Summary: During a typical attack on the Fearsome Five, it is discovered that for reasons unknown, Crimson and Rowe can no longer be separated from each other, or they're at risk of passing out. While examinations take place at SHUSH to find out why, they are unknowningly playing into someone's hands...
Rating: K+
Author's Note: Another chapter that will alter a few things in the NADWD universe as we know it and resolves a story arc or two. I explain a few of the reasons why in the fun facts. And now that I have started college, it's even harder than before to find time to write these chapters, so until I get things organized again, expect chapters to be uploaded seemingly at random. But despite everything, they will continue. :)
53.
A Familiar Rowe
Previously, on The New Adventures of Darkwing Duck...
And with that, he grabbed NegaGosalyn, standing nearby, and kissed her on the lips.
NegaGosalyn was caught completely off guard, but surprisingly did not resist. After a moment, Rowe took the chance to look at the others. Quackerjack and Megavolt were both giving him a look, as if to say "have you gone mad?" Bushroot was trying to stifle a chuckle, and Negaduck just looked downright disgusted. He reached for his pistol, probably so to shoot Rowe, but before he could, Rowe felt the telltale stinging in his paw.
Right on time, he thought, as time reset itself.
--
"That's the guy?"
"All the data seems to point to it, yes. FOUL tried to locate him by going off of this picture, but the trail led to a dead end. We, however, have gotten further. The trail FOUL followed was planted, and thereby false. However, if one worked past it, you would find the real trail, which leads us directly to the present location of the leader."
"His name is Cornelius Jones, and he has lived in a cabin in the mountains for seven years now."
--
"You were involved with the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny seven years ago, operating from a base in the Sahara, working on a project codenamed Project 22-C."
--
"That project was my life's work, Director. I never gave up on it. As far as I'm concerned, it's still in progress, and thereby a work in progress."
--
"I'm not surprised. The break down began almost immediately. I knew it was going to happen almost immediately after Jack and the other three were injected. I knew eventually that the serum was going to run out and undo what I had done. And with FOWL on the verge of collapsing, I worked to slow the process until the project could continue."
"That's why you put them into cryogenic stasis. You planned on coming back, and didn't want to start over from scratch."
"I was going to come back...with a cure. I was working on a way to make the serum's effects permanent. Once I had done that, I would administer the changes to Jack and the others, and then put them to real use."
--
"There is also a reason why I have done what I have done. The serum. I cannot let you have it, it's plans, or any other related information, nor can I let any other agencies have this information, such as the new FOUL, and other agencies that I know exist. Only I will have this information, as I believe I'm the only one who can truly put it to good use. You will know what I mean when the time comes."
--
"This part is identical to a part we have on our portal generator."
"But FOUL stole a copy of the plans to SHUSH's portal generator. They used those plans to build their generator."
"Very true, but those plans are at least eight months old. SHUSH has made several changes and improvements to the generator since then. And FOUL hasn't gotten the plans to those changes at all. And this part here is one of those new changes they shouldn't know about."
"Then how did they find out about it?"
"Through a means much bigger than a hacker getting lucky. I think we have a spy somewhere in SHUSH."
--
"Well, I've found some encrypted messages that were sent out to an unspecified location several times in the past few months through the SHUSH data relay service. They were authorized, and everything about them is official, except the fact that no one, not even Hooter, knows what's in them. And that's not normal, as someone else at SHUSH HQ always sees and reads any messages that comes and goes from the building."
"So you think these messages were sent by our spy."
"That's what I'm thinking, yes."
--
"...And then of course, there is the fact that Scrooge is completely unaware of what is right under his nose! Like the fact that this Drake Mallard person is superhero, Darkwing Duck! Or that this Gosalyn has plethora of unseen potential in her, potential I do not think even she is aware of..."
"Fall back!" Darkwing exclaimed, ducking behind a large wooden crate. "Fall back!"
Launchpad, Crimson, and Techno all joined him behind the crate as more bullets fired from Negaduck and NegaCrimson's weapons slammed into the splintering side of the crate.
"Ha ha!" Negaduck crowed victoriously. "Out-gunned, are you Dipwing?"
"Suck gas, evil-doer!" Darkwing exclaimed, poking his head back out from behind the box and firing a canister of gas towards the pair before ducking back down again.
Negaduck and NegaGosalyn simply sidestepped the canister as it slipped past them. It clattered to the ground behind them where the rest of the Fearsome Five stood loading packages into the Negacopter and burst into a cloud of smoke.
"Ha! You missed!" NegaGosalyn teased.
"I beg...cough-cough...to differ!" Megavolt choked out, gagging on the smoke that surrounded him, Bushroot, Quackerjack, and Rowe. "If you really want us to get these boxes into the Negacopter, Negs, you need to...cough-cough...keep us out of the crossfire!"
Rowe, coughing an extra hard cough, dropped the box he was carrying with a crash.
"You break any of those boxes, and you'll have a heck of a lot more to deal with than the crossfire!" Negaduck scolded angrily.
Rowe nodded, and quickly went back to work, placing the box he had dropped into the Negacopter, and then turning to Quackerjack to receive another. From their hiding place, Darkwing and the gang watched them work.
"What's in those boxes anyway?" Darkwing asked.
"Parts, both mechanical and electronic." Techno replied instantly, scanning the stack of boxes that sat in the one corner of the aircraft hanger. "They're consistent with the parts Negaduck attempted to get eight months ago from the Negaverse."
"You mean during the time we accidently got sent back three hundred years ago?" Crimson asked, wide-eyed.
"Yep." Techno said. "SHUSH's analysis of those parts suggested that Negaduck was trying to collect the parts he would need to make a Negaquack. I would presume he's trying to do it again."
"Well, we aren't going to let them." Darkwing vowed.
"But how are we going to get at them?" Launchpad asked, peering over the edge of the box at Negaduck and NegaGosalyn, standing guard, their weapons still at the ready. "They've got us out gunned."
"It's not like we can sneak up on them, either." Techno noted. "There's no cover."
Darkwing eyed the Negacopter for a long moment. "I've got an idea." he said, switching the attachments on his gas gun. "I've always hated that Negacopter, so how about we just get rid of it?"
And with that, he fired off a shot of energy that would teleport all struck objects directly into the Teryx sub-universe. It hit the Negacopter dead on, and the craft, and it's cargo, completely winked out of existence in a brief flash of light, leaving Rowe standing there about to load another box into the craft, staring at the spot it had stood in shock.
