CHAPTER 3

"Okay, so this is our first official meeting since Negaduck...er...left," Megavolt announced.

"I don't think it's technically official unless all of us are here," Bushroot pointed out. "And Luminas isn't."

"Again," the Liquidator added.

"Yeah, she had to go and get a day job," Quackerjack complained.

The four of them were gathered around a beat-up old table in their hideout, watching each other somewhat warily. Hey, with Negaduck gone, who knew what might happen?

After several seconds of awkward silence, Bushroot questioned in a small voice, "Does anyone else find this weird?"

"What?" the Liquidator asked.

"Well..." The plant-duck thought for a moment, then explicated, "We're still a gang, but we have no leader."

"Technically, we do," the Liquidator reminded him. "He just isn't here."

"Hey," Quackerjack piped up,"you're not doing that annoying salesperson thing."

"I didn't get much sleep last night," the watery entity informed him, as if that explained everything.

There was another brief silence, and then Megavolt remarked, "Too bad we can't get our entire gang here."

Bushroot looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know. Luminas makes me kind of nervous."

"Everyone makes you nervous, Veggie," Quackerjack taunted.

Choosing to ignore this remark, the mutant continued, "She kind of reminds me of Negaduck."

At this, Megavolt snorted. "No way. Trust me on this one, Veggie, she's intimidating at first, but once you commit a couple crimes with her, she's not so bad. Oh yeah, and she's not blood-thirsty."

"Sparky and Luminas are in love," Quackerjack whispered loudly to the Liquidator.

"Shutup, moron!" the rat yelled. "And I hate it when you call me that!"

With an insane grin, the jester dove for protection behind the nearest watery object. "Don't let him zap me," he whined to the Liquidator.

Sighing, the former bottled water salesman commented in exasperation, "I'm not going to deal with this. Was there a point to this 'meeting'?"

"Um..." Megavolt pondered that for a minute, shrugged, and replied, "I don't remember," which elicited a collective groan from the other three villains.

"Thanks a lot, plug-head," Bushroot snapped. "I was working on something important back at the greenhouse, too."

"This wasn't my idea!" the rat exclaimed defensively.

"It wasn't?"

"No!"

"Well, then whose was it?"

Quackerjack, Megavolt, and the Liquidator shrugged.

"I think we...er...agreed on it," Quackerjack finally supplied doubtfully.

"Agreed on it or to it?" the Liquidator interred.

Confusion dominated the duck's features. "No, I...I think on it."

The four of them looked at each other, then said as one, "Luminas."

"Now, if we could just get charcoal breath to show--" Quackerjack began, only to be cut off by a voice.

"So, is that what you call me behind my back, QJ?" Luminas questioned idly.

"Um...that was my anger speaking."

The Liquidator studied her, and after awhile remarked, "Nice hair."

She blinked, then observed, "He's not doing that annoying salesperson thing."

"Nope," Megavolt agreed.

With a tired sigh, Luminas sank down into the only remaining chair in the room. "I can't stay long--I have to work."

Bushroot and Megavolt snickered, and Quackerjack asked, "What did you do, try to get a head start on getting here early and sleep in a tree? You look terrible."

"Hey!" Bushroot objected.

"You're so funny," she informed the jester sarcastically.

"Thank you."

"I didn't mean that."

Quackerjack looked offended. "I know that!"

Burying her face in her hands, Luminas sighed, "Oh, god."

"So," the Liquidator began, "to answer the question on all of our minds--"

"Please," the cat interrupted helplessly, "keep talking normal."

The watery villain gave her an odd look, then rephrased his words, "Why is it exactly that we're having this chat?"

Lifting her had slightly and massaging her temples, Luminas told him, "We need to be more organized. The police are a lot more dangerous now. We don't want the mayor bringing the army in--"

"Or any more of them than he already has," Quackerjack muttered.

"--and then not be prepared," she continued, ignoring the duck.

"What do you suggest?" Megavolt asked.

"That we commit crimes as a group. We're supposed to be the Sinister Six, not 'those five supervillain lamebrains who think they're intimidating but really can't stand to spend two minutes in the same room with each other'."

Quackerjack raised his hand. "For the record, the four of us have been here over a half an hour."

