Chapter 3:
Defiance, Thy Name is Celeste
How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core Where Ive become so numb
Without a soul My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold Until you find it there and lead it back home
-CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
Now that I know what Im without You cant just leave me Breathe into me and {make me real} Bring me To life
* * * Back at the hideout, after sadly watching Celeste go and mouthing back, `good luck,' and adding a little wave, Quackerjack started sorting his muddled thoughts. He looked from Megavolt to the Liquidator, then to Bushroot, amazed that he hadn't been the victim of any type of physical attack. He could hardly believe that he wasn't sprawled on the floor, hurting in several places. But he felt that he'd lost something better in the wake of his good fortune; namely, a new best friend. Obviously Negaduck didn't want him to be a playmate with his daughter, and if he valued his health, he'd have to try to avoid her.His eyes downcast, he sighed. "He didn't buy it." He said, pointing out the obvious, but not seeming to care. "Gee, Licky, I guess I really am a bad liar."
"Census says....YES!!! You hit the nail on the head, you hit the jackpot, you've run the corner too quickly, you've..." Licky looked at his less than cheerful companion, "what's with you!?" he accused not liking to see a fellow vilain down, it showed weakness.
For once, the normally cheerful jester looked depressed. "It isn't like I'd hurt her, or anything. Negaduck's our undisputed boss, after all." he looked up, suddenly alarmed. "Hey, what are we gonna tell Steelbeak about all this? He'll think we're double-crossing him!"
"What are WE going to tell him? Oh no, I just got here jingle boy, I had nothing to do with this, you dug your own worm hole by hangin' with that Foul peice of chicken. I bet he's not even Kosher!" Licky exploded not wanting to be held responsible for something he actually wasn't guilty of this time.
Quackerjack's random train of thought suddenly remembered what had taken place a few minutes earlier, and he jumped back to that line of discussion without a pause."You guys tried to get me in even deeper trouble!" he said accusingly, pointing at Megavolt and Liquidator. "Traitors." He mumbled angrily, "I'm having a bad day already, so don't mess with me." His attempt to be threatening was somewhat ruined by the out-of-place merry jingling of his bells as he stomped over to a chair and sat down, pulling out a piece of string and attempting to play cat's cradle with it.
Licky gave Quackerjack a look of 'gimme a break, are you kidding?' then shook his head. "Speaking of bad days, that little girl didn't seem too chipper, who is she? And what is she doing with Negaduck? I tell you, a guy goes on a brief vacation to cause chaos and mahem in the seven seas, and then all hell breaks loose!"
Quackerjack made a pathetic attempt to ignore the Liquidator, still riled at him, until he finally ground his teeth together, exasperated, and scrunched up the string. He tossed it away, and his eyes narrowed as he stood up."She's the only person in the world who's never looked at me funny!" he burst out melodramatically, "The only person who could ever understand me! She's like the childhood buddy that I never had." He took a deep breath.
"But Negaduck's being a sourpuss. He's her dad," Quackerjack looked at the Liquidator quickly, and remembered his promise not to tell anyone that she was adopted, "Her name's Celeste, by the way." He added, as though the last part was unimportant. "She hates being called Brownie."
He sighed deeply, then nodded to himself. "We probably should just let Negaduck deal with Steelbeak. I've had enough of being the scapegoat for one day." He dismissed that notion, adding, "Speaking of Negaduck.we need to hurry up and do what he said if we don't want barbecued behinds. Not that that's a problem for you." he looked at the Liquidator critically.
"Yes...Yes...Let Negaduck deal wit' me..." Steelbeak spoke ominiously, creeping around the corner as if he's appeared out of thin air. He'd been listening the entire time since Negaduck's arrival and departure. His cocky confidence was more than just obvious -- it was in-the-face bold. "I ain't afraid of 'im. I'm public enemy numero uno, after all, or was, until dat no- good Javert took over my position. Like it or not, until I get my job back, Victoria and I are gonna be yer new leaders."
He held a cold stare to everyone, circling them with an aggressive posture.
"Anyone got a problem wit' dat?"
"Err, I...um...well...that is... I don't...not really..." Quackerjack's voice raised several octaves, and he found himself unable to complete any of his sentences. "I mean... you see..." The most he seemed to be able to manage was two words at a time, none relevant to each other. He glanced around frantically at his teammates for some sort of plan. Attack or back down? They'd really be in trouble if Negaduck found out they were obeying two bosses. "Well, there's this... thing... you know..." he stuttered, stopping again. Finally, he cleared his throat and found words that he could verbalize. "If we followed your orders instead of Negaduck's, he'd kill us." He explained matter-of-factly, "And I'm much too young at heart to die. And Negaduck has access to all kinds of horrible torture devices, and we--" he stopped again, backing up a few steps. "Uh, Licky, need a plan..." he whispered urgently out of the corner of his bill, "What do we do??"
"Do nothing!" Spat Steelbeak, jumping in between Quackerjack and The Liquidator. He chumly draped his arms around the shoulders of the two fellow villains and grinned wickedly. "Stick wit' me, and youse will never fail again!"
There was a wild, feral gleam in his silvery eyes as he spoke in a slow, triamphant voice. His mind wasdangerously bordering on insanity and at the slightestprovokation, he would snap and become dangerously violent.
"Negaduck views youse guys as nothin' but knobs.Acessories, in other woids. Now, me, on de other 'and,view youse guys as classy criminals who are smarterden what Negaduck gives credit fer."
Quackerjack swallowed, feeling slightly as though his personal space had just been violated. Carefully, he slid himself out from under Steelbeak's friendly-but-forced hug and took a single, slow step away, putting some distance in between him and the rooster, showing his teeth in a fake smile and keeping his hands free.He sensed that something was wrong with the situation...very wrong. And he wanted out. His mind was screeching to run, to attack, to do anything but stand there and be defenseless
"Well, that's nice of you." Quackerjack said nervously, wondering about how best to approach this situation and taking another step away, trying to stay well out of reach in case Steelbeak tried to lunge at him. The rest of the Fearsome Five would have to watch out for themselves; he couldn't warn them without tipping Steelbeak off that he knew something weird was up. It was every villain for himself. "Do we have a choice in the matter?" he inquired, in a carefully cultivated `be-polite-to-the-psycho-on-pain-of- death' voice.
"Quackerjack, my friend, youse 'ave nothin' ta worry about!" Steelbeak suavely ensured, not letting his eyes off of the villain in case he 'tried something funny'. "But I'm afraid youse guys also 'ave no choice..." He said in a mock-sad voice. Right about then, his cellphone rang.
"'Ello?" He asked hurriedly, continuing to keep his eyes on the other villains. "Who's dis?"
"It's me, Victoria..."
"Aww, Tori...My darlin'. How are youse an' Tatiana doin'?"
"Very well, thank you!" Replied Victoria. "Have you taken over the Fearsome Five yet?"
"Great to hear it, baby cakes! I'm in de process of doin' dat right now. Ev'ryt'ing's doin a okay!"
"Awesome! Well, I'll leave ya to it. See ya around, hon!"
"Bye!" Steelbeak answered in a sing song voice, slipping the phone back into his jacket. He circled the 'gang' and growled. "Youse guys try an' do somet'ing funny -- I'll do somet'ing *very* unpleasant."
Bushroot watched all this with growing unease. In fact, he was confused. It was true that Negaduck often disrespected him and the other members of the Five, and Steelbeak's words sounded good to him. It could be the suave rooster would make a better boss than Negaduck. But then there was the rage Negaduck was capable of, and he was capable of anything else as well. Which way to go, he thought...which leader to follow? And underneath, a small part of him wished he had just stayed in his greenhouse with his plants. Things were simpler there.
"Eh-heh, funny? Us? No fear of that, we don't do comedy," said Megavolt, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture and backing away. :Mommy, make the big scary rooster go away!: he thought mentally.
"Good..." Steelbeak growled, pressing his face into Megavolt's. He paced around the Fearsome Five proudly and gestured dramatically as he spoke. Just from reading his body language, one would know that he meant business and it would be dangerous to tangle with him. "I trust ev'ryone 'ere knows who's de boss. Now dat's been settled, it's time fer us ta move on with de fun. Startin' wit were we's were left off! Should either Darking or Negaduck intefere -- we'll take care of 'em my way."
Megavolt was starting to get a little dizzy from all the circling that Steelbeak was doing. Oooh, how he hated it when people couldn't stand still while they talked, how he truly hated it. It threw him off, it left him disoriented, it made him feel nervous and vulnerable. Which, of course, was exactly Steelbeak's intent.
However, in an uncharacteristic instant of focus, Megavolt did know that he had to get away from this miasma of control. Just long enough to get his scattered braincells together, long enough to figure out what to do. "Um, Steelbeak? Don't you think it would be a good idea for us to get some more weapons? I mean--" his tone became flattering, "--I know FOWL already has the big guns and cool vehicles and so on, but I have some really not-so-bad inventions of my own, not to mention the stuff to make more, if I could just go get them."
"Only is youse feel it is necessary..." Steelbeak groaned, rolling his eyes. "And if dey woik. Tacky t'ings are outta de questions, Megs."
Yes. Yes, that would do it. And it wasn't a lie about the weapons--if he did decide that staying with Steelbeak was the right idea, he had any number of great doohickeys and gadgets that would ensure the FOWL agent's pleasure. But right now he had to get away from the warehouse, and away from Steelbeak, just long enough to straighten things out in his head. "Oh, and, um...I know Quackerjack has all kind of great stuff himself. Right, QJ? Weren't you telling me about that new army of titanium alloy soldiers you were working on the other day? And those Accessory Alice dolls with the three different shades of poison lip gloss? We could stop by your place on the way to mine."
"My.what?" Quackerjack blurted, scratching his head. His mind raced. Titanium alloy soldiers? New Accessory Alice dolls?? Was Megavolt losing what was left of his mind, or-in a flash, he understood, and mentally slapped himself."Ooooohhh, yes!!!" he stressed, nodding his head violently up and down so that his bells jangled against his back, "Those. Completely slipped my mind, what with all the excitement." He giggled suddenly, still nodding. "Of course. This wasn't meant to be much of a business trip, so I only brought a few small toys. If you're serious about taking ov-helping- the Fearsome Five, then you'll want us all at our peak, right? I can't do very much without my gewgaws, super-villain-genius that I am." He said, hastening to the door and looking at Megavolt urgently to follow him, all the while thinking regretfully, `Now why didn't I think of that?'
"I want youse back in exactly an hour," Steelbeakordered, takinga quick look at his watch. He was a weebit suspious, but knew if they went off on their own to escape, he would have little trouble in tracking them down.