Negaduck's eyes widened. He looked at the spot the aircraft had been, back at Darkwing, then back at the empty spot. Finally he let out an enraged yell.
"Darkwing!" he yelled, storming towards Darkwing's location. "I'm going to..."
"You're going to not take another step unless you want to end up with the Negacopter." Darkwing growled, pointing his gas gun at Negaduck's chest. "And trust me, you don't want to end up there."
Negaduck actually took a step back when he realized Darkwing's weapon, one he had never seen in action before, was pointed at him. Seeing that it was safe for the moment, Darkwing stood, the others following. NegaGosalyn started to raise her weapon, but Crimson quickly whipped out her own gas gun.
"Don't!" she ordered, then adjusted her aim and zapped the crate in Rowe's hands straight into the Teryx sub-universe, causing the otter yelp in fright and back into Quackerjack, equally shocked. "I've got that attachment as well."
NegaGosalyn blinked apprehensively at the gas gun. The activities of all the members of the Fearsome Five ground to a halt.
"We should've thought of this months ago." Techno said with a chuckle.
"All right, now here's how this is going to work." Darkwing said. "First, throw down your weapons, and put your hands in the air!"
Megavolt, Quackerjack, Bushroot, and Rowe all obliged. Negaduck and NegaGosalyn reacted a little slower, stopping to glance at each other. Then, slowly, Negaduck bent down to set his pistol on the ground, and put his hands into the air. He gave NegaGosalyn a glance as if to silently instruct her to do the same. Slowly, looking apprehensive, NegaGosalyn bent over to place her P90 gently on the ground.
But as she did so, and before anybody could react, she grabbed something from her waist and rolled it towards Darkwing and the others. Both Crimson and Darkwing turned to look at it as it rolled past, giving Crimson the chance to pick her P90 back up and shoot at the feet of her foes. They quickly jumped back to avoid getting hit by any of the bullets.
"Run!" Negaduck exclaimed, scooping up his pistol and racing for the nearest exit.
The rest of the Fearsome Five quickly followed. Crimson fired off a warning shot at them, zapping another crate away, before groaning and racing afterwards. Techno moved as if to follow, but he paused when he saw Launchpad and Darkwing move the other way to look at the object NegaGosalyn and thrown to the floor. They both looked up sharply.
"It's a bomb!" Darkwing yelled, quickly running for cover. "Quick, get down! Crimson, it's a bomb!"
Crimson acted like she didn't hear as she continued running after the Fearsome Five. In an almost desperate lunge, she threw herself forward and tackled Rowe, who was bringing up the end of the group. Both crashed heavily to the floor and started to wrestle one another.
"Crimson, it's a bomb, and it's going to blow!" Techno called out as he, Darkwing, and Launchpad all quickly ducked behind a parked airplane, the only other aircraft in the hanger.
Crimson and Rowe both jointly turned to look at the little object, then at one another. Forgetting the fight, they both turned to get up and run, but they didn't have time to. The bomb went off at that moment, creating a fiery explosion that swept outward in all directions. By all accounts, it should have caught Crimson and Rowe in the fireball as well and killed them.
But at the last possible second, a wall of translucent energy encased them both in a kind of bubble, shielding them from the blast and from the flames. Both stared at the unexpected energy shield as the explosion rapidly dissipated, and the smoke thinned. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the shield vanished again.
Techno stepped out from behind the aircraft in time to see the shield vanish, and froze in surprise. Darkwing and Launchpad stepped out as well, too late to see the shield, and quickly hurried towards the two figures, still on the floor, and seemed to be too stunned to do anything. Darkwing quickly knelt down to Crimson and began looking her over, while Launchpad tackled Rowe once again, pinning the stunned otter to the floor.
"Crimson, are you okay?" Darkwing asked, not satisfied with the fact that he couldn't see any visible damage on Crimson.
"Huh?" Crimson asked, snapping out of her trance-like state and shaking her head. "Uh, yeah, miraculously I am." she paused. "What happened?"
"The bomb went off." Darkwing exclaimed. "It looked like you and Rowe got caught in the blast, but..."
"No, no, I mean where did that energy shield come from?" Crimson interrupted. "It was what saved us."
"Energy shield?" Darkwing repeated, puzzled.
"Didn't you see it?" Crimson asked.
Darkwing shook his head. However, Techno quickly hurried over.
"I did!" he exclaimed. "Where did that come from?"
"I was hoping you could tell me, Tech!" Crimson exclaimed, annoyed as she accepted help from Darkwing to stand up. "One moment it wasn't there, and then it was, and then it wasn't again! It was like magic!"
They all stopped. Techno quickly pulled out his energy scanner and started scanning the hanger.
"I am detecting traces of magical energy, like a spell was just recently cast here." he reported.
"Then...who cast it?" Crimson asked, puzzled.
"I intend to find out." Darkwing said. "Everyone split up and search for clues!"
"Hey, what about me, mate?" Rowe exclaimed as Launchpad hefted him up onto his feet.
"He's got a point, DW." Launchpad agreed. "What are we going to do with him?"
"Well, the rest of the Fearsome Five did get away." Darkwing noted, glancing in dismay at the open door the villains escaped through. "And we don't have time to arrest prisoners at the moment, not while time is of the essence when getting clues for this mystery."
"So..." Launchpad prompted.
"Let him go, LP." Darkwing said dismissively. "We'll grab him another time."
Launchpad let go of Rowe, who instantly stepped back from Launchpad. He paused for a moment, amazed at his good luck. Then he grinned.
"Cool!" he exclaimed, and ran for the door across the hanger.
"Techno, start scanning every nook and cranny." Darkwing ordered as he and the others started walking the other direction. "If there was a magician here, I want to know where he was in this hanger and why. Who, too, if possible. In the meantime, everyone else spilt up and search for more physical clues, such as..."
He got no further when Crimson suddenly fainted, falling to the ground. Yelping in alarm, Darkwing hurried over to Crimson's aide again, Techno joining him so to scan Crimson's health. Launchpad turned around when he heard a thump. Rowe, just reaching the door, had toppled over in a dead faint himself. Quickly, the pilot went over to the otter and started dragging the unconscious otter over to where the others were.
"Crimson!" Darkwing exclaimed, quickly checking Crimson for injuries once again.
"Her heart rate and breathing are erratic." Techno announced, alarmed. "I don't why, she seems to be unhurt, but if we don't do something soon..."
