- A More Likable Visit.
"Anyone want more fish-sticks?"
"We need some here, Rita. Otherwise, Dizzy might eat the table." Mary directed to the cat while she and The J.A.M. smirked playfully at the little purple devil sitting behind them, who was about to chew the table after eating his dish.
Almost all Ronald's classmates (for obvious reasons, Monty, Elmyra and Marcus weren't present), as well as the whole Looniversity's staff, were at Rita and Runt's yard, enjoying the picnic-barbeque the couple threw to celebrate Ronald's rescue. Runt was at the grill preparing hamburgers and steaks (soy-made, of course, as most of Acme Acres "meat" was), as well as some large fish sticks, carrots, potatoes and onions, while Rita played host and attended everyone. Ronald himself wanted to help, but, besides his parents not allowing him, since it was his party and all, Hillary kept him more than a little busy; at the moment, thanks to some pasta Minerva brought, they were performing a classic scene from "Lady and the Tramp", but without separating when their lips touched.
"How they avoid choking? I mean, they were eating just a moment ago!" Sylvester Junior commented, surprised at the length of the couple's kiss.
"Those are the mysteries of romance, my friend." Vinnie explained while sharing his meal with Binky Bunny. The other toons around Ronald and Hillary chuckled, and, a few moments later, the hybrid and the hyena broke the kiss, conserving pretty wide smiles.
"Way to go, brother!" Minerva, who was sitting at next table alongside most of the teachers and Newt, gave Ronald the thumbs-up.
"And here I thought I was the one with the super lungs." Wally joked, making the couple to blush and everyone else to laugh.
"Ah, we're just teasing you guys." Buster said when calming down a little, and getting a fond look on Babs. "I mean, everyone here had acted in a similar way more than once."
"Yes, except Fowlmouth." Plucky commented in a casual tone while pointing at the chicken the other side of the table, who obviously got an upset face.
"Like, Plucky, be nice, or some junk, or you'll be the next except here." Shirley said to her boyfriend in a half-angry, half-joking way that made Plucky to get a sheepish look, and Fowlmouth to smile widely at the image of Shirley defending him.
"Okay, guys, I want to be serious for a moment." Ronald said while clearing his throat, getting everyone's attention. "I just want to say, well, thanks a bunch for saving my neck, and for supporting my parents and Minerva. I especially want to thank those who rescued me from The Fearsome Six," Ronald gave a fast glance to Hillary, Shirley, Mary, The J.A.M., Wally and Gosalyn, who were around him (except Shirley, who was at another table with Plucky), "but I appreciate the effort from all of you when searching for me. I think I'm talking for my family when saying we'll never forget this, and if you ever need a paw, you can count with us."
Everyone clapped at Ronald's speech, who immediately hugged Hillary, and shook paws with his rescuers; he then did the same with Ruby (who obviously was next to Wally) and Fifi (who moved from aside Calamity, since they both were at another table), knowing they also helped a lot to locate him; and then continued with the rest of his friends and teachers.
"So, Ronnie, where are you going to take Hillary for that date you mentioned?" Gosalyn asked the hybrid once everyone returned to their meals and regular chatting.
"Sorry, Gos, but that's confidential." Ron said in a fake serious tone. "I want this to be a nice, romantic, and very private experience."
"In other words, we don't want any of you guys to suddenly appear and ruin the mood." Hillary cleared, making Ronald to blush, and the whole table to burst laughing.
"Hillary, you're one in a million." Ronald gave Hillary an affective kiss on her cheek.
"Good for us; I doubt we would survive having TWO like her in a million." Ruby joked, getting a fake glare from the hyena.
"No kidding; in that case, Splicer would be ten feet under by now." Wally said in a half-serious tone.
"Yeah… I really lost control in there." Hillary sighed. "The weird thing is that, right now, I feel no hate for the guy… obviously, if he ever tries to do something like that again, I'm going to hit him even harder, but I guess that beating allowed all my hate to leave with every punch I gave to him."
