Chapter 3: Hi-Lo

Notes:

I honestly feel like this series is shouting into a void. I'm not getting any reviews, but I love it too much to give up on it. So I'll update this with the others, regardless.

Webby's throat was tight as she held onto Lena. She was afraid to let her go, because if she did, the other girl would vanish and never return. She'd endured too much over the past few weeks to risk losing her again. If that meant clinging to her, then she'd do it. Besides, she had never replied to Lena's declaration. It felt like she'd wronged her by saying nothing in response.

"Are you okay?" Lena asked. "I can't believe I cried all over you and didn't ask how you were."

"Oh, I'm fine," Webby said in a brittle voice. "My best friend, the girl I have feelings for, keeps disappearing, I just killed someone, I lost my grandmother, I haven't slept well in weeks, and a bunch of thugs used me as a toy."

She swallowed past a lump in her throat. "At least I got them back. I wish Granny was here…"

She burst into tears and it was Lena's turn to cradle her. Webby turned her tear-streaked face toward Lena and kissed her on the beak. Lena kissed her back and Webby draped her arms around her neck. It was the first time she'd ever kissed someone while crying and she was pretty sure Lena could taste her tears. She was carding her fingers through Webby's hair.

"I'm here," Lena whispered. "I won't leave you again. I promise."

"I love you," Webby whispered back and Lena smiled. Webby dropped her arms from around Lena's neck to encircle her waist.

"I love you too," Lena said. "Even if I am a wrecking ball."

Webby wanted to controvert her, but another sob escaped, and she lowered her head to lay it against Lena's chest. Lena's heartbeat was comforting, reminding her of when she'd clung to her grandmother and, in a distant memory, her mother. Webby could barely remember her parents; her grandmother had raised her. Anything else was incidental.

"Hey," Lena said. "You might as well let it all out. It's not as if this bed is going to get any drier."

Webby laughed weakly. Lena smiled weakly back and they shifted position so that they were curled up together. In this position, it was almost possible for her to believe that the last few weeks had been a horrible nightmare. Almost. She could almost believe she was safe, too.

"Gangs…don't normally seek revenge when you kill their leaders, do they?" Webby said.

"Um…" Lena faltered. "You don't want me to answer that."

"I thought we were done with them when they ran away," she said, closing her eyes so she could concentrate on Lena's heartbeat against her ear. It was soothing.

"Unless they ran away to find new friends," Lena muttered. Webby winced. That was possible. Lena's cagey response told Webby more than she needed to know. The Bloodhound Gang would not be happy with her for offing their head honcho, no matter how much he'd deserved it.

"They wouldn't come after Uncle Scrooge and the boys, would they?"

"I don't know about that either," Lena replied. "I don't have a lot of experience with gangs, other than staying away from them."

"Oh."

Lena kissed the top of her head as if to take the sting out of her replies. Webby tilted her head upward and they kissed again, soft and sweet; it made Webby's heart flutter. Her girlfriend? Was that what Lena was to her now? She'd been Webby's first real crush.

"Don't worry about it right now," Lena advised and Webby made an unhappy noise that Lena had broken off the kiss to tell her that.
Determined, she kissed her on the lips again and Lena smiled, caressing her cheek.

"You're a greedy little thing, you know that?" Lena teased. "You're so affectionate."

"You like it," Webby rejoined, smiling. "You know you do."

Lena didn't respond for a minute. She rested her forehead against Webby's.

"Yeah, I like it," she said. "I wasn't much of a hugger until you pushed it on me."

Webby's smile faded. Lena hadn't had much affection growing up, because she'd had Magica as a shadow. She'd been tethered to the cruel woman's will and forced to grow up alone and unwanted. Webby intended to rectify that as best she could. And besides, she enjoyed kissing and showing affection. It made her feel good to make Lena feel good.

"Hey," Lena said. "We're cuddling. Don't ruin the mood."

Webby's smile returned, albeit weaker than before. She relaxed in Lena's arms. She should try to get some more sleep. She felt like she had a sleep debt that would last the rest of her life. And besides, she could sleep now that she knew Lena wasn't vanishing into the night.

They lapsed into silence and Webby was almost asleep when Lena called her name.

"Webby?"

"Mmm?"

"Your phone's vibrating. It's been vibrating like, non-stop for the last five minutes. Someone must really want to talk to you."

Half asleep, Webby dug into her pocket for her phone and hit 'accept' on the screen. It didn't occur to her that it could be someone malicious, because she was too exhausted to care. And anyway, she didn't know how any villains could have her phone number, even if they had Scrooge's.

"Webby? Where are you?" Huey asked and Webby awoke a little more.

"What's wrong?" she said.

"It's the telecommunications unit from the Spear of Selene. It's active again. Scrooge just got a ping."

Webby bolted upright, all traces of sleep gone. "I'll be right there."