He was cut short when Crimson's eyes suddenly snapped open and she jolted upright. This happened just as Launchpad returned with Rowe. A split second later, Rowe regained consciousness with a start and wobbly hopped to his feet. Everyone then stood looking at one another in puzzlement.
"Something isn't right about this." Techno said.
"Crimson, we're taking you to SHUSH HQ." Darkwing said, grabbing Crimson's arm and dragging her towards the door despite Crimson's attempts to resist. "Something's wrong with you, and I want to know what. Techno, Launchpad, you stay here and search for those clues!"
Launchpad and Techno nodded, and began searching. Rowe stood with them, looking too lost to move. Darkwing and Crimson hadn't gone much further than ten, fifteen, feet before Crimson suddenly fainted again. The moment she passed out, Rowe did as well, toppling into Launchpad's arms. Techno glanced back and forth from the pair, and then started scanning them both, constantly.
"Launchpad, bring Rowe over to Crimson." Techno said, motioning to Launchpad to follow him as he moved to where Crimson lay, Darkwing crouched over her.
Launchpad obeyed, dragging the limp otter towards Crimson. Techno followed, monitoring the vitals of both as he went. As soon as the two came within five feet of each other, their vitals suddenly and miraculously stabilized like a switch was thrown. Moments later, both snapped awake again. Listening to the two breathing heavily for a moment, Techno's eyes glazed over as he became lost in thought.
"What happened?" Crimson asked, breathless.
"Yeah, what is happening?" Darkwing asked, alarmed.
"It seems that whenever Crimson and Rowe are separated, they, for reasons I can't begin to comprehend, pass out." Techno asked.
"What on earth for, mate?" Rowe demanded.
"I don't know." Techno admitted. "But until we figure it out, you two are going to have to stay together, within five feet of each other, at all times."
And so, this was how Rowe and Crimson grudgingly found themselves stuck together in a SHUSH medical ward on opposite ends of the room. Crimson sat on a cot, her head in hands and looking bored, staring at the opposite wall. Meanwhile, Rowe paced beside another cot, looking agitated at the situation. And watching them both, through a one-way window, was Christine, biting her lip as she racked her brain for answers.
She didn't look away when the door to the observation room opened and Darkwing stepped in. He wasn't surprised to see Christine there, as he had requested she be here.
"Well?" he asked. "Anything?"
"No." Christine admitted. "Darkwing, I have looked both of them over from head to toe and can't find a thing wrong with them, much less something that could explain this interesting phenomenon. I even tried separating the two for a few minutes and examining them after they had passed out, but that didn't even reveal anything, other than the fact that their condition rapidly degrades once they're separated. Whatever is happening, one thing is clear. If they're separated for too long, they're at risk of dying."
Darkwing gulped. "Please make sure it doesn't come to that." he pleaded.
"I won't Drake." Christine promised. "Besides, they're fine when they're together like that. The only thing I worry about is whether or not they're going to attack each other. I mean look at them." she motioned to the agitated pair. "They clearly hate this situation as much as they hate each other."
"They're going to have to live with it." Darkwing said. "We can't risk separating them until we know what's going on."
They were silent for a moment.
"How did your search for clues go?" Christine asked finally.
"Not much better." Darkwing admitted. "We looked that hanger over from top to bottom, and didn't find anything that could explain this either. Techno did pick up some more readings of magical energy in the general area Crimson and Rowe were when the explosion occurred, but that could be anything. J. Gander currently has a team over there looking for anything we might have missed, but so far, nothing."
"So where are Techno and Launchpad now?" Christine asked.
"Well, since Techno can't seem to help here, he agreed to help J. Gander and Dr. Bellum with another matter." Darkwing said. "I sent Launchpad to your place to watch over Charlie."
"Thank you." Christine asked. "I didn't get much chance to explain to him what was going on, and after that incident with Frogduck last month, I can't bear to leave him alone for too long."
"So I take it you two are getting along well, then." Darkwing remarked.
Christine nodded. "So far I haven't regretted my choice to adopt him." she said. "I can see how you feel about Crimson as well, Darkwing. I would be worried sick if this happened to Charlie."
"Well, I'm not to the sick part just yet, but I'm getting closer with each passing moment." Darkwing admitted. "The most frustrating thing about this is deciding on what to do now."
"What are we going to do now?" Christine asked.
"Well, I finally broke down and called for an expert." Darkwing admitted. "I asked Morgana if she could come over and help. She said she was on her way."
"And in the meantime?" Christine asked.
"We make sure that these two stay together." Darkwing said, gesturing to Crimson and Rowe.
"Well, I'm not making any progress here." Techno with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. "This spy is apparently better than we first thought."
Dr. Bellum, who sat across the lab, also sighed and leaned back in her chair. "All we've got to go off of is these mysterious messages." she said, gesturing to her screen. "And they're encrypted with a seemingly unbreakable code."
"Well, at least we've made progress with cracking that code." Techno pointed out.
"Yes, that's true." Bellum admitted. "We figured out that the numbers we see here are answers to a particularly complex algebraic formula, but that doesn't tell us a thing about what the messages say. There isn't even any patterns to it."
"There has to be an answer to this." Techno said, slamming his fist on his console.
"I think that the only way we're going to figure this out is if we stumble across the key for this code." Bellum said.
"I've already been searching for that in the databanks." Techno said. "Nothing so far. If there really is a key, it must be a hard copy only."
"That makes sense." Bellum admitted. "An electronic key would be found too easily."
"Can the computers find any patterns to this?" Techno asked.
"No." Bellum said. "I almost have to wonder if there is no message in this at all, but rather a bunch of numbers made to look like a code, so to throw us off the trail."
"I sure hope not." Techno said. "Because that would mean we're back to square one."
They were silent for a long moment.
"All right, let's look the code over once again." Techno said, leaning forward to start working again.
"Might as well." Bellum admitted, and got back to work as well.
Darkwing and Christine were still in the observation room when a phone hanging on he wall rang. Darkwing answered it.
"Observation room twelve, Darkwing Duck speaking." Darkwing said politely.
"Darkwing, this Agent Mia." came the reply. "A Morgana Macawber has arrived to see you. I'm presuming she has permission, because she has security clearance."
"Yeah, she does, send her on up here." Darkwing said.
"But that's what I'm calling to tell you." Mia objected. "She's already heading up there to you."
And as if to emphasis the point, the door to the room suddenly sprang open and Morgana stepped in with all of her usual elegance.
