The Lion Walks Tonight...

(REVISED VERSION)

Disclaimer: I do not own Darkwing Duck, Scrooge McDuck or any Disney character that may be mentioned in the story. Bagheera, is a character from "The Jungle Book."

The "Iron Lion" Tsunami, and Valiant are my creations. The Cerulean lions, the Lazuli tribe, and the Cerulea island are completely fictional, I made them up.

Authors note:

The Cerulean lions are meant to have a "lovable" Disney characteristic to them, rather than, that of, the more realistic wild animal.

*A lot of word play, also. So I thought I'd explain the puns, in case they're not obvious...*

Cowahari Desert - Kalahari Desert

Ju-Shih-Tzu …. Jujitsu

Catoeira …. Capoeira

Echt Felidae - roughly translated, means true cat.

International Geographic Explorers (obviously)... National Geographic Explorer.

Chapter 1...Enter; The Lion.

In a center of a metropolis, A skyscraper towers majestically over the erst of the city. It is the headquarters of one of the most successful businessmen in the world. A magnificent office is located on the top floor. Huge windows allows for an abundance of sunlight to bath the office in soft light.

An elaborate hand carved mahogany desk in located near the window.

A solemn figure is seated at the desk. Important papers and documents are stacked neatly to one side of the desktop. The figure is not interested in the documents at the moment. His eyes are on a newspaper he hold in his hands.

The headline reads.

"Scrooge McDuck wins contract for multimillion dollar construction deal!"

There is a picture of McDuck accepting the contract, his personal guard and superhero, GizmoDuck stands proudly at his side.

He drops the newspaper onto the desk. "You are king among your peers, Scrooge McDuck. But a king can be dethroned! And your toy soldier is not as invincible as you might think." He says coolly, glancing at the image of GizmoDuck.

He casually opens the desk drawer and pulls out a magazine titled, "Great Heroes."

The individual studies the image on the front of the cover, carefully. It is a water colored illustration of a duck dressed in blue and black. The backdrop is a lush green jungle. At the ducks side is a picture of a huge bluish-white lion.

The caption says in large bold letters. Iron Lion: Master of the Dark Continent!

"Master indeed..." the individual murmurs. His eyes flash with contempt, more for this Iron Lion, than even Scrooge.

There is an article below the caption. He reads it.

Bad guys beware, the Lion is on the prowl!

He is perhaps the worlds most mysterious hero. The Iron Lion! The bad-boy of crime fighting doesn't play around when it comes to bad-guys.

Living, mostly on the remote island of Cerulea, he isn't the most outgoing hero you've ever met. Very few photos have been taken of this guy in action.

His aloof nature and honed fighting skills and survival training has caused him to be referred to as Batman-meets-Indiana-Jones-Acting-like-Tarzan!

He probably would not be flattered by that comparison.

Great Heroes actually sent a few reporters to Cerulea to get the scoop on this guy. The fact that we were there to ask questions about the Iron Lion, we weren't exactly met with a welcome wagon. In fact, the head of the Lazuli Tribe, an old panther known as Bagheera ( said to be Iron Lion's mentor) quite gently and politely - threw us out!

Well we aim to please our readers and we have had a lot of requests to do an article on the Lion.

We have been able to gather some information on him, hopefully it's accurate.

We've put together a rough biography on him.

Here it is...

Code name: Iron Lion

Occupation: Crime Fighter

Physical Description: Fairly tall. White feathers. Medium sized bill, some cheek feathering. Rather handsome. Light frame, rather muscular, athletic build.

Hair: White feathers.

Eyes: Piercing black

Attire: Well, he's not big on fashion. He wears navy blue trousers with black knee high moccasins and black gloves. His tunic like shirt is sky blue, like his fedora. He wears a (seemingly bullet proof) navy blue vest of made of chain-mail. With a silver chain-mail belt. He had a specially designed backpack that is mostly sky blue.

The fabric for his costume is unusual, very smooth and slick, almost an oily feeling texture. This is probably an advantage in moving around in the thick brush of the jungle. Not so likely to snag on a branch and thickets.

Unique Features: His mask is part of his face! The mask is actually just his own feathers that have been dyed, what else, navy blue. Though there maybe a little more color mixed in. It's not like the man stops long enough to let people take pictures.

But this hero doesn't take his mask off when he gets home from a mission. In fact, unlike most mysterious heroes, he doesn't seem to have a "Secret Identity," He is what he is 24/07!

Personality: Mostly unconfirmed. He does have a reputation for being aloof.