"Otherwise...I may get a little nasty..."
"Right-e-o Rooster Sir!" Licky clucked gleefully, half in a mocking tone, "shall we boys?" he asked of the others, ready to leave the scene as soon as possible and find out just how much he'd missed.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWERE!" Steelbeak roared, jumping in front of
The Liquidator. With a deep breath, he returned to his usual calm and suave self.
"Stay 'ere...De boys will be back 'ere soon enough..." He smirked, circling around The Liquidator, his anger once again becoming obvious.
"Were youse...Tryin' to escape? You know how I don't like it when people don't do what I tell 'em to do..."
Megavolt gulped. Steelbeak was scaring him almost more than Negaduck did at this point. "Uh, it's ok, Licky, we'll be back in just an hour. Just like the new boss says, right, new boss? You, um, want us to pick up anything for you while we're out?" Out of the side of his mouth, he hissed, "Quackerjack! Ets-lay amoose-vay."
"Get me a sword, Megavolt. Or a scimitar. Whatevery youse can find an' steal! And get it quick!" Steelbeak snapped, once again pacing around manically. His ever-changing moods was the rooster's worst fault. One could overlook his underbite, his unporpotionally scrawny
legs, but his unpredictablity made him a dangerous foe.
"If youse two are even t'inkin' of going off to escape, I will snap yer scrawny necks!" He screamed, firing his handgun into the ceiling.
"Ep-yay, ight-ray ow-nay, Parky-say!" Quackerjack retorted at Megavolt through clenched teeth. He resisted the urge to grab the electric rodent by his front and forcibly drag him out via the open door.
"And don't worry about a thing, Licky, an hour, that's all it is. Even you can wait for such a short amount of time. Ry-tay ot-nay o-tay et-gay illed- kay?" Quackerjack said directly, looking at the Liquidator and hoping that he understood Pig Latin, and that Steelbeak did not. He turned back to Megavolt, practically hearing his heart thumping a mile a minute.
"Time's a wastin'." He said, forced cheery and taking another step to the door, "We'll just be going, now, no need to do anything drastic, like killing us, them, or the ceiling. You'll have your pointy object complete with handle sooner if you take a couple deep breaths and let us go get it." he suggested, trying to remain calm
Steelbeak raised an eyebrow as Quackerjack spoke such an odd language. It definately wasn't Italian, definately not Greek or Hebrew.With a shrug, he started to calm down a bit and sat down to polish one of his many weapons as the electrical rodent and the duck scurried out.
"Now, Licky, I want youse and Bushroot to stay 'ereand help me plan ta rid dis city of Darkwing Duck for once and for all," Steelbeak spoke calmly, running a comb through his feathers. He took out his FOWL communicator out from his jacket, and in Italiano, he ordered a small pack of deadly- efficently trained Eggmen to spy on Quackerjack and Megavolt.
* * *
"Oh man oh man oh man oh man...." Megavolt started saying once he and Quackerjack had left the warehouse, and then he couldn't stop. "Oh man oh man OHMAN!!" He looked around him nervously, then whispered to Quackerjack raspily, "What the *HECK* have you gotten us into? As if Negaduck wasn't bad enough, now we're saddled with Mr. Bipolar back there? Oh man, I know the microwave told me to beware of the chicken, but I just thought Lester was telling me to watch out for fast food. What the HECK are we gonna do? We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die...." he continued in somewhat histrionic fashion.
"Megs, calm down, we're not gonna die!!" Quackerjack whispered fiercely, "Don't make me attempt to hurt you." He grabbed the rodent by his shoulders and shook him. "Take several deep breaths, okay... Several. Your hysteria is catching, and it won't do us much good being out here if we can't put our heads together and figure a way out of this mess. Negaduck always thought us two worked best together."
Megavolt exhaled a deep breath and nodded. Quackerjack was right. That was the whole point Megavolt had wanted him along--their minds naturally worked in sync. "Ok," he said."Ok.You're right. Let's figure this out."
" Now, listen, I had no idea he was crazy. No idea. I only thought blackmailing him into giving me some money because I knew he stole that diamond was a good plan, and it kinda evolved into something much worse. Apparently, Mr. KFC in there has decided that it's possible to just waltz on in and take over the Fearsome Five. Are we gonna let him get away with that?? Well??"
"No way!" growled Megavolt, glancing around as he kept his voice down. "That over-sized canary bird is gonna have another think coming."
Quackerjack went on, "I'm just as afraid of bodily harm as you are, but we have an advantage that our unfortunate teammates in there do not. We're out here." He glanced around, trying to see if the street was empty. Then another thought struck him.
"Oh, no! We have to warn Celeste! If Steelbeak tries to attack Negaduck, she could be in trouble! Ooh, if Licky or Bushbrain hurt her, I'll never forgive them! I'll..." he trailed off and glanced back at Megavolt, embarrassed.
Megavolt raised an eyebrow. "Bushroot? Hurt a little girl? You've gotta be kidding me--Daisy-Brain may be a villain, sure, but he's one of the sweetest dopes too. He'd never be able to bring himself to hurt a kid. And Licky--well. I dunno about Licky. But I'll tell you what, he looks about as happy with the whole Steelbeak situation as we are. I doubt he's going to want to do *anything* that would go along with Steelbeak's plans at this point."
"Okay, okay. Problem at hand, I'll focus. We're going to my Toy-Box warehouse first, right? We need a way to contact somebody and let them know that Steelbeak's insane."
Megavolt gave a little giggle that threatened encroaching hysteria, but nodded.
" I have a phone there...but we can't very well call the police..." He walked along in silence for a few seconds, then gasped. "Celeste has a phone, too! We could call her! We could tell her to tell Negs that we've run into a spot of trouble, while still following Steelbeak's orders...And to think I came up with that without Mr. Banana Brain's help." He remarked to himself.
"Ok, but if we're gonna do this we've gotta be sneaky. If I know Tinsel- Teeth, he's bound to have some of his Eggmen trailing us, and let me tell you, those guys may have been yoke-heads in the past, but they are seriously scary nowadays. If we're making a call, they're gonna be listening." Megavolt thought to himself a moment. "But you're right, that message would work fine even with them spying on us. And let's hit the Lighthouse after that--I have some stuff that can help us, and maybe we can even find Darkwing Duck. I haven't seen him all day, have you? I mean it's not like I've MISSED that meddler but he would be a big help."
* * * As he was speeding down the street, the sight of the two familiar super villains came out of the corner of Negaduck's eye. At the last minute, he screeched the motorcycle to a stop alongside the sidewalk and watched with amusement as they continued to frantically babble, passing by without even noticing him.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Negaduck suddenly barked as they walked past, "Isn't it past your bedtime to be out? The big bad villains may be out, lurking about..."
He climbed off of the bike and slowly, casually strolled over to the two, an oddly content expression on his face. But it quickly disappated when he stopped just inches from them, "What are you two doing out here?? I 'vaguelly' remember telling you two to STAY back at the warehouse! And where's Water-head and Bush-brain??"
"Negaduck!! Whoo-hoo!!! Somebody up there likes me!" Quackerjack cried happily, oblivious to the fact that Negaduck was probably furious with them. His face fell a second later. "Celeste isn't with you?" he inquired in a disappointed and worried tone, glancing around, "That's bad.It's not safe for you two anymore, especially her. not to say that you're not perfectly capable by yourself, of course, it's just that we've run into a bad problem." Quackerjack said quickly. He paused, wondering how best to word the situation. Then he said, "Apparently, Steelbeak does think it's funny to take over the Fearsome Five. He's done it, even though the other guys don't like it too much, and neither do we. Megs and I were lucky to get out with our lives, actually, and he thinks psychopathic Eggmen are spying on us. But now that you're here, everything'll be alright, right?" Quackerjack was suddenly frantic himself, and he grabbed Negaduck's cape urgently, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Liquidator and Bushy are trapped in that place with that lunatic! Megsy here thought that we could get Darkwing to help us out, but we bumped into you, first." Quackerjack looked at Megavolt, then back at Negaduck. "I don't know what to do, but I'd suggest trying to findCeleste, and not to let her out of your sight, either. Steelbeak might play dirty and try to kidnap her." Quackerjack said. He glanced over his shoulder, evidently worried about the `psychopathic Eggmen,' and obediently waited for directions, not caring from whom. He was all out of ideas himself, and for the hundredth time that day, he wished he'd had the presence of mind to bring along Mr. Banana Brain.
"Hey get off me!" Negaduck roared, angrily snatching his cape out of Quackerjack's grip. At the jester's info, he glanced around for any of Steelbeak's lackeys, knowing that the FOWL worker always liked to keep on top of what's going on.
"Oh pleeeeeease help us out, Negaduck, please! Oh pleaseohpleaseohplease! Steelbeak is even scarier than you!" whined Megavolt, throwing himself on the ground and kissing Negaduck's feet in a shameless fashion.
"Cut that out!!" Negaduck roared with a disgusted expression, pulling his ankle free from Megavolt's grasp, "And watch who you say is scarier than who! I'll show that renegade rooster who's top duck in this town..." he growled, then paused before looking down pathetically at Megavolt at his feet, adding in a low tone, "Don't worry about Steelbeak...I'll take care of him, just like I did before...Now get up! You're soiling your reputation as a villain..."
Megavolt, who's mind switched channels faster than his TV, then abruptly he got up again and put his arms behind his back, trying to look nonchalant. "Ahem. I mean, not that I would want to do *anything* that would make Steelbeak mad, after all." He grinned mindlessly at the buildings around them.
"He WHAT??" Celeste yelped, leaping out of the Troublemaker's sidecar at the comment about Steebeak taking over the Five.
"What the..?!?" Negaduck shrieked as he spun around to face the direction of where the familiar voice was coming from, his eyes going wide at the sight of the familiar fourteen year old jumping out of the motorcycle.
Megavolt, was already on edge, and now, when he saw the unexpected figure pop out of the Troublemaker's sidecar, his first thought was that now, in addition to evil eggmen, weird midget things were out to attack him. In an ill-advised move, he screamed and jumped into Negaduck's arms.
The rat abruptly became aware of the untenable position he was in. A sickly grin formed on his face as he saw his own death approaching. "Um. Hi," he said to Negaduck, slowly releasing his
arms from around the seething supervillain's neck.
An annoyed scowl quickly appeared on Negaduck's face as he promptly dropped Megavolt into a heap on the ground. Dusting off his hands, he then turned to face Celeste, anger apparent in his face and his voice."Celeste!? What the Hell are you doing here?? I thought I left you back at the hideout, in a GROUNDED state, as I recall..!"
