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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 17 – Scientifically Wrong (John)
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
I think I'm in trouble.
Waking up inside a cage was the first sign that something was off, and the fact I could distinctly remember being on my way to work before being struck with some kind of sleeping gas. From there, I was removed from any onlookers' sight. From the looks of it, I was brought into some mysterious warehouse in Duckburg's outskirts, and… definitely far from the pier. There was a distinct smell of 'common' smell fish being moved around in crates that couldn't be overcome in that particular district.
Maybe… around the hillside? It took me a moment, but I was able to squint my eyes to get accustomed to the dim light offered by the small lightbulb on the lower left side. Quite odd for a place to leave a light, but then I realized that it wasn't stationary. It was soon moving, small footsteps then silenced by louder ones as a brighter light was unleashed onto my poor tired eyes.
"Finally you are here, creature!"
The loud figure was a crazed-looking guy… and chicken. Quite the contrast compared to the more common ducks and other avians. He wore a short yellow hat with black accents and glasses, a green shirt with a pink bow tie, a brown vest, a black belt, and tan pants. I was a bit stunned by the sudden yell, but even more as this fellow looked familiar. I felt as if I had seen him before, even recently other than the comics. But where... and why do I feel a particular need to facepalm?
"P-Professor, there is a bit of a problem-" Another voice spoke up nervously from the side. Looking over to the side, I saw a brown-feathered duck standing right beside the bespectacled guy.
"Can't you see I'm busy handling this fragile specimen, intern?! Can you just wait until I'm done with this essential part of this project?!"
The 'intern' flinched at the loudness, and I couldn't blame him. And just as I saw these two talk some more about it, with the intern sounding like he had something urgent to say and the 'professor' stopping him before he could speak, I heard a small 'clang-like' noise coming from between the two and… right by the other side of the cage. The lightbulb that I had seen before, I could now see its full body. And it was there where I realized what kind of situation I was in.
That was Lil Bulb, which meant that the chicken must be Gyro Gearloose and the duck was… I don't know. I tried to look for any assistants of Gyro that bore any resemblance with him but nothing jumped to mind. I never saw this guy before. Still, what I knew was that Gyro was someone I had met once before, and that he worked for Scrooge as a paid worker rather than the independent inventor like in the comics. I could use that to get out of there.
"Professor Gearloose-" I tried to speak up, but due to the heat he was getting from bickering with his nervous intern, the inventor snapped before I could say more.
"Now what?!" He lashed out, angrily staring at me and… stopping as he realized who it was that spoke up. "Oh, it's you. What do you want, creature?"
"You are Professor Gealoose, right? From back when I helped you with Scrooge about that project that needed money?"
He opened his beak and… closed it. "You what?"
"You were there, roughly a month ago. I think you were headbutting a wall for a solution-"
"Pondering like a proper scientist!" He corrected… and I continued.
"Headbutting a wall like a proper scientist. Still, you needed funds, Scrooge said no because your inventions had a propensity to go cray-cray, and I ended up giving you a chance by telling Scrooge your papers were worthwhile."
…
"That was you!?" Gyro exclaimed in shock and I frowned at that.
"You didn't even notice me? Sure, you were looking only at your papers, but surely you picked up the fact I wasn't exactly a duck-"
"I thought you were a dog or another mammal. How should I have known?"
"How about just looking up from your papers at least once?" I rebuked flatly and we glared daggers at each other. Tension was in the air, neither looking ready to break off the stand off.
In fact, it was the intern that broke it by doing something different. He introduced himself.
"A-Apologies if that was the case, Mr… Bukharin, right?"
I slowly nodded, and the duck continued.
"Fenton. Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, nice to meet you, sir."
"...Likewise?"
"Intern! No fraternizing with the enemy!" Gyro angrily replied, clearly upset by that interaction.
"An enemy? What are you on about?"
My question was met with a stern look from the inventor. "You are here to be interrogated about possible interdimensional invasions or hypothetical disasters of that kind."
I felt more confused by his explanation as it added more theory to an already convoluted reasoning that made little sense to me.
"An invasion? What?"
"We picked up that your arrival coincided with an unnatural electric increase within the docks. Which means that you were using a machine to get in there. Thus there is a high chance you-"
"I was sleeping in my bed when I woke up half-drowning by the pier," I interjected dryly. "I don't think I wanted to get there at the time."
"And how are we to believe that kind of backstory? What if it's just a fabricated lie?"
I blinked as Gyro leaned closer, trying to look intimidating. "And what if I'm right, professor?"
…
"Then that would mean I wasted a good cage. That isn't an ideal way to spend a Wednesday."
"A-Also, professor, I don't mean to… interrupt again."
"But what, intern, be quick," Gyro finally conceded with an annoyed look.
"I… I kind of forgot to pick Mr. Bukharin's phone and wallet."
…
"You what?" Gyro asked in blank shock, while I calmly fished out the device and… shrugging.
"Can I now get out of this cage?"
"I-I mean, why should we free you, creature?" The inventor tried to keep control of the situation, but I literally had the means to make him rethink this commitment.
"I mean, why shouldn't I call Scrooge and tell him where his money is actually going?"
…
"Intern, free him. Now."
Fenton didn't hesitate in complying with his boss' order and… I was finally freed. I walked out of the cage and… I was met with a snort. "I hope that's alright. No need to call Mr. McDuck about this."
