The building was isolated from the rest of the complex, sitting alone in a barren, darkened, concrete yard. The researchers liked to say it was because they needed quiet and privacy from the rest of the SHUSH compound to develop their work. Even the janitors, however, knew it was really because this way damage would be minimal when the place finally exploded. Whatever the reason, it turned out to be fortunate at the moment for all of SHUSH. The research lab, due to it's isolation, was easily closed off. Several barricades, with security guards and vehicles tucked safely behind them, surrounded the entire building. Searchlights swept over all possible exits, while various scrying devices probed inside. Each time they did, though, a sudden current overloaded them, sometimes so badly that it melted the instrument completely.
     J. Gander Hooter surveyed the scene with a frown. He knew any attempts at electrical surveillance would fail. Not that they really needed it to know who was in there, but they were worried about where he was. Dozens of top-secret projects were at risk now, either by being stolen or destroyed. So far, it had not come to pass, but the director of SHUSH knew better than to press luck.
     "I got here as soon as I got your message, J. Gander," a voice said from behind him. Hooter didn't need to see the dispersing blue smoke to know who it was.
     "Thank you for coming so quickly, Darkwing," Hooter replied. "We've been watching him for close to fifteen minutes now, but it's impossible to pin down where he is inside." A sudden surge through another machine emphasized his point.
     Darkwing nodded. "Give me the complete run-down."
     "Well, our scientists were working as per usual, when he just quite simply walked out from around a corner. He then demanded to know where the bathroom was."
     "Excuse me?"
     "It took the scientists off guard, too. He said something like, 'No, that's not right...where is my...uh...you know...' and so on. While he was trying to remember, our scientists showed the first use of common sense this year and left the building. They told security, who entered to neutralize the threat."
     Darkwing sighed and looked over at the ambulances.
     "Yes, they failed," Hooter said with a sigh. "But at least no one was killed. He appeared to be more interested in searching for something. That's when I called you."
     "Okay, then. Give me ten minutes and it'll be over with." He started forward, only to find his way blocked by the Rock of Gibraltar. Looking up, he recognized this particular geological feature as agent Grizzlikof. The immense bear towered over Darkwing, scowling. Of course, Darkwing had never seen Grizzlikof with any other type of expression, so it was possible that Grizzlikof smiled by scowling.
     "Sir, I must object!" Grizzlikof thundered. "We have several highly-classified projects in there. I do not think it wise to let a freelancer," he sneered the word, "to be allowed within."
     Then again, maybe Grizzlikof's scowl really was just a scowl.
     "Besides," the bear continued, "I can have the intruder neutralized in only eight minutes."
     "Thanks ever so much, Griz," Darkwing stated, narrowing his eyes, "but Gander called me because he wanted the best. Not the paperwork. Besides, I can finish this in seven minutes."
     "Darkwing is best suited for this situation, agent Grizzlikof," Hooter said, stepping between the stare-down contestants. "He has the most experience against this intruder, and I don't want to risk any more agents or equipment. We may be able to overcome him given time, but I'm afraid that is not an option. You yourself mentioned the highly-classified projects within the building. Who knows how many have already been marked for theft? Or just studied, so he can replicate them himself? I'm told that he is a highly competent inventor, and I can't take the luxury of time now."
     Grizzlikof nodded abruptly. "Very well, sir." He stepped aside, next to Hooter. "But I could have done this in six minutes."
     Darkwing, who was beginning to turn his back, spun around to face Grizzlikof. "Oh yeah? Well I can do this in five minutes, Bongo!"
     Grinding his teeth, Grizzlikof snorted. "Twenty dollars says you can't."
     "You're on! I'll have this case closed and return to claim my cash before you can blink."
     Hooter rolled his eyes, then remembered something. "Oh, Darkwing, try to keep this intruder from blowing up the building. I'd like the lab boys to have first crack at that."
     For one of the few times in his life, Darkwing couldn't think of a response. He merely nodded, then blended into the shadows and disappeared from view.
     "Five minutes, Darkwing Disaster." Grizzlikof grinned. "Maybe it was good for him to go. I can use the money for this week's poker game."

     No lights were on inside. The searchlights from the outside cast thick shadows on the floor. They danced across tables and desks until the light was abruptly cut off from the room, passing along the outside wall. In the central lab, a single figure was rummaging around a group of shelves. Papers were strewn about, gizmos were taken apart, and loose change was pocketed for next week's lunch money.
     "I...am the terror that flaps in the night!" A voice echoed throughout the room.
     "Oh no..." Megavolt groaned. He turned to see the trademarked cloud of blue smoke billowing in the doorway.
     "I...am the science teacher who--hey!" The voice snapped as Megavolt withdrew his Electro-gun and began firing into the cloud. "Will you let me finish?!"
     Megavolt thought for a moment. Only a moment, though. "No."
     Another barrage of electrical bolts came flying into the cloud. They passed through harmlessly, blowing chunks of concrete out of the wall behind it.
     And people wonder why I emerge from a blinding cloud, Darkwing thought. He quickly moved to cover before continuing. "As I was saying, I am the science teacher who gives you a failing grade! I..am Darkwing Duck!" He leapt up onto a table with a dramatic flourish, arms spread wide, cape dramatically flowing out behind him.
     "Happy now?" Megavolt asked, bringing his Electro-gun around to bear.
     "Not until your fuses are tripped and circuits broken..." He grinned. "Sparky."
     "Arrrrgh! I really hate it when you call me that, you know!!!" He fired off another series of electrical bolts. Darkwing sprang from the table as it was reduced to splinters, flipping over at the apex of his jump, and landed directly behind Megavolt. As Megavolt turned around to face him, Darkwing snapped out his hand in a martial art chop.
     "Shupounda-Hing!" He focused his strength into the blow, knocking the Electro-gun free from Megavolt's hand and sending it skittering across the floor.
     "Oh yeah? Well, 'Shoulda-Sing' right back at you!" Megavolt merely reached out to grab Darkwing, charging up his glove to roast the duck on contact.
     Expecting this, Darkwing dropped to the floor, knocking Megavolt's legs out with a sweep attack. "And that's 'Shupounda-Hing'. It's a focusing cry for congealing spiritual strength into an attack."
     "Who are you? Darkwing Duck or Juice Lee?" Megavolt queried, firing a burst of electricity from his glove as he regained his feet. Darkwing dodged to one side, moving in again.
     This time, however, it was Megavolt who was expecting the attack. Darkwing launched himself into a double web-foot kick (patent pending), when Megavolt snagged the duck's legs and ran a current through the airborne superhero. Megavolt used the momentum to whip the dazed crime-fighter off into a corner, crashing him into a shelving unit. Several half-finished devices tumbled down on Darkwing, bouncing rather well from his head.
     "I don't have time for you, Duck," Megavolt intoned in a low voice. "I have bigger fish to fry." His plug-helmet glowed for a moment, then thousands of volts of electricity danced from it to various devices in the room, bringing them to life and heading towards Darkwing.
     Darkwing shook his head and regained control of reality in time to see several robots, weapons, and toaster-ovens marching towards him unerringly. He quickly scampered off to the side, away from them, as he looked around for Megavolt. But the luminous lunatic was nowhere to be seen.
     One of the robots stepped directly in front of Darkwing, reaching out an appendage. The masked mallard stepped back, but heard some vehicle driving in from behind. He sprang straight up, letting the vehicle drive by underneath him and ram into the robot, reducing them to scrap metal in the process.
     Seizing an overhead lamp, Darkwing swung across the room to an open area near the doorway he had entered through. The various machines swerved about, trying to reach him.
     "Hah!" Darkwing grinned. "The devious Darkwing Duck dodges dexterously, deterring the deranged devices!" He nodded to himself. Good alliteration, he thought. Now where is Megavolt at?
     He looked about, then heard a series of explosions coming from the corridor beyond the doorway he was standing in. Peering down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Megavolt in a room at the far end. "Aha!" Darkwing glanced at his watch. "Two and a half minutes left, more than enough time to--OOOOOF!"
     His train of thought was derailed by a series of high-velocity toast, launched by one of the toaster-ovens that had gotten a clear line of sight. The scorched pieces of bread slammed into Darkwing's side, knocking him down.
     Brushing the crumbs off, Darkwing rolled out of the field of fire, checking for any butter or jam stains on his outfit. "Whew, none here. If I had to wash this suit again this week..." He trailed off, noticing that he had rolled directly into a corner. The numerous devices had blocked off all avenues of escape. Darkwing was worried.
     Sure enough, checking his watch, he saw that he now had less than two minutes to find and detain Megavolt. And these marauding machines were not helping matters any. The squad of toaster-ovens lined up, preparing another batch of burnt toast to fire. Darkwing noted with disdain that they were even loading the toast up with grape jelly; they were fighting dirty now.
     "Sorry, mechanized marvels," Darkwing reached into his cape, withdrawing his Gasgun, "but didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to cause a superhero to lose twenty bucks? Especially with this month's poker game coming up." He set his Gasgun to "Liquidize" and fired.
     Several capsules scattered out, which then burst into water over the devices. Darkwing had guessed right, in that the scientists of SHUSH were so concerned with advancing their technologies, that they hadn't even bothered to waterproof their inventions. Sparks flew as each of the devices shorted-out, collapsing in a heap. Darkwing stopped by them long enough to grab a few pieces of well-buttered toast before heading off down the hallway.
     The door to the room where he had seen Megavolt was still open, making his job easier. He leapt through, landing swiftly into the middle of the room. Megavolt was over in a corner, holding his Electro-gun in one hand, and some other device in the other.
     "Hey, Megsy!" Darkwing called out, flinging the buttered toast at his adversary. "You forgot your order of toast to go!"
     The toast smacked into Megavolt's hands, spreading melted butter around. Megavolt lost his grip on both items he held, and they dropped to the floor.
     "Hey!" Megavolt started, looking at his hands. "I didn't order butter on these!"
     Darkwing took advantage of the moment and whipped out his Gasgun, setting it to "Glue-bomb". He squeezed the trigger, firing the glue canister out. Megavolt tried to move out of the way, but slipped on the butter-covered floor and thudded to the ground. As it turned out, this was fortunate for him, as the glue bomb missed him and exploded on the wall behind the fallen supervillain.
     Darkwing groaned.
     "Oh yeah, I meant to do that," Megavolt lied. He tried to stand, but slipped again.
     "Okay, take two," Darkwing sighed, aiming his Gasgun at Megavolt.
     "Why Darkwing," Megavolt's voice held an edge of malevolence, "I believe I will."
     He snapped his fingers, and an electro-magnetic surge brought his Electro-gun and the other device back to his hands. He fired his Electro-gun at the same time that Darkwing fired his Gasgun. The bolt of lightning met the glue-bomb halfway, causing a curtain of super-strong glue to form between the two titans. Megavolt's hands were still slippery, however, and he lost his grip on the items again. At the same time, Darkwing glanced at his watch. Less than a minute left.
     "I just can't cut a break!" they cried simultaneously.
     Megavolt ran an incredibly high charge through his gloves, bathing the area around him in an electrifying field. The butter was burnt off, leaving a stale smell in the air. Darkwing darted around to one side of the glue curtain, where it hadn't reached, and dashed through. He came up on Megavolt just as the supervillain was regaining his feet.
     "I don't suppose you'd be willing to just give up now?" Darkwing was desperate enough to ask.
     "Is this a trick question?" Megavolt responded honestly.
     "No."
     "Oh, well, no, not really. But thanks for asking."
     "Anytime." Darkwing grumbled. It was at this moment, when they were both standing there, chatting civilly, that Darkwing's gaze fell upon the second item Megavolt held. And he recognized it.
     "The electrilizer!" He had forgotten all about it since the last time he had seen it. He had dropped it off at SHUSH, figuring they might be able to do something with it. Like destroy it.
     "Yeah, it's what I came for." Megavolt answered. "Now I can leave."
     The feathers on the back of Darkwing's neck began to rise and he smelled something over the lingering smell of burnt butter. The smell of ozone. His eyes darted back to Megavolt, who was grinning unnaturally, a gleam of madness shining in his eyes, with electricity springing forth from his plug-helmet.
     Darkwing sensed the attack a split-second before it happened. He threw himself to the floor as an enormous charge of energy flew from Megavolt's plug-helmet, narrowing missing Darkwing. Even so, the top of Darkwing's hat was smoking from the close shave.
     "Oh blast it!" Megavolt snapped. "Why'd you have to go and spoil a perfectly good sucker-punch?"
     "That was not a punch, it was a death sentence, you megalomaniacal madman!" Darkwing rolled for cover, cursing himself for allowing Megavolt to build up a charge that strong. He glanced at the wall where it had hit--correction: Where the wall used to be. It had been totally vaporized by the blast.
     "Semantics." Megavolt grumbled, snapping the electrilizer firmly into place in his chest socket. He turned it on, and looked around for an outlet. Darkwing took a second to check his watch. Ten seconds.
     He quickly weighed the options of rushing Megavolt on the slim chance that he could surprise him and take him down before he was roasted, or of taking the extra minutes to insure that Megavolt was subdued with little or no injury to Darkwing, and pay twenty bucks. But it was more than twenty dollars at risk for Darkwing. It would be admitting that Grizzlikof was right. It would be swallowing his pride. Darkwing knew the day he did that, he would choke on it and die.
     So actually, since his pride was involved, it wasn't that difficult a decision. He sprang from his hiding place, making a straight beeline for Megavolt.
     He was delighted to see that maybe this wasn't as suicidal as he thought. Megavolt was busying adjusting the electrilizer and preparing to jump.
     Five seconds.
     Megavolt pressed the final button, and his body shifted to the electromagnetic pulse used in electrical byways. At the same moment, Darkwing tackled him, knocking them both into a nondescript machine in the corner. Megavolt's personal store of electricity automatically brought the machine to life, it's red lights flashing and sirens wailing. The two combatants struggled in close confines, striking out blindly.
     Four seconds.
     One of them hit the "send" switch on the electrilizer, and they both were sucked into the machine.
     Three seconds.
     Within the electronic flow of the machine, Darkwing and Megavolt still struggled, unaware of their new surroundings. Darkwing's brain, the section that actually looked out for the safety and well-being of the body, was screaming at him about something, but the section that held the ego was blocking any communication with a well placed image of twenty dollars.
     Two.
     The machine started its normal operations, but the introduction of two unaccountable elements, namely Darkwing and Megavolt, was causing problems. The machine liked everything to be nice and organized, with all probabilities sorted and accounted for. But these two new elements, and the havoc they were causing within, were giving the machine the equivalent of passing a gall stone.
     One.
     That annoying section of Darkwing's brain finally broke through, distracting the ego with an image of an 8 1/2 by 11 glossy of itself. Darkwing froze, clinging to Megavolt like a life preserver. This caused Megavolt to momentarily glance about.
     "Well," he said rather nonchalantly, "this wasn't in the script I read."
     Zero.
     The machine exploded.

