(725 Featheridge Boulevard)
Ruddy pointed to a photograph of his son at age one and a half. "And here's Drakey with a hot dog in his beak!"
Gosalyn howled with laughed. "Can I get a copy of that one?" Next to the picture was on of young Drake with his foot caught in the sink drain. "And that one?" She flipped the album to the very beginning. On one of the first pages was a newborn baby and a nurse. The nurse was scowling as her hair was being yanked by said infant. The duckling looked like Baby Drake, yet it wasn't. The malevolent grin on the child's face just did not belong to her father. Gosalyn couldn't shake the feeling she had seen the expression somewhere before. "That's not Dad."
Anatina swiftly shut the book. "I'll go get the pictures from Drakey's tot years."
*********************************************************
Darkwing opened his eyes. "Where am I?"
"It's about time," came Negaduck's voice. "You've been out for the past five minutes."
Darkwing realized he was sitting back to back with Neutralduck, their wrists chained together with sets of old-fashioned handcuffs. They were in some sort of storage room.
Negaduck was standing by the door. "You see, the curator of this joint's very superstitious. He considers these artifacts too disturbing to be put on display, so he keeps them in this room, which is practically airtight. Only a select few even know this room exists. Won't they be surprised when they finally open it and discover a pair of identical corpses?" He motioned to a thread with one end tied around the doorknob and the other connected to a switch on a red box. "When I leave and shut the door, this string will be stretched taut, flipping that switch. This is a motor, which I've connected to a set of pulleys that will bring two antique iron maidens -- one in front and one behind -- together. And even if you somehow escape the hero sandwich fate, it'll only be about ten minutes before you arrive at Suffocation City. Like my handiwork? Got the idea from the latest Derek Blunt movie."
"Rube Goldbeak would be very proud," Darkwing snapped in a sarcastic voice.
Negaduck smirked. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and watch your demise, I'd rather test out the stolen dimension machine. Toodles." He slammed the door behind him. There was a click as the door locked.
Darkwing felt Neutralduck's back stiffen against his own. "Relax. Negaduck's rigged so many of these, my blood pressure's gotten used to it."
"Good, because mine's rising enough for the both of us!"
Darkwing craned his neck to see the antique cuffs. They were rusted, but showed no signs of being likely to break soon. He glanced nervously at the wall of spikes coming towards the twosome. "Maybe we can stand up." He pressed the soles of his webbed feet against the floor, attempting to push his body up.
No good. The two ducks crashed back to the floor.
"Roll over like your life depends on it!" commanded Neutralduck. "Because it does!"
Darkwing obeyed. It took several flops over, but they were soon safely out of range of the incoming spikes. "Where's that sidekick of mine?" He glanced around the small closet. Several boxes were crowded in one corner, making the floor sag. Come to think of it, some of the floorboards looked rotten. "This way."
It worked. The boards gave way, sending the two prisoners into the museum basement. One of the chains caught on a piece of a broken board and snapped. With his free hand, the terror that flaps in the night reached inside his purple jacket and drew out a lock pick. The antique cuffs fell to the floor. "Once again, the plucky protagonist perseveres through another precarious predicament!"
Neutralduck clutched his chest. "My heart hasn't beat that fast since I was doing experiments in a vacuum and my oxygen tank fell off!"
The door to the basement opened as Launchpad ran in. "DW! I've been looking all over for ya!"
Darkwing brushed dust off his jacket. "Neutralduck, my sidekick, Launchpad."
"We've met," Neutralduck replied dryly. "And if you'll excuse me--"
"Wait!" called the pilot.
"Yes?" asked the bluecoat.
"Maybe you should come with us," suggested Launchpad.
"There's strength in numbers," Darkwing added. "Besides, there are a few questions I'd like answered."
"Oh? Fire away."
They began to ascend the stairs leading to the ground floor. "For one thing, why the dramatic entrance last time?"
Neutralduck chuckled. "Oh, that. To attract attention."
"It worked," piped up Launchpad.
