I am so sorry it took me so incredibly long to finish this story, but I did it! Total Reboot is now complete! Thank you so much for your reviews, and for your patience with me, and I hope you like the ending!

Chapter Eight

"Umb, Gosalynd—ow!" Honker staggered, nearly toppling over in the too-big boots of the "borrowed" Eggman suit he and Gosalyn shared.

"Gosalynd, you're standing od by face!"

"I wouldn't have to stand on your face if you'd just walk straight!" Gosalyn snapped back, struggling to retain her balance on his narrow shoulders. "I can barely see out of this stupid visor. How long is this tunnel, anyway? Whooaaawhoops—!"

Elmo stopped their fall just in time, catching Gosalyn by the shoulders and helping her and Honker reestablish their balance in the stuffy suit.

"Phew," Honker said. "Tanks Mr. Sputterspark. Dat was a close oned."

"You're welcome," Elmo whispered, his long nose and whiskers looking oddly out of place poking out from under his Eggman helmet. "But I really would advise you to keep quiet now. There's a tremor in the electromagnetic field here in this cave, and it's getting stronger as we move down this tunnel. I can feel it in my skin…buzzing in my ears… Ah, here!" He pointed down a poorly lit tunnel that branched off the main passage. "The disturbance is emanating from that direction! I propose we turn left."

Honker nodded invisibly in the suit and shuffled after him, doing his best to ignore the painful weight and pressure of Gosalyn's feet on his shoulders. After three aching, stuffy minutes, he looked up. "Umb, does anyone else hear water?"

"Hey, yeah," Gosalyn said. "It sounds like a waterfall."

"I can see a light ahead," Elmo whispered. "Come on, F.O.W.L.'s base can't be much further now."

The dim tunnel opened onto a broad, rocky ledge that overlooked a bustling hive of advanced technology and busy F.O.W.L. agents. Some rough stairs had been carved into the steep rock face. These stairs led down to a metal overhang and from there to the main floor of the cavern. But it wasn't the layout, the fancy computers, or even the prismatic sheet of roaring water that walled off the far end of the cavern that caught and held their attention. It was the massive satellite that towered at the cavern's center…and the four figures strapped to its support struts.

"…Mother…" Elmo breathed, even as Gosalyn gasped, "Darkwing!"

"Shhhh!" Elmo exclaimed, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Remember our cover. We're not Elmo, Gosalyn, and Honker right now. We're two Eggmen Guards, just standing around doing our jobs."

"But—but Darkwing's—"

"He's right, Gosalynd," Honker said. "We've gotta lay low for now. If these F.O.W.L. agents notice us—"

"I know, I know, you're right," Gosalyn grumbled. "But we can move a little closer, at least."

While the disguised rescue party descended slowly to the main level, Agent Steelbeak strutted over to his bound and gagged captives, his back straight and his tail feathers fluffed with cocky self-assurance. Darkwing, Launchpad and GizmoDuck struggled against their chains, mumbling muffled threats through their gags. Steelbeak chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

"Won't be long now, boys. And ma'am," he said, nodding to Dr. Sputterspark. She glared back over her gag with fiery eyes. Steelbeak clucked a laugh.

"I am so enjoying the anticipation of seeing you fry," he said. Darkwing and GizmoDuck mumbled and squirmed even harder. Steelbeak smiled his steeliest smile.

"But I know you're all dyin' ta know just what exactly this satellite is for," he taunted. "And what this whole elaborate setup has to do with the good Doctor's so-called super-fuel…?"

Darkwing and GizmoDuck settled down for a moment, giving the preening rooster their full attention. Steelbeak pretended to hesitate. "No, no I really shouldn't. But…ah well, since they're about to roast anyway, what can it hurt, eh?"

Steelbeak cackled again and nudged the nearest Eggman. The Eggman froze for a moment, then quickly slunk away, toward the other side of the satellite. Steelbeak gave him a strange glance, perhaps wondering when F.O.W.L. had started hiring rats, but he didn't comment, too intent on gloating in front of his captives.

"Imagine," he said, spreading his arms theatrically wide. "A modern, mechanized world free from the toxic clutches of oil and coal."

Dr. Sputterspark shook her head and worked her jaw until the cloth gag tied over her mouth loosened enough to allow her to speak. "I already have imagined it," she snapped angrily, her words muffled by the gag. "Why'd you think I invented my super-fuel in the first place?"

"Ah, but your vision was small," Steelbeak said. "Invent a clean, recycled super-fuel and hope the world will catch on and reap the benefits. But at what cost, Professor? At what cost?"

