Summary: Megavolt is now faced with a choice, one he can't decide. Fortunately, he's going to find the answer, but what will it lead to...?

Rating: K+

Author's Note: A chapter of surprises. That's all I'm going to say about this one. ;) Enjoy!

56.

Time Trap

Previously, on The New Adventures of Darkwing Duck...

"Wait. Are you implying what I think you're implying?"

"Oh yeah. I'm from the future."

--

"Tell me more about my future!"

"I can't! Telling you too much about the future can alter time."

--

"What's this Gigavolt like, anyway?"

"Imagine a supercharged Megavolt on steroids."

--

"I will tell you this. You know the Fearsome Five?"

"Yeah?"

"They're nothing compared to what you'll meet up against in the future."

--

"There is a kind of energy responsible for life! And we've just harnessed it's power! Now we can give just about anything we want the gift of life!"

--

"I know, Tech, but clearly playing the part of a god is not without consequences."

--

"Unlike the wave of energy we released to stop the object army, Codwell's device had more power, and was capable of giving, or taking, life energy from anything. When the bolt of energy you reflected, Crimson, hit Dr. Codwell's exposed flesh, it took the life energy away from him, and has left him rendered in this state."

"So he's dead."

"Not necessarily. By all accounts, he is still physically fit. He just doesn't have the energy to make life possible. Think of it like a calculator with a dead battery. The calculator itself is still in fine condition, it just can't work until it gets a new battery."

"So, if that life energy was to ever get put back into Codwell..."

"...he would be brought back to life, yes."

--

"Take this case to Area 51. Make sure that case stays safe, and that it's contents do not leave that case, no matter what the reason."

And with that, he took one last look at the HLEDD within, then closed the case...

--

"Looks like that shock rebooted your brain, mate."

"Wow. I wonder what else I can remember."

--

"Gosalyn called Darkwing dad. Now if that's true, then that means...she's the Crimson Avenger. Which means Drake is...Darkwing Duck."

--

"I'm kicking you out of the Fearsome Five."

--

"You should know that now that I've done that, you're an official enemy to the Fearsome Five, starting now."

--

"Megavolt has seen a lot over the years he's been a criminal. He's virtually a treasure trove of secret memories that himself or others could use to our disadvantage if he ever remembered them. And now that he does, Megavolt is clearly putting those memories to use."

--

"Oh c'mon, Darkwing, don't you realize what I've been through? I thought getting my memories back would be a good thing, but all it's done is bring me grief!"

--

"I've lost everything, Darkwing! What difference does it make, huh?"

"Well, maybe now is the perfect time to forget that past life and start building a new one! You say you've lost everything! Now you've got a clean slate to start life over again! You should take the opportunity to do that, and not blow your only chance!"

--

"You can count on the fact that this matter isn't over. If anything, it's just beginning. I think times are about to change drastically here in St. Canard very soon, and what happened the past few days has only been a mere taste of it."

--

"I gotta admit I'm still very torn over the choice that lays before me. Parts of me want to give it all up and start over, but other parts want to hang on to what I've been familiar with for so long. For right now, I'm just lying low. The Fearsome Five's still searching for me, you know. But I think if they just don't spy me for awhile, they'll eventually start giving up. Then things will start returning to normal, I think."

--

"So, will we be meeting again?"

"I think no matter what I choose, Darkwing, it's inevitable."


"This is a really bad idea."

Megavolt had been telling himself that again and again as he moved ever closer to the Fearsome Five hideout. It had been a couple of weeks since he had regained his memories, and it was now mid-November. Things were finally starting to settle down again in the aftermath of all that. As he had told Darkwing, he did indeed lie low for the first week or so. Finally, it seems that Negaduck had given up for the moment of actively searching for Megavolt, and the Fearsome Five and resumed operations without the rat.

Regardless, Megavolt still played it safe for a few days in case Negaduck had someone out watching for any trace of him. Finally, earlier this week, he moved back into his hideout and was trying to get back to his life in peace. He had to admit it actually been rather relaxing. He hadn't thought about it, but being a member of the Fearsome Five was very demanding. Now Megavolt didn't have to worry about any of that, granting him huge amounts of free time he could use to do what he wanted for a change, to get back at the numerous unfinished projects he had gathered from over the years. Although, granted, there was some he just didn't have the heart to continue anymore.

He still hadn't decided where he was going to go from here, still being very torn over the choice that lay before him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to continue being the supervillain he had been for so long, or to forget that life entirely and start over from scratch. At the moment, he was somewhere in-between the two, still maintaining his supervillain identity and mannerisms, but without doing anything "villainish". While he thought about it, he was passing the time by working on those unfinished projects. Only to have run into a few snags.

Which was why he was here now. Like he had already implied, being a member of the Fearsome Five required a great deal of your time and energy, and it wasn't uncommon that you spent more time at the gang's hideout than your own. As such, the Fearsome Five hideout had become a kind of "home away from home," and they had all brought some of their own belongings to make it feel more welcoming.

In the chaos of Megavolt regaining his memories and the conflicts that followed, Megavolt never got a chance to retrieve those items before he was kicked out of the gang. And he needed some of them now if he planned on still working on these projects. So he was here in the hopes of actually getting them back, which might be problematic if he got caught.

In fact, it may just be a complete and total waste of his time. Those items might not even still be there, having been cleared away when Negaduck kicked him out of the gang. Why would they need to hang onto them if Megavolt wasn't going to be around anymore? But it wasn't like he had anything else to do, and he really wanted to get on with this project, even if he never uses it in the end, so he decided to take the risk.

The large, garage-like door, to the warehouse that was currently the Five's hideout was already open. This didn't surprise Megavolt, as it had been kept open fairly frequently as of late to allow quick comings and goings and also for transporting items for Negaduck's latest project, which tended to be rather large.

Carefully, Megavolt approached the open door and peered inside the warehouse. As usual, the door was unguarded. Negaduck had found that stationing guards at the warehouse entrances usually drew more attention than what was cared for and overlooked that detail. No one ever complained to it; it was just one less task to do, and Megavolt certainly wasn't going to start complaining now.

He took a few steps into the towering interior of the warehouse and ducked behind a stack of boxes. Successfully hidden there, Megavolt looked up at the office that sat a few floors above him that Negaduck had staked claim to when they all moved in. Sure enough, he could see Negs moving around in the little office, and better still, NegaGosalyn could be seen in the office as well. So long as they stayed there, Megavolt had little risk of bumping into either of them.

