My Kingdom For a Double-Plait Bolt!
A/N: Hi everyone. I know it's been well over a year since my last update. I initially meant to focus on "All About Elizabeth", which I did for a while, but then I had to take some time out to become a Mommy for the second time; my entire pregnancy was essentially a long drain on my creativity and energy, and although the drive to write came back after offspring #2 was born, the TIME available to write was minimal. I've been working on this chapter since August. :)
Regardless, though, I have finally finished the rewrite of TWC1. It took NINE YEARS from beginning to end. A lot has changed in that time, in terms of my writing style and my take on the characters. Stay tuned, because I hope to continue with what minor momentum I have, so with luck there should be more stories in the Webfoot Weavings coming up. I hope I didn't lose most of my readers, and I thank anyone who is still interested in reading this! Hope the finale doesn't disappoint!
A couple more notes: I have done a little rewriting on "The House On Avian Way", which is a Halloween-flavoured fic that comes after "All About Elizabeth". Since I haven't finished AAE yet, there are some spoilers for how that one turns out; however, "House" is a fic I posted about three years ago and the changes are fairly minor, so if you are up to date on my fics you might want to read (or reread) this one now. If you have only read this fic, I'd say wait a while... And finally, rather than stick a lot of my notes about the fic on the end here, I've been putting them into a blog, called the Weblog Chronicles. The link to that can be found in my profile if you care to read it. Warning: since this series has been out since 1994, I generally wrote the blog with the impression that anyone following it has read most of the series, if not all. So there are spoilers beyond this fic in there, too. OKAY! Enough babbling! Please read and enjoy the final chapter of TWC1!
Act III, part two
Gosalyn found herself alone in a kind of storage closet, and so she set about trying to come up with an escape plan first thing. This wasn't hard, but it wasn't exactly easy, either.
The situation wasn't what she'd initially expected, after being abducted by a number of supervillains in the past, Megavolt himself included. He took the time to explain to her, en route to his hideout in the St. Canard lighthouse, that kidnapping hadn't been in his original plans for the day; and although he was happy enough to have her there, he really had a lot to work on and so she wasn't going to be a big priority for a while.
After that he'd just tossed her into the closet and locked her in. The closet was full of all kinds of hardware and weird gadgetry, and since Megavolt had picked up a few odd-looking objects on his way out, she gambled that he'd come back in for more supplies when he needed them. Her first plan was to pick up the heaviest-looking object in the room and wait for Megavolt to come back, then conk him on the head with it and make a break for it while he was stunned.
This didn't work out as planned, unfortunately. Although the object she picked was pretty heavy - it was tubular and long, with a few curvy smaller tubes coming out of its ends, and it felt almost as heavy as a bowling ball - Megavolt must have had a hard head or something. When she whacked him with it he yelled, "OW!"
She waited for him to fall over, but instead he rubbed his head and looked at her, annoyed. "That hurt! What were you thinking?" he asked, taking the... thing out of her hands. She was too surprised and scared to resist. Fortunately, however, the irritation in his eyes died away as he evidently recognized the object. "Oh, hey, I can use this!" he said, and walked absently back out the door, still rubbing his head.
Gosalyn counted to five and then tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. She opened it carefully, peeked outside, and came eye-to-eye with Megavolt. She smiled; he didn't. "Heh. Just wanted to make sure your head was okay!" she tried.
"Been better," he answered, then he pushed the door shut, and she heard the lock turn.
She didn't have any better ideas an hour later, when he came back to the closet. She jumped up when she heard the knob, and when he walked in and saw her he yelped and jumped. "Oh! Geez! I forgot you were in here! Give a guy a heart attack, why don't you?"
"Um... sorry?"
"Yeah, yeah. Seen the five-yard blastometer anywhere?" He seemed more distracted than usual. Gosalyn had no idea what a five-yard blaster-thingie was, but she pretended to help him look for about fifteen minutes as she inched her way towards the open door.
Megavolt caught on to her intention shortly before she was within bolting distance. He caught her hand. "Waaaait a minute. Do you even know what a five-yard blastometer IS?" he asked suspiciously, squeezing her wrist and squinting at her.
