Concrete Angel Chapter I

Concrete Angel
A Darkwing Duck Fanfic
by E. Grimes

All Darkwing Duck characters © 1991 by the Walt Disney Co. This story and any other characters
are my own personal copyright and may only be used with my written permission. ~ La Author

My thanks to Rachel F. for sending me the episode of "Life, the Negaverse and Everything" and her
kind permission to use bits from "An Unforgiving Past"--both of which helped make this story possible.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Since this story takes place mainly in Negaduck's world, the names of all characters in the Negaverse will
be the same as their Normalverse opposites, i.e. "Gosalyn", "Launchpad", etc. The "Nega-" prefixes are
added only if they're visiting the Normalverse or elsewhere. (Just so nobody's confused by all this. ~E.G.)

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete Angel...

~~from "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter I

She normally hurried home from school---though sometimes she asked herself why. It wasn't much of a
home to speak of; yet it was the only one she had known for quite some time. It might have been all right
if there had been a real family waiting for her when she got there.

Unfortunately, there wasn't--what she awoke to and returned home to every day of her life was the farthest
thing from any semblance of a normal family. Yet like the dirty and sadly delapidated house, it was all she
had. For this was the Negaverse: a world normal only to the people who lived there---especially to those
who preferred the twisted dimension it was. And it was the only world that Gosalyn Mallard had known
for all her ten years of life.

Yet there had been a time when she had lived in a normal home, with a real mother and father to love and care
for her; but in just one afternoon, they were suddenly, senselessly and violently taken away from her, and a very
sad and frightened little girl was left all alone in the world. That is, until he came: that mysterious, masked stranger
wearing a red hat and black cape...the one that everyone called Negaduck.

He had entered Gosalyn's life just as quickly and unexplicably as her parents had left it, taking her far away from
the scene of their killing, far from her own home---and to a world and a life so changed...

She'd found herself in what Negaduck called 'home'---but it was nothing like any she remembered. The house
was dreadfully messy; the furniture torn and broken, the utilities faulty. But strangely, most everyone there
seemed to like it that way. There was someone else living there, a brutish oaf called Launchpad; there were
the equally brutal neighbours, the Muddlefoots. The one exception had been the oldest boy Tank, who dressed
properly and was kind and polite in his behaviour ( the "odd duck", his family sneeringly called him). But the
youngest, Honker, was mean and rude, the very image of his parents Herb and Binkie; and the three of them
fit all too easily within Negaduck and Launchpad's peculiar sphere.

Yet there had been those four strange and wonderful men Gosalyn had met one day---The Friendly Four, they
were called, and they were like no one she had ever known before. One of them was a mutant plant-duck,
Bushroot, who talked to plants and could make them do wondrous things. There was Liquidator, a dog made
of liquid who could control water. Then there was that electrified rodent, Megavolt, who talked to light bulbs
and fired electricity from his hands; and last of all, there was Quackerjack, a crazy but kindly duck in a jester's
outfit who made the most fascinating toys...

They had all in a very short time become part of Gosalyn's new world...the old one gone, as if in a dream.

As for her new guardian, that was all he actually seemed to be. Not a parent in the strict sense---for he hadn't
adopted her that she knew of; he had merely demanded her unquestioning obedience and her complete conformity
to his will, while not seeming to care about having her around. Yet in spite of all that, he had kept Gosalyn alive
and reasonably cared for, and was quite insistent that she remain with him. Why, she didn't know; but she never
dared to ask. And so she stayed with her tyrannical "father", learning to live with his volatile spirit, his fits of rage
and his dark, violent world. She had patiently borne his insults and his complaints of how neat and well-mannered
she was, and how much he despised her loving qualities.

"You're so sweet and cute," he would sneer in his harsh voice, "it just makes me sick."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she would sadly answer.

"What did I tell you to call me??" was the typical warning, and the deadly glare that followed.

"I...I'm sorry, Lord Negaduck," came the child's meek reply. And Negaduck would laugh, pleased with her at
last--for the only way Gosalyn could please him, it seemed, was to genuflect to his every demand. But the little
girl bore it all...because she loved him.

Yes; she loved Negaduck. That he did not return that love only saddened Gosalyn, who couldn't help what she
felt. Her parents--her real parents--had raised her with nothing else. It was all she could understand. She could
never understand evil, nor why anyone would want to be that way. But this strange and malevolent hoodlum was
the closest thing to a father that she had now, and she thought of Launchpad as sort of a big brother---if only a
very mean one. This, then, had been the life the little duckling had led since her parents' deaths---with nothing
seeming to change. Until, one day...

