A new chapter to go for the new year! There's a lot of surprises in this one, stuff I've been planning for a long while to dish out so I hope you guys enjoy the shock you're in for. I also want to take this time to say another BIG thank you to Dinny for beta-reading this chapter. Thanks again, without you I wouldn't have been able to update this story. Enjoy!
Next in Line
The young girl shook her head in confusion, "But dad are you serious? I mean this REALLY isn't like you, and what about Launchpad? Does he really want to quit? Are you just telling me this so I'll clean my room?" Gosalyn began to turn around in circles.
"Honey, honey, honey, please! Relax; this isn't a trick it's all been taken care of." Drake said, stopping Gosalyn's spinning and gently grabbing her.
"But you've always been freaked about the thought of me going out at as Quiverwing."
Gosalyn looked up into her father's eyes. "I've come to the realization that it's pointless to try and stop the inevitable. You've kicked major butt as Quiverwing and proven yourself a capable crime fighter and you're not gonna stop even if I tell you to so why bother fighting it?"
Drake stood up and smiled, "You are now my sidekick Gos."
Gosalyn didn't have a clue on what to say, her young mind was racing with shock and awe at the bomb her father just dropped into her lap. Of course, Gosalyn had always wanted dad to approve of her being Quiverwing and accept her, but…this. This was a completely new ballgame and it filled Gosalyn's head with countless questions. Despite Gosalyn's ill feeling, as though she were stealing Launchpad's job, she had to admit that it made perfect sense in a way: Quiverwing was capable of fighting villains on her own and she had multiple weapons to rely on unlike Launchpad, and Drake could probably learn to fly the Thunder quack.
"I uh well you see uh…dad I just uh…I just" Gosalyn paused, looking down at her shoes. Drake blinked a bit with worry until he saw his daughter raise her head back up and smile. "I'll do it pop, I'll be your sidekick" Gosalyn eagerly raised a salute to her father, "Quiverwing quack is at your service Darkwing Duck er I mean…dad."
Drake laughed and grabbed his daughter, overjoyed as he spun her around and lovingly kissed her cheek before hugging her tightly.
"I'm pleased as punch to hear that kiddo, now I need you to do me a favor." Drake reached into his shirt pocket and pulled a sack of quarters out. "Head down to the arcade and blast a few space aliens to dust, I've got to make an important phone call," Drake said as he dropped the quarters into his daughter's open hand.
Gosalyn stared at the quarters blankly before slowly nodding she asked if everything was all right with her dad but Drake had insisted that he was fine. Drake quickly ushered his young daughter out of the room and closed the door behind her. The father smiled to himself: he knew he was acting strange but even parents need a little bit of alone time and this alone time had a very special meaning for Drake Mallard. Drake took a deep breath and gathered up his courage as he walked towards the nightstand next to his bed he picked up the hotel's phone and began to dial.
RING!
Drake swallowed hard as he slowly heard a voice answer from the other line.
"Hello? MaCawber residence."
"Hey Morgana, it's Drake I uh…err…Darkwing."
"Don't be silly Dark I know it's you, no need to be so shy about it."
Drake blushed softly, "I know it's just…I know you like calling me that and."
"Now you didn't just call me up out of the blue just to talk about pet names, did you Dark darling?"
"Ha, no, no of course not Morg I uh I do actually have a much more important reason for calling you."
"All right then so spill what's this special reason for calling?"
Drake shuffled his webbed feet as he stared at the ground.
"Dark? Are you still there?"
A small pause ensued before Drake finally answered.
"There's something very important I want to talk to you about, it's something I have been thinking about for a while now and I feel now is as good a time as ever to bring it up."
Morgana stared curiously at the receiver, starting to grow a bit concerned. She had never heard Darkwing talk like this before.
"Is everything all right Drake? This isn't like you; I mean you're usually more nervous and uncertain whenever we talk about us."
"It's funny you should say that because things have actually been better than ever before, things are finally going the way I had always hoped they would. My relationship with Gosalyn is better than ever, my reputation is finally in good standing, and my nightmares have finally stopped."
