Darkwing Duck/DuckTales © Disney

Danny was now sitting on the couch with Gosalyn as Drake mused on HOW to scold Danny for this.

Drake wanted to punish Danny..BUT, as he never bothered to tell Danny NOT to touch his statue,
This whole thing was technically his own fault (and, perhaps Morgana's as well,
BUT, he dared not to even say that to her face.)

Finally, though..Danny broke the silence. "You're not just Jim Starling, are you?"

"Danny..NOT NOW." warned Morgana.

"You're Darkwing Duck!" exclaimed Danny, excited. "So..Darkwing Duck was REAL this whole time?!"

Drake looked at Danny..and, when he saw the light in his eyes.

..He just couldn't stay angry with him.

"I..WAS. Darkwing Duck." replied Drake.

Danny looked puzzled. "Was?"

Drake sighed, then sat down in front of Danny on the tabletop. "YES..I really was Darkwing Duck." explained Drake.

"And, the whole Jim Starling thing with the TV Show..THAT was to boost my reputation in the city.
Scaring criminals wasn't enough, I needed the public to support my crusade against villainy."

"My friend Launchpad McQuack is certainly a fan." said Danny. "He even built a-"

"YES, well..that was a long time ago." spoke Drake, his tone somber.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "What happened. Mr. Mallard? Why does your headquarters look so abandoned?"

"because..St. Canard doesn't need Darkwing Duck anymore." replied Drake.
"It hasn't for a LONG time..not since-" Drake paused, unable to finish his sentence.

"Since what?" asked Danny.

"Since NEGADUCK." answered Morgana.

Danny paused, trying to remember who Negaduck was from countless episodes of the TV show.

"Was he one of your villains?, because I don't remember him."

"He was never on the show." said Gosalyn. "He was too ruthless, and evil for television."

"Censorship was pretty strict in those days." said Morgana, her tone sounding aggravated.
"I even had an episode all about the school that I went to, and it was BANNED after one broadcast!"

"AHEM.." continued Drake. "He was my greatest adversary. a criminal version of myself from a parallel dimension,
He RULED the St. Canard Underworld with an iron fist. And, Ironically, he kinda kept them all in line."

"So, what happened?" asked Danny.

"We..had one final showdown over a year ago." explained Drake.
"He hasn't been seen since. Many believe he is..no more."

"and, what do YOU think?" asked Danny.

Drake huffed. "doesn't matter. he's gone. and when he left, the city fell into chaos.
With every crime boss and villain trying to take his place in the criminal hierarchy."

"Dark barely survived tying to keep the city in one piece." explained Morgana.

"And, just like fireworks on the Fourth of July, crime just fizzled out not long after it exploded." said Drake.
"I found myself going on patrols less, and less..Until it eventually became pointless."

Danny paused as he looked at the duck that was once Launchpad's idol.

"So..Defeating Negaduck ended Darkwing Duck?" inquired Danny.

"yeah..pretty much." said Drake. "If Negaduck IS still alive, he must be laughing it up right now.
He always said that one way or another he would destroy me. (heh!) guess he finally did it."

"and, I take it that's when your TV show got cancelled." continued Danny.

"Oh, there are some reruns here, and there.." droned Drake "but, yeah. Darkwing Duck isn't relevant anymore."

Danny looked at Drake. "maybe not..but, he still inspires SOME people.
My friend, he..kinda lives by your example. He's fearless, and charges into danger without thinking."

"Sounds more like stupidity, than courage." said Drake.

Danny chuckled awkwardly. "ye-yeah..maybe. But, the point is that he puts others first." continued Danny.
"Like you, he always does the right thing no matter how dangerous it is."

Drake looked at Danny. "and, what do YOU think about me, kid?"

Danny paused. He looked at Gosalyn, then Morgana, then finally back to Drake.

"I think it's cool that you are a REAL superhero." said Danny. "I mean, I like Arachno-Duck..but, he isn't real like you."

Drake actually smiled, finding Danny's simple words touching. "thanks, ki-uh, I mean..DANNY."

"And, besides.." continued Danny. "St. Canard may not need you anymore,
but, Duckburg sure could use a hero. I mean, Gizmoduck can't be EVERYWHERE at once."

"YEAH, dad!" exclaimed Gosalyn. "This place has been so DULL, and Duckburg is pretty cool."

Drake looked unsure. "oh..I don't know. It's been so long, I'm not sure I can still-"

((*KRA-BOOOOM!*))

Suddenly, an explosion went off. Demolishing the whole side of the house.
The Mallard Family, and Danny were knocked back by the violent shockwave.

"DANNY!, Are you okay!?"

"GOSALYN!"

As they coughed from the scattered debre, they all looked and saw a shadowy figure
enter the gaping hole, a thick layer of smoke billowing all around the mysterious attacker.

(("I..am the HORROR, that STALKS in the darkness..")) began a dark, aggressive voice.

Drake gasped. "no..it can't be."

(("I am the COCKROACH that you CANNOT SQUASH!"))

The smoke finally cleared..revealing a male duck who resembled Drake Mallard.
ONLY he wore a bright yellow coat, a red sweater and fedora. a black bandanna mask.

And, a black-and-red cape that blew against the wind like giant wings.

(("I..AM..NEGADUUUCK!"))

[Darkwing DuckTales: The Return of the Dark Avenger!]

[Coming Soon..]

[Author Notes]

This is a Sneak Peek at the sequel to my prior story DuckTales: The Final Secret of Della Duck!
(and, the second entry to my "Duckverse Trilogy"), which I am entitling: Darkwing DuckTales: The Return of the Dark Avenger!

Now, NORMALLY this would be the part where I discuss what you just read,
and explain my reasons for writing this, as well as some facts and trivia..

..However, as this is an excerpt from a full chapter, I feel I should just leave this as it is,
and let you all speculate until I am ready to release the story in full.

To be brief, I give my own theory at how Darkwing Duck can still exist in the DuckTales 2017 universe,
DESPITE the revelation of him being the star of his own TV Show.

(and, if you are a true Darkwing Duck fan, then you know how perfect this is.)

[EDIT]

I had to change the title (and, rewrite the story by dropping a whole story arc)
as SOMEONE (on DeviantART) had to spoil a plot twist by nitpicking the "Duck Avenger" name in the old title.

(Honestly, it's getting that you can't even be clever with your story's title anymore
without somebody being a "Negative Nancy", and acting like you don't know what you are doing.)