This was it. After this, she was giving up.

Maybe.

She'd told herself it was the final time for so many of these excursions. With each passing attempt, she told herself it was the last one. Then, after she had been unsuccessful — because she was always unsuccessful nowadays — she would go back on her word and plan for just one more.

One more time scouring the city for Negaduck. Only once more setting up the perfect crime, totally willing to let him get away with everything just so she could talk to him. One last hero spree where she arrested everyone, even the most minimal of offenders, in the hopes that, with so little competition, Negaduck would jump at all the banks not being robbed, all the art still hanging in galleries, and all the ammunition and weaponry sitting in stores, waiting for purchase.

St. Canard had never been safer. And Gosalyn had never been more frustrated.

Darkwing and Launchpad were more than pleased with how efficiently and effectively Gosalyn had cleaned up the city streets. Launchpad had more than ample time to really fix major problems with the Thunder Quack and Ratcatcher. Darkwing just waxed poetic, claiming his baby girl was growing up and taking on more complicated undercover cases from S.H.U.S.H.. Divided in their individual tasks, the Darkwing Duck team was more than good. They were unstoppable.

But since Gosalyn hadn't wanted to make St. Canard safe, all she saw was failure every time she donned her mask and cape, taking to the streets.

It wasn't that she was frustrated.

Well.

She was.

Really, really frustrated. Seriously, who ignores someone just because they thought that other someone had betrayed them?

Bad example.

More than anything, Gosalyn felt guilty. She knew she shouldn't. She hadn't technically done anything wrong and Gosalyn had always lived her life on technicalities. It was the fact that Negaduck was nowhere to be found. He hadn't shown up to yell at her, rev his chainsaw, or go on some sort of elaborate villainous scheme to exact revenge. Negaduck always eventually showed up, claiming that Darkwing wouldn't get away this time.

So, Gosalyn had been waiting for it to be her turn. For the villain to slink out of the shadows, bazooka or some new weapon in hand, and grin at her as he leveled a building. Or maybe whiz past her on his motorcycle, laughing as he carted away precious jewels from the visiting geological exhibit at the museum. She even had gone as far as to imagine he might broadcast on cable, demanding her capture for a price. Or hacking some part of the internet to send out a wanted poster with her face plastered on the front.

Silence. That was all she received from him.

With all that quiet time to herself, Gosalyn had wiled away the minutes wondering what she had really done to the demented duck. Had she hurt his feelings? Everyone would laugh at that if she'd mentioned it. Negaduck didn't have feelings.

Except he did and Gosalyn knew it. Not only did Negaduck have feelings, but Gosalyn had probably somehow hurt them and now Negaduck might really be suffering. He was just starting to discover who he was, beginning to open up to someone else. Or he was realizing what he wanted from life. Had he been about to turn over a new leaf? Become an informant, betraying the other darker side of the law? Probably not. But he could have stayed partners with Gosalyn; still be a villain with his demented desires and violent nature. Except for those times when he would help her.

All her unanswered questions kept Gosalyn awake at night. She just stared at her ceiling, knowing sleep would never come as the silence Negaduck had left closed in around her, suffocating and constricting.

But, hey! St. Canard was safe. Everyone knew that Quiverwing Quack was to thank, much to Darkwing's chagrin. Duckburg had officially extended a friendly feathered hand towards Darkwing Duck and his team of heroes, telling them that they could come back at any time.

That had been weeks ago.

Actually, two months. Give or take a day or five. It wasn't like Gosalyn was keeping count or anything. But she was.

Really, though. This. This was it. Her last attempt to reach out to Negaduck and try to get his attention.

She shifted her feet, trying to distribute her weight equally between them. Maneuvering in her tight quarters was one thing. What she really wanted to do was stretch. Give her knees some relief from crouching. Move her feet in a circular motion to release the tension in her ankles. Roll her hands, head, and shoulders. She would feel so much better. The sheer relief that would cascade into her tight muscles was nearly enough to make her call off her mission. Negaduck wasn't coming.

But he had to. It was now or never, and this was the perfect night for him to strike.

The new jewelry store Diamonds Can be Your Best Friend, Too had just opened its doors about a week ago. Naturally, with so many new expensive pieces in a part of town that was surrounded by retail and high-end restaurants, they had called in the recent golden child of St. Canard to check out their surveillance system.

Gosalyn had taken the opportunity and ran with it. Declaring their old security system was a waste of time and that they weren't getting what they were paying for, blah, blah, blah. One security system out, a new one in. To be fair, it was better, this new system. The old one would have done the job, but this new, much more expensive, one would make it nearly impossible to break into the store.

