Koraz/St Canard

Chapter 1: Mischievous Games

Mischief grinned, baring her sharpest teeth, her amusement and anger side-by-side. The man in front of her looked a little like Booksmarts, the similarities to her friend making her all the more ferocious.

"Wiiiilll yoooouuu plaaaaay with meeeee?" He asked the toymaker, holding tightly onto his jester's cap.

Mischief didn't like the villain, but she'd never been good at ignoring the sort of pained and fearful expression he was wearing. Besides, this Paddywhack guy had tried to hurt that nice little girl she'd been playing prank war with, so...

"Ooooh! Oh! I want to play!" Mischief raised her claw, waving it wildly as she spun in the air. Once she had both clowns' attention, she grinned wider, her flaming eyes burning larger with her growing power "How about we play tag? You're it!"

A jack-in-the-box -- she had a degree in irony -- appeared in black smoke, unleashing a boxing glove straight into Paddywhack's beak. Mischief grab Quackerjack by the back of his shirt and flew, catching Mr Banana Brain with her tail.

"Yaaaah!" Quackerjack screamed as they flew higher. "Put me down!"

"It's me or the Misery Spirit." Perhaps putting her face right in front of his wasn't the best way to earn his trust. She sighed. "Quackerjack, I'm a teenaged girl that likes baking and pranks, he's a centuries old monster who has obviously tortured you before. Is it really that hard to choose?"

"You don't look like any teenaged girl I've ever met." The duck grumbled, though he seemed to perk up when she gave his doll back. He seemed less frightened, probably because they were getting further and further from Paddywhack.

"Yeah, well, it's a species thing I suppose." Mischief was a living shadow with sharp claws, sharper teeth, and flames for eyes -- she looked scary and could back it up when she really wanted to. It made sense he was scared of her, though she hoped he would calm down. "Is there any place we can go? Someplace we can gather our wits and defend ourselves?"

"Fight? Against that monster?!" Quackerjack yelped. Then he thought. "Wait... It's not all that safe, but there's a lighthouse near here that belongs to a friend of mine. He's in prison right now, so we'll have it to ourselves."

"You mean the one that's on that cliff?" Mischief asked. At the nod, she changed course to where she remembered it being. "Belongs to a friend, huh? Sure he won't mind?"

"Yeah, Sparky will understand." He was quieter, and she inwardly cursed, hoping he wasn't falling into shock or something. He was definitely tired, and probably scared. She didn't like the villain, but he was in her care now.

They reached the lighthouse, getting in through a window. She let the overprotective side of her switch on, forcing the duck to wash the grime out of his feathers and rest on the couch while she started cooking a small din-lun-bre-... Whatever meal it was.

"Thanks." He muttered, taking the plate of buttered asparagus and pasta with a small side of garlic bread. He tasted it and smiled. He lifted that doll of his. "*You're a pretty good chef, Jeff.*"

"Thanks." She shrugged, floating over the couch. "So... How do you know Paddywhack?"

"He used to be a playmate." Quackerjack's little bells jingled faintly. "He tricked me, and when I didn't want to play anymore, he got mad. Trapped me in his jack-in-the-box and, and-"

"I don't need details." Mischief quickly interrupted. Torture wasn't something you should have to talk about, she knew that all too well. "Just, how'd you escape? Did you exploit a weakness? Find a loophole? Just get really lucky?"

"Darkwing Duck -- he's the local superhero -- got captured after me." He played with his bells, the jingling just a little more alive. "We used the rules of his realm against him, pulling pranks on each other until we could pull pranks against Paddywhack. The more fun we had and the angrier he got, the weaker he was. Eventually, he just kicked us out."

"That's not good." Mischief shook her head, thinking. "If he gave up last time, then we don't know what his limit is. If pranks are both his strength and weakness, however, that is good."

"Why?" Quackerjack asked. Mischief hesitated, but hey, they were in this together now.

"I am the Korazian Spirit Of Pranks." Technically Lies, Deception, Tricks, and Pranks, but he didn't need to know that. "So they're sorta my wheelhouse."

"Oh." Quackerjack blinked. "Is that how you made that glove appear earlier?"

"My punch-in-the-box!" Mischief laughed, excited as always to talk about her creations. "I have hundreds of specialty prank boxes, all Mischief originals. Kinda funny I'm fighting a guy who *lives* in a jack-in-the-box."

"Yeah, funny..." Quackerjack frowned. "Who are you? Why'd you save me?"

"I'm Mischievous Stargem, you can call me Mischief." Mischief settled down next to him on the couch. "That guy tried to hurt someone I was having fun with, so he's made an enemy outta me. And you, well, you're kinda amusing."

"You saved me 'cause I'm funny?" Quackerjack raised an eyebrow.

"No, yes, I..." She sighed. "You looked scared, alright? I've seen people react to trauma before, and it was obvious he's hurt you. I know you're a villain, but I couldn't leave anyone with that monster."

She growled, cutting off when Quackerjack jumped in fright. She whined apologetically and both fell into silence.