"What do you mean?" Dr. Sputterspark said.

"Have you given any thought to what this wondrous invention of yours will do to the world economy? Eh?" the dapper rooster asked.

"I'm a scientist, not an economist," Dr. Sputterspark snapped. "But with the world the way it is now—massive oil spills devastating irreplaceable wildlife, toxic smog choking our cities, melting ice caps…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, the world's a toilet and we're the turds that have to float around in it. But consider this," Steelbeak said. "If that stuff of yours goes on the market and starts to catch on, the world economy will be irrevocably shaken. Oil and coal will be worth less than topsoil. And F.O.W.L. is heavily invested in oil and coal."

"Ah ha! So that's the reasoning behind this shady scheme!" Darkwing exclaimed, finally shaking his bill free of its gag. "If fossil fuels are replaced by Dr. Sputterspark's planet friendly formula, the F.O.W.L. coffers could dry up! They'd lose their influence! But, by stealing Dr. Sputterspark and her super-fuel you ensure oil prices stay high!"

"And you make sure Dr. Sputterspark can't make any more," GizmoDuck added. Unable to loosen his gag on his own, the roboticized duck had finally used one of the many gizmos in his helmet to cut through the cloth. The rest of his suit was so thickly bound in chains, though, that he couldn't access any other controls.

"Again, I am struck by your lack of vision," Steelbeak clucked. "We at F.O.W.L. are not so eco-unfriendly that we would wish to destroy this super-fuel. We can do away with the inventor, sure-we got our samples, we got our scientists, her whinin' and naggin' would just get in our way. But that super-fuel's simply too precious to give up."

"Then what do you intend to do with it?" Dr. Sputterspark demanded.

"We intend to control it!" the dapper rooster crowed. "By capturin' you, not only do we control the super-fuel that's already been made, we can make sure that no more is made unless it's at the demand of F.O.W.L. In other words, we control the product and the means of production. If the world wants this fuel, they'll have to bow to our demands."

"And just what are your demands?" Dr. Sputterspark asked.

"We want the rights," Steelbeak said. "Production and distribution. Not one drop of this spectacular super-fuel is to go on the market unless it's through us."

"You'll never get away with this, Steelbeak," GizmoDuck proclaimed.

Steelbeak rolled his eyes. "Is he serious? Look at yourselves! We already have gotten away with it!" He laughed. "This here satellite is a major super weapon. We've had it stored away in this freezing cave for years, but it was always too expensive to fuel up…until we filled it with the good Doctor's invention."

"No!" Dr. Sputterspark exclaimed. "No, I won't have this. My super-fuel is meant only for private and industrial use—for cars, factories, airplanes! I won't have it used as a weapon!"

"Well, you're too late for that, sweetheart," Steelbeak cackled. "Now, initially, this here super-weapon satellite was intended as an oil drill. It's equipped with a laser beam that can cut holes straight through the earth's crust to find even the deepest, most inaccessible crude. But who needs oil wells when you've got super-fuel, eh? So the top Eggheads up at F.O.W.L. Headquarters got to thinking. And they thought, why not use this here drill as a bargaining chip? Capture the scientist and her super-fuel, then hold the world for ransom?"

Dr. Sputterspark scowled. "I knew it, I just knew it would be something like this." She glared. "You do know that you're insane."

Steelbeak's smile broadened. "Nah. I'm a businessman. But are you getting the implications of what I am saying?" he said. "We have an enormously powerful laser cannon here! Once this thing is up in space, F.O.W.L. will have the power to make any city, town, or community on this dinky little planet literally explode in a flood of lava!"

"You fiend!" GizmoDuck exclaimed. "The government will never give in to your demands!"

"You wanna bet?" Steelbeak smirked. "Our first step, once we get this rocket launched, will be to hold the entire state of Calisota hostage from space. Unless the government coughs up a massive, massive pay-off—say, 100 trillion simoleons—the whole place, Duckburg, St. Canard, all of it, will go kablooie! And once they do pay, with that 100 trillion and sole rights to Sputterspark's super-fuel, F.O.W.L. will control the global economy and therefore the world!"

"No!" Dr. Sputterspark exclaimed, struggling and squirming against her chains for all she was worth. "No, I can't let you do this!"