"It's a... specialized device to, to help... blast through... five yards?" When his gaze didn't waver, she added weakly, "Or fewer?"
"Hmm." He frowned. "Lucky guess. Y'know, I think we'll both feel a little more secure if I make you more comfortable." His version of "comfortable" didn't mesh with Gosalyn's, since his next move was to tie her to a chair. It was, she acknowledged, a comfy chair; but the ropes sort of diminished any actual comfort that the cushions might have offered.
Then he turned out the lights.
Alone in the dark, tied to furniture, Gosalyn began to feel both downhearted and a little panicky.
Five minutes later, Megavolt opened the door, snapped the light on, and yelped again when he saw her. "MAN! I keep forgetting!"
By this time the whole thing was just getting silly, and Gosalyn rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm already tied up, and it seems like you kinda need to get in here a lot. Why don't you just put me someplace outside?"
Megavolt considered this. "Well... I could use a little feedback, now that you mention it. But if you try anything at all..." He put his finger to his head like a gun, and made a buzzing sound.
The inside of Megavolt's lighthouse was an odd combination of workshop, living space, and junk house. There was no clear delineation of which was which, either; it all just seemed to blend together without any precise plan. The project that Megavolt had been working on was in the top story of the lighthouse, taking up a lot of space. So far it looked like a big metal tower - or at least, it seemed that this was what it would be when it was finished. At this point it was a kind of steeple with some tubular fluorscent lights looping all around it. Across the room was what looked to be a base, waiting for the half-finished steeple to be attached to it.
"Kind of low on space in here," Megavolt said, at her shoulder, "but since Dripwing Duck is probably going to be scouring the city for us, I can't work on it outside the way I'd like to."
"Of course," Gosalyn humoured him.
Once he'd made sure that she was secure and not about to escape again, he got back to work; the contraption was close to being finished, and he didn't waste any time explaining to her just what it was. Familiar as she was with the patterns of most supervillains, Gosalyn figured that he would fit that business in later, so she didn't bother asking yet, and instead she tried to come up with various ways to escape before the deadline that evening.
Megavolt, on the other hand, was in a chatty mood. He went on about how this design needed a special kind of bolt, how long it had taken him to find it, how the toaster had advised him against it but the toaster didn't know anything about electrical engineering, on and on. Gosalyn was sure this was the same kind of bolt he'd tracked down to her house.
It was funny that those particular bolts were so important. Maybe, if she spoke really carefully, she could get some kind of information on them could help her father later. "So," she said, picking her words, "there's no replacement for that kind of bolt, huh?"
"Pfft," he said, directing it over his shoulder at her, "I went over all this yesterday. Nope, nothing else covers it."
"And if you hadn't found that last bolt... what, would you have had to scrap the whole thing?"
"OH, yeah," he answered distractedly, tightening parts of the tower with a wrench.
Gosalyn tried not to sound excited as she went on. Better not to assume anything, since Megavolt had a way of being unpredictable. "But if you were only missing one, couldn't you have just made it a little smaller? What's so special about the number of bolts you had?"
At this, Megavolt chuckled and answered, "Noooo, you've got it all wrong! The bolts aren't holding it together - they're pretty much useless for that kind of thing! Only some kind of idiot would use a double-plait bolt to keep a machine intact!"
"Oooh-kaaay... Then-"
"The alloy they're made of is a perfect superconductor!" he said gleefully. "See, the bolts go in, in a precise conglomeration, and then we switch this sweet baby on and power 'er up, and BAM!"
"...Bam?"
"Yeah, you know! BAM!" He laughed again, this time more of a cackle than a chuckle. Patting the tower proudly, he said, "What we have here is the biggest, baddest battery St. Canard has ever seen! She draws energy right out of the air and stores it up to power... well, whatever I want!" He turned to Gosalyn, and grinned wickedly. "Which, in this case, is... me!"
"And- and then what?"