From what we do know of him, he isn't exactly a people person. He is very serious and tough. He is an animal lover, definitely! He isn't the talkative type. The fewer words the better.

Special Abilities: This is the guy, who has been called by many, the greatest warrior of our time! He is said to be adept in many forms of unarmed combat.

Among those techniques are Quack-Fu, Ju-Shih-Tzu, an African Martial Art and dance known as Catoeira, seems to be mixed into his overall unique fighting style. But most noted is his advanced training in the little known martial art known as Echt Felidae, developed by the natives of Cerulea, centuries ago.

He is a former pupil of famous Quack-Fu master. Goose Lee.

Weapons:He is an expert marksmen (though he doesn't use a real gun). He is skilled in the use of several traditional martial arts weapons, but he does prefer unarmed combat. He does carry specially designed darts. His extension whip is probably the most elaborate tool in his arsenal. It is a simple rod and reel design. A button on the hilt of the whip releases and retracts the length of the whip, accordingly.

Alliance: Well, he's a free operative, taking orders from no one, as a rule. But he has been known to help SHUSH on rare occasions.

He is fiercely loyal to the Lazuli tribe of Cerulea, his adopted people.

There is Tsunami, the beautiful but lethal bounty hunter. He probably works along side her more than any other. And people have to wonder – is there something more between these two than a platonic alliance?

Phantasma – Ghost of the Savanna! Who was (allegedly) Lion's predecessor, as defender of Cerulea. There is probably less known about Phantasma than the Iron Lion. He hasn't been seen in a very long time.

Know Enemies:Fowl, many illegal game hunters. He also has made quite a few white-collar enemies. Those who have sought to conquer Cerulea. (Cerulea, is actually about 1-1/2 times the size of Texas and is it truth, it's own country.)

Catchphrase:Not unless you consider "Move it!" a catchphrase. But he has been quoted (by who, we don't know) as say "If you let go of fear, fear will let go of you."

Trademarks: He has to have the worlds greatest super hero entrance! He rides in on a lion! He throws a mean dart, too!

Note of interest: Again, much of this is unconfirmed. He is said to be a licensed paramedic. He apparently has some knowledge of science particularly zoology and biology. He knows something about Veterinarian medicine, as well.

The Iron Lion is a bit of a Eco-warrior. He has spent years protecting the Island of Cerulea and it's precious natural resources.

He prefers horseback to driving when at all possible.

He often enlists Tsunami ( who is a experienced pilot) to fly him

over long distances.

But his most preferred method of transportation is, get this, para-gliding - how cool is that!

He is probably most noted for his efforts to protect, what has to be, the most unique species of Big Cat in existence -the Cerulean Lion! In fact, the Iron Lion's sidekick, known as Valiant, is a Cerulean Lion. A duck called Lion with a lion as a sidekick, ha- that could get confusing!

Well, that's all the info we have on this dedicated hero. Maybe someday the Iron Lion will grant some lucky reporter an actual interview.

Iron Lion, if you are reading this, the world would love to know more about you!

.

.

The individual lets the magazine fall on the desktop next to the newspaper.

Leaning heavily back in the plush leather chair he pivots it to gaze out the window.

"Scrooge McDuck, you are almost as irritating to me as the feather masked do-gooder."

He spins around again, to look at both the magazine and newspaper, side by side on the desk. He glances at the picture of Scrooge McDuck then at the illustration of the Iron Lion. "Hmmm, What happens when you play an irritable force is about against an immovable object?"

Now his glare is focused completely on the image of the crime fighter. "So the world wants to know more about the Iron Lion? Perhaps I could arrange a little press coverage, yes..." He chuckles as he rises to is feet. "But after I am through with you, they will no longer see you as a hero."

…...

Africa...

Somewhere, in the desolate Cowahari Desert.

Under the cloak of night...

Hidden behind the large rock formations and dense scrub, a plane concealed under a camouflage netting. Various contraband is being unloaded carefully, from the cargo hold. Smugglers, dressed in black jumpsuits, work quickly, moving their merchandise into safe hiding. Among the spoils being illegally transported, is a large wooden crate stamped "Live Animals," in large red letters. Two of the henchmen carry the crate, to set it in behind thick shrubs. A soft mew comes from within the crate as they set it down. "What's this, Moe?" one of the henchmen asks "Some kinda cat?" he asks. Pulling out a small flashlight, he shines it into the small air holes on top of the crate. Through the small holes, a pair of round, clear sky blue eyes stare back at him. "Hey, I never seen eyes like that on a cat before and I've seen 'em all."

