A/N: Cover drew by me and taken inspiration from an idea on Pinterest (link to the original DeviantArt link somehow doesn't exist anymore, so I don't really know who to credit)
Tragic at its best, a slim victory at its worst. Once a fragiled family, always a fragiled family. No matter what the conditions may had in mind of them, the McDuck family was never going to get back to the same normal daring family, ever again. A broken glass. A family that already suffered through an obstacle - or rather, a piece of that same glass that was lost, for a long time, now suffered even more due to trust links no longer attached, and forcing those amongst them to go down a dark path.
In the end, one failed, but another rised up and did the deeds instead.
But, how exactly did that happen?
Let's rewind back in time, shall we?
oOo
Two years ago, the evil sorceress, Magica De Spell, had been plotting a plan to bring an end to Scrooge McDuck once and for all. No one knew exactly sure why she was doing so at the time, but the grudge was real. By conjuring a shadow just moments before her banishment, she could continue targeting the trillionaire - all by abusing the same shadow she conjured.
Just as she reached the peak of that plan, Lena - her 'niece' - foiled it by saving Webby Vanderquack over the Number One Dime - which was their target object. Magica was extremely furious.
But, somehow, someway, it went differently than what you may know. In a blink of an eye, Lena had decided to change her mind and become obedient. This change obviously surprised Magica, as the sorceress almost never saw an instance of her completing the given tasks.
"Tell me," Magica asked, "what exactly changed your mind?"
Lena paused for a moment - then she spoke again. "You know, I think you would want to get a grasp on my newly acquired information. Unless you don't want to-"
"Hey! Unless you wanted your precious freedom after this, you're going to share me EVERYTHING." Magica growled, clearly knowing Lena was playing mind tricks.
"Relax, Aunt Magica," Lena calmly replied - something you wouldn't expect her to be good on especially with her aunt, "it's about someone who you would call insignificant - but in fact, she wasn't."
"Okay, first of all, you saving her doesn't make any sense, and second of all, what's so important about her other than the fact she's a diehard McDuck fan?"
Lena just giggled, now knowing that she had the upper hand. "Sorry... it's just how you couldn't see the obvious." She continued to giggle.
Magica finally conceded, and now she was desperate for the answer.
"Well... you know her grandmother, Bentina Beakley, right?"
Magica nodded. "Aside from being a regular housekeeper, then yeah, that's the only thing I know. What's so significant about it?"
"Oh, it's just that Beakley never talked to Webbigail, not even once, about her parents." Lena simply replied.
"Does that mean..."
"Yep."
Magica was smiling, but Lena took it as a bad sign. "Alright, let's not already jump into the revenge bandwagon once again. I'm going to use strategy."
"But first," Lena continued, "I need to verify something first."
"Where exactly are you going?" Magica was puzzled.
"Funso's Fun Zone."
oOo
"Sounds fun, right?" Lena asked. "We could all relax after the shark incident, and most important of all, the fee's all on me. Come on!"
Webby was too excited she couldn't hold her... excitement. The triplet were also relieved, knowing that they would basically get to go there for free.
"Wait a second," Louie suddenly said, "we already have the privilege of 'free forever' on everything Funso's. That means..."
"Yeah basically I'm only covering the fee for myself." Lena replied playfully.
Webby ran to the attic, and a few moments later she already returned with all her equipments ready to be deployed at any time.
"LET'S GO!" She exclaimed.
"But uh," Lena was concerned, "who's gonna drive us again?"
A few moments later, they already got in the car and were ready to go to Funso's... by having to hear another episode from Darkwing Duck.
"Yes, Darkwing!" Launchpad suddenly yelled. "Always cunning and witty at defeating enemies... Quackerjack is nothing compare to this heroic attitude!"
And just like that, they crashed again. "Whoops, sorry guys. I was way too focused on this episode, it's so good. You guys have to check it out!"
They finally arrived, but Lena knew she wasn't going to be here to do what she intended them to do. Her target - the ball pit. Or at least, that was the lead she received to solve the mystery, once and for all. But first, a distraction.
"Hey! Anyone wanna play Uke or Puke?" Lena asked.
"I'm coming!" Dewey immediately responded.
"What, so you can beat the high score?" Louie was quick to run close to his brother. "Not a chance!"
Huey and Webby shrugged, and soon all of them were around the area. While they were all focused on Dewey's marvelous attempt to beat the high score from a person named "Doofus", Lena managed to jump into the ball pit with no one to spot her.
However, just a few moments later, Louie turned around and Lena was no longer there. He began getting suspicious.
"Hey, Huey," Louie whispered, "a word?"
They went to somewhere not too far from the Uke or Puke area. "So what is it?"
"I'm not sure Lena's only intention was to be here and play with us." Louie replied. "Something's terribly wrong."
"Louie," Huey nervously replied back, "you have to understand, you're suspecting someone who saved Webby's grandmother here! How could she be doing anything that will do no good to us?"
"I don't trust people since I'm a con, and I don't usually go around and be optimistic about one good thing on someone." Louie retorted. "That's really something you should learn. You know what, let's just get back there."
What they didn't know was that they were talking a bit too loud, and as a result, both Webby and Dewey overheard everything. Despite that, Dewey still managed to overcome the Doofus guy, and celebrated like he never celebrated before, as if he just lifed a trophy that shined out his name.
oOo
"And here we are. You can come out now."