"Yeah, and there weren't any serious injuries," Megavolt added.

"Wonderful. But do you see what I'm getting at?"

"Of course," Quackerjack responded somewhat loftily. "We aren't stupid."

Luminas rolled her eyes, but humored him and agreed, "Absolutely not. But the ultimate point of the merry little get-together is to say that it's about time we reinforce our presence in this city."

"Sounds like Negaduck to me," Bushroot mumbled to the Liquidator.

"I heard that," the girl informed him, much to the plant-duck's surprise and chagrin. "I've got good ears," she reminded him. When he started trembling, she said, "Um, I'm not going to hurt you, Reggie. Because I'm not like Negaduck. Not remotely. I mean, did the four of you ever notice how full of himself he was?"

"Are you implying that you aren't?" Quackerjack quipped.

"Oh, ha ha; look who's talking."

The duck stuck his tongue out at her.

Luminas smirked at him, then went on, "I'm not any kind of leader, either. Just so you know, okay? If you even jokingly refer to me as 'Boss', I'll probably grill you."

"Comforting thought for you three," the Liquidator sneered.

Megavolt snapped his head around to glare at the other villain. "You're pretty cocky for someone who recently developed twice the chance for getting evaporated."

"Yeah? I notice you're keeping as far away from me as you possibly can."

"Insurance," Megavolt said. "I have high rates as it is."

There was a pause in the arguing, and Luminas inquired, "Are you two finished?" Megavolt and the Liquidator looked at each other, then nodded. "Good," the cat said. "I hope none of you are busy Saturday night."

"Haven't we already robbed every place in the city?" Bushroot spoke up tentatively.

"Sure," she told him. "But we haven't burned down the Plaza Hotel."

~

"Burn down the Plaza Hotel," Quackerjack muttered to himself as he made his way through the darkened, narrow hall of the apartment building. "Sure, she promotes her own superpower." Pausing to scan the doors for the number he was searching for, he whined, "It's not fair! And where's 80B, anyway?"

He failed to notice that he'd reached the end of the hallway, and the resulting collision with a door drew a mild curse from his bill. "Hey, 80B," the duck noted happily, flicking his eyes upwards to the apartment's address.

There was no answer the first time he knocked, so he attempted it again, and this time, a faint shout came from inside. After several seconds, a young, extremely frazzled squirrel threw open the door. "I already paid my taxes, if that's what--" Her hazel eyes widened as she recognized her visitor, and a hand went immediately to her mouth.

"Hey, Flying Wonder," Quackerjack greeted with a jaunty wave.

"How did you find me?" she gasped.

"Um...the phonebook."

"The...the phonebook? I didn't..." The girl groaned. "...oh, yes, I did."

Quackerjack nodded. "Yeah, you did. Uh, you think it'd be possible for me to come in? I'm not exactly citizen of the month."

"No!" the Flying Wonder exclaimed. "You're a wanted criminal! I'm not letting you in my house! What do you want, anyway?!"

"I wouldn't hurt you," Quackerjack promised. She still looked suspicious, so he added, "If I'd wanted to, I already would've. Trust me on this one."

"Trust you?" she asked incredulously. A deliberating look settled on her face, but finally, she acquiesced grudgingly, "Well, I guess it wouldn't be the best thing if my neighbors saw you out here...you won't trash my apartment or anything, will you?" The duck shook his head, and the squirrel stepped back into the room. "Okay, then. You can come in."

Quackerjack marveled at that. Getting her to display even that small amount of trust had been much simpler than he'd ever expected. Time to experiment a little. "So, now that I've see what you really look like, maybe you'd consider giving me...a name? I'm not gonna call you the 'Flying Wonder' forever."

She blinked in surprise and brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face. "You're suggesting that we're going to be seeing a lot of each other?"

"Well, that was my plan," he admitted casually.

Backing away from him slightly, the girl interred a bit nervously, "You're not some kind of pervert, are you?"

