yeah," she said, pulling out her last net arrow and shooting it at Posiduck. It enveloped him easily, the ends drilling into the street to hold it in place.
Negaduck advanced on the bots with his chainsaw roaring and an excited gleam in his eye. Darkwing shot slime canisters into the robot crowd, the slime acting much as the putty did.
Gosalyn walked up to Posiduck and put her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "Not cool, man."
He merely regarded her cooly, saying nothing.
Shaking her head, she looked back at her father and Negaduck, crying, "Brace yourselves!"
The two had enough sense to run towards the nearest building and huddle against it for shelter as Gosalyn shot an exploding arrow at the remaining bots. She managed to duck under her father's waiting arms as it deployed, the block rocking with the force of the second explosion, robot parts and pieces flinging into the air before raining down on them. As everything settled, Negaduck, Darkwing, and Gosalyn continued making their way down the street, taking out any stray robots that remained.
Lyn and Tony, his helmet off, were kneeling near a small rectangle, Tony talking with MORGANA and Lyn fiddling with the rectangle, taking the advice of Tony and MORGANA as they bickered.
Setting the rectangle down on the ground, Lyn pushed a button and stepped back as it flashed. A blue light flared out from the rectangle, the bright column of light expanding until it resembled a doorway. The swirling colors of the multiverse illuminated the city block around them and Gosalyn couldn't remember a time when she had been happier to see them.
Tony rose onto his feet, standing in front of Lyn. "We'll cover you," he said. "Head back to your underground city."
Lyn, too, stood, but she shook her head, coming to stand in front of Tony. "I need to destroy the portal after you're gone. No way I'm letting High Command have this technology. Besides," she glanced down the street where the robot remnants lie scattered and Posiduck thrashed underneath his net, "I think it's time we talk."
"He might not want to," Darkwing warned.
"I think he does," Gosalyn said. "But he's stubborn."
"Very stubborn," Negaduck said darkly.
Darkwing glanced at him. "You're just as stubborn."
"I'm not that stubborn."
"All right," said Gosalyn, looked at Lyn. "You sure you don't want to make a break for it? You'll be arrested."
"I've been hiding for awhile now," said Lyn. "I think it's time all of us start fighting back."
"Hell yeah, stick it to the man," said Tony.
Lyn glanced back at the portal. "You guys better get through before the connection is lost."
"Thank you," said Darkwing, reaching a hand out to Lyn but seeming to think better of it and dropped it to his side.
"This is for me as much as its for you," said Lyn. "You are all a nightmare to deal with."
"Me most of all," growled Negaduck, something like pride in his tone.
"Oh, no, you were fine. Gosalyn was the biggest headache," Lyn said.
Gosalyn laughed and held up her hand for a high-five. But Lyn just stared at her, confused, so Tony high fived her instead.
"You ever need any help," said Tony, looking at Lyn, "look me up."
"I probably won't, but thank you for the offer."
"I can respect that." Tony's helmet appeared out of his armor and sealed itself around his head. "Let's go."
Gosalyn walked towards the portal, Negaduck and Darkwing on either side.
"Just be yourself around him," said Darkwing, nodding back to Posiduck. "You're exactly what he needs."
"By the way, he's also going to jail," Gosalyn said. "He's the one who traveled to my universe to kidnap me."
Lyn glanced back to Posiduck, intrigue sparking in her eyes. "Interesting."
"Good luck!" Gosalyn called as she stepped through the portal with Darkwing and Negaduck.
They walked into Tony's workshop, the Iron Duck armor already discarded as he buzzed around the room. The portal behind them closed, MORGANA's tone warm as she said, "Welcome back."
A/N: Paige made me one last drawing of Posi-Ana. She'll be on my Tumblr with the rest of them if you want to check her out!