    It was a dark and stormy night. Or at least, it could have been. After all, Professor Nimnul was working feverishly in his lab, without windows, so it might have been raining doughnuts for all he knew. But dark and stormy nights often accompanied mad scientists when they completed a project, so he assumed that one was going on outside.
 He tightened the final bolts on his latest project, then stepped back to admire his work. The metal gleamed in the well-lit interior of his hilltop lab, while various gauges and meters measured power levels and desired output.
     "Ah," Nimnul sighed happily. "And thus another brilliant invention of mine has ripened before my eyes, ready to be plucked and used for utter chaos and domination." He stepped back a few more paces, studying it once more, looking for anything that might hint at a problem.
     But all was well. Satisfied, he nodded to himself, and withdrew a remote control from his coat pocket. He tapped a series of buttons, and the machine activated. It was a large, four-legged monstrosity, with two large metal wings protruding from its sides. All in all, it looked like a dragon, constructed entirely of steel. It easily stood twelve feet tall at the shoulder, with a long neck capable of stretching out another three feet. A tail curled around it, swishing slightly against the stainless steel floor.
     Nimnul nodded to himself. With the metal dragon standing, he went about his final checklist. All gauges were showing the proper output levels, all bio-synthetic limbs were receiving signals from the internal CPU, and each armor scale was firmly attached to the wire mesh insulator underneath.
     With a wide grin and spark of madness in his eyes, Professor Nimnul gleefully dashed over to the main controls along the wall of his lab. His hands flew over them, putting in the instructions for its first test run. The metal dragon's eyes flared as the incoming instructions were received, glowing with an eerie facsimile of life. It raised its head towards the domed ceiling, and launched upwards with bionic legs. It soared straight up, a small but powerful pair of jet thrusters giving it more power than the wings. It rammed through the ceiling to the night sky, its armor unscathed, not even scratched.
     Below, Nimnul was upset.
     "Oh for--why didn't I think to put in an exit big enough for the dragon?" He sighed and shook his head, looking at the pile of rubble now on the ground. "Oh well. I suppose now's a good as time as any."
     He felt better about it as he programmed a few other robots to begin the repair and building of a skylight. His spirits were further boosted when he saw that it was indeed a dark and stormy night out.

