Took me long enough, huh? Honestly, I feel like I don't have any good ideas for this part of the story. I had the beginning, I had the end. The in-between, I'm drawing blanks. And every time I have an idea, it doesn't come out right written out. The superhero portion of this chapter began and ended in a total of about twelve different ways. The Webby and Donald portion, I had in my head for a little while, but I'm not sure if I got that right either. It went a couple ways too, but not nearly as much as the first half.

It had been several hours since they started, stopping three muggings and a jewelry store robbery, but for the first time in a while, they hadn't seen a Beagle Boy on any of the crimes. Gizmoduck landed on top of a building, waiting for the next alert from Gizmoduck's helmet. Darkwing took a flask from his shirt pocket, splashing some liquid in his face before taking a drink. Noting the container and the look on Gizmoduck's exposed face, Darkwing did the only thing he could.

"Want some water?" he offered. "A flask is the only thing that fits in my shirt pockets right. And they're made of metal." He rapped his knuckles on the side, showing that it made some impromptu armor.

"No thanks." He sat down on a nearby ledge, looking over the city. He had been getting tired as well, seeing as it was almost midnight and he had to be at work in the morning. "What do you say we call it a night after the next call?"

"It might be a good idea." Darkwing agreed. He'd still needed to find a day job. As fulfilling as he found it to be a superhero, it didn't pay the bills. Getting up early the next day would be a good idea to do so. Just as they agreed, they'd both suddenly heard a loud explosion from below, getting their attention. Only a block away, there was a burning apartment building. Darkwing jumped onto Gizmo's back and the two flew down to the fire. Once landed, Darkwing yelled out, "Quick! How many people are in there?!" Gizmo took a quick scan of the building, but since it was on fire, it was hard to take note of heat signatures, and miniature sounds made it even more difficult to listen for heart beats. The X rays, however, showed skeletons, all still moving.

"Six." Gizmo reported. "Three on the first floor, two on the second floor, one on the third floor."

"I'll clear out the first floor. Fly to the top and get them out." Darkwing called, taking into account that he couldn't fly and could only handle the ground. Gizmo flew up, shooting his extendo-arm through a window and latching onto the person in the third floor.

Darkwing ran through the first floor, calling for anyone who was still inside. Luckily, one of the civilians had been able to escape on their own, leaving only two people on the first floor. Suddenly, he heard a voice from farther back.

"Help!" A young ducklings voice called. Darkwing guessed that it couldn't have been a little girl older than ten. He'd ran into the back, telling her to stay calm. "The door's too hot to open!"

"Get away from it!" Darkwing shouted, before he kicked open the door, revealing the little girl, shaking the older duck, who he assumed was her father.

"My dad just fell down!" the girl yelled, still trying to make her father move. Darkwing calmed the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder. If the grown duck had just passed out, he likely had just asphyxiated. Getting him out of the burning house needed to be priority, so he picked up the adult and put him over his shoulder.

"Okay, I need you to stay calm." Darkwing stated, making eye contact with the little girl. "What's your name?"

"Alice," she answered slowly, looking at the flames engulfing her home. "Who are you?"

"Darkwing Duck." Under normal circumstances, he might be annoyed that she didn't know who he was, but he knew she was only a little girl and it was still early in his career. "Darkwing for short. I'm a newer superhero."

"Like Gizmoduck?" Alice asked, looking hopeful. This was a little more grating, but Darkwing brushed it off.

"Yeah, he's actually here, too. Let's get outside so you can meet him." Alice nodded excitedly, running out the door. Before she could run too far, he grabbed her arm. "Stay close. It's not safe in here." He took his cape off and wrapped it around her, carefully tying it so the bottom didn't drag behind her. "And keep this on. It's fireproof."

"Yes sir, Mr. Darkwing." Alice agreed. Darkwing power walked carefully through the hall, Alice just a foot behind him. They'd made it halfway through, when a bit of the sealing had fallen down on top of them. Darkwing instinctively pushed Alice backward, getting her clear of the burning rubble, while he jumped forward. "Mr. Darkwing!" she called, scared for her savior and her father. "Mr. Darkwing, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He could barely see her through the flames, but she was still there. Carefully, he put the girl's father down, clear of any flames. Stepping back a bit, he ran forward and jumped through the flames, keeping his burns minimal with his speed. Landing, he rolled forward. Looking at Alice who was absolutely amazed by Darkwing jumping through fire, he took off his cape and wrapped it around her. "This will protect you from the fire. Now hold on." He picked up Alice and dashed through the flames again, this time with Alice wrapped in his cape. Once landed, he rolled on his side, keeping from crushing Alice with his arms. "Are you okay, Alice?"