"Not all, you haven't." Comes a voice with a strong Scottish accent.

They turn to see an odd looking, bearded duck, dressed in a kilt coming towards them.

"Oh, Mr. GlomGold," Moe says "Me and Jack, here, were just saying, we ain't never seen big cats with those sorta eyes before."

"Aye, well you are not likely to ever again, me bucko." GlomGold replies coldly. The old duck is carrying a lantern. He steps up to the crate and motions for the henchmen to open it. The wooden lid is lifted to reveal two small white lion cubs, both having clear blue eyes.

"Hey, white lions...those are really rare," Jack comments. "But I never knew they had blue eyes!"

"These are not White lions ." GlomGold explains as he reaches down and roughly snatches one of the cubs up by the scuff of the neck. "These are Cerulean Lions. The rarest and most unique big cats in the world!" He grins evilly "That of course makes them the most valuable!"

"Cerulean Lions" Jack mumbles, a blank expression on his face as his mind toils with some familiarity. "Cerulean Lions..." he repeats almost to himself. Then realization hits, the expression on his face turns to fear "Cerulean Lions!," he gasps. The terror in his voice matching that of his facial expression.

He turns his eyes to stare in bewilderment at the crafty old duck. "These are Cerulean Lions..from..from the Cerulea island!"

GlomGold nods, amused by the fear struck look on the thugs face.

"But...but – you know who protects that land! He'll come after them! He'll come after us!!" The poor henchman gulps audibly as he continues to panic!

Finally, GlomGold rolls his eyes "Oh, relax will ya? It took me months to have these little cuties stolen from the islands." He inspects the cubs coat more closely. Upon closer inspection, one can see,that the otherwise, white coat is peppered with almost translucent strands of light blue hairs -thus the name Cerulean lions. "I have buyers that will pay me millions just for one of these cubs." he continues.

"Just because they got some blue hairs on 'em?" Moe asks, leaning closer to see the cubs in the moonlight.

"Oh much more than that, I promise ya! For one thing they are extremely rare. There are less than a hundred in them in existence."

And all protected..by...by..the Iron Lion!" Jack interjects nervously!

"The Iron Lion! The crime fighter!" Moe yelps! "I've heard of him. He.. he's suppose to be the greatest warrior alive!"

"Yes, yes, I know all about him!" GlomGold insists as Moe finally places the cub back into the crate "I had to wait until he left the blasted island on some mission, before my people could get a hold of these two cubs." GlomGold sees the fear stricken looks on the two henchmen. "Relax would ya? Even if he knows the cubs are gone, he has know idea where to look for us."

No sooner does he utter those words then a low sharp whistle cuts through the night air. Something strikes the crate next to GlomGold. The crooked Scotsman needs only glance at the object, a black dart, to recognize it as the calling card of the Iron Lion! None of them have a chance to react, however, as a thunderous roar shatters the night air. They turn their eyes upward, to the top of a rock formation.

Silhouettes move against the backdrop of a moonlit night. From the darkness, the figure of a great lion bounds from the rock formation, he is not alone.

There is a second figure along side the beast, arm slung over the lions broad shoulder, so that it half carries him as they descended. Both lion and it's passenger lands in a crouching stance, on the dry clay earth, only a few yards from GlomGold. The Lion is a giant of a cat, much larger than a Siberian tiger. Enough light shows from the pale moon to reveal the animal's clear blue eyes – a Cerulean Lion. Valiant, the pet of The Iron Lion! The figure next to the giant cat rises from his crouching stance. He moves forward. Into the illuminating light of tiki torches. The head is tilted slightly, the face hidden under the wide brim of a light blue fedora.

He raises his head, revealing a face obscured by a mask of dark plumage. A mask that is itself part of his face.

The fiery black eyes that stare at them from behind the dark plumage are intimidating and awe striking. Black and round and piercing, like two ebony bullets.

GlomGold hears himself gasp as he takes a step back. Mean and brash as he may be, he knows the Iron Lion's reputation. But GlomGold is a greedy old miser and his greed quickly overshadows his fears. He turns to the many smugglers in his employment "Well, what are you waiting for! You have him outnumbered! Get him!"

For a second, the henchmen all exchange looks of uncertainty before realizing GlomGold is right. They had the Iron Lion outnumbered ten-to-one. A few of them found their confidence, in their numbers, and began reaching for their weapons, as they advance slowly towards the Iron Lion. In that moment of false courage, however, they, for some reason, forgot about the hero's sidekick. The big cat lets loose with a thunderous roar that quickly reminds the criminals of his presence. They quickly lose their courage, again.