     Lightning flashed across the sky, causing the Rangers to gulp as one. The dark storm clouds loomed overhead, giving them a distinct feeling of being small and insignificant. Their tiny Ranger Plane continued along the whipping winds, fighting to remain steady.
     "Uh, Gadget-luv," Monterey said, glancing at the clouds, "I've never been a back-seat driver before, but uh, do you think that you could step on it a wee bit?"
     "I'm going as fast I can, Monty," Gadget answered, struggling with the controls. Her eyes were focused on the sky in front of her, protected from the wind by her goggles. "But the storm is covering the whole city, so no matter where we go, it'll be all around us."
     "May-maybe we should land then," Dale stammered. He had just witnessed another lightning bolt, and was having bad visions about the Ranger Plane getting hit by one.
     Chip grimaced as thunder boomed all around them. "That's not such a bad idea, Dale. Gadget? Can you land us somewhere safe? We can get home after the storm abates."
     Gadget nodded. "Probably. But take a look around. I don't see anywhere really safe."
 She motioned with her head to the open fields below. Nothing but open fields for as far as the eye could see. Gadget estimated it would take them at least another ten minutes before they were close to the city.
     "We should have brought the Ranger Wing," she stated as another lightning bolt lit up the sky. "We could have been home by now, safe and warm."
     "Hindsight is 20-20, luv," Monterey replied. "We all thought that the Ranger Plane would be best for the case."
     Zipper buzzed, gripping Monterey's shoulder tightly to avoid begin tossed from the plane or snatched away by the wind. Monterey nodded to Zipper.
     "Yeah, mate, it was right for the case." He dug his fingers into the seat as the plane was buffeted by another gust of wind. "But that doesn't help us much now, does it?" He groaned.
     Chip pulled down his hat tightly, keeping one hand on it. He scanned the countryside, hoping to spot an overhang, or a gopher hole even, anything to provide some shelter. This storm was tugging at all the wrong strings in him for some reason. It  felt...unnatural.
     Dale, too, was frantically searching the ground below, but he was looking for something soft to land on in case a bolt of lightning did strike. The softest thing he could find was a pile of rocks, and he didn't quite believe it would work any better than the ground. Sighing, anxiety in his voice, he sat back and looked out across the sky. Another flash of lightning shot out, and he thought he heard an explosion of some kind.
     "Did anyone else hear that?" he asked, sitting up.
     "What? Thunder?" Chip asked.
     "No, it was...quieter than that. And sounded more like something breaking. Like rocks or something."
     Zipper nodded in agreement, having heard it as well. He crawled out onto the edge of the plane and pointed off in the distance. The rest of the rangers looked over, and saw the lights of the city in the distance. But Zipper wasn't pointing to that, as they found out. Gadget brought the plane around for a better look.
     They flew around the edge of a rocky hill, and saw with dismay what Zipper was getting at. They all recognized Professor Nimnul's hilltop lab. The large geodesic globe with those huge pipes sprouting out and digging into the rocks was hard to forget. What's worse, they all saw the gaping hole in the top of the globe, with a light coming from within. It appeared the Professor was at home.
     Chip was about to say something, when a movement caught his eye. He turned his head just as lightning danced across the horizon, shedding a strong light across the sky for a fraction of a second. Chip's jaw dropped as he saw a silhouette of a dragon flying off towards the city.
     The rest of Rangers were more interested in the hole in Nimnul's lab. Things could be seen moving within. Gadget was already bringing the plane in closer for a better view of the inside.
     "Wait!" Chip cried as the plane twisted away from the dragon.
     "What is it?" Dale asked, looking over in the direction that Chip was gaping at. But without the lightning's illumination, nothing was visible except darkness.
     "I--I mean, I saw...I think..." Chip stuttered. He craned his neck, but still couldn't see any sign of...of whatever it was that he saw. If I saw anything at all, he thought gloomily. He sat back down in his seat. "I thought I saw something over there," he finally managed.    "But I don't see anything now."
     "Well, let's check this out first." Monterey suggested. He leaned over and peered down into the lab. "I doubt we'll get another opportunity to see what Nimnul's up to before he springs it on the world."
     "Right." Gadget nodded. "Hang on, guys, I think I can get through that hole with minimal difficulty."
     They were about to ask what she meant exactly by "minimal difficulty" when she thrust the wheel forward, bringing the Ranger Plane down into a steep dive. Glad that they had the foresight to install their safety belts, the Rangers hung on tightly as Gadget brought the plane down through the hole, only slightly tearing the balloon.
     The ride to the floor was quick, but thrilling, as the Rangers watched the world dip, spin at blinding speed, and generally do things that only happen after a serious blow to the head. It came to an abrupt end as the floor suddenly lurched up to met them. Blackness shrouded over the entire group.
     "Ah!" Dale cried. "We're dead!"
     "Impossible," Monterey said from somewhere to his right. "The dead don't get sick." There was a gagging sound, followed by a hand being slapped over a mouth.
     "Monty's right, Dale," Gadget answered calmly. For her, this landing really wasn't that different from some of her others. "The punctured balloon must've landed on top of us."
     "Lucky us," Chip said in a dazed voice.
     A weak buzz from Zipper agreed with Chip.
     "Well, let's get out from under here," Chip managed to state in much steadier voice. His eyes had stopped flashing colors, and he was pretty sure that his stomach was back in its proper place. "If Nimnul is around, the last thing we want is to alert him of our presence."
     "Hey!" A familiar voice called from beyond the darkness. "What's that balloon and bleach bottle doing here? I thought I told Normie to pick up his toys when he was done with them."
     "Too late," Dale mumbled weakly.
     "Look at the bright side, guys," Gadget's voice said. "We wanted to see what Nimnul was up to. This just speeds the process along."
     "Yeah," Monterey answered. "But I'd prefer it to be from a safe distance."
     "Oh...well, you can't win them all."
     Chip and Dale had managed to unfasten their seat belts, and crawled over to the edge of the plane. Together, they carefully pushed up the balloon to see what they could see. A wall greeted them.
     "Wrong side," Dale muttered. Chip rolled his eyes and nodded.
 A small shaft of light came from the other side as Gadget and Monterey pushed the balloon up on their side. The Rangers cringed at the sight before them.
     They were inside the lab, apparently far off from the center of the huge room. They spied at least ten to fifteen robots moving about. They were cleaning up the rubble, and others were doing something with the hole that the Rangers had passed through. What made them cringe, however, was the appearance of the robots. Each one of them looked like some type of monster.
     In all honesty, this wasn't a big surprise. The Rangers had encountered robots Nimnul had built before. Whether they were giant bulldogs or huge guinea pigs, they always looked user-unfriendly. But these...these weren't even trying for that standard. Dale, being a big fan of fantasy fiction, recognized several of them.
     "Look over there," he whispered, nudging Chip, "It's a troll. And there's a goblin. I think that one's supposed to be some sort of orc, or maybe an ogre." Chip could feel his friend shudder. "They look pretty nasty, even if they aren't the real things. At least he didn't try a dragon."
     "Dragon..." Chip let it sink in. "He did Dale. That's what I saw, flying off towards the city. One of them is out there now." His face was rather solemn.
     "But why?" Dale asked. "Why make them like this?"
     "I don't know that, mates," Monterey quickly interjected. "But I do know we had better do something quick, or we may get a closer look at these robots than we planned on!" He motioned up at the approaching figure of Nimnul, striding closer, mumbling something about Normie and whether his parents would return soon from that two week vacation they took over a year ago.
     Chip took a moment to gather in their surroundings. "Okay...I got an idea."
     Nimnul stepped down and picked up the plane, then stood back up with it wearing a frown. "Where have I seen this before?" he asked himself. He pulled the deflated balloon off of it, still studying the plane intently. Thus, he never noticed the five tiny figures clinging to the underside of the balloon. Zipper immediately flew off and out of sight. The rest of the Rangers had to wait until Nimnul tossed the balloon over his shoulder before they could let go. They all landed with varying degrees of gracefulness on the floor, then moved off to under one of the worktables.
     Nimnul knew he had seen something like this before, but he couldn't recall where. Finally, he just shrugged and tossed the plane into a trash can on his way back to supervise the new skylight construction.
     Chip watched with a frown. "This does not bode well for the visiting team."
     "Huh?" Was the choral response.
     "I mean, things have gone from bad to worse. We're stuck in the lab of one of our worst enemies, Nimnul is obviously up to another scheme, and one of his inventions is already on its way to the city, for who knows what reason." He sighed. "Not exactly the way I like to start out a case."
     "Well," Gadget said, moving forward to see the Ranger Plane, "I can fix our transportation soon enough. We can probably be out of here before too long."
     Zipper tapped Chip on the shoulder. His expression seemed to say, Give me a few minutes, and I can scout out what he's up to. With that, the spirited fly took off.
     "Hey Chip, cast your peepers over there," Monterey pointed over to the other side of the lab, where a large computer sat. Among the numerous switches, buttons, and dials, were a series of monitors. A couple of them were displaying some readouts of what appeared to be a metal dragon, and one was a moving view of the city from a bird's eye view. Or more appropriately, a dragon's eye view.
     "Now this," Chip said with a grin, "is how I like to start a case."
     With that, the Rangers broke off into two groups. Monterey went off with Gadget to see about getting the Ranger Plane ready, while Chip and Dale headed off for the large computer.
     The two chipmunks carefully made their way across the lab, staying far away from the robots and Nimnul. Fortunately, they were too preoccupied in the construction around the hole to notice two small furry mammals scamper over onto the control panel of the computer.
     "Oh man," Dale stepped back, intimidated by the huge device. "Where do we start, Chip? It's like a maze."
     "I know." Chip glanced about, but had no clue as to what function keys did what.
     They crawled up the slanting surface to the monitors.
     "Whew, television." Dale sounded relieved. "This, I can handle."
     "It's not television, Dale." Chip said as he stepped up next to him. "This is what the dragon is seeing. See? Look at the angle."
     Dale shrugged. "Well, the skills I developed when watching T.V. can apply here."
     "What skills?"
     "Uh...the ability to watch it for over six hours straight?"
     "Very helpful, Dale," Chip said sarcastically. "You want to wait around here for six hours?"
     "Well, if the programs are good..."
     "They aren't programs, nuthead! It's a camera, so unless it suddenly decides to stop by the Late Show for a while, you won't be seeing anything of interest."
     "Well..." Dale tried to think of a defense. Fortunately, the monitor provided it for him. "I'd call that interesting." he stated triumphantly, pointing to the screen.
     Chip looked and saw that the dragon had entered a building of some kind. Flames shot out from the top of the screen and down the hall, driving the people within back. Chip and Dale watched with a mix of fascination and fear as the dragon stormed down the hallway, blasting its way through any obstacle in its way. The security guards attempted to shoot it, but the resounding sounds of ricochet told the chipmunks how ineffective it was.
 The dragon turned suddenly and burst through a series of doors until it came to a large, metal vault. A pair of lasers began to cut the hinges off.
     "What do you think's in there?" Dale asked, unable to tear his eyes away.
     "I don't know," Chip answered, equally mesmerized. "But I do know that if Nimnul wants it, we have to stop this dragon of his."
     He shook his head and looked around. Too many possible functions greeted him as he scanned the control panel. He grabbed Dale and spun him from the monitor. The Dragon had finished cutting the hinges off and was moving inside in the darkened room, it's starlight sensors amplifying the existing light for better vision.
     "Listen," Chip said quickly, "we have to stop that thing. Any ideas of where to start on here?"
     "Well," Dale considered the control panel quickly. "Whenever I play a video game, I use a joystick to control the figure on the screen."
     Chip nodded. "As good a place to start as any. Quick; split up and search for something that might be a joystick."
     The dragon had stopped in front of a large, electronic wall unit. It's tail came into view, protruding a small connecter. It plugged into an I/O port, and the unit clicked to life. As they raced over the control panel, Chip glanced back to see the words, "Beginning download" flash across the screen. A small digital display began counting down from 60 seconds.
     "Hurry Dale!" Chip called out. "We have a time limit now!"
     Dale was darting past rows of switches, but hadn't seen anything yet, and was beginning to doubt one existed. He paused, a feeling that he was forgetting something tugged at him. He looked about again, and saw what it was. Most computers used a separate joystick, usually off to the side of the main controls. He ran down to the section he thought it would be in, and spotted a joystick down at the corner.
     "Chip!" he called out. "It's over here!"
     He hopped on it, pulled the stick back. But nothing was happening on the monitor.
     "What's wrong?" Chip asked. He had also noted that lack of response from the dragon. He also noted that the counter was down to thirty seconds.
     "I don't know. It isn't working!" Dale jerked the stick all the way back, but still no response.
     Chip spotted a blinking red button in front of the joystick. "Wait, maybe we need to tell the computer what it is we want to control, first."
     "Huh?"
     "A selection button, Dale." Chip responded as he stepped down on the button. It glowed red, and another electronic display in front of Chip flashed the word "Orc". A shout from behind them told them they were now controlling a robot, but not the one the wanted. Chip stepped repeatedly one the button, scrolling through a variety of robots.
     "What?!" They heard Nimnul cry out from behind them. "What's going on with the control panel?"
     "Chipper! Hurry! He's heading over here!"
     Chip increased his stepping, until the word "Dragon" appeared.
     "Got it!" he announced.
     Sure enough, the view on the monitor suddenly showed the ceiling getting closer and closer, followed by another ceiling, than another...
     "What's happening?" Dale asked, still holding the joystick back.
     "I'm not sure. I think you're telling it to take off."
     They watched as the dragon rammed its way through ceiling after ceiling, finally breaking out into the night sky. The view shook a little, and sort of quavered, hovering.
     "Why isn't it climbing?" Dale asked.
     "Look!" Chip pointed over to another monitor showing the readout of the dragon. Across the bottom, they read, "Overloaded. Suggest dumping of excess weight."
     "It never unplugged from the wall unit! It must have pulled it all the way up through the ceilings. No wonder, look at that." He pointed to the tail section of the readout. "The connecter was fused in from the sudden surge of our transmission."
     "So what do we do now?"
     Chip looked over his shoulder to see Nimnul with a raised mallet, about to crush Dale. "Run!"
     Dale caught Chip's warning just in time. He let go of the joystick and dodged back as the mallet smashed into the spot where he was a split-second later. The joystick handle was snapped off and sparks flew from the exposed wiring.
     Chip ran down and grabbed Dale, pulling him back up and away from Nimnul, who was readying for a second attack. None of them noticed the warnings flashing across the screens.
     The digital readout was still running, however, and had reached five seconds.
 Dale yelled out a warning as Nimnul lunged again. The mallet crashed down directly in front of Chip, bashing in buttons and snapping off switches. More sparks flew, and a discreet smoke seeped out from the sides of the machine.
     Four seconds.
     Seeing Nimnul pulling back again, Chip pointed to the newly opened hole in the control panel. Dale nodded, and they both quickly ducked inside, nimbly dodging sparks and exposed wires. They ran up towards the top of the machine, where Chip guessed there would be a vent they could get through.
     Three seconds.
     With the chipmunks no longer in sight, Nimnul had a moment to see the damage he had inadvertently caused. The dragon was still trying to fly with the large unit attached to its tail, and the whole computer used to control his robots was in danger of going up in smoke.
     Two.
     For all of the talk of Nimnul being insane, never let it be said that the man is an idiot. He quickly activated the emergency coolant system, flushing the interior with a fire suppressive gas. He entered a quick series of commands in the control panel that was still functioning, causing the dragon to detach its tail completely. He watched on the city scanner as the dragon began its flight back, and the unit and tail plummeted to the ground below.
     One.
     "Do you hear that?" Chip was about to ask Dale, but the hissing jumped to roar as the gas shot through the computer's internal structure. Both of the chipmunks blacked out instantly.
     Zero.
     The unit, still running, hit the city street and exploded.
     But not before it finished its final computation.

     Somewhere, in an infinite realm of possibilities, there exists a single chance. The chance that two totally circumstantial events will have exactly the same result at exactly the same time. The odds of it happening are perhaps once every billion years. The chance for this particular billion years was now cashed in.
 

