A Rewritten Family History

I loved creating the whole Drake Mallard Filmography in this chapter...also I kind of loved subverting the popular head cannon of Actress Morgana by making her one of Drake's former co-stars instead of an actress from the original 90s series like most writers tend to do

If someone told Drake Mallard two years ago that he'd be taking on the role of Darkwing Duck for real he would have laughed in their face. Sure, he had success in a string of Pep ads, extra work on CSI: Mouseton, and had rave reviews for his turn as Billy Flynn in a St. Canard community theater production of Chicago however none of those credits had helped with the goal he had set for himself when he'd gotten into the business, the goal to capture a role that would be as inspiring to others as Darkwing had been to him. But then, one night shortly after coming off his longest role yet well… his life slowly began to take a turn...

June 2017:

Drake hadn't planned on engaging in any Daytime Emmy festivities this year until he took a peek online to look at the winners and saw that after eighteen consecutive years of being nominated, Morgana Macawber had finally 'broken the curse' as the headlines were saying and won Best Lead Actress. During his five year stint on the popular daytime drama"The Wise and the Wicked" his character had played the quirky personal assistant to Morgana's corporate mogul...at one point his character had even been chem tested as potential love interest to her estranged daughter… before the writers decided to go in another direction and have a serial killer slash him instead. He knew he had to be there for Morgana, after all he was certain that her character's reaction to his character's death was part of what was on her reel submitted to the voting commission in the first place. Luckily he had a suit pressed and ready to go in the back of his closet… off the rack but still it would get the job done.

Entering the after party, Drake easily blended into the crowd seemingly unnoticed as he nursed a glass of champagne until a female voice broke him out of his spell.

"Drakie you came," the voice of Morgana spoke from behind him causing him to turn around, greeted by an air kiss on his cheeks. Flashing a smile toward the gothic beauty who dazzled in red and was holding her prized statuette like a badge of honor he couldn't help but smile.

"When I heard that you won I just had to come congratulate you in person Morgs."

Flashing him a smile back, Morgana placed her free gloved hand on his shoulder.

"You know I couldn't have done it without you kid."

Drake could sense his cheeks flushing a bit as he shook his head.

"Nonsense, you are a legend."

"Legend makes me sound so...so old."

Drake bit his bill hoping that he hadn't offended the diva however he was relieved when instead she let out a slight chuckle.

"So, what have you been up to in the past four months, any prospects?"

Morgana had been a bit of a mentor to him when he had first joined the daytime community and so he was touched that she cared about his future trajectory.

"Well, I managed to snag a few auditions during pilot season but no dice. I did get a lead to act out a 'dramatization' in the advertisement for some ambulance chaser of a lawyer that I may jump on."

Morgana simply shook her head.

"That's beneath you Drakie and you know it."

Drake simply shook his shoulders.

"It's a job."

She flashed him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sure if I were in your shoes I'd be scooping up whatever I could manage.. but what if I told you I've got a tip on a casting call that could very well change your life."

"I'd say, there is no harm in telling me."

"Well," Morgana said as she began to usher Drake toward a more intimate corner of the room, "Don't say you heard it from be but Alister Boorswan is casting for his new super secret project."

"A Film audition...you really think that I have the chops to be on the silver screen?"

There was a lingering pause making Drake wonder if his former coworker was second guessing herself in even suggesting that he audition for a film, that was until she began to speak once more.

"Don't tell anyone that you heard it from me but he's planning a reboot of that Darkwing Duck show that you're a huge fan of."

Drake began to wordlessly open his mouth as Morgana soon continued to talk.

"Oh, don't deny being a fan of Darkwing, I've seen all the paraphernalia that was in your dressing room, plus myself and others around the set think that you look strikingly similar to a young Jim Starling."

"You really think so!"

"I know so," Morgana said as she gave Drake Alister's card, "At least send him a headshot."

After tossing the idea around in his head, Drake had sent his headshot to Boorswan's people and had instantly landed the role of a lifetime as Darkwing Duck. For a year and a half he had the pleasure of helping bring his childhood hero to life however original actor Jim Starling had other plans. While the film was scraped, fellow Darkwing Duck superfan Launchpad McQuack suggested that instead of him searching for a role to inspire the little guy to why not be Darkwing in REAL LIFE

And that was what had brought him to this moment, at a Duckburg wine bar, trying to enlist the service of Della Duck.

"So, what is this business proposal," Della's voice rang out as she crossed her arms over her chest raising a brow out of curiosity.

"Well, Launchpad said…"

He watched as she held up a hand signaling for him to stop speaking for a moment.

"Launchpad is the mutual friend? NOW I know why you looked so familiar to me! It was YOU, you were the friend of his that he brought on to assist in fighting Lunaris! The one who was taking the art of cosplaying WAY too seriously."

"Well, if Gizmoduck could do it," Drake muttered under his breath as he observed another man slide onto the stool besides Della sliding her a glass of wine.

"If Gizmoduck could do what?" Gyro asked with a raised brow. Drake had done his research and he had known that it had been Doctor Gearloose who had 'created' Gizmoduck.

"Doctor Gearloose, it is an honor no a privilege to meet you, I'm Drake Mallard and…"

"He wants to be Darkwing Duck in real life," Della spoke with a smile before taking a sip of her drink.

"Well...you are aware that Gizmoduck's armor is a highly advanced piece of machinery and Darkwing is a fictional character right?" Gyro clapped back in a deadpan tone before taking his own sip of wine.

There was a sudden and awkward pause in the conversation as Drake soon wondered if he had just made a fool of himself for taking Launchpad's advice in trying to recruit the mechanic however soon the female duck's voice spoke once more.

"I honestly like your passion...so, what did Launchpad want you to ask me about? Does he want me to build you a functional replica of the Thunderquack."

"Actually I was able to salvage one of the vehicle's from the set and LP has assured me that he can get it in working order. But he did tell me that you have a bachelors in mechanical engineering and could be an assist to me when it comes to other forms of tech."

Another moment of silence as he watched the couple look toward one another soon speaking in whispered tones.

"I'm not going to be one of those controlling partners...you were looking for a project...a little bit of friendly competition never hurt…."

He had managed to catch the broken conversation that Gearloose had spoken before finally the couple pulled apart from their close conversation as Della smiled toward him.

"Prove to me that you're the real deal," Della said with her arms crossed over her chest, "I left with the kids before the real action started against the Moonlanders so let me see you in action as Darkwing and then I'll decide if your worth my time and talent or if Launchpad is just wearing his fanboy goggles a bit too tightly."

Drake listened to Della's proposal thinking that it was a reasonable request and one that he would gladly oblige to in fact just the thought of it was giving him a sudden high of serotonin.

"Friday Night…. You, me, Launchpad, stakeout?"

He watched as Della once more looked toward her partner as while he had said he wasn't the controlling type it seemed that just the same she wanted an approval by him to assure that she was doing the right thing. The chicken simply shrugged, taking another sip of his drink before Della soon turned back to him.

"Let's Get Dangerous," she spoke with a smirk before taking his phone and entering her contact information. This was a good sign.