In an amused tone, Quackerjack replied, "Not the kind you mean." He chose that moment to glance around her small apartment. There wasn't much in the living room--or wherever it was that they were standing in--just a tattered old couch and a slightly newer looking chair. A single, small, rectangular window let a small amount of light in, though the fact that it was facing a brick wall certainly cut down on the illumination of the room, as well as the photosynthesis process of several plants hanging from the ceiling. One corner had sheet vinyl tiles instead of dingy, off-white carpeting, and it was in this corner that a refrigerator and microwave sat. Farther back, there was a short darkness-shrouded hallway with two doors branching off from it--the bedroom and bathroom, Quackerjack assumed. Two frames hanging near the door he'd come in, however, caught his attention, and he approached them curiously. One held a highschool diploma certifying that Avia Triks had graduated. Avia. Hm. Unusual name. The other gilt frame held a color photo of four squirrels, all with various degrees of red-brown hair and fur.

Quackerjack turned to the Flying Wonder and pointed with a thumb to the picture. "This is your family?"

"Yeah," she replied in a soft voice.

Something in that tone prevented him from prying any further, and instead he stated, "So, your name's Avia?"

"You wouldn't spread this around, would you?" she inquired anxiously. "My identity, I mean?"

With a small laugh, he informed her, "No one knows who you are. It really wouldn't matter if I did."

"Well...just...don't, okay?"

"I won't."

She sighed. "Someday I'm going to get my chance at a really big villain. Then no one will laugh in my face." With this statement, she glanced pointedly at the duck.

"Hey, you want a chance at a major villain?" He spread his arms a bit mockingly. "Here I am."

Avia looked at him, then sighed again. "Who am I kidding? I got my chance. And I blew it."

Regarding her, Quackerjack said, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. You've got plenty of time. Speaking of which, is there a time in the near future that you'd be free to go on...say...a friendly outing?"

"You mean like a date?" she asked with a little surprise.

The duck actually flushed faintly. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that."

This time, it was she who regarded him. "You're really serious, aren't you?"

"Isn't that pretty obvious?" A devastating thought occurred to him, and he asked with a touch of hopelessness, "You aren't...seeing someone, are you?"

"Me?" Avia laughed self-mockingly. "Look at me."

"I think you're pretty."

At this rather matter-of-fact statement, she blushed and stammered, "Well...er...thanks."

"So do you wanna do something? Say...tomorrow night?"

"This isn't some kind of trap, is it? You're not going to have the rest of the Fearsome Five...or Sinister Six...or whatever you guys are there with you, are you?"

"Nope, it'll just be me." He held up two fingers. "Scout's honor. We can go to a movie or something. I guarantee it won't be sold out."

In spite of herself, the squirrel couldn't help smiling at him. "I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Friday night."

Quackerjack returned the smile quite goofily. "Me either."

~

"Eight fifty-eight!" Cinder crowed as she ran into the kitchen. "I am good! Now, two minutes to get across the street...piece o' cake."

The cat sprinted to the front door, locked it, and continued her mad dash to the Mallards' home.

She had no idea of the scene going on inside the house.

"Dad, why can't Launchpad just watch me?" Gosalyn demanded.

Drake sighed over his soggy breakfast. Why, indeed? "Because he had to get a job." A real job, he added to himself.

"Wasn't watching me enough of a job?"

"Well, you've got a point there, Gos," he replied, smiling wryly. "But it doesn't pay too well."

This time, the girl sighed as well. "Yeah, I know. But that Cinder is just creepy. I mean, we really don't know anything about her at all, Dad! She could be a...a...spy! We could be harboring a spy in our house!"

Giving her a warning look, Drake rose from the table and walked upstairs. He realized, of course, that his daughter would not be deterred that easily.

"What if she's in a cult? Or what if she's an FBI agent who pretends to be in cults? No, wait...she could be the Unabomber!"

Drake carefully put a tie on and looked at Gosalyn in the mirror. "I think she's just a nice girl who moved into town at the wrong time."

Gosalyn grimaced and looked at her feet. After a moment, however, she raised her head, a determined glimmer in her eyes. "Dad, last night I heard something, and when I looked out the window, I saw Meg--"

"I don't want to hear it, Gos," Drake cut her off.

"Dad!" she yelled frustratedly. "You can't give up crimefighting! The Sinister Six have practically taken over the city! You remember what happened last time!"

"It's not my job anymore."

"It has to be your job!" she argued. "Because Cinder Litress isn't who she says she is!"