"Why that egotistical tin-mouthed turkey! I hope his jaw rusts, I'll teach him a lesson," she grumbled, stomping over to where the three villains were talking and rolling up her sleeves. Suddenly she paused, realizing that she'd given herself away and looked up at Negaduck's face with a gulp. His pupils were dialating and his face was turning red with surpressed rage. She smiled weakly and waved, "uh..hi Dad.." Then ducked behind Quackerjack for protection, peeking out timidly.
Oh, dear." Quackerjack commented, feeling his heart leap up to his mouth suddenly, "Oh, dear." He said again, looking to Megavolt hopelessly."Err.Good to see you, Celeste." He said, in common random fashion, actually pleased to see her, despite what he imagined Negaduck saying-or worse, doing. He gave her a wink, wondering how she'd gotten on
with her father in terms of punishment."Um, Boss. you're not angry with her. are you.?" he asked timidly, looking at Negaduck in appeal, as his brain swiftly tried to find the
silver lining in this particular rain-cloud.
"Me? Angry?? Do I LOOK angry to you?!?" Negaduck snapped, shoving his face in Quackerjack's, "I've got a rotten rooster after my title and team, a daughter who has just disobediently tagged along for a fracass where SOMEBODY'S gonna get pulverized...!" He
threw his hands up in the air, letting out a loud growl of frustration.
"I mean, at least if she's here, then Steelbeak can't get.his clutches.on her.to." Quackerjack slowed down, finally ending in a small whine. He drew breath, determined to make something good out of the whole thing."She's a real trooper, you should be very proud of her, willing to take on Steelbeak like that, she's so brave, you've obviously done a tremendous job raising her, and she's really.great." He babbled on a second later; hoping flattery could succeed where optimism had fallen slightly short. Half of it was true, in a way; Quackerjack really did like Celeste, but he was growing increasingly worried about what Negaduck would do to him the second he stopped talking.
"Mommy." He whimpered.
"DON'T try to flatter me, Quackers...NOW is NOT the time..." Negaduck hissed in response, "I'm trying to think of what to do next..." he added, beginning to frantically pace back and forth.
"Alright...the simplest and most effective way to go about the situation is this....I'm just going to straight out confront that perposterous poultry myself, and show him what happens when he messes with Negaduck..." he growled, cracking his knuckles loudly for effect before turning to the now- three villains, "I'm going back there to wait for old Metal Mouth to show up and let him have it. you knobs gather whatever it is you were going for in the first place before I came across you, and then meet me back there. Knowing that suave, suited, silver-faced FOWLer, he'll have his own guard off Eggheads..."
Negaduck spilled the instructions quickly, every thought of Steelbeak sending more vibes of hatred through him. He did not yet know that Steelbeak was already back at the warehouse, but he was still determined to get there and teach him a lesson.
"And as for YOU..." he hissed, pointing at Celeste, "you're coming with me...I don't have time to take you back to the hideout now, and you're not getting away with this so easily. And don't think that I'm gonna let you get involved either..!" Negaduck informed, storming back to the Troublemaker with Celeste in toll. As he climbed on, he looked back over at Megavolt and Quackerjack then pointed at them.
"Get back to the warehouse A.S.A.P...." Negaduck demanded, then hesitantly added as he gunned the engine, "I have a feeling we'll need all the fire power we can get..." Then with a loud 'Vroom!', he sped away with Celeste in the sidecar.
Celeste laced her fingers and stared at them for a while before voicing her thoughts, "I just wanted to help.." No response. She took a deep breath and looked at him, "This is what you've been training me for, I'm not some baby that can't handle blood! I want to be part of the Five too!" She stared at him imploringly. "I know yer trying to protect me but I can't just sit in a room like a china doll! How am I ever supposed to learn without any experience??"
"Your time for experience will come! But now is DEFINITELY NOT the time..." Negaduck trailed off, beginning to think of how the night will transpire, "It's gonna be bad tonight, kiddo...Not even I know what to expect..."
Just as he finished his sentence, they pulled into the alley beside the old warehouse that they had been at earlier that evening. As he shut off the engine, Negaduck turned and looked at Celeste straight in the eyes.
"If you ever do one thing for me, do it now and STAY here until I get back..."
Her hazel eues widenned and she stared back into his midnight blue ones with a growing sense of dread but she forced a nod, "I promise..if you promise you will come back. Please..I..I can't handle losing you again, dad " she bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling as she hugged him, "Just be careful..I love you."
Negaduck stared down at her, in a somewhat state of shock. He had just been yelling at her minutes ago, but now she was showing pure concern over him. Aside from her, there was only one other person who has felt that way about him...Slowly, he reached down and gave her a quick, light reassuring squeeze in return before slowly pulling her back from him, then
grinned down at her, "I promise, kiddo...Have I let you down yet?" Negaduck answered, quickly ruffling her hair, "I'll be back in no time..."
With a sly wink, he turned away with his cape whipping behind him, and sneaked in through one of the warehouse's side doors. Once inside, Negaduck strained his hearing, tilting his head upward for any sounds or voices. Echoing chatter could be heard coming from one
of the stairwells...familiar voices.Cautiously, he quickly climbed the stairs until he got to the top,
where the stairs ended at a door. Pressing the side of his face against the door, he listened in on the conversation taking place inside.
* * * Bushroot was petrified. Now he really wished he was home, but it was a little late for that. And he was definitely more afraid of Steelbeak than Negaduck. At least Negaduck was consistent. You know how he was going to behave. Steelbeak was unpredictable...and dangerous. The plant duck cast an eye at the Eggmen who had come in as guards. They were so frightening, it was hard to believe there was anything human left in them.
"So..." he began, trying to put up a brave front. "How are we going to polish off Darkwing Duck?" He rubbed his leafy hands together in an attempt to look evil.
Steelbeak could see -- and sense -- Bushroot's fear. He grinned wickedly, knowing that all was going well for him. The expression on his face was a mix of childish mischeif and all the danger of a tiger.
"Simple, Bushroot. We're gonna lead 'em 'ere. Tell 'em Gosalyn came in and hoit 'erself and of course, he'll rush on over 'ere and will wanna rescue 'er. I reallydon't know why I didn't t'ink of it before!"
With a snap of his fingers, he ordered the Eggmen to run out and capture Quackerjack and Megavolt.
According to his watch, they were ten minutes over the time they promised to return at. He was growing impaitent, and began to pace around excitedly and, as he did, he began to laugh AND swear angerily in Italian.
"Is it just me, or is our 'new boss' suffering from spells of schizophrenia?" Licky asked Bushroot in a whisper, "talking to himself, pacing around obsessively, hearing voices..well, that's yet to be determined, but I see it coming!!" Licky continued , his voice rising in intersity, "if we're going to be stealing anything, it should be some Thorazine and insurance coverage for this wacko!" he finished pointing in Steelbeak's direction.
"Doz two better get back here soon..." Steelbeak was menacing the remaining members of the Fearsome Five as he paced, his expression one of clear cut insanity. "I would t'ought dat loser Negadork would have come along by now tryin' ta ruin my plans.
Well well, Steelbeak..." came the growling voice from behind him, "I'm TERRIBLY sorry to keep you waiting, but I had an appointment to keep...You know how the life of a villain is, so many people to torture, so little time..." Negaduck hissed, leaning casually against the doorframe and fiddling with his nails.
Steelbeak quickly whirled around at the voice of Negaduck. His icy silver eyes were filled with intensity and his heart was pounding in excitement. If there would be a fight to take place, now would be the time. The rooster was ready for action and could not be any more confident than he was now.
* * * Negaduck crept down into the dark room, slightly unnerved by the silence. Steelbeak normally wouldn't have been able to resist throwing some sarcastic retort back in his face.At the feeling of the cold metal being pressed against the back of his head, Negaduck's head perked and he straightened himself up, his eyes widening. He didn't expect Steelbeak to be so direct. "Scared? Youse should be..." Steelbeak sneered. "I'm not fond of intruders... I know why youse came 'ere, and if youse t'ink dat I'll back down easily, yer wrong. Dead wrong!" He growled, preparing to pull the trigger. "Youse underestimate me too much. Jus' because my species is de humble domestic chicken, dat doesn't mean dat I 'ave da heart of a tiger!"
"Oh yeah...? Negaduck suddenly seethed. In a super quick motion, he spun around with his arm outstretched, forcefully knocking Steelbeak's hand with the gun aimed to the side and away from his head. Then before he could regain his aim, Negaduck reached into his jacket, pulling out his own gun and aiming it right back at the FOWL High Command with an insane glint in his eye, backing up a few steps into the room.
"Heart of a tiger...but the brain of a Dodo..." Negaduck hissed, "Because you see, Steels, you also underestimate me...you have no idea what I'm capable of. But by messing with my title and my team, I have a feeling you'll find out soon enough..!"
Steelbeak was so angered by Negaduck's attitude that he was at a loss of words. When he opened his beak to say something, he became silent. In his middle age, Steelbeak was not as fast reacting as he was in his youth. However, what he lacked in speed he more than made up for in strength and in perserverence. Just like in any fight he put himself into, the rooster showed no concern at all for his safety. Even now that he was in danger of having hisbrains blown out. It was a foolish fault in his character. All that mattered to him would be that he would win -- or die trying.
"I've 'ad quite enough of youse!" Steelbeak snapped, clamping his metalic jaws around Negaduck's hand like a crocodile.
"YEEOW!!" Negaduck yelped sharply as he felt the cramping pain surge through his right arm. Through gritted teeth, he growled loudly as he lifted his free hand, and quickly jabbed two of his fingers into Steelbeak's eyes. This giving him the opportunity, he managed to wrestle his mangled, bloody wrist free from Steelbeak's grasp and jumped back. Without taking accurate aim, he quickly fired his handgun, which sent a bullet piercing into the wood floor just inches from the rooster's feet.
"That wasn't an accident! And neither will be the next one that goes in your head...!"
* * *
Celeste yelped in shock as her head snapped up at the cry from her father and the sound of a gun going off, "DAD!!!!!!" She shrieked in fear and immediately whirled, charging into the building. Her eyes didn't take in her father right away since he'd backed up slightly into the shadows and all she saw were the drops of blood on the floor from his broken wrist. That was enough to galvanize her from fear to horror to shere fury and she launched herself onto Steelbeak's back, pounding at him with one fist as she hung onto the feathers on the back of his neck and kicking him fiercely in the gut, "You..you butcher!!!I'll rip yer heart out for this!" She sobbed in outrage, socking him a surprisingly strong upper cut in the side of the face as she attacked him like a rabid squirrel.
