An Author's Note: When I first saw Darkwing Duck, back in the nineties, I had no idea that it was a spoof off several things I had never seen in my life, as I was about nine at the time. Mabye ten. However, now that I've finally gone back and rewatched the show I now see several things that make me laugh a lot. One of these is the fact that, if you put them side by side, Darkwing poses exactly like The Shadow.
Who's The Shadow? The Shadow was a pulp and radio character, waaay back when people had…well radios instead of television. Back in the thirties. It was awesome, and I know this because my mom made me listen to several cassette tapes (for any of you dang kids who don't know in my audience, those were what we used before cds. Oh, and get off my lawn, you whippersnappers.) I loved those tapes. Still listen to those tapes. Darkwing may have some qualities of Batman, but he also has a bit of the Shadow there as well.
Now, I can't help but not put a Shadow like character in this, but not Darkwing. I love the Shadow, and I can't help it. This new character is going to have some different Shadow aspects.
I don't own the Shadow. Or the dang coal. Don't ask me about the dang coal. Or the tires.
Chapter Four
What Evil Lurks
The wind howled through the trees, a dirge like a tortured soul or a ghost on the prowl. The trees bent, almost to the point that they would surely snap at any moment now. Rain splattered on the ground, creating huge puddles on the cold concrete. A huge car, an old looking model that might as well had been from the thirties or so, idled ominously in an alley like a predator watching for prey. It was a huge, rumbling black thing, and seemingly made out of squares, with two round headlights like wide staring eyes. Everything, from the white rimed tires to the roof, screamed of a bygone age before television, computers and a second world war.
The Liquidator didn't give it a second thought. Oh he knew it was there, but he really didn't care. It was just a car, and he had better things to worry about.
Silently, the Liquidator stared at the house across the street from him. Finally, after all this time, a lead. He had run into it by accident as well. It had only been chance that he had been traveling through the sewer systems when he spotted Dingo and Khola, the two nimrods, attempting to break into the place, with their usual loudness, not five minutes ago. They had been ejected by a large bear, who had said something about them not belonging in SHUSH anymore, so he was not going to give Khola his damn notes. Or something like that. All the Liquidator had heard was the mention of SHUSH, and now he was watching the house. He knew that he would have to break in, and now. Who knew when SHUSH would move their base, or something?
At least that was what he told himself. He wasn't even going to bother going for help. The other three had a rough time with the Gizmoduck incident, surely they needed their rest?
That's what the Liquidator told himself.
The Liquidator smiled and flowed towards the house, seeping into the cracks. Within minutes he was in.
The figure in the driver's seat of the black car narrowed his eyes. "That was one of the local heroes, wasn't it boss?" The falcon turned his beak to the other figure lurking in the backseat.
"Supposed heroes at least. I wonder why he is seeking out SHUSH?" The figure said. Already there was a hint of menace, as well as a slight reverberation, in the figure's tone.
"Maybe we should wa-"
"No Marco. With those two hoods making that commotion SHUSH might very well move on. They are known for that. I have to get in, now, and retrieve the item."
"But if you cross that guy what will he do?" Marco the falcon asked.
"It doesn't matter. He had best hope that he doesn't cross my path. Keep the engine warm, Marco. We might need it."
Marco had good eyes, he was known for them in fact. Still, not even he could see when the figure in the back seemed to melt into the shadows, and was gone.
"None who crosses the Voice shall win!" The figure laughed, and Marco shivered. The laugh was something between a full blown mwhahahaha and an evil chuckle, drifting from high to low pitch, creating a sinister sound.
"I hate that laugh." He muttered.
The Liquidator considered finding the nearest person, slamming them against a wall, and demanding the location of Hank. However, he knew that if he did that, as fun as it might be, he would get nowhere with this method. He might end up exposed, or worse. He might lose this golden chance to find his little boy. That wasn't going to happen. He was going to be smart about this. He needed to find a record's room. There just had to be a paper trail.
He flowed through the air ducts in a long stream, peeking into rooms and looking for something that might be where these lunatics kept their documents. He knew that this was defiantly SHUSH HQ. There was no way this could be anything else, due to the fact that they had projected the name of the organization on every single wall. Oh sure, they kept it secret enough on the outside, but on the inside they just couldn't help but advertize.
"As soon as Negaduck gets here, Grizzlikof, give him the package. You know him. He wants proof before he will even think of leaving the city limits."
The long line of water that was the Liquidator perked up. Negaduck! He was coming! And there was something about a package? He knew he had to intercept this! And find out about Hank. Could he do both? He knew that Negaduck simply didn't leave the city, for any reason. It would have to be something big in order to lure the crime lord out of his territory. The Liquidator oozed his vision towards the grate where the voice had come from. He looked down to see an elderly owl handing that same big bear from before a small package. The bear, Grizzlikof, nodded grimly. He had a nasty look on his face, like he smelled something bad. Grizzlikof glowered and stomped out the door, heedless to the frown on the owl's face. The Liquidator flowed after the bear, who stood outside the office shaking his head.
"I am not dragging this thing around for that bumbling maniac." Grizzlikof muttered angrily. "Bah, I'll just toss it in storage until he gets here. After all, it's not like anyone is going to go in there. Only old records." He grumbled as he started down the hall.
Old records? How old? The Liquidator felt a hot thrill going down his water body. Was it really going to be this easy? Would he get his answers at last? All this time, all these nights looking in vain, was he finally going to find Hank? He had searched everywhere for Hank, everywhere, and had found nothing. In between trying to save the city he had sought out criminals that might have connections to SHUSH and to Negaduck. None had talked to him, no matter what he offered or threatened. Now, he was so close he could taste it. He flowed after Grizzlikof, hope springing into his every being.
Grizzlikof didn't disappoint the Liquidator. He led the Liquidator to what could only be called a thirty acre long warehouse, file cabinets were everywhere, lined against the walls, even making makeshift aisles in the front part of the warehouse. In the back the Liquidator could see big boxes, probably filled with more stuff. You could probably fit the Arc of the Covenant back there somewhere. The Liquidator waited and watched as Grizzlikof tossed the package lightly on a file cabinet and walked away in a huff.
The Liquidator counted to five, waiting till he was sure that Grizzlikof was gone. Then he flowed from the air vents down to the floor of the records room. He quickly snatched the package from the file cabinet, but didn't look at it that much. He simply stuffed it into his chest, letting it hover in a bubble in his body. It would be safe there. He needed to find what had happened to his son. Of course, he didn't know how the filing system worked…he hoped it was alphabetically. He had a feeling that he would not find much my looking for his son's name. He didn't think SHUSH would ask their prisoners their names.
So, he's look under C. For Children.
He looked at the tabs on the file cabinets, going through ps and gs and finally working his way to a long line of cs. He tried the second cabinet to the right, and picked up a file. It started with cu, not what the Liquidator was looking for. He tried the next one of the left, the bottom file, and came up with Charters. A ch. He was getting close.
