Drake pulled his fedora down over his eyes and drew his trenchcoat about him protectively as he approached the police station. Whichever of the Sinister Six were in jail, he meant to talk to them. And he didn't care if the police barred his way with their own bodies.
They didn't, of course. Things would have been much simpler if he'd just said Darkwing Duck demanded to see the destructive delinquents, but still, it only took several minutes of heated arguing to get into the maximum security area. At the end of the corridor, he found Megavolt, Quackerjack, and Bushroot together in a cell bickering, as usual. It didn't take long for them to notice him, however, and Megavolt shot his usual loony glare at the duck. "Whaddaya want?"
Briefly, Drake entertained the notion of telling him exactly, in no uncertain terms, what he wanted. But no, if he ever wanted to see Gosalyn again, he'd have to go about this carefully. That was assuming they even had her in their corrupt clutches.
"I just have to know why you blew up the hotel," he said, more to start the conversation than anything else. Knowing the Sinister Six, they were probably just bored.
"None of your business," Megavolt retorted.
How surprising that he would say that. "It's my business if a family member was there, Sparky!"
"Hey! Don't call me Sparky, duck!"
Drake ignored that, turned to the sanest of the three villains, and asked again, "Why?"
For once, Bushroot didn't begin trembling (probably because he didn't know who his interrogator was). "I don't know," the plant-duck answered. "But I wouldn't have agreed to it if I'd known to many people were going to get hurt."
Drake hardly even realized that he was slipping back into all his old habits (habits he'd tried to break once he was forced to give up crimefighting) as he said, "As if I would be--wait, did you say agreed?"
Bushroot didn't respond to this, as he was staring intently at Drake. "Your voice sounds familiar. Have I seen you before?"
"Oh! Er. Ahem." Drake coughed and glowered briefly. It was just his luck that one of them would show a little intelligence for once. "I...wouldn't know. And besides," he added grandly, "that's none of your business!"
"Oh," Bushroot squeaked meekly. "Sorry."
"I'm hungry!" Quackerjack suddenly bawled, startling the three other parties present. "I hate jail! It's no fun!"
Megavolt snorted. "Tell me about it. And y'know what really miffs me? The whole thing was Luminas's idea, and she...she..." He stopped and thought for a minute, then his face fell. "...come to think of it, I don't even know if she made it..."
Blinking, Drake sidled closer to the cell and asked Bushroot conspiratorially, "What's he talking about?"
The rodent raised his head, glared, and yelled, "Don't tell him!"
"You are in love with her!" Quackerjack tittered.
"Shutup!"
With an inane grin, the jester began singing, "Sparky and Luminas are in--ooh! That doesn't work at all! Too many syllables!"
"Would you be quiet?!"
Drake covered his eyes with his palm. This was just going wonderfully...
~
Luminas adjusted her hoody and twitched at her jeans nervously as she stood in front of the desk at the police station. Of all the places to spend her Sunday, she chose to go to a place crawling with people that would just love to incarcerate her for life. Calm, she reminded herself. You told them your name is Cinder Litress. They believed you. They're going to let you in.
"Alrighty, Miss Litress," a burly cop announced suddenly enough to startle her. "You're all clear. Just remember, there's dangerous types back there."
She gave him her most winning--and consequently fake--smiles. "I'll remember. Thank you." As he opened the gate, she strode past him into a long hallway lined with cells, many of which were occupied. "Cheery place," she muttered to herself. At the end of the corridor, a duck was talking to one of the prisoners...no, it was three--"Oh, god," she croaked.
Of course, Megavolt, for the first time in his life, spotted her immediately, and his eyes went wide. Luminas flailed her arms wildly in the air and shook her head wildly while desperately mouthing the word "no". Astonishingly, he seemed to take a hint and whispered something to Quackerjack. Bushroot, on the other hand, peeked around his other visitor and stared at her for several incredibly long moments. Just as realization began to dawn, Megavolt kicked him. This, however, caused Drake Mallard to turn around.
"Miss Litress!" he exclaimed.
Luminas plastered the fake smile back on her face. "Mr. Mallard! What a surprise!"
"'Miss Litress'?" Quackerjack mouthed. Megavolt whispered something else, which, for some reason, sent the duck into gales of laughter.
"What are you doing here?" Drake questioned.
"Oh...I...er...well..." She thought quickly, then smiled sheepishly to cover her hesitation. "I do community service. What can I say? There's nothing I like better than spending my weekends rehabilitating criminals!"