"What de...?" Steelbeak yelped, his rage replaced with shock as he was suddenly and rapidly getting attacked by the brave child defending her father. In the darkness, he was unable to see exactly who it was. "GET OFF OF ME!" He demanded, throwing a punch behind him. In the corner of his eyes he saw that his sudden attacker was a young teenage girl, the same one he had met up with in the bad part of town. How dare she interfered with his matters, he thought. "Only cowards attack from behind, child!"
Yet, girl or Negaduck, he would fight back just as viciously. The pain he was feeling in his abdomen and jaw only helped to elevate his wild fury, and he bit her hard in whatever arm was closest to him. Normally he wouldn't go out of his way to hurt a lady, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Grabbing the arm that he didn't bite, he roughtly whirled her around to face him and brought her face down to his.
"Youse made de woist mistake, missy!"
Celeste gasped, blood gushing from the bite wound in her arm but her eyes were still narrowed in fury and she kicked him hard in the gut and spit in his face, scowling and looking remarkablly like Negs with those dark thunderclouds rolling in her eyes, intensified by the pain from what she could only guess was a badly broken arm. "Oh kiss my tail feathers, you over baked brainless behemoth," she snarled, her beak wrinked in a fierce expression as she landed another kick in his stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of him."Yer gonna pay for hurting my father, no one messes with him and gets away from me alive!" she struggled, trying to pull her arm free.
Steelbeak lurched over and fell to the ground with a loud thud, instantly letting her go. Even in his state he was still determined to fight to the very end. He struggled to stand up, and when he did, he slapped Celeste in the face. Never before had he known so much anger.
"Dat'll teach youse not ta mess wit' da Steelbeak!" He roared, blood trickling out his mouth from a severe injury to his tongue. He turned around, and made yet another lunge at Negaduck.
But before Steelbeak could reach Negaduck, a large watery hand slapped Steelbeak across the face, throwing him backwards against a wall, and leaving him dripping wet besides. "That's about enough!!" The Liquidator growled uncontrollably, "I may not be a day care teacher, or even someone who really likes little whipper snappers that much, but attacking a defenseless....." he looked over at Celeste and remembered how strong she seemed just a moment ago, "well, maybe not defenseless, but picking on a younger and more..impressionable girl, just doesn't fly my sails. It doesn't float my boat matey," The Liquidator paused for a moment to consider what he just said, "Did I just say that?" he wondered aloud, not sure if he should be more disturbed by the protection of Negaduck and child, or the bizarre sea analogies he was coming up with.
"Anyways!" he continued shaking his head of any previous thoughts that had entered it, "I may not be Negaduck's number one fan, but I certainly would choose his tyranny over yours!" Licky finished scooping up Negaduck with two giant waves and placing him back on his feet, "so there! Ha! I said it!!" HE looked over to Bushroot, Megavolt, and Quackerjack for support, "guys?!!! You with me on this!?"
Normally Megavolt might have held back, but he had come in the warehouse just in time to see Steelbeak bite the kid. The shock (no pun intended) was too much to leave him unaffected. His eyes glinted darkly. "Oh indubitably my dear Licky," he muttered as sparks jumped between the two flanges on his rubber plug helmet.
Negaduck glanced around at his fellow comrades, more in shock at what they had just said, and at their loyalty to him. They were still on his side. As he was placed back on his feet, he dusted himself off, then spotted Celeste out of the corner of his eye, who was now also wounded. His eyes narrowed hatefully as he turned back to Steelbeak and slowly advanced on him."You just never learn, do you..?" he growled insultingly at him, stopping just inches away, "How many times must you be humiliated before you see that I'M the top bird in this city? And those knobs may not be overly smart..." he commented, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the rest of the Fearsome Five, "But they're not stupid enough as to follow your command willingly..."
His glare suddenly morphed into a snide sneer as he added, "You're all washed up, Steels..."
Quackerjack, horrified, pushed past the others, not caring if it was his place or Negaduck's to watch out for the Boss's own daughter, all thoughts of himself and his comrades, even of Steelbeak, forgotten. He stopped next to Celeste, uncertain. "Are.are you alright, Celeste? Oh, you should have waited for us, you're too foolish.so brave." He couldn't even finish the sentence, he was too distraught as he helped her to stand, letting her lean on him. "You could have been killed." He mumbled softly, not wanting to insult her, but unsure of just how serious her injuries were.
The jester stood up, fiercely angry for the first time since he could remember. "You're a playground bully." He snarled at Steelbeak flatly, taking breath to deal worse injuries, "And a no-good.dirty.back- stabbing.coward!" He spat. His mind fumbled to come up with the most vile insults that he knew, which turned out to be quite pathetic ones, at best.
Quackerjack was furious, and with that rage came bravery that he'd never realized he had before. He didn't even bother to glance at the other Fearsome Five to determine which side they were on. He'd already picked his side. When he spoke, he hardly recognized his voice, it was so full of suppressed violence and so drastically unlike his usual merry cheer. It was like somebody flipped a switch."I may not even have superpowers, not that I really care, but I'll take you on all by myself, fight you to the death, for this. It's a cardinal rule of mine to never hurt children, no matter how capable they may be." He said heatedly, fists clenched, "So I'd advise either attacking me or running now, and fast, because I won't give you another chance."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there Quacky, simmer down!!"Licky advised as he transformed hid left arm into a makeshift hose and quickly doused Quackjack in water to get his attention, "I think our lead-headed louse of an ex- leader over there gets the idea. He's got NO ONE on his side now." Licky then glared over at Steelbeak for confirmation, "that is, you DO get the hint, don't you? Or....do we really need to give you..the bath," Licky warned waving his hose-like arm around for emphasis, "and I'm not referring to those politically corrupt Roman smoozing hot tubs either!"
Bushroot stood with leafy hands clenched and two large fir trees ready at strike at Steelbeak. He felt nothing but loathing for this coward who had assaulted a little girl, and for once his timidity was gone. He stood tall, ready to fight with the others against Steelbeak.
"Usually chickens eat corn, Steelbeak." he said in an ice cold voice. "One false move and I'll see to it that the corn gets some payback."
With a menacing grin, Negaduck leaned forward, his face just inches from Steelbeak's as he stared into the rooster's dark eyes with his own."As you can see, Steelbeak...you've clearly lost...again," he whispered to him, his eyes glowing in dleight at Steelbeak's downfall. But they suddenly turned to a violent, raging appearance as he continued, "And if so much as ever lay a finger on my daughter again...I know where to find that little wifey and kid of yours. Try to run, and I'll track them down...an eye for an eye, got it..??"
The threat was spat as if it were venom being ejected from a snake's fangs, and Negaduck pulled himself back from Steelbeak, keeping his eyes fixed on him."So...are you going to leave quietly? Or do I get the pleasure of cutting you into bite-sized chucnks and throwing them out the window for the alley cats to feast on..?"
Steelbeak snarled and made one last ditch lundge for Negaduck, only to be stopped by the most unlikely of the Five. Quackerjack, who had never resorted to flat out punching anyone before hit him with one fist in a solid connecting right between the eyes and sent the roosters flying back into the wall where he lay dazed. "That was for Cel," he muttered before returning to her side.
Celeste coughed and leaned against Quackerjack, holding her wounded arm against her. "Chickens...is everyone else ok?" She paused then looked up at Quackerjack then seized one of his dangling bells on his harliquin hat and pulled him down to face her, "Don't EVER
scare me like that again! You could have gotten killed and I.." She swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes, "I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her first kiss.
Quackerjack's eyes bugged out considerably more than usual, but he didn't try to pull
away, not even when he caught sight of Negaduck nearby. He hugged her back and returned the kiss. After a minute or two he broke off, looking down at her with genuine affection on his face. "You don't need to worry about me, I've been in this business for years, and it hasn't killed me yet." He said, softly, "But I'm glad that you do, anyway. Now all I need to do is figure out why you like me so much!" He chuckled.
The jester paused, glancing around then bent down next to Celeste and whispered, "You
want to get out of here with me before your dad notices us?" "Too late..." growled a low voice from behind Quackerjack, followed by two strong hands taking ahold of the jester by his shoulders and fiercly turning him around to stare into the face of an enraged Negaduck. The villain's eyes were turning an angry red as he glared
at his comrad."She's not going anywhere but FAR away from you..." Negaduck hissed
as he clenched one of his fists in a threatening manner, "And if I ever catch you with her again...I'll be sure to give you a one-way non-stop ticket to meet Lucifer, compliments of me..."
The black masked mallard roughly released Quackerjack from his grip. He then glared down at Celeste, not looking pleased."You're coming with me RIGHT now!"he instructed, taking
her firmly by her good wrist and pulling her back towards the Troublemaker.
Megavolt blinked and scratched his head under his plug hat, staring at the unconcious rooster He turned to Quackerjack plaintively. "What are we supposed to do now? Oh. Wait. That's right, I forgot you were in disgrace. I'd probably better not ask you, ol' 'Humbert Humbert,'" he teased lightly.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Don't become a stand-up." Quackerjack sniffed flatly, giving Megavolt a glare. He was still slightly shaken up by Negaduck's threat, and had no desire to give him any reason to follow up on it. But then, nobody had ever accused Quackerjack of giving up easily.
He put a hand in his pocket, rummaging around thoughtfully. He produced a piece of paper and a pencil, then wrote something down. "Hey, Celeste." he said, keeping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Call me!" He tossed her the balled-up paper, then grabbed Megavolt's arm. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't be talking to you right now, but unless you want to get arrested by the masked-wonder and-slash-or chewed out by Negaduck, we need to get out of here, and I want to put some distance between me and psycho-boss in there." He started tugging on
Megavolt's sleeve urgently. "Come on."
Celeste clutched the piece of paper like precious gold and smiled in a dreamy smitten fashion. Grounded for a year or not, it had all been well worth it.