He flicked through the files until, wonder of wonders, he found the word "Children" on a file. He tugged it out and gazed at the entire title.
"Children's Mutation Serum?" Liquidator muttered. "What is that?"
"Hahahahahahaha."
The Liquidator's ears pricked and he turned, on alert. He saw nothing, but he stuck the file into his watery body, along with the package. "Who's there?" He growled.
"Do not bother looking around…Liquidator." A voice said. "You cannot see me."
The Liquidator hissed to himself. Another villain? It seemed so. There was something dark and foreboding about that voice, with its odd reverberation and sinister tone. It was hard to even tell the gender. He didn't like it. But it seemed that this new villain was right. The Liquidator could see no one. "Who are you?"
"I am the Voice. You have something I need, Liquidator. If you know what's good for you, you'll hand over that package. Its contents don't concern you."
"Let me think." The Liquidator smirked. "I don't believe that offer is very beneficial to the customer you are trying to sell it to!"
"Fool! Back off, or you and your friends might be hurt. Let me deal with SHUSH."
To the Liquidators shock he felt something impact his further portions of water. He turned around to face the spot, and noticed a depression, kind of like a shoe print. The Liquidator oozed a bit outwards and spread. He could feel himself washing over a pair of shoes, and those shoes showed a depression on the ground.
"It seems that at least your feet are able to support viewers like me, if not your whole body." The Liquidator smiled.
"I see. But you won't get away with that package. I still have you right where I want you."
"Do you?" The Liquidator shot a stream of water towards the feet, which didn't move, however, the blow didn't impact. The Liquidator cursed himself. Of course the Voice must have ducked! The Liquidator felt a relief of pressure on his water as the Voice leaped for him. He had a split second to move his middle with the package and the file to the right. He could feel an arm grasp for the two objects as he moved away. He turned and saw the faint outline of an arm dripping with water passing him by.
It was at that moment that Grizzlikof walked in with Negaduck, who looked faintly ticked. He looked even angrier when he saw the Liquidator.
"You!" Negaduck snarled. The Liquidator knew that he couldn't stay and fight all these people. His eyes slid to the side, and he noticed that there was a bathroom right there, across the hall. Complete with a little sign for men. The Liquidator swiftly turned and flowed towards the door, waving over the heads of both Grizzlikof and Negaduck, who screamed in rage and began to shoot at the Liquidator, who of course didn't feel any of the bullets. He sped for the nearest toilet, not the most glamorous of methods, and flowed into it. He turned to Negaduck and Grizzlikof with a grin.
"Here goes Likky, down the drain!" The Liquidator gave the two a jaunty salute, and flushed himself. He was careful to swish the bubble with the file and the package around, to make sure it went down the tubes. He swirled and whirled around in the pipes, going down and then up. To his relief he felt the tube widen, so he didn't have to worry as much about his prizes.
After a few hours of swishing he could feel himself approaching an opening, and he dumped out. He was annoyed to find that he had ended up in a polluted looking pond just outside St. Canard. He noted the green yuck oozing around him with a sigh.
"Ah, the glamorous life of a superhero! Enjoy the muck baths, garbage picking and slime dripping!" The Liquidator shook his head. "I need a hobby…"
Marco jumped a bit as the door to the passenger seat of the car opened and closed, seemingly of its own accord.
"Geez, boss, don't do that!"
"There's no time, Marco. Get us out of here. Now. We have a problem."
"A problem?" Marco asked as he gunned the motor and shot out of the alley.
"The Liquidator has the package."
Marco swore. "What are we going to do?"
The voice in the back seat laughed. "We'll get it back. No matter what it takes…"
"Likky, I really don't like the idea of you going off alone." Megavolt gave the Liquidator a stern look, and the Liquidator struggled not to laugh. Megavolt had, not that long ago, swore up and down not to be dragged into a team, now he was acting like the big teamwork advocate. Plus, the Liquidator found it funny that he was being dressed down by a guy about ten years younger than him.
"Look, I didn't want to wake up you or Quackerjack, you need your sleep." The Liquidator said.
"You can be such a mother hen." Megavolt rolled his eyes. "It's been three days. If I don't do something soon I'll crazy."
The Liquidator smiled. "Someone has to be there to keep you guys from doing stupid things."
"Oh, things like breaking into SHUSH headquarters and stealing documents and packages?" Quackerjack popped up from behind one of Bushroot's big ferns and gave the Liquidator an unusually stern look. Normally it was the other way around, but this time Quackerjack seemed genuinely peeved at the Liquidator's actions. To be fair, all three of his friends were. Megavolt was annoyed, that was clear in the way he held himself stiffly and rigidly, and his whiskers occasionally would spark. The Liquidator had a feeling that he had recently recharged. He was always irritable after recharging, especially since it took so long. Megavolt always let energy seep into him and his battery at a slower rate than electricity usually did, partly because he didn't want to black out the city and partly because he thought that sudden shocks were bad idea. Something about his brain frying. Bushroot also looked very irritated, though there was a look of sad disappointment on his beak as well. The Liquidator had a feeling he knew why. Bushroot was such a softy he honestly worried about each and everyone one of them when he was not with them. Personally the Liquidator though Bushroot was more the mother hen then he was. And then, of course, there was Quackerjack, who was openly glaring at the Liquidator. Probably because of all the times the Liquidator told him to get control of himself. However, the Liquidator knew the best way to get them all off his back. Okay, Bushroot and Quackerjack off his back.
"This could be about Hank." The Liquidator pulled out the file. "And Negaduck wanted this." He pulled out the package.
The three of them stared at him. Bushroot's sad look only deepened. Megavolt looked a bit confused, and Quackerjack suddenly tensed. The Liquidator knew that Quackerjack really really liked kids. Whenever you mentioned a child in danger, you might as well have switched a circuit in Quackerjack's brain. Any objectives that Quackerjack might have had before would be replaced by helping a kid in danger. So, the Liquidator knew that Quackerjack was now on his side one hundred percent. Bushroot, who couldn't even let an enemy suffer if he could help it, was also definitely behind him now. Bushroot really did have a soft heart, in the Liquidator's opinion, and while that didn't make him a good fighter, it did make him a good person. Megavolt, on the other hand, was a mystery to the Liquidator. He hadn't figured his newest friend out yet. Megavolt was a stranger still, and the Liquidator couldn't predict his actions. Part of the reason was that he and the Liquidator had to keep a certain distance from each other. Water and electricity didn't mix, so it made it hard for them to connect. The fact that the Liquidator had accidently caused another short circuit when he woke up Megavolt during the Gizmoduck incident hadn't endured the Liquidator to Megavolt at all.
"Who's Hank?" Megavolt asked.
Bushroot came over to Megavolt and whispered in his ear. Megavolt's eyes widened and he looked at the Liquidator with a sorrowful gaze. The Liquidator didn't even notice. He was staring at the file with hope. Would this really lead him to his son? He hoped. He gently opened the file and stared at the papers within. The first paper contained the formula number, thirteen, as well as a strange looking formula.
