Laszlo groaned as the pounding pain in his head began to bring him back
into consciousness. His eyes lazily fluttered open, and he had to squint to
help his blurred vision to clear faster. Something warm was running down
the side of his face, and when he tried to slowly lift a hand to feel what
it was, he found that he was tied and bound to an old chair. But he didn't
need to feel what it was that was quickly dampening the feathers on his
face. The thick, and still flowing red liquid dripped down in front of his
eyes. The blow he had taken to the head earlier had caused a small split in
the back of his head.
"Bloody Hell." he muttered in a raspy voice, "this was my good suit." His vision now cleared, he glanced around at his surroundings. A large dark room, with old crates and boxes scattered about. Apparently whoever had abducted him had dragged him to an old abandoned building which was due to go through renovations. There were only a few windows in the large room, and looking out through the dusty glass, he could tell that night had fallen. The only light shining in was from the lights of the city, along with the rhythmic flashing of red and blue lights. Police cars. Laszlo had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he slowly began to realize that he was in the middle of a crime scene.
"Well well well." came the growling voice that he heard just before he was rendered unconscious, "Sleeping Ugly has finally decided to wake and keep me company."
Not yet finding the source of the voice in the dark room, Laszlo painstakingly snapped his head from side to side, looking for his apprehender. At first, he had thought and hoped that he had only heard the voice in his head due to the strong blow he had taken before. But he was proven wrong when he spotted the dark outline of a caped figure standing at one of the windows, his back to him and staring out the window at the rapidly gathering cops and citizens below.
"Listen sir, I don't know just who you are, but..." Laszlo said, dismissing the insult inflicted on him just moments before and shifting his shoulders in his captured state, "I'm sure you're quite a reasonable man. If you will just untie my hands, I can get to my wallet. Will you take a check, or would you prefer cash?"
This offer only got him an amused laugh in return from the figure at the window, who has still not yet turned around from the window where he has been enojying the audience gathering below, "Just what kind of sap do you take me for, ya fancy-pants fop??" There was a short pause which was cut short by a chillingly low chuckle, "It's not your money that I want..."
The sinister laugh forced Laszlo to gulp his confidence down as he desperately tried to think of what to try next. He still did not know just who this was before him, but something told him he was not one to be trifled with. And something seemed to chip away in the back of his head about this person.
"Well I'm...I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement!" Laszlo stammered, grinning sheepishly with a nervous laugh, "I've also run several business corporations, and...Hey, you sound familiar..." he finally stated, tilting his head curiously.
Another snide laugh came from the window, "Well, I guess you can say that we've met on occasion...Even in another universe, perhaps..." he added in a growl, finally turning around and allowing the lights from outside to reveal his image, the menacing grin on his face.
"L...Lord Negaduck??" Laszlo gasped between stutters, his eyes going wide with fear. Being from the Negaverse, along with his wife and their biological daughter, they had lived under the iron fist and rule of this notorious criminal ever since he had claimed the title of ruler for himself. It was a known fact that every citizen in the Negaverse were to fear its king, and that king was Negaduck.
"You were expecting Donald Duck?" Negaduck replied snidely as he suavely brushed his silken cape over his shoulders and took a few steps threateningly towards his helpless victim.
"But...You're supposed to be dead! Ever since that look-alike of yours crossed over into the Negaverse and...'overthrew' your position..." he said, a bit hesitant about the last part of his sentence, knowing that it would strike a nerve with the short tempered mallard.
Negaduck smirked with amusement, folding his arms in front of him and tilting his head forward, "Dead? Hardly...This run-down city isn't lucky enough for that. I DISAPPEARED for five years when the portal collapsed, yes. But DIED?" he paused to chuckle maliciously with a wide grin, "I do believe I'm VERY much alive tonight..."
The laugh and the grin sent a shiver up Laszlo's spine. He wanted to desperately turn his head away from the piercing glance, but it seemed to hold his eyes as if it were hypnotizing. He thrust his shoulders forward, weakly attempting to free himself again, but it was hopeless. With a sigh, he let his shoulders slump in defeat.