Tomorrow morning, as the store opened, the security system would go live. Tonight was the last chance for any villain worth his salt to try and grab as much as he could. Something perfect for Negaduck. A last-chance cash grab with high stakes and the perfect conditions. A sure-fire win for himself and his reputation.

So where was he?

The sky was starting to lighten, a pale blue chasing away the deep purples and endless blacks. What time was it? Five or six? The fall season was kicking in, so days were less sunshine and more darkness. So… Yeah, maybe six. Six thirty.

And she'd been out here since nine the night before.

No wonder her muscles were seizing up on her.

Standing, Gosalyn allowed herself the luxury of stretching, pulling her arms across her body and her legs behind her. The relief was even better than she had imagined and she took the time to really get all the kinks out.

How late in the morning was it okay to admit to herself that this was a waste of time? St. Canard was waking up. Cars would be leaving their homes only to be stuck in traffic before the business day started. The jewelry store wouldn't open until the late morning, but by then everyone else was already at work. The likelihood of someone breaking into the store was highly unlikely. Especially with the restaurant across the street serving brunch. They had been open for at least an hour, people filing by already on their way to get an early breakfast.

Where was Negaduck? Had she missed him? No, she'd been watching the store the whole time. He could have snuck in, but to enter and exit clandestinely? Not his style.

If anything, he probably would have struck in the middle of the night to ensure he would get away with the jewels. He was a show off, and with such a long absence since Duckburg, he would have wanted something big to announce his return. And getting away with most of the store's inventory in the black of night would have been so much more dramatic than carrying a sack away in the small hours of the morning with only early risers to see him. If he had wanted an audience, it would have been better to do it last night after the store closed. As the night crowd filtered through the streets and everyone at home, who hadn't quite gone to bed yet, could get the story on the news either on TV or on their phones and computers.

This was a bust. Just like the other ones had been.

Negaduck really wasn't coming.

Sighing, Gosalyn emerged from the alleyway she'd made use of. She walked down the street, not responding when people recognized her. It didn't matter if the citizens of St. Canard saw her walk through the city early in the morning. She still wanted some sort of vehicle to heighten her hero image and give her better ways of getting around the city, but for now it didn't matter.

Gosalyn wasn't good. She wasn't a hero. What sort of hero crushes another person to the point that they can't or won't operate as they used to? That was something the villains did. Not the heroes.

Trudging up the Audubon Bay Bridge, Gosalyn wondered what was next. Was she supposed to keep trying to bait Negaduck, urge him out of hiding? Or should she forget about him and move onto other villains? Do her job and forget the devastation she had caused for one? She wished there was someone she could talk to about this. But that meant telling that same person about her scheme and partnership with Negaduck. Which was not an option.

Not for the first time, Gosalyn wondered what she'd gotten herself into.

She leapt into Darkwing Tower, hoping Launchpad was there working on the Thunder Quack. Or that her father was fiddling with the latest technological equipment from S.H.U.S.H., trying desperately to figure it out while simultaneously so excited to use it he hadn't put it together correctly. She didn't want to be alone. And she wanted to distract herself from this Negaduck business.

No sooner had she descended to the lower level that someone grabbed her from behind, holding her tightly so as to immobilize her arms.

Not exactly what she'd been hoping for, but she'd take it.

Swinging her legs, she hammered her feet into the knees of whoever it was holding her. They immediately dropped her with a yelp. Jumping up from the floor, she glanced back, her eyebrows rising to her hairline when she saw Bushroot. That would explain the constricting hold.

She was barely able to get "What—" out when two more sets of hands grabbed ahold of her, one pair holding her arms the other pair her legs. Megavolt and Quackerjack. Gosalyn continued to struggle, trying to break free when the Liquidator approached, quickly tying up her arms and legs.

"Well, at least you are fast learners," Gosalyn quipped.

"We've had plenty of time to study up," Quackerjack agreed, jeering in her ear. He grabbed ahold of her ropes, leading her towards the group of windows facing opposite the library. Darkwing and Launchpad were already there, slumped tied up against the wall. Launchpad gave Gosalyn a sad smile while the fire in Darkwing's eyes burst into an inferno.

"You won't get away with this!" he growled.

"We already have!" Quackerjack tugged at Gosalyn's ropes, pulling her into his side. "We've got her. You'll do anything to protect your prodigy, won't you, Darkwing?"