He moved further into the warehouse. Finally, he spied Bushroot and Rowe leaning over what looked like plans laid out onto a wooden crate. They were discussing something to each other. Curious despite himself, Megavolt moved closer to listen, ducking behind a nearby stack of boxes.

"...we could try that, couldn't we, mate?" Rowe was in the middle of asking.

"Not if we want to get caught." Bushroot said, pointing at something on the plans. "That tactic would leave us too bunched together. We'd get picked off one by one, so that's no good."

"Then maybe we could enter from here." Rowe said, pointing. "Out of all of our ideas, I say that one's our best."

"But I still say Negs will never go for it." Bushroot muttered, placing a hand to his head in frustration. "I wish Megavolt was still here. Just his presence alone would solve so many of our problems."

"Yeah, the Fearsome Five just ain't going to be the same without him." Rowe agreed.

"Aw, gee, that's awfully nice of you guys to say."

The words were out of Megavolt's mouth before he knew it. Quickly clamping a hand over his mouth, he quickly considered escape plans as Bushroot and Rowe spun around to look at him.

"Megavolt!" Bushroot exclaimed, then, wincing at how loud that sounded, lowered his voice to a whisper before continuing. "Megs, what are you doing here? If Negs catches sight of you, he'll...he'll..."

"He'll kill you, mate!" Rowe finished, making a slicing gesture across his throat. "He may have given up hunting you down, but we're still supposed to be enemies now!"

"I know, I know!" Megavolt admitted, looking around nervously. "But I need to get a few things from here! Let me do that, and then I'll be gone again! Just...don't turn me in!"

"Why would we do that?" Bushroot asked. "We want you back as much as anybody."

"Unfortunately, we're outnumbered in that matter." Rowe said. "In addition to Negaduck, NegaCrimson being after your guts, Quackerjack's gone and decided to hate you as well."

"That clown." Megavolt muttered. "Dang it, sometimes it seems like everybody's against me these days."

"Where have you been, anyway?" Bushroot asked. "We haven't seen hide or tail of you ever since Negs kicked you out of the gang."

"It's a really long story, and I don't have the time to tell it." Megavolt said. "Look, can you help me get my stuff? That's all I'm asking. You could even just point me in the right direction. Is it all still where I left it?"

"No, Negs decided not to leave it lying around." Rowe said. "But he did have it all packed into a box and put into storage in case we ever needed some of that stuff."

"It's in the back room." Bushroot said, pointing back at the smaller workroom that was joined to the rest of the warehouse through a simple door. "C'mon, we might as well show you."

The threesome cautiously walked to the door and slipped through it. The room beyond was dimly lit, but very spacious. Worktables of all sorts sat lining the walls, all covered with tools and equipment. But Megavolt's eyes were drawn to the centerpiece of the room, sighing as he remembered the project undergoing here.

There stood a half-completed Negaquack jet plane.

"How close are you guys to completing that thing now, anyway?" Megavolt asked, worried. He had been against the idea of the Negaquack from the start, but after losing the Negacopter, the need for one had become a necessity.

Both Rowe and Bushroot exchanged hesitant glances before replying.

"We really can't tell you that, mate." Rowe said.

"Heck, we shouldn't even be doing this, helping you around like this." Bushroot said nervously, as they moved away from the Negaquack construction site and towards the other half of the room. "If we get caught..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Megs, if anybody sees us together, you know we have to act accordingly, or we'll get in real trouble."

"I know." Megavolt said. "You don't have to help me, I can find it on my own."

"Aye, but we want to help you mate." Rowe said, giving Megavolt a playful nudge with his shoulder. "'Sides, nothing should go wrong. The Negaverse duet up in the office, where they can't see us in here, and I think Quacky went home for the day."

Inbetween the construction site of the Negaquack and the rows of shelves they were heading towards was a section filled with seemingly random junk. Megavolt hadn't thought too much of it before, but then he realized there was one thing in that pile of junk that wasn't junk at all and should've stood out like a sore thumb if it wasn't so dark.

"What's that doing there?" Megavolt asked, pointing at Quackerjack's Time Top.

Bushroot and Rowe glanced at it briefly.

"Oh that." Rowe said. "Well, the cops raided Quacky's hideout recently. He got out of it okay, and managed to bring some of his stuff with, and now he's just storing it here until he's got a new place."

"Looks like he's taking the chance to do some work on it, too." Bushroot noted, seeing an open panel on the giant-sized red and yellow top.

"Huh, I would've though Quackerjack had learned his lesson after the last mess in time that thing caused." Megavolt snorted.

"Well, it's gotta be somewhere around here." Rowe said, stopping before the many rows of shelves, each one loaded with several crates and boxes of all sorts. "A box labeled "Megavolt" if memory serves right."

"In all that?" Bushroot said, dismayed. "I forgot just how many boxes we've got back here. It'll take forever to find that stuff."

"Look, let's split up." Megavolt suggested. "Anybody finds it, then shout."

They spilt up, all going down different aisles of shelves. Megavolt silently walked down his, looking at the boxes and mumbling the labels to himself as he went. None of them even came close to what he was looking for. Reaching the end of the aisle, he started to turn to the next one to go down it, but suddenly froze as he saw something he very nearly missed.

Standing at a small worktable, pulling things out of a box in the warm glow of a work lamp, was Quackerjack. Apparently he hadn't gone home after all like Rowe had thought. At first, Quackerjack didn't even notice Megavolt, giving Megavolt hope he could possibly back into the aisle and Quackerjack would never know he was there. But at the last possible moment, Quackerjack suddenly looked up and his eyes met with Megavolt's.

For a long moment, they both just stood there, too stunned to move. Then, yelling loudly with the pair of powerful lungs only Quackerjack had, he started yelling.

"INTRUDER!" he yelled, grabbing axe-dealing toy from the box, "INTRUDER IN THE HIDEOUT!"

He pulled a string on the toy and it started throwing miniature axes at Megavolt. Megavolt quickly ducked the blades as he hurried back into the aisle, shooting off a bolt of energy to distract Quackerjack with. Once safely into the aisle, Megavolt broke out in a mad run for the exit. Halfway there, alarms started to ring throughout the warehouse. His presence here wasn't going to go unnoticed after all.

Exiting the aisle, Megavolt very nearly bumped into Bushroot, who was rushing out of the next aisle over. Megavolt didn't waste a second.

"Sorry Bushy." he apologized in advance, and pushed Bushroot aside and continued forward.

Bushroot stumbled aside, and then crashed into a stack of cardboard boxes, although Megavolt could tell Bushroot did that last part under his own power to make things look convincing. Megavolt kept running. He heard pattering feet as not one but two sets of feet exited other aisles somewhere behind him. Judging from the slapping and skidding sounds, it was Quackerjack and Rowe, the latter slipping on the smooth concrete that made up the floor.