"Then," he continued obligingly, "I'll have the power source I need to unite the people of St. Canard in harmony... and terror!" He burst out laughing at this, increasing in volume as he went, and Gosalyn felt a chill go down her back. Once the laughter died down, he sighed and shook his head as if over a private joke, then said, "Well, that was fun, but I better finish this up now."
Gosalyn thought, trying to figure out if there was a way to apply the information she'd acquired. If she could get her hands free, maybe she could snag one of the bolts and mysteriously "lose" it while Megavolt's back was turned... Or maybe she could stall him longer and keep him from finishing it on time? Or... or, what? All of these ideas were contingent on a lot of "ifs" and "maybes". It seemed pretty clear that once Megavolt got the battery going, assuming it worked properly - and nuts or not, most of Megavolt's inventions generally worked the way he intended them to - Darkwing was in for a tough fight.
"Let me just... get the last one in there..." Megavolt grunted to himself for a moment, then gave a satisfied "a-ha!" and stepped back, gesturing at the front of the mini-tower. "Ta-da!" Gosalyn found that the bolts were arranged in a clear pattern.
She blinked, not certain she was seeing it right.
Megavolt gestured again, impatiently. "See? It's a butterfly!"
It was, indeed, a large and ornate butterfly very clearly spelled out by the bolts. Gosalyn stared for a moment longer, then said, "...Pretty."
"Well, no point in stifling your creativity, am I right?" Megavolt took a step back and admired his handiwork, then looked up to take in the rest of the structure. He was silent for a few moments, then said, "Y'know, I have no idea how we're going to carry all this stuff."
"But what if you need back-up?"
Darkwing, adjusting his helmet as he climbed atop the Ratcatcher, shrugged. "Don't be ridiculous. I've faced Megavolt more times than Herb Muddlefoot can count." Once the chin strap was set, he added, "Besides, he was pretty clear on my coming alone. I'm not going to risk Gosalyn by bringing someone else along."
Launchpad looked dismayed. "But... He's probably not gonna play fair!"
"Those were the terms of the deal, Launchpad," Darkwing said seriously.
"At least lemme fly ya there! I mean... What if you... hit traffic or somethin'? If you're late-"
"I'm not planning on taking the highway, here!" Darkwing revved the engine, then killed it when he saw Launchpad's expression. "Look, LP. I know this is hard for you. But Gos will be fine. I won't let that nutcase do anything to her... Trust me."
Petulantly, Launchpad said, "But how'm I gonna know how it goes?"
The engine started back up with a roar, and Darkwing made for the exit onto the bridge top. Over his shoulder, he shouted, "Read about it in tomorrow's paper! Page one!"
The clock's minute hand clicked up to twelve, and the chime of the hour was heard. "Well, that's it! 8 pm! So where is he?" Megavolt asked irritably, looking around in the dim light.
From her chair, Gosalyn said, "You said eight-thirty!"
"Did I? That doesn't sound like me..." He puzzled over that, then said, "Unless I said eight-thirty and meant eight o'clock, so that I could zap you early and still fight that masked menace. Now that sounds like me!"
Gosalyn swallowed hard. "...Does it?"
"Yeah, I pretty much think it does," said Megavolt with a chuckle. He took one more quick look around, then aimed his zap gun at her. "Gee, too bad Darkwing Duck didn't care enough to get here on time..." Gosalyn squeezed her eyes shut, but the next thing she heard was the muffled thud of a collision, an abrupt "Oof!", and a clatter. When she looked, Megavolt's gun was on the ground, and the supervillain himself was rubbing his hand and looking reproachfully at the new arrival who had disarmed him.
"Darkwing," he said spitefully. "You're early."
"Looks that way," said Darkwing, in much the same tone.
There was a tense silence, as Megavolt slowly recovered his gun, and sheathed it. Then he said, "Well, then, shall we get down to business?"
Darkwing stepped towards Gosalyn, and said, "First you let her go. I held up the deal."
Megavolt had regained some of his equilibrium, and at this he cocked his head and smiled nastily. "Let her go? Now I'm sure I never said I'd do that! I just said I wouldn't kill her out right!"
Clenching his fists, Darkwing took a step forward. "That's a deal-breaker, Sparky!"