Darkwing looked a little embarrassed. "But why would you take that risk with such a professional around? Namely, me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize this business was territorial." Neutralduck wrung his hands. "After I've had my discussion with Megavolt, I'll leave. Go back to civilian life in Duckburg."
"Duckburg, eh? Don't suppose you've met Gizmoduck."
"I've heard of him, but I've never met the guy."
"Just hope you don't." Darkwing opened a side exit, where his motorcycle was parked. "Wait a minute. Did you just mention Megavolt?"
"Yes. He's got some information I need regarding an invention of his. The tron splitter."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Megavolt's got a sketchy memory. Too much time on the circuit boards. He's probably forgotten about it."
*********************************************************************************
Gosalyn reached under the growing stack of albums and yanked out the first one. She opened it to the photo of the nurse and infant. "Just who is that?"
Anatina burst into tears.
Ruddy shrugged. "I guess it's time we faced the music. That's Jacob Diablo Mallard."
His wife blew her nose on a lace handkerchief. "Sometimes I wonder if it's possible--"
"What's possible?" asked Gosalyn. "What happened to him?"
"Well," Ruddy began. "Jacob wasn't exactly ordinary. See that nurse in the picture? She quit right after it was taken. Jake bit her finger just before pulling her hair. Good thing he hadn't developed teeth yet."
"No kidding. Was there a story behind the middle name?"
"Rosa Lifeline was fluent in Spanish. Diablo means devil," Anatina sighed. "We felt a little guilty about giving him the middle name, but it suited him extremely well."
"What did he do?" asked Gosalyn, astonished. She had been called an assortment of names at the orphanage, mostly 'problem child,' but she had never earned a nickname that bad.
"There was the time the neighbor's cat wandered onto our property," recalled Ruddy. "Jake was outside and pulled its tail. The cat didn't like this and fought back. Our son's response? Grab the poor feline's neck and squeeze it. The cat barely survived, but we never saw it again."
"It was so embarrassing," groaned Anatina.
"Did Jake get along with his brother?" inquired the nine year old.
"Not in the least," answered Ruddy. "If I hadn't noticed the laundry basket was so heavy, I'd never have discovered that Jake hid a sleeping Drake in a pile of dirty clothes heading for the washing machine."
"Then there were all his attempts to punch, kick, bite, or bonk Drakey on the head," added Anatina. "Then one day he disappeared. We tried everything, but he had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth."
Gosalyn ran into the hall, and sifted through the newspaper recycling bin until she found an issue from a few days ago. The young girl flipped through the pages until she found a colored photograph of Darkwing Duck wrestling with his 'diabolical double.' She re-entered the living room and held out the picture. "Does he look familiar?"
She took Anatina's stunned expression as a 'yes'.
***********************************************
Negaduck studied the dimension machine from all angles. He pried open the glass door and stepped inside. He flipped a switch labeled 'on.' The console lit up. Enter Access Code appeared on a small black screen in white letters. Beneath it was a 10-digit keypad. Public Enemy Number Two took out a fingerdusting kit he had stolen from the museum exhibit on early crime detection methods. No avail. There were no fingerprints on the keys. Whoever used the machine last must have worn gloves. Negaduck punched a random string of numbers. Not even close, read the display.
Negaduck smacked his forehead and opened the copy of Sciencebills he had conveniently shoplifted from the newsstand. He flipped it to the Median Gray interview and reread the section on the dimension machine. He glanced at the photo. "Wait a minute." He ran to the windows and drew the curtains closed, then shut the door and left the key in the lock. Then he pulled off his own mask, a rare occasion. Negaduck was uncomfortable without the black mask; it seemingly defined him. He had discovered that the day he had donned it. The unmasked supervillain looked into his reflection in one of the plate glass windows of the machine. A copy of Median Gray's face stared back. Negaduck refastened the mask and groaned. "Gray...between black and white. The color of neutrality. The only one who knew the code and he's pushing up daisies along with Darkwing Duck." He re-opened the door. "I'll just see the results of my labor. Maybe he had the code written in his address book or something."