* * * -CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
{Bring me to life} [Ive been living a lie..Theres nothing inside] {Bring me to life}
Frozen inside without your touch Without your love, darling Only you are the life among the dead
[All of this I, I cant believe I couldnt see Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me]
Ive been sleeping a thousand years it seems Got to open my eyes to everything
[Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul] {Dont let me die here}{There must be something more} Bring me to life
-CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
Bring me to life [Ive been living a lie.. Theres nothing inside] Bring me to life
Defiance, Thy Name is Celeste
How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core Where Ive become so numb
Without a soul My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold Until you find it there and lead it back home
-CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
Now that I know what Im without You cant just leave me Breathe into me and {make me real} Bring me To life
* * * Back at the hideout, after sadly watching Celeste go and mouthing back, `good luck,' and adding a little wave, Quackerjack started sorting his muddled thoughts. He looked from Megavolt to the Liquidator, then to Bushroot, amazed that he hadn't been the victim of any type of physical attack. He could hardly believe that he wasn't sprawled on the floor, hurting in several places. But he felt that he'd lost something better in the wake of his good fortune; namely, a new best friend. Obviously Negaduck didn't want him to be a playmate with his daughter, and if he valued his health, he'd have to try to avoid her.His eyes downcast, he sighed. "He didn't buy it." He said, pointing out the obvious, but not seeming to care. "Gee, Licky, I guess I really am a bad liar."
"Census says....YES!!! You hit the nail on the head, you hit the jackpot, you've run the corner too quickly, you've..." Licky looked at his less than cheerful companion, "what's with you!?" he accused not liking to see a fellow vilain down, it showed weakness.
For once, the normally cheerful jester looked depressed. "It isn't like I'd hurt her, or anything. Negaduck's our undisputed boss, after all." he looked up, suddenly alarmed. "Hey, what are we gonna tell Steelbeak about all this? He'll think we're double-crossing him!"
"What are WE going to tell him? Oh no, I just got here jingle boy, I had nothing to do with this, you dug your own worm hole by hangin' with that Foul peice of chicken. I bet he's not even Kosher!" Licky exploded not wanting to be held responsible for something he actually wasn't guilty of this time.
Quackerjack's random train of thought suddenly remembered what had taken place a few minutes earlier, and he jumped back to that line of discussion without a pause."You guys tried to get me in even deeper trouble!" he said accusingly, pointing at Megavolt and Liquidator. "Traitors." He mumbled angrily, "I'm having a bad day already, so don't mess with me." His attempt to be threatening was somewhat ruined by the out-of-place merry jingling of his bells as he stomped over to a chair and sat down, pulling out a piece of string and attempting to play cat's cradle with it.
Licky gave Quackerjack a look of 'gimme a break, are you kidding?' then shook his head. "Speaking of bad days, that little girl didn't seem too chipper, who is she? And what is she doing with Negaduck? I tell you, a guy goes on a brief vacation to cause chaos and mahem in the seven seas, and then all hell breaks loose!"
Quackerjack made a pathetic attempt to ignore the Liquidator, still riled at him, until he finally ground his teeth together, exasperated, and scrunched up the string. He tossed it away, and his eyes narrowed as he stood up."She's the only person in the world who's never looked at me funny!" he burst out melodramatically, "The only person who could ever understand me! She's like the childhood buddy that I never had." He took a deep breath.
"But Negaduck's being a sourpuss. He's her dad," Quackerjack looked at the Liquidator quickly, and remembered his promise not to tell anyone that she was adopted, "Her name's Celeste, by the way." He added, as though the last part was unimportant. "She hates being called Brownie."
He sighed deeply, then nodded to himself. "We probably should just let Negaduck deal with Steelbeak. I've had enough of being the scapegoat for one day." He dismissed that notion, adding, "Speaking of Negaduck.we need to hurry up and do what he said if we don't want barbecued behinds. Not that that's a problem for you." he looked at the Liquidator critically.
"Yes...Yes...Let Negaduck deal wit' me..." Steelbeak spoke ominiously, creeping around the corner as if he's appeared out of thin air. He'd been listening the entire time since Negaduck's arrival and departure. His cocky confidence was more than just obvious -- it was in-the-face bold. "I ain't afraid of 'im. I'm public enemy numero uno, after all, or was, until dat no- good Javert took over my position. Like it or not, until I get my job back, Victoria and I are gonna be yer new leaders."
He held a cold stare to everyone, circling them with an aggressive posture.
"Anyone got a problem wit' dat?"
"Err, I...um...well...that is... I don't...not really..." Quackerjack's voice raised several octaves, and he found himself unable to complete any of his sentences. "I mean... you see..." The most he seemed to be able to manage was two words at a time, none relevant to each other. He glanced around frantically at his teammates for some sort of plan. Attack or back down? They'd really be in trouble if Negaduck found out they were obeying two bosses. "Well, there's this... thing... you know..." he stuttered, stopping again. Finally, he cleared his throat and found words that he could verbalize. "If we followed your orders instead of Negaduck's, he'd kill us." He explained matter-of-factly, "And I'm much too young at heart to die. And Negaduck has access to all kinds of horrible torture devices, and we--" he stopped again, backing up a few steps. "Uh, Licky, need a plan..." he whispered urgently out of the corner of his bill, "What do we do??"
"Do nothing!" Spat Steelbeak, jumping in between Quackerjack and The Liquidator. He chumly draped his arms around the shoulders of the two fellow villains and grinned wickedly. "Stick wit' me, and youse will never fail again!"
There was a wild, feral gleam in his silvery eyes as he spoke in a slow, triamphant voice. His mind wasdangerously bordering on insanity and at the slightestprovokation, he would snap and become dangerously violent.
"Negaduck views youse guys as nothin' but knobs.Acessories, in other woids. Now, me, on de other 'and,view youse guys as classy criminals who are smarterden what Negaduck gives credit fer."
Quackerjack swallowed, feeling slightly as though his personal space had just been violated. Carefully, he slid himself out from under Steelbeak's friendly-but-forced hug and took a single, slow step away, putting some distance in between him and the rooster, showing his teeth in a fake smile and keeping his hands free.He sensed that something was wrong with the situation...very wrong. And he wanted out. His mind was screeching to run, to attack, to do anything but stand there and be defenseless
"Well, that's nice of you." Quackerjack said nervously, wondering about how best to approach this situation and taking another step away, trying to stay well out of reach in case Steelbeak tried to lunge at him. The rest of the Fearsome Five would have to watch out for themselves; he couldn't warn them without tipping Steelbeak off that he knew something weird was up. It was every villain for himself. "Do we have a choice in the matter?" he inquired, in a carefully cultivated `be-polite-to-the-psycho-on-pain-of- death' voice.
"Quackerjack, my friend, youse 'ave nothin' ta worry about!" Steelbeak suavely ensured, not letting his eyes off of the villain in case he 'tried something funny'. "But I'm afraid youse guys also 'ave no choice..." He said in a mock-sad voice. Right about then, his cellphone rang.
"'Ello?" He asked hurriedly, continuing to keep his eyes on the other villains. "Who's dis?"
"It's me, Victoria..."
"Aww, Tori...My darlin'. How are youse an' Tatiana doin'?"
"Very well, thank you!" Replied Victoria. "Have you taken over the Fearsome Five yet?"
"Great to hear it, baby cakes! I'm in de process of doin' dat right now. Ev'ryt'ing's doin a okay!"
"Awesome! Well, I'll leave ya to it. See ya around, hon!"
"Bye!" Steelbeak answered in a sing song voice, slipping the phone back into his jacket. He circled the 'gang' and growled. "Youse guys try an' do somet'ing funny -- I'll do somet'ing *very* unpleasant."
Bushroot watched all this with growing unease. In fact, he was confused. It was true that Negaduck often disrespected him and the other members of the Five, and Steelbeak's words sounded good to him. It could be the suave rooster would make a better boss than Negaduck. But then there was the rage Negaduck was capable of, and he was capable of anything else as well. Which way to go, he thought...which leader to follow? And underneath, a small part of him wished he had just stayed in his greenhouse with his plants. Things were simpler there.
"Eh-heh, funny? Us? No fear of that, we don't do comedy," said Megavolt, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture and backing away. :Mommy, make the big scary rooster go away!: he thought mentally.
"Good..." Steelbeak growled, pressing his face into Megavolt's. He paced around the Fearsome Five proudly and gestured dramatically as he spoke. Just from reading his body language, one would know that he meant business and it would be dangerous to tangle with him. "I trust ev'ryone 'ere knows who's de boss. Now dat's been settled, it's time fer us ta move on with de fun. Startin' wit were we's were left off! Should either Darking or Negaduck intefere -- we'll take care of 'em my way."
Megavolt was starting to get a little dizzy from all the circling that Steelbeak was doing. Oooh, how he hated it when people couldn't stand still while they talked, how he truly hated it. It threw him off, it left him disoriented, it made him feel nervous and vulnerable. Which, of course, was exactly Steelbeak's intent.
However, in an uncharacteristic instant of focus, Megavolt did know that he had to get away from this miasma of control. Just long enough to get his scattered braincells together, long enough to figure out what to do. "Um, Steelbeak? Don't you think it would be a good idea for us to get some more weapons? I mean--" his tone became flattering, "--I know FOWL already has the big guns and cool vehicles and so on, but I have some really not-so-bad inventions of my own, not to mention the stuff to make more, if I could just go get them."
"Only is youse feel it is necessary..." Steelbeak groaned, rolling his eyes. "And if dey woik. Tacky t'ings are outta de questions, Megs."
Yes. Yes, that would do it. And it wasn't a lie about the weapons--if he did decide that staying with Steelbeak was the right idea, he had any number of great doohickeys and gadgets that would ensure the FOWL agent's pleasure. But right now he had to get away from the warehouse, and away from Steelbeak, just long enough to straighten things out in his head. "Oh, and, um...I know Quackerjack has all kind of great stuff himself. Right, QJ? Weren't you telling me about that new army of titanium alloy soldiers you were working on the other day? And those Accessory Alice dolls with the three different shades of poison lip gloss? We could stop by your place on the way to mine."
"My.what?" Quackerjack blurted, scratching his head. His mind raced. Titanium alloy soldiers? New Accessory Alice dolls?? Was Megavolt losing what was left of his mind, or-in a flash, he understood, and mentally slapped himself."Ooooohhh, yes!!!" he stressed, nodding his head violently up and down so that his bells jangled against his back, "Those. Completely slipped my mind, what with all the excitement." He giggled suddenly, still nodding. "Of course. This wasn't meant to be much of a business trip, so I only brought a few small toys. If you're serious about taking ov-helping- the Fearsome Five, then you'll want us all at our peak, right? I can't do very much without my gewgaws, super-villain-genius that I am." He said, hastening to the door and looking at Megavolt urgently to follow him, all the while thinking regretfully, `Now why didn't I think of that?'
"I want youse back in exactly an hour," Steelbeakordered, takinga quick look at his watch. He was a weebit suspious, but knew if they went off on their own to escape, he would have little trouble in tracking them down.
"Otherwise...I may get a little nasty..."