"STOP INTRUDER!" Quackerjack yelled. Megavolt looked back and saw him pull out an army doll that was armed with a real miniature machine gun and quickly added on a burst of speed.

"Uh, yeah! Stop, you!" Rowe added half-heartedly a moment later. Clearly he didn't want to have to catch Megavolt.

But that was the least of Megavolt's worries. A spray of bullets nipped at his feet suddenly, and he quickly changed courses, heading for Quackerjack's Time Top. Remembering all the trouble that thing could cause, though, he quickly changed paths and started climbing up to the top of a set of shelves.

More bullets zinged past, but they purposely shot to miss. Quackerjack was only giving him a warning shot at the moment. Reaching the top and balancing precariously up there, Megavolt started running along the top of the shelves. He saw Quackerjack skid to a stop below him, Rowe beside him, and fired off another shot. It took out a light next to Megavolt, startling him. Overbalancing, Megavolt felt the shelves start to tip over under the weight.

Panicking, he jumped blindly, allowing the shelves to crash to the floor. He landed with a smack on the top of the Time Top. Groaning, he picked himself up and spied that the hatch was open. Thinking he could just hide inside the top for a brief moment to shield himself from the bullets, he made his way over to it and started to climb inside.

Quackerjack fired off more bullets, though Megavolt couldn't see Quackerjack anymore from where he was. The bullets pounded across the side of the top and into the open panel Bushroot had noted earlier. Something inside sparked violently. Halfway into the hatch, Megavolt was suddenly slammed to one side as the top started to spin, exponentially gaining speed with every passing second.

Megavolt flailed out for a moment to get back out of the top before it got going too fast, but lost his footing and fell into the top entirely, landing on his back with a thump. The movement of the top caused him to skid along the floor of the top as the whole interior room spun with the rest of the top. Remembering that it was almost deadly to be in this thing and not be strapped down while it as active, Megavolt quickly grabbed a handhold to keep himself from getting hurt.

The top spun faster. He heard a clank as the hatch fell shut due to the centrifugal force. Megavolt held onto his handhold as tightly as he could, the room spinning so fast now it was just a blur, the momentum lifting Megavolt's feet off the floor. Finally, the force pulling at him was just too much, and his fingers slipped from his handhold. Flung outward, he slammed into one wall hard, was thrown around in a kind of twisting, mid-air, pirouette before he slammed into another wall, even harder this time, and everything went dark.


The next thing he remembered was waking up in a dimly light room, his vision fuzzy, and aches covering his whole body. Shadowy figures that seemed familiar hovered over him, almost in concern. Remembering what had been happening last and thinking he was still in danger, Megavolt tried to get up to keep fleeing.

A hand came down and stopped up, pushing him back down into a lying position. Something sharp, probably a needle, then poked his arm, and a warm feeling washed over Megavolt's body. With an almost pleasant sigh, he drifted back into unconsciousness.


In an office in a building, two women met together to discuss recent developments.

"How is he?" one asked.

"He's sleeping." the other replied. "Otherwise he's fine, now. Police Chief Matthew has him secure in a cell for the moment, just as a precaution."

"I doubt it's needed." the first women pointed out.

"I agree, but safety first, remember that." the other woman said.

"So what's the plan to go from here?"

"We wait for him to wake up."

"And then?"

"We tell him nothing."

"What? Director Navis, with all due respect, don't you think that's unwise?"

"I do. But Norrin stepped into the matter."

"Oh, of course, The Agency had to get their claws into this too, didn't they?"

"They say it's better that he knows nothing about what's happened."

"Well, that's stupid. If they don't want him to find out anything, then why not just keep him asleep?"

"The doctors advised against it. So, seeing that we can't keep him asleep and that he'll have to wake up eventually, we'll have to do the next best thing. Of course he'll learn some things, but most importantly not everything. That needs to be greatly moderated."

"Currently, the plan moderates it a little too much."

"I figured you'd say that, and told Norrin as such, but it fell upon deaf ears as usual. Still, he's got a point, though. If our little friend was to learn everything..."

"I'm not saying we should tell him everything. That would be a very bad idea, one that could theoretically jeopardize everything if we allowed it to happen. But he deserves at least a simple explanation."

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow it. I have my orders. And so do you."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Observe. The police sent a psychiatrist to talk with him when he wakes up. You know her well. Just watch the proceedings and make sure everything goes okay. Hide in the shadows so he doesn't see too much of you, and of course, act dumb, like we don't know anymore than he does."

"What about when he goes home? We all know he's supposed to."

"The Agency's working at getting the authorization."

"But of course, they're taking too long to do it."

"In the meantime, just keep him busy. That's all I'm asking."

"I can do that. But don't blame me when this plan ultimately fails, which, you can be assured, it will."


Megavolt awoke slowly, feeling greatly refreshed. Stretching, he yawned, and rolled over. Up until now, he had been thinking that he was still in bed at home, and that the memory of the fight at the Fearsome Five hideout was nothing more than a dream. But then he realized with a start that the room he's in now wasn't home at all.

He bolted upright into a sitting position, taking in his surroundings anxiously. It looked like he was in some kind of cell, very sparsely furnished, and was sealed with a metal door with a little window embedded in it's middle. Megavolt hurried over to the door and tried to open it, but it had no visible latch, nor any apparent means of opening. Perplexed, he peered out the window to determine where he was, but only saw a plain hallway made of the same metal paneling the cell was built out of.

On the verge of the panic attack, Megavolt looked around further, and then finally spied a little security camera placed in one corner of the cell. He waved his arms frantically at it, hoping someone was at the other end, watching.

"Hey!" he shouted on the chance that someone could hear him. "What's going on? Where am I?"

He got no apparent response, and eventually stopped, his arms getting tired. Breathing heavily, he paused to re-catch his breath and think up new ideas. Before he could finish with either, though, a light above the cell door began flashing, a buzzer ringing every time it flashed. Text was shown when it flashed. Megavolt squinted his eyes at it to read it.

"'Please step into the center of the room?'" he read, perplexed.

He looked around and saw that he was already in the middle of the room. Then, without warning, a sheet of metal slid over the little window in the cell door, blocking the view out. Then, a wall of glass slid down over the back wall of the cell. Megavolt looked back and forth from both side of the cell in alarm, wondering what this was about. Then the whole cell suddenly jerked, and suddenly started to move upward, this becoming apparent as the metal wall behind the glass wall began to speed past.