"Wow. Seriously, you guys have done your homework," Gosalyn congratulated them. Despite the dire situation of having both her father and Launchpad as helpless as she was and the fact that she had no idea what the Fearsome Four wanted and why they'd attacked Darkwing Tower, she wasn't afraid. Ten to one, Negaduck was here. Somewhere. The Fearsome Four wouldn't have thought this up themselves. Their mastermind had to be with them. Waiting for the right moment to present himself.

And here she thought he would have gone for the new jewels in town. He probably would, in time. But first he would want to dramatically reveal himself to the heroes first. Flaunt his return and even terrorize them before going into town. Why bother coming back if you don't have anyone to try and stop you from doing it?

"Quiet!" Quackerjack snarled, his hand coming to grip Gosalyn's arm tightly.

"No, really. You figured out that Darkwing and I are working together. But so did everyone else. So, maybe that isn't impressive."

"Hey!" Megavolt whined. "I figured that part out."

Gosalyn raised an eyebrow. "Was it the news stories about us that tipped you off? Or maybe Duckburg's invitation for Darkwing, Quiverwing, and Launchpad to return whenever they wanted that made you connect the dots?"

"Neither!" Megavolt said gleefully. "It was a poster that showed you and Darkwing together!"

"Don't listen to her!" Quackerjack looked over to his counterpart.

"There are posters?" Darkwing asked, the prospect of recognition distracting him momentarily. "Where'd you see it? Do you think we should frame it or would that be overkill? Oh, we could sign it and then hang it up!"

"I'd take one!" Launchpad said.

"Liquidator," Quackerjack said, motioning towards Darkwing and Launchpad. The Liquidator grinned before transforming into a monstrous tidal wave, crashing down on the two heroes. As the water washed away to form back into the villain, Gosalyn groaned.

"Now you're gonna get the cape lecture."

"The what?" Megavolt asked, scratching his head.

"Do you know," Darkwing asked, glancing up from under his soggy fedora, "how long it took me to iron my cape this morning?"

"There he goes," Gosalyn said.

"It's not like I can rush the process. It may be rip-proof but it also wrinkles if you give it a funny look. The material is so tough, regular steam and irons won't work so I've had to work with an industrial iron made exclusively by S.H.U.S.H. Do you know how long it takes to heat up?"

"Does it matter?" Quackerjack groaned.

"You brought this upon yourself." Gosalyn said, earning a glare from her captor who still maintained his iron-like grip on her arm.

"Only thirty minutes!" Liquidator exclaimed, excited about the product. "A very reasonable time frame for such a great bargain item."

"A reasonable time frame? It's ridiculous! And making sure all the wrinkles are out takes at least an additional thirty minutes if not longer, which I always do longer because you never know who will be watching your crime fighting and no one wants a wrinkly cape on the news."

How deep into the cape lecture did they need to go before Negaduck tired of the banal conversation and made his move? Darkwing was half way through at this point and Negaduck was nowhere to be found. Gosalyn couldn't keep distracting the Fearsome Four forever.

"I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this so quickly," Quackerjack said, giving another signal to Megavolt who, with a dramatic flourish of the wrists, zapped his electricity somewhere behind Gosalyn and Quackerjack. From the corner of her eye, Gosalyn caught sight of Quackrjack's toy teeth, bigger and now electrically charged, marching toward her.

Quackerjack tossed Gosalyn to Bushroot, who had finally recovered from Gosalyn's earlier attack. He gripped her unnecessarily hard as he used his vines to secure her arms to her sides before he stepped away, allowing the large toy teeth to clamp down on her cape.

"Wow. This is… Wow," Gosalyn mentioned before gagging slightly as the teeth tugged at her cape, pulling her backwards. She sent the teeth a glare as Bushroot rejoined his fellow villains.

Even though she had no idea what was happening, or why, Gosalyn was willing to have Negaduck stroll in at any moment. Really, there wasn't a bad time. He could come by and explain what was going on whenever he felt the need.

"I know you've had some experiences with my toy teeth before" Quackerjack said. "But these are really nasty toy teeth with some new upgrades. They're electrically charged so I don't have to wind them anymore, but once they hit water, they shut down and act as anchors, holding down whatever they have sunk their teeth into. One more wrong word, Darkwing, and we'll just toss them over the bridge. The girl included."

"What do you want, Quackerjack?" Darkwing asked, his voice taking on a severe tone. Gone were the distractions in the hopes that he could figure out the villains's scheme. He was all business now.

"We… did not think this far ahead," Megavolt confessed as Bushroot shrugged.

"You humiliated us in Duckburg," Quackerjack said. "We wanted to get you back."