"Right-e-o Rooster Sir!" Licky clucked gleefully, half in a mocking tone, "shall we boys?" he asked of the others, ready to leave the scene as soon as possible and find out just how much he'd missed.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWERE!" Steelbeak roared, jumping in front of
The Liquidator. With a deep breath, he returned to his usual calm and suave self.
"Stay 'ere...De boys will be back 'ere soon enough..." He smirked, circling around The Liquidator, his anger once again becoming obvious.
"Were youse...Tryin' to escape? You know how I don't like it when people don't do what I tell 'em to do..."
Megavolt gulped. Steelbeak was scaring him almost more than Negaduck did at this point. "Uh, it's ok, Licky, we'll be back in just an hour. Just like the new boss says, right, new boss? You, um, want us to pick up anything for you while we're out?" Out of the side of his mouth, he hissed, "Quackerjack! Ets-lay amoose-vay."
"Get me a sword, Megavolt. Or a scimitar. Whatevery youse can find an' steal! And get it quick!" Steelbeak snapped, once again pacing around manically. His ever-changing moods was the rooster's worst fault. One could overlook his underbite, his unporpotionally scrawny
legs, but his unpredictablity made him a dangerous foe.
"If youse two are even t'inkin' of going off to escape, I will snap yer scrawny necks!" He screamed, firing his handgun into the ceiling.
"Ep-yay, ight-ray ow-nay, Parky-say!" Quackerjack retorted at Megavolt through clenched teeth. He resisted the urge to grab the electric rodent by his front and forcibly drag him out via the open door.
"And don't worry about a thing, Licky, an hour, that's all it is. Even you can wait for such a short amount of time. Ry-tay ot-nay o-tay et-gay illed- kay?" Quackerjack said directly, looking at the Liquidator and hoping that he understood Pig Latin, and that Steelbeak did not. He turned back to Megavolt, practically hearing his heart thumping a mile a minute.
"Time's a wastin'." He said, forced cheery and taking another step to the door, "We'll just be going, now, no need to do anything drastic, like killing us, them, or the ceiling. You'll have your pointy object complete with handle sooner if you take a couple deep breaths and let us go get it." he suggested, trying to remain calm
Steelbeak raised an eyebrow as Quackerjack spoke such an odd language. It definately wasn't Italian, definately not Greek or Hebrew.With a shrug, he started to calm down a bit and sat down to polish one of his many weapons as the electrical rodent and the duck scurried out.
"Now, Licky, I want youse and Bushroot to stay 'ereand help me plan ta rid dis city of Darkwing Duck for once and for all," Steelbeak spoke calmly, running a comb through his feathers. He took out his FOWL communicator out from his jacket, and in Italiano, he ordered a small pack of deadly- efficently trained Eggmen to spy on Quackerjack and Megavolt.
* * *
"Oh man oh man oh man oh man...." Megavolt started saying once he and Quackerjack had left the warehouse, and then he couldn't stop. "Oh man oh man OHMAN!!" He looked around him nervously, then whispered to Quackerjack raspily, "What the *HECK* have you gotten us into? As if Negaduck wasn't bad enough, now we're saddled with Mr. Bipolar back there? Oh man, I know the microwave told me to beware of the chicken, but I just thought Lester was telling me to watch out for fast food. What the HECK are we gonna do? We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die...." he continued in somewhat histrionic fashion.
"Megs, calm down, we're not gonna die!!" Quackerjack whispered fiercely, "Don't make me attempt to hurt you." He grabbed the rodent by his shoulders and shook him. "Take several deep breaths, okay... Several. Your hysteria is catching, and it won't do us much good being out here if we can't put our heads together and figure a way out of this mess. Negaduck always thought us two worked best together."
Megavolt exhaled a deep breath and nodded. Quackerjack was right. That was the whole point Megavolt had wanted him along--their minds naturally worked in sync. "Ok," he said."Ok.You're right. Let's figure this out."
" Now, listen, I had no idea he was crazy. No idea. I only thought blackmailing him into giving me some money because I knew he stole that diamond was a good plan, and it kinda evolved into something much worse. Apparently, Mr. KFC in there has decided that it's possible to just waltz on in and take over the Fearsome Five. Are we gonna let him get away with that?? Well??"
"No way!" growled Megavolt, glancing around as he kept his voice down. "That over-sized canary bird is gonna have another think coming."
Quackerjack went on, "I'm just as afraid of bodily harm as you are, but we have an advantage that our unfortunate teammates in there do not. We're out here." He glanced around, trying to see if the street was empty. Then another thought struck him.
"Oh, no! We have to warn Celeste! If Steelbeak tries to attack Negaduck, she could be in trouble! Ooh, if Licky or Bushbrain hurt her, I'll never forgive them! I'll..." he trailed off and glanced back at Megavolt, embarrassed.
Megavolt raised an eyebrow. "Bushroot? Hurt a little girl? You've gotta be kidding me--Daisy-Brain may be a villain, sure, but he's one of the sweetest dopes too. He'd never be able to bring himself to hurt a kid. And Licky--well. I dunno about Licky. But I'll tell you what, he looks about as happy with the whole Steelbeak situation as we are. I doubt he's going to want to do *anything* that would go along with Steelbeak's plans at this point."
"Okay, okay. Problem at hand, I'll focus. We're going to my Toy-Box warehouse first, right? We need a way to contact somebody and let them know that Steelbeak's insane."
Megavolt gave a little giggle that threatened encroaching hysteria, but nodded.
" I have a phone there...but we can't very well call the police..." He walked along in silence for a few seconds, then gasped. "Celeste has a phone, too! We could call her! We could tell her to tell Negs that we've run into a spot of trouble, while still following Steelbeak's orders...And to think I came up with that without Mr. Banana Brain's help." He remarked to himself.
"Ok, but if we're gonna do this we've gotta be sneaky. If I know Tinsel- Teeth, he's bound to have some of his Eggmen trailing us, and let me tell you, those guys may have been yoke-heads in the past, but they are seriously scary nowadays. If we're making a call, they're gonna be listening." Megavolt thought to himself a moment. "But you're right, that message would work fine even with them spying on us. And let's hit the Lighthouse after that--I have some stuff that can help us, and maybe we can even find Darkwing Duck. I haven't seen him all day, have you? I mean it's not like I've MISSED that meddler but he would be a big help."
* * * As he was speeding down the street, the sight of the two familiar super villains came out of the corner of Negaduck's eye. At the last minute, he screeched the motorcycle to a stop alongside the sidewalk and watched with amusement as they continued to frantically babble, passing by without even noticing him.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Negaduck suddenly barked as they walked past, "Isn't it past your bedtime to be out? The big bad villains may be out, lurking about..."
He climbed off of the bike and slowly, casually strolled over to the two, an oddly content expression on his face. But it quickly disappated when he stopped just inches from them, "What are you two doing out here?? I 'vaguelly' remember telling you two to STAY back at the warehouse! And where's Water-head and Bush-brain??"
"Negaduck!! Whoo-hoo!!! Somebody up there likes me!" Quackerjack cried happily, oblivious to the fact that Negaduck was probably furious with them. His face fell a second later. "Celeste isn't with you?" he inquired in a disappointed and worried tone, glancing around, "That's bad.It's not safe for you two anymore, especially her. not to say that you're not perfectly capable by yourself, of course, it's just that we've run into a bad problem." Quackerjack said quickly. He paused, wondering how best to word the situation. Then he said, "Apparently, Steelbeak does think it's funny to take over the Fearsome Five. He's done it, even though the other guys don't like it too much, and neither do we. Megs and I were lucky to get out with our lives, actually, and he thinks psychopathic Eggmen are spying on us. But now that you're here, everything'll be alright, right?" Quackerjack was suddenly frantic himself, and he grabbed Negaduck's cape urgently, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Liquidator and Bushy are trapped in that place with that lunatic! Megsy here thought that we could get Darkwing to help us out, but we bumped into you, first." Quackerjack looked at Megavolt, then back at Negaduck. "I don't know what to do, but I'd suggest trying to findCeleste, and not to let her out of your sight, either. Steelbeak might play dirty and try to kidnap her." Quackerjack said. He glanced over his shoulder, evidently worried about the `psychopathic Eggmen,' and obediently waited for directions, not caring from whom. He was all out of ideas himself, and for the hundredth time that day, he wished he'd had the presence of mind to bring along Mr. Banana Brain.
"Hey get off me!" Negaduck roared, angrily snatching his cape out of Quackerjack's grip. At the jester's info, he glanced around for any of Steelbeak's lackeys, knowing that the FOWL worker always liked to keep on top of what's going on.
"Oh pleeeeeease help us out, Negaduck, please! Oh pleaseohpleaseohplease! Steelbeak is even scarier than you!" whined Megavolt, throwing himself on the ground and kissing Negaduck's feet in a shameless fashion.
"Cut that out!!" Negaduck roared with a disgusted expression, pulling his ankle free from Megavolt's grasp, "And watch who you say is scarier than who! I'll show that renegade rooster who's top duck in this town..." he growled, then paused before looking down pathetically at Megavolt at his feet, adding in a low tone, "Don't worry about Steelbeak...I'll take care of him, just like I did before...Now get up! You're soiling your reputation as a villain..."
Megavolt, who's mind switched channels faster than his TV, then abruptly he got up again and put his arms behind his back, trying to look nonchalant. "Ahem. I mean, not that I would want to do *anything* that would make Steelbeak mad, after all." He grinned mindlessly at the buildings around them.
"He WHAT??" Celeste yelped, leaping out of the Troublemaker's sidecar at the comment about Steebeak taking over the Five.
"What the..?!?" Negaduck shrieked as he spun around to face the direction of where the familiar voice was coming from, his eyes going wide at the sight of the familiar fourteen year old jumping out of the motorcycle.
Megavolt, was already on edge, and now, when he saw the unexpected figure pop out of the Troublemaker's sidecar, his first thought was that now, in addition to evil eggmen, weird midget things were out to attack him. In an ill-advised move, he screamed and jumped into Negaduck's arms.
The rat abruptly became aware of the untenable position he was in. A sickly grin formed on his face as he saw his own death approaching. "Um. Hi," he said to Negaduck, slowly releasing his
arms from around the seething supervillain's neck.
An annoyed scowl quickly appeared on Negaduck's face as he promptly dropped Megavolt into a heap on the ground. Dusting off his hands, he then turned to face Celeste, anger apparent in his face and his voice."Celeste!? What the Hell are you doing here?? I thought I left you back at the hideout, in a GROUNDED state, as I recall..!"