"Then, judging by the way he ended up, you really did feel more than a little rage for him, Hillary," The J.A.M. commented in a serious tone, but changed to a more relaxed one a moment later, "but you kept your word. It's great to see you didn't get consumed by hate. I can tell you that takes even more guts than jumping into a ring against any rival."
"Even a jaguar with warping abilities?" The hyena asked jokingly, and then she and the jaguar smiled to each other. The feline felt particularly proud of his friend, knowing Hillary could be pretty violent at times, but this adventure confirmed she had a good control over her instincts, and a lot of responsibility concerning her own strength. Everybody knew that, if she had allowed herself to use her full capacity, Splicer wouldn't be alive by now, but she was smart enough to not cross that line, despite the fury she felt for those who attempted against Ronald's welfare.
"I hope you're not asking for a rematch," he joked. "Sparring and classwork are easy enough that we can keep instincts under control, but I'm afraid that with those clones and villains, I had a moment or two where I seriously considered getting raw barbecue…the quick way."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the hyena.
"Erm…" he shifted in his footpaws, while Mary took hold of his arm to comfort him.
"It's okay, Furrycoat," she soothed, remembering how that evil jaguar tried to kill that arctic wolf in that alternate timeline. "It's part of who you are, just like breaking bones is part of Hillary."
"You break bones too?" asked Ron.
"Um…sort of; one thing that makes jaguars different from other panthera is that we normally don't go for the neck. We…um…crushtheskullforaquickkill."
Everyone who wasn't a predator or Mary felt a little nauseous... except Gos, who, after a moment, found it kind of cool.
"If Quakerjack or Megavolt had tried anything horrible against me, Furrycoat, I wouldn't have blamed you if your instincts had overpowered you. But now you, Hillary, Ron, and Wally know where your instinct threshold is, and you can work to push it further away, in case another villain tries anything like this again."
"In which case, they'll be lucky if they just get a standard mauling," said the black wolf, laughing a bit to liven up the group.
At that moment, the jaguar felt a vibration coming from his poach, and, excusing himself, took out his cell phone, noticing he had a text message.
"You know, I normally don't care about those responsibility and forgiveness' speeches, but I'm more than willing to do an exception. Can we talk later?"
The feline didn't recognize the number, since it wasn't from any of his contacts. The predator gave a fast glance around, and smiled when in the distance he noticed Plucky was holding his own cell phone and looking discretely at him. The J.A.M. nodded at the duck, who got a relieved expression, and returned to chat with Shirley, who placed a wing over his shoulder and showed a proud look.
"Who messaged you, Furrycoat?" Mary asked the feline.
"Just someone who wants to mature a little as well, Mary." The J.A.M. replied giving her a little kiss. The girl didn't ask more, knowing that he would give her a better explanation later.
At the table where most of the staff was eating, Wile E. Coyote glanced at Ronald and company, and chuckled slightly.
"Whatpths pthso funny, pal?" Sylvester asked the coyote, noticing him when the cat turned to allow Penelope and Sylvia to have a private chat.
"You know, I just realized Splicer didn't need to perform any experiment to get more hybrids… he only needed to wait a few years." The genius commented, and then explained to the puzzled cat, "Just take a look around us. Many of our students are currently involved in very successful relationships that, I dare to say, might end someday in marriage. And, since most of them are inter-species couples…"
"Oh, I get it now." Sylvester smiled, but immediately got a thoughtful look, "Wile, I'm no expert, but are you pthsure all thepthse couplepths will have children? Thapths not hard with pthsimilar pthspecies, like duckpths and loonpths, but a jaguar and a human, a rat and a wolf, a coyote and a pthskunk… you get my point."