"Right, thank you, Agent Mia." Darkwing said and hung up. "Morgana, thanks for coming so..." he glanced at his watch and blinked. "...very, very, quickly."
"It's my pleasure Dark." Morgana said. "Anything to help a friend in need. Hello Christine."
"Hey, Morgana." Christine greeted. "Long time, no see, huh?"
"Yes." Morgana said, nodding. "We should get together more often, and on less grave situations."
"Well, I wouldn't call this situation grave." Christine said. "More like annoying."
"Then let's see if I can resolve this situation quickly." Morgana said, turning to look out the window at the two occupants in the room. "I daresay there must be some reason these two can't be separated."
"Right now, I'd just be glad to have some kind of theory." Darkwing remarked.
"Oh, I already have a theory, Dark." Morgana said.
"You do?"
"Indeed I do. But I find it...unlikely. At least, I hope, for Crimson and Rowe's benefit."
Christine and Darkwing exchanged puzzled glances.
"What kind of theory, Morgana?" Christine asked.
"First let me see if I am even right, by studying these two with my magical sight." Morgana said, concentrating on the two in the other room.
"Magical sight?" Christine repeated, puzzled.
"It's something all magicians are trained to use." Darkwing explained, having had this explained to him years ago. "It's a kind of second sight that allows those of magical blood to see magical energy like auras and the such. If there really is magic involved in this situation, Morgana should be able to see it."
"Well." Morgana spoke suddenly. "Well, well, well."
"And I take it she's found something like that." Christine guessed from Morgana's reaction.
"Yes, my theory, I'm afraid, is right." Morgana said, blinking her eyes and turning to look at the two. "First off, I should point out that this is the first time I have looked at Rowe with magical sight, and thus I was completely unaware of it."
"Unaware of what?" Darkwing asked.
"That Rowe is a familiar."
Darkwing's eyes widened, but Christine frowned.
"What the heck is a familiar?" she asked.
"It's someone or something that stores magical energy." Morgana explained. "Store it, but are unable to access it. If there is a magician nearby casting a spell, he or she can draw magical power from a familiar to aide in the spell's casting. I, myself, have three, small, familiars, who are not with me at the moment, otherwise I would show you. They are capable of storing small amounts of magical energy for me, or act like sponges and absorb any excess."
"And Rowe's a familiar?" Darkwing asked, still amazed.
"Yes, and he probably hasn't even realized it." Morgana said. "Rarely will there be a more...intelligent...creature such as an otter like Rowe that are familiars, but it's not unheard of. Rowe's aura is massive, though, suggesting that he's...well, to put into terms you can understand, he's the Fort Knox of magical energy."
Darkwing's eyes went wide again. "He's got that much magical power?" he asked.
Morgana nodded. "He's probably been collecting it all his life without knowing it, storing that energy away, untapped, until today." she explained.
Christine frowned again. "What do you mean, 'until today'?" she asked.
Morgana sighed. "The magical energy Rowe stores shows signs of having recently been tapped, like I had predicted." she said. "All I had to do was follow the connection that has been forged between him and the magician that tapped the energy."
"And?" Darkwing prompted.
Morgana hesitated. "It connects to Crimson." she said. "Dark, she has magical blood."
Darkwing was, to say the least, floored. "Wha...wha...wha...wha..." he stuttered for several moments. Finally he shook his head to clear his mind somewhat. "She's what?"
"Crimson has magical blood." Morgana repeated.
"How?" Christine asked.
"She inherited it from some relative, I suppose." Morgana said. "It's the only way she could've. She's had it all her life."
"Then why haven't we found out about it until now?" Darkwing demanded.
"I'm supposing it's because she's not pure blood." Morgana said. "She's not even half-blood by my estimates, considering her heritage as we know it. Magic could only come to her under special circumstances and with a great deal of concentration, unless..."
"...she had a familiar." Christine caught on. "That's Rowe, isn't it?"
Morgana nodded. "When that explosion occurred, Crimson instinctively and subconsciously conjured a shield to protect herself, drawing the needed power from Rowe, who was nearby. By doing so, Crimson has made Rowe her familiar."
Darkwing was still shocked by this revelation. "Gos is a magician." he muttered, shaking his head.
"It actually makes perfect sense, now that I think about it." Morgana continued. "Crimson always had a bit of a knack for magic, at least more than a typical normal would. She could do potions without help and some basic spells."
"Except for the time she nearly sold my soul to the devil so she could do the really powerful stuff." Darkwing said flatly.
Christine glanced at him out of the corner of her eye in puzzlement.
"That was different, Dark." Morgana said, managing a grin. "But it fits in there, too. Even though she had access to unnaturally powerful forbidden spells, she still mastered them remarkably fast." she stopped to shake her head. "I'm sorry, Dark, I feel somewhat responsible. I could've found out about this ages ago if I had merely looked at Gosalyn with magical sight, but because I had presumed she was a normal..."
"No one's going to blame you, Morgana." Darkwing assured her. "You couldn't have known. None of us could've. But now we do, so we're going to have to make the best of it."
"Now wait, there's still something this doesn't explain." Christine interrupted. "This doesn't explain why Crimson and Rowe can't be separated."
"They're connected now." Morgana said simply, failing to see the connection.
"Right, right, Rowe's Crimson's familiar." Darkwing recapped. "But clearly not every magician passes out when separated from their familiar, right? I mean, you're separated from three familiars, and you're fine!"
"That's because I'm a pure blood witch, Dark." Morgana said. "I use familiars for more of a convenience than anything, in addition to friendships. With Crimson, however, it's different. She's dependant upon her connection with Rowe, because she can't do magic without him."
"So are they going to be stuck like that forever?" Christine asked.
"Or is there some way to sever the link?" Darkwing asked. "Please say there is."
"There is." Morgana said. "But Crimson and Rowe aren't going to like it."
"Why, what does it entail?" Darkwing asked.
"It's not what it entails," Morgana explained, "it's what it implies."
"So let me get this straight, mate." Rowe said once things had been explained to him. "It's up to us whether or not we want this connection to...continue."
"That's right." Darkwing said, nodding.
"Okay then, that's simple enough." Rowe said, standing up. "I don't want this connection to continue. There, done."
"It's not that simple Rowe." Darkwing assured him.
"Well, if it has to be a unanimous, then rest assured because I don't want this to continue." Crimson remarked, standing up as well. "I mean, as tempting as it is, I don't want to be stuck with Rowe for the rest of my natural life."