The gun came out again. "Call me that again and I'll forget I promised anything at all!" Megavolt threatened, levelling the weapon at Gosalyn.
"H-hey, guys? Uh, how about everyone just takes a few deep breaths and talks this one out, huh?" Gosalyn put in.
Megavolt didn't look convinced, but Darkwing put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture and said, "Okay, then. Just tell me what it is you want, Megavolt."
Smirking, Megavolt answered, "That's more like it. I would like, if I may, to introduce you to my latest invention!" He made a grand sweep and indicated the tower, gleaming behind him in the city's evening lights. "Isn't she beautiful? I dreamed her, but life wanted to stand in our way and keep her from becoming a reality!"
"Fantastic," Darkwing muttered with a snort. "Nothing like cold machinery in the evening to bring a tear to your eye."
"I know, I know!" Megavolt nodded wistfully, wiping at his own eye. His demeanor shifted quickly. "And since you were one of the many factors standing in my way, I thought it was only fair that you make it up to me by helping me with a test run!"
Darkwing threw a glance at Gosalyn, who was staring at him wide-eyed, then turned back to Megavolt with his eyes narrowed. "And just what exactly is that thing there supposed to do?" In his peripheral vision, he saw Gosalyn roll her eyes and sigh in exasperation.
"Aha, I was waiting for you to ask!" Megavolt took a few steps backwards, towards his contraption, flipped a switch, and slapped his hand on the base of the tower. There was a low hum that began to build in intensity and frequency; there was a glow that began to accompany it. Without warning, sparks flew from the surrounding buildings, drawn towards the apparatus; as the electricity was sucked into the tower, the buildings all went dark. For a few moments, the tower dimmed as well, and the only light was a quiet pulsing at the very tip of the machine. Then there was a loud electrical popping noise, and Megavolt's right hand - the one not resting on the tower - was ablaze with bright green light.
"It does this," said Megavolt. He spread his fingers and aimed his hand, palm out, at the billboard that adorned the rooftop next to the Duxter Building. A ball of electricity shot from his hand and smashed through the billboard, toppling it; it kept going, taking down a few other high-rising features of the area before dissipating.
Darkwing felt a chill go through him. That was vastly more powerful than Megavolt's usual zaps.
"WOO! IT WORKS!" Megavolt had taken his hand from the contraption to cheer, and now he turned back around and gave it a big hug. "You little devil, you!" he said.
"Dad!" Gosalyn hissed, while the supervillain's attention was elsewhere.
"Not now Gos! I can't take the time to-"
"NO, this is major! The bolts on the-"
Megavolt spun back around, grinning wildly. "Wanna see it again?"
"Uh-" Darkwing paused, and that was almost the end of him. The electric charge was delivered even more quickly this time, and it was only luck that he managed to dart out of the way in time. Another volley of lightning followed immediately; at this rate he'd have to get out of Megavolt's sight in order to be safe. Behind him, Megavolt was loudly cheering himself.
He'd have to think on his feet. Stay as far from Gosalyn as possible, don't stop moving, find a place to block himself from Megavolt's view - and most of all, get that lunatic away from that weapon of his, since it seemed like he had to be touching it to get it to work. Darkwing threw himself behind the raised entrance to the stairwell and didn't stop moving; an arc of lightning came directly from above him and scorched the place he'd been in a moment before. He thanked whoever was looking out for him that he hadn't paused to catch his breath, and instead swung himself up onto the side of the roof, still out of Megavolt's sight but in a place the villain wasn't likely to expect him to be.
Megavolt stopped, looking around carefully. "Hey, where'd you go?" he asked, sounding mildly irritated. "Huh... no fair cheating! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Darkwing sighed and caught his breath. Maybe he could get in a good shot with his gas- nope, it was still busted, wasn't it. Stupid, stupid bolts! He wished he'd thought to bring a water balloon - that would take Megavolt down for a few moments at least...
Behind him, Megavolt began to whine. "Aw, c'mon, no hiding! You big coward!" Met again with silence, he said, "Fine, I guess I'll just have to... incinerate everything!" With a loud laugh, he raised his hands and lightning spread across the whole roof.