There was that time when yet another mysterious person entered her world, and things were never quite the same
again. He was someone who looked very much like Negaduck, yet his clothes were different. He was different;
for he did good rather than evil and seemed the exact opposite of everything her guardian was, and the world he
came from just as opposite. He was proud and stubborn, but he was kind, too...he had actually put his arms
around Gosalyn and hugged her, something Negaduck flatly refused to do. And this good, brave person called
himself Darkwing Duck.

In only the short time he'd been around, Darkwing Duck and The Friendly Four had literally cleaned up St.
Canard---had actually made it livable. And even when Negaduck and his gang caught them all and tried to
kill them, Darkwing managed to defeat the evildoers and overthrow Negs. But while Darkwing was following
his enemy back to the Normalverse, something had happened: Negaduck mysteriously disappeared, and for a
good length of time Gosalyn hadn't seen her guardian again. Yet in spite of Negaduck's treatment of her, she had
missed him.

What had happened to him? she wondered. Was Negaduck all right? Had he decided to stay in the Normalverse
and never come back? Or was he hurt...perhaps even dead? The innocent child's heart ached at the thought of losing
yet another parent...even if Negs had been the farthest thing from one. Then one day, he had suddenly come home---
harried and enraged, but very much alive. He hadn't been at all happy to discover Gosalyn living with The Friendly Four,
and quickly remedied that. After chasing off "those losers", then breaking Launchpad and the three Muddlefoots out of
prison, the former ruler of the Negaverse wasted no time in re-asserting his "kingdom".

While his protegée was grateful to see him alive and safe, it was with a certain heaviness of heart that she resumed
her life with Negaduck. For a brief time, Gosalyn had seen a better world: a world of clean air and pure water, of
beauty and kindness. But now, the person who hated these things so much had returned to take them all away...and
if life with Negs had been hard before, now, it seemed, it would be unbearable. The unhappy child tried hard to adapt
to the way things had changed, but was constantly frustrated by her guardian and his brutal companions. She felt like
a songbird that had been released from a cage, to soar freely through the sky and feel the sun on its wings---only to be
caught again and its wings cruelly clipped off, never to be free again.

There was still something, however, that Negaduck couldn't take away from her: her memories of that kinder, gentler
and nobler opposite of himself, of how Darkwing Duck had made a real difference in the Negaverse...and in Gosalyn's
life as well. She would never forget his gentle voice, or the warmth of his strong and fatherly embrace...and whenever
things at home were especially hard on Gosalyn, she was all the more grateful to have those memories to cling to.

And so today, she was walking home quite slowly. After the way things had been lately between Negaduck and
herself, she saw no reason to hurry home--not that, she felt, her guardian would care. She had barely been able
to concentrate on her studies, tired as she was from lack of sleep the night before and her eyes still swollen from
crying. In fact, she'd spent the whole day trying to look cheerful, yet fighting back tears, as Negaduck's hateful
words from last night continued to echo in her mind:

"Trying to clean the place again, Little Miss Goody-Goody? How many times have I warned you to quit that??!
This is my house, and I run it my way---you're just living here! And you won't be very long if you don't learn
to obey me...get it, you nauseating little brat???"

And Gosalyn had nodded sadly, her face blushing painfully at the sound of Launchpad snickering. She had
listened humbly, not daring to answer back...knowing it would do no good anyway. Then she had retreated
quietly to her room---grateful at least that it was a slight change from the rest of the house---where she threw
herself on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly, silently crying out her misery and wondering what cruel trick of
Fate had placed her with someone like Negaduck...

Why did he even take me in? Gosalyn was asking herself as she trudged on absently, her mind still on last
night's painful events. Why does Negaduck keep me with him? He doesn't love me. He doesn't even act
like he WANTS me most of the time...

"Hey, Gos--wait up!" called Tank Muddlefoot, startling the duckling out of her thoughts.

"Oh....hi, Tank!" Gosalyn replied hastily, pasting a weak smile on her face as her friend caught up with her. She
would have been quite surprised to discover that the oldest Muddlefoot boy had a twin in the Normalverse who
was nearly as mean as her guardian (she doubted that anyone was meaner than Negaduck).

"Hey...are you all right?" the neatly-dressed boy asked softly, his face filled with concern.

"Sure!" Gosalyn answered cheerfully, but Tank shook his head.

"Negaduck jumped on you again, didn't he? We could hear him yelling clear down the block. Mom and Dad
and Honker thought it was pretty funny," he said with a dark frown. "But I didn't!"

"Neither did I," the little girl replied, sighing heavily. "Dad caught me trying to clean house again. I'm just tired of
it looking so awful."

She asked herself sometimes why she called Negaduck "Dad"--though she was never allowed to call him
that to his face. It was Lord Negaduck, or nothing.

Just then, a small but quite aggressive boy dressed in black leather came up and stood in their path. It was
Honker Muddlefoot; that he and his parents had more benevolent opposites as Darkwing Duck's neighbours
would have been just as startling---especially to themselves.