"Certainly, that's a very valid observation, my feline friend." Wile said in his expert-like tone. "The probabilities are considerably smaller than when similar DNA is involved, but, as Rita and Runt proved, even if the genes are pretty different, there's always a chance of developing a healthy product, especially considering the average toon body's extreme adaptation's capacities that allow us a quick recovery from most wounds, and the postures and physical changes we get through when doing a wild take. And, as a scientist, I can tell you I'm positively curious about how the offspring might result; Calamity and Fifi will have skunks with his color's pattern, or a perfect genetic mixture, like it happened with Rita and Runt? Mary and The J.A.M. will have a black panther, or a human-like child with some feline attributes? And Ronald and Hillary, well, there are three species involved in that pairing. It's quite intriguing."
"Well, my dear nerdy colleague, there's only one thing we know for sure." Minerva suddenly appeared from behind Wile and Sylvester, placing a paw on each male's shoulder and getting a sly smile, "No matter if they have children or not… they'll surely have a lot of fun trying." The three teachers burst laughing a moment later, stopping only when Newt called Minerva back and Sylvester returned with his wife and his ex, leaving the coyote alone with his theories and looking at the youngsters.
"Runt, did you remember to buy dessert?" Rita asked her husband while chewing a fish stick. Runt stopped eating his hamburger to reply.
"No, but Gosalyn assured me she'll get it, definitely." Runt told her, and, in a perfect cue, a jet engine was heard by everyone. The toons looked up in the sky to see a duck head-shaped jet hovering over them, getting ready to land.
"I see it. I see it. I see it…" Loud Kiddington said in his dull voice, making Aka Pella and a few other toons around him to react from the surprise caused by the jet's appearing, and chuckle a little at one of the boy's trademark routines.
"Hey, dessert is here." Gosalyn said in an excited tone, but changed to a slightly concerned one a moment later; "You guys better beware; I know the pilot, and he's pretty cool flying, but not so much landing."
To the duckette's surprise, the jet landed without any problems a few feet away from the group. Then, the toons at the jet became visible, and Gosalyn smiled widely when discovering the reason the jet landed so well.
"Very nice landing, Honker," Launchpad McQuack, Darkwing's sidekick, directed to a nerdy-looking young goose next to him, "Now, you just need to practice the acrobatic flight, and you'll be ready to use The Thunderquack in case of emergency."
"Thanks, Launchpad; you were right about flying. It's kind of a liberating experience." Honker's speech was cut by the passionate kiss from the red haired duckette that ran to embrace him. The goose got a surprised expression, but kissed back a moment later; as good as the magical sphere was to get some long-distance kissing, there was no substitute for the normal way.
"It's so good to be together again." Gosalyn and Honker said at the same time when breaking the kiss, chuckling when noticing it. The girl's classmates and teachers laughed at the scene, except some of the girls who gave Gos the thumbs up.
"What, no kiss for me?" A white duck wearing a green sweater with dark pink sleeves said from behind the young couple. Gosalyn separated from Honker to share a good hug with her dad, in his Drake Mallard's identity, and then kissed his cheek before doing the same with Launchpad.
"Gad to see ya, Mistah Mallard." Bugs greeted the duck while Launchpad and Honker took a pretty large cake out from the jet, "Hadn't seen ya since Gos moved here."
"Ah, well, you know, Saint Canard isn't exactly downtown, Mister Bunny." Drake said while shaking paws/wings with the rabbit, "Darkwing has to attend some business here concerning his enemies, of course, so I asked him and Launchpad to give me a ride and visit my daughter, and, since Honker misses her as well, he came too."
"Well, join da party, doc. I can tell ya, yer daughter made a fantastic job directin' her classmates. Ya and Darkwing must be very proud of her." Bugs told Drake while they moved towards the staff's table. Launchpad and Honker were greeted by Runt and Rita, who grabbed the cake to put it inside the house until dessert's time, allowing the avians to join the other guests.
"I don't get it!" Fowlmouth commented to Sylvester Junior while glaring at Honker, who now was getting introduced to Gosalyn's friends by her, "I had been trying to dadgum get Gosalyn's dadgum attention since she moved here, and she had rejected dadgum me because of that?"