"I knew you were low, Steelbeak," Darkwing spat, "but I didn't know you were this low. Threatening to blow an entire state off the map just to feather your felonious pockets…"

"Errg, now that is one thing I will not miss about you, Darkwing," Steelbeak said. "Your atrocious alliteration! You two!" He shouted at the pair of Eggman standing at either side of the satellite. "Double check those chains. Make sure they're good and tight. We don't want some last minute heroic escape to foil our plans, eh?"

The two awkward-looking Eggman nodded once, then strode over to Darkwing and GizmoDuck.

"Shh, don't say anything," the Eggman with the strangely small beak whispered in Darkwing's ear. "But it's us! We came to rescue you!"

Darkwing gave a start. "What—Gosalyn!" he hissed angrily. "What do you think you're doing! Get out of here, now!"

"Not without you, I won't," Gosalyn retorted. "How you doing with those locks, Honk?"

"Umb, albost got them," Honker's muffled voice came from lower down the suit. "I think."

Elmo grit his teeth and snarled in frustration. "Erg, these locks won't budge," he said, rattling GizmoDuck's chains. "We must have grabbed the wrong keys from Steelbeak's desk!"

"If that even was Steelbeak's desk," Gosalyn muttered. "Hold on, why don't you just zap 'em?"

"I don't want to fuse the lock," Elmo said. "But, maybe if I focused the charge… Oh, what I wouldn't give for my battery!"

"Quit whining and just do it!" Gosalyn said. "Steelbeak's starting to look suspicious!"

Elmo pressed his finger against Gizmo's chains and forced a powerful zap of electricity into the lock. The padlock burst open, loosening Gizmo's bonds.

"Great job, Elmo old buddy," GizmoDuck said.

"Yeah, yeah, great, now do Darkwing," Gosalyn insisted.

Elmo zapped Darkwing free, then Launchpad. Then he dashed over to Dr. Sputterspark.

"Hold still, Mother," he said.

"Oh, Elmo," the scientist said as he zapped her free. "If we don't make it out of here, I want you to know how prou—"

"Hey!" Steelbeak called. "What's takin' you two louts so long? Just rattle their chains and get out from there, or I'll push this button and you featherbrains can melt along with those do-goodin' dorks."

Elmo turned his back to Steelbeak and raised his visor so his mother could see his face. "Tell me later, Mother," he said, his brown eyes warm, "when we're back at your lab with the super-fuel."

Dr. Sputterspark bit her lip, but watched in silence as her son snapped his visor back down and joined Honker and Gosalyn by Steelbeak's side. Darkwing and GizmoDuck were whispering to each other, something about bursting free and swarming the cocky rooster when the satellite super-weapon's launch countdown got to six.

"Right, then," Steelbeak announced, taking his place behind a waist-high console loaded with blinking knobs, dials, buttons, and levers. "Since the captives are locked firmly in place, it is time to begin. I will start the countdown for launch at ten. Eggheads, open the launch bay doors!"

Everyone in the cavern ooohed an aaahed as the high, domed roof of the cavern slowly spiraled wide open, revealing the clear, blue sky above. Steelbeak cackled in anticipation, his fingers hovering over the button that would ignite the rocket boosters and send the satellite careening into space.

"OK boys and girls. Here we go! In ten…nine…eight… Eh, who am I kidding. Threetwooneblastoff!"

"What—no!" Elmo exclaimed as the towering machine began to rumble and shudder. Dr. Sputterspark screamed as a blast of super-heated air burst down on her—a brief precursor for the flames to come.

"MOTHER!"

Ignoring Steelbeak's shouts and Gosalyn and Honker's attempts to pull him back, Elmo raced toward the shuddering satellite. GizmoDuck, Darkwing and Launchpad had already shaken themselves loose and were charging Steelbeak from both sides. Honker waddled out of the way of the fight, straining under Gosalyn's weight as she struggled to unzip the Eggman suit, then jump off of his shoulders. Dr. Sputterspark wiggled out of her chain's coils and ran to her son, her glasses askew and her gray hair sticking out from her bun in all directions.

"Elmo, what are you—"

"Mother, that satellite," Elmo gasped. "I looked at the controls. Once the launch sequence is initiated, there's no way to shut it down. F.O.W.L. will have a huge super-weapon orbiting the earth, and with the amount of super-fuel it's carrying its lethal potential won't fade for decades!"

"That isn't our concern, Elmo. It's the superheroes and the military that have the training and expertise to destroy that satellite, not scientists like us. Come with me now and let Darkwing and Gizmo do their job and stop Steelbeak!"

