CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

This was the most miserable date in Drake Mallard's life. He'd barely had so much as a decent conversation with Morgana, let alone anything romantic. And currently, she was chatting with some of the other balcony visitors, praising the morbid ending of the play. For St. Canard's preeminent crimefighter, the night had been frustrating and uneventful.

But things changed when he spotted a few familiar faces in the orchestra section. Megavolt and his blonde companion had sneaked through the stage door -- no doubt on their way to cause mischief. Moments later, they were followed by F.O.W.L.'s very own Agent Steelbeak and the latest in a long line of female accessories. Something was going on, and thus far it all had gone unnoticed by Gizmoduck. The metal menace was simply signing autographs instead of providing security to the stars as he'd been hired to do.

In fact, the only person he had delayed was a man who loudly insisted he was married to one of the stars of the show.

In rare cases, it was permissible for a grown adult to throw a tantrum when dissatisfied with his circumstances and wanted to get his way. Drake decided that night was shaping up to be one of those great moments.

"Mor-gana! Two of my arch-nemesis, nemesees, er, nemisissies. Argh! Two villains and their sidekicks are backstage about to abduct the Germaine sisters, and all you can do is talk about the play? It's not fair! Steelbeak and Megavolt never team up. This could be the greatest moment in my career! Can I please, please, please go capture them? I really -"

"Drake, dear," Morgana interrupted. "If I let you go, will you please stop bothering me?"

"Yes, dear."

"And will you promise me we'll have a date this coming weekend without any interruptions?" With a sly wink, she added, "It would be in your best interest to say yes."

"Um, yes?"

"You can go . . . Dark."

With a gallant kiss on his date's hand to say farewell, Drake sprinted toward the staircase. Pulling a purple mask out of his handkerchief pocket, stripping off his tuxedo coat to reveal a sporty double-breasted jacket and cape, and whipping out a gray fedora from thin air, Darkwing Duck was officially on the case.

"Let's get dangerous!" He scowled, psyching himself to prepare for the task at hand.



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