The Liquidator stared at the chemicals involved in this formula, and his eyes crossed. He had no idea what he was looking at.
"What is all this?" He asked to himself.
"Can I see that, Likky?" Bushroot asked. The Liquidator nodded and handed him the paper. Bushroot studied the ingredients and frowned. "This is…very complicated."
"What is it?" The Liquidator asked.
"I'm not sure. I'll have to run some tests." Bushroot said. "It might take a while to get all the components though."
"What does the rest of it say?" Megavolt asked.
The Liquidator looked over the other papers and gasped. "Subject one, deceased within five days of administration. Subject two, deceased within twelve days. It just goes on like that."
"Mutation…oh god!" Bushroot gasped. "Do you know what this means!"
"They were experimented on children. Mutating them. And…not all of them lived." The Liquidator hung his head and slumped. "Oh Hank…" He started a bit when Quackerjack slid over and placed his arm around the Liquidator's shoulders.
"I'm sorry." Quackerjack said with a gentle voice. The Liquidator sighed again. He knew that Quackerjack was trying to help, but it did little to cheer him up.
"Liquidator." Megavolt smiled and approached him, closer then he usually did. This was enough to make the Liquidator look up. Megavolt never got to close to him, due to the shorting out thing. "I know he's still alive!" Megavolt said.
"How?" The Liquidator asked, his voice choking up.
"Because if he's anything like you, he's bound to have survived." Megavolt said.
The Liquidator smiled, but it never reached his eyes.
A few hours later Bushroot was still playing around with chemicals, muttering to himself and bustling around his makeshift lab. By this time, despite the fact that they were still sympathetic and supportive of the Liquidator, after a few hours they had decided to go and watch tv. The Liquidator, not knowing what to do, kind of oozed around between them and looking over Bushroot's shoulder. After a while he also tossed that package on Bushroot's lab table. He didn't really want to keep it inside his person. He knew very well that Bushroot didn't like him hovering over while the plan mutant did chemistry things, but on the other hand the Liquidator really wasn't in the mood to listen to Quackerjack and Megavolt argue about that bet again. He was going to strangle both of them soon. Or claim ten dollars from each of them and claim it a tie.
"Are you getting close?" The Liquidator asked.
"I'm sorry, I just don't have the equipment here…" Bushroot sighed as the Liquidator cursed. "Hold on, I'm giving up yet. I can get the equipment."
"How?"
"I haven't lost all my contacts with the university, despite the fact that a lot of them think that I'm…you know." Bushroot shrugged. "I know a couple of guys who might help. Dr. Slug is pretty good at chemistry, and Dr. Fossil keeps a bunch of old equipment stored in this underground lab of his. He also is a brilliant geneticist."
"How soon until you can ask them?"
"Hey, we're on tv!" Quackerjack suddenly bellowed from the television room. Bushroot put down the test tube he'd been holding and motion the Liquidator to follow him. The Liquidator had a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.
He walked into the room in Bushroot's greenhouse that had been officially declared the television room. Bushroot had originally used this other room as a kind of office, a place to keep his files for the university and to store his papers. Now all those papers had been moved, as he probably was never going to get around work or research ever again. He had eventually moved in a television and attached an old pair of rabbit ears to it. It only got local stations, but it worked. The office desk and chair that used to be there were now replaced by a couch and a mini fridge.
"Turn it up, and wiggle the rabbit ears. I can't see the reporter through all that static." Bushroot said.
"I still don't understand why you call tv antennae 'rabbit ears'." Megavolt muttered as he reached over and wiggled said "ears".
"It's just what my parent's called them." Bushroot shrugged as the screen sort of cleared up. The reporter's plastic grin stared up at them through the screen.
"This report just in, the rich socialite, Andrea Glitersson, is extending an official invitation to St. Canard's own freak circus to her annual summertime ball!"
"Really?" Quackerjack cocked his head. "Dad always had to kiss her parent's tail feathers to go…" He shuddered. "Stupid rich brats." He noticed the rest of them were staring at him. "What?" He asked.
"You know the Gliterssons?" Megavolt asked. "They're the oldest money in St. Canard!"
"Know em enough to wish I didn't." Quackerjack grumbled. "Did you know my toy company made more money than theirs ever did, but they still strut around like peacocks because they've been rich since the American Revolution? Robber barons." He grumbled.
"Hush." The Liquidator said as the aforementioned socialite began to speak. She didn't impress the Liquidator that much. For one thing she was wearing an expensive, and unnecessarily slinky, red dress and more makeup than your average mime. For another her beak was lifted so high if it rained she would drown in three minutes. The Liquidator knew that this person was one to avoid.
"In order to celebrate their wonderful," The Liquidator wondered if anyone else could hear the fact that the emphases was placing on her words was sarcastic. "Contributions to the peace and safety of St. Canard." The woman out and out posed. "I have graciously decided to extend official invitations to the individuals known as Megavolt, Quackerjack, Bushroot and the Liquidator." The Liquidator wondered if anyone else noticed the sniff of derision that she gave. "To this year's Summer Ball." She batted her eyes in what Liquidator assumed was supposed to be a flirty come hither look, but it looked like she was having an epileptic fit.
"It's a trap." All four of the heroes said at the same time. They looked at each other in mild surprise.
"I mean, I know that family." Quackerjack started. "You have to if you're born into a rich family, and I might be what they call new money, but when my great-grandpa started that company he made millions. I'm no McDuck…hell we aren't even Rockerducks." Quackerjack shrugged. "But I've been around enough of them to know that old money doesn't do favors."
"How rich was your family?" The Liquidator had to ask. He was curious.
"We bounced merrily from thirty ninth to fortieth on the 'richest duck' scale. That was out of fifty. It's in Forbes magazine. Or at least the back issues. Now that the company is gone I don't think we are on the list anymore." Quackerjack said. The Liquidator didn't like the look on Quackerjack's face. It was almost broody, and Quackerjack didn't brood. There was a bitter edge to it as well. The Liquidator didn't like it at all. It didn't seem to fit Quackerjack's face.
"We should go." Bushroot said.
"What?" Three heads stared at him.
"It's a trap, that's obvious, but why. And how? For what reason? We should go to spring it. The trap I mean."
Quackerjack frowned. "I don't like it. I mean, those things are dull. Really dull. And she," Quackerjack gestured at the still frozen face of the socialite on the screen. "wouldn't invite us to anything unless there was something in it for her. And I'm not sure I like the thought of what that something might be."
"A point. Still." Bushroot shrugged. "We should still check it out. Or at least you three should. I should work on getting that equipment for the Liquidator."
The Liquidator frowned. "I…I think we should all go. It sounds like more eyes would be better for this venture. I don't like the idea of going into a trap without all of us there to support one another."
"Are you sure Likky?" Quackerjack asked.
The Liquidator took a deep breath. No, he wasn't sure. He wanted to continue to work on the formula, but he knew that rushing Bushroot would do no good. Neither would abandoning the others when they might need him. He just couldn't do it.
