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The rain rumbled through the air, water droplets painting the world as thunder angrily crashed through the sky, causing havoc and mayhem.
Rain rolled off the metal of Gizmoduck’s suit, the sound akin to the marching of an army, striking fear into any villain who heard it. The superhero smirked, “I hope you don’t mind me raining on your parade!”
Dr. Atmosphere shot him an unimpressed look, shoulders slumping in a disappointed manner. “You’ve already used that pun before, Gizmoduck. You’re losing your way.”
Gizmoduck sputtered, pointing at the other accusingly. “Look, there’s only so much word play I can use for fighting a villain on a rainy night, okay?!”
The villain pounced at him with a ray gun in hand, exclaiming, “Well I’d hate to take you by STORM! ”
The other swiftly rolled out of the way, grabbing the doctor by the wrist and slamming them into the wet concrete floor below, while muttering, “Oh, blathering blatherskite… I should’ve thought of that one.”
A punch flew in his direction and directly into his chest, knocking the wind out of him as tremendous amounts of pain started to ring through his body.
Gizmoduck reeled back as he groaned in pain, holding his chest as he heaved. “YEOW-! Ow, ow!” He got back up on his feet- or rather, wheel, and looked down at his reflection through the pools of rainwater in the ground. He’s… never felt that much pain before in the Gizmo Suit, it’s like he fully felt the impact it experienced…
The superhero heard a running start in front of him, watching as another fist connected with his face. He heard a sick cackle permeate through the air as the glass of his visor cracked. “Looks like someone’s head is CLOUDED!”
Gizmoduck grabbed the sides of the criminal on him, his face stinging the most it has ever stung before… besides that one time Fenton practically cracked his skull during dance class. He couldn’t stop feeling the pain for days…
He flung the criminal around, spinning in circles to stop them from clinging onto his armor. “I get it, I get it! You make better puns than me!”
Dr. Atmosphere keeps throwing punch after punch, his visor barely holding up from the impact, grunting in pain with each hit. “Ow! Ouch! Augh! S-Stop!”
He winces as he’s met with a twisted smile, throwing the criminal off his body. He limps as his body feels as if it’s covered in bruises despite his physical body not harboring any severe injuries! It’s like his mind fused with the suit-
“What? Can’t take a couple hits, Gizmoduck? I thought you were the hero of Duckburg! HAHA! I’ll blow you away!”
Gizmoduck snarled, holding his arms up in a defensive stance as he yelled, charging toward them. “Not if I do FIRST!”
…
…
The door is kicked open with a slam as an ecstatic duck jumped out, punching the air in excitement.
“Just LOOK who was able to Dewey it!”
Louie turned his head over from the couch in mild interest, his phone limping from his grasp for a moment.
“Whaddya do?”
Dewey ran over and waved a colorful piece of paper in front of his sibling, his tail wagging as he bobbed in place.
“DJ Daft Duck is back on board, baby! I’m being paid 200 by the hour!”
The youngest sibling’s eyes widened in interest at the first mention of money, mouth hanging open as he subconsciously took a photo of the invitation with his phone.
“Aha! Really?! See, this is why you listen to McDuck’s future heir.” He grins as he motions to himself, Dewey rolling his eyes in response.
“Yeah, yeah, I “monetized” DJ Daft Duck like you said, but not only that, I go to the bestest surprise dance party in all of Duckburg!”
“Aw, what?! How come the rest of us weren’t invited?” Louie pouted, leaning to get a closer look of Dewey’s invitation.
“It’s for only the coolest cats in town, and I’m the DJ! So thanks, Louie!”
The other duckling crossed his arms, pulling out one in a grabber motion. “I need some compensation since I was the one that pitched the idea to put yourself out there! An invitation of my own? 50% cut of your profits?”
Dewey reeled back, shaking his head. “What?! 50? No way!”
Louie waved his arms in front of him, the other keeping the piece of paper out of reach. The older sibling groaned, “What would you even do at a party anyways? You barely do anything!”
The youngest shot him an offended look, giving up his attempts to take the invitation for himself. “It’s free food and entertainment! Plus, if it’s really the “bestest” party like you claim it is, there’ll be some big names there!”
Dewey gave him a blank look, “Lemmie guess, you’re gonna stuff most of the snacks there into your pockets for later.”
The other pointed at him accusingly, “Heeeey, predicting what happens is my thing.”
…
“Yeah.”
The middle triplet face palms, tone sounding exhausted. “Geez, you really are becoming like Uncle Scrooge, huh?”
“Look, they might just have cherry Pep there, and as you know, it’s a PRIVILEGE nowadays!”
The older sibling shakes his head, marching away with his invitation. “Well, I’ve got places to be! I’ll see you back at home!” The blue one chuckles to himself as all Louie could do was shrug, looking back down at his phone as gears turned in his head. There was no use in getting worked up when he could attend… in other ways.
He perks up when he hears a distant “DJ Daft Duck back in the house!” as he rolls his eyes, starting to make his way back to his bedroom to devise a scheme…
He pulled down a pinboard jammed in between his bed frame, already pulling photos and threads out of his pockets to devise a plan. As he stuck pin after pin on the corkboard he was starting to notice a flaw, a missing piece of the scheme… he needed something, or someone, an accomplice, this wasn’t an operation he could perform by just cheap tricks and bribery alone.
“There’s just one more gap I need to fill. I’ll need-”
“B.O.Y.D! This is my brother’s and I’s bedroom!” The eldest sibling waved his arms about to present the less than pristine bedroom to that robot- ah… B.O.Y.D.
Louie scrambled, shoving the pinboard onto his bed and throwing a blanket over its surface.
Huey raises a brow before shooting a smile over at the definitely real boy.
“You’ve met Louie before, haven’t you?” He slides over to the green sibling, a slide whistle sound effect accompanying the action. He elbows his side and he whispers. “Say ‘hi.’”
“I have basic manners, dude.” Huey raised a brow again at him, clearly doubting his statement.
“Hey, I’m Louie. Think I’ve seen ya around before- at…” He gags a little as he says that name. “...Doofus Drake’s birthday party…”
The robot boy tilts his head in confusion, the gears literally turning in his head before a metaphorical light bulb appears on his head. “Oh! I think I- bzzt! Rememb- remember that-!”
Huey glanced over at the grey bird in concern, watching as red sparks flew from his head for a moment. Before he could reach out and say something, surprisingly Louie stepped forward.
“Woah, woah, woah, hey! If this is about the whole existential crisis thing I gave you, sorry about all of that.” He stepped close, debating reaching out before keeping his hands firmly planted in his hoodie pocket.
“T-The WHAT?” The eldest looked on in confusion, opening his mouth to demand an explanation before B.O.Y.D himself spoke up.
“No, no, no, it’s okay! All… water under the pool- I mean- bridge. Yeah!”
Louie grit his teeth a little, mind wandering back to when he watched B.O.Y.D’s eyes melt out of his eyes as he fell into the pool water. Pool water that Doofus Drake was in no less. Gross. And messed up too. Actually that sounded crazily messed up now that he thought about it. He was a robot, sure, but he looked like an actual kid.
“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot here, that was a terrible party. How about you and I go to a real party, a surprise dance party even!”
B.O.Y.D’s eyes sparkled, and it wasn’t just because of the metal. Go to a surprise dance party…? That sounded like so much fun! Something a real boy like him would love to do! “...Really? A real party?”
“A really real party! I’ll need you to come with me.” The youngest holds out his hand for the other to take, looking nonchalant as usual.
Huey looked over at the two, his expression skeptical as he could recognise Louie’s tone. This was for a scheme wasn’t it? A con! While he would jump in the middle and stop whatever deception and buffoonery was about to take place… B.O.Y.D really needed friends outside of Huey himself, he needed to put himself out there! Not all cooped up in a lab, or at Junior Woodchuck meetings where the two would be in their own corner away from the kids that made fun of them.
“Yeah, I think you should go, B.O.Y.D! It’ll be a great learning experience for you.”
The robot boy looked over at Huey, smiling as he took Louie’s hand. “Yeah!”
The eldest sibling dug through the chest in their room, looking for supplies, “I’ll handle the Junior Woodchuck stuff from here, you two have fun!”
Louie tugged the robot boy over, nodding his head. “Yeah, c’mon. Listen to Huey, we gotta get going!”
“Okay!”
…
…
Lights on the stage fired up, the crowd watching with curiosity as the stage remained empty.