"Gosalyn, listen to me!" Drake's eyes flashed with something the girl had never seen before, and it silenced her abruptly. "I can't take care of this city forever, and it's about time the police learned how to do their jobs. Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was important."

The doorbell rang, and the duck heaved another sigh, then said quietly, "There's Miss Litress. Don't give her any trouble, okay?"

"Sure," she mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

Drake touched her head in a fatherly manner and, when she didn't say anything, went back downstairs to open the door.

Gosalyn folded her arms across her chest, listening to the muffled voices in the foyer. Fine, if he wouldn't listen to her, then she'd just have to go...undercover.

Again, the sound of a door shutting reached her ears, and then her father's station wagon pulled out of the driveway and down Avian Way.

There was much, much more here than met the eye. For one thing, her dad had never actually told her why he had given up crimefighting. But Gosalyn remembered the day that strange woman had barged into her room...it hadn't taken her long to figure out that she was the only one in the city who'd seen the enigmatic Luminas. Was it mere coincidence that Cinder Litress closely resembled the woman she'd seen, and that Megavolt had been in the cat's driveway last night? Gosalyn didn't think so.

Soft footsteps on the stairs broke into her train of thought, and she looked at the door expectantly.

"What are you up to?" Cinder asked Gosalyn (rather perfunctorily, the girl thought).

"Nothing," she replied. After a moment's hesitation, she questioned in a carefully controlled tone, "Hey, have you ever had any trouble with the Sinister Six?"

"Me? No, thank god." She smiled wryly. "Figures that I'd move in two months after they tore up the town, eh?"

"Didn't you know?" Gosalyn asked incredulously.

"Sure, I knew they existed, but the media really downplayed it." Cinder paused. "I thought a couple major stores had been hit, and then I get here and find the city crawling with the National Guard. It was a bit of a shock."

Gosalyn wasn't buying it. "Yeah, that must be tough."

Cinder gave her an odd look. "Indeed. Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Oh, I dunno. Just curious. And if you stick around here long enough, you'll probably run into them. I'd watch out if I were you."

The cat smiled. "Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind." After a moment, she asked jocularly, "So, are you going to spend the whole day locked in your room again?"

With a shrug, Gosalyn replied, "Probably. I'm gonna play my guitar later."

Cinder winced. "Uh...with an amp?"

"Uh, yeah, obviously."

Wincing again, the cat suggested tentatively, "Gosalyn, darling, why don't I take a look at your guitar later?"

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, it's not that I doubt your abilities, but it didn't sound as if you were quite in tune."

"Hey, I know how to tune my guitar!" Gosalyn exclaimed defensively.

"Alright, if you say so," Cinder responded speciously. "But you do realize that you can't have a band if your instruments aren't in tune...?"

Gosalyn opened her mouth to retort, but, after a moment, closed it and pondered the cat's statement. "Okay," she finally agreed reluctantly. "I guess you can make sure it's in tune. But that's all."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of overstepping my bounds."

"Good." Gosalyn whirled and stomped up the stairs, and Cinder sighed. It was going to be another long day.

~

Cinder kicked open the door to her bedroom and shot a streak of fire at her bedframe, leaving a smoking black hole in the headboard.

"I can't believe that little pipsqueak of a kid figured something out!" she snarled, throwing open a trunk. In it was her supervillain attire, which she removed and tossed into a handbag, all except the boots, which she put on under her jeans.

She drew a breath, which was supposed to be calming but only angered her more. "I need to commit some major crime," she grumbled.

Yes, it had taken all of three days for Luminas to be driven to the verge of insanity and fury by Gosalyn Mallard. And to think it had only been three days. Drake worked six days a week. She had yet to experience the torture of a full week with that horrendous child.

"I have descended into hell," she muttered. Then, realizing what day it was and what she was supposed to be doing, she groaned and added, "From the frying pan into the fire."

Through extremely covert and secret tactics, she reached the lighthouse quickly and free of suspicion.

The door creaked loudly as she kicked it open and called, "Megavolt?"

There was no answer, which did not serve to put Luminas in a better mood. In fact, the only kind of mood it put her in was one comparable to Negaduck at his worst.