The Iron Lion turns his dark eyes to GlomGold "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you." He says with a low stoic voice.

"Uhh..." GlomGold glances at the crate containing the Cerulean cubs – so much money. Enough money to cause the old Scotsman to act without thinking. He reaches into his coat and pulls out a gun. The snap of a whip, and the gun flies from GlomGold's hand.

The rich duck's eyes fall on the leather whip that is now in the Iron Lions right hand. "I thought they could only do that in the movies," GlomGold mutters in disbelief.

Glancing back at his less than courageous gang of thugs, GlomGold yells "What's the matter with you. I'm not the only one here with a gun "Shoot him and the giant cat!"

Having now been instructed upon how to deal with the intruder, several of the henchman reach for the firearms they are carrying. In a flowing motion, the masked duck reaches back to the slick textured backpack, and pulls out a handful of black darts. He throws them with deadly accuracy. His reflex faster than the strike of a rattlesnake. In a heartbeat, the weapons are knocked from the criminals' hands.

Yet again, Valiant makes his presence known with a fearsome roar, as he stands faithfully at his masters side. That is all it takes, the henchmen, true to nature, turn tail and run. GlomGold decides to do the same, but as he turns, he meets with the razor sharp tip of a cutlass. The wielder of the blade is a tall female duck, dressed in a mauve trench-coat, black boots and black beret. She wears no mask to cover her pretty round face or shoulder length blond hair. GlomGold knows who she is - she is Tsunami the bounty hunter. This female is known to be one of the very few people to ever fight along side the Iron Lion. She is also known to be a lethal warrior, especially skilled with a blade.

With an audible gulp, GlomGold raises his hands in complete surrender.

Within a few hours, the authorities have arrived on the scene and taken the smugglers into custody. The two heroes and their feline companion have taken the young cubs to a veterinarian to be examined, before returning them to Cerulea.

It has been a long night, and all three of them find themselves sitting outside the isolated animal clinic. They all lay outside under a baobab tree, resting against it's fat trunk.

Day is just breaking over the great savanna. The two ducks are content to lay quietly, watching the golden rays of sun spreading slowly across the skies, chasing away the veil of night.

The Iron Lion closes his eyes, pulling the brim of his hat low over his face.

Tsunami lays quietly, watching Valiant, who is trying playfully, to torment his master. The Cerulean lion lifts his big paw to swipe at the brim of the fedora. His master simply ignores him.

Tsunami smiles at the sight. Cerulean Lions are quite literally "big kitty cats" at heart.

She slips her hand down into a leather satchel bags she has been carrying with her since they returned from the bust. Slowly she withdraws two, slightly battered, magazines and lays them on her lap. There is just enough daylight to see the front cover of the first magazine. It is Titled "Great Heroes" The illustration is that of a familiar figure. Tsunami steels a sidelong glance at her companion, then turns her eyes back to the cover. The costume is basically correct. The artist got the make of the outfit right -mostly, but the illustration gives the impression of a rather grubby and untidy apparel. It is deliberately done. A look befitting a "wild-duck". A person who lives in the wild like a modern day Tarzan.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Iron Lion is, in fact, very clean and tidy – to the point of being a neatness freak, actually.

Slowly, she opens the magazine to the feature article, the tile reads "Iron Lion: Master of the Dark Continent .

Master of the Dark Continent! He doesn't even live in Africa! He only comes here when he is needed. Granted, that's rather often, but still.

She reads on, glancing over the speculated bio.

Code Name: Iron Lion.

Code name – what is he suppose to be, a secret agent! Code Name nothing. He is called the Lion because...well...

...She again glances at Valiant...

As the old saying goes "We're known by the company we keep." The Iron Lion was a title the outside world saw fit to tag onto his name. Make him sound more – dramatic.

And it would probably surprise a great deal of people to know he does have a real name, he's goes by – Kuemba! A name giving to him long ago by the Lazuli people. It means "Great Heart". To these people he has come to think of as his own, he is simply Kuemba.

Tsunami feels that she is privileged to be among those who actually do know him by the name. The select few that are actually close to him.

She continues to read the bio...

Well they got the part about his mask all wrong! His feathers aren't dyed, in fact, his plumed mask isn't even his own feathers.