************************************
A small car pulled up to 537 Avian Way.
"Nice house," whistled Ruddy. "Couldn't have designed a nicer one myself."
Gosalyn turned to get out. "I'll tell Dad to call you when he gets home. I'll stay at my friend Honker's until he does."
"Until next time, sweetie," answered Anatina, kissing her granddaughter's forehead.
Gosalyn waited until her grandparents were gone, then ran toward her own house. She climbed through an open window, then went to the living room. A bonk on Basil's head, and she was in Darkwing Tower. Her father, still in costume, was reading some printouts at his desk. Launchpad was eating a tall sandwich while a duck who looked just like Darkwing was trying to look away. "Keen gear!" She faced the unfamiliar duck. "Let me guess...you're some sort of evil clone, or some zombie who can shape-shift to look just like anyone on Earth!"
"Why, no!" the duck sputtered.
"Or are you involved in something more sinister?" Gosalyn leaned forward, her face almost in Neutralduck's.
Neutralduck threw up his hands. "I'm perfectly normal." He looked around desperately. "Darkwing! I thought we had a truce!"
Darkwing was too absorbed in reading the papers to hear.
Launchpad gently tugged one of Gosalyn's ponytails. "Calm down, Gos."
"What? Calm down? What if he's in cahoots with Negaduck?"
"Negaduck tried to kill me!" protested Neutralduck. "Look, I've got better things to do than be given the third degree by a little girl!"
Gosalyn reached for the blue mask. "Then let's see what's underneath that costume."
Neutralduck slapped her hand.
"Geez, got something to hide?" Gosalyn snapped indignantly.
"I've got nothing to hide, but I don't want to let anyone know what I look like."
*****************************************************
Negaduck opened the door to the museum's vault. A cursory glance at the room told him his intended victims had escaped. "Hmm...looks like I'm going back to the Negaverse after all! I'll just call another meeting of the Fearsome Five." He slammed the door and ran out of the museum, eager to set his new plan in motion.
TBC
Ruddy pointed to a photograph of his son at age one and a half. "And here's Drakey with a hot dog in his beak!"
Gosalyn howled with laughed. "Can I get a copy of that one?" Next to the picture was on of young Drake with his foot caught in the sink drain. "And that one?" She flipped the album to the very beginning. On one of the first pages was a newborn baby and a nurse. The nurse was scowling as her hair was being yanked by said infant. The duckling looked like Baby Drake, yet it wasn't. The malevolent grin on the child's face just did not belong to her father. Gosalyn couldn't shake the feeling she had seen the expression somewhere before. "That's not Dad."
Anatina swiftly shut the book. "I'll go get the pictures from Drakey's tot years."
*********************************************************
Darkwing opened his eyes. "Where am I?"
"It's about time," came Negaduck's voice. "You've been out for the past five minutes."
Darkwing realized he was sitting back to back with Neutralduck, their wrists chained together with sets of old-fashioned handcuffs. They were in some sort of storage room.
Negaduck was standing by the door. "You see, the curator of this joint's very superstitious. He considers these artifacts too disturbing to be put on display, so he keeps them in this room, which is practically airtight. Only a select few even know this room exists. Won't they be surprised when they finally open it and discover a pair of identical corpses?" He motioned to a thread with one end tied around the doorknob and the other connected to a switch on a red box. "When I leave and shut the door, this string will be stretched taut, flipping that switch. This is a motor, which I've connected to a set of pulleys that will bring two antique iron maidens -- one in front and one behind -- together. And even if you somehow escape the hero sandwich fate, it'll only be about ten minutes before you arrive at Suffocation City. Like my handiwork? Got the idea from the latest Derek Blunt movie."
"Rube Goldbeak would be very proud," Darkwing snapped in a sarcastic voice.
Negaduck smirked. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and watch your demise, I'd rather test out the stolen dimension machine. Toodles." He slammed the door behind him. There was a click as the door locked.
