He looked so peaceful as he slept, clutching the Dark Angel's face mask to his chest. One would never guess there was barely a drop of anything but passionate anger in his heart. Alice ran her fingers along his beak. It was so tempting to kill him now and be done with it. She could, if she wanted to. But Alice was not, at heart, a villian. She was no cold-blooded murderer as he was. She was a pawn. A controlling pawn, certianly. But still only a pawn.

Though the incense sticks had burnt out long ago, whisps of scented mist still coiled about the floor like snakes. Outside, the cold, unforgiving wind howled with the voice of a starving wolf. Alice shivered slightly as a pinpricks of frozen air oozed from a cracked window.

Her first goal accomplished, she went to the candles that lit her enterence and blew out the tiny, flickering flames that remained in the misshapen wax bases. She put them with the burnt out incense sticks into a cloth bag and ran out onto the balcony. The wind whipped around her body, freezing her fur. She spread her wings.

"I hope these still work," the said to herself. She climbed up onto the railing. Her hold was unsteady because of the wind and ice, but she held tightly. Somehow she managed to stand on the top rail. "Once more, like old times," she prayed to the wind. Then, she jumped.

For a moment, she thought the jump had not gone far out enough. But those thoughts were dismissed when she felt a familiar tug of her wings catching the wind. Uncountable hours of practice took over. As if by instinct, she steered with her bushy tail so that she glided above the wind. She felt nothing but the thrill of flight. The cold could not touch her. Each snowflake was miles away, moving so slowly she could dodge through the spaces between the ice crystals. It was a game, a race with the wind. The moaning wolf voice turned into a laughing song that screamed of joy as it carried her high above the city. ~It has been too long,~ she sang in wind-talk, ~since I flew beside you.~

Then suddenly, she had reached her destination. She glided gently down to her balcony and landed lightly on the snow. She paused a moment to look down onto the street below. Compared to the dizzying heights to which she had flown, the fifth-floor of her apartment building was merely a step on the stairway to the sky.

When she entered her small living quarters, she was greeted by the Fearsome Four with cheers and applause. Laughing and shouting, they lifted her onto Bushroot's shoulders and carried her to the couch where she was dropped onto a pile of pillows. They gathered around her; Quackerjack and Megavolt sat on the coffee table while Liquidator and Bushroot hopped onto the couch on either side of the winged actress.

Naturally, all four began talking at once. Alice caught only fragments of thoughts as the myriad of voiced shot questions at her. "What did he… extraordinary preformance… wings made of… cold must be… the plan tonight… on the bridge… but he said… mechanism in the… left the recording… we thought…"

"QUIET!!!" Alice shouted. They obeyed instantly. "Thank you. Now, you all heard what Negaduck told me about the plan. I trust you've started throwing wrenches?"

Bushroot stood up on the couch. "Absoloutely, we did just as you said. We sent a message to the television station. They're planning to disconnect the connectors, so to break into the system we'd have to put it back together first. Megavolt's working on getting the names of Negaduck's guards so we can put them… uh… temporarily out of service. Oh, and we're trying to find Darkwing Duck to warn him, too."

"Wonderful!" Alice smiled. "You guys are better at this than I thought."

"So what do we do now, oh fearless leader?" Megavolt asked.

"Let me see... What time is it?"

"At the tone the time will be 7:23 and fifteen seconds!" Liquidator answered.

"Okay, now we've got to really get going. Bushroot, you start making calls. I want you to alrert the police and anyone in the buildings Negsie wants to target tonight. Call back here when you're done."

"Got it!" Bushroot hopped up.

"Oh, and Bushroot?"

"Yeah?"

"Annonymous calls."

"Uh-huh."

"From a payphone."

"Right." He ran off to find a payphone that still had a recognisable phone book inside of it.

Alice continued. "Liquidator, I want you and Quackerjack watching that building. If Negaduck goes anywhere, one of you follow him and one of you come tell me. I want to know where he goes and what he's doing at all times."

"Got it!" the two chirped.

Alice tossed them two walkie-talkies. "You can reach me on the first frequency, and talk to each other on the second. Go." They went.