"What exactly is this place?" Magica asked, still extremely confused.
"Look," Lena replied impatiently, "you'll get it soon, alright?"
Magica was still grumbling, but she reluctantly followed suit with Lena. Going around the underground base for a moment, they saw a very large room. Lena approached the door, but she suddenly froze, her hands unable to move.
"What's taking you so long?"
Suddenly she was able to move her hands again and quickly opened the door. Nonetheless, both Lena and Magica were in awe of what they saw upon their eyes.
The room was bigger than they expected, with two other rooms to the left and right, and a round table with a dozen of chairs. A big screen turned on, with other small screens followed suit. All of them were in red background, with only the big screen having a symbol and a text read 'F.O.W.L.'
"What does that mean-" Lena mumbled.
"It stands for the Fiendish Organisation for World Larceny," a figure suddenly spoke, "an international organisation originally aimed to exterminate the world from the elements of adventuring. However, with newfound knowledges, we have found a new purpose: restore order and stability for the world. And it starts with the extermination of adventuring."
The figure came out of the shadow, and it appeared to be a male vulture, with a simple business outfit, however gave even Lena a sense that this vulture was someone she wouldn't want to mess with.
"Greetings, you're-" Lena began.
"Oh, sorry," the vulture approached and gave her a handshake, "Bradford Buzzard, Director of F.O.W.L. and a board member of McDuck Enterprises. You must be Lena LeStrange."
Lena paused for a moment. How did he know my name? was the only question she had in mind, she forgot to reply to Bradford, who was still patiently waiting for an answer.
"Maybe you'll prefer being called by your real name, Lena De Spell?"
She gasped - with so little information to gather from her, this particular man knew too much. "How did you know?" was all she could ask.
"We're not an organisation to be underestimated. You see, we're everywhere, but no one even knows. We gather all the information we could use and then determine whether or not the person is proved to be resourceful. That's why the email you got there never showed who the sender was."
"So you followed a trail through an email?!" Magica was fuming, which accidentally revealed her as a living shadow to Bradford.
"Oh, your aunt is here as well," Bradford chuckled, "how convenient. In that case, I should cut to the chase then."
"I'm only here for what I needed." Lena replied firmly.
"Already here, in that room." Bradford pointed to the left. "However, your aunt is not going to eavesdrop on our conversation."
"SHE IS ATTACHED TO ME! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO HEAR EVERYTHING!"
"I'm being very nice to you here, Magica," Bradford turned to the shadow, "but if you chose to do so anyway, there will be consequences once you decided to do so. For example, you'll get electrocuted, and Lena may also get electrocuted as well. Surely you don't want that for the sake of your revenge plan, right?"
Knowing that the vulture was not someone to be fooled, Magica decided to stay out of it. Bradford slammed the door, and with Magica out of sight, he began to talk.
"Have a seat."
Lena sat down, still a bit nervous. "Alright, go ahead."
"What you're seeing at this table is files related to Project 87," Bradford continued, "a discontinued project related to the cloning theory. I'm going to disclose these much files, but-"
Lena immediately interrupted. "In exchange for all the files related to the project, I'll become an agent for your organisation. Is that right?"
"Precisely. I like how this is going already." Bradford smiled. "So, will you?"
Lena was hesitating for a moment, but this was her opportunity to finally accomplish something - not for her so-called aunt, but herself. Then, with confidence, she nodded.
"Alright then, Agent Lena," Bradford immediately got back into business, "here's all you need to know about Project 87. We'll assign you with a mission later, but for now, take all the files with you. And remember, come back to this exact room tomorrow so that your aunt does not know anything related to F.O.W.L. That will be all for now."
oOo
Magica was getting impatient. It had been 15 minutes since they entered the room, and she wanted to know everything. Just when she began to touch the door handle, both Lena and Bradford came out.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Yes, definitely." Magica maintained a calm voice, but she was still in awe of a powerful figure hiding in plain sight as a boring board member on Scrooge's own company.
"There's an alternative exit that will redirect both of you to the bathroom instead of the ball pit. Please find yourself the way." Bradford continued.
"But who's going to show us the way?" Magica asked irritatingly.
"Well, your niece, of course. We're not that free of schedule to find someone to escort you two."
"Aunt Magica, it's not time to argue with him," Lena immediately intervened, "let's go."
A few moments after taking the lift, they were now in the bathroom. It was a bit awkward however, as...
"This is the male bathroom." Magica was unamused.
"Yeah, stop complaining," Lena was getting extremely annoyed, "we're not getting anywhere if you kept nitpicking small things. Now excuse me, because I need to continue the act before things get worse for the two of us!"
oOo
"Hey, guys," Lena came out of the bathroom, her hand was holding her belly, "sorry for not joining the fun. Got a stomach-ache and it was terrible.
"It's okay, Lena," Webby comforted her friend, "at least you're okay now."
Louie was not having it however. "And why exactly did you go to the male bathroom when the female bathroom is right next to it?"
"Nonsense, Louie!" Huey interrupted Louie's suspicion. "She just went to the wrong bathroom. It's something anyone could have done, so stop speculating."
"Fine." Louie grumbled, but he knew inside that he was not going to give up.
"It's quite late now honestly," Dewey said, "so I think we should go home before Uncle Scrooge go back and realise his limo was crashed again because of us begging Launchpad."
All of them went home, still ambiguous of what was about to unfold upon them.
Except for Lena.