The Lazuli people have a sacred ritual of engrafting feathers (or even fur) onto an individual, from other people or even animals. The ritual is simply called *Pluming*. It has been practiced for hundreds of years, in Cerulea. Though, usually, only a few feathers are grafted onto the recipients body – most of the time on the back of the hands or the forearms. Pluming part of the face is far more uncomfortable to do, and thus, less often practiced.

Pluming is used to symbolize many things in their rich culture. For Kuemba, it is a symbol of a commitment to protect life. When he chose to have his face cloaked in a layer of dark plumage, it was not a decision he made lightly. Covering his entire face was a long and rather painful procedure. But it was a decision he has never regretted.

She comes to the part that mentions her and The Lion being something more than a platonic alliance. She almost blushes at the suggestion – mostly because it's true.

She doesn't deny it! She doesn't try! She is in love with him, she has been for a very long time. She knows in her heart, that he does return her feelings – he just doesn't show it.

She skims though the rest of the article. She has already read it twice, anyway. She closes the first magazine and goes to the second she is carrying. This magazine is "International Geographic Explorers".

The front cover is actually a beautiful photograph of a Cerulean Lion. She opens this one to the feature article as well.

There is actually some well researched information here.

The Cerulean Lions. The Rarest and most unique big cats in existence!

First, they are herbivores , meaning they are vegetarians. The Cerulean's digestive tract are developed for digesting fruits and vegetables not meat. One of their favorite snacks is roots -any roots, tree's, grass, as long as the roots are safe to eat – the Cerulean lions eat them!

This has actually given them an edge of survival. Even in the hardest of droughts, one can always dig up a root, somewhere!

The lions are not truly wild. They are easily tamed. They aren't predators by any means. They are natural born protectors, earning themselves the title of "Land Dolphins" by the locals.

Even their appearance is unlike other lions. They're bigger! Much bigger. At first glance, they look to be rare-white lions.

But they aren't even pure white. Their coats and mains have traces of light blue, which is common with the species – hence the name Cerulean lions. Their coats are somewhat iridescent. From different angles or different lighting, the coats actually reflect different shades of blue!

They are very rare, less than a hundred of them in existence, all belonging exclusively to Cerulea.

The lionesses only have cubs about every four years and usually just one at a time, but

they do have two at once, from time to time.

Their lifespans are considerably longer than other big cats, living into their 40's. They usually don't reach full maturity until they are about 15 years old.

The Cerulean Lion – truly the most amazing of the big cats!

Tsunami finishes the article and closes the magazine.

"What's that?" she hears her companion ask. His voice low and almost stoic as always. She glances over at him. His eyes are still closed – of course. He could know doubt hear her turning the pages. After all, he is trained to be aware of everything around him, even when he's half asleep!

Tsunami can't help but grin "Oh, a couple of magazines I picked up the last time I was on the outside." she says with amusement evident in her voice.

It is this trace of amusement that causes him to open his eyes, turning his head slightly, to see what she is looking at.

With a grin, she holds up the first magazine Great Heroes.

He takes one look at the illustration and rolls his eyes "Oh for pity sake!" he grumbles.

Tsunami laughs "The world loves a hero, especially a mysterious hero."

He doesn't answer, instead, he turns his attention to Valiant, who has given up trying to torment his master, and has laid his head on the Iron Lion's legs.

The hero reaches out to tussle the soft fuzzy main of his pet.

Getting no reply, Tsunami tries again "Oh come on. It wouldn't kill you to stand still for a few photos, would it."

No reply.

No surprise. She has come to know her companion well, and what to expect of him. She continues, teasingly "But the world wants to know the mallard behind the mask."

She watches him close his eyes again, in an attempt to ignore her prattling.

She presses on, not trying to hide the amusement in her voice "You may actually enjoy the whole thing." Knowing full well, he'd hate it! "The pictures, the interviews, the movie offers!"

A low grunt escapes from deep in his throat "Wrong Masked Mallard." he answers bluntly, but a ghost of a smile creeps across his bill.

Before the discussion can continue, Valiant rises to his feet and lets out a warning roar, his clear eyes turned skyward.

Both the Iron Lion and Tsunami jump instinctively to their feet.

From above, there is the rhythmical beating of propellers warns of a descending aircraft. But as the two heroes look skyward, there is a sudden burst of blinding light...then they are gone.

To be continued...

From the Author: OK, this is the first chapter of the revised version. I have the next 4 chapter in rough-draft, just got to do a little touch up on each one before posting.

I hope this new version of The Lion Walks Tonight is easier to follow.