Doing nothing but sitting in the roadside diner, situated on the road leading up to his hometown, made Launchpad want to squirm. Someone was going to come in and recognise him. There was no one here he wanted to talk to – apart from his parents. To top it all off they were wasting time. The Thunderquack was parked a few miles away, out in the desert, where it wouldn't be found. It was close enough they could call it if needed. Drake had driven the sedan the rest of the way in. After Launchpad had tried to rouse him from sleep. And after Drake had said he wasn't moving until the sun came up.

Then Drake had insisted they stop for breakfast. "If we tear in there," he'd said. "Your parents are going to wonder how we drove here so quickly. Just relax. A couple of hours won't make a difference. I need coffee; my sleep schedule is way out."

Not that coffee had been a bad idea. On his third cup, Launchpad was finally starting to feel the effects. He'd managed to grab a nap whilst he waited for DW to wake up and then again as he'd driven into town, but the caffeine, now that was really doing the job. Being a bit more awake didn't make him any less apprehensive about waiting though.

"Launchpad, you haven't touched your breakfast," said Gosalyn. "It weirds me out when you don't eat your food."

Launchpad prodded a short fat sausage around his plate half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I think you need to level out the caffeine, buddy."

"Huh?"

Drake pointed to Launchpad's leg, which bounced up and down under the table.

Gosalyn snorted. "Yeah, better eat something before the diner thinks a T-Rex is coming. Rar."

Launchpad forced his leg to still. Why did this whole thing make him so nervous? But he couldn't even explain what he was doing with his life over the phone. In person? He wasn't sure whether he'd rather his parents realised he was hiding something or thought him a failure and a deadbeat. He'd wanted to come visit. And that was the worst part. He'd wanted to, but still hadn't made the effort. They made it difficult, and DW made it difficult, and he'd wanted to find some way to make it work but it had always been impossible to broach the subject. Either with DW, or his parents. Now, he was here and he wasn't ready. But still, helping his parents with whatever trouble the Negaverse Launchpad had caused was plenty good enough reason to put up with all the stress. He could deal.

The bell above the diner's door dinged. Launchpad cringed down in his seat just in case it was someone who might recognise him.

A young woman entered. She was decked out all in bright pink, inclusive of her armoured motorcycle jacket. She removed a hot pink helmet and shook out her hair, then looked inside the helmet, sniffed, and made a face. "Bleh. I hate long rides."

Launchpad shot to his feet. "Loopey!"

His little sister, not so little anymore, turned at the sound of his voice. "Ee! Launchpad!" She pelted across the diner. They met in the middle of the floor and Loopey threw her arms around her brother's neck. "Mom and Dad didn't tell me you were coming too."

"Short notice," Launchpad mumbled into her hair. Even with the definite smell of motorcycle helmet he caught the scent of her cherry blossom shampoo. He'd always thought of it as what pink should smell like. He squeezed her tight for good measure then set her back down on the floor. "Wait, coming too? Mom and Dad invited you? Now?" Surely, they didn't want his kid sister's help with some weirdo from another dimension.

"Yeah, they've been bugging me to come visit for the last month of two. But you never seem to come when they invite us so I just assumed…" She shrugged. Then slapped him on the shoulder. "But this is going to be so much fun! We can go out flying together. There's this real neat place I can bet you haven't flown yet and I've got to show it to you."

Gosalyn stepped around Launchpad's hip and looked Loopey up and down with a frown. "Launchpad, is this your girlfriend?"

Loopey grinned. "Ew. No. This stinky weirdo? I'm his sister, Loopey."

Gosalyn's face brightened. "He is stinky, isn't he?" She stuck out a hand. "I'm Gosalyn Mallard. Pleased to meet you."

"This is Drake, my housemate," Launchpad said, as DW wandered over to the join them. Better make things clear before Loopey got any ideas into her head like his mother seemed to.

"You didn't tell me you had a sister."

"You've never asked me about my sister."

"LP, how can I ask you about someone I don't know exists?" Drake cut himself off with a huff. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm going to grab a bagel and a coffee then head to Mom and Dad's. If you don't mind waiting we can arrive together. I think they'd like that. And, you know, if you want some extra backup. Though I see you made sure to bring some." Loopey winked.