Megavolt had enough time to realize the cell was doubling as an elevator and that he was traveling up several floors in rapid succession when it started to slow, and finally came to a stop. Through the glass wall, a larger and apparently circular room could now be seen. Sitting in a small desk was a pretty, young, female duck. The shadowy outline of another duck could be seen in the background, but Megavolt couldn't see anymore to determine anything else.

"Hello Megavolt." the duck in the desk said sweetly, her voice being broadcasted into the still-tightly sealed cell by a radio. "Sorry if we gave you any frights there, but you are in that cell mostly for your own safety. Plus, you were asleep at the time, and there seemed the most logical location to put you."

Megavolt glanced at her for a long moment. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Webbigail Drake." the duck said. "But you may just call me Webby."

"Okay." Megavolt said. "But why are you here? Where is here? Just what's happening here?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Webby asked politely. "Tell me the last thing you remember happening."

Megavolt narrowed her eyes at her. "This has the suspicious ring of reverse psychology to it." he muttered, but shrugged. Consciously aware of the shadowy figure listening as well, he recalled his last memory. "I remember waking up somewhere, and with a bunch of people looking down at me." he said. "I was hardly conscious at the time, and I hurt all over. Before that, I was at the Fearsome Five hideout running for my life while Quackerjack tried to..."

He trailed off for a moment, noting that Webby was writing this down in a notebook. Again, he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You are a psychiatrist, aren't you?" Megavolt demanded.

Webby hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the shadowy figure briefly, before nodding.

"I knew it!" Megavolt said, turning his back to the glass wall. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

"But Megavolt, I'm here to help, so we can sort this out." Webby pleaded.

"Oh no you don't, I've heard that one before." Megavolt said, jabbing a finger at her. "Listen, lady, I've seen a whole lot of your type before in my life, and they've never helped me before. All they did was make my head hurt. Even when I was locked away for seven years in the supervillain prison they couldn't help me."

"Look, just give me a chance here." Webby said. "I just need to better understand where we stand before I can really start helping you."

"I've heard that one too." Megavolt said. "Look, you can help me by telling me what I want to know! Where am I? What is this place? What's going on here that you aren't telling me? Why am I locked up?"

Webby hesitated again, looking to the shadowy figure once more as if looking for instructions. Megavolt began to become suspicious of the figure as well.

"I can't tell you." Webby finally admitted.

"What? Why not?"

"If I could tell you, I would."

"You mean you can't tell me anything?"

"Not until the circumstances change."

Megavolt paused. "Oh well, that's easily remedied." he said.

Gathering some of the surrounding electric energy in the room, Megavolt then lashed out with two bolts of energy into the glass wall. The bolts shot right though, cracking the glass and leaving two large holes in it. One bolt hit Webby's desk, and she yelped and she was half-jumped, half-tossed out of it. Her collection of papers flew everywhere.

The shadowy figure moved forward, alarmed. Megavolt moved forward as well, and threw himself into the weakened glass. It shattered, and Megavolt tumbled through. An alarm started to go off somewhere. The shadowy figure whipped out some kind of weapon and started firing what looked like canisters at him. Megavolt dodged the shots, fired off another bolt at the figure, but missed, and then tackled the figure full on, knocking them both to the floor.

It was then that Megavolt got his first good look at the figure.

"Crimson?" he exclaimed, surprised, recognizing the face.

But then, at the same time, he didn't recognize the face. It resembled Crimson, but it was too old to be the Crimson he knew. She was dressed in Crimson's costume, though, minus the hat, which she hadn't been wearing to begin with. The questions bouncing around in Megavolt's mind suddenly doubled. Was she possibly some relative to Crimson? What was this all about? What the heck was happening here?

"Get off, Megs." Crimson said after a moment, squirming around as she tried to slip out from under Megavolt. "I mean it! You won't like me when I'm angry!"

Only half-listening, Megavolt gently got off of her, everything seeming to have fallen silent except for the wailing alarm. Crimson jumped back up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her outfit.

"What's going on..." Megavolt began to ask, but Crimson cut him short.

"Hold it!" she said. "Save your questions for a moment or two."

She then walked over to a box on the wall with a speaker embedded in it and pushed a button. "Control, false alarm." she said into the box. "I've got everything handled here, no need to send anybody here. You might want to send a cleanup crew, though." she glanced at the mess of broken glass for a moment and sighed. "Kill the alarm, too."

She released the button and stepped away from the box. A moment later the alarm did indeed stop, and the lights in the circular room went up a touch. Megavolt realized that it was more like a tube that curved around to join it's other end and form a circle. As such, it's middle was filled in with presumably empty space, but Megavolt spied other glass walls circling the whole inner wall of the loop just like the one in his former cell. The only difference was that there was no cells behind them at the moment.

Crimson walked across the room, bent over to scoop up her fallen gas gun, and approached Webby, who was in the process of picking herself out of the mess.

"You okay, Webby?" Crimson asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Webby said, brushing off her pink outfit. "You were right, Crimson. It didn't take long for that to all go wrong."

"Yeah, it only took about..." Crimson glanced at her watch. "...fifteen minutes. Congrats, Megs, you just set a new record."

"I...I did?" Megavolt asked, confused.

Crimson didn't reply. "Look, Webby, as usual, the plan isn't going to work out, and I think there's nothing more you can do. How about you get the rest of the day off and go and spend some time with Doofus. He probably hasn't been seeing much of his wife lately."

Webby grinned. "You're right, he hasn't." she concurred, turning to leave. "Bye then, and good luck!"

They watched her go. Then Megavolt stepped forward.

"Crimson, just what is going on here?" he asked. "I demand that I be told something!"

"Then here's the answer that'll explain several things." Crimson said, walking over to part of the outer wall of the loop, which wasn't a wall at all but a door of dark glass. She pressed a nearby control, and the door opened to reveal what was beyond it. "Megavolt, you're in the future."

Megavolt's jaw fell open. Sure enough, beyond the door was a balcony. Stepping out onto it, Megavolt saw that he was on the top of a very tall building, a very futuristic one at that. And it was one among many. Surrounding it were many more buildings, making up a St. Canard Megavolt had never seen the likes of. These skyscrapers began somewhere within the boundaries of what had once been Canard Woods, now only a small city park, and then stretched all the way to the shores of Audubon Bay where they stopped, only to continue again on the other bank, where there had once been the suburbs. Clearly, St. Canard had grown some.