Two little webbed feet stepped closer from backstage, a familiar light brown duck looked on at the wooden floors in front of him nervously, beads of sweat rolling down his face.
He wore a warm purple leotard, primed for the stage, but something was holding him back, he could feel the eyes on him, the stares of the audience beyond.
His shoulders were squeezed from behind, he whipped his head over only to realise it was his mother massaging his shoulders gently in an attempt to comfort him.
“You’ll do great, pollito.”
He shivers, shaking his head to snap out whatever fearful funk he’s in. He’s got to do this, he’s got to prove his greatness to the ones beyond! (His class’ parents and teachers)
Footsteps pittered onto the stage as he felt the light above him shine onto his head, the gleam bouncing off his clothes as he took a deep breath.
He tried to study the audience’s expressions, trying to gauge what their expectations were, their interest… Augh-! He didn’t like thinking about what they thought, but as long as they could see him, there was no way he’d have the confidence to perform on stage!
…Wait, that’s it!
Fenton closed his eyes, the sensation of the crowd’s piercing gaze slowly fading as he felt himself regress into his own mind. Now wasn’t the time to study! Now was the time to work on instincts so-
Wake up, Fenton!
…
“Cabrera, wake up!”
Fenton’s eyes snapped open at the sound of his boss’- ah, his former boss' voice. To be honest he wasn’t sure what to call him now, he’d been so into being his ‘intern’ that being on an equal level almost felt alien, he loved it of course! He couldn’t describe the amount of joy he felt bloom in his chest as his former boss promoted him, tears strolling down his face, cheeks warm to the touch. It made him giddy thinking about it again-
“Hello? Earth to Dr. intern!” The chicken snapped his fingers in front of him, Fenton only now processed the situation he was in. Then it hit him- the pain, the agony, the sting from the battle he had only a few moments ago, hitting him all at once after those fond memories faded away.
“AUUGH!” Fenton, still in the Gizmo Suit- Right, he was still Gizmoduck now, writhed on the floor in pain as it felt like every bone in his body was broken, despite knowing deep down they weren’t. The suit was too secure for Fenton’s body to experience any severe injuries unless penetrated by something incredibly strong.
Gyro reached out in concern, hand resting on the duck’s shoulder. He winced at the touch, drawing back as his eyes darted around the room, his vision half purple from the broken Gizmoduck visor.
“Wh…What happened?” Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera groaned, his body feeling weak and heavy inside of the suit.
“Well, I don’t know the full extent of your damage, but I was tidying up the lab because it had seemed I had misplaced my clone spray, until I heard the doors open and saw Gizmoduck flop and slam into the floor. Creating a big disruption.” He placed a hand on his hip, it almost felt like he was scolding him again.
“Whoops…” Cabrera pushed himself up from the floor, his whole body aching as he shrugged.
He felt hands near him, Gyro’s palms on either side of his head as he pulled off his helmet, the gesture almost oddly gentle. “You won’t be needing this anymore, Cabrera.”
Fenton tilted his head as he noticed the odd emphasis on his name, it didn’t bother him, in fact he liked it! Just the way Gyr- his… coworker spoke about him caught his attention. The way he referred Gizmoduck, the way he referred to him: Cabrera .
He holds his head, suddenly remembering what had gone down. “Ah! I remember now, yeah, I came here because there was a malfunction with the Gizmo Suit!”
Dr. Gearloose set Gizmoduck’s helmet aside, rolling his eyes. “What is it this time? Wrong pie flavor again? I swear I had restocked all of the lemon meringue-”
“No, no. Something serious. Whatever’s going on, I’m starting to feel so much more pain while I’m in the Gizmo Suit.”
The chicken raised a brow, “Shouldn’t this be expected? Gizmoduck gets thrown around often, does he not?”
Fenton shook his head, carefully treading toward an operating table. “This is different, I was in a tussle with Dr. Atmosphere-”
“Ugh, they never give up do they?”
“I know right! They had the nerve to tell me I was running out of quips!” He pushed himself up on the table, gently laying himself down to avoid pain.
“Well, there’s only so many things you can say fighting a villain on a rainy day.” The other scientist walked over to the table, tugging at a box of tools under the desk.
“That’s what I’m saying! Ow-!” Fenton yelped as the other jabbed him with a screwdriver.
“Maybe I should implement some weather changing capabilities into the suit next…”
Fenton squirms, his legs inside the suit kicking desperately. “Ah-! Be gentle, Dr. Gearloose!”
The chicken gave him an annoyed look, “It wasn’t even that hard of a jab!”
The other pouted, “I know, but in this state the suit is hypersensitive- and by extension I am as well-” He muttered the last part, coaxing a confused head tilt from the other.
Gearloose sighed, leaning in closer to the duck. “Alright, I suppose we’ll have to take a different approach.”
He dropped the screwdriver on the table, resorting to poking the suit in various places with his finger, trying to gauge if maybe Fenton’s reactions would lead him to the right place.
“Yeow-! Ouch! Ah! Hey-! T-That still- Ow! Hurts, you know?”
Gyro almost tunes out his pleas, groaning in vexation. “Well, what do you want me to do, huh? You’ll just have to tough it out until I find the root of the issue.”
“Look, look, look, how about this-” He spoke in an exasperated tone, taking Gyro’s hand in his, feeling just how small it was in comparison to Gizmoduck’s palm, so small and soft.
“How about I guide you…?”
The other blinked at him, looking almost bewildered. “How would you know what to do? All you’ve been doing is groaning while I try to operate!”
“Just trust me, if we can get anywhere it’s probably through the sensations in the suit, ones that only I can feel.” His grip loosened on the chicken’s hand, expression softening.
“You’re free to call me an idiot if it doesn’t work.” He mumbled under his breath, the whisper catching the attention of the other.
“Fiiine.”
The suit's hand holds onto the other’s wrist gently, guiding it toward the emblem on his chest. He groans a little in pain, giving Gyro a reassuring thumbs up.
“This is ridiculous.”
Fenton nervously chuckled, shrugging. “Well, it’s a necessary evil. If this keeps going on, I won’t be the swift, graceful dancer I used to be!”
Dr. Gearloose huffed, yet looking down at Gizmoduck’s body with unwavering focus. “I doubt you were a ‘swift and graceful dancer.’ ”
“Of course I was! I took classes- ah! Ow! Okay, we’re moving away from there.” The duck winced as he let Gyro’s hand travel down, now resting on the suit’s stomach.
“Really? You don’t seem like the type to like dancing.”
The other chuckled, “Oh, that’s because I wasn’t, but M’ma said I had a hidden talent! So she enrolled me in classes as a little duckling, about B.O.Y.D’s age. It seemed like other people in those classes agreed with her too.”
Gyro listened, his fingers gently brushing across the metal of the suit to prevent those annoying pained cries from earlier. He paid attention to Fenton’s voice, trying to gauge if he could find the panel causing the issue through his tone.
“Huh, I see. I guess Gizmoduck had to get those ‘swift’ reflexes from somewhere.”
Cabrera hummed, his voice wavering a little at the sensation, “I-I suppose. I’d love to show off but I have an itty bitty bit of performance anxiety. Everybody staring made me wanna go back into my crackshell , haha!”
“Ha. Ha.” Gyro let out a less than enthused laugh before resting his hand on Gizmoduck’s hip, causing the suit to jerk forward.
“ACK! It’s HOT! Right there, right there!” Fenton yelled as the chicken was taken aback, quickly grabbing a screwdriver and prying the panel open, flying out to reveal…
“A… bug.” Dr. Gearloose mutters in confusion, as he watches the little mechanical insect chew at Gizmoduck’s wiring, secreting an odd blue substance into the suit.
“ This must be what’s giving me jitters!” Cabrera exclaims as he pulls the little critter off of him safely with the Gizmo Suit’s glove.
“Now where could that have come from?” The other scientist’s question was soon answered by an annoyed grown from Cabrera, something that he wasn’t so used to.
Fenton speaks sternly, his voice full of venom, his expression uncharacteristically peeved. He shows off the underside of the bug to Gyro, the Waddle logo plastered less than gracefully on the critter.
“I think I know where.”
…
…
“Here, B.O.Y.D. Do me a favor and recreate the party invitation from this photo.” Louie holds up his phone to the other, looking at him expectantly. The last time he had to forge an invitation like this he would ask Huey but he didn’t want to be involved in whatever scheme Louie had in mind nowadays.
The robot boy perks up, clearing his throat. “Oh, I can do that!”