Well, he had already resigned himself to waiting, what was another few minutes? Launchpad retrieved his coffee then trailed Loopey up to the counter. He waited while she ordered her breakfast then reached out and brushed her sleeve. "Hey, did Mom and Dad tell you they had someone visiting?"

"Yeah, they said it was someone you knew. But they didn't give me much details beyond that." Loopey studied his face for a moment. "Okay, big bro. You going to tell me what's going on? We've got a guy visiting whose name is also Launchpad, which is weird, especially because there aren't too many families who give their kids aviation themed names. And you look like you're a thousand feet up and just remembered you forgot to fill the fuel tank. What, is he like your evil twin or something?"

Launchpad pushed his nearly empty coffee cup around the counter. His hand trembled against the white ceramic. Which was totally from the excess caffeine on an empty stomach. "Not quite. More like my severely messed up and slightly dangerous twin."

"Mom and Dad never said we had another brother."

"Not like that. It's like, well, the entire universe has a twin. It's complicated, and I'll try and explain it to you, or maybe get Drake to. He's better at it." And smart enough to make it sound plausible whilst leaving out all the Darkwing stuff. "But I came back because I was worried about Mom and Dad. I just want to make sure he isn't causing them any trouble."

Loopey put an arm around his shoulder. "Well then. You'll definitely want me for back up, huh?"

Launchpad let Drake drive again. He was still tired and he could feel his hands trembling. Stupid caffeine. The grass and gardens greened as they pulled up outside his parents' house, to that little circle of garden that everyone who lived on a large property out here had decided was an acceptable radius to maintain. The house itself was low-set, with a big wrap around porch. It was a strange mix of nostalgia and pure dread that sat in the bottom of Launchpad's gut.

Beside them, Loopey's motorcycle rumbled to a stop. Gosalyn stared longingly at the machine. "Would've been funner on a motorcycle." She was pouting because Drake hadn't let her ride with Loopey. Which apparently she should've been allowed because she rode a far more powerful bike all the time. Drake had pointed out that was with her own helmet and Loopey had only brought one.

With any luck, the Negaverse Launchpad would just need a good talking to and DW wouldn't need to get involved at all. Launchpad drew in a breath, steadied his hands, and got out of the car.

The front door slammed and their mother came barrelling off the front porch. "Launchpad! Loopey! You're both here!"

"Mom!" Loopey saved him from the embarrassment of the first hug. She pelted past him and threw her arms around Birdie McQuack.

"Hey, sweetheart. Launchpad…" Still clinging to Loopey, Birdie reached out a hand towards her son.

Launchpad felt a smile tug at his lips. "Hi, Mom." He wrapped his arms right around the both of them. Then introduced her to Drake and Gosalyn.

"You are both welcome here anytime. Any friend of my son," Birdie said with a knowing wink, "is like a son to me."

Launchpad flushed. "Mom." He had to forget the awkwardness. There were other things to deal with. "Where's the other Launchpad? What's he gone and done? If you need me to talk to him, or move him on out of here just let me know and…"

Birdie put her hands on her hips. "Now, Launchpad. That poor man needs help. Not to be tossed out in the cold. I think he's still dealing with a lot of things. He seems to be getting better this last month of so, but…"

"Wait, last month? How long has he been here? I… I thought…"

Birdie bit her lip and, suddenly, she didn't seem to want to look her son in the eye. "Um, well… it's probably been about… two months now?"

"Mom! I thought… well, so he was okay, and then he's done something just now like…"

Birdie shook her head. "I told your father this was a bad idea. No, he hasn't done anything. Well, just minor things. Like mess with my rosebushes. I don't know what got into his head but I gave him a firm talking to and he seemed to get the message."

Launchpad's fists tightened. "You said on the phone he was making you uncomfortable. If he hasn't actually done anything why'd you call me out here?" Not that he didn't want to grab the other Launchpad by the collar and demand to know what he'd been thinking. But he'd been worried! He'd been stressed the whole flight here.