"The feeling's mutual, mate." Rowe assured her.
"No, it's not that simple." Darkwing repeated. "See, it's...uh...it's uh, more...personal...than that." he looked at their blank looks for a moment, then clamped a hand to forehead in frustration. "Chris, you explain it."
"Well, according to Morgana," Christine began, "there are several variations of these...connections...a magician and it's familiar can have. The more...impersonal the relationship is, the weaker the bond, and visa versa. Now again, according to Morgana, the connection between you two is already unnaturally strong, which suggests...well..."
"A more personal relationship?" Crimson asked ludicrously.
"I know what it sounds like, but..." Darkwing began.
"A personal relationship, Darkwing?" Crimson repeated, this time with more emphasis.
"Now we're not implying anything here." Darkwing persisted. "That's just what...er..."
"Are you suggesting that I..." Rowe began pointing at Crimson.
"No!" Darkwing said. "Just...that...maybe you guys aren't the arch enemies you've always acted like."
Rowe and Crimson shot each other a glance.
"I don't buy it." Crimson remarked.
"Me neither." Rowe agreed.
"Look, whatever the case, the only way to sever this connection is when you really mean it." Christine said. "More than just standing up and saying you want it to end. You have to really want it."
"But I do want it!" Rowe pressed. "I've wanted it since I realized we were stuck together!"
"Well, obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't pass out every time you stepped out of the room!" Christine said a little harsher than was intended. "Now look, we aren't trying to say anything, we're just giving you the facts, telling you what you are going to have to do in order to reverse this."
They were silent for a moment. Crimson and Rowe shot each other a glare.
"So, um, since this is all up to you two, we'll leave you alone for a little bit to sort it out." Darkwing said. "Agent Todd is out in the hall standing guard, just shout if you need anything."
Both he and Christine turned to walk out of the room. As they went, they heard Rowe mutter how much he hated magic. Closing the door behind them, they both let out an exasperated sigh.
"This is going to take awhile, isn't it?" Darkwing asked.
"Yep." Christine agreed.
Sighing again, they both walked off, hoping that Crimson and Rowe will sort this out as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bellum and Techno hadn't made any progress in the matter of sorting out the encrypted messages.
"We aren't getting anywhere with this." Bellum said, pushing away from her computer in defeat. "Neither you, me, or any of the computers can find any patterns, or key symbols, or anything about this code to decrypt it anymore than it already is."
"I know, it's like the code is already decrypted." Techno said, scrolling through the many pages of coded messages they couldn't decipher. "But all we've got here is..."
"Jibberish." Bellum stated.
"Pretty much." Techno agreed.
They were silent for a moment.
"I still say this is just messages of jibberish meant to throw us off the trail." Bellum remarked. "We're trying to break a code that doesn't exist."
But Techno suddenly noticed something as he skimmed through the code. "Wait a minute." he said, and typed in a few commands to his computer. The page of codes on his screen shrank suddenly so the whole page fit on his screen. Techno grinned at the results. "Bingo." he said. "Dr. Bellum, come look at this."
Bellum rolled her chair over to Techno's computer and squinted at his screen. She frowned. "Why are the letters all lined up in a column like that?"
"What if these symbols and letters aren't meant to be read like letters and symbols?" Techno asked. "What if they're acting like...pixels...to a much larger image or symbol?"
Bellum blinked. "You're suggesting that these symbols when organized in a particular fashion form large letters." she said.
"That's right." Techno said. "Letters to the actual message."
"That would have to be one massive message." Bellum noted, predicting the size it would be.
"There's one way to find out." Techno said. "I can try piecing some part of this message together here on a computer, but the best way is to start printing out these pages of codes out page by page and fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle. And get Director Hooter and Darkwing down here. I think we're getting close to solving the mystery of our spy once and for all."
Crimson and Rowe sat awkwardly in the medical ward, avoiding eye contact. Finally, Rowe spoke.
"You don't really believe this situation do you?" he asked.
"What, the part where we're magically bonded to each other, or the fact that we're bonded through the possibility we're...closer...than first thought?" Crimson asked sheepishly.
"The, uh, latter."
"No."
"Didn't think so, mate." Rowe admitted. "Still, there must be something to all of this that we're missing, otherwise we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Well, look on the bright side." Crimson said. "We both know something more about both of us, and it could always be worse."
"That's true. Never even knew what a familiar was until today. Now someone tells me I'm an unnaturally powerful one." Rowe paused for a moment. "And you're right, it could be worse. I could've gotten stuck with your Negaverse double."
"Yeah, I suppose NegaGos...I mean, NegaCrimson, would have the magical blood as well, wouldn't she?" Crimson asked. "She's not as bad as you think, though."
"I dunno, she hangs around Negaduck a lot, and I don't know of many who are more evil than him." Rowe said. "She pretty much ignores me, too. You at least acknowledge my presence."
"It's all a front." Crimson assured him. "NegaCrimson has a good side to her, I've seen it. She's had several chances to kill me, actually, and always avoided it."
"Really?" Rowe remarked, surprised. "Huh, who'd have guessed."
"Actually, it's not so surprising for me. I know she was once better behaved than I was, years ago." Crimson sighed. "Then Negaduck came along."
"Hard to believe there's anybody good in the Negaverse." Rowe remarked.
"But there is." Crimson said. "The Friendly Four, for instance."
"The who?" Rowe asked. "You'll have to forgive me, mate, I haven't seen that much of the Negaverse, and what little I saw was limited and controlled by Negaduck."
"Yes, Negduck would." Crimson agreed. "Probably wouldn't want you guys getting any ideas from the Four. But to explain things in short, they're essentially your good twins."
"Good twins? So...they're nicer than we are?"
"Very. I've met your Negaverse twin before. He's actually quite a nice guy. He's more polite and friendly than you are. Much more likable."
Rowe blanked out for a moment. "Wait." he said. "Are you saying that you like him?"
"Wha...no!" Crimson said. "Just that he's...he's..."
"Actually, this could explain a few things." Rowe said, thinking. "If one or more of us liked each other's Negaverse doubles, then maybe this magic stuff can't tell the difference between the two."
Crimson thought about that for a moment. "I suppose that works." she admitted. "But that would mean there would have to be something on your side as well. Do you have any connections to NegaCrimson?"
Rowe thought about it once, then grinned mischievously. "Well, actually..." he began, and then began giggling.