     Thunder was the first sound heard. The next was the rush of air. Darkwing's world snapped back into focus like a gunshot as his body shifted from the electrilizer's effects back to it's normal state. He became aware of the sensation of free-fall. As his vision gradually focused, he saw that he was indeed plummeting towards the ground.
     He quickly took in the city below--he had to be at least 1,000 feet up, probably more. His first thought was that the explosion had blown them sky-high, but he quickly realized that this was not St. Canard. No Autobahn Bay Bridge, not even a body of water. None of the skyscrapers in the center of the city. A gnawing fear edged into his stomach.
     The fear was easily suppressed, however, by the very up-front fact that unless he did something, he would soon become Darkwing Pressed Duck. He looked around, and spotted Megavolt alongside of him, seeming to enjoy it.
     "Cool!" he exclaimed. "I always wanted to try sky-diving!"
     "Without parachutes, it's called sky-dying!" Darkwing snapped back.
     Megavolt blinked and gulped. "Oh yeah." He began to promptly scream.
     Darkwing grumbled, upset. Not that Megavolt was screaming in fear, but because he hadn't thought of it first. Well, with stark terror out of the way, cool logic stepped up to bat.
     Maybe I can snag a building with a plunger from my Gasgun, he thought. Looking around, he noted that they were falling down towards what appeared to be a junkyard. One tall building was within range. But as he reached for his Gasgun, he remembered that he was out of plungers, due to Gosalyn's science project (you don't want to know).
     Strike one.
     How about using my cape as a parachute? He thought suddenly. He grabbed the edges of the cape and spread it out, only to see ribbons flap uselessly in the wind. The explosion had shredded his cape.
     Strike two.
     Wait! Launchpad dropped me off in the Thunderquack, maybe he's close enough for a pick-up! His face brightened with hope as he dug out his radio and attempted to reach his sidekick. Static was all the response he got. Then he remembered that it looked like they were transferred to a different city. This could be Duckburg, for all he knew. Whatever the case, Launchpad was out of range.
     Cool logic, having struck out, went back to the bench as total panic came in to pitch-hit.
     "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Darkwing screamed.
     Startled by someone else screaming, Megavolt was drawn out of his fear. "Oh, well, if you're to handle the fear part..." He shrugged, and looked down. The ground was rising up rapidly; he only had a few seconds.
     Megavolt made a quick adjustment to his Electro-gun, sending out a series of rapid-fire bursts of varying electro-magnetic frequencies. The waves resounded off of the ground back up at the falling pair. Megavolt set up another field of energy around him (and Darkwing, but whether this was on purpose or not remains a matter of debate), one of equal polarity. The natural "push" created by two like magnets was re-created here, but this time on a much larger scale. It would have normally been enough to stop the fall.
 But for some reason, all it did was manage to slow their descent, fortunately enough so that when they landed on the rubbish heap, they were only bruised instead of flattened. Megavolt bounced off down the pile of garbage, with Darkwing tumbling right behind him. They crashed rather heavily into a collection of old tires at the bottom of the hill, bouncing off more forcefully than they were used to.
     Groaning, Darkwing sat up and glanced about. He was glad to see that his hat was still with him, albeit rather worse for wear. Another clap of thunder reverberated throughout the sky, and a few bolts of lightning playfully arced from cloud to cloud. Off to his right, he could see the glow of the city. What city, he wasn't sure. To his left, he spotted a small shack, apparently the residence of the caretaker of this place. A dog was barking from within, and Darkwing could see movement inside. Someone would be out soon enough. And directly in front of him...
     Megavolt groaned and raised his head. His eyes were even more unfocused than normal, and Darkwing could hear his adversary's ragged breath.
     "Oh...that was a painful way to land." he said weakly.
     "Better than what would have happened." Darkwing replied. He stood up, and walked warily towards the downed supervillain. "Just stay put. You may have saved our lives, but you cost me twenty dollars." Among other things, he thought bitterly. "The cops will be here as soon as the civilian realizes who's in their backyard."
     As if on cue, the door to the simple dwelling opened up, and the civilian stepped out. Both Darkwing and Megavolt looked up to the figure stepping out into the light of the lampposts along the junkyard. And as one, both their jaws and hearts dropped.
     The person was just that. A person. Not a duck, dog, cat, or even a dog/rat/weasel type thing (Megavolt has yet to meet another of his kind). He had no beak or snout, but a simple nose, two rather small (to them) eyes, and five fingers on each hand. The human panicked and ran back indoors upon seeing them. Darkwing and Megavolt might have panicked too, but they had seen humans before...namely, the last time the electrilizer sent them through to another dimension.
     The gnawing fear in Darkwing's stomach quickly grew to a ravenous hunger which threatened to consume him. "Oh no..." He swallowed hard. "Not this place. Not again!"
     Megavolt shakily got back to his feet. "No...it can't be. Not this nightmare again. Stuck in a world of weird-nosed people." His eyes widened with a sudden fear. "With no way home this time."
     Darkwing fought back the fear long enough to think clearly. "No, wait. We've gotten out of this mess before, we can do it again." His confidence restored, he straightened up. "Yeah, I mean, I'm famous here. A well-known television personality."
     "A cartoon personality," Megavolt corrected him.
 Darkwing glared at Megavolt. "Whatever. Regardless, I am still more famous and respected here than back home. The Rockwell guy will be willing to help us out. Assuming his helmet is still functioning, we can use that to get back home."
     "I don't know." Megavolt frowned. "You may have been hobnobbing with the industry last time, but I was searching for a way home. I had to look around to find that antenna we used, and don't remember any of this." He waved his hands in the direction of the city.
     "Hey, there was a lot of city we never saw. Besides, it's your electrilizer. Why wouldn't it have transported us back to the same place?"
     "Because those dweebs at SHUSH were messing around with it."
     "Huh?" Darkwing knew the dweebs at SHUSH. This was not good news.
     "I noticed it when I was setting the frequency. I found it in that one room, out on a table with some notes around it. It looked like they were trying to establish contact with another dimension. When I was adjusting it, I was trying to figure out exactly what they did to it."
     "Well? What was it?"
     "I don't know. I was interrupted by an unnamed party in a purple outfit. And I don't mean the artist formerly known as Prints."
     Darkwing merely cleared his throat and looked around for a distraction. His prayers were in answered in the form of sirens. They were faint at first, but quickly grew louder. Darkwing and Megavolt could see the red and blue lights flashing across the area as the sounds of several police cars pulled up along the junkyard.
     Darkwing breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, here's the plan. Let me do all the talking. They should recognize me from our last time here, and give us a lift to Rockwell."
     "Either that, or a rock cell," Megavolt replied, glancing about nervously.
     "Will you calm down? What could possibly go wrong?"
     Megavolt fixed him with a stare. "I can't believe you had the brazenness to say that."
     Darkwing shrugged. "It's in the job description." He stepped up to the front.
     The police began a slow and careful move into the junkyard. Several officers held out searchlights, while the rest snuck down around piles of trash, guns drawn.
     "Hail, good police!" Darkwing proclaimed, stepping up into a spotlight. "It is I, Darkwing Duck, champion of justice, prince of protection, and the terror the flaps in the night. You no doubt recognize me from my cart--"
     "What the heck is it?!" someone cried.
     "Beats me, but it looks dangerous. Keep your distance, men."
     "Yeah, look how it's dressed. No one sane dresses like that!"
     Megavolt snorted from behind Darkwing. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks so."
     "Shut up!" Darkwing hissed, then turned back to the police. "Hey guys, don't you remember me? I'm the superhero from that cartoon, you know? Haven't you bought my merchandise for your kids, yet?"
     "It's obviously insane," the lead officer called out. "Get out the tranquilizer gun."
     Megavolt began a slow withdraw from the scene, looking for possible escape routes. but the police had the area surrounded. "Well, Darkwing, any other bright ideas?"
     "Well, just one," Darkwing glanced nervously at the closing circle of police, and the ones bringing out the tranquilizer guns. He palmed one of his smoke canisters. "RUN!" he shouted and threw the canister down. Blue smoke exploded outward, obscuring Darkwing and Megavolt from the police. They dove for cover at the explosion, then peeked around carefully, confirming that it was only a smoke grenade.
     "Move in!" the captain commanded.
     They all quickly closed in, but no sign of the two intruders was evident. They had obviously escaped during the decoy grenade.
     "Start an area search, they couldn't have gotten far," the captain told the officers, then went to his car and radioed in. "Put out the word that we have two unknown trespassers at large. I need a sketch artist down here pronto. They look like nothing I've ever seen. And tell the commissioner." He turned off the radio and looked skyward and the looming storm clouds. "I have a feeling that our problems have only just begun," he muttered to himself.

     "What's going on over there, Zipper?" Monterey called out. He and Gadget had managed to pull the Ranger Plane free from the trash can, shoving it over to the floor below. They had just finished that when they saw the sparks flying from over by the computer. Zipper had swooped in, frantically buzzing something.
     Zipper took a moment to calm down, then went into a quick explanation of Chip and Dale ducking inside the computer, but not coming out.
     "Crikey!" Monterey turned to Gadget. "We've got to get them out of there, but how? And the Ranger Plane isn't even fixed yet!"
     "You and Zipper get Chip and Dale, then get them over here." She rolled her sleeves all the way up and brought her goggles down over her eyes, a determined glint in them. "The Ranger Plane will be ready to fly by the time you get back." She stated it as a fact, not a hope.
     Monterey nodded and slid down the side of the trash can, then made his way over to the computer, Zipper flying just overhead, keeping watch. The robots had gone back to their construction, and Nimnul was engrossed in running a diagnostic on the computer, so the Monterey and Zipper arrived at the side of  the computer without incident.
     Crouching down beside the computer, Monterey watched as Nimnul worked the control panel, trying to isolate the problems internally before having to actually open it up. Monterey checked around the side of the machine, but he didn't see any way in, and mentioned it to Zipper.
     Nodding, Zipper motioned for Monterey to wait below as he flew up to see if he could find a way in. He sped up the side of the computer, finally coming to the top. He spotted the twin, large grates for ventilation right away. The grill was spaced more than wide enough for him to slip in unhindered.
     The insides of the computer were dark, aside from the occasional sparking wire. Zipper managed to navigate through the maze of circuitboards, until he thought he spotted some objects that looked more organic, as opposed to the geometric shapes that surrounded him. A quick beat of his wings brought him to the two downed Rangers.
 Landing next to them, Zipper first checked to make sure that each was still alive. He was relieved to see them breathing in slow, rhythmic slumber. Next, Zipper set about waking them up. No way he could haul them back up to the top, and he doubted there would be time to get Monterey before Nimnul opened the computer up to start the hardware repairs.
 Having had to revive the chipmunks before, Zipper knew the best and quickest way: He flew behind them, grabbed each of their tails and pulled back, letting them snap back into their rears.
     "Erg!" or something to that effect was the chipmunks' response as they awoke with a start. They didn't have time to ask questions, however, as Zipper darted back in front of them, explaining their precarious positions. Chip and Dale nodded, and followed Zipper back through the computer to the vents. They had a bit more trouble squeezing through the grill, but with some help from Zipper, they managed to pop through and then shimmy back down the side to join Monterey.
     "Glad to see you blokes are still okay," he said as they dropped down next to him.
     "Thanks Monty," Dale responded. "Is the plane finished yet?"
     Chip nodded. "I think we had better get out of here quick. Nimnul spotted us messing with his computer." He glanced back nervously at the fuming Professor, currently removing the control panel. "It won't be long before he comes after us again."
     "Gadget said it'd be ready," Monterey answered. "What's going on with him?"
     "I'm not sure yet." Chip admitted. "He's built these robots for a purpose, and it looks like he's using them for remote-control theft, but I think there's more to it than that."
     "Um," Dale cut in, keeping an eye on Nimnul, "can we talk about this later? Like after we're on the Plane and outta here?"
     Monterey shrugged. "Can't argue with the lad's logic."
     Chip was about to state that he could, but the rest of the group had already left. Sighing, he quickly took up the rear.
     Back at the trash can, they could see Gadget hammering away at one side of the Plane. She finished, then looked up at the rest of them with a smile.
     "All set," she announced proudly.
     The Ranger Plane did look back to normal, aside from the missing balloon. Looking it over, they could see that Gadget had built a quick sling-shot rig out of the balloon, aiming up at the hole they had entered. The four Rangers exchanged glances.
     Gadget walked back around to the front of the plane, and pushed against it. It shifted a little, but not much.
     "Um...could someone give me a hand?" She asked, somewhat sheepishly. "I need to get this into place." She pointed to the area in front of the sling-shot.
     Chip and Dale each stepped up next to her, one on each side, while Monterey and Zipper guided it by the sides. Together, they slid the Plane into place, then climbed up into the seats.
     "Um...Gadget?" Chip asked tentatively, watching the robots work around the hole. "I have a important question: Do you think that those robots might pose a problem for our escape?"
     "No."
     "Oh." He didn't sound reassured.
     "I guess it wasn't as important as you thought." Dale suggested helpfully.
     "Everyone strapped in?" Gadget asked. "Hang guys, it'll be a little bumpy for the first minute or so."
     "There's an understatement," Monterey muttered. He was eyeing the hole, rig, and hoping that the laws of physics would be merciful on them.
     With a sudden *click*, Gadget released the pressure valve on the wings. They started to rise, triggering the release on the slingshot. The entire Ranger Plane was propelled through the air at a tremendous velocity, forcing the Rangers back into their seats. The robots at the hole were working solely on the area around it, so the Ranger Plane managed to exit without any difficulty.
     "You did it, Gadget!" Chip called out, twisting around to see the hole growing smaller behind them.
     "Yeah, Gadget-luv," Monterey agreed, "I gotta hand it to you on this one." He was still amazed that it had actually worked, but wisely decided to keep that to himself.
     "Thanks, guys," Gadget replied, concentrating on her piloting. "Now if I can just glide us to the ground, we'll be okay. Did you boys find out what Nimnul was up to?"
     "Yes and no," Chip replied. "He's using the robots to commit robberies for him, but I think there's something more to it than that."
     "Why?" Dale asked.
     "Well, you saw what the dragon was doing, Dale. It was downloading something from that unit we saw." He frowned and sat back, thinking. "My guess is that Nimnul was gathering information or data about something."
     "A bank, maybe?" Monterey suggested. "He's done research to rob banks before."
 Zipper pointed out that Nimnul had hit more than banks. Jewelry stores, warehouses, and the like.
     "Right, Zipper." Chip looked out over the cityscape. "If we could find out what building the dragon invaded, I'll bet it'll tell us what Nimnul was after."
     "Shouldn't be too hard," Monterey shrugged. "Just follow the wreckage."
     By this time, Gadget had brought the Ranger Plane into a slow downward spiral, finally landing it smoothly in a small field. The Rangers were still quite a distance from the city, but they were much closer then before. The storm had seemed to quell for the moment, but Chip feared that it was merely the eye of the storm, and more turbulence was coming soon.
     "Hey," Dale said as he climbed out of the plane, "look over there." He pointed to the distant city. The others all listened as they climbed out, and peered in the direction Dale indicated.
     Not too far away, in what they knew to be a run-down section along the edge of town, they could see some flashes of light. Almost like fireworks, but these lights glowed, rather than burst. A few moments later, and the wind carried the sounds gunfire, explosions, and sirens to them.
     "Crikey...what d'you suppose is going on?" Monterey asked, wide-eyed. "Maybe something with that thing Nimnul was messing with?"
     "No, that was in the center of the city." Chip watched for a moment more. "Whatever it is, it sounds real serious."
     The rest of the Rangers nodded. They all knew that they should go investigate, to see if they could help out in some way, but each of them had an uneasy feeling settle around them. Chip was the first to shake out of it, and headed off towards the commotion, the rest of the Rangers right on his heels.
 

