Chapter One:
The Beginning of Trouble
Drake Mallard laid stretched out comfortably on his lawn chair, sipping lemonade and reading the newspaper. The front page had a picture of him striking a dramatic pose, with the headline reading "Daring Darkwing Wins Again." Making St. Canard a safer place was his duty, but it wasn't every day the egotistical duck made headlines, and when it did, it was a cause for celebration.
The vigilante had spent most of the day going after the Fearsome Five who attempted, once again, to take over the St. Canard Power Plant. He saved the city from a major power outage, and could settle down for a little rest and relaxation. For the moment, anyway. St. Canard was a city of a thousand villains, and it wouldn't be long until someone would stir up some sort of criminal activity. A bored teenager, a jaywalker, a vacationing Beagle Boy.
"Another day, another crowd of cowardly criminals spending their summer vacation in the slammer!" He smiled smugly, casually tossing the papers on the ground and folding his arms behind his head. "In addition, I've also taken care of ahold of Tuskerninni, and Moliarty. All in one week!"
"Keen gear! But what about FOWL?" Gosalyn asked, stretched out on the grass and grudgingly working on her homework. With plans on inviting a few friends over for a house party, she secretly hoped there was a villain that Darkwing needed to go after.
"They're ALWAYS up to something!"
"F.O.W.L? Oh puh-lease!" Drake scoffed at his now-teenage daughter. "Their staff are on strike, remember? High Command's having too busy making sure disgruntled agents won't burn down their headquarters, let alone send them out on ridiculous missions."
"Oh . . . " Gosalyn muttered quietly under her breath.
Darn it, dad! Now I won't have this party!
"I swear I must've killed him . . . " A snarling male voice spat out from behind the white-painted wooden fence. Drake was alerted by this voice and jumped off the lawn chair in surprise.
"Javert!?"
"I shot him square in the chest, I don't know how he'd survive . . . " The same voice said in disbelief, this time in a lower tone. "Knocked him clean off his feet in shock!"
"Are you sure he wasn't wearing a bullet-a proof vest?" A second voice snapped. "Either that or my son has more lives than a cat!"
"What the . . . ?" Gosalyn's green eyes widened in surprise and ran over the fence to take a peek. "But . . . I thought he was in jail for trying to kill Steelbeak!"
"They released that fiend!" Drake mumbled, pacing back and forth a bit before looking over the fence. He saw that he was with another slimy individual - - Roberto, the crooked lawyer.
"I may not like Steelbeak for what he does, but I don't exactly want him bumped off."
"As tempting as it is!"
Gosalyn added, playfully elbowing him in the ribs. "Who's the other
guy?"
"Roberto Volatili, a lying,
leering lawyer! I've dealt with him in the past!" He said with disgust.
"He's been charged with fraud more than I can think!"
Down the street, Roberto handed Javert a wad of money. He uttered something in Italian and strolled down the opposite side of the street with furrowed eyebrows and a conniving smile. His suspicious behavior did not go unnoticed by Drake, whom quickly changed into his famed alter ego.
"Stay here, Gos!" He told her firmly, briskly leaving the yard once he saw the pair had disappeared behind a corner. "If I need you, I'll reach you on my cell phone!"
"Okay, dad!" Gosalyn replied in fake disappointment, gathering up her homework and heading back into the house.
Hiding behind cars and sneaking behind the occasional bush, Darkwing Duck managed to track down the location of Roberto without being detected. This time the aged but unscrupulous rooster was with his wife, and a moment later, Javert met up with them. He watched as Amelia handed a large sum of money to the ex-spy and paid special attention to how casual and friendly the three acted with one another. After all, Roberto and his wife were not the most sociable citizens.
Something tells me these three aren't out for a regular walk around the block!
Darkwing's suspicions came true as he went in for a closer inspection. They were in a middle of a conversation and he hung onto every word, not letting a single detail go unnoticed. Parts of the conversation was in Italian, a language that he never understood properly.
"If you ask me, Mr and Mrs. Volatili, you should've done away with that horrid Steelbeak decades ago!" Javert sneered, placing a couple of hundred dollar bills in his wallet.
"It would've done everyone a favor, plus I might've been High Command by now."
"That lowlife brought nothing but trouble to my life!" Amelia seethed with pure rage in her eyes. "This time, shoot to kill!"
"When you manage to kill my son, I want you to bring back his skull!" Roberto ordered, making it graphically clear that he loathed his son more than anything else in the world. "Make sure you hit an artery or two. I want him to suffer!"
"I aim to please!" Javert asserted with a chuckle. "I will assure you madame that this time, I will kill Steelbeak. I myself despise the creature, and I want him dead as much as you do!"
Darkwing's bill hang open in shock. With a shudder and a nauseous sensation, he quickly envisioned Javert atop of a building and gunning down Steelbeak in broad daylight. He saw the blood, the horrified scream of both the agent and of panicked passerbys. He saw a triumphant Javert cheering and waving his gun in the air, and down below, the agent lying in a pool of his own blood and withering in pain.
I must intervene!
Something caught Darkwing's attention, distracting him from this horrifying vision. It was Steelbeak, slowly and tensely walking down the street. His eyes were predatorily focused on Roberto, Javert and Amelia, and was too fixated on them that he payed no attention to the masked mallard.
"Steelbeak, WHAT ARE YOU
DOING?!" Darkwing yelled inwardly. "That's suicide!"