Sorry for the long wait again.

Chapter 11: Mother knows Best

First brothers, now a mother?!

The future gang stared jaws open at Duck Dodgers on his knees as this short woman practically assaulted his face with kisses.

IQ remembered Dodgers mentioning his mother from time to time, in a usual dismissive or casual tone. However, there was a time, according to Psy, where Dodgers would let a small smile slip onto his face. That day was the first and the last slip up Dodgers had ever made in a session.

That day, the files at the Protectorate added in the name 'Honey' as part of Dodger's file.

IQ remembered that day. Dodgers was rather... irritated being a good word... at the sudden questions of his mother that he had completely left the Protectorate that day, going who knows where until he returned smiling and joking around.

But no one was fooled. After that, Honey was never mentioned again.

" Look at you! My darling little black ducklin' is all grown up!", Honey cried.

" Eh heh, you can let go now, Mom", Daffy said nervously.

" Why would I? Do you have any idea how worried I was?", Honey said with a stomp.

Daffy frowned," Sthorry Mom", he said with remorse.

" Oh hush up, sweetums. All that matters is that you're back! And I can have all my babies under one roof!", she squealed," Bosko will be so happy".

Johnson resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the short- dog/monkey woman before him. The Southern accent was barely there but it still grated his ears.

" Also, just for good measure", Honey cooed.

WHACK

Daffy landed on the floor with a thud after a slam on the head from Honey's parasol.

" May I even asthk what that wasth for?", Daffy said groaning.

" Like I said, good measure", Honey said sweetly.

X-2 almost stepped back in surprise with a tiny bit of fear. He wasn't sure what to expect from the mother of Duck Dodgers but he felt as if he should keep his distance from her. Just for a little while.

But unfortunately, this century doesn't seem to comply with hopeful prayers.

" Now someone, please, tell me why there are men in skintight suits and a lady in a videogame-esque warrior outfit before I interrogate them myself", Honey said as she abruptly turned to them.

" You don't think we're your-", X-2 started.

" My children? Oh heavens no, sugar. You may look similar, but I KNOW my sons", Honey said as she sent a sideglance Marvin's way.

" They're from the future, Mum", Bugs explained," That's where Daffy was as well these last few several years".

" Oh, makes sense", Honey hummed.

" How does that make any sense for beings from the 21st Century?", IQ asked incredulously.

Honey raised a brow," Oh hon', it's clear to me that maybe we're the more intelligent ones", she said coyly.

" Yeah right", Johnson muttered.

WHACK

Johnson fell down in surprise. He originally thought Daffy had fallen out of surprise and a moment of weakness.

Turns out, this woman was surprisingly strong.

" Do I hear sass comin' outta your mouth? After my sons happily welcomed you into our domain", Honey hissed.

" They kidnapped us!", Johnson exclaimed.

" Better them than the McDucks. If ol' Scroogey found you in his home, you wouldn't have legs to stand on kid", Honey said poking his chest angrily.

" You've got a lot of strength for an old lady", Johnson blurted.

" And you've got a lot of nerve for a boy scout, bub", Honey growled," You're making poor Clark look bad".

" I-"

" Johnsthon, you're not winnin' thisth", Daffy said tiredly.

" What I want to know is why you all are so nonchalant about Dodgers being in the future?", X-2 said amidst the drama.

" We're toons, we've seen weirder things!", Honey exclaimed.

There was an awkward silence between the different people until Tyr'ahnee spoke up.

" What exactly... is a toon?", Tyr'ahnee asked curiously.

Honey was taken back by the question," Well dollface, we're toons and you're toons. There's not much to it", she answered.

" But w-w-what is it E-E-EXACTLY?", Cadet emphasised.

" We're cartoon charactersth, Cadet", Daffy said with a sigh," Toonsth isth the abbreviation".

" That's impossible!", IQ exclaimed.

" So is pulling a pie from behind your back", Tweety said with a weak grin.

" But we do it. Because there is no logic applied to us. We're different from humans", Lola explained.

" Basically, we're actually magical creatures made from ink, paint et cetera, et cetera, made for the sole purpose of entertaining human beings", Bugs explained," But judgin' by your reactions, things must be very different for you docs".

" So we're just pictures on a silver screen?", Johnson said in disbelief.