"Right where?" Lena asked, sounding grumpy. She must've been about to fall asleep too. Oops. Webby smiled sheepishly.

"Something huge just happened," she told her. "C'mon, c'mon. Don't you wanna see what it is?"

"No," Lena said and then sighed. Webby's face must've fallen because she relented. "All right. But then we get some more sleep. I'm not running on empty anymore."

"I promise," she said, but sleep was the farthest thing from her mind. She had to control the ability to squeal uncontrollably and bounce around like a maniac. Here was a piece of the McDuck history in the making! And she was here to witness it!

Could solve a mystery…or rewrite history…

Hopping off the bed, she grabbed Lena's hand, squeezed it, squealed, and then darted to the door. Huey was still talking, but she'd lost the train of thought. Come to think of it, it might've been along the lines of him telling her to stop squealing in his ear. Oops. That wasn't her fault. She couldn't control her excitement.

"Woah, calm down, fangirl," Lena said, rolling her eyes. "What is this and why are you acting like a squirrel that just got electrocuted?"

"The Spear of Selene…" Webby breathed like it explained everything. To her, it did. To Lena, whose expression wrinkled in confusion, it explained nothing. It looked like she'd have to do a quick catch-up and so, while escorting Lena to the telecommunications room, she filled her in. Huey sighed, exasperated, told her he'd see her in a minute, and hung up.

"Always family drama with the McDuck family, huh?" Lena said. "Reminds me again why I don't want anything to do with my family."

Webby wilted. She didn't have any family anymore. This showed on her face, because Lena squeezed her hand. Webby squeezed back. While she'd dampened her enthusiasm, she hadn't extinguished it entirely. Webby still stepped lightly as they rounded the corner and found the boys, Donald, and Scrooge sitting in front of a large, old-school looking machine.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" Webby asked.

"Another ping," Scrooge said and frowned at Lena's appearance. "She's not family, lass."

"Neither am I, according to you," Webby said and winced in memory of him screaming at her. This time, she didn't have Granny to shield her from Scrooge's rage. This time, however, Scrooge didn't appear irritated, just drained. Lena's hand on hers had tightened.

"I told you that you should've apologized," Huey said to Scrooge. "Webby is as much family as we are. She spent her life living with you before we showed up. She's obsessed with the McDuck family. If she's not a family member, she's an honorary member."

Scrooge grimaced. "I'm sorry, Webby. I shouldn't have yelled at you on the Sunchaser. But Lena is not family."

"If I'm family, then so's Lena," Webby said.

"Uh…" the boys said, frowning.

"Not really…" Dewey said.

"Still don't trust her," Louie added. Lena scowled, looking very much like she wanted to give him a piece of her mind. Webby jerked her back.

"Is that because I'm Magica's niece or because I kissed Webby?" Lena snapped at him. "Because I can't control the first one and as for the second one…"

She smirked. "I. Win."

Louie started too, and Dewey and Huey grabbed him by the hood to prevent him from launching himself at Lena.

"Lass…" Scrooge said at Webby warningly.

"But I can't miss this," Webby protested. "I've been waiting for years too. It's not fair."

"We're not asking you to miss it," Dewey countered. "We're just asking her to leave."

"Asking or demanding?" Lena snapped. "Fine, I'll stay out of this. But I'm not going anywhere. I promised Webby I wouldn't leave her again."

She released Webby's hand and, to the younger girl's dismay, vacated the room. The triplets watched her go with varying expressions of distaste and hatred on their faces. Louie was scrutinizing Webby now to gauge her reaction.

"She didn't kiss you again, did she?" Louie asked.

"Hello, this could've been our mom pinging us and you're fixating on that?" Huey rejoined. "This can wait."

"I don't think it was Della…" Scrooge said. "It's only sending, not receiving."

"That's a good sign, though, isn't it?" Huey pressed. "It wasn't doing either until recently."

All six startled when one of the cameras blinked to life. The picture was extremely grainy and only held for a handful of seconds before fading back to black. An adult, female duck was sitting in front of the controls and she bore a strong resemblance to the Della Duck Webby had seen in the pictures. Flabbergasted, the others stared.

"Mom?" the boys whispered.

"It wasn't spitting out old feed, was it?" Huey asked.

"Her hair was longer, and she looked older," Dewey argued. "It can't have been. It had to have been Mom."

"But where was she broadcasting from?" Scrooge said. "We checked all over and didn't find a trace of her."

"Was anyone tracking where the pings were coming from?" Webby asked.

"Yes, but it makes no sense," Scrooge said. "I'll have to call Gyro. None of these readings make any sense. If she's where I think she is, it's impossible for her to transmit. Nothing can go in or out of the dark side of the moon."

"Could someone have found her and then forwarded the signal?" Webby asked. Huey had rewound the recording to fixate on their mom and the boys were staring, transfixed. Webby's chest ached and she wasn't sure whether it was because she felt for the boys or because she couldn't remember what her mother looked like. It might've been both.