"But that's just it, mother," Elmo said. "They can't stop him. Once that satellite's in space, all F.O.W.L. would have to do is build another remote control console. And who's to say they don't already have one? We can't let that satellite launch!"

"But how can we stop it?" Dr. Sputterspark asked. "You already said there's no way to shut it down."

"But, Mother… There is."

"What do you…" She trailed off, her eyes opening wide with horror. "No. Elmo, you can't."

"No, Mother. I'm the only one who can."

"But you'll be killed!"

Elmo shook his head. "Mother, my body can handle the charge. I've had the entire power supply for St. Canard charge through my system, and I came out of it alive."

"Alive, perhaps. But your mind, honey. Your sanity… If you do this, if you lose yourself, I don't know if I'll be able to repair you again. I…I can't, I couldn't…"

"I'll be OK, Mother," Elmo said, and pulled off his Eggman helmet. "You saved me. Now it's my turn to save you." He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Mother."

With that, Elmo dashed the rest of the way to the satellite, climbing up the metal rungs at its side to reach the nearest access panel.

"Elmo. Elmo—no!" Dr. Sputterspark cried, but her screams were lost in the enormous roar of flame that knocked her off her feet as the engines finally ignited. "Elmo…"

The access panel was locked tight, but Elmo fixed that with a concentrated zap from his fingertip. Inside was a mess of wires and circuit boards. The engines had ignited, there wasn't time to figure it all out. Taking a deep breath, Elmo Sputterspark pulled out as many wires as he could grab and shoved his hand deep into the satellite's electronics.

At once, he felt the power crawling up his arm, tingling at first then buzzing. The energy surged through him, stronger and stronger, and he drew it in, welcoming the familiar euphoria as the energy flowed through his brain, tickling, coaxing, teasing. As the power levels rose, he tried to hold on, tried to remember… But remember what? There was nothing to remember but the power, the endless power, caressing him, consuming him.

At the other end of the cavern—which was quickly emptying of all Eggheads and Eggmen who wanted to avoid what looked to be a potentially messy explosion—Darkwing, Launchpad, GizmoDuck and Steelbeak paused their fierce fistfight to stare at the juddering satellite.

"Whoa," Launchpad said, "is that Elmo up there? What does he think he's doing?"

"Looks like he's trying to stop the launch," GizmoDuck observed. "See, he's redirecting the current, absorbing all the satellite's energy into his own body!"

"But that's impossible," Darkwing said, staring at the electrocuting rat with horrified awe. "Even Megavolt couldn't withstand that big a charge. Elmo had to know that..." He trailed off, visibly shaken by what he was seeing.

The massive machine was crackling with electricity from tail to tip, all of it focusing in on Elmo's lanky figure. The electricity lashed around him like coiled lightening, growing brighter and brighter until they all had to shield their eyes. The mechanical pitch of the suffering satellite rose higher until it was as shrill as a scream.

"Noo!" Steelbeak snarled, struggling against Gizmo's robotic grip. "Let me go! Let me at him! If that numbskull wrecks that satellite-!"

And then, suddenly, all was quiet. The satellite lurched then sagged, no longer a threat, just a smoking heap. And there, sprawled on the floor some ten feet away, was

"ELMO!" Dr. Sputterspark screamed.

GizmoDuck held Steelbeak fast as Darkwing, Launchpad, Gosalyn, and Honker followed the scientist to her son's smoking body. There was an awful smell, like burnt hair and scorched rubber, but Dr. Sputterspark didn't even wrinkle her nose as she fell to her knees by his side and gathered his head and shoulders up into her lap.

"Is he…?" Gosalyn asked her father, her eyes wide and nervous. Darkwing shook his head.

"I don't know, Gos," he said quietly.

"Elmo?" Dr. Sputterspark whispered, her voice trembling as she stroked her son's frazzled hair. "Elmo, baby, can you hear me?"

Bringing her ear to his chest, she gasped, then laid him flat on the floor. "No." Fisting her hands together, she raised them high, then slammed them both hard against Elmo's chest.

"Wake up!" she screamed. Hitting him again, she said, "Wake up, Elmo! Come on, baby, breathe for me! Open your eyes and breathe!"

Gosalyn slipped her hand into Darkwing's and huddled close as they watched, silent and somber. Dr. Sputterspark pounded Elmo's chest one final time, then sat back, sobbing.

"No…" she sobbed. "No, you promised me. You said you could handle the charge. You said you'd be OK."