There was a mildly suspicious look in his eyes, and he told her in a quiet voice, "Listen, don't come over on Monday. Gos is...away from home for a couple days."
"Oh?" the cat replied nervously. Jails were bad enough by themselves, and running across him in this one was only agitating her more. "When will she be back?"
A pained look flitted across his face briefly, but he told her firmly, "Soon."
"Oh...that's good," she said, still smiling anxiously. He could go now... "I can't wait to see her again." Drake mumbled something, but she ignored him and began, "Mr. Mallard...ah...I've found that the felons respond better to rehabilitation treatment when I can be alone with them..."
"Right..." The duck shot a glance over his shoulder at Bushroot, Megavolt, and Quackerjack (who was making faces). This had been a worthless trip. "Well, I'll see you soon, Miss Litress."
"Uh-huh, sure. Bye!" Luminas watched him leave, and when he was out of sight, she approached the cell.
"You're alive!" Megavolt observed happily.
"Duh," she responded, though she gave him a genuine smile.
Quackerjack, meanwhile, was giggling maniacally. "'Miss Litress'?" he snorted. "What kind of name is 'Litress'? What's your first name? Matches?"
Giving him a flat look, Luminas said, "No."
He pouted. "You're no fun."
With a sigh, Luminas agreed, "I know. Look, are you guys up to jailbreak?"
"Yes!" they chorused.
"Alright. Stand back." She knelt down and conjured up an intense flame, holding it close to the base of one of the bars. Nothing happened for awhile, but then the metal started to bubble and she gave it a shove, effectively separating it into two pieces. The other three villains watched her do this several times, and when a number of the bars had been severed, she sat down with a gasp.
Megavolt was the first to force his way out, and he offered Luminas his hand. "You okay?" he asked her, a little concerned.
"Fine," she wheezed, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. She stumbled slightly and fell into him, bringing a flush to her face and an embarrassed squeak from him.
"C'mon, guys, this isn't a singles' bar," Bushroot hissed. "Let's go!"
The three villains followed Luminas, who was still short of breath, towards the back of the prison, where a door stood slightly ajar. It led to a deserted alley, where they grouped briefly, mostly to let their only female comrade regain her strength--though none of them were quite sure how she'd lost it in the first place.
"Why wasn't there an alarm?" Bushroot questioned, an agitated edge to his voice.
Luminas put a hand to her chest and panted, "Licky. No one close that door. That sets it off."
They nodded, and Megavolt's eyes darted around the alleyway. "We should go, don't you think?"
"Dur, no," Quackerjack responded stupidly. "Dur, we're standing behind a police station?"
Smiling weakly, Luminas said, "You guys go ahead. It came in, I have to go out. I'll meet you back at the lighthouse."
"Don't get arrested," Megavolt cautioned her.
She gave him a warm smile. "I won't, Sparky."
The other two criminals scampered away, but Megavolt stared at her worriedly. "Are you...are you sure you're okay? I mean, you said yourself that if you get too tired, you..."
"Die?" she finished softly. He nodded, and she patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. Anything that would've happened would've already...happened." On a sudden impulse, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. He shot a startled glance at her, but she just looked at him steadily. "Go on. I'm fine, really. And I'll see you in five minutes."
The rodent gave her a wide-eyed nod and made his retreat. Luminas watched him for a minute, then leaned against the side of the police station. Despite what she'd said, she really wasn't fine. She could feel a burning inside that threatened to explode and consume her, and she shut her eyes tightly against it. Oh, that had been stupid. She should have known better than to try a stunt like that while she was so worn out. And Megavolt...why had she...kissed him? She didn't mess with men anymore. Not since...
Luminas shuddered. Megs had been concerned for her, that was all. Concerned as a friend. Just a friend. And as a friend, she'd thought that was sweet. Rubbing her temples gently, she quietly reentered the station and walked briskly up the hallway. As she passed the desk, she gave the officer there a nod, and to her vast relief, no one attempted to talk to her.
Once outside, she heaved a massive sigh and began plodding towards the lighthouse. After no more than half a block, she coughed and practically collapsed. Oh, this would never do! Spotting an approaching taxi, she hailed it and climbed in when it stopped. "Where to, lady?" the cabby asked her.
"Just drop me off near the lighthouse," she told him wearily.
~
Drake watched as his neighbor got into a taxi, then hailed a ride of his own. "Follow that cab!" he ordered. There was something very odd going with Cinder Litress, and whatever it was--oh, it felt good to finally be able to think this--he intended to find out.
~
