Silverwing Duck - Darkwing's Twin Sister

Chapter Five: Coming Home (Part 5)

(flashback)

The year was 1998. The date...sometime after the school year had ended. Ten year old Launch Pad McQuack was walking to the park to fly his new Bletroit XI plane model. He'd just finished fixing it...after some school bullies had smashed it on the last day of Show and Tell. But now that it was fixed, and school was out, he didn't need to worry about bullies.

Smiling to himself, Launch Pad made a "wooshing" sound and pretended his plane was flying in the air. He was really getting into it, the world around him fading. Suddenly he wasn't holding the plane in his hand - he was in the plane, flying over a forest of trees. The air smelled fresh, the sky was blue, and there wasn't a sky pirate to be seen.

Launch Pad's imagination was broken, however, when he heard a shout. Blinking, he came back down to reality, with him holding a model plane in a park.

"Hey carrot head - I was talking to you!!" An obnoxious voice shouted from behind him. Launch Pad turned, only to see Biff, the biggest bully in all of Saint Canard (because he'd been to pretty much every school before being kicked out) walking leisurely towards him. Launch Pad's eyes widened with fear, and he felt his heartbeat rise. This was not good. Not good at all.

"Don't think you can ditch me, now," Biff said, sporting a deceptively friendly grin. Launch Pad gulped and took a few steps back. Biff's grin turned into a frown. "Hey, what'd I just tell you."

Launch Pad could only stare. He was too scared to speak, and for some reason his legs wouldn't move. The hand holding his model plane was shivering, and Launch Pad wondered if he should have stayed home today. I mean, the day wasn't that nice.

Biff came closer, so close that Launch Pad could see the intricately designed guitars on his leather jacket were made of small studs. Hands in his pockets, Biff came next to Launch Pad, carefully surveying the area around them. If there were any adults nearby...Biff could get busted for child molesting. After all, he was technically eighteen, even though he was still in ninth grade.

"I-I-I-" Launch Pad stammered nervously. He always stammered when he was nervous or afraid. Gulping down air, Launch Pad tried to speak again. "I d-don't want any tr-tr-trouble."

"Well, too bad," Biff stated, glancing down at Launch Pad and grinning menacingly at him. "Cause tr-tr-trouble seems to follow y-"

Before Biff could finish his sentence, a clod of mud splatted against his face. Launch Pad stared, his mouth agape. What...had just happened?

Sputtering, Biff stepped back from the red head, wiping off the mud while at the same time trying not to get it on his jacket. When his face was, mostly, clean, he glared around the park. Rows of waist-high bushes lined the pathway they were on, with a few Oaks and Douglas Firs dotting the landscape behind it.

"Who threw that!!" Biff demanded, glancing first down one row of bushes, then another. The only answer he received was the rustle of leaves brushed together by a breeze. Cursing under his breath, Biff looked back at Launch Pad, who was still staring at him with his mouth open. "What are you looking at!"

"N-n-nothing!" Launch Pad stammered, closing his mouth and moving until his back was to one of the bushes. He searched his mind for something to say so Biff would go away. Telling him his parents were here would be a lie, they were practicing their airplane stunts for an upcoming show. Telling him he had friends in high places would also be a lie - because he didn't have very many friends...and even then, they were like him. Kids who were picked on because of their interests, or looks, etcetera.

"That story better not change or el -" Biff was interrupted when another clod of mud slammed careened into his eyes. Letting out a scream, Biff turned towards where the mud had come from, and blindly threw himself there. His body met the waist-high bushes, and Biff was tossed face first on the other side of the divide. "WHO THREW THAT?!"