That wasn't all. The common mode of transportation wasn't the usual automobiles Megavolt was used to, but some kind of flying vehicle, most of them very streamlined that hissed silently back and forth through the air in a crisscrossing pattern. They didn't release any apparent exhaust, and there wasn't any pollution anywhere in the air, at least none that Megavolt could detect. Megavolt looked it all over again with awe, and then turned to look back at Crimson, who was in the process of putting on her hat.

"Times certainly change, don't they?" she asked with a grin.


A short while later they were flying through this future St. Canard in the Thunderquack, which in of itself had seen some significant improvements. The general shape of the jet had basically remained the same save for some minor cosmetic designs, but the technology it included had significantly changed. There were no buttons on the jet's dashboard, it was all a touch panel with graphic displays of buttons instead. A screen or two showing complex designs sat in odd places. The glass canopy had many, constantly changing, holographic images displayed in it, forming a kind of virtual head-up display. And it was Crimson flying the plane, and not Launchpad like Megavolt was expecting. In fact, they were the only two present in the jet.

Megavolt stared out the canopy at the city below. He had many questions to ask, and didn't know where to begin. But furthermore, he couldn't begin just yet. Crimson had asked him to save his questions for the moment; she'd explain to the best of her abilities later. Megavolt wasn't sure when 'later' was, but he waited patiently.

Finally, Crimson sighed. "Megs, before you start asking questions, there's something you need to know first." she explained. "See, in my time, we've figured out time travel and have made use of the ability. There's even a top secret government agency that specializes in it now. But one thing we learned very quickly about time travel is that you have to be very careful. You wouldn't believe what kind of little things could alter history. Even knowing too much about one's future could alter things. Hence why I'm going to have to say that there will probably be several questions you're wanting to ask that I simply can't answer. You're better off not knowing, in more ways than you realize."

Megavolt was silent for a moment while he thought about that. It made sense.

"All right." he said. "I'll keep that in mind." he thought for a moment. "Okay, first question, what year is it?"

"Ah, see?" Crimson said with an amused grin. "Very first question you ask I can't give you an answer. Actually, I've been ordered not to tell you as an added precaution. In fact, you weren't even supposed to know this much, but I saw right away that wasn't going to happen."

"Okay." Megavolt said with a frown. "How about my fellow members in the Fearsome Five? How are they? Is the gang even still around?"

"I can't answer those questions either." Crimson said. "And don't bother asking about yourself either, because I won't answer those questions, either."

Megavolt mentally crossed off the next few questions on his list, then moved to the next one after those. "How about Quackerjack's Time Top?" he asked. "What happened to it?"

"There you go, there's a question I can answer." Crimson said. "You appeared in the Time Top in the exact same location you had left. Where the Fearsome Five hideout is. Or at least, was. A new building was built over it. Anyway, we found you in there, minimally hurt, unconscious, and otherwise unharmed. The Time Top itself is another story. It's pretty damaged, and it's time circuits literally blew. There isn't much left to salvage, so it was confiscated, and most likely will be dismantled."

"Okay, so how am I going to get back to my time?" Megavolt asked, then, as a scary thought came to mind, added, "Can I go back to my time?"

"Yes, we'll send you back via some of our own technology." Crimson said dismissively. "But because there are so many restrictions to time travel, getting the authorization to do so is another story. They'll get it sooner or later, but it's going to take some time. In the meantime, you'll just have to hang out here."

"Which will be hard seeing that I can't know too much about this future." Megavolt muttered. "Okay, so here's something that I'm puzzled about. You're still here, but what about everyone else? Launchpad, Darkwing, and the others?"

"They're still around."

"Are they still doing what they've always been doing?"

"I can't answer that."

"Drat. Um, what kind of villains are out there?"

"I...probably shouldn't answer that either." Crimson paused. "In fact, there's one in particular I must ask you never ask about."

"And who's that?"

"It's better you don't know."

"What can you tell me?"

"Very little, unfortunately. I'm sorry Megavolt, I know it must be frustrating."

"It's beyond frustrating." Megavolt said with a sigh, leaning back in his seat with a sigh. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Crimson admitted. "I figured you didn't want to stay in the supervillain prison..."

"That was the St. Canard Supervillain Prison?"

"...so I decided to move you somewhere else. The problem is that I haven't figured where I can take you where you will...well..."

"Remain blissfully unaware?"

"...yeah."

"Joy."

"Yeah. And just picture how I feel. I have to do this kind of thing fairly often."

"Really? How often?"

"I can't answer that."

"So what else is new?"

They fell silent for a long moment. Suddenly, a light started to flash on the dashboard of the Thunderquack. Megavolt leaned over to study it, but then Crimson quickly reached over and pressed a different control, and it stopped.

"Ignore that." she said. "So, Megs, any other questions you've got?"

"Um, just one." he admitted. "You mentioned earlier that you found me in the Time Top not seriously hurt, but still hurt nonetheless. Yet now I feel just fine. What happened?"

"Oh, well that's easy." Crimson said. "Technology's come a long way over the years. We've got plenty of tools now that will heal injuries in half the time it used to take all those years ago, and..."

She fell silent when the light on the dashboard started flashing again. She shot it a glare.

"Oh, come off it." she muttered.

"What's that light mean, anyway?" Megavolt asked, pointing at it.

"It's an alarm for an incoming transmission." Crimson muttered, reaching over and pressing the control and a series of smaller controls that appeared after that. "But nobody should be contacting me now, and they know why not. I swear, if it's Sam, I'll..."

"Sam who?"

Crimson froze for a moment. "Never mind." she said, and continued pressing controls.

Finally, a semi-transparent video transmission appeared on the holographic display on the canopy glass. Megavolt instantly identified the person portrayed as Techno. He, too, was older, but hadn't changed too much.

"Crimson," Techno began. "Sorry for interrupting, and I know what you're thinking..."

"Really, Tech?" Crimson asked, annoyed. "Because I believe I asked to not be contacted while I'm busy with this matter."

"I know, and I know you've got company." Techno shot a glance over at Megavolt, but otherwise didn't acknowledge the rat's presence. "But I've really got a situation over here, and I really need your help. You know what the status of the others are."

"How bad can it be, Tech?" Crimson asked. "I mean, who is it that's causing trouble?"

Techno hesitated a moment, again glancing at Megavolt, who hadn't spoken, but was listening curiously. Finally, he sighed.

"Codwell." Techno replied simply.

Crimson squeezed her eyes shut in frustration and hung her head. "Where at?" she asked.

"Titan Laboratories, the computer processing wing." Techno said. "Codwell's having a heck of fun time in there, it seems."

