Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Darkwing Duck. They are copyright Disney. The non-D.W. characters such as Neutralduck, Ruddy, and Anatina are my own creations, as is the back-story to the much-debated "Why do Darkwing and Negaduck look exactly alike?" question. This is just a matter of what-ifs and speculations. I had a lot of fun writing this, so...*tries to think of something else to say* enjoy!
The sun had set in St. Canard, and Darkwing Duck was well aware of what may occur. "The Fearsome Five are going to hit the St. Canard Art Museum tonight!"
Launchpad McQuack looked puzzled. "How do you figure?"
"Well, there's something for all of them there." The crimefighter's gaze shifted toward the glass front doors of the museum as he steered the Ratcatcher.
"Yeah...the fountains for Liquidator, the topiary bushes for Bushroot, the lighting for Megavolt, and the antique toys for Quackerjack. Hmm...I think I'm missing someone."
"Negaduck probably just wants to blow the whole place up. Steady, now."
Launchpad looked alarmed. "You're not gonna--" His question was answered as Darkwing drove the Ratcatcher closer to the glass entrance. He closed his eyes, expecting a crash (Not that he wasn't used to them already).
Surprisingly, there was no crash. The heavy glass and steel doors parted to let the motorcycle through. The sidekick breathed a sigh of relief. "I forgot the doors were automatic."
"You doubt me, the dashing and daring do-gooder, gifted with deftness and dexterity? Like I would do something as stupid--"
"As showing up in the first place?" suggested another voice. This one vaguely matched Darkwing's, but with a rougher tone. The speaker turned to his four cohorts. "Don't just stand there, you knobs!"
Megavolt, Bushroot, the Liquidator, and Quackerjack were about to attack when gray smoke filled the room.
Everyone coughed.
The smoke cleared, revealing a duck...who looked exactly like Darkwing and Negaduck, in a blue suit. He flung back his black cape. "I am the ceasefire in the battle of war and peace. I am the compromise between reason and emotion. I am Neutralduck!"
"Who?" asked Launchpad.
Darkwing folded his arms and pouted. "I don't know and I don't care. Nobody upstages Darkwing Duck and gets away with it!"
Negaduck turned to his assistants, but saw nothing. "Cowards."
Neutralduck smirked. "Looks like your comrades have deserted you."
"Hey!" whined Darkwing. "I'm supposed to taunt Neggie-Weggie!"
"DON'T CALL ME NEGGIE-WEGGIE!" Negaduck brandished a blowtorch. "I'll scorch both of you!" '
Neutralduck yawned and pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall. The foam spurted, covering both assailant and weapon.
"Drat!" Negaduck spat out a mouthful of foam. "I need a new blowtorch. And when I do, you're both gonna roast!" He vanished in a puff of red smoke.
Darkwing brushed his hands. "Yep, yep, yep. All in a day's work."
Launchpad agreed. "Thanks, Neutral--" He stopped short and looked around. "Where'd he go?"
"He was here a second ago." Darkwing shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go home."
(537 Avian Way)
"Gosalyn," warned Honker in his usual sinusy voice. "Are you sure you should be looking through your dad's papers?"
Gosalyn peeked through the contents of the filing cabinet. "It's mostly insurance records and other boring stuff."
"May I ask why you're going in there?"
"Remember our homework assignment? We had to find a newspaper at least ten years old and write a report on an article."
"Couldn't you just photocopy one from the library? That's what I did."
"Honk, Honk, Honk. Dad must have something far more exciting in here." Gosalyn tugged out a folder and opened it. It was filled with newspaper clippings. "Paydirt!" She pulled out the first one. "Hey, it's Dad's birth announcement in the St. Canard Chronicle. She scanned it and gasped. "Honk...look!"
Honker read over her shoulder:
"Congratulations
to Ruddy and Anatina Mallard
for the birth of two baby boys,
Drake and Jake
born on this day,
September 7."
"Dad had a twin?" squeaked Gosalyn.
"Had a what?" came Drake's voice.
Gosalyn waved the clipping in her father's face. "This! How come you never told me you had a twin brother?"
"A twin brother?! Don't be absurd!"
"Then explain this!"
Drake snatched the birth announcement, then read it over carefully. "What? How in the world--"
Launchpad joined them. "You didn't know?"
"No. It's just that I've been an only child ever since I can remember. Or so I thought."
Gosalyn frowned. "Dad, maybe you didn't remember Darkwing Duck visiting you, but a twin brother is pretty hard to forget."
"I know!" Drake blinked. "I have one hazy memory. I think I was two or three at the time. I don't know."
"What happened?" asked Honker.
"Well," began Drake. "My parents put me and another duckling in a wading pool. I think the duckling could have been Jake or another unrelated person. This other guy took a bottle of mustard and led a trail of red ants into the pool, and I got bitten. I started to cry, and the other duckling burst into tears as well. Then he staggered back, and a big hole opened in the ground. He fell down the hole, screaming and that's the last thing I remember."
"Red ants...how can someone so little be that cruel?" wondered Gosalyn out loud.
"Dunno," replied Launchpad. "Sounds like something a young Negaduck would have done."
Drake laughed. "You think Negaduck was the kid in the pool?"
"Well, who else could it have been?" asked Gosalyn.
Honker took his laptop computer and plugged it in. He began to rapidly type. "I'm accessing the library's database." He typed "Jake Mallard" into the search engine. A few seconds passed. "Hm...according to this missing children report, Jake Mallard disappeared on his third birthday and was never found."
Drake looked shock. "I had a twin brother, and he disappeared?"
"No follow ups to the report."
"Why didn't my parents ever tell me?"
"Why haven't I met your parents?" demanded Gosalyn. "You refer to them in the present tense, so they must still be alive."
"They both are," answered Drake. "But my mother and father are a little...unorthodox."
"Come on," pleaded Gosalyn. "They can't be any worse than Honker's parents."
"True," agreed Drake.
Honker blushed.
A gleam appeared in Gosalyn's eyes. "A long lost twin brother...that'll get me an A for sure!" She ran toward the telephone book.
Drake ran after her. "Don't you dare call my parents!"
"Why not?"
"Uh...your telephone privileges are curtailed."
"You're gonna have to do better than that."
"Boy, DW," Launchpad commented. "And you haven't even told her about Neutralduck."
"Who's that?" asked Gosalyn.
"No one," replied her father through a clenched bill. "It was probably just a mirage, LP."
"Both of you having the same mirage? That's doubtful," noted Honker.
Drake clutched his forehead. If the kid in the pool was Negaduck, does that mean the hole was some sort of passage to the Negaverse? And if I threw him into oblivion between the universes, is that why he reappeared here in the Normalverse...because it's where he was originally from? And who was the guy in the museum? He felt himself become lightheaded. Swaying for a few minutes, he flopped on the floor.
Gosalyn bent over him. "Dad?"
Honker skimmed his textbook. "Is it possible to lose consciousness from shock?"
Launchpad pinched his friend's cheeks. "Drake! Wake up!"
To be continued