Drake smiled and thought to himself how much better life had become now that Bulba was out of his life for good. Darkwing Duck can handle any super villain blindfolded but Taurus Bulba was a monster of the darkest caliber, and now with him gone Drake Mallard and Darkwing Duck can finally live happy lives that satisfy both their needs.
"Did something happen to you Dark darling?"
"Well let's just say now everything seems so much easier than it was before Morgana. I finally have time to take care of what's really important in my life, there's nothing holding me back now and I intend to live life to its fullest."
"Well then by all means Dark, please tell me what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"Oh no, no, not here, not like this. Let's do it when I come back from my special trip with Gosalyn, we can talk about it face to face. We'll be leaving Sunday."
"Are you sure about this?"
Drake looked down once more as he pulled a small dark blue box from his pocket he flipped it open to reveal a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring. The sparkles from the ring increased the length of Drake's smile.
"More sure then I have been about anything in my life Morgana dear."
"Oh well…all right then, I'll see you when you get back then Dark. Enjoy your time with Gosalyn and take care Dark, I love you."
"I love you too Morg, see you soon, bye."
Drake hung up the phone and flipped the diamond ring box shut. Before Taurus Bulba, neither Drake nor Darkwing duck would have had the courage to ask the woman he loved to marry him. There was always too much risk, too much danger to ever let anyone into his life because of his career. However, after taking Bulba down everything else seemed like child's play to the masked super hero. With his most relentless, ruthless, and monstrous opponent finally put away for good, Drake Mallard aka Darkwing Duck finally felt like life was going his way.
Back at Bulba's lair…
Taurus Bulba snickered as he stared at the gray and red jack-in-the-box that he had extracted from the fish Dr. Fossil acquired. The box's rusty coloring and faded child-like paint only seemed to further intrigue the demented cyborg bull. The crank on the box was slowly being turned by Bulba's cybernetic claw hand and he turned to Fossil's office to call out for the dinosaur professor.
"Dr. Fossil, how much longer until the process is completed? You know I am not a patient man," Bulba stared with a bitter snarl as he continued to turn the crank.
"About 5 to 10 minutes, the cultivation process is nearly complete; just keep your shirt on boss" Fossil replied. Sparks and strange flashes of light continued to emanate from Fossil's cave office.
"You haven't got 10 seconds freak show…now just turn around slowly, drop the box, and then put your hands on your head."
The mysterious voice from behind caused Bulba's eyes to widen and his lips curved into a sinister grin as he knew exactly who it was. Bulba played along and raised his arms as he slowly turned around to face his surprise guests. It was Agents Poach, Boil, and Fry of team Hard Shell, the last remnants of the fallen empire of F.O.W.L. The three agents had Bulba cornered armed with high-powered blasters and grenade launchers and they all wore twisted smiles on their faces.
"So, it appears that a few left over chickens flew the coop before F.O.W.L was destroyed. How pathetically predictable" Bulba said with a sly chuckle.
Poach growled as he aimed his gun right between Bulba's eyes. "You should know after all…you lead those S.H.U.S.H agents right to us, destroying everything F.O.W.L worked so hard to achieve. You're going to pay for that freak."
Taurus Bulba curiously hummed, "Strange but if I recall I believe it was you three who lead S.H.U.S.H to your headquarters by taking that prisoner to your superiors."
Boil and Fry clutched their weapons tightly; grinding their snarling teeth as Bulba painfully reminded them of their mistake. "Pretty sloppy work from three so called professionals if you ask me, maybe next time you should make sure you have the right prisoner, eh?"
"SHUT UP!" Poach shouted as he fired a shot near Bulba's face.
The blast went past Bulba's head he continued to smile, not even flinching or cringing from Poach's shot. Boil pulled his commander back Poach's fury was building and Boil feared his commander might lose control and in turn lose his focus on the task at hand.
"Sir don't let this creep trip you up again; let's just waste him and get out of here."
Poach calmed down immediately and nodded to Boil. "Sounds like a plan, all right Bulba you heard my associate; I think it's time we finish this. Drop the box and put your hands up like I said before, otherwise Fry here will barbecue your ass with his flame-thrower and don't try anything funny."