"I'll bet he is." Crimson sighed. "All right, I'll be right there. But I need someone to watch over the Megs during all of this."

"Got it." Techno said. "See you soon."

The transmission then ended. Megavolt turned to look at Crimson.

"Who's Codwell?" he asked.

Crimson shot him a look as she changed the Thunderquack's course. "I think you'll remember him when you see him." she replied.


Titan Laboratories had grown in size over the years, just like the rest of the city. It had gained several additional wings and several more floors, including a virtually unsinkable reputation that had all started with the creation of the Lovell Air Engine. From above, Crimson noted that nothing seemed out of the ordinary save a small squadron of police cars parked at it's entrance, and serious wished this was the case. She glanced at Megavolt, who she knew was mentally taking this all in. She certainly hoped she could keep him from getting involved in this.

Landing the Thunderquack II with picture-perfect grace, Crimson opened the canopy and hopped out. She was promptly met by Techno.

"Crimson, thank you for coming so quickly." he said. "Sorry I had to pull you into this."

"You can explain on the way." Crimson said, moving towards the entrance to Titan Laboratories. Seeing Megavolt start to follow, she called to a nearby police officer. "Officer Raven, make sure my guest there doesn't go anywhere, or do anything he shouldn't."

Silently, a sable-feathered goose moved to block Megavolt's path. Megavolt frowned at this, but stayed put. Crimson drew Techno closer.

"You sure there isn't anybody else you could've gotten to help with this?" she asked.

"Positive." Techno said. "Giz is still out of town, Dewey's in a meeting and can't spare the time to leave, and Sam's staying away, just like you asked her to."

"SHUSH?"

"Director Navis says she can't spare any agents at the moment."

"The SCPD?"

"Matt doesn't want to risk any cops in this, not after what happened last time we faced Codwell."

Crimson thought for a long moment. "How about Dad?" she finally asked. "Any chance of getting him to help?"

Techno shook his head. "He's away from the phone again, and you know that he stays out of these issues these days. It's just me and you, Crimson."

"What does Codwell want in there?"

"I don't think he wants anything except to cause a rumpus." Techno said. "I don't even know how he got in there."

Crimson sighed, and drew her gas gun. "Well, he's not getting any younger, so better not keep him waiting." she said, entering the building.


The computer processing wing to Titan Laboratories was empty all save for one person, carefully strolling down an aisle of computers, whistling a little two as he walked. Following along behind him was a small army of random objects, all moving around under their own power, like they were alive. A cloud of crimson smoke suddenly appeared before them. The person paused to watch.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the dead battery on your laptop! I am the Crimson Avenger!"

Crimson emerged from the smoke, and then quickly ducked, and just in time to avoid a bolt of blue energy that whizzed over her head. She then looked up at her opponent.

"This ends here, Codwell!" she exclaimed.

Dr. Matthias Codwell grinned, holding his HLEDD aloft. "Sure it does." he said. "Wasn't that what you said last time?"

"This time I mean it." Crimson said. "You aren't getting out of here free this time, Codwell."

"We'll see about that." Codwell said, then turned to his army of objects, mostly computers. "Objects, attack!"

The objects stormed towards Crimson's position. Crimson waited until the last moment, and then fired a grappling hook up into the rafters and swung out of the way.

"Now Techno!" she exclaimed.

Techno suddenly emerged and hurled a handful of chemical bombs at the object army. Going off, they dealt heavy damages to the said army. Crimson then pointed her gas gun at members of the army at random and fired blue bolts of energy with them. Each object struck had it's life energy drained from it and turned inanimate once again.

Codwell let out a mad roar. "Stop it!" he said. "Don't you see you're killing them?"

And without waiting for an answer, he took his HLEDD and started firing it at other objects, bringing them to life. He didn't get far, however, before Crimson stormed forward and pounced on him, grabbing him by the front of the shirt.

"Gotcha!" she said.

Codwell defiantly held up the HLEDD to point at Crimson.

"Ah-ah!" Crimson said, grabbing the barrel of the weapon. "It's over. No more using this accursed thing to bring anything to life, Codwell, or visa versa."

Codwell grinned, as the HLEDD started to whine. "Who said I wanted to do that?" he asked.

And then, overloaded, the HLEDD suddenly exploded.


Word of the event spread fast. Still forced to stay at the Thunderquack and under guard by the police, Megavolt could only stand by and watch and listen, hoping he'd hear or see something that would explain what happened. Finally, after several long moments, the people in question finally exited the building.

Techno came out first, looking exhausted but otherwise unharmed. He pulled someone aside and whispered something to the extent of "objects inanimate again" before moving on. Following him were two medics pushing a stretcher that hovered. On it was a severely injured person mostly covered by a blanket. It wasn't clear if he was alive or not, as either was possible at this point. But Crimson was right, Megavolt did recognize the man now that he had seen him. He remembered seeing in the paper once sometime back in his decade, but didn't read the article in full. Something about life energy and gun thingamajig that caused some trouble.

Finally, Crimson herself exited the building under her own power. She looked tattered, and was favoring an arm that had gotten heavily scorched, and additionally seemed tired, but otherwise looked to be okay. Megavolt tried to draw her attention to him as she neared his position, but she ignored him, walking right past him to follow Codwell to an ambulance that had arrived.

As she passed, Megavolt noticed something about Crimson's injured arm, and caught off guard, stared at it. Crimson's eyes briefly met with his during this, and quickly moved positions to block the arm from view. But it still didn't change what Megavolt saw. He had no chance to actually address the issue, however, until Techno came along later, and granted him permission to leave the Thunderquack and meet with Crimson. She now sat in the back of the parked ambulance filling out what appeared to be a report. Her injured arm was now heavily bandaged.

"Megavolt." Crimson greeted, seeing him and Techno approach. "Hi. Sorry about all of that, but action needed to be taken."

"So, uh, what happened?" Megavolt asked.

"Our villain decided to resort to drastic measures." Techno replied. "Very nearly killed himself in the process."

"So he's still alive?" Megavolt asked.

"For the moment." Crimson admitted. "He's in serious condition at the moment however, so it's unclear he'll survive. I think what he really intended to do was to try and take me out."

"And he very nearly succeeded." Techno noted.

"Yet you came out of it okay." Megavolt pointed out.

"Yes, I was able to position myself to shield myself from the worse of the blow at the last possible moment." Crimson replied.

"You sure your arm didn't play a part in that?"

Techno shot Megavolt a puzzled look. Crimson, however, sighed.

"You saw, didn't you?" Crimson asked. When Megavolt nodded, she sighed again. "Well, no point in hiding it anymore, then."