His head whirrs as a piece of paper starts printing out of his beak, spitting out a colourful retro invitation identical to the one he was shown.
“Haha! Awesome! Hey, maybe I should keep you around full time.” The youngest points a finger gun at him, the definitely real boy looking on in slight discomfort.
Louie grabs his hand, not noticing the look on his face as he trekked onwards, “Alright, c’mon! We gotta get dressed now!”
B.O.Y.D shook his head as subtle sparks flew from his joints. This was supposed to be a fun day, with a friend of Huey no less! He couldn’t let that get in the way of a fun day. He looked over at the youngest sibling, not even noticing that he already let go of his hand and was rifling through a closet.
Louie pulls out two identical black suits with a green and red undershirt respectively. He hands the red one to B.O.Y.D as he walks out to finagle his own one on.
“Here, try that one, it’s one of Huey’s. He wouldn’t mind lending it over to a friend, right?”
The robot boy smiles, “Yeah, of course! Junior Woodchuck Guidebook rule number 25! Sharing is caring!”
The younger sibling chuckles, rolling his eyes as he speaks in an oddly fond tone. “Man, you really are his friend, huh? Well, I’m gonna go change out there, and you can do your thing in here. Tell me when you’re done so we can get the party started.”
Louie closes the closet B.O.Y.D is in to give each other both privacy as the robot boy looks down at the suit in his hands, his internals warming up as he thought about what Louie said.
You really are his friend, huh?
It made him feel good, happy, real. He’s never felt more real in his life.
…
Louie straightens out his suit as he hears a knock on the closet, B.O.Y.D’s voice muffled on the other side. “I’m done!”
The youngest opens the door of the closet, seeing the robot boy in the nice black suit, his red bowtie still remaining as he waved at Louie. Now that he thought about it both him and Gyro had similar bows, like father like son I suppose.
“This suit is really fancy! Is this a fancy party?” The automation questioned, looking at Louie curiously.
“Eh, I don’t really care about the aesthetics, it’s all about the practicality.” He shimmies in his suit a little, “You feel that?”
B.O.Y.D mimics his movement, feeling the inside of the suit rub against his faux feathers. “Plastic lining? Wouldn’t that cause rashes?”
Louie nonchalantly scratches his chest, showing off the pockets on the inside. “You get used to it after a while, plus, you can fit extra snacks and dip in here.”
The other tilts his head, “So… we’re stealing…?”
The green sibling waves him off, scoffing. “Pfft, what? No… we’re just taking leftovers to eat later! You can even give some to Huey, eh? Y’know…”
He clears his throat, putting on a more nasally voice. “Junior Woodchuck Guidebook rule number uh- whatever you said: sharing is caring!”
The robot boy lets out a small chuckle, Louie was unnaturally good at mimicking Huey’s voice, maybe that was an ability all siblings had.
Louie walks off, approaching the front door. “Now c’mon, I’ve booked us a ride.”
The two amble their way toward Launchpad’s car, the bigger duck popping his head out the window to wave.
“Get in, guys!” He exclaimed as the two hopped in the vehicle.
They glanced around, observing the random assortment of boxes and oddly purple decor. The robot boy spoke up, “What’s all this for?”
Launchpad elbows another duck in the front seat, chuckling to himself. “Oh, me and DW found some crazy Darkwing Duck merch at an auction, and we totally snagged it!”
The youngest sibling raised a brow, “You spent Uncle Scrooge’s money, didn’t you?”
Drake bites his lip, head slowly turning toward Launchpad with a creak. “What?! That’s not what you said to me!”
The bigger duck laughs nervously, pulling on his collar. “Well…”
“LAUNCHPAD!” A Scottish sounding yell ripped through the manor, unmistakingly belonging to Scrooge McDuck himself.
Launchpad slammed a foot on the acceleration, the car spinning uncontrollably before driving toward the city. “Looks like it’s time to go!”
…
Launchpad turned his head to look back at the kids, B.O.Y.D wearing his seatbelt while Louie was just sitting there careless. “We’re almost there, guys!”
Drake jumped, grabbing the wheel from the bigger duck, “Eyes on the road, you big beautiful oaf!”
The car swerved, tracks dirtying the road as the two kids were waved back and forth in the car seats. Louie fell forward right as B.O.Y.D reached out to grab him just before he could make contact with the seat in front of him.
“Oh, sorry guys! Good catch, DW! What was it you said?” Launchpad yelled out an apology before looking at Drake through the mirror, leaving the road in his peripherals.
“Pfft- it was nothing.” Darkwing Duck crossed his arms, looking on at the road in front of him in case he needed to warn Launchpad of any danger.
The robot boy turns toward Louie, straightening him up. “You should start wearing a seatbelt, Louie. Junior Woodchuck rule number 84: Safety doesn’t happen on accident.”
Louie groans in annoyance, “What does that even mean…?”
Launchpad’s voice interrupted Louie’s inquiry as the car was slowing down. “Don’t be sad, Dewey’s brother! We juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-”
Launchpad keeps holding the syllable while the car drives slowly toward a parking space. He accidentally drives over the lines and tries to get closer and closer into the lot. His face starts hue shifting blue as he painstakingly takes his time to back into the parking spot.
“-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuust got here!”
B.O.Y.D smiles, watching Louie make it out of the vehicle as the both of them let out a “Thanks Launchpad!”
The bigger duck waves at them teary eyed, “Have a great day at school, k-kids…!”
Drake looks at him befuddled, “They’re going to a party… at night.”
Launchpad blows his nose, using a Darkwing Duck branded tissue box in the car. “I know right…? They’re growing up so fast.”
Drake rolls his eyes, shooting him a fond look. “At least you didn’t crash this time.”
…
The two boys approached the entrance of the building, locking eyes with the bouncer as they pulled out their invitations. To be honest Louie was getting major deja vu from all this, let’s just hope it goes better than the ‘Louie’s 11’ scheme…
A good sign however was that the bouncer wasn’t that falcon from the last party (and supposedly associated with Mark Beaks somehow? He wasn’t really there for those ventures.) Instead it was just some ol’ regular mallard he’d seen around town before, weren’t bouncer’s supposed to look scary or something? This guy looked like a wimp.
The bouncer looked over the invitations and gave a silent nod, motioning for the two to come in.
“Heck yeah!” Louie celebrated, running in as B.O.Y.D followed suit, looking back briefly as he heard the sounds of tires screeching and an explosion outside. Most likely nothing crazy.
As the two stepped in the party venue, B.O.Y.D’s eyes lit up, amazed by the brilliant multicolored lights and the garish but exciting music echoing around the room. He looked down to see a bunch of people dancing, their outfits a lot more casual than the ones he and Louie were wearing. It shouldn’t matter though, fashion doesn’t define fun! It even had a magician pulling out an infinite amount of napkins, how fascinating!
“C’mon, let’s go check out the snacks they got!” He runs over to the snack tables, B.O.Y.D lagging behind as he ogles the food for the taking. It was just standard party food, nothing overly fancy like that stuff at Glomgold’s meeting or whatever it was, Louie didn’t really care to remember, he only remembered the romantic mush between his Uncle and (possible Aunt) Goldie. Exactly what Louie was looking for!
He opens up his suit, wiggling his fingers over the snacks he can find until he spots a bowl of fruit punch and some other drinks around.
B.O.Y.D focuses on a little cupcake on the table, looking left and right as he’s tempted to take a bite. “Uhh… Louie? Is it alright to take these?”
Louie looks over at him as he’s in the middle of stuffing all the cans of Pep he can find into his pockets, nodding his head. “Yeah of course! It’s a party!”
B.O.Y.D takes the little pastry in his hand, carefully taking a bite. He chews, smiling as he feels the taste through his robotic taste buds.
“Hey, B.O.Y.D. There’s some fruit punch here if you want any.” He perks up as his name is called, walking toward Louie, inspecting the bowl.
“Ah… I don’t really like drinks, if that’s okay.” He chuckles nervously, the other just giving him a shrug.
“More for me then- aw, wait! Dude, is this lemon fruit punch? Who even does that!?” He sticks out his tongue, pouring his cup into the bowl.
“Do you not like lemons?” The robot boy tilted his head in curiosity.
Louie gives him a thumbs down in response, shaking his head. “I’ve had enough lemons after the harpy incident…”
He looks over at the stage in the venue, seeing a familiar face there… or well- lack of face. “Hey, c’mon, let’s find Dewey. I gotta rub in his face that I was able to be invited!”
