"Hello there, Jim Starling." Jim closed the door behind him then took off his fedora and set it on the coat hanger across his mask. "Or should I call you Darkwing Duck?"
Jim halted in his tracks then shifted in the direction of the low, hoarse, gravely voice that sounded at best rough.
"Jim would do."
A lamp flicked on, a figure seated in his couch donning a discolored version of his uniform, lacking the stylish belt. Like the new duck on the block, Negaduck, but the suit was kept and so were the yellow sleeves.
"Then Negsy would do for me."
Jim's head bolted up then he squinted and took out his phone.
"I'm calling the police."
Negsy slowly applauded as he laughed, evilly.
"This entire place is rigged to explode, if anyone joins in, they're dead meat,"
Jim stopped what he was doing.
"But. . . you're not the kind to risk lives. Aren't you."
Jim set the phone on to the table.
"What do you want?"
The stranger laughed, again, this time sounding genuine, perhaps mischievous.
"To talk to you." was the reply. "Sit down over there, Dorkwing."
Jim sat down into the couch across from the new duck.
"I'm Negaduck from a distant universe where Darkwing Duck came before the show and is a very real duck." Negaduck introduced himself.
Jim stared in horror at the duck as he recognized his own face, not as old as he were, but younger, was he not aging because evil didn't drain years out of life like good did?
"I am from the Negaverse, the negative universe, the evil version of Darkwing Duck."
Ah, that explained it.
"My dear friend Nega-Launchpad, you may prefer to call him Launcher, has all your fearsome five castmates tied up in a limo full of bombs, teetering on the edge of a cliff, if you don't give this discussion the due listen that it deserves, then he's getting a call, and he'll push the limo off the cliff."
Jim's features fell in horror as he gasped and his heart raced, tensing up, his heart beating loudly in his ears.
"I became aware of you when they started making that Darkwing Duck series, sometime in the late 90's, when Darkwing Duck and I were still fighting it out, visited you, impersonated you, tried to get the project cancelled, and that dim witted menace got in the way and saved the entire show!"
Oh. That sounded like something that Darkwing Duck would do.
"You want to live in a world where Drake Mallard is good and isn't evil like me. Do you not?"
Jim looked toward his phone as his phone rang, Launchpad's name popped up with Gosalyn Waddlemeyer in front of him, smiling, making a silly face, as was the taller duck.
"More than anything in the entire world." Jim confessed.
Negaduck squinted at him as he smiled beneath the dim gold light of the retro lamp with a rope switcher then his smile turned into a smirk.
"Here's the deal; this is the bad place."
Jim stared at his counterpart. He believed it. It made so much sense. But there had to be some sort of catch to it.
"Why are you offering me something good?" Jim asked, folding his arms, looking down upon him.
Negaduck glared back at him.
"I never-"
"The bad place implies there's a good place."
Negaduck was quiet for a solid moment, over the sound of the phone vibrating on the table, before replying.
"You're too smart for your own good." Negaduck noted as he had a short laugh.
Jim laughed in agreement.
"When the big ego isn't in the way, Negsy."
Negaduck looked at Jim quite fondly, oh, then I must be really like Darkwing Duck.
"He's coming here." Negaduck began to explain. "Got rid of someone for Drake Mallard's daughter's wedding, we made a deal, I helped him, I get to reveal his identity, but. ."
"You respect him too much to leave him scared and all alone, he's helping you, obviously."
"No, it's. . ." Negaduck stared back at Jim. "the other way around."
Jim squinted back at him, skeptically.
"He used himself as bait."
Jim gasped as his brows lifted in alarm.
"I provided a means to distraction for Launchpad by keeping him preoccupied and believing everything was alright, that I was his friend, being his alter ego was easy, not that his friend got the fearsome five to reunite after thirty-one years to get rid of this one bad terrible horrible prick."
Alarm bells rang in Jim's head with the description.
"Sounds dangerous even for you." Jim said.
Negaduck was quiet for a solid moment.
"He's a supervillain, or was, Darkwing Duck destroyed him. . ." Negaduck sounded quite bitter. "and the dipwing destroyed his means of return."
He stared at the counterpart for a short moment then lifted a brow.
"Then how are you here, Negsy?" Jim asked.
Negaduck lifted a brow in response as he scowled.
"I'm Negaduck." Negaduck reminded him, leaning back against the chair, relaxed, then tapped his fingers together with a wine glass between his legs and a wine bottle on the table beside him. "There are more Darkwing Duck's to pester out there in the multiverse." then he shook his hand as he sipped from the wine glass. "Time to move on."