Still, he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest easy for a long time.
"So, how long do they make those limos?" Megavolt asked in a fascinated tone.
"Longest I saw had a rubber accordion thing in the middle for going around corners. I think it belonged to a movie star." Quackerjack said wryly. "That's not the worst of it. You should see the gold plated yachts some of them have."
"Now I know why you're so crazy.' Megavolt muttered.
"I'm only crazy now that I'm poor. When you're rich you're just eccentric." Quackerjack laughed. The he frowned. "You know, before we go into Purgatory there, I gotta tell you guys how grateful I am of you. If I didn't have you guys I probably would have gone nuts after losing that company."
"Go?" Megavolt raised his eyebrows.
"Okay, more nuts. Probably bitter and angry too." Quackerjack amended. "You guys ready? There'll be more nostril viewing in there then you can take!"
"I can take any nostril that they can dish out." The Liquidator said. With that the four of them began to walk across the street. That had been huddling in the park across from the big, fancy looking building that this thing was being held in. The Liquidator thought it might be a house, or something like that, but it was way too big and decorated with gargoyles and flying buttresses and architectural quirks that the Liquidator probably couldn't even pronounce. They were in what was considered the old district of St. Canard, where the buildings were generally older and more expensive.
The doorman sniffed at them precociously, but as they were obviously who they said they were, unless the city had sprouted clones of them or something. The doorman looked like he wanted to toss them out, but then Quackerjack smiled.
"Hello Fred. How're the kids?"
The doorman looked like Megavolt had just shocked him. He squinted at Quackerjack and then gasped. "You…it's you!"
Quackerjack smiled a bit at the man's face. "Thought you'd never see me around here again?"
"What are you doing with these…these…people?" Fred the doorman glanced at the other three, and then looked back at Quackerjack.
"Ah, you know. What else was I going to do?" Quackerjack kept smiling as Fred sputtered. "I'm afraid I don't have anything to tip you with though. Spent my last penny on a roadside burger. But I'm sure you don't want hear about my financial troubles. Hey, if Ian has another party I'd be glad to come around. Have a nice night." The other three watched, bemused, as Quackerjack fired off all of this in a very speedy tone and hustled them through the doorway. Fred, who seemed more flabbergasted than anything else, gave them no more evil looks.
They walked down a red carpeted hallway, full of odd paintings, until Megavolt was sure that they were out of hearing range. "What the hell was that?" He asked Quackerjack.
Quackerjack's arms were clasped behind his back. He was looking at the ceiling with a smug look on his face. "My dad had to kiss tailfeathers to get into these, but he did get into them. He'd take me and Robert along when we were young. Of course, both of us started to cause trouble after a while. Robert once put whoopee cushions all around the place, back when he was young and actually remembered how to have fun. It was hilarious. Anyway, poor Fred always had to rein us in after a while, cause Dad was always too busy to watch us and make business connections at the same time."
"Doesn't it bother you that he knows who you are?" Megavolt asked.
"No. Unlike you, I don't need a secret identity. Negaduck already knows who I am, and I don't have any…" Quackerjack looked down, the brooding look back on his face. "You know. Besides, a lot of the people here have known me all my life. I'm going to be recognized, no matter what I do."
The Liquidator looked around at the paintings. Some of them were rather disturbing. There was one where a strange, small mouse holding a paintbrush was facing off against an indistinguishable figure with evil eyes. Another was of a shadowed figure holding a large key like a sword. It was impossible to tell what kind of creature the figure was. In another a mouse dressed like Sherlock Holmes was fighting a feral looking rat inside a huge clock tower. Another featured a lion wearing a kingly robe and crown was menacing a group of…odd creatures with no snouts or beaks to speak off. They looked almost like hairless apes of some sort. One of them was holding a star shaped pendent. The Liquidator noticed that were words on the star. He squinted to read them.
"Traguna…Mer…something. Tre…something something Dee." The Liquidator muttered. "Huh, people will put any kind of gibberish into these things."
His turned away from the painting, and his eyes landed on another. This one, this one was the worst of all. At first it seemed to the Liquidator to simply be a pair of glowing, fiery red eyes. Fiery in the literal since, there seemed to be actual furnaces in those eyes, but still they seemed to follow and watch the Liquidator. At the second glance the Liquidator saw that it was not just a black canvas, there were small, jagged lines drawn on the canvas, like cracks in stone. Within the cracks was more fire. It seemed to the Liquidator now that there was a face there, but he couldn't see what the face was like.
"You okay?"
The Liquidator turned and smiled at Bushroot, who was looking at him oddly. The Liquidator smiled. "I'm fine. Let's go."
Bushroot kept looking at him oddly, but didn't contradict the Liquidator. The pair of them continued on towards the end of the hall, where a pair of double doors awaited them. The Liquidator took the liberty of opening the door and walking through the threshold.
It had been a long time since the Liquidator was in high school, surrounded by people who stared at him and talked about him in low, teasing whispers. Now, however, a lot of those memories came rushing back to him. Every single well dressed person in that place stared at him and his friends with critical, judging eyes. The Liquidator suddenly felt that, even if this was not a trap, someone had certainly taken the time to humiliate them. Looking at the corner of his eyes the Liquidator could see Megavolt tense up, and he knew that Megavolt wanted to run, or storm out. Quackerjack looked slightly wilted, and for once he didn't fidget or bounce or anything. Bushroot just looked embarrassed.
All of a sudden the Liquidator felt an urge. He slid in front of his friends with a grin. "Introducing the heroes of this city, the people who put their lives, their safety and their souls on the line so the rest of you can throw parties like these! Introducing us, the-"the Liquidator realized that they never agreed on a team name of any kind, so he said the first one that came to his mind. "The Friendly Four!"
For a long minute the assembled crowd started at him, then almost as one they turned to each other and started to mutter in earnest. No one was uncouth enough to actually point and stare, but there was a lot of muttering.
"Likky…that was the best you could come up with?" Megavolt hissed.
"In two seconds? Yes."
"Ah well, there are worse names." Quackerjack shrugged. "Wanna go hit the buffet? I see the usual table over there by the windows over there." Quackerjack pointed to the left, and indeed right in front of a set of large windows was a table filled with odd looking food. "I don't know about you, Megs, but I want to go ahead and fill up here."
"Nice." Megavolt grinned. "Hey, you think it would be stealing if we took a doggy bag at the end of the night?"
"I think not." Quackerjack smiled, and the pair of them heading for the buffet. The Liquidator smiled as he followed them, amused by the conversation.
"Is that a fountain of chocolate over there?"
"Chocolate fondue, yes."
"Do you just stick your finger in?"
"No. See the fruit? Spear it with a fondue fork and stick it in the chocolate."
"Oh. What's that black stuff?" Megavolt frowned at the offending "black stuff."
"That's caviar."
"What?" Megavolt was puzzled.
"Fish eggs."
"What? Fish eggs?" Megavolt recoiled from Quackerjack, who was grinning. Quackerjack pointed to another plate. "That's escargot."