She pulled back some of the bandages on her arm to reveal the burned-away flesh. Only it wasn't real flesh. It was artificial, although Megavolt would've never guessed it were it not in this state for it seemed very realistic. Beneath that false flesh were distinct robotic parts, blackened with damage, but looked to be slowly repairing itself.

"My whole arm is like that." Crimson explained as Megavolt studied it. "It got like that in an accident years and years back and my arm had to be swapped out for this robotic look-alike." she recovered the arm back up with the bandages. "Please don't relate this to anybody in your time, particularly my past self. If I knew about this then, I'd get all paranoid about it happening and probably work to see if I could make it never happen. Which would be disastrous, because I lost that arm doing what was right. Things would've played out very differently if I didn't do what I did then."

There was a moment of silence. Techno suddenly turned his head away for a moment as a message came through on his radio concealed in his helmet. He sighed.

"I'm needed elsewhere." he said, and upon receiving Megavolt's inquisitive glance, added, "Somewhere pertaining to the future that certain people from the past can't know. Be right back."

He walked off. Megavolt rolled his eyes.

"This is so frustrating." he muttered. "Here I am trapped in the future, and I'm not allowed to learn a thing about it."

"You'll understand why eventually." Crimson remarked cryptically. "At least you've learned some things."

"Not like I'll be able to relate any of it once I get back home." Megavolt said. "I wish you'd just tell me everything."

"Trust me, Megavolt, you don't know how much I wish I could do that." Crimson said. "But we have to be careful to not mess things up for everyone."

"You know, I don't understand that." Megavolt admitted. "Everyone I've met in this time seems more cautious and wary, like they make one wrong move and the universe will end. You're afraid to make mistakes. It's almost like you're all paranoid now."

"In a way, we are." Crimson admitted. "We've all made some pretty serious mistakes between the gap in time between your time and mine, and the last thing we want to do is to repeat them." she sighed. "Times have changed, Megavolt. This isn't the same St. Canard that you knew. We've learned that we have to take responsibility for our actions. We couldn't be the blissfully ignorant people of before. We faced a choice, and we couldn't ignore it anymore. We had to make it, and we all had to make the choice we knew was right. Deep down, we realized that any other choice only would've led to more troubles, and by the time we faced them, it probably would've been too late to backtrack. We had to face matters we hadn't wanted to face before, confront issues we had been putting off, to do what we didn't like and what we weren't used to. And where did it get us? Well, all of this." she motioned to their surroundings suggestively. "Which isn't perfect, but in the long run it certainly beat the alternatives."

Megavolt was silent for a moment. "I'm at that stage now." he admitted. "At the point where I can no longer avoid those critical choices."

"I know." Crimson said. "I did some historical research before I met up with you and Webby at the supervillain prison. The time you left was just a matter of weeks after you got your memories back, and was kicked out of the Fearsome Five. Now you had nowhere left to go, and wasn't sure of the choice you had to make to go on from there."

Megavolt hesitated for a moment, knowing the answer to his question already. "What did I ultimately choose?"

"I can't tell you that, Megavolt." Crimson replied. "You know why. But I assure you that if I could, I most certainly would. Because this choice you face Megavolt is the biggest choice you'll ever face in your life. You don't want to get it wrong. I highly recommend that you choose what you think is best, and nothing short of that."

Megavolt nodded. "Not that it makes things any easier." he admitted.

"Life is never easy, Megavolt." Crimson said.

"Actually, it is." Megavolt corrected. "Once you decide upon the right choice, that is."


Once things were cleaned up enough at Titan Laboratories, Crimson and Techno checked in with an unnamed person, presumably someone from SHUSH, to check on the progress on sending Megavolt home. Unfortunately, it didn't look like the authorization for the time portal necessary to send Megavolt home was going to go through until tomorrow. Seeing that Megavolt was going to need a place to spend the night, Crimson and Techno promptly took him to just such a place.

It was a simple apartment in a skyscraper apartment building. Crimson and Techno explained that it belonged to SHUSH and was used for a variety of things, namely housing someone for the night that didn't have anywhere else to stay for the moment. Today, it was going to be Megavolt staying here, while Crimson and Techno both stood guard over him for a number of unmentioned reasons, but certainly not unclear ones.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. They had dinner. At Crimson and Techno's request, who were both feeling nostalgic about the past by this point, Megavolt told a few stories about past adventures they had all had some part in. Megavolt then read a book for a little while, then ultimately fell asleep alone in the bedroom, resting flat on the bed.

The hours passed silently, as Megavolt remained undisturbed in the bedroom as he slept deeply. But then, a little past midnight, something sparked in the room. A ball of energy was then spat out of a power outlet in the bedroom and took shape within the middle of the room. Megavolt slept on, unaware. The figure that now stood in the room was silent and unmoving for a moment, then moved towards Megavolt, reaching out with his hands in an almost threatening way.

But he never got close enough to touch his prey.

"Why Gigavolt, I was wondering when you'd show up."

Gigavolt whirled around to face Crimson standing in the doorway, holding her gas gun aloft. The living being of electricity eyed the weapon warily, fully aware of what it could do, but he was still annoyed.

"You are always getting in my way, Crimson." Gigavolt muttered in his Megavolt-like voice, distorted by the sparkling energies that formed him. "I hate that."

"I know." Crimson said. "But I can't let you lay one finger on Megavolt there."

She motioned to Megavolt, still asleep. Gigavolt shot his normal double a glare.

"I hate him." he muttered. "I want to do him in!"

"Exactly why I have to stop you." Crimson said. "You know what would happen to history if I let you do that."

"I don't care about you or The Agency's stupid time travel regulations." Gigavolt spat.

"Well, I do." Crimson said. "Furthermore, Megavolt's the only reason you even exist, Gigs. If you did something to him, you'd at the very lest would alter history so that you erased yourself from existence."

"Better that than to constantly be living this pointless life." Gigavolt stated. "You're right, it is because of him that I even exist, and I resent it! I'm surprised you are even going for it. By getting rid of him, you get rid of me, one of your worse enemies."

"Actually, just one of the most frustrating these days." Crimson said. "Because you could never see the voice of reason. You're also very self-centered. Always thinking about yourself but no one else. Don't you realize who else you'll be affecting if you get rid of Megs?"

"People only he gets to have, and not me!" Gigavolt spat.

"Then killing Megs isn't the answer!" Crimson said. "Because then neither of you would get all of that!"

"All for the better!" Gigavolt said. "If I can't have it, neither can he!"

They were silent for a moment.