"What?" Crimson asked.
Despite his laughing fit, Rowe blushed slightly. "I kissed her once."
"You...you what?"
"Full on the lips, mate. Remember the time when I told you I was stuck in a time loop?"
"I remember that was what you claimed."
"Well, I did that during one of those loops."
"One of those times you were just fooling around, like the time you claimed you filled Audubon Bay with bubble bath?"
"Aye." Rowe laughed. "But anyway, I suppose kissing NegaCrimson fooled this magic stuff to think...well..." he trailed off for a moment. "Problem is that if the magic connection thinks it's us it's supposed to be connecting, how are we ever going to break it?"
Crimson was silent for a moment. "So why did you do it?" she finally asked.
"Do what?"
"Kiss NegaCrimson."
"Oh. Well, mostly just to see how everyone would react. Looking back though, I must admit I kinda enjoyed it."
"Really."
"Not to say that I want to do it again, of course."
"Of course."
When Darkwing and Hooter arrived in the lab, they found the lab's floor covered with papers. Dr. Bellum was in the process of setting more down, while Techno stood on top of a tall ladder, giving instructions."
"Over a bit more, Dr. Bellum." Techno said. "Yeah, set it there." he noticed Darkwing and Hooter. "Oh, there you are! Good, you two need to see this."
"I presume this actually has some bearing on the case of the spy, then?" Darkwing asked skeptically.
"Each page of codes actually turned out to be a kind of puzzle piece, that, when put together, formed the actual message." Techno explained, climbing down from the ladder. "Now clearly, out spy and the person he communicates with have some more efficient means of decoding the message than this, but this was the best we could come up with at the moment."
"I trust, then, you finally have the answers we need, correct?" Hooter prompted.
"Yes." Techno replied.
"And?"
"You're not going to like it." he led them over to one part of the message. "First off, it turns out that our spy's allegiance isn't what we thought." he pointed down at the text the 'puzzle' fit together to form. "Right here. Remember him?"
Hooter frowned as he read the message. "Oh dear." he remarked.
"Well, this is an...unexpected...development." Darkwing admitted.
"It gets worse." Techno said, leading them to another portion. "I was right to surmise that our spy is an expert, because guess who it is."
He pointed at some more text. Hooter and Darkwing read it. Their eyes then went wide.
"What?" Darkwing exclaimed.
"Techno, there must be some mistake." Hooter said. "This can't be our spy."
"I'm sorry, director, but it's true." Techno said. "But it gets even worse. I know what they're planning to do." he pointed at a nearby portion of text. "There."
Darkwing read it. Then his eyes went even wider with panic. "Gosalyn!" he exclaimed without thinking, and suddenly rushed out of the room, Hooter beginning to follow. Techno frowned, then read the portion, and then saw something he missed.
"Dr. Bellum, raise the alarm, I just made a big mistake!" Techno said, hurrying after the others...
"...After mom kicked me out of the house, I just went around looking for stuff to do." Rowe was explaining to Crimson. "Spent most of me time in the sea. Then I met up with Neptunia, and got interested in her cause, to put an end to pollution, and I joined her forces for awhile. But it quickly came clear that we didn't see eye to eye on things. I wanted to get back at you land dwellers for polluting the sea like that, whereas Neptunia was more content to resort to more...peaceful...measures, although only just. Eventually it came to a head, I left, met up with the Fearsome Five, and the rest is history."
"Now wait, you must have skipped something." Crimson said.
Rowe stopped and thought. "No, I think I've covered everything, mate." he said.
"But then, that would mean you're younger than I thought." Crimson said. "That would make you around...uh...the age of..."
"Nineteen." Rowe replied.
"Nine-nineteen?" Crimson asked. "Really? You're that young?"
"Aye." Rowe said. "Actually, I'm not surprised. Most people think I look older than that."
"They're right, you look more like you're in your twenties." Crimson said, amazed. "That would mean you're only about a year older than I am!"
"Aye." Rowe said simply, with a shrug.
"Huh." Crimson said. But then she shook her head. "We're getting off subject, though. We need to figure out how to sever this connection between us." she paused to think for a moment. "Maybe if we..."
She trailed off when a noise rang out in the hallway. A yelp quickly followed, along with sounds of a scuffle.
"Agent Todd?" Crimson called, standing up. When no answer came back, she moved towards the door.
Rowe followed. "What's happening, mate?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't bode well." Crimson said. "And I intend to find out what."
She reached for the door handle, but before she could, the door suddenly sprang open and a multitude of people streamed into the room. They were all dressed in black combat uniforms and wore black helmets and goggles that covered their heads and faces. They were armed, and they quickly encircled Rowe and Crimson, pointing their weapons at them. They were clearly not SHUSH agents.
"Great seasons!" Rowe exclaimed. "What's all this?"
"That's what I want to know!" Crimson exclaimed, reaching for her gas gun, only to discover she didn't have it on her at the moment.
The intruders didn't reply. A couple more entered the room, this bunch dragging Agent Todd, disarmed, bound, and gagged, into the room. The agent was struggling against his captors, but as usual, it was quite clear he was very frightened about the situation. They were followed by another, larger, person the only one not dressed like they were and held a commanding air about the situation.
Crimson took one look at him, and suddenly things started clicking into place.
"Well, well, well, Miss Crimson." Cornelius Jones said, chuckling. "What a pleasure to meet you again."
As Darkwing, Hooter, and Techno all ran to the room Rowe and Crimson were contained in, alarms started to wail out. They skidded to a halt, looking around in puzzlement. A party of agents suddenly rushed by, armed, and looking ready for battle. Among them were Agents Mia and Sandy, who fell back to join them and explain the situation.
"Intruder alert!" Mia exclaimed, urging the three to follow her and Sandy. "A bunch of highly trained guys in combat suits have infiltrated the building. We don't know how, on moment there was nothing, and then suddenly, there they were! They've taken control of corridor thirteen omega as well as observation room twelve and it's medical ward that sit adjacent to it."
"Crimson and Rowe!" Techno exclaimed in alarm.
"It's Jones." Darkwing said. "He's after something, and apparently it's with Crimson and Rowe."
"How do you know that?" Agent Sandy asked, puzzled.
"We'll explain later." Hooter said. "You go on ahead, Agent Sandy, we'll follow you momentarily. Agent Mia, please wait a moment. I need you to find Agent Grizzlikof."
"Sure thing, director." Mia said, changing directions and starting to run back the way she had come.