"That…was…awesome!" she gushed, amazed by Darkwing's bravery. "You didn't even think! You just jumped through a fire. You really are a superhero."

"Thanks, but let's save that for when we're not in a falling building." Darkwing said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yes sir, Mr. Darkwing!" she shouted, jumping to her feet with the cape still wrapped around her. Darkwing picked up the girl's father, and the three left the building safely, where Darkwing was greeted by a crowd behind a police line. The second the two were out of the building, there were cheers from everyone and Darkwing couldn't believe it. This was the first time he'd gotten this much recognition. Then he looked up and saw Gizmoduck, who'd brought all three of the people he'd been saving out at the same time. Then he'd heard the actual cheers. "GIZ-MO-DUCK! GIZ-MO-DUCK!" It was slightly disappointing, but he's learned to live with it. However, he did hear something that threw him off. He'd heard a cheer different from all the others. He looked down at the source and saw Alice shouting with enthusiasm, "DARK-WING-DUCK! DARK-WING-DUCK!" It was probably one of the nicest things Darkwing had heard in a long time. For the first time, he'd gotten full recognition for his actions. Even if it was just for one little girl, he'd been a superhero today. Feeling empowered, he brought Alice's father to a nearby EMT.

"His daughter said he suddenly fell unconscious about three minutes ago." He told her. "I'm guessing asphyxiation, but it could be heat exhaustion too."

"Good job, sir. We'll take it from here."

Darkwing had stayed next to Alice while the fire was put out, since she was beside herself with worry. Gizmoduck helped any way he could with the fire until it was fully out and only a smoking pile of rubble.

"I'm sure your father's going to be okay." Darkwing said, trying to comfort the little girl.

"I know…" she agreed, but still sounding unsure. Not sure what else to say, Darkwing grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, Gizmoduck is really smart. He's been proving it all night. I'm sure he'll say the same. Want to ask him?" The girl nodded, still watching the EMTs monitor her father. They'd given him an oxygen mask already and made sure his vitals were stable, which is all they could do for now. "Gizmo!" he shouted, waving over his ally. Before they could talk, they'd heard someone shout from the crowd.

"Hey, that's the guy who started the fire!" he shouted from the front, pointing at Darkwing Duck. "I saw him in the back, pouring gasoline all over the place and lighting it."

"I did no such thing!" Darkwing shouted indignantly.

"You did too!" he argued. "I have proof!" A nearby police officer grabbed the man's phone and looked at it. Afterward, he glared at Darkwing as he walked over to him and Gizmo, who had now been standing next to him.

"Explain this, fake!" he ordered, showing a video someone in a purple fedora and cape, along with clothes similar to Darkwing's. "You lit the fire, just so you could have someone to save from it."

"I didn't." he denied truthfully. "I'm being framed!"

"He was with me all night." Gizmoduck stated, vouching that Darkwing couldn't have lit the fire. "We've been working a separate case together."

"Gizmoduck was in on it too?!" came another voice from the crowd, riling up the citizens.

"This explains how he stops so many crimes. He starts them!"

"The heroes are fakes!"

"Arrest them, quick!"

The crowd was turning against them fast and nothing could be said to stop them.

"Gizmo, I think we should leave."

"If we run, we look guilty."

"If we stay, we're arrested, and our secret identities will be revealed. And your mother will be put in a bind." Gizmo didn't like hearing when his mother was used against him but knew he didn't mean it like that. His mother was a high-ranking detective and he, despite his intentions, was still a vigilante. If she reveals that she knew, there'd be serious consequences. As much as he didn't want to look guilty, he knew there wasn't much choice. Just as he was about to activate his passenger gear, a bunch of loud car alarms went off behind the crowd, silencing them all. All turning around at once, they saw a figured tied up, hanging upside down from a streetlight. Looking closer, it was revealed to be a duck, dressed nearly identical to Darkwing Duck. It was the person in the video.