"But there's ONE thing I still don't get..." Negaduck suddenly broke the silence with the question, staring right at Laszlo, "Just HOW did you two get here from the Negaverse? Portals aren't as plentiful as some would hope..."
"It was through one of SHUSH's inventions." Laszlo admitted in a drowsy tone, knowing that if he wanted to live for a few more minutes, he'd better concede with whatever Negaduck wished, "It was a sort of portal jumper we had heard about in the newspaper. If it actually worked was just a rumor, but after we had heard of it working successfully on our daughter, which transferred her here, we bought out the invention from SHUSH. After testing it out ourselves, we got here."
There was a long eerie silence as neither of them moved, but Negaduck just kept his gaze fixated on Laszlo as if trying to decide between the dozens of options on how to make him suffer. The silence was beginning to make Laszlo feel extremely uneasy and nervous as he stared back at him with a hopeful expression.
"Please, just tell me what you want," he practically pleaded, his voice breaking every few words, "I've got money, businesses.You just name it, and it is yours!"
"What do 'I' want..?" Negaduck responded, his voice coming out in a low growl as he slowly stalked forward towards the man tied to a chair, his eyes narrowing further with each step, "What do 'I' want?? I'll tell you what I want..!" he snapped, stopping just inches away from Laszlo before grabbing the ropes that held him and roughly pulling forward, bringing their bills just barely apart. An intense rage was gleaming in his eyes as he seethed hatefully, his words dripping with venom, "I want my daughter back, you son of a bitch...!"
It was then that it had finally struck Laszlo. As he stared into the dark abyss of Negaduck's eyes, he realized just where else he had met this duck before, "You're..You're Drake Mallard.!"
"Yeah, but keep it under your hat.!" he hissed as he roughly let him go, sending him thumping back against the chair once again, "Although I don't think I will have to worry about you spilling it to anyone else, considering you most likely won't make it out of here alive." he added as he pulled a handgun out of his yellow suit and began to load the bullet carousel.
"You.You're going to KILL me..?" Laszlo stuttered fearfully, his usual suave exterior now finally betraying him.
Negaduck grinned again as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, "That all depends if everything goes according to plan tonight. You see, the way I see it played out is like this." he grinned as he bent down beside Laszlo, slinging an arm around his shoulder in a buddy-like manner as he enthusiastically explained the layout of his plan with a motion of his other arm, "Old Mrs. Laszlo comes downstairs to find her beloved husband missing, complete with a nice little blood trail as an explanation of just what might have happened to him. Then, when her curiosity overcomes her, she steps outside as she hears the sound of a motorcycle speeding away. And who else but Mr. Laszlo himself is seen being kidnapped by Public Enemy #1. I've got the cops outside, I've got the headlines on the news. What more do I need for her to find me?" he stated with a satisfied grin.
"But.what does that have to do with holding ME hostage?"
"Here's the deal," Negaduck replied, giving him a light smack upside the head and circling him around the side to stand in front of him once again, "I'm a compassionate criminal when I want to be, and I'm gonna make it easy on both of you. She just has to choose.either Celeste,or you.And if she's smart, she'll realize just what's more important between a mere sum of cash or her soulmate."
Laszlo had a look on sincere puzzlement on his face, "What are you talking about, 'a mere sum of cash'?"
With an agitated sigh, Negaduck rolled his eyes, "I may be a criminal, but I'm NOT stupid. Don't think that I don't know about your little game you two are playing with the kid. Unless you want to see just how artistic I can be with your insides, I suggest admitting to your little scheme concerning a certain 'settlement' that can only be 'settled' with the custody of a biological child..."
Taking in a deep breath before responding, Laszlo nodded once, "Yes, it's true. We thought we'd be better off financially without a child in our lives, and happier. So we dropped the child off while she was still young before she could get attached to us as a real family."
Negaduck just stared at him coldly before turning away with a grunt, taking a few steps away from him, "You disgust me..."
"Yes, it even disgusts me when I think about it at times. But what's been done has been done. There's no changing the past..." Laszlo began, but stopped himself as he noticed Negaduck clicking back the hammer of his gun, his eyes going wide, "And I told you what you wanted to know...Just please...don't torture me..!"