Gosalyn yelped and ducked, as much as she could while tied to a chair. The electricity missed her but singed one of the cushy arms of her seat, and left a big scorch mark on the pavement at her feet.
Pulled out of his planning quite suddenly, Darkwing scrambled into action after a bolt hit right between his knees. He took a breath, counted to three, and leapt over the side of the roof and onto Megavolt.
"YEOW!" his enemy screeched, and he lost contact with the tower. The lightning died down instantly and a moment later, most of the surrounding lights came back on. "YOU! I'm gonna get you for that!"
Darkwing did his best to keep the upper hand, and pushed against the ground to get them rolling further from the weapon. "Not a lot you can do if you aren't touching that thing, is there?"
"I'll take care of that in version 2!" Megavolt snapped, grabbing Darkwing by his lapels and tossing him. "After I've taken care of you!"
"It looks like it's about to fall apart any second anyway! Not your best work, Megs!" Darkwing got to his feet and scrambled a little further away from the tower in the hopes that Megavolt would follow him.
"Take that back! She's a work of art!" Megavolt yelled, sufficiently annoyed to come after Darkwing with his hands instead of recalling his precious tower.
Meanwhile, Gosalyn yanked at her bonds, but Megavolt had duct taped her to the chair and the loops around her wrists were just not about to give. She had to get one of those bolts out somehow! Or at least... "Darkwing!" she tried, but he wasn't listening. She took a deep breath and tried again. "DARKWING!"
He shot her a look and called, "WHAAAT?"
She recognized the tone as his "Not-the-right-moment-Gos" tone, but she knew it was important, so she went on. "The bolts! You've got to-"
Darkwing shook his head. "What bolts?"
"On the side! The butterfly!"
He took a look, but as he did so Megavolt shoved a hand into Darkwing's face and pushed him over. "WAHA! Who's the big man now?" he cried, and turned to get back to the tower. Darkwing grabbed his ankle, and he fell, too.
"Okay - the butterfly - what about it?" Darkwing called. He was wrapping both arms around Megavolt's legs, as Megavolt tried crawling across the roof towards the tower.
"The bolts are the conductors! The tower can't work without them! If you can get them-"
Megavolt propped himself up on his arms and glared at her. "HEY! Shut up! Why did I tell you all that stuff, anyway?"
"I always figured it was some kind of compulsion you supervillains have that was just convenient for guys like me," Darkwing answered him. Megavolt grimaced and shocked him; the effect was minor in comparison to what he'd been doing using the tower, but it was effective, as Darkwing instinctively let him go.
Megavolt was up in a minute, dashing towards the tower. Darkwing shot to his feet as quickly as he could, following a few paces behind, but was still out of reach when the surrounding buildings went dark as the power was sucked into Megavolt's invention again. In a minute there would be another volley of electric zaps, and Darkwing was pretty sure he couldn't outrun it this time.
Okay - think. Weak spots. What's this thing's weak spot? Megavolt has to be touching it to use it. Already knew that - not going to help. Darkwing looked about in the darkness even as it began to lessen, while the tower began to glow and hum. He had really only one other option, at least for the moment, so he took it.
Diving forward, he threw himself onto the base of the tower and clung to it for dear life.
Now illuminated by the power charge, Megavolt looked around the rooftop for his foe, and finally noticed Darkwing wrapped around the base of the tower near Megavolt's feet. "Groveling already? And I didn't even have to ask!" he said, and laughed. He stopped once he noticed that Darkwing was sliding a hand along the base towards the butterfly design. "Oh no you don't! Another inch and you're a crispy critter!"
"Ha!" spat Darkwing, grinning smugly. "Nice bluff, Sparky, but you wouldn't dare zap me while I'm this close to your little toy! You'd fry your own power source!"
With a scoff, Megavolt said, "You think so, huh?" He snapped his fingers, and the tower crackled with electricity.
Darkwing felt like he was buzzing, and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground and his suit was smoking slightly. "Gah... That was... not what I had... in mind."
"What'd you think it was gonna do? Melt?" Megavolt sounded genuinely puzzled. "Oh well! Any last words, Dripwing?"