Bulba looked over to Fry who snickered with the thrower in his hands, "It would be my pleasure to watch you fry."
Bulba closed his eyes and chuckled as he decided to comply, his claw hand released the box and he allowed it to fall to the floor.
BOOM!
A huge gush of tombstone gray smoke exploded from the toy box, dark energy particles began to swirl and reshape the cloud as electrical surges began to ripple along its form. The agents watched in horror as the gray smoke became solid flesh; black and white bony arms emerged followed by a white clown like collar. The figure's face resembled a duck's, with a curved bill featuring rows of sharp teeth, blood red eyes, and a pallid corpse-like face. The clown-like figure yawned and stretched, cracking his bones and twisting his arms and legs in and out of place.
"Ah it feels sooooooo good to be out of there again" the clown exclaimed as he looked towards the three agents and leaned in with a sharp, toothy grin. "Will you play with me?" the clown asked, and the agents instantly cowered back in fear.
Bulba simply laughed and pointed to the clown, "Gentlemen forgive my playmate's playfulness and allow me to properly introduce him; he is known as…Paddywhack."
Boil and Fry quivered in fright at the skeletal, clown-like creature, and they kept their guns locked on Paddywhack as they continued to step back. Poach turned and angrily shouted for his troops to return. Fry and Boil reluctantly agreed and stayed by their commander's side, though they still trembled with unparalleled fear at the ghostly Paddywhack.
"Don't be fooled it's just another of Bulba's tricks just like when he fooled us with that doppelganger of his. Besides we still have them outnumbered: it's still three against two" Poach pointed out as he clicked his pistol hammer.
Suddenly Dr. Fossil was sent hurtling from his lab from a powerful explosion the professor slammed into the wall near Bulba and Paddywhack and collapsed to the ground. Fossil was sizzling with black burns and charred scars, his weak groans continued until he passed out. Another figure exited Fossil's lab and approached the gathering surrounding Bulba, Poach and his troops gasped in utter horror as they saw the face of approaching figure…It was Negaduck!
"Whose spinal cords does a guy have to break around here to get some frigging answers? Dr. dumb ass over there was poking me like a pin cushion, so I dropped his sorry ass like a ton of bricks" Negaduck said. Negaduck quickly turned to Bulba who was grinning at him like a hyena, "Stuff the grin egg sucker and start spilling; who the hell are you and what the hell am I doing in a dump like this?"
"Negaduck it is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you, my name is Taurus Bulba" he said as he crossed his arms behind his back.
Negaduck shrugged and snorted "I've never heard of you, so screw the pleasantries and start talking."
Bulba laughed softly "As you wish, you may not remember this but it has been some time since you have been seen, you were last seen entering a cake bakery along with Darkwing duck."
Negaduck raised his eyebrow at Bulba's statement.
"Ha, ha, it doesn't surprise me that you do not remember it, it was reported that you died that day whilst traveling dimensions between our world and your world, the Negaverse."
The bitter duck scoffed at Bulba, "Bullshit! I don't remember that ever happening."
Bulba quickly replied, "Nor would you; because you are in fact a clone of the original Negaduck made from DNA samples extracted from one of Negaduck's feathers found at the bakery by Jambalaya Jake."
Silence suddenly filled the room as Negaduck and team Hard Shell were shocked into silence over this startling discovery. Poach begun to sweat furiously and gulped thickly, his eyes and ears unable to comprehend this unbelievable story. F.O.W.L knew Bulba was brilliant and extremely resourceful, but not even the high command had any idea Bulba was capable of such mind-blowing science.
Bulba slowly circled the speechless Negaduck as he continued, "That man you assaulted was in fact the doctor who brought you to life. His name is Dr. Fossil and I used his knowledge of genetic manipulation to clone you from that feather sample, he has successfully cloned extinct dinosaur DNA before, so I figured this would be easy for him. I then had him accelerate your growth so you matured instantly and equipped you with the most up-to-date memory implants and personality components from the original Negaduck, except from the day of his death of course."