"Torture you?" Negaduck asked, tilting his head as he looked over his shoulder at him, a slight gleam of pleasure in his eyes, "That's a good idea, I like that..."
"Bloody Hell." he muttered in a raspy voice, "this was my good suit." His vision now cleared, he glanced around at his surroundings. A large dark room, with old crates and boxes scattered about. Apparently whoever had abducted him had dragged him to an old abandoned building which was due to go through renovations. There were only a few windows in the large room, and looking out through the dusty glass, he could tell that night had fallen. The only light shining in was from the lights of the city, along with the rhythmic flashing of red and blue lights. Police cars. Laszlo had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he slowly began to realize that he was in the middle of a crime scene.
"Well well well." came the growling voice that he heard just before he was rendered unconscious, "Sleeping Ugly has finally decided to wake and keep me company."
Not yet finding the source of the voice in the dark room, Laszlo painstakingly snapped his head from side to side, looking for his apprehender. At first, he had thought and hoped that he had only heard the voice in his head due to the strong blow he had taken before. But he was proven wrong when he spotted the dark outline of a caped figure standing at one of the windows, his back to him and staring out the window at the rapidly gathering cops and citizens below.
"Listen sir, I don't know just who you are, but..." Laszlo said, dismissing the insult inflicted on him just moments before and shifting his shoulders in his captured state, "I'm sure you're quite a reasonable man. If you will just untie my hands, I can get to my wallet. Will you take a check, or would you prefer cash?"
This offer only got him an amused laugh in return from the figure at the window, who has still not yet turned around from the window where he has been enojying the audience gathering below, "Just what kind of sap do you take me for, ya fancy-pants fop??" There was a short pause which was cut short by a chillingly low chuckle, "It's not your money that I want..."
The sinister laugh forced Laszlo to gulp his confidence down as he desperately tried to think of what to try next. He still did not know just who this was before him, but something told him he was not one to be trifled with. And something seemed to chip away in the back of his head about this person.
"Well I'm...I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement!" Laszlo stammered, grinning sheepishly with a nervous laugh, "I've also run several business corporations, and...Hey, you sound familiar..." he finally stated, tilting his head curiously.
Another snide laugh came from the window, "Well, I guess you can say that we've met on occasion...Even in another universe, perhaps..." he added in a growl, finally turning around and allowing the lights from outside to reveal his image, the menacing grin on his face.
"L...Lord Negaduck??" Laszlo gasped between stutters, his eyes going wide with fear. Being from the Negaverse, along with his wife and their biological daughter, they had lived under the iron fist and rule of this notorious criminal ever since he had claimed the title of ruler for himself. It was a known fact that every citizen in the Negaverse were to fear its king, and that king was Negaduck.
"You were expecting Donald Duck?" Negaduck replied snidely as he suavely brushed his silken cape over his shoulders and took a few steps threateningly towards his helpless victim.
"But...You're supposed to be dead! Ever since that look-alike of yours crossed over into the Negaverse and...'overthrew' your position..." he said, a bit hesitant about the last part of his sentence, knowing that it would strike a nerve with the short tempered mallard.
Negaduck smirked with amusement, folding his arms in front of him and tilting his head forward, "Dead? Hardly...This run-down city isn't lucky enough for that. I DISAPPEARED for five years when the portal collapsed, yes. But DIED?" he paused to chuckle maliciously with a wide grin, "I do believe I'm VERY much alive tonight..."
The laugh and the grin sent a shiver up Laszlo's spine. He wanted to desperately turn his head away from the piercing glance, but it seemed to hold his eyes as if it were hypnotizing. He thrust his shoulders forward, weakly attempting to free himself again, but it was hopeless. With a sigh, he let his shoulders slump in defeat.
"But there's ONE thing I still don't get..." Negaduck suddenly broke the silence with the question, staring right at Laszlo, "Just HOW did you two get here from the Negaverse? Portals aren't as plentiful as some would hope..."