"Actually..." With no more idea in mind beyond stalling, Darkwing cast about for an idea that would at least take up some time. And then he saw the beauty of cheap, poorly designed hardware, as his eyes fell upon a a double-plait bolt that had been knocked slightly loose from the activity, one within his reach, one that could tip all the scales in his favour. He looked back at Megavolt. "There is one thing I've always wanted to know."
"Oh? Do tell!"
Okay... now he just had to think of something. "Well," he said, winging it, "you probably don't remember this," he went on, and edged his hand slowly towards the loose bolt, "but waaaay back when we first met..."
Megavolt nodded seriously. "Ah yes, I remember it well... a Saturday afternoon at the zoo, wasn't it?"
"Uh... suuuuure." As long as it kept the deranged rodent distracted, Darkwing didn't care what either of them said. "Aaaanyway, I always wondered -"
"You want to know about the deLorean!" Megavolt said suddenly.
"You got it," answered Darkwing, groping for the bolt without turning.
"That was a weather experiment," Megavolt said, as if this explained everything. "You know, Darkwing, you surprise me. I didn't think you'd remember that! Ahh, we have had some good times, haven't we..." Megavolt shook his head fondly, lost in thought for a half a second, then clenched his fist. "Oh well! Now say your prayers!"
The finish of the machine was still smooth under Darkwing's fingertips, and for a moment he felt panicked. Then Gosalyn's voice rang out.
"Hang on! You're not going to just kill him, are you? I mean, what about your speech?"
Megavolt turned towards her. "My what?"
"Your speech! You said you had a whole speech planned, and it was going to be really... really dynamic!" She was obviously grasping for ideas, but Darkwing blessed his daughter silently and kept probing with his fingers for the bolt. A second later they grazed it, a bumpy edge sticking out of the smooth surface at an odd angle. He tugged at it, encircled it, trying to find purchase to pull it out.
Meanwhile, Megavolt was scratching his head. "A speech? Did I bring notes?"
"Check your left pocket," Gosalyn suggested helpfully.
Darkwing risked a look at the bolt while Megavolt was distracted. It looked like it could just be pulled out, but it didn't feel that way. He momentarily considered using his teeth. Behind him, Megavolt was beginning to sound frustrated, and Gosalyn was encouraging him to check the other pocket. Darkwing poked at the bolt and felt it shift a little when he pushed at a certain angle.
"You know, I don't care if I had a ten-page speech written up," Megavolt said angrily, "I've had enough of all this! Nothing is going to be more fun than finally taking out my lifelong enemy!"
"But -"
"But nothing!" He turned back to face Darkwing. "Darkwing, old buddy, there is one thing I'm going to regret for the rest of my life - and that's that I'll only get to do this once!" He lifted his fist into the air, and a ball of lightning formed around it at once. Darkwing gave a great tug on the loose bolt, and it came free, slipping through his fingers to clink onto the concrete of the rooftop.
The lightning dissipated instantly, and for a split second all was dark. The machine's hum fell silent. Then, in an expanding outward arc, the lights came back on in all the neighbouring buildings.
Megavolt looked around in horror. "Hey! Cheater!"
"Huh?" asked Darkwing, blinking a little in the newly-returned light.
"Breaking my stuff so you can win is cheating!" Megavolt informed him, and he reached back and brought out his zap gun again. "Well, at least I can take care of you the old-fashioned way!"
"That old thing?" Darkwing taunted. "Sure, that'll work if you're trying to pop some popcorn!" In fact, he'd forgotten Megavolt still had that gun, but he had a reputation to maintain. He ducked the first blast, then kicked upwards as hard as he could. The kick hit home (and sort of hurt), disarming Megavolt in one shot.
The zap gun skidded off to one side of the roof; the escaped bolt lay off towards the other. Megavolt and Darkwing both stared at each object for a moment or two, then at each other, and then each one made a move in opposite directions.