"MEGAVOLT!" she yowled lividly. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING BUT GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

A moment later, there was a yelp and a metal clattering as something rather large bounced down the stairs, and then, quite suddenly, and right on cue, Megavolt landed in a heap at her feet.

"Ouch," he winced. Looking up at Luminas, he winced again and got to his feet. "What's up?"

"What's up?! WHAT'S UP?!" she shrieked.

The rat put a hand to his ear (or at least where his ear should have been) and said, "Hold that thought for one second while I get my earplugs. Oh, and I almost forgot--do you want the whole city to hear you?!"

This statement subdued her only marginally. "I'll tell you 'what's up', Sparky. We are supposed to be participating in a significant illegal activity, which I can see you and the rest of our 'gang' have neglected to recall, there are even more commandos in this city than before, my face is about to be all over the news, and...and...I'm having a bad day!" she lamented.

Megavolt shook his head and rolled his eyes. "For once, Luminas, you're wrong. Even I remembered about the hotel, and QJ, Reggie, and Licky did, too. For once, we are waiting for you."

She opened her mouth to retort smartly, but what the rat had said sunk in quickly, considering her frame of mind. "You are?"

"Yeah. We were enjoying a game of 'Whiffle Boy: The Return' when you barged in here." He gave her a meaningful look.

"Oh...sorry."

With a crack of his knuckles, he forgave her with a, "S'okay. It was worth it to see the look on Quacky's face when he picked up a joystick for the first time ever."

Luminas quirked an eyebrow and inquired, "So where is he?"

The supervillain in question tripped down the staircase and sing-songed, "Right here!"

Bushroot and the Liquidator followed, though much less enthusiastically, exchanging several exasperated looks with each other. "Can we get this over with?" Bushroot asked plaintively.

"Are you tired of hyperactive jesters who just won't take a hint?" the Liquidator added.

"Hey, Luminas, guess what?!" Quackerjack exclaimed excitedly.

Latching on to her arm, Bushroot pleaded before the jester could continue, "Let's get out of here! Please! Don't make us hear about the date again!"

"What?" she questioned puzzledly. "Date...?"

Megavolt's eyes widened, since Luminas had just said the worst possible thing, and he quickly shoved her out the door, whispering shrilly, "Do you realize what you've done?!"

The two of them, along with Bushroot and the Liquidator, clambered into Megavolt's car. Quackerjack, on the other hand, floated. As Megavolt started the ignition, Luminas asked, "What's with him?"

The rat hushed her desperately, but it was too late. Giving an insanely happy sigh, Quackerjack informed her, "I'm in love!" At these words, the remaining male members of the party groaned, and to prevent the jester from going on, Megavolt tore down the road, plastering everyone to their seats with a g-force of about seven. Driving at this speed, it wouldn't have taken long to get to the dark side of the moon--it was a simple (and screamingly fast) matter to get to the other side of town, where the Plaza Hotel was located. As befitted a Saturday night, the place was hopping, and, as befitted a group of supervillains about to take part in a dastardly deed, Megavolt parked in a dark, out of the way alley. The five members of the Sinister Six piled out of the car and grouped against the grungy brick wall.

"Four out of five supervillains agree: we want a plan that's one hundred percent effective," the Liquidator quipped quietly.

"Stop talking that way," Luminas hissed. To her surprise, he merely rolled his eyes and didn't retort with a somehow witty cliche. When it became clear that he wasn't going to say anything else, Luminas said, "Okay, here's the plan. Or at least as I understand it--Megavolt concocted most of this. Licky, you distract any police or amateur heroes that show up--"

"Hey!" Quackerjack objected. "Don't be so indiscriminant!"

Megavolt smacked the duck upside the head and berated him, "Just forget about your little hero girlfriend for the night, would you? For the love of Edison!"

"Spoilsport."

Glaring at the jester, Megavolt continued for Luminas, "Right, so Licky distracts...um...drat, what was it?! Oh, yeah! Bushroot, you and Quacky can clean out the front desk. A ritzy place like this oughtta have a lot of cash handy. Luminas and I get to find the propane tanks or whatever this place has."

"What?!" Quackerjack demanded. "No fair! How come you guys get to have all the fun?"

