Short Circuit

Chapter 1: A Little Loopy

Ding-dong! "Oh, Mr Mallard! Yoo-hoo, are you home?"

Drake opened his front door, looking up at the abnormally tall canary. "Hey, Binkie, this isn't really the best time." Not that it's ever a good time for a Muddlefoot visit.

"Oh, I'm sorry Drake, dear, but this will only take a minute." Binkie assured, pushing past Drake into the house, despite the other's protests. "You see, I was baking — preparing for that upcoming neighborhood bake sale, you will be coming, won't you? — when, what do you know, I ran out of flour! So I was wondering if you'd be so sweet as to– now, who is this?"

Laying on Drake's couch was a rat who had hopefully seen better days. Most of his fur was missing, the remaining singed as if he'd been badly burned, pale scars crossing over his skin. The poor thing could barely keep his eyes open, groaning as if in pain.

"That's, uh..." Drake chuckled nervously, trying to push Binkie out the door. "An old friend of mine. He's not feeling well, I'm just helping him recover. Now, how about we get you that flour and you can be on your–"

"Let me see." Binkie slipped past Drake, putting her hand on the rat's forehead. "Oh, sweetie, you're burning up! And your heart is beating a mile a minute. Here, let's get your feet up, it's better for your circulation..."

"'t's fin'." The rat mumbled, exhaustion clouding his voice. "Normal, fo' me."

"You shouldn't sleep in your glasses, dear." Binkie ignored the feeble protests, slipping off his blue goggles. "My son Honker is always making that mistake. There, now, isn't that better? You're so thin, are you eating enough? And what about water? Fluids are important when you're sick, dontcha know."

The rat let out a raspy laugh. "Trus' me, Ma'am, n't 'nough wate' isn' my pro'lem."

"If you're sure, dear." Binkie tutted, looking into the rat's eyes. His pupils wouldn't focus, randomly dilating and contracting. "Have you been to a hospital? I don't mean to insult you, but you really don't look well."

"Drake's takin' good care... O' me." The rat was falling asleep. "He's nice..."

"Yes, he is." Binkie agreed, patting the dozing rat comfortingly. Drake walked in, pulling several bags of flour. "Oh, I only needed a few cups, Mr Mallard."

"Now you won't have to borrow any more for a while." Drake shrugged. "Now, isn't it time you got going? I'm sorry, but Elmo really needs some rest, so..."

"I understand, dear." Binkie nodded, grabbing the flour. She looked over at the ra– Elmo. "Have you given him anything? He seems a little loopy."

"He's just really tired." Drake groaned, rubbing his beak. "He'll be fine, though. He always is."

"It looks like life hasn't been very kind to him." Binkie gestured to the scars.

"He hasn't been very kind to it, either." Drake muttered. "Don't worry, Mrs Muddlefoot; he's a survivor. Besides, I'm taking care of him."

"Yes, you are." Binkie nodded, satisfied by something she saw in Drake's eyes. "Do give your friend my best when he wakes up, won't you? Good day, Mr Mallard."

"You too, Binkie." Drake sighed, closing the door.

Elmo shifted in his sleep, weak sparks jumping up his whiskers as he started mumbling to himself. Drake went back up to his room, finishing up the modifications to an old generator he had. Launchpad wasn't the only one who was good with machines, after all.

He lugged the bulky device downstairs, hooking Megavolt's tail into a special socket. A slow stream of electricity started traveling through the rat, making him smile softly in his sleep.

"You can't come here again, Elmo." Darkwing scowled. "Next time, I'm just leaving you and calling the cops!"

Elmo did come again, half his arm torn open from an experiment gone wrong. Darkwing gave him stitches. Mrs Muddlefoot came around for tea. The cops did not make an appearance.

The third time he visited, it was without injury. He just wanted to say 'thanks' and catch up. That's when Gosalyn met him, unable to fight him in civilian mode. Dinner was reluctantly had. No uniformed officers attended.

The fourth time was as Megavolt, with Gosalyn and Honker in tow, having found them lost in the sewers. Drake had pushed him inside and forced him to change, so 'Elmo' could tell the Muddlefoots that their son was safe.

The fifth time was to ask if Drake wanted to meet his friends. The sixth was to apologize for how that meeting went.

The seventh was because of an invitation from Binkie.

The eighth was just because he was bored.

After that, Drake lost count.