Disclaimer: I do not own Darkwing Duck, Scrooge McDuck or any other Disney character.
Authors Note: Again, this fic ties in with "The Path Chosen." This is the story of the one called Guardian, the Duck in White.
Meant to be: Part 9
The blast from the plasma rifle hits the powerful cyborg in the chest, throwing him backwards, crashing to the ground.
Bulba finds a new strength, one fueled by sheer hatred. Bounding to his feet , he grabs one of the landscaper's stones and hurdles it at the ThunderQuack. The sleek jet pulls up sharply, avoiding the flying stone by a matter of inches.
The ThunderQuack turns to attack again, ascending toward Bulba the second time.
This time, however, as it closes in, the cockpit opens. Darkwing springs forward from the passenger seat and tumbles skilfully down the bill of the jet.
His timing is flawless, as he somersaults off the tip of the ThunderQuack's bill, just as it passes low only yards in front of the Cyborg.
Bulba is taken by surprise by a web-kick to his partially mantled face. Yet again, he is knocked to the ground.
Darkwing lands in a fighting stance a few feet from Bulba, who lies motionless on the ground.
The cyborg is not moving, but Darkwing knows better than to let his guard down with this particular enemy. He watches, he waits.
"Dark – wing – duck..." a low cold utterance comes from the unmoving cyborg. "Dark – wing – duck...Dark – wing – duck!..."
In a heartbeat, Bulba is on his feet. The mechanical arm extends rapidly, shooting out towards the crime fighter.
Darkwing leaps to the side as the metal claws slashes at him like the jaws of an attacking shark.
The arm swings wildly sideways like the tentacles of a octopus, sweeping Darkwing's legs from under him.
The crime fighter quickly rolls with the fall, evading the striking claw.
Bulba retracts the arm quickly. Before Darkwing has a chance to get to his feet, Bulba makes a lunge for him.
Both Bulba and Darkwing are surprised by the laser blast that strikes the cyborgs face.
"Ahhhh," Bulba cries out covering his face. Sparks emit from his headgear as he staggers off balance almost tripping over his own feet.
Then, he freezes.
He doesn't move.
He doesn't flinch.
Darkwing looks on suspiciously.
No this isn't a trick this time, Bulba apparently hasn't done anything about his overheating problem.
Though, Darkwing knows it's all too temporary.
"I'd be putting some distance between myself and the big galoot if I were you, lad!" a voice calls from behind.
Darkwing glances over his shoulder at Scrooge, standing right behind him, appareled in his own Masked Mallard costume, laser cane still aimed at the cyborg.
Good suggestion.
Darkwing and Scrooge both quickly move a safer distance from Bulba.
A few yards away, they both turn to see Bulba still motionless. Hunched over in an unnatural posture, his hands covering his face. He almost looks like a sculpture, depicting a tortured soul.
"What happened to him?' Scrooge asks Darkwing.
"He gets overheated, and shuts down – but not usually for very long." Darkwing replies, smoothing an index finger along the side of the visors. He's thankful they were designed especially, to stay on during battle.
Unfortunately Darkwing is right about Bulba. The hulking cyborg starts to move. First his hand slips away from his eyes, then slowly he stands up straight. He turns to face Darkwing and Scrooge – and is struck from behind with a missile.
He falls forward.
Behind him stands a very battered Gizmoduck "Take that you bionic thug!" he exclaims in his usual melodramatic tone.
The ThunderQuack descends, hovering a few feet off the ground close to Darkwing. The plasma rifle emerges and fixes on the cyborg.
Gizmoduck's missile has only knocked the wind out of the super powered criminal. Nothing more.
But Bulba is fed up with getting knocked down!
It is time to retreat - for now.
Still sprawled on the ground, he transforms. His arms change into glider like wings and his feet and legs merge together to form a rocket thruster. "Another day Darkwing Duck!" he growls without bothering to looking at the crime fighter.
With this Bulba rockets off and vanishes into the clouds above.
Below, there is an uneasy silence.
Scrooge walks out into the middle of the yard. Raising a shaky hand to his face, he pushes back his mask, wearily.
"Dad!" he hears the voice of a child call out. Scrooge glances in the direction of the girl's voice.
The ThunderQuack has landed.
Quiverwing Quack climbs out of the popped cockpit and runs to Darkwing. He grabs her up into a tight embrace.
Scrooge smiles slightly "Eh, whatever else your faults may be Darkwing Duck, you're a good father."
Scrooge watches the scene for a moment. Gizmoduck, Swaying unsteadily and still clutching his injured arm approaches Darkwing.
The Masked Mallard puts his daughter down as he and LaunchPad go to help the battered super hero.
THE Gizmo suit is going to need some serious repair work and Fenton will no doubt, need time to recover from his injuries.
"I'd best see if Gyro and Duckworth are alright." he thinks. He starts to walk back to Gyros lab but he steps on something that moves under his feet. He loses his balance and nearly falls.
"What the!" he looks on the ground to see the cause of his near fall. The marbles he had poured onto the ground to trip up Taurus Bulba.
Scrooge muses to himself how a high-tech super cyborg was knocked down by a simple child's play thing. One of the marbles draws his attention. It's odd looking. Kneeling Scrooge carefully picks it up to examine it.
It's not a marble at all.
It's milky white and soft.
It is slightly indented on both sides as though it had been squeezed. The pellet he's used against Bulba! The one that emitted the silvery smoke!
But it hasn't been activated!
A dud?
Then where did the smoke come from?
Scrooge looks around the grassy area for the answer. There is something else a couple of feet away. Reaching down, Scrooge picks up what looks to be a small leather ball with a shredded tether.
A bola?
He makes an educated guess, that the Bola came from the same source as the strange smoke.
Many of the pieces of a very bizarre puzzle begin to fall into place.
This Phantom that has seemingly stalked the family for a week.
The unsettling phone call to him at Gyro's that day. It had sent him rushing home to his family just before Bulba arrived and destroyed Gyro's place looking for the formula.
The intruder that Webby had seen just before Bulba attacked.
The mysterious silver smoke and the bola?
Rising to his feet, Scrooge looks around. They had more help against Bulba in that fight than anybody suspects.
It now seems to Scrooge that this Phantom may in truth be a guardian angel.
To be continues...