"Dr. Sputterspark…" Darkwing started. "Anita. I…"

Anita turned on him, her brown eyes blazing through her glasses. "Don't you dare tell me you're sorry, Darkwing Duck," she said. "You never cared about my son. To you he was a villain, a monster! No, don't touch me!"

Darkwing pulled his hand back from her arm as if he'd been burned. Anita climbed to her feet and scanned the deserted lab, her frantic eyes falling on a thick orange cable near a particularly large workstation. Grabbing the cable, she dashed over to GizmoDuck and jabbed one end into the adapter outlet on his chest. Before he could think to protest, she was back at Elmo's side, stripping the protective coating from the cable's end to reveal the copper wires inside. The copper sparked, and she smiled a wild smile.

"I never gave up hope that you were out there," she whispered. "I never stopped believing I'd see you again. And I refuse to lose hope now."

"No—Dr. Sputterspark, what are you doing!" GizmoDuck exclaimed, but he was too late. Elmo's mother pressed the sparking wires to her son's chest. The surge of electricity made his skinny body shudder and twitch, but she didn't let up. She kept the juice flowing until, suddenly, her son's eyes shot wide open and he drew in a shaky, shuddering breath. GizmoDuck gasped from the power drain and pulled the cord out of his chest.

"He's alive!" Gosalyn exclaimed, jumping up to give Darkwing a happy squeeze. "Elmo's alive!"

Darkwing held his daughter close, but kept his wary eyes on Dr. Sputterspark's son. Was it Elmo who had just woken up; the smart, resourceful rat who had knowingly risked his life to stop F.O.W.L.? Or had Dr. Sputterspark just revived one of St. Canard's most dangerous super villains?

"He's alive," Dr. Sputterspark breathed, and a tear flowed down her cheek. Her son closed his eyes and sighed, falling into a deep, exhausted sleep. Dr. Sputterspark rose to her feet and brushed the dust off her knees, then fixed Darkwing with a sharp look.

"So," she said. "What do you plan to do now?"

"Who is he, Anita?" he asked her seriously. "You looked into his eyes. Did he recognize you?"

"You leave my son to me," she said. "He's my responsibility now. I asked you a question, Duck."

"I plan to take Agent Steelbeak in to the authorities," Darkwing said. "Along with you and that super-fuel of yours. Can you extract it from the satellite?"

"No need," she said, glancing down at her sleeping son. "It's gone."

"Gone?"

"Used up."

Honker's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Wow. You mean Elmo absorbed all that energy? Enough to power Duckburg for over a year?"

"He said he could do it, and he did it," she said quietly. "He stopped the satellite's launch. My son is a hero. He risked his life and saved the world. And he won't get any of the credit, will he."

"What do you mean?" Gosalyn asked. "Of course he'll get the credit! Even Da—I mean, Darkwing's ego isn't that big."

Darkwing frowned and looked Anita in the eye. "Elmo didn't make it, did he," he said. "He's gone."

"My Elmo is not gone!" Anita snapped. "He's in there, but he's trapped. Can't you understand that?"

"I don't think you understand how dangerous Megavolt really is," Darkwing retorted. "He's not like your Elmo, Professor. He's cruel. Deranged."

"He's sick!" she insisted. "And whatever terrible things he may have done in the past, he can't be held responsible. If you're the superhero you claim to be, you should want to help him, not hunt him!"

"Eeerrrrggghhhhhhh."

Anita gasped and turned back to her son, her eyes wide with hope. "Elmo," she said. "Elmo, honey, is that you?"

"Ow, my head!" the lanky rat moaned. "I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck." Sitting up, he looked around, clearly disoriented. "Hey, where am I? And where's all my stuff?" He patted his Eggman suit, reaching around the back for a battery that wasn't there. "Which one of you thieves stole my stuff?"

His eyes fell on Darkwing's purple cape, and he followed it up to Darkwing's wary face.

"Hey, I remember you! You're that guy…DarkDuck Drake. No, wait, that's not right."

"Elmo, it's OK," Dr. Sputterspark said. "I can explain—"

"Keep back!" he exclaimed. "Don't come near me! It's starting to come back now. There was…there was an explosion. And you…you…"

He clutched his hair in both hands and jumped up and down in frustration. "No, I can't remember! It's like trying to focus through roaring static! The sound, the buzzy buzzy buzzing... It's driving me mad, I tell you! MAD!"

"Elmo, no, don't hurt yourself—"

"Don't call me that!" the raving rat exclaimed. "My brain…it's…it's alive, it's shouting at me. Stop shouting at me!"