"…those are snails, right?" Megavolt blanched at Quackerjack's enthusiastic nod. Quackerjack grinned at him and daintily plucked a slug out of the plate and popped it in his mouth. Megavolt gagged. "Is there anything here normal?"
"This is normal."
"Burgers are normal. Hotdogs are normal. Slugs are not normal."
"That's chicken." Quackerjack pointed. "It's got a fancy sauce, but no slugs." Quackerjack smiled as Megavolt hurried to the most normal portions of food and took a plate, stuffing food on it with little heed to the looks his comments and behavior was getting. The Liquidator smiled as Megavolt rudely speared as much fruit as he could on a stick and shoved it in the chocolate fondue fountain. He kept it in there for almost three minutes, making sure there was plenty of chocolate.
"Are buffets usually involved in balls?" Bushroot asked as he tried to meet people's eyes. He knew that they were talking about them, and he wanted to make them as uncomfortable as possible. He didn't care about these people's opinion of them, but he didn't like to hear anyone slight his friends.
"No idea." Quackerjack smiled. "I don't think anyone would dare correct our gracious host if not." He rolled his eyes.
For a few minutes the Liquidator observed the participants of this…thing. Most of them were dancing along with the terrible croony music, which sounded to the Liquidator like something they used in elevators. Okay, so he didn't expect heavy metal at a ball, but at least have the decency to play good classical music or something like that.
"This music is worse than bagpipes." Bushroot said, voicing the Liquidator's thoughts.
Quackerjack nodded and grabbed more escargot, some poufy looking cheesy thing, fish and little shrimps. "Yeah, the music has always sucked."
"So, you must be Bushroot then?"
The three of them turned to face one of the guests, as Megavolt returned with his plate piled up so high the food leaned to one side. The person who had spoken was an older duck with a white beard, wearing a green kilt and hat. He was looking from Bushroot to Quackerjack, frowning as if trying to figure something out.
"Hi Mr. Glomgold, remember me?" Quackerjack grinned.
The other duck's eyes widened. "Why, it's you! So this is where you vanished to."
Quackerjack nodded. "Guys, this is Flintheart Glomgold, a friend of my father's. Former investor, actually. Sir, these are my friends."
"Investor?" Bushroot asked.
"I've invested in several companies, and I own a few of my own. Quackerjack Toys was just one of them, though it was my favorite. Your family was very refreshing."
"Thanks." Quackerjack said.
"Do you know everyone's here?" Megavolt asked as he popped several small squares of cheese into his mouth.
"Only the ones that took the time to talk to me." Quackerjack shrugged.
"I only come to these things to keep the peace. And it is rather amusing to watch them. It's almost as good as real entertainment." Glomgold frowned. "Truth be told I'd rather be out competing with old McDuck again. We're friendly business rivals, you see." He said in response to Bushroot's curious look. "Spent a lot of time trying to find sunken treasures or golden gooses before Scrooge. He usually wins, though." Glomgold shrugged. "But then again I was always more into the competition then winning." He then gave Bushroot a respectful look. "I heard about what you did for Scrooge. I have to thank you. We need more people like you four about. Heck, I could have used some people like you…"
"What's wrong?" Bushroot asked.
Glomgold shook his head. "I have a diamond cutting factory outside this city, but it keeps getting robbed."
"Tell us more." Megavolt said as he swallowed his cheese. "Maybe we can help."
Glomgold smiled at them. "I do have someone working on the case, but there haven't been any results yet…"
None of them saw the figure watching them, which quietly slipped out of the ballroom, and was soon gone.
"Let's go, Marco, they're distracted here."
"Are you sure we have the right greenhouse?" Marco asked as he pulled the car out of the driveway.
"Positive. That hood was one of Negaduck's." The Voice said.
I'm not sure about this. Why does this Negaduck never launch an attack on these four?" Marco asked. "I mean, if they are his rivals…"
"I don't know. Professional courtesy maybe?" The Voice said.
"Are you sure that they're villains?" Marco asked suspiciously.
"…I will admit that it's just a feeling I have. Still, this is too important to leave in the hands of disreputable people."
"You mean the same people who fight this Negaduck all the time?" Marco said wryly. "The same people who apparently are popular enough with the public that Andrea Glitersson agreed that bringing them in would be a great public relations stunt?" Marco shook his head. "How did you manage that?"
"I'm good with people."
"Yeah. Right." Marco rolled his eyes. "Being in her tax bracket helps as well, I guess."
"Just a bit, Marco…are you upset?" There was concern in the Voices…um voice.
"Not about the tax bracket."
He stayed silent the rest of the way to where his boss had told him their destination was. He couldn't see the Voice, of course. Right now his boss was in full blown "Voice mode", which seemed to require the entire invisibility package, complete with creepy voice. Marco didn't like it, but that was how things were for him.
They finally made it to the road near the greenhouse. Slowly Marco parked the car and got out.
"I don't want you to come with me. I'm going into the lair of a possible enemy."
"Which is why I am coming with you." Marco said as he pulled out a gun from under the seat of his car.
"If you insist, Marco. I'll be right beside you."
Knowing that the Voice would do just that, Marco began to sneak towards the greenhouse. He could kind of hear a second set of footsteps beside his own. If he didn't know who it was he probably would have been afraid of it. But he knew that it was just his old friend and employer.
As he came closer Marco began to hear…barking.
"Do they have a dog?" Marco asked.
As he spoke Spike burst from the door of the greenhouse, slobbering and howling in anger at the intruders. Spike could sense there were two people here, although he knew one of them was trying to cloak itself somehow. Though Spike did verbalize, okay he made sounds; he also had the same telepathy as the other plants.
Brother! Home! Intruders!
What!
Two strangers!
We'll be right there. Hold on Spike!
Spike growled and lunged at intruders, snapping in anger. He lunged at the one without the cloak, the weaker one. He snapped at the funny smelling thing the intruder held, and almost managed to swallow it. While he did it he issued his own mental commands to the trees and plants, who knew now that there home was being threatened.
Now, it was true that Negaduck knew vaguely where Bushroot's greenhouse was, having figured it out after the mutant had made his first appearance. He knew that the plant creature had to be the same one from the university, and a little look at the files the university had on Reggie Bushroot told him the address of his house, which was empty, and the greenhouse property. However, every time Negaduck tried to attack the plants would counter, and while he could have rallied his forces and wiped it out, he just didn't want to spend the resources needed for a siege, at least not now.
Several creepers crept towards the intruders, attempting to wrap themselves around Marco's ankles. Marco squeaked and started to shot at him. This served to do absolutely nothing at all, save make the creepers creep even further towards them. A tree burst through the door of the building and reached a branch towards Marco, who by now was backing away and trying to brush the creepers off of him.
"Marco! The roof!"
Marco dashed to the side of the greenhouse, and saw a rope that had not been there before. He used it to attempt to pull him up. He pushed against the ground, and somehow managed to scramble onto the roof, using the rope. The creepers began to slide up the side of the greenhouse, while the trees started to circle like sharks.