…
…
The wind blew against Gyro’s face, jostling his hair as Gizmoduck flew him across the skies. The chicken sat on top of him.
“How close are we?” Dr. Gearloose inquired.
Gizmoduck blinked, UI appearing over his vision as a proximity meter tracked Mark Beaks’ location. “Close, it seems. It looks like he’s not at his Headquarters tonight, good, I never want to step foot in there again. Or… would it be step wheel?” He tapped his chin while the two were still in the air, his voice in his usual ‘Gizmoduck’ cadence.
The other scientist shook his head in disapproval, sighing. “That one was your own fault, you should know better than to associate with that excuse of an ‘ inventor’ .” He did a little air quotes motion when he mentioned his job, just talking about him left a bad taste on his tongue, knowing Fenton chose Beaks over himself made it taste even worse.
“Look, Fenton learned his lesson! He was under the impression that-”
“You don’t have to say it like that, I know you’re my (former) intern.” He crossed his arms, speaking sternly.
Gizmoduck’s voice doesn’t falter, clearing his throat. “I know that! Just what if someone hears my real voice while I’m in the suit?!”
“We’re in the middle of the sky! You are not Gizmoduck in this moment, it’s just the two of us. I am speaking to you as Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera.”
He had to admit, Fenton shivered a little at those words. It was odd being called his ‘doctor’ name, even more odd hearing it from Gyro Gearloose of all people.
Before he very quickly got on the scientist’s bad side, Gyro would snap at him, blow up, figuratively and literally. Now, however… it felt as if he had a little more… respect for him. Even if it felt like he was still scolding him at the moment. It felt like there was more genuine intent under that scowl.
Gizmoduck opened his mouth to reply before being interrupted by a notification in the middle of his vision. “Ah! We’re here! Just gotta go down!”
Gyro groaned, “I have to give him a piece of my mind…”
…
…
DJ Daft Duck presses several random keys on his keyboard, banging his head to the music as the people around him dance in an unnaturally enthusiastic manner. He couldn’t be that good of a DJ, right?
Louie trotted over to him, a smug grin on his face. “Well lookie here, Dewey! Or should I say… DJ Daft Duck? I managed to get in without your help! How’s that?”
DJ Daft Duck looks at him blankly, pressing a single key on the keyboard, letting out a confused: “WHAT?” Sound effect.
The youngest sibling looks at him with an unenthused look, not feeling the gratification he thought he would feel. “Y’know, I snuck in anyways?”
The screen on Daft Duck’s head remained empty, almost a lifeless stare behind whatever that helmet was.
Louie’s posture fell, sighing disappointedly. “You got your head stuck in the helmet again, didn’t you?”
The DJ clicked another key on the keyboard playing a simple: “GET OUT!”
B.O.Y.D tilted his head in confusion, patting Louie’s sleeve for a moment. He opens his beak to say something before getting cut off by the youngest sibling.
“Aw man, now I can’t even get an authentic reaction-”
“GET OUT!”
“At least I know it still annoyed-”
“GET OUT!”
“Dew-”
“GET OUT!”
“GET OUT!”
“Alright! Alright! I get it! Maybe I shouldn’t have come to this stupid party anyways.”
DJ Daft Duck continuously presses the same key, speeding up, sound effects playing over each other obnoxiously.
“Could you stop that?!”
All sound effects halted to a stop as the DJ looked down. Louie reaches out to his brother before he watches him suddenly jerk forward, breaking into some weird dance.
The robot boy looked on at the bizarre sight, his mechanical brain failing to process whatever was unfolding. “Is that… normal?”
Louie shrugged, giving the robot boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Eh, it’s just a Dewey thing, he does weird stuff like this all the time.”
Formerly Dewey starts walking down the dance floor, jittering and waving his arms about before performing a little jig in the middle.
The younger sibling looked on, unbothered by the sudden display of dance. “See? Classic Dewey. If his helmet was off he’d probably be like-” He clears his throat, opening his beak only for Dewey’s voice to come out of his mouth. “You think you can Dewey it like me? Oh boy, I challenge you to a dance battle!”
Louie’s voice returns to its usual cadence, gesturing to himself. “-then he’d do a little dance and point at us as if he were trying to initiate a duel.” As he finishes his explanation he gestures to Dewey, doing exactly as he explained just a few feet away from him.
B.O.Y.D blinks, eyes shining in astonishment. “You really know your brothers…”
The green one smiles, chuckling in response. “Oh yeah, it’s like this superpower you get when you have a really close family.”
The robot boy looks down at his hands, blinking inquisitively as he notices little nicks and notches under his feathers, the metal underneath that shell that screams ‘I’m a definitely real boy.’
Louie notices the automation’s thoughtful expression, it was the same look Huey made when he was too deep in thought, overthinking each and every action. Huey always looked too into the situation, so much so that it scared him, stopping him from trying out new things, but his smarts pulled through, when he knew something, he knew something. On the other hand Dewey was reckless, jumping into every situation with a stupid grin on his face. He had such a high level of confidence it practically overshadowed Louie’s greedy charms, even when he was afraid, he just kept going.
Then there was Louie, moreso in the middle of the two of them, despite being the ‘youngest’ sibling technically. Despite being the ‘evil’ nephew socially. He wasn’t crazily smart, and he wasn’t crazily confident either. Sometimes there would just be these feelings of inadequacy , what’s the point of being kind of good when there’s other people who are the best at what they do? Then he remembered, he always remembered what Scrooge said to him. Louie had the ability to see from every angle, his schemes were elaborate, and they led the other two to success, he had a kind of perception the others didn’t, he used that alright smarts and alright confidence and combined them into something he was the best at.
Louie looked up at B.O.Y.D taking in his blank stare, he had to do something to snap him out of that unwavering trance.
He patted the robot boy on the back, a bit harder than intended but it got his attention. “Hey, how about you go take up that duel Dewey is challenging me to? I’m not the best dancer, but you seem to be pretty good at everything you do.”
The robot boy turns his head in surprise, blinking rapidly. “I’ve never danced before.”
Louie laughed, shooting the robot boy a more confident glance. “So what? Dancing is all about having fun, and having fun is something real boys do!”
B.O.Y.D’s expression brightens up, nodding firmly. “You’re right!”
…
…
The CEO of Waddle bounces and dances as he listens to his ear piercing techno music through his headphones, so loud that you could hear them from the outside. He grooved in the town hall, looking incredibly suspicious.
Behind him in the distance Gizmoduck and Gyro land, the superhero holding the other bridal style as he helps him down.
Gizmoduck points at Beaks accusingly, putting on his superhero voice for real this time. “You there! I believe you have some explaining to do!”
The hero’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the parrot just kept continuously cutting the rug. Gyro looked at him unimpressed, how was this one of Gizmoduck’s biggest enemies?
Gizmoduck clears his throat, putting on a more polite tone. “Hate to bother you, but not really- I need your attention for just a few moments-”
A zap is heard as Gyro points his laser gun at Beaks, the projectile zapping his headphones, causing crackles of electric bolts to erupt from the device.
The parrot stills, slowly turning toward the two, his body making a sickening creak noise as he stared at the scientists. “Who. Did that.”
Gyro blinks before pointing at Gizmoduck with zero hesitation, the latter exasperatedly waves his hands around before pointing at the CEO once again. “You there! I believe you have some explaining to do!”
Mark smirks, resting his hands on his hips. “Explain what? How I’m totally more awesome and smart and hot and beautiful than you? Why thank you, guapo, I’m flattered- ”
Gizmoduck grits his teeth, steam huffing out of his suit. “Do not call me that! You know why we’re here.”
Dr. Gearloose’s expression sours at those words as he cocks his laser gun, pointing it right at Mark’s forehead.
The CEO laughs to himself, stepping closer toward the superhero. “I don’t suppose you found a little bug in your system, haha! And somehow you knew it led back to me, huh? You just can’t get away from me, right, Gizmoduck?”
The hero sputters, feeling himself boiling over, Fenton can’t recall a time where he’s ever gotten so incredibly mad. “It had YOUR logo on it!”
Mark places a hand on his chest proudly, “Of course! An incredibly important guy like me has got to leave his ‘ mark!’ What’s the point of making something if you can’t flex it to everyone? That’s what you do, right?”
“Far from it! Fenton hides from the attention! I’m not that- scientist , I’m GIZMODUCK! Duckburg’s hero right at this moment!”