"Well, he looks like a nice guy, FM." The kitten said to the angry chicken, "And it seems tough and witty girls are somehow attracted by nice guys; just look at Hillary and Ronald."
"But Ronald is a dadgum strong guy, Junior! And this guy looks like a perfect dadgum weakling!" Fowlmouth insisted, and then got a sly look and elbowed Junior slightly, "Just look at this; I'm giving him a dadgum handshake to make him cry." Junior rolled his eyes, yet followed Fowlmouth when he approached Honker, who now was getting introduced to Calamity, Fifi, and Egghead Junior.
"Nice to finally meet you, guys. Gosalyn had told me a lot about The Loo's smartest toons and her French friend." Honker said in his usual polite tone while shaking paws/wings with the Acme's geniuses and the furry beauty.
"Merci. Gosalyn is always zelling us about her cuze and lovely boyfriend from Saint Canard." Fifi told Honker, making him to blush and give Gosalyn a shy affective look she replied with a little kiss on his cheek.
"And thanks for the compliment; Gosalyn talks highly about your intelligence as well." Calamity replied with signal language that, he pleasantly discovered, Honker understood perfectly. Egghead Junior nodded and wrote something on a sheet of paper; he then handled it to the taller avian, who got a very interested look.
"I would like it a lot, guys; maybe we can e-mail to exchange information and even work together. And what's this invention you mention here?" Honker asked Egghead while pointing at one part of the paper.
Calamity and Egghead glanced to each other, and then Calamity took a little silver panel with a large red button on it out from his body pocket. While he and Egghead made a few adjustments to the invention, Fowlmouth and Junior finally got behind Honker and Gosalyn, and the chicken cleared his throat to get their attention.
"So, Gos, you're not going to introduce your boyfriend to us?" Fowlmouth said in his most polite tone yet conserving his sly look.
"Oh, sorry guys; Honker, they are Fowlmouth, Foghorn Leghorn's pupil, and Junior, Sylvester's son. FM, Junior, he is Honker, my boyfriend." Gosalyn made a little emphasis at the last part while looking at Fowlmouth; the chicken, since Shirley and Plucky became an official item, had unsuccessfully tried to become Gosalyn's boyfriend for a while now, and she was getting tired of his annoying flirting.
Junior shook Honker's wing in a proper, polite way, and then Fowlmouth prepared to perform his stunt. He gave Honker his tightest hand/wing-shake, but, surprisingly, Honker's friendly expression wasn't affected at all, as if he actually didn't feel it. Fowlmouth made his best to hide his surprise, and, at that moment, Egghead tapped Honker's side to get his attention. The goose released the chicken, and the little group focused on Calamity, explaining the invention through his regular signs.
"Egghead and I had been working on this for the boxing team." Calamity pointed at the panel that now was on four table-like legs yet slightly leaned, with the red button on top. "It measures an impact force and tells you how much damage a punch can actually produce on a distracted or untrained rival of your same size and complexion."
"Cool! Can I try it?" Gosalyn asked the coyote and the nerdy chicken. When both of them nodded, Gosalyn clenched her right fist and drew it back, aiming at the button; she then threw a pretty hard punch, and an electronic voice was heard.
"Ouch. Broken jaw. Fractured nose. Ready for knocknout."
Gosalyn got a proud look, and got complimented by Honker and the other toons but Fowlmouth, who looked at the button and decided to try as well. When the geniuses gave him permission, the chicken did the same as Gosalyn; since he liked boxing as an exercise, FM was expecting to impress Gosalyn by showing-off his strength.
"That hurt. Ached cheeks. Black eye."
"Want to make a dadgum try, Honker?" Fowlmouth said to the goose in a smug tone. Gosalyn got tempted to kick him, but Honker, always the nice guy, ignored the chicken's attitude and accepted his offer. The goose cracked his knuckles and aimed at the button, throwing a pretty hard punch.