He eyed at the ringing phone in the silence between them then back toward Negaduck.
"If I said yes . . . hypothetically. . ." he turned the phone over then cupped his hands together in his lap. "do I at least get to say good-bye to my sidekicks?"
"That's the dumbest thing that I ever heard, and if you did, that would make Dorkwing think there is some good in me." the counterpart hissed back at him. "There isn't." then he added. "And they would know, too."
"If you weren't evil, then you wouldn't be telling me that I am in the bad place and that there's a place where the kid is a good kid." Not that it wasn't evil, it was something good, a tiny spark of good in a cruel way.
"You win four hundred points in the moral department." Negaduck finger gunned back at Jim with a wink then sipped from the glass.
Jim squinted back at the counterpart then got up, linking his hands behind his back, then approached the sliding window as rain poured upon it.
"If I said no. . ." Jim began to say as he lowered his head. "My castmates would die."
Thunder struck, highlighting the landscape of St Canard, shadows flashing on Jim's face in such a way that it looked like he was wearing a mask.
"If you decide instantly; yes." Negaduck said.
Instantly. The duck gulped then tugged the edge of his collar. Lives, decision making, timing, on his head. Suffice, he had gotten used to this playing his character at night but his old castmates being in danger were a different story. Estranged, strained, Megavolt's actor Daniel 'Dan' Electricbolt wasn't on speaking terms with him, but he still cared about him and the others.
"So it requires some deep thinking and certainty." was his reply.
"Uh huh."
Can't exactly look a gift horse in the mouth. He stood there for a few minutes, sighing, his shoulders lowering, gazing down. Darkwing Duck had to be his age, forced to retire from his St Canard under circumstances in the name of love and justice, and he was going to be miserable if he arrived and Jim was still here.
"No letter." Negaduck interrupted as Jim turned toward him. "You can't take anything with you, either. They can't know, but they can know, if you understand what I mean, narrative all twisted."
Jim stared back at his counterpart who turned the light off then he turned the phone off.
"Where do I have to go?"
Negaduck grew a evil smile.
"To a sugar and spice and everything nice bakery." Negaduck said, simply. "We'll take my Thunderquack."
Negaduck downed the last of the wine then set the cup on to the table.
"He's going to wonder where I am, you know, Darkwing Duck." Jim reminded Negaduck.
"Got that covered." he turned toward Jim. "You can't repair your old relationships here or there, but, you can try to put Darkwing Duck in a glass case and be a better you." Jim's head popped up in surprise with the suggestion. "Oh, for sure, have you heard of those 'I'm dead, snakes'?"
"Hognoses! They're so cheesy!" Jim exclaimed. "And hammy! And adorable! And hysterical!"
"There's something you can do, voicing over animals." Jim looked aside then began to smile thinking it over. "There are nature documentaries like that."
Jim's shoulders raised then took out a umbrella and exited the house, Negaduck peered in, searching.
"I do live alone." Jim reminded the duck as he opened the door outside the house.
"Just . . . making sure."
Negaduck eyed, wearily, then poked back out and closed the door. Jim looked back toward his house as he unbuttoned his suit. It wasn't going to be the last time that he would see the house, he would see it in relatively soon, but it would be the very last time that he was in this version of his place.
Jim turned away then faced the Thunderquack that had an open roof, Negaduck was in the driver seat, waiting, with arms behind his head, leaning back, while rain poured upon him. He could imagine it as more of a unique painting. It had such menacing and gloomy vibes to it, Jim reflected, then leaped into the passenger side.
"Let's get dangerous, eh, Negsy!" Jim elbow punched Negaduck who returned the favor rather harder. "Ow!"
"You're a dumbass, Dorkwing." Negaduck said, sharply. "We're not friends." Jim rubbed his shoulder with a glare. "No wonder Drake Mallard decided to make a Negaduck origin story in the Duck Knight Rises because it was so dark and he liked it. You were too good in a world of light when real life isn't exactly that way here, not as bright," the roof closed over them. "just a mix of light and darkness, and he chose darkness over the light."
Jim closed the umbrella leaning against the seat as the Thunderquack began to lift.
"And my castmates?" Jim asked.
"The deadline has passed." Negaduck replied. "Launcher has texted Launchpad, per our agreement, they'll be fine." Jim looked at him, skeptically. "Just gonna be slightly traumatized."
The Thunderquack flew off into the night leaving behind an entire life without leaving as much of a good-bye while heading for a second chance.