Tada, another new fanfic! I'm having a blast writing all of these, I hope you readers enjoy my latest idea! Read and review please!

Launchpad placed a hand on the warm and shining surface of the old plane; one that he had flown, crashed, and fixed many times in the past. He smiled as his fingers trailed over the metallic surface, and couldn't help but recall all of the thrilling adventures he had previously had while piloting it.

The sound of the kids laughing inside as they buckled up, and the orders being barked by his employer, enhanced his pleasant trip down memory lane….It had been a while since he had flown a plane for Scrooge McDuck, and he had missed it.

"Launchpad, you dolt, hurry up and get inside!" The old duck ordered before closing the side door and getting into the passenger seat.

The young, tall duck shook his head to clear his thoughts, and grinned in response. "Sure thing Mr. Mc D, we'll be up in the air in a jiffy!"

He climbed inside and took his seat at the helm, going through the motions of starting up the plane with a cheerful smile on his face. In no time, the propellers were whirling and in seconds they were in the air. Giving the pilot the same old thrill he always got when he was behind the wheel of a plane…in the sky, he was truly at home.

"It's just like old times, eh Mr. Mc D?" He laughed as he did a loop enthusiastically, earning hollers of approval from Gosalyn and the three boys. Meanwhile prompting a look of annoyance from the old duck, who had kept a tight grip of his armrests.

"Aye…like old times." Scrooge replied in an irritated tone, glaring at his friend. "Now, quit playing around and take us straight to our location. I want to make this trip a short one; I have an important meeting I need to attend to on Monday."

In the back, the four children were fidgeting in their seats. They were all excited about the trip, each of them looking forward to the excellent adventure they were sure to have.

"Oh, I hope it's as exciting as Launchpad makes them sound!" Gosalyn said quickly, taking a peek out her window. "You guys are so lucky; you get to do this sort of thing all the time!"

The triplets each grinned at their new friend's remark.

"You're lucky too!" Huey piped up as his two brothers pulled out the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, eager to read up on the area they were travelling to. "You live in St. Canard! Something cool is always happening there, that place is crawling with super villains."

"You must have seen at least one showdown between a bad guy and Darkwing Duck." Dewey added, glancing up from his book. "What's it like?"

"Is he as cool and mysterious as he sounds?" Louie asked, while continuing to read.

Gosalyn smiled back at her new friends, the family Launchpad had before he came to the city, knowing she held a secret over them.

"Oh, he's pretty cool." She said with a sly grin, looking back out the window. Her face paled when she spotted something familiar dashing through the clouds next to them, although her stunned expression went unnoticed by the boys.

The sudden, violent, shaking of the plane when something slammed into its side; however, caught everyone's attention.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Scrooge yelled angrily, glaring at the pilot.

Launchpad's forehead was sweating nervously as he attempted to regain control of the plane. "I don't know what's going on! It felt like something hit us…"

The plane shook again, this time it was caused by an impact from the other side.

"I'm taking her down, everybody hold on!"

After a terrifying plummet; the plane evened out and skidded across the ground, kicking up dirt until it finally came to a stop a few feet away. The only sound that could be heard inside was the heavy, terrified, gasps of the passengers. It had been a close call…

"Is everyone all right?" Scrooge asked after a moment, turning in his seat to try and get a look at the children in the back. Satisfied to see that, while a little shaken up, they were alright.

He didn't notice a large shadowy figure looming towards them, but Launchpad did. And like Gosalyn had when she spotted the fearsome individual from her window, he froze in his seat. "It…it can't be…"

The rich duck, having heard his pilot's terrified whisper, turned his attention to the man next to him. And then, when he noticed the shadow himself, looked towards the figure rapidly approaching them. "What…?"

"Mr. Mc D…" Launchpad whispered in a serious tone, his eyes never leaving those of the man coming closer and closer to the plane. "Get into the back with the kids; don't let him see them…"

Before Scrooge could protest to the command, a large hand crashed through the windshield of the plane and grabbed at the young pilot. Pulling him effortlessly from his seat and dragging him through the broken glass, punching him violently in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. The three boys had yelped in fear at the sound as their uncle scrambled to get out of the plane and go to his friend's aid, but Gosalyn remained still in her seat.

She was frozen in fear and oblivious to what was going on around her. Launchpad could see it in her eyes as he took one fleeting glace back at the plane before being brutally thrown to the ground, and was grateful that she and the boys were too stunned to try and help. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Scrooge or the children.

"Look at me, you idiot!" His captor hissed angrily, roughly grabbing him again and lifting him into the air so they would be at eye level. The red light of one robotic eye glowed menacingly, but it didn't intimidate the pilot.

"I don't know how you came back from the dead….but you don't scare me, Taurus Bulba." Launchpad said calmly, his eyes locked with the former crime-boss. "I won't tell you where he is!"

The robotic bull snarled at the remark and tightened his grip on the tall duck in his hands, "Not even to save your own life?"

Scrooge McDuck had been silent throughout the exchange, cautiously inching closer to the two in the hopes of catching the monstrous cyborg off-guard. When he heard the threat being directed at the young man, he tightened his grip on his cane angrily.