"Augh. Numb jaw. Lost tooth. Seeing double."
"Hey, nice one, Honk!" Gosalyn happily commented while touching Honker's shoulders. "You hadn't stopped practicing your Quack-Fu, right?"
"Well, I doubt I'll ever be as good as you, Gos, but yes, I do; you should had seen Tank's face last time he tried to bully me." Honker smiled at her while Fifi and Calamity complimented him as well and Egghead checked the machine's lectures for a more precise measurement. Meanwhile, Sly Junior moved next to a stunned Fowlmouth, friendly elbowing the chicken.
"So… you still want to get Gosalyn's attention, uh?" The feline asked mockingly.
"Eh… do you think they'll notice dadgum me if I chicken out of here right now?" Fowlmouth replied nervously, and, before the cat could reply, dashed away to hide behind Foggy.
"Hey, Honker, can I borrow my daughter from you for a minute?" Drake, holding a dish with a hamburger and grilled potatoes on it, approached the group. Honker and Gosalyn chuckled, and she went next to her dad.
"You know, Gos, Bugs and your other teachers told me what a great student you are." Drake said to Gosalyn while they walked away from the other toons, and then he chuckled slightly. "Oh, my… I never thought I would say that!"
"Hey, the teachers at home didn't understand me, Dad." Gosalyn shrugged, "And I never had so many cool classes like Cartoon Violence, Spin-Changing, and Superheroes; now, those are things I really want to learn. Plus, I made more friends here in a few months than in Saint Canard all these years; if you, Launchpad, Honker and Morgana could be here as well, the place would be perfect."
"Yes, I miss you too, Gossy." Drake sighed while sharing a potato with Gosalyn. "But you have no idea about how good I feel by knowing you finally are in a school you fit in, with so many friends around and actually enjoying your classes. And, if what I heard is right, you did a terrific job as Quiverwing without me."
"Well, I didn't do it alone; I had tons of help." Gosalyn admitted, and then gave a fast glance to her classmates, eating and chatting a few feet behind them.
"I know, and it seems everyone here cares about each other." Drake chewed his hamburger, and, after swallowing the snack, got a gentle yet serious expression. "And you certainly must hate hiding things from them, right?" Gosalyn got a blank expression, guessing what her father was referring to; she recovered a moment later, sighing.
"Yeah… but the most I have told them is that I do a nice impersonation of Quiverwing; sure, some of them might suspect I'm the real thing since I am Darkwing's pupil and all, but still, my identity isn't just my secret." Gosalyn got a slightly sad expression. Drake lifted her beak with his hand/wing, and smiled at her.
"But, aren't friends supposed to trust their secrets among them… and also keep them as if they were their own?"
Gosalyn got a shocked expression.
"Wait… you mean you are allowing me to…?"
"You said it, Gos; they're your friends, and it's just fair to tell them." Drake placed a hand/wing on his daughter's shoulder. "And you just showed me you're responsible enough to know who can be trusted with our secret, since you trusted them with your life the same way they trusted theirs to you. Besides, if you keep with your idea of becoming a heroine, and I think you'll be a great one, you'll need some allies, and your friends will surely like the idea of having a professional hero for assistance if needed."
Gosalyn couldn't restrain from giving her dad the tightest hug she could; Drake almost dropped his food, but smiled widely at the girl's gesture.
"Thanks, Dad… and don't worry, I'll not disappoint you. I'll just tell the secret to those I know can keep it; guess that eliminates Plucky and Fowlmouth from my list." Gosalyn chuckled at the last part, and, after giving her father a fast kiss, returned to her table, high-fouring Launchpad when he passed next to her while approaching Drake, the pilot carrying an over-charged dish with a little of everything Runt was cooking.
"Gee, Drake, I guess Gos really liked what you told her." Launchpad commented to his friend right before eating one of the many fish-sticks from his dish.
