Drake Mallard liked to keep his two lives separate. He didn't really have a specific schedule for when he was Drake Mallard and when he was Darkwing Duck, though he preferred to be the hero at night, when he had the shadows feeding into his air of mystery. He definitely went out as Darkwing during the day, and he could stay home as Drake Mallard every once and awhile if he was particularly tired, or Gosalyn needed some help with homework.
What he really cared about was not letting his two personas bleed into each other. Drake Mallard shouldn't be trying to solve mysteries when he was focusing on just being Gosalyn's dad, and Darkwing Duck shouldn't worry about what he would make for dinner the next night. If there was an emergency, he could switch personas at the flip of a dime, but he still kept them separate.
For this reason he was very frustrated when he got a call from both S.H.U.S.H. and Gosalyn's school, both about the same thing. Gos had gone somewhere she shouldn't have during a field trip, and he needed to pick his daughter up early.
This should be a Drake Mallard problem, but because it had happened at S.H.U.S.H., he also had to talk to his daughter and J. Gander Hooter about secrets and confidentiality…again. He knew he shouldn't have let Gosalyn go on this fieldtrip, it was just so hard to say no to her sometimes.
So he reluctantly made his way to S.H.U.S.H. headquarters, grumbling about his daughter every step of the way. When he got there he had a brief conversation with Gos' teacher about how, yes, he understood that if this happened again then she would be suspended, and yes, he would talk to her about this at home. He then went to talk to J. Gander Hooter, which he knew would be a much longer conversation.
In J. Gander Hooter's office he found the man sitting at his desk, looking absolutely exhausted. Gosalyn was sitting on a chair, kicking her legs and crossing her arms defiantly. What confused and frustrated Drake was that there were two boys sitting next to Gos. Not only had she snuck away from the group, but she'd dragged two kids along with her.
"I hope you have a good explanation, young lady." Drake crossed his arms and gave his daughter a disappointed look. She gave him an earnest look in return, which he hadn't expected. She was usually defiant or apologetic when they had conversations like this.
"I do." Gosalyn said eagerly. She jumped to her feet. "Dad, I've gotta talk to you." She approached him, but suddenly the rat at her side lurched forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"Don't hurt her." The rat said. Something about his cracking voice made bells go off in Drake's head, but the boy's words were more important than his voice at the moment.
"Hurt her?" Drake uncrossed his arms. He and Gos shared a baffled look. "Why would I do that?"
"You…you're…" The rat blinked. He looked at Drake like he expected him to attack him any second now. He was used to getting those looks as Darkwing Duck, but not from children. He really didn't like it. "You're not him."
"Not who?" Drake frowned. He looked at the three children. "Am I missing something?"
"Wait, you see it too?" The boy still on the chair pulled his legs to his chest. He was rocking slightly, his eyes wide and alarmed as he looked at the rat. "He looks just like him, and sounds just like him. You mean it's not just me?"
"It's definitely not just you, Jackie." The rat narrowed his eyes at Drake, eying him suspiciously. "You…you're Gos' dad?"
"Of course he's my dad." Gosalyn scoffed. "Who else would he be?" The kids all just stared at each other. There was a silent conversation between the three of them. Jackie gave a broken laugh and buried his face in his legs. The rag glared at Drake, like this was his fault. Gos' eyes widened in understanding.
"He wouldn't hurt me." Gosalyn said confidently. She took the young rat's hand. He's not going to hurt you guys either. I promise."
The rat still looked suspicious. He stepped away from Gos and went to his friend. "What do you think, Jackie?
"I feel like this is another trap, Megs." Jackie said. "I feel like he's just playing with my head, but…but he hasn't messed with your head like that."
"And he would have probably chopped someone's arm off by now." Megs said thoughtfully. He sounded serious, but he must have been joking because Jackie laughed. Still, Drake was concerned.
"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Drake was starting to lose his temper. He didn't like being in the dark. "Gosalyn, what were you thinking coming back here? You know better than that. And who are these hooligans?" Drake thought he knew all of Gos' friends, but he'd never seen these two before. They seemed like troublemakers though.
"They're not hooligans." Gosalyn stomped her feet. "Look, I'm sorry about breaking into the lab, but Megs wanted to see it and-"
"So this was your idea?" Drake frowned at Megs, though his annoyed look became one of concern when the boy whimpered and flinched away from him. The kid wasn't just nervous around him, he was absolutely terrified. Drake was always proud when he struck fear in the hearts of people, but like this.
"Dad, back off." Gosalyn pushed him away. "It's not their fault! This is on me." It was rare for Gos to take responsibility for anything, so even though Drake didn't know if he believed her, he definitely listened.
Regardless of whose fault it is, you were all in an off-limit area." J. Gander Hooter said. "We take security breaches very seriously here."
Drake sighed. He was too tired to deal with this. "They're just kids, Hooter. They're not exactly a threat. Even if they find secrets, who are they going to tell, and who's going to believe them?" He didn't want Hooter to suggest bringing out a memory-wiping device. There were occasionally bad side-effects, and none of them knew the consequences that could come by using the device on a child whose brain was still developing.