"I knew this was a bad idea."
"Yeah, it really was. You picked the wrong place to rob, pal."
Marco grimaced and turned as four figures leaped from a helpful tree branch onto the roof of the greenhouse. He had a pretty good idea who these people were.
"Any particular reason you're on my roof?" The green plant mutant, Bushroot, Marco remembered, said in an annoyed tone.
The Voice laughed, and even Marco felt a small chill go up his spine. That laugh was just freaky.
"Make no move towards my friend, any of you." The Voice said in a cold tone. "I have a gun I and I will shoot you."
"What? Who's there?" Megavolt asked.
"You can't see her? She's right there." Quackerjack pointed at the air a few steps away from Marco, who gaped at the clown.
"You can see her?" He asked. No one could ever see the Voice when she did her invisibility trick!
"Yeah? So?"
The Voice laughed again. "You are the first person who has ever seen me before. That is unusual."
The Liquidator smiled. "That must mean you're not really invisible at all. It's some sort of trick."
"I have the ability to cloud the minds of others. It must mean that your friend has a strong will."
"I don't know." Quackerjack said. "I am supposed to be crazy. Maybe it's just that my mind is already clouded enough that a few more on the horizon doesn't make a lot of difference."
"Still, you can see me. You can see quite well that I am indeed holing a gun, can't you?"
"Actually, I see you holding two." Quackerjack said mildly. He didn't seem very concerned with this.
"I don't want to kill you. Any of you. Just return that package to me, and we can all walk away from this. The long arm of the-"
"No monologue!" Quackerjack interrupted. "I hate when villains monologue!" With that Quackerjack pulled out a few red bouncy balls that lit on fire when he flipped a switch on them. He tossed them at what appeared to the others to be thin air, but the bounced back towards them. The Voice had probably knocked them back.
"I am no-"
"No monologue!" Quackerjack interrupted as he jumped towards the area where the others now assumed the Voice must be, attempting to kick. It was kind of strange, seeing Quackerjack fight something he could see, but the others could not. They could see him kick once, punch twice, toss a few chattering teeth, and dodge a few times from whatever was there. Even Marco was staring at the scene in puzzlement. None of them were sure what to do at this point. Both the Voice's friend and the other three were afraid of hitting the wrong person, especially since one of them was invisible.
Then, as if the Voice needed to prove herself to the others, two gunshots rang out. Quackerjack leaped away in confusion, as if he hadn't been expecting the Voice to use her weapons. For a second the Liquidator thought that he had been hit, but he didn't see any blood. Instead he felt some of his water leaking somewhere. He looked down, and noticed that the greenhouse roof had two holes. And, to make it worse, huge cracks were forming.
"Oh. No." The Liquidator said, as the glass shattered, and the combatants dropped down onto the floor. At once they heard several crunching noises, and the Liquidator turned to see a trail of broken glass being crunched by invisible feet. They were aimed straight for the package that the Liquidator had left on Bushroot's table. He had no idea why this weirdo wanted that thing, but he wasn't giving it up!
He grabbed it about the same time that the Voice did. They tugged back and forth, neither willing to give it up, until the package ripped straight down the middle.
With cheerful glittery luminescence, hundreds of uncut diamonds spilled on the ground, sparkling in the moonlight. The Liquidator stared at the diamonds, his mouth open. He lifted his eyes and shot a look at where he thought the Voice was. "So this is what you're after! You're a diamond thief!"
"I most certainly am not!" The Voice sounded affronted. "I'm trying to save those gems from miscreants like you!"
"Miscreants! We're the heroes here!" Quackerjack snarled.
"Forgive me if I don't believe that three mutants and an insane asylum refugee are heroes." The Voice said.
"You should talk! You're a disembodied voice with a creepy laugh! And guns! Why do you have guns! You could hurt someone with those!" Bushroot said.
"That's the entire point of having a gun." Came the matter of fact response.
"You could have shot Quackerjack at any time, but you didn't" Megavolt said through narrowed eyes.
"I don't want to hurt people, but sometimes it is necessary when dealing with the criminal element." The Voice said.
"You mean to tell us you're one of the good guys?" Quackerjack laughed. "Pull the other one!"
"I was hired by Flinheart Glomgold to get to the bottom of his missing diamonds. When you took them from SHUSH I assumed you were the go between for them, Liquidator."
"I don't work for SHUSH." The Liquidator growled.
"Perhaps not. You seemed genuinely surprised at their presence." The Voice seemed to be pondering.
"I'll tell you who was supposed to get these, Negaduck!" The Liquidator said. "He's the one you should be after!"
There was a long silence from the Voice. Finally, the laughter echoed again.
"Perhaps I should take your suggestion! I'll take that!" The Voice snatched the other end of the package.
"She's running away!" Quackerjack said, and moved to follow the Voice. Unfortunately, Marco, who had been edging near the door of the greenhouse, shot at a hanging potted plant and shattered the pot, dumping dirt, cracked pot, and a scared ivy onto Quackerjack's head. Quackerjack fell, dazed by the impact of the portions of cracked pot.
Megavolt and the Liquidator followed the fleeing Marco out the door, while Bushroot went to help Quackerjack and the plant. The Liquidator watched Megavolt warily, making sure that he didn't touch and hurt his friend. The two of them raced after Marco, who leaped into a big, old looked black car and sped away.
"You go below, I go above." Megavolt said, and the Liquidator nodded, turning as thin as he could, washing over the ground after the tires.
Still, despite their best efforts, the two of them were eventually left behind.
Negaduck was in a rage, and everyone in his gang knew that when Negaduck was in a rage, bad things were bound to happen. Apparently Hooter had not been pleased by the fact that the Liquidator had infiltrated SHUSH, and was blaming it on Negaduck. While Negaduck didn't like the other crime lord, and he didn't like being chewed out by a person he saw as little more than a future obstacle to be stomped on his way to the top. However, there was little he could do to destroy Hooter, at least right now. So he had to put up with Hooter's demands. It rubbed him the wrong way even in the best of times, and this was not the best time.
The news that the newly christened "Friendly Four" had been invited to a ball didn't help Negaduck's mood.
"Where is my flamethrower! I'm going to roast those rich knobs in their own fancy smancy crude oil!" Negaduck screamed, trying to find his flamethrower. It was missing, and that wasn't helping his mood either. "If you don't find my chainsaw right now I'll pluck your eyeballs out of you skull and replace them with Christmas lights!"
Several gang members, even Lamont, cowered. Only Launchpad didn't cower, but that might be because he was wearing his usual dumb expression. It was hard to tell if Launchpad didn't cower because he wasn't afraid, or because he was just dumb.