     The police had caught up with Darkwing and Megavolt much sooner than they had anticipated. Still disoriented from the effects of the electrilizer, compounded by the discovery that they had jumped dimensions again, they weren't thinking too clearly as they escaped the junkyard. Instead of keeping to the shadows, they seemed quite content to run madly down the well-lit streets. The call had gone out on the police radios, and the area search was quick and methodical. Soon the suspects in question were spotted around a corner, and it wasn't long before the police started to herd them in.
     In addition to all their other problems, both Megavolt and Darkwing noticed that something seemed... strange...about this dimension. They felt almost out of sync with what was happening around them, but the feeling was impossible to pin down as they were running for their lives.
     In mere minutes they found themselves surrounded again, this time in the center of an intersection. police cars were all around, and more arriving each minute.
     "Now what?" Darkwing asked breathlessly. He and Megavolt stood back to back against the encroaching officers. Guns had already been drawn, but none fired.
     "Personally, I hate feeling like a rat in a cage!" Megavolt snarled.
     Because his timing was never in tune with etiquette, Darkwing turned to face Megavolt. "I thought you were a rat, genetically speaking."
     Because his timing was even worse in situations like this, Megavolt uncertainly answered, "I'm...not...sure, really. Last I heard, I was a dog/rat/weasel type thing, but I still have people looking into it."
     A bullhorn cut into their supervillain-genealogy discussion.
     "All right you two," the captain said, his amplified voice echoing from the buildings around them. "Just stay put, and don't cause any trouble. Nobody here wants any confrontation."
     "Speak for yourself..." Megavolt muttered, his eyes narrowing. Darkwing, who was once again back-to-back with his arch-enemy, missed this.
     "So just relax, and come along with us peacefully," the captain continued, "and no one will get hurt." He turned to one of his officers. "How long before the S.W.A.T. team gets here?"
     "Shouldn't be too long, sir. They're bringing the gas bombs, but I don't know if it'll work on those." He shuddered a little as he looked at them. "What are they, anyway?"
     "I don't know. Maybe deformed humans, or deformed creatures of some kind. Maybe aliens for all I know. What I do know is that I want them tucked away somewhere far from a populated area. Then we can start answering your questions."
     He brought the bullhorn back up to address the...things. He had noticed that the taller of the two was glowing a little. "Okay, you in the yellow jumpsuit, cease and desist whatever it is you're doing."
     Megavolt's scowl deepened. And his glow brightened.
     "Megavolt," Darkwing hissed over his shoulder, "what are you doing?" He didn't want to turn his back on the twenty or so cops facing him down with drawn weapons.
     The captain started to get agitated. "Hey! I said knock it off!" Still no response. Frustrated, the captain resorted to name-calling. "Hey watt-brain! I'm talking to you, Sparky!"
     "DON'T CALL ME SPARKY!" Megavolt's screech pierced the air.
     A bolt of lightning pierced the same air a moment later, directly hitting the police car in front of the captain. Metal was ripped apart and glass shattered in a thousand directions as it exploded. The officer next to the captain found himself on the ground over twenty feet away, stars dancing before his eyes.
     "Strange," he muttered, dazed. "I thought the storm was over." Shouts and screams quickly brought him back to his senses. He could see past the burning wreck of twisted metal that used to be a police car, to the one who had been glowing, throwing out bolts of lightning, exploding cars and scattering officers. He turned back to the captain to point this out, but the captain was lying face down on the cement, his body still smoking.
     "Oh no..." he whispered as he crawled over to the captain, feeling for a pulse.
     It was there, but faint.
     Thanking whatever forces had kept the captain alive, he turned and looked around, finally finding his partner. "Hey Muldoon!"
     Muldoon stopped his run from the newest fire, and quickly altered his course to take him over to his partner.
     "What is it, Kirby? Gaaaa, you don't look so good."
     "Take an exploding car in the front and see how you feel. But come on, we have to get the captain out of here. He's still alive, but I don't know for how much longer."
     Seeing the state of the captain, Muldoon nodded. He glanced around quickly, seeing that the whole operation had gone up in smoke, literally. Officers were trying to take cover from the lightning-throwing attacker, while others were trying to provide covering fire. None of the bullets seemed to hit the attacker, however, so it wasn't very effective, but it least he was staying put.
     "Wait here." Muldoon said and then made a quick duck-and-run to the nearest working police car. He climbed in and started it up, then quickly sped over to the area with Kirby and the captain. Other officers saw this, and kept Megavolt's attention drawn away, more so with taunts than actual gunfire. In particular, he seemed to react vehemently to the name "Sparky"...