"It was through one of SHUSH's inventions." Laszlo admitted in a drowsy tone, knowing that if he wanted to live for a few more minutes, he'd better concede with whatever Negaduck wished, "It was a sort of portal jumper we had heard about in the newspaper. If it actually worked was just a rumor, but after we had heard of it working successfully on our daughter, which transferred her here, we bought out the invention from SHUSH. After testing it out ourselves, we got here."
There was a long eerie silence as neither of them moved, but Negaduck just kept his gaze fixated on Laszlo as if trying to decide between the dozens of options on how to make him suffer. The silence was beginning to make Laszlo feel extremely uneasy and nervous as he stared back at him with a hopeful expression.
"Please, just tell me what you want," he practically pleaded, his voice breaking every few words, "I've got money, businesses.You just name it, and it is yours!"
"What do 'I' want..?" Negaduck responded, his voice coming out in a low growl as he slowly stalked forward towards the man tied to a chair, his eyes narrowing further with each step, "What do 'I' want?? I'll tell you what I want..!" he snapped, stopping just inches away from Laszlo before grabbing the ropes that held him and roughly pulling forward, bringing their bills just barely apart. An intense rage was gleaming in his eyes as he seethed hatefully, his words dripping with venom, "I want my daughter back, you son of a bitch...!"
It was then that it had finally struck Laszlo. As he stared into the dark abyss of Negaduck's eyes, he realized just where else he had met this duck before, "You're..You're Drake Mallard.!"
"Yeah, but keep it under your hat.!" he hissed as he roughly let him go, sending him thumping back against the chair once again, "Although I don't think I will have to worry about you spilling it to anyone else, considering you most likely won't make it out of here alive." he added as he pulled a handgun out of his yellow suit and began to load the bullet carousel.
"You.You're going to KILL me..?" Laszlo stuttered fearfully, his usual suave exterior now finally betraying him.
Negaduck grinned again as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, "That all depends if everything goes according to plan tonight. You see, the way I see it played out is like this." he grinned as he bent down beside Laszlo, slinging an arm around his shoulder in a buddy-like manner as he enthusiastically explained the layout of his plan with a motion of his other arm, "Old Mrs. Laszlo comes downstairs to find her beloved husband missing, complete with a nice little blood trail as an explanation of just what might have happened to him. Then, when her curiosity overcomes her, she steps outside as she hears the sound of a motorcycle speeding away. And who else but Mr. Laszlo himself is seen being kidnapped by Public Enemy #1. I've got the cops outside, I've got the headlines on the news. What more do I need for her to find me?" he stated with a satisfied grin.
"But.what does that have to do with holding ME hostage?"
"Here's the deal," Negaduck replied, giving him a light smack upside the head and circling him around the side to stand in front of him once again, "I'm a compassionate criminal when I want to be, and I'm gonna make it easy on both of you. She just has to choose.either Celeste,or you.And if she's smart, she'll realize just what's more important between a mere sum of cash or her soulmate."
Laszlo had a look on sincere puzzlement on his face, "What are you talking about, 'a mere sum of cash'?"
With an agitated sigh, Negaduck rolled his eyes, "I may be a criminal, but I'm NOT stupid. Don't think that I don't know about your little game you two are playing with the kid. Unless you want to see just how artistic I can be with your insides, I suggest admitting to your little scheme concerning a certain 'settlement' that can only be 'settled' with the custody of a biological child..."
Taking in a deep breath before responding, Laszlo nodded once, "Yes, it's true. We thought we'd be better off financially without a child in our lives, and happier. So we dropped the child off while she was still young before she could get attached to us as a real family."
Negaduck just stared at him coldly before turning away with a grunt, taking a few steps away from him, "You disgust me..."
"Yes, it even disgusts me when I think about it at times. But what's been done has been done. There's no changing the past..." Laszlo began, but stopped himself as he noticed Negaduck clicking back the hammer of his gun, his eyes going wide, "And I told you what you wanted to know...Just please...don't torture me..!"
"Torture you?" Negaduck asked, tilting his head as he looked over his shoulder at him, a slight gleam of pleasure in his eyes, "That's a good idea, I like that..."