Darkwing felt Neutralduck's back stiffen against his own. "Relax. Negaduck's rigged so many of these, my blood pressure's gotten used to it."
"Good, because mine's rising enough for the both of us!"
Darkwing craned his neck to see the antique cuffs. They were rusted, but showed no signs of being likely to break soon. He glanced nervously at the wall of spikes coming towards the twosome. "Maybe we can stand up." He pressed the soles of his webbed feet against the floor, attempting to push his body up.
No good. The two ducks crashed back to the floor.
"Roll over like your life depends on it!" commanded Neutralduck. "Because it does!"
Darkwing obeyed. It took several flops over, but they were soon safely out of range of the incoming spikes. "Where's that sidekick of mine?" He glanced around the small closet. Several boxes were crowded in one corner, making the floor sag. Come to think of it, some of the floorboards looked rotten. "This way."
It worked. The boards gave way, sending the two prisoners into the museum basement. One of the chains caught on a piece of a broken board and snapped. With his free hand, the terror that flaps in the night reached inside his purple jacket and drew out a lock pick. The antique cuffs fell to the floor. "Once again, the plucky protagonist perseveres through another precarious predicament!"
Neutralduck clutched his chest. "My heart hasn't beat that fast since I was doing experiments in a vacuum and my oxygen tank fell off!"
The door to the basement opened as Launchpad ran in. "DW! I've been looking all over for ya!"
Darkwing brushed dust off his jacket. "Neutralduck, my sidekick, Launchpad."
"We've met," Neutralduck replied dryly. "And if you'll excuse me--"
"Wait!" called the pilot.
"Yes?" asked the bluecoat.
"Maybe you should come with us," suggested Launchpad.
"There's strength in numbers," Darkwing added. "Besides, there are a few questions I'd like answered."
"Oh? Fire away."
They began to ascend the stairs leading to the ground floor. "For one thing, why the dramatic entrance last time?"
Neutralduck chuckled. "Oh, that. To attract attention."
"It worked," piped up Launchpad.
Darkwing looked a little embarrassed. "But why would you take that risk with such a professional around? Namely, me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize this business was territorial." Neutralduck wrung his hands. "After I've had my discussion with Megavolt, I'll leave. Go back to civilian life in Duckburg."
"Duckburg, eh? Don't suppose you've met Gizmoduck."
"I've heard of him, but I've never met the guy."
"Just hope you don't." Darkwing opened a side exit, where his motorcycle was parked. "Wait a minute. Did you just mention Megavolt?"
"Yes. He's got some information I need regarding an invention of his. The tron splitter."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Megavolt's got a sketchy memory. Too much time on the circuit boards. He's probably forgotten about it."
*********************************************************************************
Gosalyn reached under the growing stack of albums and yanked out the first one. She opened it to the photo of the nurse and infant. "Just who is that?"
Anatina burst into tears.
Ruddy shrugged. "I guess it's time we faced the music. That's Jacob Diablo Mallard."
His wife blew her nose on a lace handkerchief. "Sometimes I wonder if it's possible--"
"What's possible?" asked Gosalyn. "What happened to him?"
"Well," Ruddy began. "Jacob wasn't exactly ordinary. See that nurse in the picture? She quit right after it was taken. Jake bit her finger just before pulling her hair. Good thing he hadn't developed teeth yet."
"No kidding. Was there a story behind the middle name?"
"Rosa Lifeline was fluent in Spanish. Diablo means devil," Anatina sighed. "We felt a little guilty about giving him the middle name, but it suited him extremely well."
"What did he do?" asked Gosalyn, astonished. She had been called an assortment of names at the orphanage, mostly 'problem child,' but she had never earned a nickname that bad.
"There was the time the neighbor's cat wandered onto our property," recalled Ruddy. "Jake was outside and pulled its tail. The cat didn't like this and fought back. Our son's response? Grab the poor feline's neck and squeeze it. The cat barely survived, but we never saw it again."
"It was so embarrassing," groaned Anatina.
"Did Jake get along with his brother?" inquired the nine year old.