Gizmo grabbed Darkwing by the back of his shirt and quickly hovered over the crowd and landed on the other side. The owners of the cars quickly turned off their own alarms.

Once his feet were on the ground, Darkwing walked up to the impersonator with Gizmoduck right behind him.

"So, any particular reason you're dressed as me?" Darkwing asked calmly. The police officer, who had just been accusing him had made his way over and was listening to the interrogation.

"Um… imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" he answered, sure this wouldn't work. He glanced slightly left, away from anyone then turned his head back. "Okay, that was a lie! I disguised myself as Darkwing and lit the fire to frame him, then I was robbing the jewelry store down the street! It wasn't part of the job, but it just seemed too easy with all the attention on the fire! But then someone stopped me, tied me up and specifically told me to tell the truth on what happened. I didn't see his face and even if I did, he told me no matter what not to describe him. He was also very clear to make sure you two got the note taped to my back." Flabbergasted by his rapid confession, the two understood the majority of what he said and turned him around on the rope, grabbing a folded paper taped to his back. Darkwing grabbed it and read the contents, making a scowl as he did.

"What does it say?" the officer asked, curious what was happening.

"Morons." He answered, annoyed. "That's all."

"Well that's just rude." Gizmo commented. "There was a fire and we had to save people from it."

"He figured you'd say that and told me to point out what he meant." The fake Darkwing Duck interrupted, still clearly shaken by whoever caught him. "The fire's been out for twelve minutes. And Darkwing couldn't do anything to put it out, so even before that, he could have gone to stop me. Gizmo has access to the police network but stopped using it while handling the fire. The officer, who's known Gizmoduck for a long time started to believe that he'd have something to do with arson." Trying to maneuver himself back around to face the heroes, he continued. "There's also another note for you in my pocket to give to you." Gizmoduck cut down the fake Darkwing and handed him to the officer, but not before grabbing and reading the aforementioned note.

"Good job with all the muggings and the robbery. The Beagle Boys, however, are laying low and are hiding somewhere besides the junkyard. They won't be resurfacing soon but stay vigilant. They won't be able to help themselves at some point." Gizmo grinned, happy to get some useful information. Darkwing, however, looked more than a little annoyed.

"Who does this guy think he is, acting like some big shot?" he complained. "He acts like he knows everything but he wasn't doing anything about the fire."

"Without him, we'd either be on our way to jail, both unmasked, or on the run." Gizmo pointed out. "You'd be facing arson charges, no matter which of those happened. And it's not like either of us know everything either. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get some helpful advice from an older superhero."

"You're assuming that he's a superhero. We don't even know who this is. And even if he is one, why haven't we ever heard of him?"

"Actually, there's multiple accounts of superheroes throughout the generations. Goliath, Space Boy, even groups like the Friendly Four. No one knows what happened to them all, but they were still there." Darkwing made a mental note to look up those names on the internet later.

"Either way, I don't need advice from anyone else. I can be a good hero by myself." He walked away, while Gizmoduck followed him.

"Where are you going?"

"Calling it a night. I've been up for several hours and it's almost morning. I have an interview in six hours and I want to get a bit of sleep first."

"Alright. Want to meet up again tomorrow night?" Darkwing stopped, turning around to face his partner, and smiled.

"Sure, but this time, can we meet at a random coffee shop? On ground level?"

"Webby, we've been at this for twenty hours straight!" Huey complained, sitting in the library that served as Webby's room. They'd stayed up all night investigating whoever the mysterious being at the docks was. Normally, Huey would be all for a long research project, but there were absolutely no leads and they hadn't taken any breaks. Dewey even fell asleep already, using a thick, paperback book as a pillow, while Louie looked like he wanted to join him. "I'm supposed to be meeting with Gizmoduck in a few hours to talk about his patrol with Darkwing."

"But we're so close!" Webby argued, pleading with the triplets to continue looking through the many library books around them. "There has to be something."

"Webby, Gizmo didn't find any heat signatures at the docks, didn't see anything with night vision, and there were no traces that there was anyone even there." Louie argued too. "I'm having a hard time believing there was really anyone there."

"But the note!" Webby countered, one last time.