"Now, Sputterspark, can you break into the television circuits right now?"

"No problem, just as long as they haven't started disconnecting the connectors."

"Can you do it from the internet?"

"Sure, I suppose so." He glanced at Alice's computer. "Though I don't know if that little thing can handle the information flow I'll need to do it."

"Fine. I've got something better. Follow me."

Alice led Megavolt down to the basement of the apartment building, where storage rooms could be rented by the occupants. Alice took out a key and unlocked door 16. Sitting among the scattered boxes, shelves, and assorted art objects was a large computer hooked up to several machines that looked as if they had less than innocent purposes. "Here," Alice said, switching the machine on. "Use this. I normally wouldn't have any use for such sophisticated equipment, but my friend Charley does his work here too. Those boxes he's got it plugged in to will scramble the signal, so if anyone catches you trying to break in, they won't be able to trace the signal."

Megavolt grinned, his goggles reflecting the light from the screen. "This will be fun," he snickered. "What do I do once I'm in?"

"Hopefully by the time you get in I'll have transferred a file onto this computer with an image I want you to broadcast on every channel you can."

"What sort of image?"

"A summoning sort of image… to Darkwing Duck." She turned and ran back up to her apartment.

*

Negaduck had awakened just in time to witness Alice's flight from the warehouse window. After seeing that, he had no doubt that he had made the right decision in allowing her to join them, at least for a trial period. None of the Five could fly without some sort of aircraft. The Dark Angel would be their greatest weapon. She could aproach in complete silence. With the cover of darkness, she was practically undetectable.

Negaduck's mind worked away as he stared into the brightening sky. He sat in thought for a long time, imagining every aspect of his plan and going through the steps in his mind. The snow still fell, but the wind was quieter. Negaduck basked in the rare silence that invaded the hideout in the dawn of the winter morning. There was not a sound but his own breathing and the woosh of the wind outside. He stared into the fireplace, listening, remembering the Angel's silken touch…

Suddenly, he heard a soft click, like the sound a toy gun makes when it is fired. Negaduck was instantly on his feet. "Who's there?" he snarled. The clicking noise was repeated. He followed the sound into the room the Angle had come from. Again, the noise came. He followed it to the closet and threw open the door.

There he saw it. The recording device. It clicked once more, announcing that the tape had run out of room. Negaduck pressed the rewind button, then the play button. His own voice spoke to him in familiar words. "St. Canard will be mine to command. As the city sleeps, we will sneak into places that are centers of true control."

"What about the guards?" the Angel's voice echoed from the machine. "Even on Christmas Eve there are guards."

Negaduck heard himself chuckle, and answer with cool confidence, "But they are **my** guards. I have arranged for those under my command to be assigned to the watch tonight. They will simply hold out the keys and look away."

"But so many buildings, and only six of us…"

"I shall take the government offices, which are all--" Negaduck picked up the recorder and smashed it into a thousand pieces against the wall.

"DAMN THEM!" he shouted. "CURSE THEIR HELL-BOUND HIDES!!" He tore through the hideout in a blind rage, destroying anything that came within his grasp. The television turned on when he kicked it, but as he lifted it above his head to smash it against the table it sat on, he noticed a peculiar image hovering in the corner. The television was placed back on its table, safe for the moment, as Negaduck inspected the strange, out-of-place icon. It was not very large, but the message was clear. A photograph of Darkwing Duck taken from a newspaper clipping, then an arrow pointing to a photo of the bridge, and underneath, the message: "6:00 p.m. URGENT!"

Negaduck knew in a moment who was responsible. There was only one rat in St. Canard who could break into the television circuits that quickly. He glanced at his watch. It was almost noon. That gave him six hours to put his new plan into action. Without hesitatin a moment more, he went to work.

*

"But dad!!" Gosalyn whined. "I wanna come!!"

"Not a chance, young lady! This could be dangerous." Drake Mallard pried his daughter's fingers from their death-grip on his feet. "Besides, it's Christmas Eve. You need to get to bed early."

"Hmph. I'm the one who found the message. I should be allowed to come!" Gosalyn crossed her arms and sulked.