" Partially so. We're sentient and able to live our own lives but when it comes to humans, it's them before us", Bugs added.

IQ never imagined having to use the word 'sentient' to describe himself.

" What about the humans?", X-2 asked.

" What about them?", Bugs asked.

" Are they any different?", X-2 asked.

Bugs frowned," You fellas look like folks whose never had a lick of what real show business is like. Right now, in our time, we're just children's day-to-day entertainers", he said thoughtfully in an almost bitter way.

" I think I may need to sit down", Tyr'ahnee mumbled.

" Overwhelming, isn't it, dear?", Honey said sympathetically.

" Very much so", Tyr'ahnee said exhausted," If we are... toons... is someone watching us now".

" Just the people in the room, Queenie", Bugs said," Mind if I call you Queenie".

" Bugs! That is not how we treat royalty!", Honey scolded.

" Sorry Mum. But still, may I?", Bugs asked.

Tyr'ahnee nodded, not in the mood for talking.

" So are there any ACTUAL real threats here?!", Johnson asked.

Daffy scoffed," Of coursthe there are. But I'm sthure they're taken care of", he said tiredly," And I'm sthure not any maroon is gonna revive Judge Doom unless they want their body liquefied".

" Whose Judge Doom?", IQ asked curiously.

The Looney Tunes shivered as they thought of him.

" We don't talk about him here", Bugs said with discomfort.

" Doom is dead and I say I say, that's all that matters", Foghorn said dismissively.

Cadet saw a flash of haunted pain in Honey's eyes the more they mentioned this man... or toon? Some Looney Tunes even became distant despite being quiet majority of the time. Even his captain looked uncomfortable, which was a rare occurrence as Dodgers always oozed confidence.

" Besides, ToonTown's never had a day of peace since it's opening. We're rather disruptive beings if you haven't noticed", cue bomb going off in the distance," If trouble were to show up, they'd probably run for the hills. Some toons should just not be allowed near explosives-"

" *cough*Wile* cough", Marvin coughed, causing everyone to chuckle while the coyote glared playfully at him.

" So you can relax dearies", Honey said reassuringly," In the meantime, we should probably find y'all a way back to your present".

IQ's eyes widened," You're willing to help?", he said surprised.

Honey smiled at him warmly," It's the least we could do. After all-", she turned around to gaze at Daffy and everyone else, the duck smiling more happily than in years," -You brought my son back to me...", she said fondly.

They were taken back by how much this woman loved that crazy duck. Such a large amount of warmth radiated from her even Star Johnson relaxed a little in her presence.

IQ didn't think it was possible to ever feel such compassionate feelings about that aloof duck. But the woman and rabbit and everyone else proved him wrong. He was starting to see a much different side of Dodgers, the Daffy Duck side of him.

And IQ was sure everyone was looking forward to see how much of this new side of Duck Dodgers they would be able to see.

End of Chapter 11

Phew, honestly I'm glad I got this chapter done. You don't know how many times I had to rewrite this.

• So while I was writing the direct speeches, I couldn't help but imagine Honey with this cute Southern accent. I thought it would also suit her name so I just accepted it. Bosko I imagined would have the same accent as Bugs, although his voice would be a whole lot thicker and raspier, like the voice of a heavy smoker. (I know they got voices in Tiny Toons but honestly I could only think of Mickey and Minnie then. So I did something different).

• Speaking of Honey, HERE SHE IS! This beautiful, sassy woman was a pain to write but I'm getting better. I imagined she'd be someone incredibly sweet and filled with warmth until provoked, becoming one heck of a hellish enemy (kinda like Bugs and Daffy but Honey has no filter). She loves her boys, but she will not hesitate to whack them with her parasol if they're being little sh*ts or made a VERY stupid mistake.

• So the future gang knows they're toons now. Yay (not really). So while staying in ToonTown, Daffy/Dodgers might teach them a few tricks.

• There will be a villain but will he be Judge Doom: most likely not. 'Cause I mean we started with the Shadow Blot than we head down to this guy... it's just kinda a downgrade. Get what I'm saying.

• Don't worry, there will be more family teasing coming soon!

• Next chapter is gonna be slightly different. We'll be heading back into the future to check out the past of someone I've been meaning to approach for a while. (Here's a clue, it's not Daffy, but he is involved)

Love you readers and have a great day/night