     He wasn't next to Megavolt, but still in the intersection. He wasn't responsible for either Megavolt's outburst or the chaos that followed, but he doubted that the police would believe him right now. This day, Darkwing thought glumly, has gone from bad to downright cruddy.
     He was busying trying to prevent a clear line of sight from the police, as he wasn't about to test his dodging capabilities against a bullet in flight. Megavolt had apparently throw up some sort of magnetic field around him, as the bullets were straying far from the mark on each shot. Darkwing wondered about it for a minute, as he had never seen Megavolt pull this trick before. But then again, whenever someone called him "Sparky", who knew how he would react? This time, it just happened to be picking a fight with the local police force. A fight, Darkwing noted with some uneasiness, that Megavolt seemed to be winning.
     A movement to his right brought him out of his reverie. A few officers had moved in around him, boxing him in and away from his "partner", Megavolt, who was still busying himself with increasing the amount of work for the city clean-up crew tomorrow.
     The police had a clear line of sight now, but they hadn't fired. Darkwing hoped that it was because that they might have sensed that he was actually a crime-fighter. In truth, the police were afraid that shooting Darkwing would only enrage Megavolt further, but either way had the same outcome: Darkwing was not in immediate danger.
     Noticing their willingness to let him live, Darkwing seized upon an idea. He threw his hands up over his head in a surrendering pose. "Wait! I can help you! I can stop him!"
     The police exchanged glances, but never let their weapons waver from Darkwing's chest. "How?" one of them asked.
     "He'll listen to me. I'm from the same...place he is, so he trusts me." Darkwing had been about to say the same dimension, but thought that might be pushing his luck. Truth is stranger than fiction, he reminded himself grimly.
     "Why should we trust you?"
     "Because you have nothing to lose. If I'm wrong, he kills me, and you have one less wacko to worry about." That didn't come out exactly the way he wanted, but it seemed to work.
     "You have one minute. The second after that, we open fire."
     "Great, another time limit," Darkwing sighed to himself. "If you could, use water against him. It'll short him out, but just don't be standing within five feet of him when he does." Quickly, he sprinted back off towards Megavolt, calling over his shoulder, "Tell your men to hold their fire, and for goodness sakes don't call him Sparky!"
     One of the officers hopped into a still functioning police cruiser and told the rest of the force the deal. He then patched through to the incoming S.W.A.T. team, updating them on what they knew...yes, the captain was alive...no, the attackers hadn't tried to make a break for it...well, one looks like a three-foot tall bird and the other looks like some sort of rat/weasel/dog type thing...no, nothing stronger than coffee...
     Megavolt was running out of police cars to blow up. He actually had to stop and look for them now. He had tried hitting the police officers, but they seemed reluctant to stay in one place long enough for a clear shot. Targets that didn't move, as opposed to those the moved quickly while shouting out rude things, seemed to be the easier of the two to hit. He had just spotted one, and was charging up his gloves, when a hand pulled him back.
     "Blast it, Megavolt!" Darkwing snarled.
     "I was about to, thank you very much!" Megavolt shot back.
     "I mean, why did you have to ruin everything?! Now you've made us into wanted criminals in this world!"
     "And this situation is different from St. Canard in what way?" Megavolt asked, regaining his feet. His glow had begun to dim, Darkwing noted, and the police had actually stopped firing, both bullets and names. At least something was going right today.
     "Okay," Darkwing admitted, "maybe you are used to being a felon, but I was a respected hero!"
     "Respected!" Megavolt laughed. "Let's be honest, Darkwing. You're one step above street sweepers in the public's eyes."
     "We are not here to discuss my popularity," Darkwing replied testily, growing defensive. "Besides, we can always hit my webpage when we get back. You'll see from the counter how many people have stopped by to read all about my excellent exploits of excitement."
     "Yeah, I've seen it. And tell me that you didn't start the counter at one thousand."
     Darkwing was suddenly extremely interested in inspecting the top of his hat.
     "I figured. So that means that you've actually had as many as five people hit your page in how long? Five months?"
     "Give it time!" Darkwing snapped. "People probably just don't know about it yet."
     "Oh please! With those huge advertisements you've put all over the place? You go to any blue smoke dealer on the web, and there's your ad at the top! Speaking of which, what is this ‘light-bulb loony' reference in your villain's write-up about me?"
     Darkwing blinked. "You read that?"
     "Unfortunately. Rather self-promoting, wasn't it? All I read about was how you risked life and limb against me time and again. You talked about yourself at least 50% of the time."
     "Well, yeah," Darkwing kicked at the ground. "But you have to admit, I did name you as my arch-enemy, not Dr. Slug."
     "Well...yes." Now it was Megavolt's turn to kick at the ground. "And thank you for the compliment. But it still isn't enough, Darkwing. You need to rework that whole section, if not the whole homepage."
     "All right! All right!" Darkwing sighed. "You win, I'll at least rework the supervillain section."
     "‘Atta boy, Darkwing." Megavolt cheerfully clapped his arch-enemy on the shoulder. "I'll even help you out, if want."
     "Thanks, Megavolt. That'd be a big help. Can you give me some info on the Fearsome Five, do you think?"
     "Why not?"
     Astute readers may wonder why Darkwing and Megavolt have hit it off so well suddenly. Well, Megavolt is insane, and Darkwing is egotistical. In a non-combat situation, these personalities can mesh very well together.
     Even more astute readers may wonder even more what's going on with the police, as Megavolt and Darkwing are still standing in the middle of the intersection, surrounded by burning cars, chunks of concrete, and other indications of a peeved Megavolt.
     Quite simply, they left. Once the captain was driven off to the hospital, and Darkwing had kept his promise about stopping Megavolt's rampage, the police force used the general rule of thumb. That is to say, look at the situation and hold up your thumb in front of it. Then, keep backing away until you can no longer see the situation, as your thumb completely blocks it. You are now at the proper distance to safely stay out of whatever is going on until those capable of dealing with it arrive.
     The police were now several blocks away, and the S.W.A.T. team had almost arrived. Someone had the foresight to keep the S.W.A.T. team informed of recent developments, so the troops were taking a few minutes to put protective gear into place. Their primary orders were to subdue both of the transgressors, at which time they would be shipped to a laboratory for proper study. They were informed that the bird was more gullible, so it could be lured away with some reassuring words, and maybe some bird seed. The other one would have to go by force.
     Darkwing and Megavolt, meanwhile, remained in their own little world.
     "...but that liquid body can't be all it's cracked up to be," Megavolt was saying. "I don't even want to think about how he goes to the bathroom."
     Darkwing nodded, writing this down in his notebook. "And what's the deal with Negaduck? Has anyone tried talking to him about trimming down those eyebrows? I mean, it's like he has some sort of fungal growth up there."
     Megavolt shrugged. "Well, the rest of us think he's kind of sensitive about that, so we try not to mention it."
     A number of squealing tires interrupted their rapport. They turned to see several S.W.A.T. vans screeching to a halt all around them. The back doors opened up, spilling forth a mass of well-armored and protected men. Each one carried his rifle easy and at the ready.
     "Well, that's rather rude of them," Megavolt commented. "Now I have to fry them, which will probably make me lose my train of thought." He looked at Darkwing. "You'll remind me where we left off, right?"
     "Yeah, don't worry ab--oh no, wait! Not again!"
     But it was too late. Megavolt had already charged up his plug-helmet...
     But then it emitted a few feeble sparks, and the glow died.
     "Oh rats." Megavolt slapped his forehead. "Between the electrilizer jump and my previous...uh..."
     "Rampage?" Darkwing offered, looking around again at the ruins strewn about.
     "Oh, yeah. Thanks. Well, between that and our jump, my power reserves are pretty much drained." He looked around. "I don't see any power lines or anything to recharge with."
     Darkwing watched with growing fear as the S.W.A.T. team started to pull out grenade launchers and set them up around the area. Several rows of troops had already taken position behind some cover, aiming their rifles at the duo in the middle. Both Megavolt and Darkwing knew they were in serious trouble when the last van unloaded its troops. Someone had tipped them off, as each member was carrying a supersoaker. Darkwing kicked himself inwardly. Megavolt did outwardly.
     "You told them, you idiot!" he snapped. "Well, this is just skippy! You'd better figure out some way to stop them before we're both killed!"
     Darkwing was trying to figure out just that, when one of them motioned to him. "It's okay...uh, sir. We were told of your assistance. Step away from the other one, and we'll keep you safe."
     Darkwing breathed a sigh of relief and started forward, but was yanked back by Megavolt.
     "It's a trap!" Megavolt yelled. "You'll never separate us! We are forged from the same circuit! One for all, and all for...everyone else. Or something."
     "Thanks, Megavolt, but I'm sure that everything will be fine. Just let me--"
     "We have to stick together to the end, Darkwing!" Megavolt dramatically struck a pose, grasping Darkwing even tighter. "Together, alone in a foreign world, we have to put our differences aside and work together ‘til the end!"
     "Gee, that's real sweet of you, Megs," Darkwing was trying to squirm out of Megavolt's grip. He turned back to see the trooper waving for him to get over there and out of the way. Why is there a bag of bird seed in his hand? Darkwing wondered, then dismissed it.   "But this is for the best. You said you're low on power, so let me do the talking here, and we'll be all better in a jiffy."
     Megavolt, remembering how well things went the last time Darkwing did all the talking, shook his head. "I'm low but not out. Hang on. I have one more trick up my sleeve, so to speak."
     "What? What are you--"
     Darkwing was cut-off as Megavolt raised his free hand skyward, and a sudden field swept all around them. Then both Megavolt and Darkwing shot straight up, into the night and out of view. The S.W.A.T. team looked up and around uneasy. The leader shook his head and sighed, looking at the price tag on the bird seed.
     "Buck eighty-five for nothing." He tossed the bag over his shoulder and ordered a search to commence immediately.

     For the second time in under an half-hour, Darkwing was treated to an aerial view of the city. This time, however, he was not falling. Instead, he was flying slowly about 500 feet up. To be precise, he was clinging tenaciously to Megavolt, who in turn had his right hand magnetized to the underside of some sort of small aerial craft.
     "What did you do this time?" Darkwing quacked, waiting any moment for them to fall again.
     "Besides saving our lives?" Megavolt responded tersely. If having his hand firmly attached to an unknown flying object while airborne had any effect on him, he didn't show it.
     "Oh...yeah." Darkwing took a deep breath and calmed down. "Okay, what happened? You said you were low on power."
     "Exactly. I said I was low, not out. All I did was activate my energy-seeker, and well, here we are."
     "Energy-seeker?" Darkwing repeated.
     "Basically, my harness emits a quick surge over the area, and detects the strongest source of power around. Then it locks on to the target, converts a section of the object to negative polarity, my glove to positive, and presto! My magnetic personality brings the object to me." He looked down. "Or vice versa. Normally, I'm drawn to a wall socket or power lines, where the energy-seeker then siphons off the power to recharge me."
     "Is that happening now?" Darkwing thought that if it was, he should've felt something by now.
     "No." Megavolt looked back at the craft he was attached to. "This thing," he motioned with his head to the craft, "must have a boatload of power stored up inside to beat out the power lines we flew by. The energy-seeker locked onto this as the strongest source, but the trip up here expended too much of my power reserves to finish the job. So, I'm stuck in neutral, so to speak."
     "Great." Darkwing groaned. "How long before your magnetic glove gives out?"
     "It won't. They're permanently locked to each other until I can power up again, canceling the magnetics in the process." Megavolt tried to relax as much as he could, while dangling 500 feet from the Earth and having a duck clinging to him at the same time.
     "Relax." He continued. "Enjoy the view. Enjoy the rest. As soon as we land, I'll probably be in range of something to recharge from, and we'll be on our way again."
     Darkwing didn't answer. He was busy studying the skyline. He had some time on the last electrilizer trip to scope it out. At the time he figured he might never get home, so he might as well find the most dramatic place to pose. Now he looked with a different intent.
     This skyline was not the same as the one on the last trip.
     True, Megavolt and he may have come through at a different time, either many years before or after their last visit, but there were too many differences; not enough similarities for it to be the same city. He sighed deeply. They were lost in another dimension. Again. With no apparent way back. Again.
     He looked below and saw the rooftops of suburbia passing underneath. They were getting further from the city, and that struck a chord in Darkwing. All things considered, he was a detective, and there was one major difference between this electrilizer jump and the last.
     The last time, they had erupted from a television in a department store. This time, they had just appeared in mid-air. He had a strong suspicion that he should try to return to the area where they had appeared, to see what it was that made them appear in that spot, instead of through some electronic device, like the last time. Granted, it may have been the lightning in the area, but it was all he had to go on.
     The problem now was getting back there. Darkwing used a free hand to check his pockets for anything that might help. The only thing that came close was a super-strong cloth-alloy (don't ask) high tension net. Not his first choice for a substitute parachute. Below, he could see that he was now over a wooded area, some of the trees a respectable height. He might be able to use the net in conjunction with a pair of elastic bands he had for repelling as a make-shift bungee cable: Dropping the net over the top of the tree on the way down, and hope there was enough space for the bands to slow his descent.
     Now he faced the difficult choice of separating from Megavolt, who he would need to use the electrilizer for the trip back, with the possibility that he may never find him again, or of risking the fall to go back and investigate the area before time wore the possible clues away.
     "In the meantime," Megavolt was saying, "How about a song? Ninety-nine blown fuses in the trash, ninety-nine blown fuses...You toss one out, I'll reduce you to grout, ninety-eight blown fuses in the trash..."
     Actually, the choice wasn't nearly as difficult as Darkwing thought.