The other scientist’s expression falters as the laser gun shakes in his grasp, eyes trained on Beaks. “I-I’ll have you know I’m the one who created the s-suit! Not Dr. Intern!”
A gray hand is placed on Gizmoduck’s chest, his palm brushing over the Gizmoduck logo. “Well, I don’t see your name on it. Y’know, I think this suit would look even better with a big ol’ blue ‘W’ in the middle, don’t you think?”
Gizmoduck just freezes, staring at the hand on his chest, time around him completely slowing down as the anger from before vented out and was replaced by fear. He’s felt this before, that very hand on his chest, it reminded of when he had gotten completely taken over, that sickening emblem on his chest that prevented him from saving those people- locking his limbs into place, helpless on the floor. He couldn’t take it, the thought of being just a bystander when he could do something. The increased sensitivity in the suit made the sensation feel painful, he couldn’t bring himself to slap him out of the way-
Mark’s twisted smirk grows, his voice low and gravely. “There’s no point in claiming Gizmoduck now… because he will be mine. ”
“Get AWAY from him!”
ZAP!
Gyro pulled the trigger on the laser gun, hitting Mark directly, electric volts shooting through him as he poofs into clouds.
VOOM!
…
The two of them look at the empty space in complete shock, seeing as the CEO was just… gone. Obliterated. By Gyro’s hand.
“Did- did you just kill Mark Beaks-” The hero asked in shock, shaking from whatever had just gone down.
“A-About time…!”
“GEARLOOSE!” Fenton shrieked out, his real voice leaking through for a moment. He doesn’t kill the villains he fights- he’s never seen anyone just vanish in front of his eyes before- he had blood on his hands now!
“Don’t hand me over to the authorities, okay?! This gun was only made to immobilise its victims for just a few moments- I don’t know why he…”
“...Wait.” Gyro’s expression fell as he came to a realization.
“W-What is it, doctor?” Gizmoduck stammered out, trying to keep his composure.
“Completely imploding into nothing once the body is hurt… that’s a property of a-”
“Clone.” Mark stepped out in front of them, that sickening smirk from before still on his face as he holds Gyro’s elusive clone spray in his hand.
Before the rightful creator could get a word in, the parrot held the invention up to show off to the others. “Here, check this out!”
He sprays the bottle multiple times around him, multiple clones of the Waddle CEO himself rising into existence as each creation was accompanied with a ‘pew pew!’
The chicken grit his teeth as he saw those atrocious clones, a complete mockery of a device he had rightfully made himself!
“You-! That’s MY clone spray! That’s why I couldn’t find it this morning- do you have ANY idea what you’re doing with that and the psychological damage that comes with having clones of yourself?!”
The parrot wagged his finger at him, an army of 20 clones behind him. “No, no, no, again. I don’t see a ‘Gearloose’ on this bottle.
“I don’t think you get it, Mr. Science guy. No one cares about who made the invention, they only care about the handsome face on the box. Gizmoduck is a prime example.”
Gizmoduck rolls back a small bit at the comment. Now that he thinks about it… Yeah, Gearloose rarely gets recognition for things he makes, does he? He’s always at the forefront, not Gyro, not Fenton… Gizmoduck.
“Where did you even get that spray?! The last time I used it was during the Moonvasion!” Gyro questioned harshly, feeling his fist tighten in vexation.
“Ooooh y’knoooow… I was just snooping outside McDuck Manor, NOT looking for things to steal when I saw this little spray bottle on the ground. I used it on myself and shablam! TWO Beaks!” Mark gestured wildly as he explained himself, Gyro’s eyes widening in realisation.
“That was when we got captured by the Moonlanders- It must’ve fell out of my pocket when I was cuffed!”
Beaks tilted his head in confusion, shrugging. “Yeah sure, whatever. Well, I can do BETTER with these clones, like getting rid of you guys and getting ME the Gizmo Suit!”
Said Gizmoduck groans in annoyance, burying his face in his hands. “Just give it up already, stop being so obsessed with me!”
A few Mark Beaks clones start barrelling toward Gizmoduck, arms out ready to pounce on him.
The superhero’s chest opens up to reveal a rocket to counter the attack, the rocket shooting out to eliminate a few clones. As an explosion appeared in front of the two of them only more clones seemed to come out of the backdraft, leaping onto Gizmoduck’s armor, wrestling him like a couple of animals.
“Woah, woah, WOAH! Get away from me!” Gizmoduck spins around in an attempt to shake the clones off like a dog. Hands erupt from his back, pulling off each clone like a hungry tick, trying to leech off of the suit. The suit contained everything Beaks wanted, pride, fame, a totally sick robot body with a HUGE chest. If he got a hold of it, the whole world would be at his feet, he just had to leech off that puny little duck hogging the spotlight!
Gyro takes a step back, shooting his gun over at the approaching clones in an attempt to alleviate the load for his lab partner, but no matter how many times he shoots they only seem to come back in high numbers.
“Oh, c’mon… that spray has to be reloaded eventually!”
The scientist perks up as he hears pained cries coming from Fenton’s direction.
“No BITING! Get- OFF!” The suit spins around rapidly, Mark Beaks clones flying off and poofing away once hitting the ground.
“Ugh, we forgot to reverse the bugs that were installed onto you! The suit is still sensitive!” Gyro groans, embarrassed that he made such an oversight . Of course, they recklessly threw themselves into danger, of course he would do that with Gizmoduck.
Gizmoduck continuously punched through the endless stream of Beaks clones, praying in his head that it would all end soon. The last thing he needed to see was that man’s face- that man’s face over 100 times.
“Oh wooow… I expected better from you, my Gizmoduck.” He chuckled to himself, reaching into his pocket. “Here, catch!”
He swiftly chucks over a mysterious bottle full of a bright yellow substance at the superhero. Gizmoduck looks up, unable to brace for impact due to the clones starting to overwhelm him.
“INTERN!”
Gyro dives in the way, holding his arms up to cover as much of Gizmoduck as he can with his admittedly thin body.
The bottle lodges itself right into Gyro’s beak, the scientist having no choice but to gulp the entire thing up. Gizmoduck and the clones watch in horror and slight fascination as they hear each gulp, the hero raising his arm up to slap off the clones that are too distracted by the sight.
Once the bottle was completely empty, Dr. Gearloose spat it out onto the floor, the glass shattering as he shivered and gagged. “Ugh… sour…”
He stills, his body suddenly straightening as one arm gets raised up against his will. Out of nowhere his body starts jerking forward, arms waving about as his body just starts…
…Dancing?
“Dr. Gearloose! What’s going on?” Gizmoduck speaks with his voice laced in concern, picking up a Beaks clone by the legs and hitting him against the other clones.
“I don’t know! Whatever I drank must be making my body move against its will!” His body moves mechanically, looking kind of ridiculous in the process.
“A-are you doing the robot-”
Gyro’s face flushes in embarrassment, glancing behind him to see more Beaks clones running over to him. “Now is not the time to debate what dance moves I’m doing-!”
Gizmoduck rolls in and smacks the rest of the Beaks clones away with the clone in his arms, using him like a club.
The real Mark Beaks speaks up in the distance, a smug grin on his face. “C’mon, amigo. Let’s dance! ”
…
…
DJ Daft Duck starts breaking it down on the dance floor, moving side to side, his moves still reminiscent of Dewey’s usual groove. The crowd cheers the little boy on, seeming to join along with him in the background, or were they always dancing?
B.O.Y.D looks at him nervously, analysing his movements as the music around him feels as if it’s blurring together, getting louder and louder.
He shakes his head, looking over at Louie for support. Seeing him give a thumbs up as he taps away at his phone.
The robot boy’s eyes scan over the DJ’s form, blue beams raking over him before they retract into the automation’s eyes. He shoots him a confused look at the results for the scan before his head lets out a few beeps and boops. His body suddenly starts to move too, his movements in sync with Dewey.
An exclamation mark appears over DJ Daft Duck’s visor, noticing the other boy’s mimicry.
The robot hears a distant ‘boo!’ in the background as he whipped his head around, seeing as the audience was frowning, mean looks all around. He scanned their faces, analysing judgement, disappointment. What did he do wrong?
“You’re just copying the other kid!”
The audience yells out, suddenly all of the sounds just feel overwhelming, too many variables for his system to analyse that he might just start to shutdown-
“B.O.Y.D! You can’t just copy whatever Dewey is doing! This is a dance battle!” Louie yells out from the audience, beads of sweat rolling down his face. Not only because of how B.O.Y.D would feel but also out of second hand embarrassment.