The action didn't go unnoticed by Taurus, and he gave a small chuckle of amusement as he threw his victim into the side of the plane, watching with a dark smile as the limp form slid off its smooth surface and landed roughly onto the grass. Half-conscious.

"You are far too loyal to that imbecile, Darkwing Duck, for your own good." The bull commented to the younger man as he turned his attention to the old duck with new interest, lifting a robotic arm and pointing it at his new target. "You're not afraid for your own life, but what about the old miser?"

The duck in question glared up at the menacing figure and raised his cane, prepared to fight if it was necessary.

Launchpad saw the fierce look in Scrooge McDuck's eyes, but he also saw the murderous gleam within Taurus Bulba's. Fear helped his mind fight back the murky waves of unconsciousness, and he began to stand on wobbly legs.

"I've been to the Bridge, and was disappointed to find that the dolt wasn't there…" Taurus explained, staring back into the pilot's eyes as he spoke while keeping his arm aimed at the old duck. His hand morphed into the barrel of a gun. "Which means that Darkwing has another place where he can hide…where is it?"

Both Scrooge and Taurus Bulba saw the conflicting emotions shift to and fro on the young man's face.

"Time's running out, Mr. McQuack…"

The rich duck saw the unease in his friend's face, but knew that Launchpad would not reveal such an important secret to the villain. He would be disappointed in the pilot if he did.

And so, reluctantly, he closed his eyes in preparation to face his death. Praying that the luck from his First Dime would do its magic once more, and help him overcome the danger as well as get the upper-hand in the situation.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of a gunshot cut through the tense silence in the air.

Scrooge found himself falling to the ground seconds later, and it took a moment before he realized there was no pain. Then it dawned on him that it wasn't the force of the bullet that sent him falling onto his back; he had been physically shoved to the floor.

An overwhelming sense of panic swept over the old man when he noticed a heavy weight over him, and a coppery scent came to his nostrils as a warm wetness quickly began to soak through his coat. A horrible dread pounded within him as he hesitantly opened his eyes, and it intensified when his suspicions were confirmed…

"Launchpad!"

The younger duck's body was sprawled on top of his own; a bullet wound in his right shoulder was bleeding heavily, his eyes were half-open and dazed.

"Laddy, speak to me!" Scrooge yelled fearfully as he rolled the limp form of his friend over and attempted to put pressure on the wound. He wanted to yell to the boys to call for help, but was afraid of what Taurus Bulba would do if he became aware of the children's presence.

His fear-filled expression turned into one of rage as he glared up at the criminal. "You…you monster!"

"You may want to focus on keeping your foolish friend alive, if I were you." Taurus said monotonously, unimpressed with the fury he saw in the old man's eyes. "He wouldn't tell me what I wanted to know…but I can still get what I wanted from him this way too. Alive or dead, he'll get Darkwing's attention. And if what happened here doesn't give that nuisance a clue..."

A sick, sinister, grin spread across the bull's face at the thought of what he planned to do next. "…then the Waddlemeyer girl will be the next one to deliver the message…I doubt she'll be hard to find."

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, causing Scrooge to wonder if one of the boys had managed to get to the plane radio to call for help after all. His hard glare remained in place though as he watched the cyborg tense up at the sound and turn to leave. "You'll pay for this!"

Taurus Bulba simply scoffed at the duck's threat as he began to walk away, the smug smile never leaving his face as he quickly morphed his feet into jets and took flight. He was shooting off into the distance in a matter of seconds, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake as the police cars and ambulance came to the scene…

A groan of annoyance could be heard within the nearly empty Mallard household as the telephone began to ring. Drake had just let his head fall onto his pillow mere seconds earlier when the irritating sound assaulted his ears, and he wondered once more it he was ever going to get any sleep. He felt like hell.

As Darkwing Duck; he had spent the last 48 hours chasing after Quackerjack, and later on Megavolt, through the city after the two of them managed to escape the high security prison they had been sent to. After long hours on his feet and occasional moments of combat, with no foot, no rest, in the cold pouring rain before he finally managed to capture the two of them…he was beyond exhausted. The tiring activities the vigilante had been recently participating in had done a number on him, and he could feel the developments of the flu beginning to creep up on him.

He had hoped; with Gosalyn and Launchpad away on a trip with friends of the pilot, with the Muddlefoot's gone on vacation, and with all the big name criminals of St. Canard behind bars, that he might have been able to get some peace and quite.

Another ring from the phone; however, told him that wouldn't be the case.

"Ugh…I'm having a REALLY bad day!" Drake grumbled to himself as he got out of bed, still fully dressed since he was too tired to change into pajamas, and made his way across the room to the telephone. "This had better be good…"

After yawning once more, and shaking his head in an attempt to make himself more alert, he lazily picked up the phone and mumbled a hello…it wasn't long before his eyes widened in alarm at what he was being told. "Launchpad's…? What hospital is he at?!"

A few seconds later he was hanging up the phone and dashing to his car, speeding towards the General Hospital…panicking over the condition of his friend and wondering how his bad day could possibly get any worse!

I really have to stop starting new fanfics when I've got so many others I'm working on right now…but it's so much fun, I can't help it! Hope you enjoyed, I'll try to put up a new chapter soon! Review please!