"Not in the least," answered Ruddy. "If I hadn't noticed the laundry basket was so heavy, I'd never have discovered that Jake hid a sleeping Drake in a pile of dirty clothes heading for the washing machine."
"Then there were all his attempts to punch, kick, bite, or bonk Drakey on the head," added Anatina. "Then one day he disappeared. We tried everything, but he had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth."
Gosalyn ran into the hall, and sifted through the newspaper recycling bin until she found an issue from a few days ago. The young girl flipped through the pages until she found a colored photograph of Darkwing Duck wrestling with his 'diabolical double.' She re-entered the living room and held out the picture. "Does he look familiar?"
She took Anatina's stunned expression as a 'yes'.
***********************************************
Negaduck studied the dimension machine from all angles. He pried open the glass door and stepped inside. He flipped a switch labeled 'on.' The console lit up. Enter Access Code appeared on a small black screen in white letters. Beneath it was a 10-digit keypad. Public Enemy Number Two took out a fingerdusting kit he had stolen from the museum exhibit on early crime detection methods. No avail. There were no fingerprints on the keys. Whoever used the machine last must have worn gloves. Negaduck punched a random string of numbers. Not even close, read the display.
Negaduck smacked his forehead and opened the copy of Sciencebills he had conveniently shoplifted from the newsstand. He flipped it to the Median Gray interview and reread the section on the dimension machine. He glanced at the photo. "Wait a minute." He ran to the windows and drew the curtains closed, then shut the door and left the key in the lock. Then he pulled off his own mask, a rare occasion. Negaduck was uncomfortable without the black mask; it seemingly defined him. He had discovered that the day he had donned it. The unmasked supervillain looked into his reflection in one of the plate glass windows of the machine. A copy of Median Gray's face stared back. Negaduck refastened the mask and groaned. "Gray...between black and white. The color of neutrality. The only one who knew the code and he's pushing up daisies along with Darkwing Duck." He re-opened the door. "I'll just see the results of my labor. Maybe he had the code written in his address book or something."
************************************
A small car pulled up to 537 Avian Way.
"Nice house," whistled Ruddy. "Couldn't have designed a nicer one myself."
Gosalyn turned to get out. "I'll tell Dad to call you when he gets home. I'll stay at my friend Honker's until he does."
"Until next time, sweetie," answered Anatina, kissing her granddaughter's forehead.
Gosalyn waited until her grandparents were gone, then ran toward her own house. She climbed through an open window, then went to the living room. A bonk on Basil's head, and she was in Darkwing Tower. Her father, still in costume, was reading some printouts at his desk. Launchpad was eating a tall sandwich while a duck who looked just like Darkwing was trying to look away. "Keen gear!" She faced the unfamiliar duck. "Let me guess...you're some sort of evil clone, or some zombie who can shape-shift to look just like anyone on Earth!"
"Why, no!" the duck sputtered.
"Or are you involved in something more sinister?" Gosalyn leaned forward, her face almost in Neutralduck's.
Neutralduck threw up his hands. "I'm perfectly normal." He looked around desperately. "Darkwing! I thought we had a truce!"
Darkwing was too absorbed in reading the papers to hear.
Launchpad gently tugged one of Gosalyn's ponytails. "Calm down, Gos."
"What? Calm down? What if he's in cahoots with Negaduck?"
"Negaduck tried to kill me!" protested Neutralduck. "Look, I've got better things to do than be given the third degree by a little girl!"
Gosalyn reached for the blue mask. "Then let's see what's underneath that costume."
Neutralduck slapped her hand.
"Geez, got something to hide?" Gosalyn snapped indignantly.
"I've got nothing to hide, but I don't want to let anyone know what I look like."
*****************************************************
Negaduck opened the door to the museum's vault. A cursory glance at the room told him his intended victims had escaped. "Hmm...looks like I'm going back to the Negaverse after all! I'll just call another meeting of the Fearsome Five." He slammed the door and ran out of the museum, eager to set his new plan in motion.
TBC