    The explosions had died away some time ago, but the sirens could still be heard. Most of them were fire engines, but the Rangers could still pick out the police as well. They kept their pace up, knowing that sometimes the clean-up of any incident can be as important as the actual happening itself.
     Keeping to their quick trot, they had soon come into the parks surrounding the suburbia. Gadget estimated that they would need another half-an-hour to get to the area, but that could be drastically reduced if they could snag some transportation. So they pushed on in hopes of hopping on a emergency vehicle on it's way there.
     They were perhaps no more than halfway through the woods, when they all heard a sharp cracking sound for high above.
     "What's that?" Gadget asked, stopping and looking up.
     They all heard a muffled cry and saw, silhouetted against the sky, a figure falling through the branches uncontrollably.
     "How'd a person get way up there?" Dale asked, astonished.
     "Ask him later, Dale, right now we have to save him from falling to his death!" Chip darted over to a nearby sapling, pulling out a coil of rope he carried. "Zipper! Monty! Give me a hand!"
     They caught on to what he was doing as he lassoed the top of the baby tree and began pulling it down. Zipper pushed the top, while Chip and Monty pulled. It was quickly stretched out over the area where the figure was falling.
     "Come on, Dale!" Gadget said, heading over to a rotted log. "That sapling won't be enough."
     Dale planted himself next to Gadget, and they shoved the log down the incline, rolling it into place under the sapling.
     "That should help cushion the impact." Gadget looked up, worried. "But I doubt it'll be enough." She hated the thought of it not being enough, even though it was all they could do.
     Since they were all busy trying to prepare a safe landing site, none of them noticed that the fall was taking longer than it should have. Even so, the figure crashed through the remaining branches of the trees with alarming speed. He wasn't plummeting, but he wasn't easing in, either.
     He broke through the last leafy bough, and thudded into the sapling, snapping Monty and Chip off their feet and into a bush several yards away. What the sapling couldn't handle in terms of kinetic energy, the rotted log soaked. Between the two of them, and the elastic bands the rangers could now see, the figure wasn't injured too badly. In fact, since it was his second fall from a height of greater than thirty feet, he was doing dandy.
     As the dust settled, the rangers could now see that maybe he was injured worse than they thought. He was all white, and looked sort of feathery. He was shorter than most humans, aside from children. They also took note of the dark clothing he wore: All shades of purple, with some green and magenta thrown in for good measure.
     What they couldn't understand was the webbed feet.
     They all approached cautiously, Monty and Chip absent-mindedly pulling leaves from their clothes. Zipper hovered over the large bird, for now they could see clearly that it was indeed a bird, but like no bird they've ever seen before.
     A groan indicated that the object of their fascination was awakening.
     "Launchpad would have been proud of that landing." He said groggily, shifting to sitting position. He shook his head to clear out the cobwebs, then peered around, spotting the Rangers for the first time. He regarded them curiously, having never seen animals in the wild who wore clothes. Not that they were shabby dressers, mind you. Well, with the possible exception of that one in the loud Hawaiian shirt, but it really looked like it belonged there.
     This brought his attention to his own clothes.
     "Oh great..." he moaned, seeing the dirt and moss stains. "Like today hasn't been going   bad enough already. And who knows how long it'll be before I can get it to a washing machine? I doubt the Laundromats here will be welcoming to out-of-towners like me." He sighed. "Not only am I stuck here, but stuck here in a ruined wardrobe."
     All this time, the Rangers could only stand and stare. Finally, Monterey turned to the rest. "Are you mates seein' this as well?" He asked bluntly. "Or did I just knock my noggin too hard on a rock?"
     "No, Monty," Chip answered, "Or else I hit my head on the same rock you did."
     "Well I didn't hit my head on any rocks, not today anyway, and I'm seeing it too," Dale chimed in.
     Zipper nodded to the rest, then landed lightly on Monterey's shoulder.
     Now it was Darkwing's turn to stare. This is a new twist, he thought.
     If there was any doubt left in his mind that he had never been to this dimension before, this was the clincher. In all his previous adventures, he had never run into small animals like like this. True, Archie, along with Eek and Squeak, could communicate with others, but he had never seen them in any type of wardrobe. Besides, they were the pets of Morgana, and that threw the animal behavior guidebook out the window. Darkwing also recalled a group of ants that were committing robberies, but that was directed by Lilliput, and even he needed a special cap to communicate with them.
     "Well," Gadget said decisively, "whatever he is, he's got to be hurt from that fall." She calmly strode up to Darkwing. "Excuse e, Mister... uh... Mister-Recently-Fallen-a- Great-Distance, are you hurt badly?"
     Darkwing was caught off-guard by the question, and had to blink several times to bring himself back to the present.
     "Uh, no. No, not at all. I just--AHHH!" He jerked in pain as he tried to stand up. A sharp stinging was racing through his back. It felt like he might have strained something. What is going on? He thought with a tinge of panic. I never was this easily hurt before, I can still feel the bruises from my first fall. Those should have vanished by now!
     He gazed back up at the treetops, and then down along the elastic bands connected to his waist. The bands were stretched out, but his weight was enough to keep him down. This was another problem. In all the past times he had tried anything like this, the bands should have shot him back up into the air. But not this time. Why?
     He shifted, feeling another stab of pain, and he dropped the line thought for more immediate things.
     "Yes..." he managed in a shaky voice. "I guess I strained something in my back."
     Gadget nodded. Her practicality had won over her fear of the unknown. She no longer cared what he was, only that he was hurt. "Okay, then, hold still for a minute." She climbed up onto his back, to the bottom of his neck.
     Chip and the rest looked in amazement at Gadget as she started a comprehensive examination of Darkwing's back, trying to pinpoint the problem. Chip shrugged and stepped forward. Might as well get on with it, he figured. They were already providing medical treatment, after all.
     "Well, Mr., uh, Duck." Chip started as best could under the circumstances. "We're the Rescue Rangers. My name's Chip, that's Dale, Monterey Jack, Zipper, and Gadget is the one checking your back." He indicated each Ranger in turn.
     "Heya, mate. Call me Monty." Monterey greeted.
     "Pleased to meet you." Dale nodded.
     Zipper made a gesture which indicated they would have liked it to be under better circumstances.
     "You're telling me..." Darkwing agreed. He flinched as Gadget hit the spot.
     "Does that hurt?" she called out. She tapped the area again.
     "Yes." Darkwing's voice was very tiny. "How much medical training have you had?"
     "I'm self-taught," she stated proudly. "No formal training."
     Darkwing nodded to himself. Figures.
     The rest of the Rangers missed most of the conversation, lost in shock. Finally Dale blurted out what they were all thinking: "You understood what Zipper was saying?"
     Darkwing looked at them strangely. "Yeah. Is that unusual?"
     "Well, it's just that no human ever understands him." Chip explained. "And not many animals, aside from other insects."
     "Oh, is that all?" Darkwing waved the thought aside. "Back home, I know a few residents of the lower section of the zoological chart--no offense--and can understand them rather well." He shrugged. Only slightly though, as Gadget was around the strained area. "Of course, it did take me awhile to learn what they were saying. Launchpad still has problems, but Gosalyn caught on pretty quick..." He chuckled to himself.
     "What do you mean, ‘back hom--" Chip started.
     A siren broke through their individual thoughts, reminding them all why they were now in the woods.
     "How bad is it, Gadget?" Chip asked. "Can he walk all right?"
     "Yes, but he really shouldn't. He needs to rest, and I can probably make him a compress to put on it." She dropped back to the ground and walked back to the group.
     "Thanks, but I'll be fine," Darkwing said. I hope, he mentally added.
     "Well, it's just that I want to find out more about what happened to you, but we're kind of in a hurry. I thought you might be able to tell us on the way there."
     "Where?" Darkwing said, standing up. The pain stabbed at him again, but he fought it back.
     Chip pointed off through the woods. "Over near the city. We heard some explosions and sirens, and wanted to go check out what happened, and if anyone needed any help."
     "It's what we do," Dale added with a proud smile.
     Darkwing could only give a weak smile. "Oh....that." His voice was attempting non-interest, but it was strained.
     Chip picked up on it in a heartbeat. "What do you mean?" His brain put two and two together, mainly two unusual incidents, and asked, "You were involved, weren't you?" His gaze was the most penetrating Darkwing had ever felt from a chipmunk.
     "I...uh..." His mind raced. Why was he feeling so awkward in front of four rodents and a housefly? He set traps out for these things at home. And what was more, he was the mighty mallard! Darkwing Duck! Hero to the helpless, savior of the suffering, and traffic cop to the speeders of crime! And these five...
     ...had probably saved his life. His bravado drained out of him as he gazed back up to the trees. As likely as it was back home that he would have survived this fall without any injuries to speak of, he wasn't home anymore. The pain in his back was a testament to that. And if these five...these "Rescue Rangers" hadn't taken the time to intervene, without any askance, he might not have escaped with merely a strained back.
     "All right." His voice was firm again as he put his hat back on. His resolve in being forthcoming with the Rangers lent him a much needed strength. "You don't need to go there. Everyone who was injured was taken away for treatment. And I'm willing to bet the fire department has the burning cars under control. They weren't near any buildings, so the fire is contained."
     Chip nodded. "Now, how did you come to get there? And where is ‘back home'?"
     "Well, have a seat, because it's a long story."
     "Gadget?" Chip turned to her as he nodded. "Can you get a compress ready for him here, or do you need some other supplies?"
     She glanced about. "There should be enough here for now. You'd be surprised at what you can do with natural ingredients." She smiled as she went about the various trees and bushes, selecting plants and herbs.
     "Guys, give me a hand with these leaves." Chip said, shoving a group over towards a spot clear of rocks and roots. The others nodded and quickly put together a small bed of leaves.
     "There you go, Mister...uh..." Dale started.
     "Darkwing." Darkwing said with a grin. He tipped his hat. "Darkwing Duck. Crimefighter by trade."
     "Cool name." Dale said with a grin. "Well, Mr. Darkwing, these should be more comfortable to rest on."
     "Too right," Monterey nodded.
     Zipper gave a wink. From one crimefighter to another, it implied.
     "Thank you, and just call me Darkwing." He settled down carefully. Again, he noted, they didn't ask if they could help; they just did. He smiled and started to see some hope glimmering through his storm clouds.

     Most of the damage had been neutralized, and things were back under control now. Granted, he had a lot of repairs to do before everything was up and running like before this minor disaster, but at least he could get back to his original plan now. The robots had nearly completed the first stage of the roof entrance, and his metal dragon was returning intact.
     Nimnul wasn't completely sure how much information was downloaded before the unit was destroyed, but he was confident that there would be enough for his purposes. He continued work at the computer, hoping to have it completely repaired before morning. Losing himself into his work, he was only dimly aware of his metal dragon returning through the roof entrance and landing, somewhat nosily, behind him. His attention, however, was caught by what followed next.
     "Hey, this is a pretty nice set-up here, even for a weird-nosed freak."
     Nimnul spun around, but didn't see anything at first. Then he noticed a shape underneath his metal dragon. It appeared that someone had hitched a ride back to his laboratory. Nimnul wasn't as interested in how the intruder got onto the metal dragon as much as he was intrigued by the fact that he was apparently trying to stay out of sight. At least, he hadn't come out from underneath the metal dragon, which merely glanced about,
awaiting instructions.
     Digging his remote out of his pocket, he tapped in a series of commands to the robots not involved with the construction at the hole/entrance. Several large, unfriendly-looking robots moved over to encircle the intruder.
     "You might as well come on out," Nimnul stated. "I know you're here. I'd like to destroy you with minimal damage to my inventions. That's happened quite enough for tonight, thank you."
     "You want me to step on out?" There was a spark from the figure. In the momentarily flash of light, Nimnul saw...well, he wasn't sure what it was, to be frank, but he had seen some pretty bizarre things before, most of the time as a result of one of his experiments. So he wasn't shaken too badly.
     He was, however, rather ticked when a surge of electricity sprang forth from a nearby wall socket, lighting up the figure. The metal dragon was unaffected, as its interior surge suppressors and exterior armor protection were more than adequate to keep it from even noticing the voltage below.
     Megavolt, now able to detach himself from the underside of the dragon, moved out from underneath it and stretched, casting a quick glance around. He felt like teaching the human who was in 'charge', but was distracted by the dragon, actually seeing it from the first time.
     "Whoa...so that's what my energy-seeker picked out." He nodded admirably. "Nice design. What year is it, a '97?"
     "Made this year, actually," Nimnul responded. He didn't like the way this guy (he assumed it was male) looked, especially with that huge battery strapped on his back. Nimnul tapped a few more buttons on the remote, bringing the rest of his robot force down to join the closing circle. The metal dragon turned to face Megavolt, it's eyes glowing red with the latest instructions.
     Megavolt looked around at the approaching robots. "Oh, you're going to show them all to me? Cool!"
     "Oh yes," Nimnul smirked. "Up close and personal."
     "Great!" Megavolt, still not quite appreciating his situation walked up to the dragon, trying to pull its head down for a closer look. The metal dragon made the process easier by snapping its head down, steel jaws agape.
     "Nice teeth. I--YAH!" Megavolt yelled as he jumped back, the jaws clanging shut only inches from his head. "Well, if you insist on this..." He lanced a bolt of electricity from his glove to the metal dragon, striking it squarely in the chest.
     A shower of sparks spread over the area, but the attack was otherwise deflected. Taken aback by someone actually building a device to last, Megavolt tried another approach. Another surge of electricity hit the dragon, but this time with the intent of draining the power from it, and transferring it to Megavolt.
     Again, the attack was repelled. Nimnul had put a lot of time into these robots, and it showed. Maybe, given enough time to charge himself up to full power, he might have been able to affect the robots, but the power that was sapped from the wall socket was rather pathetic by Megavolt's standards. He didn't have enough to take out one of the robots, let alone a squad of them.
     He spied Nimnul moving around them, trying to keep in sight of Megavolt, but staying a safe distance away. Megavolt saw the remote that Nimnul was holding, and decided that it might be more effective to remove the source in this case. He arced another shot over in that direction, but couldn't see well enough for it to be accurate. The electricity scorched the ground near Nimnul, but that was all.
     It was enough for Nimnul, however, as he didn't like the idea of being reduced to cinders by someone else. Come to think of it, he didn't like the idea of being reduced to cinders at all. He entered the final signal for the eradication of Megavolt. He did feel a twinge of regret, though, as he was fascinated by the ability to control electricity like that, and would have liked to learned more about it.
     Megavolt found that his personal space was being violated rather quickly. Knowing that his normal electricity attacks wouldn't work on these robots, he tried another tactic to get clear of them. He quickly set himself and the nearest robots to a positive charge, so as they lunged in at him, the repulsion caused by two like magnets pushed him up and away from the danger.
     Once airborne, he shot a wide-angled static burst behind him, letting the force push his momentum away from the robots. He landed several yards away, and behind Nimnul. Spinning back around, Megavolt absent-mindedly noticed that his feet stung from the hard landing. This was puzzling, as he had done this hundreds of times back in St. Canard without any type of pain upon landing.
     He put it out of his mind for the time being, which really wasn't too hard, considering Megavolt's mind. He stepped forward towards Nimnul, charging up his gloves.
     "Why destroy the toy when you can take out the batteries?" He said threateningly, rasing his gloves.
     "Because these 'toys' will function without them, carrying out their last instructions." Nimnul informed him, not wavering from his position. "Namely, your demise." The robots were lined up behind Nimnul, but he was holding them back for the moment.
     They both knew that if Nimnul sent the robots in, Megavolt would roast him before Megavolt was even reached. Likewise, however, if Megavolt zapped Nimnul now, the robots would have nothing to keep them from rendering him into hundreds of Mircovolts. The stalemate was seen and recognized. More importantly, however, they both had, for the first time, the chance to meet each other's determined gaze.
     And some twisted part of them recognized the howl of madness that echoed in the other's soul.
     Megavolt lowered his glove, dispersing the power.
     Nimnul negated the commands, sending the robots back to their previous duties.
     And both madmen looked at each other for a long, long time.