"Gigs, you have two choices at this point." Crimson said, waving her gas gun around. "Either you get out of here on your own, or by force. Either way, you have to leave."

The living ball of energy glanced back at the rat he shared appearances with for a moment with discontent. It was clear that he still wanted to fulfill his original goal. But he also knew that he had no chance so long as Crimson was there and armed.

"I'll leave willingly." he finally said. "But you had better keep a good eye on him, Crimson. Because I'll be watching, waiting for my chance to do him in."

"Oh I know you will." Crimson said. "So I'll make sure you never get that chance."

Gigavolt shot her one last glare, then transformed into a bolt of energy and shot into the outlet he had entered in and was gone. Megavolt slept on, completely unaware of what happened. Satisfied, Crimson stepped back into the living room where Techno sat.

"You heard?" she asked.

"Yeah." Techno replied. "Megs?"

"Still asleep. Thankfully."

"You know, Gigavolt's got a point. By allowing Megavolt to go back to his time, you know what will happen because of it."

"I know." Crimson said. "But who knows what would happen if we don't send him back to his time. He's going back, Honk. We have assurances from Norrin himself that it'll happen. We'll send him through a portal to a location of his choosing. I know will happen. But it needs to be done."


"You got anything yet, mate?" Rowe urged.

"Rowe, don't stress me." Bushroot urged. "You know what I'm like when I'm under stress."

"But Megs could be anywhere!" Rowe exclaimed. "He needs help! And we're the only ones who can help him!"

"Rowe, this is not going to be an overnight process." Bushroot said, looking up from the calculations he was working upon. "Besides, it hasn't even been a full day since Megs vanished, and we don't know where he vanished to. He'll probably turn up himself."

"He could be anywhere in time." Rowe pointed out. "And since time has no meaning, he could've arrived right back at the same time he left and we'd never be the wiser! The sheer fact he hasn't returned yet tells me that something happened, and Megavolt can't get back!"

"Rowe, do you not realize how much time there is in the universe?" Bushroot asked. "Megavolt could be in any one of those times. It's take forever to search them all without stopping and thinking things through. That;s why I'm going through some calculations, to try and determine if Megs really did travel through time with the Time Top and where he most likely ended up. And I can't do that if you're hovering over my shoulder, nagging me to work faster!"

Rowe turned away hotly and folded his arms. "Bushroot, you're mean when your stressed." he remarked. "Besides, I don't think you truly..."

He was cut short when the lights in the greenhouse suddenly flickered. Both he and Bushroot stopped and looked around, puzzled. As quickly as it started though, the lights returned to normal.

"Huh." Bushroot said. "Wonder what caused that."

"Dunno, but if it's out of sight, it's out of mind." Rowe said with a shrug.

Then a loud crash rang out from a closet across the room. They turned to look at the closed door. More noises rang out, and then the door swung open, and a pile of junk spilled out the door. And with the junk was Megavolt.

"Figures that they'd drop me off someplace like that, the stupid, blundering..." Megavolt was muttering as he picked himself up.

He was cut short as Rowe rushed over and grabbed Megavolt in a hug. "Megavolt!" he exclaimed. "You're back! How did you get there in Bushy's closest?"

"Uh, Rowe..." Megavolt wheezed, struggling against the otter's grip, "...you're crushing my ribs..."

Rowe quickly released him. "Sorry." he said.

"Where have you been, Megs?" Bushroot asked, hurrying over. "Nobody's seen or heard anything of you since that incident at the hideout! We thought the Time Top had malfunctioned and did who knew what with you!"

"It did." Megavolt said, getting his breath back, then pushing past his two friends and for the door. "It pretty much did exactly what it was supposed to."

"So wait, you traveled through time?" Rowe asked, following. "To when?"

"To the future and back!" Megavolt said, still heading for the door. "Look, I can't explain much, but I met up with some friends there and they sent me back. Though, the choice of location wasn't exactly what I was thinking of, but I suppose I can't complain..."

"Where are you going, Megs?" Bushroot asked as Megavolt threw open the door to the greenhouse and hurried out into the night. "You seem like you're in a hurry!"

"I am!" Megavolt called back as he ran off into the night. "I made a choice in the future, and now I need to carry it out! Bye guys!"

Bushroot and Rowe stood in the doorway, dumbfounded.

"Should we follow after him, mate?" Rowe asked Bushroot.

"No." Bushroot said. "Something tells me that no matter what we do, we'll never get to the bottom of that story."


Megavolt hurried straight home to his hideout. The events of his little trip to the future still fresh in his mind, he barged in through the door and headed straight to the small table that carried the latest project he had been working on. With one shove, it tipped it all over and onto the floor.

"Crimson's right." he said as he went to his closet and threw open the door. "Darkwing's right, they were all right. Now is the time for me to make a choice, and not put it off. And not just any choice, but the right choice."

He gathered up a handful of gadgets from his closest and looked them over for a moment. "I should've never gotten into any of this." he said, throwing them aside to join the items he had knocked to the floor. "Being a villain has brought me nothing but trouble. I should've done this years ago. But at least I'm doing it now. No more villainous work for me ever again."

He started throwing objects out of his closet at random, all tools he had used in his life of crime, and they were added to the pile of items he intended to dispose of. Gone where the various devices and projects that were all mistakes from the beginning. Finally, Megavolt found a device leaning in the back of the closet that he recognized immediately. It looked like a camera on a tripod, but Megavolt wasn't fooled. He knew he had built this device out of a toaster oven.

He narrowed his eyes at the Tron Splitter. Of all the devices he had ever made, this one had probably caused the most trouble. Some of it was good, for him as a villain, but mostly it was just a bad idea.

"If anything in here should have to go, it's you, Tron Splitter." Megavolt said to the device, grabbing it by it's lever and trying to pull it out.

But it seemed to be snagged on something, for it wouldn't come out. Frowning, Megavolt tugged on it some more, putting all his strength into it. Finally, with a loud snap, the lever snapped off into Megavolt's hands, and the Tron Splitter tipped over onto it's side, sparking slightly. Megavolt had just enough time to look at the broken lever before the Tron Splitter suddenly exploded, releasing not one but several waves of energy over Megavolt.

Yelling, Megavolt was knocked back into the far wall, and then slid to the floor. With a groan, he rolled over and started to pick himself up. It was then that he noticed there was an unnatural glow in the room, and he traced it to it's source. He gasped at what he saw.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked nervously.

"Who am I?" the figure that now stood before him asked. "I'm everything you aren't Megavolt! I'm GIGAVOLT!"

To be continued...