Chapter 21

Aloysius and Edward Sharp joined Agent Zeta in their central command room, buried deep underground well away from any major city. Zeta stood with her arms behind her back, listening to the police reports. None of their men had escaped their Duckburg base. It was a complete and utter disaster and a hard hit for FOWL.

Aloysius looked at his brother questioningly. Edward ran a hand over his bald head and approached Agent Z.
"What now? Do we go after that foolhardy inventor?"

"Forget him! We have more pressing matters right now!" Aloysius snapped at him. "Isn't that right, Agent Z?"

She didn't move to reply. After several long moments, the brothers came to the conclusion she was not going to answer them. However, just as they were going to leave her to her thoughts, they heard her sigh.

"What choice do we have, Agents...?" she replied. "We move the remainder of our operations to St. Canard. Our other operatives may have some measure of success in their missions. Meanwhile, we'll cut off all ties to this incident..."

"You don't mean...?" Edward gasped.

"Precisely, Agent E... We'll leave your cousin to his own devices..."

The brothers sighed. At least Zeta wasn't ordering them to kill their own flesh and blood...

"And IF Mr. Sharp does attempt to use our resources or facilities for his purposes again," Zeta glowered at the monitors. "He will NOT be given a second chance..."

The icy delivery of the words left the brothers with no doubt as to what she intended.

Later, back home on Avian Way...

"Eh, eh, eh...it's good to be home," Drake breathed in deeply.

"You said it, Dad..." Gosalyn agreed sleepily. She could hardly keep her eyes open. She glanced at her watch. No wonder... She'd been awake for almost twenty one hours. Not unusual in the life of a crime fighter but a long haul for a kid. Even an eleven year old one...

"Yeah..." Launchpad stretched after setting their (unused) luggage in the hall. "Been a busy day... Glad I napped when I did! It was good seeing the Count and all, and getting interviewed by Daisy wasn't all that bad either..." he grinned a little sheepishly.

"'Interviewed'? For what?" Drake asked him curiously.

"On my first visit to Mount Dumas with Mr. McDee and the kids. We were there to help overthrow Roy's evil twin."

"Oh." Drake said flatly, disappointed that there hadn't been any questions pertaining to his alter ego.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I'm ready for bed. 'Night, Dad..." Gosalyn yawned.

"Just a moment, Gos...I have something for you..." Drake said eagerly. He hopped into a spinning chair and took off.

Gosalyn rubbed the sleep out if her eyes and looked at Launchpad questioningly.

He grinned and shrugged.

"I don't know what he's up to. DW is kinda secretive at times... But I think it has something to do with your birthday..." Launchpad yawned again. "Boy am I bushed... I'm gonna head up. G'night, Gos!" He gave her a hug. "Happy birthday, little buddy..."

"Thanks, Launchpad," she smiled, hugging him back. He waved goodbye and went upstairs, leaving her to her thoughts.

She'd almost forgotten, again, that today... Well, technically yesterday, had been her birthday. She thought about some of the things she'd gotten to see and do. She'd gotten a lot, really. Not much present wise, but lots of memories... Including some she hoped she could forget...

Shaking her head, she turned her thoughts to a more pleasant subject. Presents... Was her dad finally going to give her a real birthday present? And where did he stash it? She'd checked the tunnel the day before yesterday. There weren't any hiding places between the house and the bridge, other than the crawl spaces immediately around the mechanisms that worked the track and the vacuum under the elevating platform leading up into the bridge tower.

Drake returned moments later with his arms full of brightly wrapped presents.

"Keen gear! Is all that for me?" Gosalyn asked eagerly, immediately forgetting her fatigue.

"Of course! Unless you happen to know any other birthday girls around here..." Drake looked slyly around the room.

Gosalyn snatched as many goodies as she could from his hands and sat down. She shredded the paper on the biggest one first and gasped. It was a Quackstation player, complete with all the controls! And it was even newer than the one Scrooge's nephews had. She looked up at Drake in askance.

He grinned. "Thought I'd forgotten your wish list? I had to pull a few strings, but this is officially the first Quackstation Seven in our region. Mr. McDuck added you to his list of trial gamers for the future, but this equipment is guaranteed to be glitch free. Only the best is good enough for my cutie wutie gooty pie..." he smiled humorously.