"Hey, Four-Eyes! Mom wants you to go to the store!" he sneered at his older brother. "She and Dad are havin'
Lord Negaduck and Launchpad over, and she said get some bread and Coo-Coo Cola or she'll kick your butt
all over the house!"

"All right," Tank snapped at him. "But what about Gosalyn?"

"The nerd-bomber? Yeah, what about her?" Honker asked, smirking at the red-haired duckling.

"Well, she's invited, isn't she?"

Honker shrugged. "I don't know---I don't care. Fact, I hope so--we could all have fun laughing at that stupid
pink dress she always wears," he remarked, laughing cruelly at the crushed look on Gosalyn's face.

"Why don't you leave her alone?" demanded the older Muddlefoot youth.

"Why don't you make me??"

"Don't push it," growled Tank, clenching his fists.

"Ooooh, I'm shakin'! Bring it on, why don't ya, geekazoid?" snarled his younger brother.

The two were just getting in each other's faces when their mother came up the street.

"Now Honker, don't fight! You'll ruin your nice new bomber jacket. And Tank...?" said Binkie, staring in surprise
at her elder son's clenched fists and angry expression. "Is that you trying to be tough like your little brother?" She
laughed heartily. "Oh, my! That's so cute. You'll never be the he-man he is, sweetheart, but you're so adorable
for trying!" She pinched his face quite hard and shoved some money into his hand. "Now run along, you poor
pitiful thing."

As Tank sighed resignedly and walked away, Binkie turned her attention on Gosalyn. She frowned and shook
her head in disgust at the frilly pink dress and long red curls.

"Tch! Gosalyn, honey, that outfit simply will not do! You must start dressing much less ladylike, my dear."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" asked the little girl.

"Oh, you can't be serious! You look like a little sugar-coated pastry, or something like that. Ick! Why,
no wonder Lord Negaduck can't stand you! You simply must let me take charge of your attire, sweetie."

"Uh...no thank you, Mrs. Muddlefoot," Gosalyn said politely, though she was quite hurt at Binkie's words.

"Nonsense! Why don't you come with me, hon?" Taking Gosalyn firmly by the arm, Binkie started to drag
her toward the Muddlefoot home.

"I'll cut off all those silly curls and paint some lovely blue streaks in your hair, and you could wear one of my
old outfits. And tomorrow, I'll take you to the mall and have your ears pierced--maybe even your tongue!
Won't that be nice, Gosalyn dear?" she declared, giggling.

"Wait!! Tank, I'll go with you!" Gosalyn called back, pulling away in horror and running frantically up to Tank,
who seemed to have been waiting for her. The black-clad Muddlefoot housewife stood glaring after
them, quite annoyed.

"Oh, that little idiot! I'm only trying to help," she grumbled, as she went back to her kitchen.

"That was close," Gosalyn whispered to Tank with relief. "I think I'll just have my dinner at home, Tank."

"I don't blame you," the boy answered, grinning understandingly. "I think I'd better bow out too. Just having
my family around is scary enough without putting up with those other two!"

He took Gosalyn's hand protectively and they walked quickly uptown, their footsteps becoming lighter as
they got farther away from their neighborhood.

Later, as they were leaving the supermarket, they passed a small statuary shoppe. Gosalyn often liked to stop
by there and look at the displays; in spite of herself, today was no exception. But this time, something quite
extraordinary caught the little girl's eye...

"Oh, Tank! Look!" she gasped in delight, pointing in the window. Her friend stopped and stared in surprise.

"Whoa...since when do they have something like that around here??" he exclaimed.

Just inside the shoppe window sat a porcelain statue of an angel. Its hair and wings were carved so delicately
that they seemed almost real; its face was breathtakingly lovely, its eyes gazing softly out at Gosalyn---as if the
heavenly being knew of Gosalyn's plight and pitied her.

"Oh, Tank...she's so beautiful!" Gosalyn said wistfully. "I want her so much..."

Tank frowned, knowing that Negaduck would not only refuse to buy his ward such an object, but would be more
than happy to smash it to pieces. He felt it best not to comment, however.

"I do have a birthday coming!" Gosalyn went on. "Maybe Dad might get it for my birthday!"

"Uh...well...yes, I hope so," Tank replied, though privately he didn't think so. "C'mon, Gos, let's get back home
before Mom has a fit."

It was hard for Gosalyn to tear her gaze away from the statue, but she reluctantly followed the Muddlefoot youth.
Yet her mind was filled with the beauty of the angel's face, which comforted her spirit and for a short time made
her forget her troubles.

Maybe if I'm really good...or bad, whatever Dad wants---and do my best to please him, she thought, maybe
he'll buy me that angel after all! Oh, please...let him do something nice for me, for a change!

She ran home, her heart light with hope for the first time in months.

End Chapter I