Megavolt's eyes took on a faraway look. "I have a personal score to settle with the Plaza Hotel."

"You do?" the other four villains asked (nearly) simultaneously.

"Yeah. It's a long story--mini bars, free HBO...huh. They'll pay. Oh, they shall pay."

Luminas didn't even bother giving that one any thought. "Let's go."

Quackerjack, Bushroot, and the Liquidator made their ways quickly across the square to the hotel--that is, they ran wildly. "We should've brought disguises," Bushroot muttered nervously as he and Quackerjack stepped inside the glass revolving door and their watery comrade slipped into the shadows.

"What for?" the jester snorted. "Don't be such a pansy."

When the two of them stepped into the lobby, it became clear that the staff and patrons that evening had been dutifully keeping tabs on the major events in St. Canard, for most of them panicked and bolted.

Seeing this, Quackerjack began to grin insanely and whipped out two sets of his notorious chattering teeth, setting them loose on the frightened crowd. "It's PLAAAYTIME!" he shouted gleefully.

Taking his cue, Bushroot reached out a leafy tendril and wrapped it around the clerk at the front desk, who had stoically remained to defend his post. The poor man, however, took one look at the vine holding him captive, then the mutant it belonged to, and fainted. With a nervous laugh (for that had seemed much too easy), the plant-duck scampered over to the desk and forced the drawers open.

They were all empty.

An awful suspicion formed in Bushroot's mind as he watched Quackerjack chase terrified citizens around the lobby. And his suspicion was confirmed in the most horrible of ways when a caped, masked figure crashed through the door.

~

"We're lost."

"We are not."

"Yes, we are!" Luminas peered down yet another dark hallway. "You have no idea where you're going!"

Megavolt held up a hand for silence, then sniffed the air experimentally.

"What are you doing now?"

With an exasperated sigh, the rat snapped, "I'm looking for electrical waves, if you don't mind."

"You have a screw loose, Sparky," Luminas informed him, starting down the corridor. "In fact, you have a whole panel lo--" A closed door suddenly caught her attention, and she halted to inspect it. Pressing an ear up against it, she was able to faintly hear the hissing of gas slowly escaping from a tank. Quietly, she motioned to Megavolt, who joined her after a moment. Luminas attempted to turn the handle on the door, but predictably, it was locked. "Can you get this open?" she asked her companion.

Megavolt already seemed lost in thought, however, and was mumbling to himself, "If I magnetize the pins..." He trailed off into incoherence, then looked at Luminas with a gleam in his eyes. "Have any metal on you?" Without waiting for her to answer, he reached out faster than a viper and unhooked one of her earrings.

"Hey!"

"I'll buy you a new pair," he pacified her absently.

Luminas watched over his shoulder as he pounded the earring flat and zapped it, then inserted it into the lock. After a moment, he yanked at the handle, and the door swung open. Inside were several tanks--one of them had a small, though visible, hole in it, through which natural gas was escaping into the room.

"This place is going to blow anyway," Megavolt observed. "No help from us even needed."

Luminas rubbed her hands together in malicious glee. "Well, we can hurry the process along."

"Can't argue with that," Megavolt responded with a grin. "Just let me get this light..."

She waited impatiently while he unscrewed a red-hinted lightbulb,cradled it in his hands for a moment, and stored it away somewhere on his person. "Are you ready now?"

"Affirmative," Megavolt answered. "Just be careful--I don't want to go in a crime committed merely for destruction."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"To keep you out of trouble, Cinderella."

Snorting and pushing a stack of cardboard boxes towards one of the tanks, she remarked sardonically, "Right, I need you to keep me out of trouble." She held up a hand and flicked her thumb against her finger, causing a small flame to flare up. Quickly, she lit the cardboard boxes, then took off like a shot, grabbing Megavolt (who'd backed into the hallway) by the arm. The two of them careened through the lower levels of the hotel, and in fact had almost reached an exit, when the first explosion hit.

~

The Flying Wonder rolled to her feet quite gracefully and noticeably unhurt after coming through the revolving door in a rather unconventional manner and took quick stock of the situation. "Show's over," she growled dangerously.