"Someone could've recorded her and then left the dark side of the moon to send this..." Scrooge mused. "But who? Who would have a vested interest in my family?"

The image on the screen changed abruptly and the five of them jumped. Flintheart Glomgold stared back at them and, unlike Della Duck's static image, this one moved. Scrooge watched the screen warily, as if Glomgold was a snake about to strike. He rested his hands protectively on Huey and Louie's shoulders.

An odd expression flitted across Louie's face and he shifted closer to his great-uncle. Hmm. Curious.

"I found something of yours on the moon, Scroogie," Glomgold said. "I can bring her down for you or you can meet me and fetch her yourself."

He was sans his usual teasing manner, Webby noticed. If anything, his expression was grave. Scrooge tightened his grip on two of the three triplets. Dewey inched closer to Scrooge too and then glanced back at Webby; his expression was hopeful, but cautious.

"And why would you do this for me?" Scrooge inquired. "Since when do you do me favors, Flintheart?"

"Treasure is treasure and gold is gold. That's all fair in fighting," he said. "But you don't fight about family. And she's been missing for a fair amount of years, hasn't she?"

"But, how is she still alive?" Huey asked. "She's been gone for ten years without enough supplies, wearing the old spacesuit, and without anyone to help? How is that possible?"

"You'd have to ask her, laddie," Glomgold said. "I'm just the messenger."

"But what were you doing on the moon in the first place?" Scrooge demanded.

"If you want to know, you'll have to meet me," Glomgold returned. Webby watched the play of emotions on his face and questioned whether the other Scottish duck was lying. He had to be withholding something. Was the footage old? Was it fabricated? But how could he be that cruel? She knew they disliked each other and always had, but to hold up evidence of Scrooge's niece and the triplets' mother only to shove it in his face that Della was missing, presumed dead, would be too malevolent for him, wouldn't it?

"I'll meet you there," Scrooge said in a tight voice. He turned toward the kids.

"Get ready. We're going to outer space."

Lena watched Webby pack. The younger duck had gone on at length about what had happened to the triplets' mother and what Glomgold wanted. All Lena had gotten out of this was (one), that she didn't care about the triplets' mother, and (two), that Webby was leaving her. Again. This time, she'd be supervised, but there was no way the McDuck family would permit Lena to ride along with them. They'd made it clear-she wasn't family and Lena didn't want to be family. She just wanted to be with Webby.

"Why aren't you packing?" Webby said, after a particularly verbose statement that Lena hadn't caught any of.

"Don't tell me you missed the whole 'you're not family, Lena', blah blah blah, 'get out' thing," Lena said, tossing her head. "It's fine. I'm not invited. I'll just hang out around here and do what I did before I met you."

"But you have to come!" Webby pressed.

"I'm not part of their family and, to be honest, Webby, I don't want to be," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "They're too happy and close for me. Family's never brought me anything but trouble."

"You're family to me," Webby said quietly.

"You're sweet. Really," Lena said. "But I'll be fine on my own. I was before."

"You had Magica as your abusive talking shadow before," Webby pointed out. "How could you have been 'fine'?"

Lena shrugged. "I'll deal. Don't worry about it. Go on your little adventure and I'll be here when you get back."

Webby swallowed and Lena read the conflict in her eyes. She badly wanted to go with the triplets, Scrooge, and Donald. On the other hand, she feared leaving Lena behind.

"I'll be okay," she repeated. "I promise."

"How do I know you won't disappear again?" Webby said, her voice strained.

"I'll promise on our friendship bracelets not to go," she said and Webby relaxed minutely. She hugged Lena impulsively and kissed her on the cheek. Lena hugged her back and stamped down the jealousy she felt. Even if she didn't have a biological family anymore, Webby had a foster family. She had people who loved and cared about her. All Lena had was Webby.

Maybe she should have postponed leaving her until after she knew Webby was going to do the same. That way, it'd hurt less. She put on a brave face for the younger duck, but when Webby released her, Lena turned her head away. She didn't want her to see the tears brimming in her eyes.

What had she done before discovering Webby and the others? Exist. That's all she'd done. She'd existed and she'd been Magica's emotional punching bag. The latter wouldn't happen again, but she wasn't looking forward to a long time of just existing without anything else to show for it. When Webby left, Lena watched her go and swallowed past a lump in her throat.

If everyone was leaving, save the ghost Duckworth, no one would notice if Lena left too. For a little while. Maybe she'd try to hunt down her long lost father. Then again, if he'd really cared about her, he would have sought her out before now.

No, Webby was the only person in the world who cared at all about her. And she was heading off into space and abandoning her.

"But if you want to leave, you can. I'll remember you, though. I remember everyone that leaves."

Why should Webby return to her? She had a whole other life without her. She didn't need her. Lena remembered what Webby had said to her and their kisses and held it tight to her. She might need it to sustain her for a long time.