The robot boy looks around in panic, it’s all so too much- he can’t process anything, his sensors are completely overloaded. “I can only compliment Dewey’s moves- I don’t know how to dance!”
“Who cares, really!? You can’t be dancing like Dewey, you have to be dancing like B.O.Y.D! Whatever comes to mind, just do it!”
Louie looks on in concern as he pushes past the dancing audience, he’s seen this before, especially with Huey and the amount of times he’d spiral into a panic, heck, even with himself. He couldn’t bring himself to just watch all of this happen.
“Look, if you want to be a real boy you can’t just be copying what other people do, or compare yourself to the kids around you. You’ve got to do what comes naturally to you, sometimes you never notice the stuff you’re good at! I never appreciated my skills until Uncle Scrooge helped me see how it was useful. You’ve got to realise how special you are B.O.Y.D! You helped me forge those invitations, you can scan people with your eyes, heck, you can even fly! Isn’t that cool?!”
The robot stammers, “B-but that’s not normal-”
“Do you think Dewey’s normal?! Huey? Me? Our entire family is weird! That doesn’t make us any less real, does it?”
B.O.Y.D looks down at his hands again, even if his bones were metal he still felt like a person, still felt like a kid… still felt like a son. He clenches his hands. “I’m… a definitely real boy.”
The youngest sibling grins, “Yeah! Now go completely embarrass my brother in front of everyone!” He catches his breath, hoo motivational speeches were hard to come up with on the spot, especially when you have to yell them across the room.
Rocket boosters take the place of B.O.Y.D’s feet, propelling himself up into the skies. The audience watches with shock and awe, he spins around, looking down to see just how small everything looked from up here. It reminded him of his journey to Tokyolk with Huey, the time they flew together in the city… It was nice.
From up here, he wasn’t close enough to analyse their judgemental stares, up here it was practically like he had his eyes closed on stage, he couldn’t fear what they thought from up here!
“If I just don’t see them, I’ll be less afraid!”
His rockets slowly hover him down as he shuts his eyes, waving his arms around robotically as he can feel the presence of the others on the dance floor, but it didn’t matter if they were there- he was working on pure instinct! Pure coding! Nothing could stop this grooving robot now.
The audience watched his mechanical performance in astonishment, completely enamoured by his moves.
“So authentic…”
“How does he move so much like a robot…?!”
The audience wooed, the questions were silly in retrospect considering what B.O.Y.D was made of.
DJ Daft Duck stood there watching, seeming to share the audience’s sentiment while his crossed arms communicated a little bit of jealousy. Even if Dewey couldn’t open that big mouth, it was very clear that it was still him .
The robot boy perked up a tiny bit as he felt as if the music was getting… quieter, he opened his eyes for just a moment before hearing a voice boom through the venue, most likely through a microphone or speaker.
“Well, well, well, don’t we have quite the dancer? Say, after such a performance I think it’s time to reveal the surprise of this surprise dance party…”
Louie’s eyes squint as he swears he had heard that voice before, turning over to B.O.Y.D only to find a completely terrified look on the robot boy’s face.
“Or should I say… Mark Beaks’ BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!” Several air horn sound effects played as the audience abruptly erupted into dance, their movements pushing Louie into the middle of the dance floor.
“WHAT?! Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been to one of our enemy’s birthday parties I’d have like 3 nickels! 3 is a pattern! What gives?!” The youngest triplet gets off the ground shakily, watching as the party goers dance their way toward them, as if trying to barricade the two of them.
“Dude, what’s going on?!” He looks over at B.O.Y.D only to be taken aback by the sight of him huddled up on the ground, hands on either side of his head as he trembles.
“I don’t know, I don’t know- I don’t know!”
Louie clenches his teeth, trying to look at someone else for reassurance. His head whips around as he spots Dew- DJ Daft Duck within the mob, waving over to him.
“Dewey, you’re seeing this right?! This is Mark Beaks’ birthday party, we’ve gotta get out of here!”
The youngest triplet’s eyes darted all across the room, trying to access the situation from any angle he could find despite the overstimulating situation. “C’mon, what’s wrong with all of you?!”
As he desperately looks around he sees a gap between the audience, watching as a random party goer takes a sip of the fruit punch by the table, their body immediately breaking into dance a few moments after it enters their body.
“The fruit punch is spiked!”
…
…
“Yeah, that thing you just drank Mr. Screwsloose-”
“DR. GEARLOOSE!” Gyro interjected as his body was still being whipped around here and there.
Beaks continued his explanation despite his interruption, “It’s full of that Nanite nonsense that one backstabber used on me once. I reprogrammed it so it makes you do a bunch of stupid dances!”
Dr. Gearloose squinted at him at his explanation, feeling as if he’s missing a bit of context. “Nan… what?”
Gizmoduck almost stilled at the name if it weren’t for him actively trying to fight off a horde of greedy CEOs. He chucked the Beaks he was using as a club into the crowd, sending a missile after it to delay them for a moment.
“GANDRA?!” He grits his teeth, clenching his fists as the other could only look in confusion.
“Not only are you stealing technology from Dr. Gearloose, but from Gandra as well?! Have you ever come up with an original idea in your life?!”
“Well, I came up with this sick plan, didn’t I?”
The scientist piped up, annoyed by his own movements but trying to ignore them at the moment. “What plan? You were just standing there dancing to garbage noise like a weirdo!”
Mark shook his fist in protest. “Techno is not garbage, okay?! You wouldn’t understand, Nerdy McScrewsloose.” He crosses his arms, holding the clone spray up once again.
“The plan was, if not enough people rocked up to my surprise dance birthday party, I’d use the clone spray and dance serum to make a bunch of simulated dancers. Then people have GOTTA join in my party once they see how COOL it is.”
Gyro just looks at him with an odd look, not that unimpressed look he usually has, not anything smug or anything, it just looked… bewildered. “That’s just sad.”
Gizmoduck blinks behind his visor, a metaphorical lightbulb appearing over his head. “Wait, is that what that invite was for? Your birthday?”
“Haha, yes! The intention was that you’d come to my birthday party, completely unaware of who was hosting it… you’d drink the fruit punch and have a body full of Nanites and as soon as I revealed myself, bam! You’d bring out Gizmoduck! But what’s this? Seems like Gizmoduck has a jitterbug! While you’re distracted by the pain, I’d snatch the Gizmo Suit from you and I would finally have the key to success and fame for Waddle!”
The parrot’s expression darkens as he looks down at the two scientists. “It seems as though someone found the bug a little too early and interrupted my little operation…”
Gizmoduck idly taps his chin as he absent mindedly punches an approaching Beaks clone. “I don’t think it would have mattered anyways, my M’ma used the invite as a coaster I think.”
Mark sputtered, wagging his head. “W-WHAT?!”
The parrot grits his teeth as he hears a distant snicker from that nerd and nerd accomplice. He grips the clone spray in his hand, firing rapidly. “No more Mr. Nice Beaks! You’re SO done!”
One of the clones pounces on Gearloose, the other unable to defend himself as his body moves involuntarily. “AH!”
“GEARLOOSE!” Gizmoduck pried the Beaks clone off, throwing him into a nearby tree.
He watched as Gyro sprung up from the floor, still breaking it down as per usual at this point.
Gizmoduck jumped back, sensors overwhelmed by the amount of Beaks running toward him. “Ah! Oil Slick, go!” The bottom part of his suit opens up to spew out a petrol station’s amount of oil onto the path in front of him, looking onward to see all the clones slip on the slick.
He grabs Gyro by the arm, as he swiftly rolls away from the clones, “There’s too many! We have to think of something else!”
The scientist’s head spins as he’s dragged along by the bigger duck, his body jerking back and forth despite it all. Gearloose’s arm unintentionally punches Gizmoduck repeatedly, resulting in many pained yelps and squeaks.
“S-sorry! I can’t control my body!”
“It’s fine! I just need to stall while we can come up with- something- anything!”
The two of them take cover behind the fountain in the square, the superhero trying to keep Gyro’s body still and obviously failing, only resulting in several knocks on the head.
“Ow!”
“Look, I don’t know what you were expecting.”
“I don’t know what to do- the Gizmo Suit is too weak right now and you’re not available to have my back! There’s too many clones for me to handle on my own- augh! I don’t know what to do!”
