A/N: I have discovered a new colour: "Electric orange. It fizzes for a whole new reason, baby!"

Warning: Vampire content and associated violence. I find it near impossible and it gets rather tedious to write about vampires without ... how should I put it? Doing it properly. It's easy for me to politely edit out things like sex scenes and swearing but violence is integral to what vampires are. All that puts the 'vampire' into vampires. Hopefully you get the big 'dah' factor in what I'm saying because if you do get the 'dah' factor, then nothing that I post should faze you.

A/N: Here's another reason the first chapter for Continuum Conundrum was so savage: so as I could have a nice savage climax at the end. This episode? Savage climax. Next episode? Fewer vampires but still a savage climax.

A/N: Moving on, why have I been doing this 'story' in episodes? Because I'm exploring the different characters. Besides which, it's bleedingly obvious that I can't write a real story, so why can't I have a bit of fun with what I do write?

A/N: Not so many vampires in the next episode, I promise.

A/N: Another perfect example of how the Grimm Brothers collection and the Disney classics are embedded in my psyche. How did Beauty and the Beast get in here? Yikes! IMO it was an okay movie but still: yikes!

A Dark Verse: Part 4

From within the giant bell jar Reginald watched their captor staring back at him from his chair.

Very little sunlight had reached Reginald's spot in the large warehouse and this did not help the plant-duck's mood. "Frankly I don't see why you're keeping us locked in here, Ducker."
"It's really very simple, doctor. Darkwing has rescued you before, so the likelihood of him rescuing you again is high."

The Slayer's gaze drifted down to Belladonna, asleep on the floor. "You did an impressive job on the she-demon."
Reginald stared back at him, shocked and indignant. "Th-that's a horrible thing to say. You trapped a vampire in a tiny enclosed space; how can you expect anything different? D-don't you have a heart, Ducker? If you knew anything about how Bella normally is, why; you'd know she wasn't anything like a demon."

"You know; all that reminds me of something green and about knee high to a grass hopper." Juan Ducker raised his hand to show Simon's height if he were standing beside him.
Reginald growled. "Don't you dare touch him, Ducker! One way or another you'll be duck soup if you do."

"Oh, Reggie, Reggie," Juan mocked in a falsetto. Then he scowled. "What have you done, Bushroot? Breeding with vampire genes?"
"Something very significant, I'm sure." Reginald said boldly. "I do feel that way when I look at Simon."
"Significant! Now there's a word for it." Juan shook his head. "You don't know the damage one of those can do when they're fully grown. I can tell you it really is quite 'significant'!" The Slayer huffed. "But I guess it's beyond your comprehension; seeing as how you're a hardened criminal."

"I'm not a criminal anymore." Reginald sighed, tired of repeating himself. "I haven't been since I met Bella."

"Well, I'm not so sure." Ducker's eyes fell back to the peacefully sleeping Belladonna. "A few of those moves had to have been illegal."
Reginald blushed a deeper shade of green. "You didn't exactly give me any other options."

The room echoed with a familiar long-awaited dark voice, interrupting their conversation.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night."

Ducker jumped up.

"I'm making no ambit claims here."

Ducker was ready with the semi-automatic crossbow in his left hand.

"I am Darkwing Duck!"

Reginald Bushroot called out. "Be careful, Quiver, he's got a ..."
"Crossbow?"
"Yeah ... How did you know?"
"Oh, I know everything, Bushroot." Quiver laughed maniacally. "Like what's in his other hand is his real weapon that he intends to render me helpless with."
Reginald gulped. "I didn't know that." He stared at Ducker's closed fist. It was glowing orange.

"Come on out and play, Darkwing. I'm all alone here."

"I'm sorry you're alone."
"Oh, I bet. All vampires are evil. That allows you to kill indiscriminately."
"Do you really think that's what I ...?"
"Never, Quiver!" Reginald exclaimed. He shuddered, not wanting to think about what would have happened in his life if not for Darkwing's interference. "I don't believe it. Not for one moment. You do what you have to do."

Ducker raised the crossbow and fired into the darkness of the warehouse. The sound of a frighteningly rapid fwipping filled the air for an entire two seconds as the crossbow fired a rapid series of arrows.

There was a grunt of pain on the other side of the room.

"Getting a trifle slow, are you, Darkwing? Must be that witch blood you sucked on for breakfast before coming."

There was a metal chink near Ducker's feet and a cloud of billowing smoke surrounded Ducker momentarily. Quiver silently approached the other side of the glass prison.
"Is she alright?" Quiver frowned, looking down at Bella in concern.
"No. It's because of the jar. It ..."

A bolt of orange electricity managed to arch itself over and around the jar, hitting Quiver. He screamed and crumpled to the ground, motionless.
"Ducker!" Bushroot panicked as the Slayer made his way around the giant bell jar. "Ducker, don't kill him with a stake, oh my gosh, no. He's not a vampire, he's mortal, he's from another universe ..." The mallard knelt down beside the masked vigilante's still form. "Ducker, listen to me!" Ducker raised the stake and plunged it.

The plant-duck screamed in horror.

A/N: I'm having trouble with getting this Part right, so I've split it even more because life is always easier when you take smaller chunks. It's the cheeziest place to put a chapter break; isn't it great?