Darkwing reached the bolt, tore his gas gun out from his cape, and fumbled to push the bolt into the spot that awaited it. After nearly dropping it twice, it seemed to be all the way in; that would be the best he could manage, he figured. He whirled around and came face-to-face with Megavolt acting almost as his sinister reflection; they both aimed their respective weapons, and as Darkwing squeezed the gas gun's trigger, he closed his eyes and braced himself for an onslaught of electricity.
It didn't come. The gas gun deployed properly for the first time in days, and although he never found out exactly what kind of gas it was, that didn't matter; the canister flew out of the barrel as it was emptying and smacked Megavolt in the head, knocking him out. The hollow *crack* of the canister hitting the rooftop was almost inaudible over the heavier thud of the superhero falling in a heap.
It took Darkwing a moment or so to realize that Megavolt was actually down for good. He stood and stared for a few counts, before breathing a sigh of relief and letting himself relax. "Gos! You okay?"
"Uh-huh," she called back, pulling at her restraints, "but I hate duct tape! This stuff won't budge!" She wiggled her fingers at him desperately.
"I'll get you out in just a sec, sweetie," he assured her, looking over his gas gun to be sure the bolt was in there properly. It didn't look quite secure - he'd definitely need to use some tools on it when he got back to the Tower - but for now it probably wasn't going anywhere. He handcuffed Megavolt, then put the gun away and went to free his daughter.
After the requisite hug, Gosalyn massaged her wrists where the duct tape had been, and looked down over the side of the roof. "Hey, Dad - don't look now, but I think there's a camera crew down there."
"Oh yeah? Really?" He left his examination of Megavolt's butterfly pattern behind for a moment to stand dramatically at the roof's edge, a hand heroically patting Gosalyn on the head. She took it for about two seconds before swatting his arm away, so he swooped his cape across his chest and over his face, and stepped away from the edge again. "There, that oughta make the news, huh?"
Gosalyn rolled her eyes. "You mean you're not going to make a play for an interview special with Baba Wawa tonight?"
"Don't be silly," Darkwing said, stepping back to the makeshift tower. He found the "off" switch and flipped it, even though the machine was no longer operational. "Baba only does interviews that she schedules herself, and she's got my card. She'll call when she's ready."
"Well, they do look pretty excited down there," Gosalyn noted, peering over the edge again. "I think Channel 12 is down there, and - DAD!"
"What?" Darkwing looked up from the pile of bolts he was collecting. "I'm just making sure this collection of scrap metal can't do any more harm!"
"You're sure you're not going to take those home with you?"
"Well, I..." Darkwing trailed off as Gosalyn raised an eyebrow. He sniffed defensively. "I need these more than Megavolt did!"
"But that's dishonest! Weren't those stolen in the first place?"
"Not by me!"
"Da-ad..."
He sighed. "Oh, fine." Dumping the bolts back into a little pile, he muttered, "Like they're going to miss a few ten-cent bolts."
Gosalyn took his hand and dragged him toward the fire escape. "Can we go? I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."
"Sure," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and enveloping her in his cape. "Dinner it is. I'll take the rest of the night off."
She snuck another look down at the crowd below. "You sure you don't want to give a soundbite or something, Dad? This looks pretty big."
Darkwing smiled at her. "Right now there's only one person I feel like talking to," he said, "and I think I'm going to take her out for hamburgers."
When the police reached the rooftop a few minutes later they found a still-unconscious Megavolt ready for jail, and they completely ignored the pile of shining, oddly-shaped bolts that lay nearby. The bolts were scattered in the ensuing activity, and more than a few of them fell between cracks and crevices in the roof top, where they stayed for years. As for the rest, who knows? That's a story for another day.
END.
TO BE CONTINUED in "Sea of Green"!
Please check out my profile for links to chapter notes and lists of references in this fic, of which there are PLENTY.
Copyright Zebeckras, 1995; 2000-2009. Beth Webfoot and Henny Chickstein created by me, and all other characters are owned by Disney and are used without permission; that's why I'm nice to 'em. :) This story may be duplicated as long as it is not sold or altered in any form. You may not make money off of this story. (How could you, anyway??) You may not let your dog chew on this story... at least, if you do, I'll be very sad and I'll cry. :(