Fenton grits his teeth as he removes his helmet, revealing tired and desperate eyes as he sighs in defeat. “I’m too weak to save you, I’m losing to Mark Beaks of all people! I just…”
…
“...don’t know what to do!” B.O.Y.D cried out, his head sparking as he felt memories start to make themselves apparent, ever since Tokyolk everything in his mind had become clearer, even the bad experiences.
He feels his systems heat up at the sound of that parrot’s voice, gripping around himself tightening. “He’s one of my previous owners…! I don’t want to go back to him-”
Louie looks down at the suffering boy, grimacing as he remembers how he treated him back at Doofus Drake’s party, the way he purposely made him malfunction, exploiting the fact that he was a robot, a robot he presumed Beaks made at the time. To be honest he became more paranoid of how his eyes felt because of what he saw happen to him in the pool…
“Hey, c’mon! You don’t have to belong to him, because he doesn’t own you anymore!” He steps in closer, trying to offer some reassurance but unsure if he can touch him or not. He looks around at the crowd closing in on them, hoping that B.O.Y.D would snap out of it soon.
“But… what if he wants me back…?”
“I know if he does he’s just going to exploit you for clout again! You can’t let him use you, B.O.Y.D, you’re a lot more than just ‘someone’s kid.’”
He leans down, rubbing the robot boy’s back tenderly. The other slowly unfurled, for a robot he surely looked teary eyed.
“Look, it’s hard to find your place sometimes, there was a day where my brothers and I pretended to be only children for a whole day, and guess what? I was immediately lost without them! I realised that some of the people I wanted to be with weren’t what they were chalked up to be. Doofus Drake was crazy right!?”
The robot boy nodded quietly in agreement, suddenly reeling back as he saw Louie hold out his hand to him. “Anyone who adventures with the McDucks ends up being part of our family, and that doesn’t change with you. You have Huey by your side, and I know Gearloose and Fenton wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see someone like you.”
Louie glances nervously at his surroundings, taking a deep breath as he finishes his spiel. “...and you’ve got me too. You don’t have to be with that stupid millionaire parrot.”
B.O.Y.D looks down at Louie’s hand, the world around him honing in on his palm before he takes it in his own, wiping his tears and shooting the youngest nephew a determined look. “You’re right! B-because- I’m B.O.Y.D! Be Only Yourself, Dude! And I’m one of Dr. Gearloose’s creations!”
Louie blinked, “Wait really? Huh, that makes a whole lot of sense.”
The green sibling looked around at his surroundings, a lightbulb appearing over his head. “Alright, here's the plan! B.O.Y.D, you go fly over the crowd and find that magician from earlier and bring his hat over to me!”
“You’ve got it!” The robot boy salutes, his feet being replaced with rockets once again as he flies up.
He spots the magician, snagging his hat from atop his head as he flies back over to Louie, dropping it into his hands.
The youngest nephew reached into the top hat, pulling out a long line of coloured napkins, “Aha! Yes! Alright, I take one end and you take the other. We’ll use this huge line of napkins to corral the crowd into one spot, then we can tie them all up!”
“Great idea!” B.O.Y.D does as he’s told, nodding at Louie as he sees him take the other side of the cloth.
The robot boy flies around, separating the crowd with the giant cloth, rounding them up into one corner of the venue. Louie runs along the opposite side of B.O.Y.D, closing in on the audience.
The robot meets him halfway, taking both ends and tying them up into a secure hitch knot, keeping the entire party in place. “Huey taught me to tie that knot a few days ago!”
Louie jumped up in celebration, holding his hand up for a high five. “Heck yeah!”
B.O.Y.D looks at his hand in confusion, before mimicking his movement, performing a high five.
The definitely real boy smiled at him, his systems heating up again but in a more controlled and positive way. Being part of a family… it really did make him feel real.
“Now c’mon, let’s get Dewey and blow this popsicle stand.”
…
…
Gizmoduck stared over behind him, seeing the Beaks clones start to gain their footing on the oil. He can’t help the feeling of dread start to take him over, starting to feel hopeless.
“Are you done mindlessly staring into space?! I can’t exactly take initiative here!” Gyro squawked out, his body feeling as if it were waved around like a puppet.
“I can’t- I can’t do it without this!” He slaps a hand against his suit, trying to stop himself from panicking.
“There’s too many numbers for me to handle alone, especially with the suit malfunctioning I-”
“YOU don’t need the suit!” The scientist snapped at the other, trying to keep eye contact as his body moved uncontrollably.
“I don’t need Gizmoduck, I don’t need a hero - I need YOU, Fenton! I need FENTON, okay?! Use those good for nothing inventor brains and HELP ME!”
Fenton is taken aback by his statement. The few times he’s needed not as Gizmoduck but as himself , Fenton, someone wants- needs him to help. No personas or anything, no masks or voices, just… Fenton. Is Fenton really capable of saving lives like Gizmoduck can?
He takes a step back, letting himself shed off the Gizmo Suit like a bug erupting from their cocoon. He glances around at the crowd behind him growing closer, then at Gyro’s mess of dance and boogie.
An idea forms in his head, as he walks over to Gyro, eyes determined. “I’m about to do something crazy and illogical, okay?”
“...Have you finally lost it…?” The chicken tilts his head, muttering under his breath.
“Maybe!” Fenton exclaims a little too cheerily.
“But I’ve got a plan. Take my hand, and we’ll make it through!” The duck holds out his hand to the other, trying to offer the most reassuring look he can muster. There was a hint of doubt in his expression, but it seemed there was something else underneath, something that just screamed ‘trust me, please.’
He didn’t have much of a choice, it was either get captured by Beaks (the most embarrassing bird in all of Duckburg to lose to) or take the risk and possibly get captured with Fenton, and to be honest, even if they did fail at least he took someone down with him.
Gyro musters up enough strength to take hold of Cabrera’s hand, feeling the other grip it tightly for comfort.
The chicken yelps as he’s pulled closer, Fenton’s other hand resting on Gyro’s hip. Suddenly, he felt his body stabilize a little more, while it still jittered it surely felt more controlled.
“If it’s a dance Beaks wants… it’s a tango he’ll get!” The former intern mused, taking a step back and letting Gyro follow suit.
“WHAT?!”
“Don’t panic, I need you to trust me. I’m going to close my eyes-”
“That doesn’t make it any better!”
“Look, I just gotta, okay? I’ll be working on instinct. If you see anyone nearby you can yell at me and I’ll follow.”
He sighed. “I never have a choice in this do I? Allllright.”
Fenton shuts his eyes, feeling the world around him grow dark as he hears that voice that he despises grow closer to the two of them.
“There’s a Beaks clone right b-!”
Fenton swiftly pulled the two away from the line of fire, swinging himself around to deliver a mighty kick to the clone’s head.
Gyro watches in awe as the clone collides with the ground, quickly getting reduced into clouds.
The other clone’s heads turn, all before charging toward the two dancers.
“There's a whole lot of- ACK!” Gyro’s cut off again as Fenton holds him close, turning Gyro away from the line of fire before the chicken was suddenly twirling Fenton round and round. The duck extends a leg out, kicking the clones down as he spun around. The movement of their twirls brushed the cloud remains of the clones away as Gearloose was pulled into the other once again.
As more clones grew closer, the two pulled apart briefly, Gyro’s feet falling into place as his body seems to follow all the steps Fenton is laying. He’s almost thankful he has a dancing curse right now, otherwise he’d be stumbling.
Their entwined hands extend out repeatedly, making contact with a few clone’s faces. The scientist catches sight of a few clones approaching from the opposite side, using his other hand to tap Fenton’s hip.
“More clones approaching on your right!” Fenton nods as he suddenly picks up the chicken with surprising ease, holding out the scientist’s leg as he spun. The approaching clones proceeded to get directly kneed in the face as they tumbled, causing a domino effect of falling Beaks.
“To your right!” KICK!
“To your left!” PUNCH!
“All around!” TWIRL!
The two fell into sync, hitting various poses as Fenton took the lead, kicking down any clones that approached, occasionally broken by yelps from Gyro as he was picked up and twirled around. Despite not being able to see the clones, the sounds surrounding him and Gyro’s immediate instructions worked together to pull their entire tango together. They could practically feel the spotlight on them, the gentle touch of rose petals showering them in praise!
The real Mark Beaks continuously sprayed more clones into existence before all of a sudden they stopped materialising. He shook the spray bottle, only to find that he had completely drained it.
“What?! Oh, c’mon!”