     The storm clouds still covered the city, and lightning occasionally played back and forth between rumbles of thunder, but otherwise the storm seemed to have settled somewhat. A few strong winds blew out across the miles of thunderheads, eventually coming to the area where Darkwing and Megavolt had first appeared in this world. Directly below, over a thousand feet to the city street, the police and fire department were cleaning up the remains of the destroyed unit, taking statements from witnesses, and generally trying to sort through the whole mess.
     A pair of slanted eyes watched with interest, eyes that glowed with a patience of someone waiting for the right moment. Like a time bomb patiently waiting to explode.
 

     Chip whistled. "That's a heck of a way to start an evening at work," he remarked as Darkwing finished his story. Darkwing held a small compress against his lower back, the one the Gadget had assembled. A combination of leaves and moss, and a few other things she told him he'd be better off not knowing about. Whatever it was, it was working. The pain had subsided rather quickly. Gadget, who had been monitoring the troubled area during the story remarked on how quickly it was healing.
     "Yeah, but normally, I don't even feel it five minutes afterwards. Like I said, it seems to be worse recently." Darkwing shifted the compress around.
     "Could be a result of the electrilizer." Chip thought aloud.
     "Possibly." Gadget replied. "I have a theory, but we'll have to run some tests first."
     "Tests?" Darkwing looked ill.
     "Oh, it won't take more than a few hours, really."
     "Swell." Darkwing rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not like I can think of a better idea."
     "Do we take him back to headquarters?" Dale asked. "I don't think he'll fit."
     "But my equipment's there." Gadget looked back up to Darkwing. "We don't need to bring him inside. He can wait outside, and we can bring the equipment out to him, run the tests, then go back in and process the results."
     Zipper looked at Darkwing, then to Gadget. Wait outside? His look asked. He doesn't exactly blend in with the other park ducks.
     "Not unless we stop by a costume shop, and outfit them in matchin' suits." Monterey nodded. "Even if it's night, people are going to be around."
     "Well, we need to get back to the headquarters anyway, because we still have to find out what Nimnul was up to." Chip crossed his arms and looked around, thinking. "Go back, gather information and supplies, and get the Ranger Wing."
     "But Chipper, how are we supposed keep Darkwing inconsequential?" Dale asked.
     "What?" Darkwing quacked.
     "The word is ‘inconspicuous', Dale, and we'll do what Monty said: Stop by a costume shop." Chip grinned, an idea growing.
     "Uh, Chip m'lad, I was kiddin' about outfittin' the ducks," Monterey said slowly.
     "We're not outfitting ‘the ducks', Monty," Chip reassured him. "Just ‘a duck'."
     The others slowly caught on and nodded, smiling.
     Except for one.
     "I've got that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach again." Darkwing moaned.
     Gadget, checking the small of the back once more, confirmed that it was almost healed, so the Rangers climbed onto Darkwing, who began a steady trot back towards the city.
     "What's the game plan, then?" Dale asked Chip.
     "First, we get Darkwing disguised. Then we stop back by the headquarters and let Gadget run those tests of hers." Chip and Dale were tucked safely in the collar of Darkwing, while Gadget and Monty were snugly inbetween the jacket and inner shirt of Darkwing. Zipper went from the tip of Darkwing's hat, to the shoulder, next the Dale, and then to whenever it best suited him. They all had a clear view of the approaching city.
     "Actually," Darkwing said to Chip, keeping in the shadows of the suburbs, "after the disguise, I would like to stop by and check out that area where Megavolt and I first came through. I think that might shed some light on what happened."
     "Well, at least make a quick detour to our HQ," Gadget said, then added as he started to object, "Just long enough for us to get the Ranger Wing. It will enable us to help you out better."
     Chip nodded. "We can cover more ground that way."
     Darkwing agreed, coming up to the city itself. They saw the first of many buildings taller than two stories. Darkwing pulled out his Gasgun and fired the grappling hook up to the roof. Tugging to make sure it held, he released the coiling button, pulling him and the Rangers up to the roof.
     They stuck to the rooftops as much as possible, avoiding anyone on the street and any windows nearby that had a light on inside. After several minutes, Darkwing landed deftly behind the costume shop. The Rangers quickly disembarked and moved over to the door. Darkwing walked up the steps and tried the doorknob.
     "Locked." He took a step back. "Okay, no problem, I'll just use my patented web-foot kick, and we'll be on our wa--"
     "Wait!" Chip called out. "Let us open it from the inside. There might be a burglar alarm that would be triggered by forced entry."
     It took Darkwing a moment to process the information. "Oh. Yeah." He resumed his normal stance as the Rangers entered through a small crack by the stairs. A scant few minutes later, and Darkwing heard a soft click from the inside. The door swung open, the Rangers waiting down by the door frame.
     "Okay mate, all set." Monterey nodded as he went back into the shop.
     "Thanks," Darkwing said as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. "I'll get the next one. You've got to see my entrance..."
     They took about ten minutes in the shop, finally finding what they were looking for: A number of fake zippers, fake buttons, a pair of wide-legged pants, and a couple of good sized shoes. Darkwing quickly slipped into the pants and shoes (which were purple and black respectively, so they matched his outfit), and the rangers attached the zippers and buttons around his neck, head, and hands.
     When they had finished, they took a moment to appreciate their work. Now, if anyone saw Darkwing, they'd think that he was a midget or a child on his way to a costume party. The fake zippers and buttons gave the impression that he was only wearing a very realistic duck costume.
     "There!" Dale nodded proudly. He had done most of the direction for this disguise. "Now Darkwing, people will think that you're really a human."
     "Sort of..." Darkwing mumbled.
     "As long as they don't look too long," Gadget noted.
     "And there's bad lighting," Monterey observed.
     "And they have bad vision," Chip remarked.
     Zipper merely sighed and rolled his eyes.
     Dale shrugged. "Well, we work with what we have. Anyway, it's the best we're going to be able to do."
     "It'll do." Darkwing said. "I don't intend to go parading around town. Not yet, anyway."
     "Yeah..." Chip said speculatively.
     "Anyway," Darkwing continued, "let's get this over with. I think I'd rather be shot than have to spend too long looking like this."
     "With the way your dressed, mate, you might get shot anyway." Monterey remarked dryly.
     Darkwing just looked at his disguise and groaned again. "Come on."
     The Rangers resumed their places and Darkwing left through the back again, shutting the door and hoping that there were no video cameras recording. He could handle the idea of being hunted again, but not if they spread what his current image was around the police force.
     Another series of roof hops and wall scaling brought Darkwing to the Rangers' home base in the park. Darkwing was feeling more nervous than ever. They neglected to mention the fact that the park was directly across the street from the police station.
     "Did I mention that I'm a wanted fugitive?" he mentioned hurriedly, glancing over his shoulder, just waiting for a wave of cops to wash over him.
     "That's a good pick-up line," Gadget grinned. "Seriously, Darkwing, you'll be fine. Just stay in the bushes, and there'll be no problems. We'll be right back with the Ranger Wing." She climbed down from his collar and hastened up the tree, Chip and Dale right behind. Monterey lagged behind a bit to mention something.
     "Just for your own knowledge," he said quietly, "Whenever Gadget says, ‘no problems' it's like she thumbs her nose at the spirits of bad luck. They don't like that."
     "Great..." Darkwing was now on the brink of paranoia.
     "I'm not sayin' it will happen," Monterey quickly explained. "Just that you should keep your peepers peeled." With that, he went off to join the others. Zipper was the only Ranger left.
     "You sticking around, Zipper?" Darkwing asked as he crouched into a cluster of shrubs to wait for the rest of the Rangers.
     Zipper nodded. There are perks to having your own set of wings, he grinned.
     Darkwing smiled and nodded. Zipper's presence helped to calm him down, so he stopped worrying about the police, and started worrying about Megavolt.
     I've got to find him, too, he thought grimly. Dollars to doughnuts we'll need that electrilizer to get home. Not to mention that as much as I'd like to, I can't leave him here. After all, it's his fault I'm down twenty dollars, so he's the one who's going to fork it over!
     As always, Darkwing had managed to overcome his fear and settle on what was important in his life: Him.

     "Okay then, try this one:
 

     Megavolt nodded, pleased, at sat back. Nimnul chewed over this latest one, for a moment. However, he had been working with computers, so it was at the top of his mind.
     "DOS," He announced triumphantly.
     Megavolt frowned. Nimnul was no creampuff in the technical field. He didn't know the short, squat man that well, but already was developing a strong respect for the Professor's knowledge.
     "Okay, I have one:
 

     Not difficult for Megavolt, mainly because he had already been thinking about computers. "ASCii."
     Now Nimnul sat back with a frown. He, too, was becoming very aware of Megavolt's considerable knowledge of electronics and mechanics.
     Megavolt sat forward, thinking. He decided to divert the track from electronics a bit.
 

     It was definitely a strand away from the computer riddles, Nimnul thought. But he had been building things for quite a while now. He remembered the simple set of operations he went through. Testing the power levels, tightening the bolts, and checking the...
     "Torque!" Nimnul laughed. He regarded the...well, whatever it was, across from him. To be honest, it looked like some dog/rat/weasel type thing, but Nimnul didn't think that was the technical term for it. He had introduced himself as Megavolt, and related the events that brought him here, and it had started Nimnul's mind working.
     He had a suspicion that somehow, the events he had gone through, with the malfunctioning computer and exploded unit, and the events Megavolt had gone through were linked. Not by much, maybe, but it was there. Still, he decided to wait until he knew more before saying anything. He was about to ask another riddle, when Megavolt spoke again.
     "Pardon my asking," he said conversationally. "But what are you up to?" He nodded at the robots around them.
     "Oh, them." Nimnul nodded, glad to have a chance to talk about diabolical plans with someone equally twisted. "Those are my latest inventions. I'll be using them to start gathering materials and information for my next plan. I started tonight, but ran into unexpected difficulties."
     Megavolt nodded. Nimnul had told him about what had happened to him earlier this evening. He, too, ha