Hooter stopped her, however. "It's not for the reasons you think, Mia." he said gravely.
"How did you get in here?" Crimson demanded to Jones.
"Well, considering that I managed to escape from here once, getting back in shouldn't be that difficult." Jones remarked idly.
"Well, I want to know just who you are, mate." Rowe said, feeling lost.
"Of course, my apologies." Jones said politely to Rowe. "I had forgotten we haven't met. I'm Cornelius Jones. Scientist."
"A wanted scientist." Crimson spat. "You're the mastermind behind the serum that created The Elements."
"That was him?" Rowe asked, pointing a claw at Jones. "Huh, I would've expected the guy to be thinner..."
"Enough of this talk, I came here for one thing, and I intend to get it." Jones said. He moved towards the captive pair.
"You mean us?" Rowe asked, stepping back.
"How did you even figure out we were here?" Crimson asked. "We hadn't been here long, so unless..." she trailed off for a moment as something else clicked into place, her eyes going wide. "The spy. The spy hiding in SHUSH, he's working for you, not FOUL!"
"Very perceptive, Crimson, as always." Jones said, pulling out an empty glass vile and a needle. "Indeed, I do have a spy here in SHUSH, who has been more than willing to help my cause. That was how we got in too, by the way. He opened the door for us, so to speak."
"Who is it?" Crimson demanded.
"I'm not telling." Jones said, connecting the vile to the needle. It looked like he was preparing to draw someone's blood. "Besides, I don't need to. I know SHUSH is onto his trail, and they've quite likely figured things out by this point. His usefulness to me has ended. But now, onto the matters at hand." he held up the needle, now ready for use.
"This is about your serum, isn't it?" Crimson asked.
"Again, very good, Crimson." Jones said. "And I have reached a stage in which some blood would be of real use to me."
"Well, you aren't getting mine!" Crimson said, moving forward to struggle, only to be quickly strained by Jones's mercenaries. "I'll fight it every step of the way, I'll..."
"I don't need your blood, Crimson." Jones said. "Just his."
He pointed at Rowe, who blinked, surprised enough that the mercenaries surrounding him were able to quickly grab a hold of him and restrain his movements.
"Me?" Rowe asked, puzzled. "Why me?"
Jones's reply was merely jabbing the needle into one of Rowe's veins. Rowe winced suddenly at the pain, and then, quite suddenly, he went slack. Crimson fought to get at him, but Jones's mercenaries kept her back. Jones watched silently as Rowe's blood trickled into his vial, then, once he had enough, yanked it out. Without even bothering to cover the pinprick wound with something to stop the bleeding, Jones cleaned up the needle, removed it from the vile, and then pocketed both.
"Done." he said to the mercenaries. "Time to leave."
He marched out of the room. The mercenaries then released their prey, allowing Rowe to sink to the floor, apparently unconscious. Crimson quickly rushed to his side, worried if he was alright, and if him being unconscious was going to affect the pesky magical connection between them. The mercenaries all exited the room. Then they were gone.
A few moments later, Agent Sandy stormed into the room and surveyed the situation. She pointed at Rowe.
"Is he all right?" she asked.
"I think so." Crimson said. "But we should..."
Sandy wasn't listening anymore as the feline turned away from Crimson and went over to help untie Agent Todd, who was squirming against his bonds, making muffled pleas through his gag to be freed. A matter of moments later, Darkwing, Techno, and Hooter arrived, and rushed into the room.
"Crimson, are you all right?" Darkwing asked, hurrying to her.
"I'm fine, but I'm more worried about Rowe here." Crimson said.
Techno nodded, and started scanning the otter with his visor.
"Jones?" Crimson prompted.
Darkwing shook his head. "Got away." he said. "It was like trying to catch smoke. They knew exactly how they were going to get out of here."
"What happened?" Hooter demanded.
"Jones drew some of Rowe's blood, and then just left." Crimson said, shrugging in puzzlement. "He said it was for his work on his serum, but I don't know what for."
"Why is Rowe unconscious, then?" Darkwing asked.
"He's been sedated." Techno reported suddenly. "Most likely the needle Jones used was laced with the chemical."
"But why?" Crimson asked.
"Because if Rowe started thrashing around as Jones tried to draw his blood, he wouldn't have been able to get as much as he wanted, obviously." Techno explained. "Drawing blood is a very precise science. Besides, sedation worked to Rowe's advantage as well, by minimizing the damage to his body. He'll probably snap out of it in half hour."
Hooter's radio suddenly crackled. He pulled it out. "Yes?" he asked.
"Agent Mia, here, sir." came the reply. "I have Agent Grizzlikof here, and in custody as ordered."
Hooter sighed. "Thank you, Mia, I'll be right there." he said, and stood, putting the radio away.
"In custody?" Crimson repeated. "But why do you have Grizz in custody?"
Hooter didn't reply, and simply stormed out of the room. Darkwing started to reply for Hooter, but seemed to be at a loss for words. Finally, Techno took over.
"Grizzlikof's the spy, Crimson." Techno stated plainly.
Later, Hooter sat, stonefaced, in an interrogation room at a metal table. Sitting across from him was Agent Grizzlikof, who was likewise stonefaced. There was silence for a long moment. Then, Hooter spoke.
"Agent Grizzlikof, you are changed with espionage against the SHUSH organization, and for aiding a convicted criminal." Hooter said. "So I'll make this simple." he shook his head. "Why?"
Grizzlikof was silent for a long moment. "The serum." he finally admitted. "SHUSH could benefit from it. Jones was offering it to give it to SHUSH in exchange to my services. I agreed. Was simple at first. Then only gotten more complex from there." he paused for a moment. "I am sorry, director, I have disappointed you."
"You have disappointed several people, Grizzlikof." Hooter said. "You were a friend and ally not just to me but to nearly everyone in this building. And yet you betray us."
"I did not intend for things to go so far out of hand." Grizzlikof admitted. "But Jones demanded I give him everything he needed. It was too late to back out."
"And now it's going to cost you your career, you know." Hooter said.
"I know."
"There is something I don't understand, though. If Jones was really behind all of this spy business, then how does FOUL fit into it? How did they get the updated plans to our portal generator?"
"Spy in Jones's own network." Grizzlikof replied gruffly. "Or so I'm told. Took all data I sent and relayed parts of it to FOUL. Jones told me he has since been dealt with."