"You know, I really do think he could use your help again. He couldn't stop talking about what you did for him back in Saint Canard. I feel like your father and I have done all we can for him. But that's only part of the reason we wanted you here. The other, well, it was mostly your father's idea…" She trailed off and lowered her gaze.

"Mom," prompted Loopey. "I thought you told me you just wanted us all back here to spend some time together and all you had to do was convince Launchpad and…"

The gears ground and grated into place in Launchpad's head. Far too slowly. How could he be such an idiot? "Convince Launchpad," he said, coldly. "You mean by lying to him and telling him you were worried his potentially dangerous double might do something to hurt you?"

Drake put a hand on his arm. "Okay, LP," he said, voice low, and a cheesy fake grin on his face like he was trying to convince everyone else that it was, in fact, definitely still okay. "We've been here like five minutes. Cool down. Give your parents a chance to explain, and maybe, you know, maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

Launchpad fists unclenched a little and he forced himself to breathe. His mother opened her mouth to say something, but then the growl of an engine cut into the morning air. It wasn't a plane. A heavily laden down Gator buggy - twin seater, offroad with rollover bar - struggled over the crest of the small hill leading up to the house. The struggling engine let up as it made its way down the gentle slope towards them and grumbled to a halt.

"Okay, buddy, if we both go for the seatbelt at the same time we are never going to get out of this thing."

"Hang on, Mr McQuack. I'll get yours first."

Ripcord McQuack and the Negaverse Launchpad were both crammed into the Gator. It was designed for two people but they were clearly pushing it to its load limit. Launchpad stuffed his fingers down between their legs to find the seatbelt release.

"Ow!" Ripcord just about rolled out of the driver's seat. He rubbed at the side of his leg. "If you insist on wearing those things could you at least file the blasted spikes down?"

Launchpad's double pushed the studded bracelet around his wrist self consciously. "Sorry."

Launchpad swallowed and his hand went to his beak. Gosalyn had patched him up good and those wicked looking spikes hadn't left any permanent marks. But it was hard to forget the sting when they'd torn into his beak, wrapped around his double's fist.

Ripcord smiled faintly. "Come on. I'm just kidding, son."

Son? Launchpad felt his fists tightening again.

The other Launchpad caught sight of him and grinned. "Hey, if it isn't my better half! Didn't think I'd get to see you again." He undid his seatbelt and swung out of the Gator. The whole machine rocked.

"Yeah. Me neither."

Ripcord stopped just short of Launchpad and flexed his hands down by his sides, like he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. He forced a smile. "Hey, son."

Launchpad swallowed. All he had to do was open his arms; that's all his father was waiting for. Ripcord wouldn't barrel into a hug if it wasn't something his kids wanted. All he was waiting for was an invitation. Launchpad kept his hands stubbornly at his sides. "Hi, Dad."

The faint smile faded. "It's good to see you again. How long has it been?"

Yeah, try and make him feel bad. "You two seem to be getting on really well. Which is great, but Mom kind of gave me the impression you were worried he was going to cause trouble."

The Negaverse Launchpad held up his hands. "Hey, woah. I told you guys, I know I'm a bit rough around the edges, but if I do anything you don't like all you've gotta do is tell me."

"It's okay, sweetheart," said Birdie. "You haven't done anything."

Ripcord locked his gaze with Launchpad's. "Well, we had to do something to get our son to actually come visit us once in the next decade."

Birdie put a hand to her face. "Rip, no."

Ripcord jerked at the sound of his wife's voice, and then flushed.

"I knew it! I came because I thought you guys needed my help. Now I find out its just Dad trying to trick me!"

Drake winced. "LP…"

His father wouldn't quite look at him. "I wasn't trying to trick you, it's just… well what was I supposed to do? And seriously, how fast did you drive here? Your mother called you yesterday. So apparently it isn't that difficult to get your butt out here."

"Because I was worried! I can't believe this!" Launchpad stomped past his father.

The Negaverse Launchpad raised up his hands. "Hey, listen, I never meant to cause any trouble. I just needed somewhere to go, and…"

He'd been heading for the Gator. But Launchpad stopped and glared at his double. "Why are you even here," he growled, voice low.