"Why that egotistical tin-mouthed turkey! I hope his jaw rusts, I'll teach him a lesson," she grumbled, stomping over to where the three villains were talking and rolling up her sleeves. Suddenly she paused, realizing that she'd given herself away and looked up at Negaduck's face with a gulp. His pupils were dialating and his face was turning red with surpressed rage. She smiled weakly and waved, "uh..hi Dad.." Then ducked behind Quackerjack for protection, peeking out timidly.
Oh, dear." Quackerjack commented, feeling his heart leap up to his mouth suddenly, "Oh, dear." He said again, looking to Megavolt hopelessly."Err.Good to see you, Celeste." He said, in common random fashion, actually pleased to see her, despite what he imagined Negaduck saying-or worse, doing. He gave her a wink, wondering how she'd gotten on
with her father in terms of punishment."Um, Boss. you're not angry with her. are you.?" he asked timidly, looking at Negaduck in appeal, as his brain swiftly tried to find the
silver lining in this particular rain-cloud.
"Me? Angry?? Do I LOOK angry to you?!?" Negaduck snapped, shoving his face in Quackerjack's, "I've got a rotten rooster after my title and team, a daughter who has just disobediently tagged along for a fracass where SOMEBODY'S gonna get pulverized...!" He
threw his hands up in the air, letting out a loud growl of frustration.
"I mean, at least if she's here, then Steelbeak can't get.his clutches.on her.to." Quackerjack slowed down, finally ending in a small whine. He drew breath, determined to make something good out of the whole thing."She's a real trooper, you should be very proud of her, willing to take on Steelbeak like that, she's so brave, you've obviously done a tremendous job raising her, and she's really.great." He babbled on a second later; hoping flattery could succeed where optimism had fallen slightly short. Half of it was true, in a way; Quackerjack really did like Celeste, but he was growing increasingly worried about what Negaduck would do to him the second he stopped talking.
"Mommy." He whimpered.
"DON'T try to flatter me, Quackers...NOW is NOT the time..." Negaduck hissed in response, "I'm trying to think of what to do next..." he added, beginning to frantically pace back and forth.
"Alright...the simplest and most effective way to go about the situation is this....I'm just going to straight out confront that perposterous poultry myself, and show him what happens when he messes with Negaduck..." he growled, cracking his knuckles loudly for effect before turning to the now- three villains, "I'm going back there to wait for old Metal Mouth to show up and let him have it. you knobs gather whatever it is you were going for in the first place before I came across you, and then meet me back there. Knowing that suave, suited, silver-faced FOWLer, he'll have his own guard off Eggheads..."
Negaduck spilled the instructions quickly, every thought of Steelbeak sending more vibes of hatred through him. He did not yet know that Steelbeak was already back at the warehouse, but he was still determined to get there and teach him a lesson.
"And as for YOU..." he hissed, pointing at Celeste, "you're coming with me...I don't have time to take you back to the hideout now, and you're not getting away with this so easily. And don't think that I'm gonna let you get involved either..!" Negaduck informed, storming back to the Troublemaker with Celeste in toll. As he climbed on, he looked back over at Megavolt and Quackerjack then pointed at them.
"Get back to the warehouse A.S.A.P...." Negaduck demanded, then hesitantly added as he gunned the engine, "I have a feeling we'll need all the fire power we can get..." Then with a loud 'Vroom!', he sped away with Celeste in the sidecar.
Celeste laced her fingers and stared at them for a while before voicing her thoughts, "I just wanted to help.." No response. She took a deep breath and looked at him, "This is what you've been training me for, I'm not some baby that can't handle blood! I want to be part of the Five too!" She stared at him imploringly. "I know yer trying to protect me but I can't just sit in a room like a china doll! How am I ever supposed to learn without any experience??"
"Your time for experience will come! But now is DEFINITELY NOT the time..." Negaduck trailed off, beginning to think of how the night will transpire, "It's gonna be bad tonight, kiddo...Not even I know what to expect..."
Just as he finished his sentence, they pulled into the alley beside the old warehouse that they had been at earlier that evening. As he shut off the engine, Negaduck turned and looked at Celeste straight in the eyes.
"If you ever do one thing for me, do it now and STAY here until I get back..."
Her hazel eues widenned and she stared back into his midnight blue ones with a growing sense of dread but she forced a nod, "I promise..if you promise you will come back. Please..I..I can't handle losing you again, dad " she bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling as she hugged him, "Just be careful..I love you."
Negaduck stared down at her, in a somewhat state of shock. He had just been yelling at her minutes ago, but now she was showing pure concern over him. Aside from her, there was only one other person who has felt that way about him...Slowly, he reached down and gave her a quick, light reassuring squeeze in return before slowly pulling her back from him, then
grinned down at her, "I promise, kiddo...Have I let you down yet?" Negaduck answered, quickly ruffling her hair, "I'll be back in no time..."
With a sly wink, he turned away with his cape whipping behind him, and sneaked in through one of the warehouse's side doors. Once inside, Negaduck strained his hearing, tilting his head upward for any sounds or voices. Echoing chatter could be heard coming from one
of the stairwells...familiar voices.Cautiously, he quickly climbed the stairs until he got to the top,
where the stairs ended at a door. Pressing the side of his face against the door, he listened in on the conversation taking place inside.
* * * Bushroot was petrified. Now he really wished he was home, but it was a little late for that. And he was definitely more afraid of Steelbeak than Negaduck. At least Negaduck was consistent. You know how he was going to behave. Steelbeak was unpredictable...and dangerous. The plant duck cast an eye at the Eggmen who had come in as guards. They were so frightening, it was hard to believe there was anything human left in them.
"So..." he began, trying to put up a brave front. "How are we going to polish off Darkwing Duck?" He rubbed his leafy hands together in an attempt to look evil.
Steelbeak could see -- and sense -- Bushroot's fear. He grinned wickedly, knowing that all was going well for him. The expression on his face was a mix of childish mischeif and all the danger of a tiger.
"Simple, Bushroot. We're gonna lead 'em 'ere. Tell 'em Gosalyn came in and hoit 'erself and of course, he'll rush on over 'ere and will wanna rescue 'er. I reallydon't know why I didn't t'ink of it before!"
With a snap of his fingers, he ordered the Eggmen to run out and capture Quackerjack and Megavolt.
According to his watch, they were ten minutes over the time they promised to return at. He was growing impaitent, and began to pace around excitedly and, as he did, he began to laugh AND swear angerily in Italian.
"Is it just me, or is our 'new boss' suffering from spells of schizophrenia?" Licky asked Bushroot in a whisper, "talking to himself, pacing around obsessively, hearing voices..well, that's yet to be determined, but I see it coming!!" Licky continued , his voice rising in intersity, "if we're going to be stealing anything, it should be some Thorazine and insurance coverage for this wacko!" he finished pointing in Steelbeak's direction.
"Doz two better get back here soon..." Steelbeak was menacing the remaining members of the Fearsome Five as he paced, his expression one of clear cut insanity. "I would t'ought dat loser Negadork would have come along by now tryin' ta ruin my plans.
Well well, Steelbeak..." came the growling voice from behind him, "I'm TERRIBLY sorry to keep you waiting, but I had an appointment to keep...You know how the life of a villain is, so many people to torture, so little time..." Negaduck hissed, leaning casually against the doorframe and fiddling with his nails.
Steelbeak quickly whirled around at the voice of Negaduck. His icy silver eyes were filled with intensity and his heart was pounding in excitement. If there would be a fight to take place, now would be the time. The rooster was ready for action and could not be any more confident than he was now.
* * * Negaduck crept down into the dark room, slightly unnerved by the silence. Steelbeak normally wouldn't have been able to resist throwing some sarcastic retort back in his face.At the feeling of the cold metal being pressed against the back of his head, Negaduck's head perked and he straightened himself up, his eyes widening. He didn't expect Steelbeak to be so direct. "Scared? Youse should be..." Steelbeak sneered. "I'm not fond of intruders... I know why youse came 'ere, and if youse t'ink dat I'll back down easily, yer wrong. Dead wrong!" He growled, preparing to pull the trigger. "Youse underestimate me too much. Jus' because my species is de humble domestic chicken, dat doesn't mean dat I 'ave da heart of a tiger!"
"Oh yeah...? Negaduck suddenly seethed. In a super quick motion, he spun around with his arm outstretched, forcefully knocking Steelbeak's hand with the gun aimed to the side and away from his head. Then before he could regain his aim, Negaduck reached into his jacket, pulling out his own gun and aiming it right back at the FOWL High Command with an insane glint in his eye, backing up a few steps into the room.
"Heart of a tiger...but the brain of a Dodo..." Negaduck hissed, "Because you see, Steels, you also underestimate me...you have no idea what I'm capable of. But by messing with my title and my team, I have a feeling you'll find out soon enough..!"
Steelbeak was so angered by Negaduck's attitude that he was at a loss of words. When he opened his beak to say something, he became silent. In his middle age, Steelbeak was not as fast reacting as he was in his youth. However, what he lacked in speed he more than made up for in strength and in perserverence. Just like in any fight he put himself into, the rooster showed no concern at all for his safety. Even now that he was in danger of having hisbrains blown out. It was a foolish fault in his character. All that mattered to him would be that he would win -- or die trying.
"I've 'ad quite enough of youse!" Steelbeak snapped, clamping his metalic jaws around Negaduck's hand like a crocodile.
"YEEOW!!" Negaduck yelped sharply as he felt the cramping pain surge through his right arm. Through gritted teeth, he growled loudly as he lifted his free hand, and quickly jabbed two of his fingers into Steelbeak's eyes. This giving him the opportunity, he managed to wrestle his mangled, bloody wrist free from Steelbeak's grasp and jumped back. Without taking accurate aim, he quickly fired his handgun, which sent a bullet piercing into the wood floor just inches from the rooster's feet.
"That wasn't an accident! And neither will be the next one that goes in your head...!"
* * *
Celeste yelped in shock as her head snapped up at the cry from her father and the sound of a gun going off, "DAD!!!!!!" She shrieked in fear and immediately whirled, charging into the building. Her eyes didn't take in her father right away since he'd backed up slightly into the shadows and all she saw were the drops of blood on the floor from his broken wrist. That was enough to galvanize her from fear to horror to shere fury and she launched herself onto Steelbeak's back, pounding at him with one fist as she hung onto the feathers on the back of his neck and kicking him fiercely in the gut, "You..you butcher!!!I'll rip yer heart out for this!" She sobbed in outrage, socking him a surprisingly strong upper cut in the side of the face as she attacked him like a rabid squirrel.
