Bearly Getting It
by
Cynthia "Sparky" Read

Chapter Two

Darkwing took notes. "And who was at home at the time of the crime, ma'am?" he asked.

The distraught woman wrung her hands. "Just my children," she sniveled. "But they insist they didn't see anyone."

Darkwing turned to the two pre-teen boys who slouched at their mother's elbows. "Gentlemen," he began importantly, "are you certain you did not observe anyone in your home at the time of the robbery?"

The boys shrugged and grunted something.

"I see." Darkwing frowned and pretended to write something down. "Thanks for your help."

"Don't you remember anything?" pressed Launchpad.

"Well," said one of the boys after a moment. "We got a couple packages."

"Yeah, it was a couple of dumb teddy bears," added the other boy.

Launchpad looked around. "Is this one?" he asked, picking up a large-eyed stuffed bear from the porch floor.

"Yeah."

"I wonder what happened to the other one," mused Launchpad, examining the bear.

"Launchpad, quit playing with toys and focus on the investigation." Darkwing closed his notebook. "That will be all, ma'am."

The woman grabbed her sons by the wrists and hauled them inside, slamming the door.

"Hey DW," called Launchpad, "wasn't there a bunch of bears like this at that orphanage we went to earlier?"

"Launchpad, it's just a bear." Darkwing put his helmet on. "Let's go."

"I'm going to keep this bear as evidence, DW."

Darkwing rolled his eyes. "Fine fine fine," he said. "Come on."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Evelyn followed Wayne all the way downtown, to an abandoned deli sandwiched (heh heh) between two equally abandoned warehouses. Several blocks before actually reaching the deli, Evelyn had begun to notice several other children, all in a trancelike state similar to Wayne's and all toting valuables, as well as bears (unlike Wayne), heading in the same direction.

The tern ducked behind a huge empty cardboard box as Wayne and the other children approached the deli's front door. She watched curiously as several of the children began kicking and banging on the door. Not surprisingly, Wayne was one of them.

"All right all right, no need to get violent," a voice called out snippily from inside the deli.

Evelyn blinked as the deli door opened. It was Quackerjack, one of Megavolt's Fearsome Five teammates. She cringed behind the box. What luck!

"Well, well, well, very good!" cried Quackerjack as the children held out their stolen treasures. "Bring it all inside. Don't forget those bears!" When Wayne tried to march past inside, the Toymaker became furious.

"And where's your Hypno-Bear, little boy?" he demanded. Wayne was silent. "Oooh!" cried the duck, pulling on his captails. "Do you know how much those bears cost me to manufacture?"

Evelyn, shouldering her duffelbag, crept silently around the box to an open window of the deli and peered inside. The children were dumping their pilfered goods in one pile and the Hypno-Bears in another. Infinitely intrigued, Evelyn climbed inside and rifled through the pile of treasures, looking for interesting trinkets.

Quackerjack reluctantly let Wayne into the deli, then followed him inside. "Hey!" he shouted upon noticing Evelyn. "Get away from that!"

Evelyn looked up impassively. She had never considered Quackerjack a dangerousor even competentvillain. But then, he worked with Megavolt, so she forced herself to be polite. "What's it to you?"

Quackerjack frowned. "You're not a little kid," he remarked.

Evelyn sighed. Yes, supervillainry at its best. "And what exactly is going on here?" she asked.

The Toymaker folded his arms. "I'm not telling," he sniffed.

Evelyn feigned irregard. "All right," she said, pulling Wayne's Hypno-Bear from her duffel. "I guess I'll just keep this, then."

"Hey!" Quackerjack's eyes widened. "Give me that! No fair!"

"Ah ah ah." Evelyn held the bear behind her back. "I want to know what you're up to." Please please let it have something to do with Megavolt.

"Oh, all right," sulked Quackerjack. He perked up immediately as he grabbed a Hypno-Bear from the pile. "These bears," he began, "turn a handy profit. And I don't even have to sell them!"

Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

Quackerjack lowered the bear. "Do you like toys?" he asked suddenly.

"Um." Evelyn almost said no, but concluded that might not be the best answer in this situation. "Sure," she shrugged.

"Great!" shouted Quackerjack, grabbing Evelyn's arm. "Come on! I'll show you my giraffe collection!"

"Swell."