J. Gander Hooter stared at him for a long moment before he sighed and waved them off. "I'll need to talk to you about security, Mallard. I'll trust you to speak to your daughter and her friends, but know this. This kind of thing wil not happen again in the future."
"Of course not, sir." Drake said. He knew that he let Gosalyn get away with a lot more than he probably should, but he tried. He took his daughter's hand. "Come on, Gos, we're going home." He started to pull her towards the door, but she resisted.
"What about Jackie and Megs?" Gosalyn asked.
"I'm sure their parents are on their way." Drake said without pausing.
"Dad, they don't have parents." Gos said. "I was trying to tell you." Drake finally stopped and looked back at the two boys. He eyed their clothes that, while new, did not fit either of them well. He could see broken feathers peeking out from under Jackie's hat, and he imagined that if he could see under the hat he would see more broken feathers and bald patches. Both of the boys also had a wariness and fear in their eyes that most children didn't have. They'd been through some things.
"Who watches you?" Drake asked.
"A bad man." Gosalyn said. "They said they haven't eaten since yesterday, and it was just fruit snacks."
Drake felt his stomach twist. He always felt bad when he saw people suffering, but usually he couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. He was a hero for the whole city. He had to think bigger than just about individuals. There were exceptions, of course, and when he was Drake Mallard it was a lot harder to resist the pleading look in his daughter's eyes and the cautious hope in the boys'.
"Well, uh, maybe…" He sighed. "It's lunch time, and I was going to take Gos to get something to eat." He'd actually been planning on taking her right home and making her a simple sandwich with apple slices on the side, but he felt like he needed to do more now. "Do you two want to come? Maybe we can talk a little more about the bad man you're with." He didn't know for sure if their guardian was actually bad, but what kind of detective would he be if he didn't even look into it?
Megs' eyes flashed, so much so that Drake could swear that he could see an actual spark in the boy's eyes, but it had to be a trick of the light. Megs smiled. "I like food."
"Yes!" Jackie jumped off his chair. He giggled in a way that sounded far too familiar to Drake. He knew this laugh, he swore that he did, but he couldn't place it.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gosalyn hugged him tightly. She cared about these boys. She'd always had a soft spot for kids who she thought were in trouble too big for them. Gosalyn let go of him only to run and grab the boys' hands. "Come on, guys. We can go get pizza. There's this neat place that has all kinds of arcade games."
Drake was trying to figure out how to tell Gos that this kind of conversation shouldn't be at such a noisy and crowded place. He wasn't the only one that didn't want to go to such a place. Jackie's eye twitched and he clutched at the side of his hat so tightly that he stretched and almost ripped it. Beside him Megs looked at his hands and shoved the one that Gos wasn't holding behind his back.
"I don't think electronics are a good thing right now." Megs said.
"No video games." Jackie growled with an unexpected fury. Drake could only think of one other person who had so much anger directed towards something as simple as video games. He looked at Jackie suspiciously, the detective inside of him fighting to come out.
He pushed the instinct down. There would be a time and place for letting Darkwing out. These kids were scared. They didn't need a crusader, they needed a listening ear. And if he was going to get them to talk to him, he needed them to be calm.
"Okay, no video games." Drake said. "There's a Hamburger Hippo with a playground around here." Gosalyn looked disappointed, but Jackie brightened, all fury forgotten.
"A playground?" He hopped on his toes. "I love playing."
"Well, that's settled." Drake began to herd the children out. He nodded his thanks and apologies to J. Gander Hooter as they began to leave. Jackie was excitedly talking to Gosalyn, but Megs was looking around as they made their way out of S.H.U.S.H. headquarters. Drake reminded himself to make sure to talk to the kids about not telling others what they might have potentially seen, and the importance of staying out of restricted areas.
"So, uh, Megs, what are you guys doing here?" Drake asked awkwardly. He wasn't used to talking to kids. Gosalyn was the one and only exception. He figured that if he wanted the kids to trust him, he would need them to be comfortable with him.
Megs looked around. He fiddled with his tail and bit his lip anxiously. He looked like he wanted to talk, but felt like he shouldn't. Drake slowed down his pace, and Megs matched him. They trailed just a little behind the others.
"I want to help you, kid." Drake said. "I can do a lot, but I need to know what you need."
"...He sent us here." Megs said quietly. He fiddled with his glove. "He said he'd hurt us if we didn't get him something useful, or if we let S.H.U.S.H. find out about him."
Drake felt his insides turn cold. This wasn't just a problem with kids, it was a problem with a potential threat to S.H.U.S.H.. Either it was an old enemy of theirs acting in secret, or another threat who they'd yet to find. Whatever the case, it wasn't good news, and he knew that sooner or later this Drake Mallard problem would become a Darkwing Duck problem.
"Who?" Drake asked. Megs shifted uneasily. "Kid, I can keep you and Jackie safe, I promise, but I can't if I don't know who I'm up against." He could, it would just take more detective work, and it would take time. For all he knew, time wasn't on their side.