Bushroot had no clue who this young heroine was, but judging by Quackerjack's gaping expression, he did. The plant-duck also judged that his compatriot wasn't planning on moving any time soon. Desperately, Bushroot scanned the room for some help. Ah, there in the corner--two scrawny, potted palm trees. They'd be only too happy to lend a branch considering how they most likely had been treated.

Bushroot whistled and gestured wildly to the palms, who took a hint immediately, trundled over to the heroine (who was in the middle of a speech that the villain wasn't listening to), and raised their pots to hit the girl.

"Look out!" Quackerjack yelped in an extremely uncharacteristic tone--one that made him sound as if he were vacillating--just as the trees swung.

The heroine ducked instinctively and pulled a bizarre looking contraption out of its holster, whipping it around at the plants and neatly taking off most of their branches. Then, turning back to Bushroot, she asked in a typically heroic tone, "How are you at swinging?"

"Huh?" he questioned blankly, realizing too late that the odd, evidently razor sharp weapon was headed in his direction. "Eeek!"

Bushroot managed to duck, however, and also managed to catch Quackerjack's meek, "Uh-oh."

For a moment, the plant-duck forgot about the heroine and turned to his companion. "Uh-oh?! What do you mean, uh--ohhh."

Unfortunately for Bushroot, he had neglected to note the distinct, boomerang-like shape of the weapon, and that mistake had come back to haunt him. Literally.

With Bushroot down, the Flying Wonder turned to Quackerjack, who smiled nervously. "Hey...have fun last night? I know I did...um..."

She looked at him ruefully. "Sorry, Quackerjack. But I just can't let you--"

A colossal explosion rocked the building, forcing the Flying Wonder to break off and clutch at the desk to keep from falling. Her date from the night before looked as if he was about to use this chance to escape, so she dove for him.

"You don't need to throw yourself at me," the duck wisecracked.

She shot a look at him the hovered between a glare and distress--the glare was actually for him, but the distress was the sanest reaction she could muster at the sight of a blazing fire raging down the hallway.

"Get your friend!" she gasped.

Quackerjack needed no second warning--he was out the door dragging Bushroot behind him almost before the Flying Wonder could move.

At least half of the state's National Guard and St. Canard's police force in its entirety were waiting outside.

"Eep," the duck squeaked.

~

Megavolt and Luminas paused for a breath just inside the exit of the hotel substructure and she panted, "I've got to see this!"

"Sure, sure," he agreed nervously. "Just as soon as we get out of here. I don't play with fire."

The two of them stepped outside and were instantly surrounded by a group of ten armed policemen. "Hands up in the air," one of the cops ordered.

Luminas peeked over Megavolt's shoulder as the villain raised his arms, though he definitely had no intention of going peaceably to jail. His hands crackled with electricity, but the police had been prepared for the eventuality and uncovered a giant fire-hose. Megavolt's eyes widened and he shrieked as the highly pressurized water blasted into him.

Luminas watched his body convulse with electricity for a moment, then threw a swathe of fire at several policemen blocking her path to freedom and dashed towards a building on the other side of the plaza that had a fire escape hanging just low enough for her to reach. The cops weren't far behind, though, and by the time she clambered up the fire escape to the roof, they could have practically reached out and touched her.

A quick look around confirmed what she already knew--the only way to escape was to take the rooftop route. It was quite a jump to the nearest building and one that few could make. Luminas doubted her own ability to do so, but it was the only way. So, taking a deep, steadying breath, she sprinted to the edge of the roof, gathered herself, and leapt.

For a moment, it almost seemed as if she would reach the other building, but she began falling just short of grabbing distance.

And then, out of nowhere, a slimy, gelatin-textured hand clasped hers and she stopped short in mid-flight. She turned her head upwards, and the Liquidator's aqueous eyes met hers.

"Tired of hanging around?" he inquired with an obnoxious grin.

"Now more than ever," she returned, scrabbling for a hold against the building. "Could you help me up?"

The Liquidator complied with her request, and the two of them watched as the Plaza Hotel blew sky high. Several scraps of metal and cement crashed down onto the rooftop they were currently inhabiting, and the watery canine advised, "We'd better blow this joint--something tells me this fine city's law enforcement isn't here to watch the fireworks with us."

Luminas shook her head and the two villains hastily vanished into the night.