"Yep. My little girl is growing up so fast." Drake sighed, looking at Gosalyn getting a seat offered by Honker.
"Ah, don't sweat, DW." Launchpad placed a hand on Drake's shoulder while looking at Gos as well. "You know she still needs her father as much as Quiverwing still needs Darkwing."
"You're right, my old friend; which reminds me, I need to pay a little visit to a friend tonight before leaving." Drake told his sidekick right before grabbing one of his fish-sticks and Launchpad grabbed one of his pal's potatoes.
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"Open gate number 5!"
The huge gorilla guard obeyed, and pressed a password to open the heavy armored gate and allow the visitor to pass. The ape saluted said visitor, who nodded in reply while passing next to another pair of guards, a human and a bear, and walking through the high security ward of Acme Acres Prison.
All the cells had the classic Hannibal Lecter's prison-like design, with thick concrete walls at the sides, and a thick bullet-proof glass wall on the front, but with some changes. The first cell was modified for its current prisoner, Bushroot.; it had some tubes on the ceiling and floor, so, if he tried to escape, the cell could be filled up with a special mixture of sleeping gas and herbicide that could put him to sleep for a week.
Next to him, Megavolt was in an especially isolated cell with no electric appliances or sockets twelve feet around, plus some plastic tubes to fill the cell with foam, similar to the one from extinguishers, but this substance became solid as cement in a few seconds, plus being able to block high voltage and short circuit electric appliances.
Liquidator was captive in a cell that allowed no leaks, and it could be electrified in a split second if he made any suspicious move, plus having a temperature control that could freeze him if the electricity didn't stop the villain; if that didn't work, as a last resource, the whole cell could be filled with a foam similar to the one at Megavolt's cell (obviously, since Liquidator was the hardest villain to control if escaping, his cell had a lot more security measures than the others).
Quackerjack was in a more conventional cell, but without anything he could use to create a tool and escape. The visitor smiled at the job the coyotes made using the information he provided, and kept walking to reach the cell he really was interested in.
Negaduck, despite having no superpowers, was the most guarded criminal in the whole prison; he was surrounded by no less than twelve guards, and his cell, like Bushroot's, could be filled up with sleeping gas if needed, and, as Quackerjack, he lacked anything that could be useful as a tool or weapon. He was currently pacing on his cell, wearing a regular prisoner outfit (yet conserving his black mask), cursing under his breath, trying to think on a way to escape, and hating himself for allowing a bunch of teenage toons to capture him.
"Nice place, Negsy. I would really like to come in, but I'm very comfortable here, so take no offense."
Negaduck stopped moving, and then looked at the toon the other side of the transparent wall. Disguises' colors aside, he might as well be looking at a mirror.
"Well, well, well, look who finally appeared." Negaduck said in his calm yet hateful tone. "What happened, Dorkwing? You must be aging since you allowed a bunch of kids do your job."
"Ah, well, you know how this works, Neggy." Darkwing shrugged while leaning his right wing/hand on the crystal. "I had to attend some major business the other side of the pond, and had to let the youngsters handle the minor one… namely, Five Clowns plus one."
"You can say whatever you want, Dumbwing," Negaduck glared at his enemy while approaching the wall, "but you should already know no jail can't keep me prisoner for long. And the moment I set a foot out of here…"
"You'll get even on me and my loved ones, right, Drake?"
Negaduck got a shocked expression, but immediately changed back to his sly look.
"So, you finally realized, uh? You know, there are guards around us."
"I asked them to give us some private time." Darkwing replied, getting a more serious tone. "You see, when I visited your Negaverse, I got shocked when seeing everyone was different, but, at the same time, there were similarities. The Muddlefoots were still Drake Mallard's neighbors, Launchpad was his sidekick, and… he was Gosalyn's legal guardian. So, if I could put two and two together in a second, then, I thought about something… what would keep you from realizing it as well, since you know we are basically the same guy?"