"All right jack… even if what you say is true what happens next? Odds are you're not the kind to do favors free of charge so what's the catch or are you expecting me to say thank you or something?" Negaduck said.
Bulba said nothing as he walked away from circling Negaduck and he instead approached the far wall behind Paddywhack. "Actually there is one thing I would like you to do for me Negaduck, I would like for you to say something for me…a word…that is all."
Negaduck crossed his arms and shrugged, "Not what I was expecting but…what's the word?"
Bulba turned around with a red gleam in his eyes and a small controller in his right claw hand. "Say CHEESE" Bulba said as he pressed the button.
Suddenly a compartment from the ceiling opened up and revealed Megavolt's tron splitter device the device fired a powerful galvanized energy beam at Negaduck and engulfed him in a blast of light. Negaduck was instantly transformed into a dark skinned; black and white version of himself, his body was completely covered by constant flowing electricity. Paddywhack's twisted eyes sparkled with curiosity at the newly energized Negaduck. Poach, Fry, and Boil were on the verge of wetting their pants from this second shocking development.
"I am the most fiendish terror that flaps in the darkest night, I am the screams that haunt your nightmares, I am…the one…the only…the original…NEGADUCK!" Negaduck roared as he cackled like a twisted mad man.
Taurus Bulba also offered up his own evil laughter, "Stupendous! All of the players have been assembled and now, I have the ultimate team of super powered super villains at my disposal and we shall finally have our revenge on Darkwing Duck."
"Hello, aren't you forgetting someone?" Poach said, quickly aiming the F.O.W.L. agents guns back at Bulba.
The cyborg madman turned around and slowly licked his grinning chops. "Oh how rude of me of course I have not forgotten. Paddywhack, Negaduck dispose of these insects quickly. We have bigger fish to fry."
Agent Fry leapt forward as if on command and aimed his flame-thrower directly at the skeletal Paddywhack, "The only ones who are frying tonight are you three freaks."
Fry let loose a powerful wave of flames against the twisted Paddywhack, and the agent's sick personality took great pleasure in burning the creature before him. Paddywhack however seemed unaffected by the flames as he sucked them up like a vacuum cleaner swelling up like a balloon as if he had just eaten a large meal. Fry was completely flabbergasted by this. Paddywhack then exhaled his gut and sent all of the stored flames right back at Fry, incinerating the agent in seconds. Boil gasped as he watched his friend burnt into deep fried black ashes.
"Now that's a spicy meat ball," Paddywhack remarked before bursting into his trademark, giddy laughter.
Poach and Boil looked at each other in shock and slowly started to back away.
"Not bad but let me show you how a true freak works" Negaduck said as he balled up his sleeves.
Boil panicked and screamed, "You're not getting me; you're not getting me!" Boil unloaded his machine gun at the super Negaduck who simply blocked all the bullets with an energy field.
Negaduck kicked the bullets from his feet, "You call that pain? Let me show you what REAL pain is."
Massive volts of diamond blue electricity burst from Negaduck's furry fingertips and electrocuted Boil viciously. The troll-like agent felt his black spiky hair begin to sizzle and burn as he shook controllably from the voltage while Negaduck laughed before ultimately ceasing his energy blast and letting a charbroiled Boil fall to the ground, dead. Poach gasped desperately for air as he panicked and dropped to the ground, crawling away in fear at Bulba's monstrous crew. The cyborg frowned and converted his arm into a cannon, aimed at Poach's head and fired.
The massive blast vaporized Poach's head and silenced the last of F.O.W.L. forever. Paddywhack and Negaduck roared with uncontrollable laughter as they admired and enjoyed Bulba's sick sense of humor, joining his side and deciding unanimously to join him on his quest for vengeance against Darkwing duck and eventually, the world.
"Now my dark minions let us go out and seek vengeance upon he who has ruined us, Darkwing duck. For I swear upon the blood of these fallen men that Darkwing WILL suffer like he has never suffered before. Cry havoc, and let loose the dogs of war! HA, HA."
To be continued……