"Friendly Four! Friendly Four!" Negaduck snarled. "They couldn't have picked up a worse name if they had asked the Cute Little Lost Bunnies themselves!" Negaduck snarled as he dug through a box filled with weapons. A Uzi, a .22, a few frag grenades (which Launchpad caught for fear of blowing up), a shotgun, a machine gun, a Glock, a few chainsaws, a lead pipe, two rubber duckies, a computer monitor, a small toy with small parts that would choke a toddler, a kitchen sink, a brain in a jar, a mask, a katana, a broadsword, a bow with no string, a slingshot missing its rubber thing, another kitchen sink, a nut, a pair of watches, and yes even a kitchen sink, all flew through the air. "And these are my arch rivals!" Negaduck had disappeared into the box, climbing in to toss the kitchen sink out. "I'm embarrassed to even be called their enemy!"
"I thought you were always embarrassed by them." Launchpad said mildly.
"Launchpad, why do we have all these kitchen sinks!" Negaduck asked as he pulled out another and tossed it to the ground.
"Have you seen the bathrooms?" Launchpad asked.
"Not recently."
"There's your reason." Launchpad ignored Negaduck's glare.
"Alright, that's it! You knobs!" He pointed at the huddling gang members. "Go and get me flamethrowers! I want flamethrowers! NOW! GET!" The huddled mass of thugs scrambled to the exits, going to beg, borrow, or most likely steal, flamethrowers. Only Launchpad remained where he was, a serene look of stupid on his face.
Negaduck was still fuming even after his thugs were gone. He was pacing around, fists clenched and eyes narrowed, looking for something to hit. He never hit Launchpad, nor did he ever take a shot at him. No one knew why, as he was perfectly willing to shot or hit his other thugs all the time. But he didn't hit Launchpad.
Negaduck was still wearing a hole in the floor when all of a sudden someone laughed. It was echoy, haunting laugher, and Negaduck remembered it. He remembered hearing it before he walked into SHUSH's records room. He snatched up a fallen pistol and made sure it was loaded.
"Who's there?" He snarled.
"It is no use to look for me…Negaduck." Negaduck snorted at the Voice's dramatic pausing. He had always hated people who did that. "You cannot see me." The Voice sounded very smug.
"Oh, trust me; I can still kill you, even if I can't see you." Negaduck snarled.
"I know what evil lurks in the hearts of ducks." The Voice intoned. "I am the Voice."
"Cute name." Launchpad snorted. Negaduck didn't even look at him. Instead, he whirled around and shot the gun. A grunt was heard, and a bit of blood spurted into the air, apparently from nowhere.
"You really think a little thing like invisibility can stop Negaduck?" Negaduck laughed. "I can tell where you are just by listening!"
"Wait! I'm here to give you something!" The Voice said.
"Really?" Negaduck laughed. "This had better be good, for your sake!"
"I have the package from SHUSH, stolen by the Liquidator. I will give it to you, Negaduck, for the right price."
Negaduck laughed. "You really think you can bargain with me? Me! You're in my lair, coward!"
"You got lucky. You cannot see me. You are helpless, Negaduck." The Voice was hypnotic, almost soothing, as if…
Negaduck snarled and shook his head. His eyes widened. "I've heard of this before. You think you can hypnotize me? I'm Negaduck!" The crime lord snarled and shot again, and once again blood flew through the air. It wasn't enough to be deadly, by Negaduck's guess he was just clipping the Voice. Still, he knew that he was unnerving the Voice, and as long as he kept the mental upper hand he would keep the physical upper hand as well.
All of a sudden the doors to the warehouse hideout burst open and Lamont, followed by two thugs dragging a struggling Marco between them. Negaduck stared as the two thugs brought Marco forwards.
"We found him snooping around, boss!" One of the thugs said. Negaduck grinned and pointed the gun at Marco's head.
"Okay, Voice." Negaduck said, earning him a few flabbergasted looks. "How about this deal? You give me my package, and I'll let this guy live.
"What makes you think he is with me?" The Voice said.
"Suit yourself." Negaduck grinned and fired. The Voice cried out in shock, and it was apparent she didn't expect him to actually do it.
"Marco! No!" The Voice shouted, and Negaduck laughed in glee. However, before the bullet could strike Marco's head a wall of water sprang up and solidified to a strange yellow color. The bullet bounced off the hard water, and fell to the ground.
Negaduck screamed in rage as a bolt of lightning shot out of the doorway and almost struck him. He fired at Megavolt, who dispelled some electricity, vaporizing the bullets. the Liquidator lashed out at Negaduck, slapping the gun out of his hand. Quickly the Liquidator pooled around the room, washing the rest of the weapons, and the sinks, out the windows. Meanwhile, Megavolt had shocked two of the thugs and was busy shocking Lamont, who had found a wooden board as was trying to brain the rat. Megavolt ducked his blows and sent a shock of electricity at Lamont's gut. He went down hard. Megavolt grabbed Marco and started to help him out.
"Voice! Get out! We have to go."
"I'm leaving!" Footsteps were heard, and Megavolt jerked as something grabbed Marco's other arm and helped him push the poor falcon out of the warehouse, and out of danger.
As Megavolt and the Voice were doing that, the Liquidator was fighting Negaduck in earnest, as the crime lord was trying to get to his victims. They traded blows, or at least tried to. Every blow Negaduck made didn't hurt the Liquidator, but none of his blows did much to the nimble Negaduck, who dodged all of his watery punches.
"What do you want diamonds for?" The Liquidator asked. Negaduck laughed.
"You really think I'll tell you, Mr. Friendly?" Negaduck asked with a disgusted look. "All you need to know is soon I'll be ruling this city! Negaduck suddenly jumped back, and Launchpad suddenly appeared, driving what appeared to be a huge craft shaped like a duck's head, specifically Negaduck's head. The Liquidator hadn't noticed Launchpad's departure, and he cursed himself for it. The hanger of the craft opened and Negaduck placed a foot inside.
"Soon, I will run this place, and then you and your little friends have nowhere to run!" With another laugh Negaduck ducked into his craft, and the thing's rockets fired, bearing Negaduck away.
Still, the Liquidator was sure that he could hear Negaduck laughing, even from down here.
The Liquidator found Marco and Megavolt on the side of the road. The falcon was apparently no worse for wear, though a small puddle of blood was forming where the Voice must be.
"Are you insane!" The Liquidator shouted at the puddle. "You could have been killed! You could have gotten your friend killed! You can't cut a deal with Negaduck! He doesn't do deals!"
"I…am sorry." The strange reverberation, the cocky tone and the mocking laughter, was gone from the Voice's…voice. She sounded subdued, and small, almost as if she had been crying.
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" The Liquidator screamed. "What kind of immature, overconfident, stupid child are you!"
"Likky, enough." Megavolt considered the puddle. "How…long have you been doing this."
"Including today? Two days." The Voice said. "This is the first time I ever…tried this."
"Well, we all start somewhere." Megavolt said. He seemed to understand something that the Liquidator didn't get. "First off, this isn't like the comics or the television or the books. Negaduck will kill you, he's a serious villain. You should start small, with bank robbers and stuff like that. You also need to learn to stop showboating. Or at least learn when to showboat and when to get dangerous. If you don't you'll get into a situation you can't get out of!"