"Not so dumb after all, are we?" Negaduck chuckled evilly, getting an arrogant look. "Yes, I had known your secret identity for a while, Drake, but I never did a thing… because I wanted you to discover it by your own so, now, you know I can easily attack and bring hell to your civilian life. You'll never be able to relax, knowing that I can eliminate your sidekick the moment he goes to get a snack at Hippo Burger… and, did you know he has a little sister, and his parents are still alive, for now?" Negaduck saw Darkwing's frown, and continued.
"And your lovely cousin Margot, well, I can kidnap her with the excuse of her being a wealthy girl, but, in reality, I would do it to make her suffer an endless pain. And, do you think Gosalyn would ever forgive you if you can't save her little boyfriend from ending in the river, floating face down? Ah, your lovely Gosalyn… you can't keep an eye on her all the time, especially now she is here in Acme Acres."
Darkwing's frown grew larger at the last part. Negaduck grinned at him, and moved closer to the crystal wall.
"And, you know the best part? I don't need to do a thing but opening my little beak, and then F.O.W.L. might do the job for me. Or, perhaps, Tuskernini, Taurus Bulba, Splatter Phoenix, or any other criminal you had ever stopped will have that pleasure." Negaduck got an all-business tone, and looked slyly at Darkwing. "Of course, I'm a reasonable duck; if you let me out of here, well, maybe I'll keep your secret between us. Of course, that means you can't never, ever, capture me again. If you had more guts, you would end this easily by finishing me, but you're too much of a do-gooder to do that, so, what do you think, Dipwing? We have a deal?"
Darkwing got silent for a few seconds, and then did the last thing Negaduck imagined; he laughed.
"Negs, you can't be seriously thinking I'll do a deal with you." Darkwing stopped laughing, and returned to his smug tone. "First of all, I know you'll never tell anyone my secret, because, well, I know you and I share something besides our face… the ego. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I let it cloud my common sense, and that had made me commit mistakes; on the bright hand, your ego is as big as mine, maybe even more. You hadn't revealed my identity simply because you want to finish me yourself, and you want to eliminate Darkwing Duck, the superhero, not Drake Mallard, the commoner who lives in a simple house next to some annoying neighbors. If I'm wrong, please, correct me."
Negaduck got a furious look and some foam dropped from his beak, but couldn't say a thing. Darkwing and he were two sides of the same coin, and, basically, the same duck, so the hero knew him as well as Negaduck knew himself.
"And about you attacking my loved ones, well, maybe I should remind you that Launchpad isn't so easy to kill; he had survived more crashes than any other guy besides Wile E. Coyote and Sylvester Cat!" Darkwing chuckled a little, and kept talking. "His family, well, I don't know them that well, I admit, but I'm sure they're not a piece of cake either. Margot? This might surprise you, but, if you touch her, the same wolf that kicked your butt will be over you in a snap, that is, if I don't get you first. Honker? That boy has more brains than you and all of F.O.W.L.'s scientists combined, and you can be sure that he has some protective measures of his own besides the ones Gos and I have given to him over the years, including more than a few Quack-Fu lessons." Darkwing then sighed and looked at Negaduck right in the eye.
"And I would think twice before attacking Gosalyn; she and her friends are the ones who caught you this time, even with that mad doctor helping you. Touch her, and you'll not only have to run away from me, but from the whole Looniversity."
"That was just dumb luck!" Negaduck snapped at Darkwing. "Next time, I'll make no mistakes, and finish them all!"
"Neggy, Neggy, Neggy… next time, you and your pals might not survive." Darkwing replied in a casual tone, and before Negaduck said another word, the hero touched his beak in thought and directed to him. "Tell me, Negs, do you know what abilities does Hillary have?"
"The hyena? Of course I know! I studied all of them for weeks!" Negaduck growled. "She has high-level fighting skills, far-from-average strength, tracking abilities, and…" Negaduck stopped talking, and wide-opened his eyes in realization.