"What de...?" Steelbeak yelped, his rage replaced with shock as he was suddenly and rapidly getting attacked by the brave child defending her father. In the darkness, he was unable to see exactly who it was. "GET OFF OF ME!" He demanded, throwing a punch behind him. In the corner of his eyes he saw that his sudden attacker was a young teenage girl, the same one he had met up with in the bad part of town. How dare she interfered with his matters, he thought. "Only cowards attack from behind, child!"
Yet, girl or Negaduck, he would fight back just as viciously. The pain he was feeling in his abdomen and jaw only helped to elevate his wild fury, and he bit her hard in whatever arm was closest to him. Normally he wouldn't go out of his way to hurt a lady, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Grabbing the arm that he didn't bite, he roughtly whirled her around to face him and brought her face down to his.
"Youse made de woist mistake, missy!"
Celeste gasped, blood gushing from the bite wound in her arm but her eyes were still narrowed in fury and she kicked him hard in the gut and spit in his face, scowling and looking remarkablly like Negs with those dark thunderclouds rolling in her eyes, intensified by the pain from what she could only guess was a badly broken arm. "Oh kiss my tail feathers, you over baked brainless behemoth," she snarled, her beak wrinked in a fierce expression as she landed another kick in his stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of him."Yer gonna pay for hurting my father, no one messes with him and gets away from me alive!" she struggled, trying to pull her arm free.
Steelbeak lurched over and fell to the ground with a loud thud, instantly letting her go. Even in his state he was still determined to fight to the very end. He struggled to stand up, and when he did, he slapped Celeste in the face. Never before had he known so much anger.
"Dat'll teach youse not ta mess wit' da Steelbeak!" He roared, blood trickling out his mouth from a severe injury to his tongue. He turned around, and made yet another lunge at Negaduck.
But before Steelbeak could reach Negaduck, a large watery hand slapped Steelbeak across the face, throwing him backwards against a wall, and leaving him dripping wet besides. "That's about enough!!" The Liquidator growled uncontrollably, "I may not be a day care teacher, or even someone who really likes little whipper snappers that much, but attacking a defenseless....." he looked over at Celeste and remembered how strong she seemed just a moment ago, "well, maybe not defenseless, but picking on a younger and more..impressionable girl, just doesn't fly my sails. It doesn't float my boat matey," The Liquidator paused for a moment to consider what he just said, "Did I just say that?" he wondered aloud, not sure if he should be more disturbed by the protection of Negaduck and child, or the bizarre sea analogies he was coming up with.
"Anyways!" he continued shaking his head of any previous thoughts that had entered it, "I may not be Negaduck's number one fan, but I certainly would choose his tyranny over yours!" Licky finished scooping up Negaduck with two giant waves and placing him back on his feet, "so there! Ha! I said it!!" HE looked over to Bushroot, Megavolt, and Quackerjack for support, "guys?!!! You with me on this!?"
Normally Megavolt might have held back, but he had come in the warehouse just in time to see Steelbeak bite the kid. The shock (no pun intended) was too much to leave him unaffected. His eyes glinted darkly. "Oh indubitably my dear Licky," he muttered as sparks jumped between the two flanges on his rubber plug helmet.
Negaduck glanced around at his fellow comrades, more in shock at what they had just said, and at their loyalty to him. They were still on his side. As he was placed back on his feet, he dusted himself off, then spotted Celeste out of the corner of his eye, who was now also wounded. His eyes narrowed hatefully as he turned back to Steelbeak and slowly advanced on him."You just never learn, do you..?" he growled insultingly at him, stopping just inches away, "How many times must you be humiliated before you see that I'M the top bird in this city? And those knobs may not be overly smart..." he commented, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the rest of the Fearsome Five, "But they're not stupid enough as to follow your command willingly..."
His glare suddenly morphed into a snide sneer as he added, "You're all washed up, Steels..."
Quackerjack, horrified, pushed past the others, not caring if it was his place or Negaduck's to watch out for the Boss's own daughter, all thoughts of himself and his comrades, even of Steelbeak, forgotten. He stopped next to Celeste, uncertain. "Are.are you alright, Celeste? Oh, you should have waited for us, you're too foolish.so brave." He couldn't even finish the sentence, he was too distraught as he helped her to stand, letting her lean on him. "You could have been killed." He mumbled softly, not wanting to insult her, but unsure of just how serious her injuries were.
The jester stood up, fiercely angry for the first time since he could remember. "You're a playground bully." He snarled at Steelbeak flatly, taking breath to deal worse injuries, "And a no-good.dirty.back- stabbing.coward!" He spat. His mind fumbled to come up with the most vile insults that he knew, which turned out to be quite pathetic ones, at best.
Quackerjack was furious, and with that rage came bravery that he'd never realized he had before. He didn't even bother to glance at the other Fearsome Five to determine which side they were on. He'd already picked his side. When he spoke, he hardly recognized his voice, it was so full of suppressed violence and so drastically unlike his usual merry cheer. It was like somebody flipped a switch."I may not even have superpowers, not that I really care, but I'll take you on all by myself, fight you to the death, for this. It's a cardinal rule of mine to never hurt children, no matter how capable they may be." He said heatedly, fists clenched, "So I'd advise either attacking me or running now, and fast, because I won't give you another chance."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there Quacky, simmer down!!"Licky advised as he transformed hid left arm into a makeshift hose and quickly doused Quackjack in water to get his attention, "I think our lead-headed louse of an ex- leader over there gets the idea. He's got NO ONE on his side now." Licky then glared over at Steelbeak for confirmation, "that is, you DO get the hint, don't you? Or....do we really need to give you..the bath," Licky warned waving his hose-like arm around for emphasis, "and I'm not referring to those politically corrupt Roman smoozing hot tubs either!"
Bushroot stood with leafy hands clenched and two large fir trees ready at strike at Steelbeak. He felt nothing but loathing for this coward who had assaulted a little girl, and for once his timidity was gone. He stood tall, ready to fight with the others against Steelbeak.
"Usually chickens eat corn, Steelbeak." he said in an ice cold voice. "One false move and I'll see to it that the corn gets some payback."
With a menacing grin, Negaduck leaned forward, his face just inches from Steelbeak's as he stared into the rooster's dark eyes with his own."As you can see, Steelbeak...you've clearly lost...again," he whispered to him, his eyes glowing in dleight at Steelbeak's downfall. But they suddenly turned to a violent, raging appearance as he continued, "And if so much as ever lay a finger on my daughter again...I know where to find that little wifey and kid of yours. Try to run, and I'll track them down...an eye for an eye, got it..??"
The threat was spat as if it were venom being ejected from a snake's fangs, and Negaduck pulled himself back from Steelbeak, keeping his eyes fixed on him."So...are you going to leave quietly? Or do I get the pleasure of cutting you into bite-sized chucnks and throwing them out the window for the alley cats to feast on..?"
Steelbeak snarled and made one last ditch lundge for Negaduck, only to be stopped by the most unlikely of the Five. Quackerjack, who had never resorted to flat out punching anyone before hit him with one fist in a solid connecting right between the eyes and sent the roosters flying back into the wall where he lay dazed. "That was for Cel," he muttered before returning to her side.
Celeste coughed and leaned against Quackerjack, holding her wounded arm against her. "Chickens...is everyone else ok?" She paused then looked up at Quackerjack then seized one of his dangling bells on his harliquin hat and pulled him down to face her, "Don't EVER
scare me like that again! You could have gotten killed and I.." She swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes, "I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her first kiss.
Quackerjack's eyes bugged out considerably more than usual, but he didn't try to pull
away, not even when he caught sight of Negaduck nearby. He hugged her back and returned the kiss. After a minute or two he broke off, looking down at her with genuine affection on his face. "You don't need to worry about me, I've been in this business for years, and it hasn't killed me yet." He said, softly, "But I'm glad that you do, anyway. Now all I need to do is figure out why you like me so much!" He chuckled.
The jester paused, glancing around then bent down next to Celeste and whispered, "You
want to get out of here with me before your dad notices us?" "Too late..." growled a low voice from behind Quackerjack, followed by two strong hands taking ahold of the jester by his shoulders and fiercly turning him around to stare into the face of an enraged Negaduck. The villain's eyes were turning an angry red as he glared
at his comrad."She's not going anywhere but FAR away from you..." Negaduck hissed
as he clenched one of his fists in a threatening manner, "And if I ever catch you with her again...I'll be sure to give you a one-way non-stop ticket to meet Lucifer, compliments of me..."
The black masked mallard roughly released Quackerjack from his grip. He then glared down at Celeste, not looking pleased."You're coming with me RIGHT now!"he instructed, taking
her firmly by her good wrist and pulling her back towards the Troublemaker.
Megavolt blinked and scratched his head under his plug hat, staring at the unconcious rooster He turned to Quackerjack plaintively. "What are we supposed to do now? Oh. Wait. That's right, I forgot you were in disgrace. I'd probably better not ask you, ol' 'Humbert Humbert,'" he teased lightly.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Don't become a stand-up." Quackerjack sniffed flatly, giving Megavolt a glare. He was still slightly shaken up by Negaduck's threat, and had no desire to give him any reason to follow up on it. But then, nobody had ever accused Quackerjack of giving up easily.
He put a hand in his pocket, rummaging around thoughtfully. He produced a piece of paper and a pencil, then wrote something down. "Hey, Celeste." he said, keeping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Call me!" He tossed her the balled-up paper, then grabbed Megavolt's arm. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't be talking to you right now, but unless you want to get arrested by the masked-wonder and-slash-or chewed out by Negaduck, we need to get out of here, and I want to put some distance between me and psycho-boss in there." He started tugging on
Megavolt's sleeve urgently. "Come on."
Celeste clutched the piece of paper like precious gold and smiled in a dreamy smitten fashion. Grounded for a year or not, it had all been well worth it.
* * * -CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
{Bring me to life} [Ive been living a lie..Theres nothing inside] {Bring me to life}
Frozen inside without your touch Without your love, darling Only you are the life among the dead
[All of this I, I cant believe I couldnt see Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me]
Ive been sleeping a thousand years it seems Got to open my eyes to everything
[Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul] {Dont let me die here}{There must be something more} Bring me to life
-CHORUS- [wake me up] Wake me up inside [I cant wake up] Wake me up inside [Save me] Call my name and save me from the dark [Wake me up] Bid my blood to run [I cant wake up] Before I come undone [Save me] Save me from the nothing Ive become
Bring me to life [Ive been living a lie.. Theres nothing inside] Bring me to life