"I said no and that's final." Drake left Gosalyn's room, where the young duckette sat staring moodily at the image in the top right corner of the television screen.

"This is so dumb. Why do I have to stay here? It's not fair! I never get to do anything fun! What's the good of having a superhero for a dad if I never get to see any of the cool stuff he does?" Gosalyn went on ranting like that for quite a while. At least long enough for her to come to the only possible conclusion.

"That's it!" she said to herself, perking up considerably. She sprang into action, emptying to contents of her backpack (mostly useless textbooks) and replacing them with her very own home-made Adventure Kit. The Kit consisted of a flashlight, three comic books, a roll of string, a can of glow-in-the-dark spray paint, a squirt gun, an official police walkie-talkie that Launchpad had fixed up for her, a bedsheet (to be used as an emergency parachute), and several candy bars. She hid the overstuffed Adventure Kit under her bed, then looked at her watch. Only three more hours until 6:00. Gosalyn switched on the television impatiently. Only three more hours…

*

Meanwhile, the Fearsome Four and Alice had been making preparations. The police were notified, as were the targeted buildings. The Darkwing Duck call was going out live on all cable channels. Megavolt had begun a rumor chain among the lowest scumbags in St. Canard, while Alice sent the same rumors rippling through the computer hackers, conspiracy theorists, artists, and other high scociety scumbags. At 5:00 Quackerjack and Liquidator radioed in with their half-hour report.

"Calling the Dark Angel, calling the Dark Angel," Liquidator's voice bubbled through the speakers. Alice picked up the walkie-talkie from the coffee table. Bushroot and Megavolt sat nearby, listening.

"Dark Angel here, what's your status?"

"Still no movement, Dark. I dunno what he's doing in there but he…"

The Liquidator was interrupted by a loud squeak and a familiar giggle. "**I** know what he's doing in there!" Quackerjack taunted. "He's sleeping near the window with earmuffs on. He's been doing that for about 20 minutes now."

"Oh, aren't **you** the clever one," the Liquidator grumbled.

"Fine," Alice said into the walkie-talkie. "You two meet us at the bridge. Take the long way, and make **certain** you're not followed."

"We'll see you there," Quackerjack said. "Over and out!"

Alice stuffed the walkie-talkie into the same bag she'd used to carry the candles and incence in. She handed it to Megavolt. "You two get to the bridge. Keep yourselves hidden until you see me."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Megavolt asked.

Alice touched a small button on her belt. Her wings spread gracefully behind her. "I'm taking the skyway," she grinned. "Now go. I should be there first, but if I'm not, find Quackerjack and Liquidator and tell them to hide too. Ready?"

"Ready!" They saluted.

"Good." Alice spun around and ran through the kitchen to the balcony. Before Bushroot and Megavolt had time to blink, she was gone. They followed her example, and soon were creeping through the streets in the general direction of the bridge.

*

Gosalyn looked at the clock and grinned. It was time. She put her coat and gloves on, grabbed her Adventure Kit, tied two sheets together, and slipped out of the window. Then she was off and running towards the bridge to see what urgent thing Darkwing Duck was needed for…

*

Hattie Marten sighed, irritated. "Of **course** the car breaks down on Christmas Eve when we're driving to see our only daughter," she muttered. "Have you found what's wrong with this thing **yet**, Lewis??"

"Afraid not, dear," Lewis Marten said, streightening up. He slammed the hood of the car shut. "Looks like we're going to have to walk to find help."

Hattie sighed again. "At least we won't have to worry about being late. Alice doesn't expect us until tomorrow afternoon. Come on, the nearest gas station is across the bridge."

"How do you know that?" Lew is asked, doubtful.

"I know because I grew up here. Remember?" She poked her husband's nose playfully. "Now let's get moving! I don't want to freeze my tail out here all night!"

"But, Hattie, it's only 5:30. That hardly counts as night in my book."

"Yes, but it's **winter**, Lewis darling. And it's snowing. It'll be dark as pitch out here in a half hour." She grabbed her husband's jacket sleeve and the two of them began trudging down the street towards the bridge.