"What about the mutt and the weed?" Megs asked. "There are two other boys. They need help too."
"I can get all four of you out." Drake said automatically. He paused when he processed the words that Megs had said. "Wait, wait, wait just a second. What do you mean mutt and weed?"
Megs jolted, looking alarmed, he'd said something that he hadn't meant too. He took a deep breath and nodded. "They're…well, I was going to say they're freaks, but so am I." Megs pulled a glove off and held out his hand. He touched Drake's arm, making the duck jump when he felt a spark. It was just a bit stronger than static electricity, and lasted much longer.
He stared at Megs. He'd referred to himself as a freak. Electricity. Megs…Megavolt. So the two other boys, the other so-called freaks, a mutt and a weed, Liquidator and Bushroot. Which meant that the boy currently skipping down the hallway with Gosalyn, the boy with that familiar laugh and hatred for video games, was Quackerjack.
He hadn't heard from any of the Fearsome Five in several weeks. He'd enjoyed the break, but Drake had started to worry that they were planning something big. Looking at the nervous child walking at his side, it definitely wasn't what he had expected.
"You…Megavolt?" Drake was confused and concerned, and it made his voice come off as dry and stiff.
The boy looked at him in shock. "You know who I am?"
"Everybody in the city knows who Megavolt is." Drake snapped. "Has your memory gotten so bad that you've forgotten who you were?" He had thought it would happen one of these days.
"I know who I am." Megavolt said defiantly. "I-I just don't know who I was before. None of us do."
"Before who found you?" Drake asked. Even as he asked the question he realized that he knew the answer. Megavolt was only afraid of a handful of people, and one of them happened to be someone who looked and sounded just like Drake. "Negaduck."
Megavolt shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. "He's been hurting us, and controlling us, and I don't know what to do." The rat's eyes filled with tears. Drake hated seeing his villains cry, because it made him feel awkward, and he hated seeing kids cry, because it made him feel helpless. Even though he knew this was Megavolt, he still looked like a kid, and the fear and distress in his eyes looked genuine. Megavolt wasn't that good of an actor.
"You don't remember anything before Negaduck took you?" Drake asked. He wanted to know how these guys ended up as kids, and if they remembered being adults. He was starting to think that they didn't.
He couldn't send a child to jail. Especially if they didn't remember what they had done to deserve it. But what was he supposed to do? They were dangerous. They couldn't just be let loose on the city. Somebody would have to keep an eye on them to make sure they toed the line.
He could figure that out later. Whether they had their memories or not, Megavolt, Quackerjack, and possibly the others, were just kids. Darkwing Duck could always stop them with ease, but especially if they were so young and emotional. He could catch them with his hands behind his back. No, the biggest threat, as always, was Negaduck.
What made the Fearsome Five so dangerous wasn't that there were five villains, but that Negaduck had access to the powers that belonged to three others. If those three were kids, hurt, scared, and much more likely to do what they were told, then Negaduck was even more of a threat. Darkwing Duck needed to stop him. He needed to save the kids, even if he hadn't quite figured out if they deserved it or not.
"Where are your friends?" Drake asked. Megavolt beamed and gave him an address. Just by hearing the address Drake knew that it wasn't too far, but it was also in a neighborhood. He'd have to try to keep a full on battle from breaking out, because he didn't want civilians to become collateral damage.
"I'll go get them." Drake said. He took Megavolt's hand and they caught up to the others. They were outside by now and well on their way to Hamburger Hippo, but they were headed in the opposite direction of the address he'd been told. It was time to split up, before Negaduck got impatient and caught wise.
"Gos, I have to go." Drake said. He kissed her forehead and gave her some cash. "Get something for you and your friends. I'll call Launchpad and he'll come pick you up. As soon as he's here you two need to take our guests back home. To our home. I'll be there soon."
Gosalyn frowned and looked up at him. "Dad, what's going on?"
"I'll explain everything later." Drake promised. He just didn't have time right now. "Keep an eye on Jackie and Megs."
More often than not, Gosalyn argued against his orders and blatantly defied him. She was very spirited, after all. Fortunately, this was one of the rare times where she appreciated the gravity of the situation, and even if she didn't like it, she knew she had to give him space to do what he did best.
"I'll keep them safe." Gosalyn said. That was part of what Drake had meant when he'd told her to keep an eye on them. He also wanted her to make sure they didn't get up to anything, but he would tell Launchpad what was going on. He would make sure the boys didn't cause any trouble.
"Good luck, Dad." Gosalyn said. Drake smirked, feeling Darkwing Duck creep in, and this time he let him.
"I don't need luck." Drake said. He turned in the other direction and ran off. He wanted to get his cape and hat, but it could wait a few minutes, when he was somewhere less crowded and a little closer to his destination.
It didn't matter if it was the middle of the day, and that the 'innocents' that needed his help were his villains, he was Darkwing Duck, and he was going to make Negaduck regret ever thinking of whatever conniving scheme was going through his head.
Negaduck probably thought he'd been so careful, but nothing got past the Masked Mallard.