"I've been thinking about that, actually." Louie continued, standing up. "They found it at the docks, but maybe it wasn't even written then. It could've been left over and a note between two people who work there. It didn't even talk about being a superhero. Or maybe whoever hired the Beagle Boys planned this and planted it. Either way, I don't think there was anyone else at the docks." Webby wanted to argue, but that was a good point, but she didn't want to give up yet. Still, it was clear that the triplets were done with the project. Louie and Huey each grabbed one of Dewey's legs and pulled him in the direction of their room to get some sleep. As soon as they were gone, Webby let out a yawn that she'd been holding in. She didn't want to show them that she was tired as well. However, a voice from the door startled her.

"I heard that." Donald announced, making Webby jump. Had she been more awake, she might have heard him in the hall before he'd said anything. Turning around, she saw Donald in the doorway, drinking a cup of coffee. "You know, if you aren't rested enough, you might miss something that could be a lead." Webby was a bit dazed still and could understand some of what he said, but a lot of it was lost on her, so Donald spoke more slowly this time. "More sleep equals better research."

"But I can't stop now." Webby complained, walking over to her computer. "If I don't find anything, I made the boys help me with twenty hours of research for nothing." Donald was sympathetic, knowing what it felt like to do a lot of work that ended up wasted. In the many jobs he'd had, there was always that time where he cleans something, only for someone to make a mess of it soon after. Or to find out that the work wasn't necessary in the slightest bit. So, looking over the stacks of books in front of him, he decided to make a deal.

"Hoe about this? If I help you with a lead and maybe help you with research after, would you please get a few hours of sleep?" Webby perked up, not believing what she heard. A lead for her to work on and getting to work the case with the most daring adventurer of all time just sounded too good to be true.

"Would you really do that, Donald?" she asked hopefully. When he nodded, she became super excited, jumping up and down. "Woo-hoo, I'm gonna work with Donald! I'm gonna work with-, oh! Wait," she stopped jumping and turned to Donald, "didn't you just start a new job?"

"I got fired. Again." Donald informed, looking annoyed. "She said she had a peanut allergy, then asked for peanut butter ice cream. I refused to sell it to her, she called over my manager and told him to fire me. He didn't understand me when I explained it to him, so he fired me."

"That's terrible!" Webby exclaimed, feeling bad for Donald.

"It's food industry." Donald deadpanned. Dismissing the thought, he looked over the corkboard on the wall, normally occupied by the Scrooge McDuck board. He saw various pieces of information, but none of it was connected in the slightest, although he did see a pattern: all of it was information dated five years ago or less.

"Why aren't you going farther back than five years ago?"

"I wanted to go further back, but Dewey and Louie figured it's been too long for anyone from before that to start crime fighting again. Either because they're probably KIA or too old to start again." Webby answered tiredly.

"Well, you're not wrong." Donald thought. In all truth, he was certain that this research would turn up fruitless, but he never really spent too much time with Webby and wanted to correct that. So, he thought back to some superheroes from back then to give as counterexamples. "Well, Teamo Ultimo started about fifteen years ago. They didn't die, but they went on a hiatus because of personal issues. They're probably in their mid-twenties by now. And besides, one of the earliest superheroes I remember was the Masked Top hat. He was probably in his fifties." Thinking up more ideas to add, he threw in a bit more to his, "Besides, it's a bit presumptuous to decide this is an… old superhero." He turned around and found Webby fast asleep, propped up on a stack of books. Sighing, he picked up the young duckling gently and carried her up the ladder to her bed. As soon as she was tucked in, he climbed back down to the library and got to work.

Alright, so the multiple ways this started was instead, they were busting a group of people parodying the Cooper Gang from the Sly series, or they would have instead been bored from an entirely crime-free night. The endings were a little more varied. There was a point of instead of rescuing a little girl, there was going to be a fight in the middle of the fire with the impostor Darkwing Duck, or the cops actually did have Darkwing on the run, flip-flopped a few times on whether or not Gizmoduck was going to believe him, and at the last minute, decided it was more in character for Darkwing to dismiss the advice from the Unknown (what I shall be calling the unnamed vigilante for now). It was a lot of coming up with ideas and then tossing them out.

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for the next chapter, it might help me out a lot. Please comment anyway, though. I love reading those.