"Spin-changing, with an expertise in tough characters, I'm right?" Darkwing said, amused at Negaduck's expression, "Curious, don't you think? Why someone who obviously was the most eager to beat all of you didn't use a skill that could certainly be handy during her fight?" Darkwing leaned his back against the crystal wall, irritating Negaduck even more.
"I'll tell you why she didn't do it, and you'll better pay attention, since this can save your life." Darkwing said in an expert tone; when Negaduck didn't say anything, he continued. "Hillary was incredibly angry with you and your gang, Negs; especially with Splicer, once she knew he wanted to perform experiments on her boyfriend, and do you know anything about his current condition? He went through a fourteen hours surgery yesterday, just to be fine enough to be at the Intensive Care Unit, and doctors say he'll need at least five more major surgeries just to be able to perform the simplest movements; I doubt he'll ever be able to grab a test tube again. Now, imagine all that fury fueling this girl… spin-changed into The Hulk."
Negaduck got a blank expression, and, for the first time in ages, he felt himself invaded by a primal and powerful feeling… fear.
"You guys are lucky she is a good girl at heart, you know?" Darkwing told Negaduck while turning to see him. "She made herself the promise of not allowing her anger to evolve into hate, so she restrained from using her most powerful skill, knowing she might as well eliminate one or all of you in a pretty brutal way if losing control while impersonating a stronger character. Of course, it was a good thing her boyfriend was basically undamaged and what you did to him was easily reversed, because, well, otherwise, I'm sure she could have forgotten that promise, and The Fearsome Six would be The Terrifying Mess by now. And, in the case Hillary was hurt, well, Gosalyn found a way to wake up Ronald; imagine him, turned against you, possessed by the same rage his clone had." Darkwing got a more serious expression, while Negaduck gulped slightly, finally realizing about the real danger he faced when messing with Gosalyn and her classmates.
"So, Negsy, shut up, and listen." Darkwing spoke quietly yet in a very serious tone that Negaduck had never heard from him. "You can reveal my identity on national TV, and try your best to get even on me, but you'll only get yourself into more problems. And there's no way you can threat me, because I know all the people I care are well protected, and not just by me. And finally, in the rare case you can hurt Gosalyn… a do-gooder can change his mood to a very pissed father's in a snap, so don't press your luck, and stay away from my girl from now on, or I'll make you suffer a pain like Splicer's, but ten times worse."
Negaduck didn't say a thing during Darkwing's speech, and, when he ended, the enemies eyed each other for a couple of minutes before Darkwing turned his back on him and walked away. His message was clear; he was a hero, yes, but before that, and first of all, he was Gosalyn's dad, and nobody, not even his own evil duplicate from an alternate universe, could touch her without getting the proper punishment… and even some improper one.
THE END.
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(You know, Darkwing was a little scary here.) Hey, he is The Terror That Flaps in the Night, Babsy; you don't expect someone with that description to be cheerful all the time. (Good point.)
Anyway, here is where we place the second disclaimer, right Babs? (Sure, pal. As you guys know, Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard, Launchpad McQuack, Honker Muddlefoot, and The Fearsome Five –Negaduck, Megavolt, Liquidator, Quackerjack and Bushroot- are copyrighted by Disney, as well as F.O.W.L. and S.H.U.S.H., so Ramiro doesn't own them and the same goes for Wally, not the wolf, but the nerdy human from Where's Wally? We also had Loud Kiddington and Aka Pella, from Hysteria!, copyrighted by WB Studios, and impersonations involving Dynomutt and El Kabong, created by Hanna-Barbera studios; and The Flash, by DC Comics.)
Thanks, Babs, and also thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the story. (And thanks again to The J.A.M. –who helped us with some scenes- and Nightw2 –original creator of Nigel Silverbill- for allowing us to have their characters here.)
That's all, guys. So long and… Babs, please.
(Keep the good writing!)