"I will not. This time. But if I find out that you are trying this kind of stuff with others, there will be consequences," I remarked with frustration. Half of it was tied to the situation but… I was angry for another reason. This… this wasn't the Gyro I read about. This wasn't the jovial idealist that was cautious about his experiments. Sure, he wasn't a complete genius as it was always a 50/50 when it came to absurd inventions, but he 'rarely' went through some crazy plots to help others. I could remember one about Paperinik, but I guess that didn't happen to her due to how 'crazy' he looked in this dimension.
"I will… be more careful."
I merely nodded and soon Gyro left, with Fenton and I being the only ones in that large space where I had been kept.
"Once again, I'm sorry for… this, sir. Professor Gearloose is just trying to do good but-"
"He is a bit too excessive about it," I hummed quietly. "I got it. He is trying, but please, don't justify a problematic flaw as bad as that. Even as an intern or an assistant."
Fenton gave a sheepish look at this. "I'm really sorry. I don't want to sound too biased because he is my boss."
"You… you did little wrong," I confirmed kindly, deciding to shift the conversation to lessen the awkwardness. "Can I call you Fenton?"
He slowly nodded. "T-Then can I call you John?"
"Sure," I said while shrugging and smiling. "So, I suppose that's it. I should get back to work and-"
"A-And I should get going myself. I have some streets to patrol and… oh."
Fenton paused, having seen the frown on my face. "I-I mean-"
"You're Gizmoduck, aren't you?"
I heard of Duckburg's hero in recent weeks, having learned that he was doing a 'goodish' job in cleaning the streets. Still learning the way to be the best, but he was still doing something against some dangerous criminals.
"M-Me? No- Absolutely not!" He remarked, going into full panic before my eyes. "I-I was just- you know, patrol for… money?"
…
"You really need to take a moment to think of better excuses."
"It's not an excuse-"
"And I would like to say that I'm glad that you are doing what you are doing. Duckburg isn't always able to withstand what comes to it, and the kind of help you bring is not lost to those that listen and see you in action," I interrupted cordially, a full blush appearing on the duck's cheeks.
"Oh really? N-not like I'm him, but if I was… you know."
"I'm not going to reveal the truth, Fenton. But I believe you would do well if you took just a day off to train with the suit."
"...Really?"
"It would help you grasp what you can do with the suit without panicking. That, I think is a good step to take," I argued calmly, patting his shoulder. "Also, I heard about… Mark Beaks."
Oh boy, that was a name I really didn't want to bring in a conversation. Ever since we did well with our games, the work group found Beaks to be particularly… 'intense'. He really found the whole think tank interesting and we were approached twice before being 'ignored' by the guy. It was a frustrating week, but one that we had to go through to avoid any other issues from that guy. It would seem that, from what I could discern from this circumstance, this wasn't going to be the case for me considering it's all about a superhero. And that's not something a capricious businessman was going to let go as easily as he did with us.
"H-He sounds like he means well."
"Sounding is different than being," I argued with a small smile. "You are a good guy, Fenton, but do me a favor that… is more a favor to yourself. Don't sign a contract."
"Sometimes it's difficult, si- I mean, John. Money is quite tight."
My lips twitched. "Is that so? How down?"
"I-It's not that much."
I slowly nodded at this response, already feeling him struggling about it so… I decided there was something that I could do thanks to my current economic means. I picked a check and gave him what I believe would help him.
"Would that give you some breathing space?" I asked before passing him the paper. The guy didn't look that convinced, but then he gave a look at the check and gasped.
"O-One hundred thousand? I-Isn't that too-"
"Little?" I guessed playfully. "Either too little or just enough."
…
"It's enough- no, it's more than I need," Fenton remarked curtly. "It's too much, really."
"Keep it. I'm not asking you to do my bidding or anything. Just that you need to be wary about the situation and get something to help you economically," I argued strongly, stopping his protest. "How about… we discuss this via phone?"
The poor duck looked overwhelmed by my approach. "T-This – This is… sir- I mean, John, this is so much and… we just met."
Smiling, I shrugged. "I think you are one of those rare guys that deserve a good chance at being happy, why shouldn't I help?"
…
He bowed his head and looked away. "I… I see."
"Here's my business card, we can discuss something later on. Nothing contract-binding, especially around the Gizmoduck affair," I hummed while passing him the paper. "So… good luck, and may you have a good day."
The intern smiled. "Y-You too, John."
And so I left the warehouse with many thoughts about this curious encounter. So, I met this city's hero, and I knew that he had money issues and a lack of preparation for this kind of life and…
Maybe I could ask a certain masked Avenger to come and give this 'rookie' an edge on the job's routine? I wonder how that would really work...
AN
The reason why the MC was slightly confrontational with Gyro is, as mentioned by the chapter, very frustrating by how different this Gyro is compared to the Comics' versions. It's that kind of situation where he can see some similarities, but the flaws are heightened by some 'ruined' expectations about these characters.
Fenton… is a cinnamon roll. Let's give him something to be happy about and not worry for the time being.
REVIEW Q&A!
JustAFan123:
W) I think… yes. I think he has lamented the lack of a soda drink that isn't available here. But for the rest, he is fine… kinda. He really loves that drink for some reason;
2) There is a romance planned in the future. Single pairing for MC, the rest is pretty much canon stuff;
3) Self-Augmentation and basic stuff for not.