"You told me not to go back to Saint Canard! I needed help, I couldn't think of anyplace else to go."

Launchpad stabbed a finger into his chest, hard, and didn't really care that the jab brought a very dangerous look to his double's eyes. Yeah, go on. Get violent in front of his family. But it stayed just that, a look. "Stay away from family. You've got your own, don't you? Maybe go back to them." Then he hoisted himself into the Gator, started her up, and tore back over the hill, towards his family's hanger. He needed to clear his head. And there was only one surefire way to do that.

"Dad, this is super awkward," Gosalyn whispered.

Her father flushed. "Gosalyn, shush!"

Everyone ignored her anyway. Loopey made the first move. She went over to her father and put her arms around him. "Hey, daddy."

At least, as far as she could get around his broad torso anyway. Ripcord broke into a smile, one that was not forced like the one he'd given Launchpad, and engulfed his daughter in his arms. "You're trying to be cute to make me feel better, aren't you?"

"Totally."

It was probably the right thing to do. The poor guy definitely looked like he needed the hug. Gosalyn wasn't sure what had gotten into Launchpad. Sure this was awkward, but he was kind of being a jerk to his father. She fought with her dad her all the time. But if she hadn't seen him in ages she'd at least give him a hug and be happy about it.

Loopey turned to the Negaverse Launchpad. "I'm still not real sure what's going on here. But I'd… I'd like to talk to you. I just think I need to go talk down my actual brother first."

Launchpad smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Well," said Birdie, "Lets go inside and we'll get your something to eat." She gestured for them all to follow her. Ripcord trailed inside behind her. He still looked down in the dumps.

The Negaverse Launchpad fell into step beside her father. "Um listen… ah… Drake. I'm real sorry about, you know, trying to light you on fire. We're going to have to spend time together here anyway so… we don't have to be friends. But I'm not your enemy is all I'm saying."

Drake scowled up at him. "Well, I guess you've managed to behave yourself here for the last few months. As long as you don't do anything that requires a certain dashing superhero get himself involved, I'm willing to give you a chance."

Gosalyn huffed. Her father may have been fooled but she was not so easy to trick. She shouldered past the Negaverse Launchpad, which kind of hit him in the back of the knee, and just resulted in spinning her around. She recovered, and fixed a glare on Launchpad's startled double. "I've got my eye on you," she hissed, and then turned and ran into the house.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" she just caught Launchpad saying as the screen door slammed behind her.

Well, he wasn't so dumb now was he?

The next half an hour was… weird to say the least. First Birdie showed them pictures of Launchpad as a kid. Which was about the only interesting part. Gosalyn grabbed the pictures off her and shuffled through them. Baby Launchpad was so cute, and chubby, and falling over in nearly every photo she imagined that, at that age, when he crashed out of something, he'd bounced. "Dad, where are your baby photos?"

"In a box. Which I burnt. Then sunk."

Ripcord was pretty quiet but every couple of minutes he'd fidget, get up, and ask something like: "I'm going to the kitchen, does anyone want another cup of tea. Or a snack?" Then go and push a few things around in there, even through no one actually wanted anything. Then he'd come and sit back down and stare forlornly at the centre of the table.

Birdie and her Dad seemed to be having a fairly normal, if boring, adult conversation. At least until Birdie asked: "So, do you and Launchpad have any plans for the future?"

"Er…" her father absentmindedly stirred the tea he'd finally let Ripcord get for him after he'd asked for the third time. "Pardon?"

Ripcord put a hand to his face. "Birdie," he said, voice low. "For the last time they're not a couple."

Drake turned pink. "Wait… what?"

Gosalyn shot to her feet. "Mr McQuack, I think I will have that snack after all."

"Sure, kiddo. You want me to come and…"

"No, I can get it." Gosalyn ran into the kitchen. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." She made her way out the kitchen door and onto the porch. She breathed deep the desert air. It was a little dry, but better than awkward adult conversations. She rubbed her hands together. "Now, what trouble can I get into around here?"

A/n: Yup, Loopey is in this too. Looking forward to writing some cute sibling banter. :3 Please leave me a review!