"I see." The Voice said.
"Hey," Megavolt tried to grab the air, and his eyes widened. "Ummm, I was going for your shoulder."
"You managed to find a place a bit more personal than that, Sparky." The Voice said wryly.
"Eh…well…anyway…" Megavolt let his hand drop to his side. "I…forgot what I was going to say."
"That's alright." The voice sighed. "I'm sorry I put you in danger. And I'm sorry I misjudged you. I just…my father used to have cassette tapes about a man that would fight evil using the power to cloud men's minds. I left to find that power, and I did, eventually. This city, it's gotten so worse since I left, that I just wanted to help it. Like the character in that old radio show. I'm afraid I made a hash out of it."
"You just need practice, and a good deal of common sense." Megavolt said. "Look, don't be afraid to look us up, if you ever need help."
"I'll do that. Thank you Megavolt." The Voice said.
"Yeah, and you're also bleeding." Marco said as he stood up. He looked at the Liquidator and Megavolt "Thanks for the help, but I need to get her home."
"Yes, he's right. Thank you both. Please apologize to your friends for me." The Voice said. They saw the car door open and close, as the Voice got in the car. Marco gave them one last friendly nod and got into the driver's seat. Soon the pair of them were gone in a cloud of black smoke from the exhaust pipe.
"That is such an environmental hazard of a car." The Liquidator said. He looked at Megavolt. "You seemed awfully tolerant of her." He said.
Megavolt shrugged. "Let's just say she reminds me of someone." He turned to the Liquidator. "Was that a duck head I saw flying overhead?"
"Yeah, Negaduck has a new toy." The Liquidator said.
"That can't be good." Megavolt said.
Later that night Bushroot and the Liquidator found themselves at Bushroot's lab, bent over a sack of papers.
"I'll drop these off at Doctor Fossil's tomorrow." Bushroot said. "I'm sure he can help more then I can. He's a geneticist."
"Great." The Liquidator looked troubled. "What do you think Negaduck is planning?"
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling." Bushroot said. "What are we going to do about it?"
"I don't know." The Liquidator was beginning to hate that phrase, but it was true. "I'll see you tomorrow, Reggie."
"Take your time." Bushroot said. "I'll probably take Quackerjack with me. He's a little angry about losing the Voice after being the only one able to see her, and I think the walk will do him good. Plus, I think you and Megavolt need to work together more. You two are practically strangers."
The Liquidator was not looking forwards to that. "Alright." He said. He flowed up towards the still shattered greenhouse roof. He pooled himself away from the broken glass, still looking droopy and depressed. he looked up at the clouds and wondered if Hank was out there. Alive. Safe. Waiting for his father to come save him. He wished he knew where his son was. He sighed.
"I'll find you Hank, I promise."
Somewhere, far away, but closer then the Liquidator would think, a pair of familiar brown eyes looked up at the moon from his cell. A small boy, barely older than ten, allowed himself to cry, just a little bit. He didn't think the SHUSH agents would care about silent tears in the dark.
"Dad, where are you…"
A/N: I don't know why I keep including Ducktales characters. Maybe it's because I needed someone to own the diamonds, but didn't want another oc running around. Marco and the Voice were enough for this chapter. Yes, in the Negaverse Glomgold is Scrooge's friendly rival, not an enemy. (almost makes me want to spin off a Negaverse Ducktales, just to see what it would do.). You can also bet Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys are nice in the Negaverse as well. Of course, that would make Duckworth, Mrs. Beakely and Webby as villains. Actually, I think you could turn Webby into Shrieky from Care Bears with little effort. That does sound kinda fun…
The paintings in the hall are all referencing other Disney products. The first two are the games Epic Mickey and Kingdom Hearts. The second two are The Great Mouse Detective (worth a watch on its own merits, but bonus points for not being afraid to put in beer, cigars and strippers in a kids movie. No, they don't show anything.). The last one is a movie near and dear to my heart, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The star is the Star of Astoroth, and it's supposed to read: Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee, the Subsitutiary Locomotion spell, which moves things. Harry Potter before Harry Potter was around. Great old movie. It's a bit like Mary Poppins.
Now, I know in this fic I did have the plants act almost independently off Bushroot, something that they don't do in the series. There's a reason for this. Nega-Bushroot is a bit more advanced than normal Bushroot. Here is the reason: Bushroot, despite the fact that is probably the most sympathetic of the Fearsome Five, he's also the most self centered, and not at all empathic. If you notice he never really seems to see, and rarely acknowledges, the way Spike helps and supports him. Yeah, he says he wants a friend, but it seems to me to go only one way with him. Take the episode where Gosalyn turned into a slime monster. He was willing to experiment on her to get more friends, not really a friendly thing to do at all. I think that, for all the sympathy he receives, normal Bushroot lacks a certain level of empathy and the ability to feel for others. Now, Nega-Bushroot has this quality in spades, which is why the plants work a bit better for him. He's able to feel more for others, not just demand that they feel for him, therefore the plants are livelier as they are influenced by his emotions. Hope yall like my alternate character interpretation. It made sense to me.
Speaking of weird variations of characters, since all we know about Quackerjack is a few basic facts, I did choose to make stuff up about his past. I don't know why I chose to go the way I did, but it felt right to me.
As to why the Friendly Four didn't do the obvious option of looking on the internet for evidence of Hank, and why the Liquidator didn't try to hack into the computer room, well there is a simple explanation. The original Darkwing Duck was aired in the nineties. Now, there was internet, but not as prevalent as it was then. Plus, the youngest of them, Quackerjack, is about twenty two years old. He'd have grown up in the eighties, with no internet. As for the Liquidator, he probably is in his thirties, as he does have a ten year old kid. Computer hacking is probably not one of the skills a water salesman learns, as well as the fact that it probably would never occur to him. In order to keep this kind of parallel to the time period the original Darkwing Duck aired, this is also set in the nineties. So, not going to be much internet (unless I decide to rip off Tron in the near future).
You know what I wish the comics would answer? How the entire Darkwing Duck universe warped from 1994 technology to 2011 technology in the in cannon year between the last Darkwing episode and the first comic. Yeah, I know they have to reach the new generation, but that's a pretty interesting leap there.
I know that this really didn't come out as a Shadow story, mostly because instead of following the Voice it followed the Friendly Four as they interacted with the Voice, which is like following the peripheral characters in a Shadow adventure. Besides, it's kind of hard to translate a radio show onto a fanfic, and this is the first time I tired, so this probably comes off as less then my best. Still, I hope I will improve if the Voice ever makes a return appearance.
The title of the chapter, as well as a certain line in the story, comes from the Shadow's opening phrase in the radio show: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows" *cue crazy laughter*. I don't own that catchphrase.
Next time: Bushroot and Quackerjack go to find Dr. Fossil, but instead they fall under the influence of a horrible genetic experiment, leaving the Liquidator and Megavolt to battle a prehistoric terror all alone. Can the two opposing elements ban together to defeat the evil monstrous terror that is…Stegmutt?