Rise of the Riptide! | Ducktales 2017

(7) Gizmobirdie!

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    Training with Gizmoduck was both a dream and a nightmare come true.

    On one hand, she got to work with her hero! Ariel not only got to spend one-on-one time with her idol, but she was training to become a superhero just like him! It was a dream!

    On the other hand... she wasn't very good.

    She'd been told to meet Gizmoduck in front of the Money Bin in her new suit. Fenton teased her excitement earlier that day, saying she looked as if she was about to explode. That statement was pretty accurate.

    After what felt like forever, Gizmoduck landed in front of her.

    "Looking shiny, little gizmo-buddy!" He offered her a familiar smile.

    She stumbled through her words, star-struck. "Hi Ariel-!! I mean, I'm Ariel, hi! Wait, you probably already know that-"

    "Well, considering you're in a super suit, I'm assuming you have a superhero name too?"

    Ariel flushed. "Oh-!! Right- yeah, of course! I'm uh... Gizmo... bird-ie?"

    The hero laughed. "It's ok, we'll work on it Ariel. Let's head inside, I have something to show you."

    The two made their way to one of the unused storage rooms in the bin. Waiting by the door was Huey Duck. He was preoccupied with whatever was on his tablet but sat up as soon as he saw the two walk over.

    "Ariel, this is Huey. I hope you don't mind, but we had to let him know about your powers in order to figure out the best training methods."

    Ariel nodded in understanding, greeting Huey. "I haven't seen you since the convention, hello!"

    The young duck smiled kindly. "Hey! It's nice to see you again! I promise your secret is safe with me."

She nodded again, trusting his word. While more people knowing about her powers made her nervous, she didn't mind him knowing as long as Gizmoduck believed he could really help them. And he seemed trustworthy.

    "Anyways, me and Fenton reworked Gizmoduck's old training room to accommodate your specific abilities and technology!"

    Huey pushed the doors wide open, revealing his work. Gizmoduck and Ariel followed inside, Ariel gaping at the sight.

    She didn't expect the room to be so big. The ceiling reached pretty high, probably to accommodate the gizmosuit's large size. On one side there was an obstacle course. Huey informed her that it had multiple courses that could switch using his tablet. Another side had items to test her strength and aim. There was also a small pool in a corner and multiple water tanks. Multiple drains were on the floor, probably in case Ariel flooded the room.

    The implication of her powers possibly getting out of control- enough to need safety drains, scared her.

    "Let's start with something simple and work your way up." Gizmoduck led her to a punching bag dummy with the Dark Cardinal painted on it. Fake wings popped up from the sides. "Just practice hitting the Cardinal while dodging their wings."

    "Okie dokie..." Ariel gave an unsure smile before punching the dummy, the pop out wings smacking her in the face and bringing her down immediately.

    She got back up again, embarrassed. Gizmoduck gave her an encouraging smile and nodded at her to try again.

    Ariel practiced with the dummy again, and again... and again... only to be smacked by the wings and thrown back. Gizmoduck and Huey sat on a bench by the door, cringing in secondhand pain with every hit.