"And toy teeth was the obvious answer," Gosalyn said, rolling her eyes.

Quackerjack turned towards her, eyes filled with malice.

"No, no," Gosalyn continued, glancing around for Negaduck. "I get it. You want to exact revenge on your enemies. You're feeling down on yourselves, maybe even are questioning if you're good at being villains…"

"I was, kinda," Megavolt agreed.

"… So what do you do? You think, 'We'll break into Darkwing's hideout!' So you wait and watch, follow Darkwing here after a caper or two just to make sure this is where his base of operations is."

"I had almost no sleep for two days." Bushroot nodded.

"Then you climb up here today, the day you will exact your revenge. And you think, 'Oh, wait! We can't go up there without Quackerjack's new and improved teeth. We don't want to look like idiots.' So you bring them with you."

"I carried them up here. They were pretty heavy," Liquidator said.

"And you sit up here, waiting until each of the heroes return, tying them up and you're feeling pretty good. You got them all in one spot, immobilized, and then bam! break out the teeth. I mean, what a great revenge story!"

"You're making fun of us," Quackerjack sneered.

"You're a genius." Gosalyn rolled her eyes.

"Only I get to decide when we have fun," Quackerjack said.

Gosalyn laughed. She couldn't help it. How ludicrous was this idea? It was barely an idea. It wasn't even a thought.

"Don't laugh at me," Quackerjack snarled, his hands balling into fists.

"Don't," Bushroot agreed.

"It's pretty dangerous," Megavolt added.

"Oh, what are you gonna do?" Gosalyn challenged. "Bring out more teeth?"

"I only carried up the two," Liquidator said.

"So, what, there's nothing else? How—"

"Don't say it."

"Don't do it."

"You'll regret it."

"—stupid!" Gosalyn finished.

Apparently, everyone has their limits. Quackerjack, for example, doesn't like to be laughed at or told that his ideas are stupid. Live and learn.

"That's it!" Quackerjack lunged at Gosalyn, grabbed ahold of her and dragged her to the window, tossing her out.

As Launchpad and Darkwing screamed her name, Gosalyn found she wasn't afraid as she fell down towards the water. Yeah, there were these huge teeth weighing her down, and they would turn into anchors once they hit the water and she was completely immobilized in vines and rope, but still. Negaduck wouldn't let it go that far. He might let her hang out in the water for a little bit, really let her think about what she'd done, but then bring her back out. He'd remind Darkwing not to mess with him again and that would be the end of it.

Gosalyn hit the water, taking in a deep breath before the giant toy teeth pulled her down below the surface, straight for the bottom of the bay.

Negaduck probably had a submarine or something. This was all part of his plan, she was willing to bet on it.

The teeth continued to pull Gosalyn down into the dark murky depths of Audubon Bay, and she looked around, waiting for some sort of underwater vehicle to come grab her. Negaduck was mad at her, sure, but he wouldn't kill her. Would he?

No. He wouldn't. Negaduck would save her.

He would. He had planned this.

Unless he hadn't.

The Fearsome Four had mentioned revenge. Even confessed they hadn't thought far enough ahead to really come up with anything. They'd had months to figure something out an had only gotten as far as get into Darkwing's hideout, tie up the heroes and then… something else.

That wasn't Negaduck's style.

He must not have been a part of it.

Gosalyn's heart raced as she struggled against her bonds, her feet trying to kick off the teeth that dragged her down. She should have known! Toy teeth? Negaduck never would have gone for that! She'd been so dumb! All that time, she'd been playing the game thinking if she could just distract the villains long enough, Negaduck would show up and bring order to the chaos. But Negaduck wasn't there. It had been only chaos. She should have played to that, made the Fearsome Four question their leader — who was, once more, Quackerjack — and amplify their individual craziness until she and her father could break loose and take them down.

Now, she was at the bottom of the bay and no closer to breaking free of her bonds. They'd been tied more tightly that she'd anticipated and the added water wasn't helping in trying to loosen them.

Her lungs feeling as though they would explode, Gosalyn opened her beak to try and breathe. Water rushed into her mouth, cascading down her throat. She coughed, still trying to suck in oxygen even though she knew she couldn't. Blood pumped in her ears, her eyes, causing the world around her to pulse. Darkness lingered on the edges of her vision, slowly creeping in.

That really had been it. Her final attempt at finding Negaduck.

If only she could have told him she was sorry.

And Launchpad. And her father. What would they do now?

Why hadn't she figured this out sooner?

She really wasn't the hero she thought she was.

The darkness had completely taken over her vision, pulling her down into it.