"Oh, Daaad..." she grinned.

She tore open the rest of her presents, finding every game and video she had asked for, plus the latest CD from her favorite rock band and a new jersey with the word SPIRIT custom-stenciled across the back. There was also a comic book with a card from Launchpad on it. Her smile broadened.

Just as she started gathering her horde to take to her room, Drake produced one last gift he'd held behind his back.

Wondering what else he could possibly give her when she had everything she'd wanted, she almost reverently tore the paper. What she saw at first confused her. Then she jumped up with a shout.

"Yahoo! Yippee! Major league awesome! I've got my own costume!"

"Not just a costume..." Drake corrected, picking up the box and unfolding the hunter green cape and purple jacket. "I had Dr. Bellum double coat these with her Tuffguard spray. It's the same thing that saved my life when I took that bullet meant for Bushroot..." Drake looked thoughtful for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing. "It is bullet, flame, water, tear, impact, and wrinkle resistant. I realize I can't stop you every time you take it upon yourself to barge in on my heroics..."

Gosalyn shot him a glare but he just smirked wryly in response and continued.
"...So I took every precaution I could to keep you safe. You'll also find extra strength bowstrings in the upper left pocket and a taser. I don't want you using that for anything other than an emergency, so that means no practical jokes!" he shook his finger at her, his expression a combination of amusement and seriousness.

Gosalyn crossed her arms, but couldn't quite hide her smirk. Practical jokes were the last thing on her mind right now.

"I also took the liberty of tailoring this to grow with you." Drake turned a hem on the jacket inside out so she could see the extra fabric extending past the stitching. "The cape and shoes will need replacing as you outgrow them, but the important thing is that you'll be covered."

He drew her hat out from under the box's lid and tapped on it to prove that it was also coated in Tuffguard spray. It would serve the purpose of a helmet without the added weight or bulk.

Gosalyn took everything from his hands and donned her costume, twirling her cape proudly. The fabric felt stiffer and slightly heavier with the spray on it, but it still moved with her and it didn't weigh her down. She tilted her hat at a jaunty angle and grinned up at her father.

"Quiverwing Quack, at your service, Darkwing," she said with a flourish.

"Ha ha. Very funny," he arched a brow at her. "Just remember, Gos. This is a privilege, not a promise. You may accompany me on patrol and minor missions so long as you finish your homework and study for your tests beforehand. There will be no crime fighting during the school week, and weekends are on a weekly basis. Prove to me that you've finished your schoolwork and you can join me."

Gosalyn frowned slightly and Drake crossed his arms. "You can't focus on school if you're worn out from crime fighting and vice versa. You will have to know your limits. It will be a challenge worthy of any superhero, juggling civic responsibilities day in and day out, but do a good job and someday you'll be the hero you want to be."

Gosalyn started to ask if that meant she would get to do solo work, but Drake remembered something else he wanted to bring up.

"You will have to complete regular training regimens before I let you out on the street. Fighting crime requires that you always be on top of your game both physically and mentally. And emotional and spiritual levels, too. But...given that you'll have most of this summer to practice, I think it's safe to say St. Canard will be much safer on the weekends, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah..." Gosalyn grinned. Then she frowned in memory. "Hey wait a minute...You told me earlier I was too young to fight crime! What changed your mind?"

Drake chuckled warmly. "Hehe, I didn't. This was my plan all along..."

"To give me back my own costume?"

"Well, that..." he admitted. He smiled gently. "But I wanted to make sure I had your full attention. Had I given it to you this morning you would have spent the whole day looking for an opportunity to use it. I wanted you to enjoy being a kid a little longer before I asked you to act like an adult. Besides, if I had said I thought you were ready, you would have gone off this morning looking for your costume and this wouldn't have been a surprise!"

"So I really get to be a hero?" she asked eagerly, her eyes wide and bright.

His warm smile was answer enough even before he held out his arms for a hug. She practically jumped into his embrace.

"You already are. You've been my hero all along..." he said softly in her hair.

Gosalyn hugged her dad, her hero, a little harder and said the only words that came to mind. "Thanks, Dad."

He ruffled her hair. "You're welcome, Sweetie. Happy birthday, Gos."