Hooter shook his head, realizing just how big a security breech this was. He thumbed through the papers before them for a moment. "You should know, Griz, that Vice President Norrin has been informed of this." he said. "Currently, he's screaming for a court martial against you. Normally I'd agree, but considering that you're my friend..." he trailed off for a moment, then leaned closer. "You have two choices, Grizz. The court martial, or resigning from SHUSH and leaving. The latter will salvage some of your records, while the former will not. It's your choice, Grizz."
Grizzlikof was silent for a long moment. "I will resign, and leave peacefully." he said. "Either way, I am done with spy work whether I like it or not."
Hooter nodded, gathered up his papers, and stood up to leave. At the door, he paused and turned back to Grizzlikof. "Farewell, then, old friend." he said.
"Farewell, director." Grizzlikof replied.
"Well, physically speaking, the two are no worse for wear from this little escapade." Christine announced happily, flipping through a folder of medical readouts before closing it. "However, magically speaking is a whole other story."
Darkwing glanced through the observation window at Crimson and Rowe, where they sat silently conversing. "Have they made any progress, Morg?" he asked.
The witch stared at the pair intently, studying them with her magical sight. "Some, yes." she reported. "The connection between them has decreased significantly in the past hour."
"So they could be breaking the connection at anytime now, right?" Darkwing asked.
"Actually, I don't think they ever will, Darkwing." Morgana replied, turning to Darkwing. "For one, that decreasing has all but stopped now, getting ever slower. And second, I think they've actually gotten closer now that they had before."
"What?" Darkwing asked, dismayed.
"No, I think she's right, Darkwing." Christine agreed, looking out the window as well. "I mean, just look at them. Before they sat from opposite ends of the room, giving each other death glares, but now their sitting in a corner, talking like they're old friends."
Darkwing winced as he saw they were right. "So they're going to be stuck together forever?" he asked.
"Actually, Darkwing, the connection between them has decreased enough that they can safely leave each other's presence." Morgana said. "But I think a small part of that connection will always remain. When in this close proximity to each other, they will be able to interact magically, and Crimson can draw power from Rowe to cast spells, but would otherwise be unable to." she was silent for a moment. "It'll be curious to watch this connection and see how it changes as time goes by. To see if anything fruitful will become of it."
"If anything hasn't already." Christine agreed.
"You know Darkwing, maybe we can use this to our advantage." Morgana said. "If we could possibly get Rowe to breakaway from the Fearsome Five, both him and Crimson could be trained to use these magical abilities to their full advantage. Then they both could do what they wanted and not have to worry about the connection."
Darkwing surprisingly nodded. "Maybe someday." he said. "But not now. Only if and when that day comes will it happen."
"Negaduck is probably going to kill me, wondering where I've gotten to." Rowe remarked, glancing at the clock. "To be honest, I'm surprised I'm even being allowed to leave."
"This is a night that is better to forget, and to go back to the way things were before." Crimson said from where she sat beside him. "I'm glad we're getting things worked out, though."
"Yeah, they're saying the connection between us has dwindled enough for us to go our separate ways." Rowe said. "But it's still there. Makes me want to use it to it's full advantage."
"Me too." Crimson admitted. "I've always wanted to have magical powers." she paused. "But I don't think this is the way I want to have them." She fell silent for a moment, then laughed. "I need to stop doing this, befriending members of the Fearsome Five. First Bushroot, then NegaCrimson, and now you. Who's next, Megavolt?"
Rowe laughed. "There's probably a good thing in all of that, you know, mate." he said. "Everybody could use more friends. I don't have enough as it is."
"I wish you could say we could be friends." Crimson said. "But seeing that we'll still be enemies after this..."
"Aye, it wouldn't work out." Rowe agreed. He hung his head.
The door opened suddenly, and Agent Mia stepped into the room.
"Rowe, it's time to leave." she announced flatly.
Rowe nodded and stood back up. "Here goes." he said. "Guess I'll see you again under not-so-good circumstances, mate."
Crimson stood up with him, hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed Rowe on the cheek.
"In hopes that maybe someday things will change." she said.
Rowe was motionless for a moment, then he grinned mournfully, and exited the room, Agent Mia following him closely. The door shut behind them, leaving Crimson to sit and ponder the situation through, and wonder what the future will have in store...
Fun Facts: Originally, Rowe was introduced just to be a new villain in the group, and I only ever planned to have him to be just that. And then chapter 23, "The Crimson Darkwing" came along, in which NegaRowe is introduced for the first time. In that chapter, I portray a version of Rowe that is more friendly and more polite than his Posiverse twin, which was to be expected. What I didn't expect was the fact that Crimson and NegaRowe seemed to...hook...together, almost like they had feelings for each other. This is when this chapter comes about, was me addressing the idea that maybe Crimson and Rowe weren't the enemies they always acted like, and in the chapters bridging chpt. 23 and this one I had engaged Crimson and Rowe in a kind of love/hate relationship. It could be compared to DW and Morgana's relationship before Morgana gave up being a villain. This new development will come to a kind of temporary head here soon, and then kind of die down to the background again for awhile.
Grizzlikof's betrayal was a choice I debated greatly, but there's actually some use to it. See, I knew that in a very distant chapter, Grizzlikfo was going to leave the cast anyway. The problem I faced there, however, was doing it and making it believeable, which I kept falling short on. Finally, when this idea of a spy in SHUSH came about, I wanted to use someone that would catch you readers off guard, but additionally wouldn't throw wrench into the gears for me. As Grizzlikof was the best choice for my plans and actually resolved my eariler issue ahead of time, I decided to do it. Besides, Grizz has been a very minor character in this fanfic, so I thought it wasn't any big loss. Grizz will have a replacement shortly.
Jones's appearance is simply a kind of "teaser" to future plans with the character. There was actually more I wanted to do with him in this chapter that I ultimately didn't, but I like the end result anyway, as it leaves things vauge, and leaves one wondering just what he is up to and why he needed Rowe's blood. I don't even know the answers to some of those questions, and even if I did, I wouldn't answer, so don't bother asking. :)
I allowed the Negacopter to go "off the radar" in this, because, to be perfectly honest, the Fearsome Five haven't really needed it. They always managed to do well without it. So now we're officially doing without it. It might also be a chance to squeeze in the Negaquack that is alluded is being constructed somewhere, as I have been meaning to do that since I started this fanfic.
Crimson's line of "Who's next, Megavolt?" is a kind of inside joke for me, and an allusion to next chapter.