Cabrera grinned at Beaks’ woes before feeling himself step onto the oil Gizmoduck had spewed out before. “Alright, Gyro! Hold on tight!”
“I hope I know what you’re doing-! AH! The duck pulled the other against him as they braved the oil, slipping and sliding across its surface as they held on tight. As soon as his feet seemed to slip off the ground, he’d maneuver Gyro over to keep their balance, an embarrassed blush on his face as he was practically thrown around.
As the two found their footing, Fenton propelled them over toward the real Beaks with his leg, his and Gyro’s hands still entwined as they sped toward the CEO.
The parrot desperately shook the bottle in hopes there was more juice in it. There was enough spray to create only one more clone before he looked up, taken aback by the two scientists approaching him like a bullet train.
“What the-?!”
CRASH!
The three of them run into each other as the only clone left runs away from the fray. They all fall onto the ground, toppling over as Fenton finally opens his eyes, spying Mark’s phone falling out his pocket.
Cabrera rushes over, snatching the phone from the ground and holding it above beaks.
“Look who’s got the key now?”
He presses a few buttons on the screen, reversing the effects of the dance serum, earning Gyro a sigh of relief.
The chicken stood up, his legs wobbly as he looked back down at Beaks on the ground, an aggressive bubbling starting to make itself VERY apparent in the back of his throat. He grabs Beaks by the collar of his shirt, an entire rant bursting out his beak.
“You DARE call yourself an inventor, Beaks?! You can’t just steal another scientist’s ideas and technology to rise into success! What you are doing is a total INSULT to the title of an inventor and innovator, because you’re doing NONE of that! You are neither inventive or innovative, because you haven’t done anything! You stole! You never got to constantly trial or test or workshop your creations into perfection, it’s an essential part to the process of making! Don’t you understand?!”
The mad scientist shakes Beaks around in his grip as Fenton looks on in awe, he’s never truly seen Gyro so aggravated before, this even tops the time when he had posted his top secret blueprints online… the memory makes him cringe, not a good move on his part…
“Sure, I suppose I do not get the recognition I deserve from my inventions, but that doesn’t undermine the work I and other scientists had put in to make these ideas into a reality! I get enough pleasure knowing that I am the reason why Gizmoduck is out there saving lives, that I have my creations living by my side, and I’m not just going to let you steal all of it!”
Fenton elbows the other, a genuine smile on his face. “Though, it could do you some good to add a watermark or two.”
The chicken rolls his eyes, “The bulbs are already a trademark of Bulb Tech! Some inventions even have my name on them!”
“I’m not called Gearlooseduck am I?” Fenton teased, the other crossing his arms in annoyance.
Gyro lets out a defeated groan, “ Fine , I’ll put a pin on it… Fenton.”
The duck beamed at the use of his first name, his eyes getting all sparkly. “N-no problem, Gyro…!”
“Ahem!” Mark clears his throat, looking at the other two with a twitch in his eye. He couldn’t take just being ignored right after his supposed defeat! He was right there, and they weren’t even giving him the time of day! Or… night in this case.
“Wow, how great, what a wholesome moment guys, so #Heartwarming! I’ll be sure to put this on story once I’m done stealing the Gizmo Suit!” He smirks, looking right at Fenton as the duck’s color drains from his face.
The two scientists whip their head around to see the sole surviving Beaks clone dragging the suit across the floor, in the process of pilfering it right under their beaks.
“Oh, no you don’t! Blathering- ” The parrot slaps Fenton’s beak shut, pulling him away as he taps his feet together.
Rocket boosters appear to shoot out of the bottom of Mark’s pant legs, propelling both him and Fenton into the sky.
“HEY! You come back with my former intern!” The chicken tries to reach for the two but they’re already too high up, watching as the duck struggles against Beaks’ grip.
“No can do, Screwsloose! Since he’s not your intern anymore, he’ll have a much better use being mine! You see these sick mock rocket boots by the way? I stole the design from some robot kid.”
“B.O.Y.D?!”
“Oh goodie, you know him too! Well anyways, I’ll be off, dude. I’m sure this whole fiasco will result in a CRAZY blog post! Ta-ta!”
Before he could make his exit his thoughts were broken by a distant scream, but it wasn’t just any scream, it sounded like that stock scream they used in every movie nowadays.
“What-”
He turned his head around to catch the view of 3 little kids flying through the air.
“Dude, is that Mark Beaks with Fenton?” Louie pointed over at the two grown birds in the air, sitting atop B.O.Y.D as they flew through the sky, meanwhile Dewey- DJ Daft Duck was tied to the robot’s leg with the infinite napkins, dangling in the air as he played several screaming sound effects with his keyboard.
The youngest sibling leaned over to B.O.Y.D, a mischievous smirk on his face. “Why don’t you show the guy what you’re made of?” B.O.Y.D nods, rocket thrusters propelling him faster toward the CEO.
“Wait, wait, wait- B.O.Y.D you remember me righ-” The robot boy flew right above the two birds, almost blowing them away as if a plane zoomed by them.
Before Beaks could make any moves he caught the sight of DJ Daft Duck barrelling toward them, crashing into the parrot like a wrecking ball. The two birds screaming in sync, “AAAUGH!”
Fenton falls out of his grip, plummeting toward the ground where Gearloose is.
“AH! Dr. Intern! I’ve got you!” The duck collides right into the other scientist with a thud, that twig of a bird somehow breaking his fall.
Cabrera shakes his head, yelping slightly as the other shakily picks him up, holding him in a bridal carry. “Thank you, Dr. Gearloose.”
The other mumbled unintelligibly, his glasses sustaining a small crack.
The remaining kids landed safely next to the two scientists, DJ Daft Duck’s helmet popping off from the impact prior.
Dewey let out a loud gasp as he let several words he was forced to hold back roll out his mouth, “LOUIEYOU’VEGOTTOGETOUTOFTHISCRAZYPARTYTHERE’SSOMETHINGWRONGWITHTHEFRUITPUNCHANDIT’SMAKINGEVERYONEDOCRAZYDANCESANDEVENWORSEIWASN’TEVENGETTINGPAIDFORMYWORKAND- GASP … THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!”
The blue nephew pants, lightheaded after getting all of those words out.
Louie blinks at him, “Wait, that whole time you were trying to warn us to leave?”
“Uh- Duh! Why did you think I kept pressing the ‘get out’ key?”
The youngest sibling shrugs. “I dunno, I just thought you were a sore loser or something.”
Dewey sputters before being interrupted by Gyro.
“B.O.Y.D!” He leans in to hug the little robot, squeezing tightly in a protective manner. The boy smiles, looking up at his father.
The scientist peeks over the definitely real boy’s shoulder, spying the two other nephews.
“Rich nephew! The… the other one!” Dewey shoots him an unimpressed look as the said ‘rich nephew’ giggles.
“Uhm, helllooooo? I’m still here!” Mark stumbles around on his rocket feet, hands on his sides.
“Kids, am I right? They ruin EVERYTHING!” The CEO groaned, crossing his arms as Gyro fumed below him.
“Oh you…” Gyro slowly ended his embrace, stepping forward and standing tall in front of the kids.
“You will NOT talk to the kids and MY CHILD in that way! Begone with you!” Gyro pulls out his laser gun, shooting a projectile right onto one of Beaks’ rockets, causing him to spin out of control.
“It’s not #OVER until it’s OVERRRR!!!” The rocket shoots him into the distance, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.
Gyro holds the gun up to his beak, blowing off the remaining smoke from the blast as he rests a hand on his hip. “-And that kids… is how it’s done.”
“Nice shot for an eccentric scientist.” Louie complimented, the aforementioned eccentric scientist beaming in pride.
Fenton pulls in both Gyro and B.O.Y.D, holding them close and pressing little beak kisses against their heads while exclaiming ‘Mwah! Mwah!’ “OOOH! I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE ALL SAFE!”
“Too tight- Too tight- Ugh.” Gearloose groans as he immediately gives up his struggle, succumbing to his former intern’s embrace.
“Well, it couldn’t have been done without you, Fenton.” He sighs and looks down at the robot boy fondly.
“And you, B.O.Y.D.”
The chicken’s face reddens as he turns away from the both of them. “Let’s never speak of this again-”
Dewey barges in holding up his phone toward the group, “Oh, but you’ll see this all again!”
The scientist shook his head in confusion, expression flustered. “What-?”
His exclamation was cut off by the sound of a camera snap, capturing the moment forever.
…