"Whoa. He's worse than before," Launchpad commented as the lanky rat crashed to the floor and started rolling around, his hands clamped over his ears.

Gosalyn winced at the sight. "Do you think you can fix him again, Dr. Sputterspark?" she asked.

Anita looked helpless. "Well, I-"

"Doctor?"

The raving rat stopped his rolling and looked up, his glassy eyes wide with fear as he started backing away, toward the rushing waterfall at the far end of the cavern.

"No, no doctors! You hear me! No doctor's getting anywhere near my brain! I'll jump first, just you watch me!"

"Stop him!" Anita cried. "Don't let him jump!"

"You don't think I can do it, but I can," he said, his eyes darting all around the room. "I can hear you whispering. All of you light bulbs and computers, so smug… So, you doubt me, do you? Well, I'll show you. Never underestimate Sputtervolt! Megaspark! Meltamo… Oh no! I can't remember my name! I can't I can't I can't I can't…!"

GizmoDuck couldn't leave Steelbeak, but Darkwing pulled out his grappling gun and shot it toward the ranting rat, hoping to reel him closer, away from the waterfall. Dr. Sputterspark held her breath. But, although Darkwing's aim was true, the deranged rat was too quick. With a cry of "Geronimo!" he jumped into the crashing wall of water and disappeared. Anita screamed, then suddenly stilled, her eyes rolling back in her head as she passed out. Launchpad caught her and hefted her into his arms, walking up to join GizmoDuck and his charge with Darkwing, Gosalyn, and Honker trailing close behind.

"I'm sorry, Darkwing," Gizmo said sadly. "But I doubt even I would have been able to stop him from jumping. My helicopter would be useless against the pressure of so much falling water."

"So, that nutty rat was Megavolt all along?" Steelbeak snarled. "Lucky for him he jumped. 'Cause if I ever caught him, I'd reach down his throat and—"

"I don't think we need to hear the details, Steelbeak," GizmoDuck interrupted sternly, forcing the criminal agent down the tunnel ahead of him.

Gosalyn looked up at Darkwing as the small group strode silently back toward the Thunderquack. "So, um, do you think he's really gone this time?" she asked him.

Darkwing glanced down at her. "Who, Megavolt?"

"No," she said. "Elmo. It's just, I sort of liked him, you know? And I think Dr. Sputterspark had a point. He is sick. But when he was OK, he was a really good guy. And it wouldn't be fair if he has to be stuck as a crazy criminal with no memory for the rest of his life."

Darkwing stared out into the waterfall and sighed. "I don't know how to answer that, Gos. All I know is that if Megavolt does show up again, it'll be my duty to track him down. Fair or not, we can't let criminal behavior pass just because that criminal is mentally deranged."

"He's only deranged now because of how he stopped that satellite and saved all of us," Gosalyn said. "I don't know about you, but that makes Mr. Sputterspark a real hero in my book. And I'm going to bet we'll see him again."

"Perhaps," Darkwing said, suddenly looking very tired. "It's been a long day, honey. Let's drop off Steelbeak and Dr. Sputterspark and just go home."

Gosalyn stared at him. "What, you mean you're not going to stay for the press conference? I'd think after helping to stop F.O.W.L. from launching that satellite and taking over the world, you'd deserve to bask in the limelight for a while. And make sure GizmoDuck doesn't suck up all the glory for himself," she added out of the corner of her mouth.

Darkwing shook his head. "Not this time, Gos. You were right. The credit for this one isn't mine to take. Today, the real hero was Elmo Sputterspark. And the best way we can thank him is to leave his name out of it. The last thing he needs in the state he's in is a million reporters, psychologists, and brain doctors banging down his door. For now, I think it's enough that we know what he did. And that his mother knows her son went out a hero."

Gosalyn raised her eyebrows, then took his arm in hers, hugging him close.

"I love you, Dad," she said.

"Yeah." He gave her a tender little smile. "And I love you too, Gosalyn. Come on, let's get out of here."

High in his lighthouse tower, a mad genius was hard at work. He laughed as he tinkered and soldered and welded and drilled, chatting excitedly with his appliances about his latest crusade to free the suffering light bulbs from their cruel supermarket masters.

The bursts of light and electricity that shot from this madman's workshop reflected out over the dark, nighttime waters of the bay, the glow reaching all the way to Duckburg. There, a lonely scientist sat in her darkened lab, watching the flickering light and hoping that, one day, her son would come home.

The End

Reviews are always welcome! Please let me know what you thought of my story! :)