Work Text:
After The Last Adventure
McDuck Manor was abuzz with activity lately. There was a bubbling mixture of excitement and relief in the air, a kind of electric happiness that followed the ultimate demise of the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny and its insidious leader, Bradford Buzzard. Scrooge's family and friends were still letting the reality sink in that one of their most dangerous enemies had become little more than Magica DeSpell's mindless feathered friend.
For some, especially Scrooge and Webby, the sense of victory was mixed with disbelief and exhaustion, emotions that mingled with a deeper joy: relief at being safe, pride in what they had overcome, and curiosity about what came next. As everyone gathered—still celebrating Webby's birthday and now preparing a big farewell party for Donald, Daisy, and their newly adopted daughters, May and June, who were also Webby's biological sisters—the whole Manor was filled with laughter, lingering tension, and the feeling of their family changing in ways they were all still figuring out.
"Crazy how time flies, eh, Mrs. Beakley?" Scrooge commented as he observed the party before him. "Remember a few years ago when I was all by my lonesome before Donald went to me to babysit his boys for the day?" He then looked towards his ghost butler, Duckworth, who was serving refreshments to everyone. "Now look, I got Duckworth back as a ghost, we have numerous superhero allies under our belt, and above all else, my family got just a little bit bigger."
"Outrageous to think this all started because I wanted little Webby to find a place to stay after I saved her from FOWL." Beakley declared before looking to Webby. "Webby, dear, how's the party going?"
"Oh, it's going great, Granny!" Webby excitedly answered, bouncing up and down at seeing so many of her friends under one roof, before her eyes wandered to a certain well-traveled teen standing in the corner. "Oh, hey Lena!"
"Hey." Lena said nonchalantly, making Webby think Lena was still upset from the way she reacted to Lena's blow-up earlier.
"Listen, I know you're still a little wound-up after everything that's happened, but-" Webby stated before she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"Webby, I'd like a word, please." Huey suggested while holding his trusty Junior Woodchuck Guidebook open to write down a new entry. "It's about the recent revelations of your relationship to us."
"But I still want to talk to Len-" Webby tried to turn down Huey's offer before she turned to realize Lena had already walked away. "Oh, oops."
"You can sort out your Lena issues later; time is of the essence, and I need answers!" Huey frantically exclaimed as he snatched Webby's wrist and dragged her away to her bedroom.
"What's their problem?" Donald asked, his beak full of leftover birthday cake making him harder to understand than usual.
"Judging by Huey's body language, he's probably a little too eager to learn new things as usual," Della suggested, her mouth also full of birthday cake. "Also, can you please not talk with your mouth full? I swear, you become harder to understand than usual when you're eating while talking."
"Says you, Dumbella!" Donald accused Della of hypocrisy as the two started arguing while Scrooge laughed softly.
"I'm going to miss this," Scrooge smirked.
"So, quick question, Webby." Huey immediately began asking while pulling out a pencil as soon as he pulled Webby into her room, where Dewey, Louie, Gosalyn, Boyd, May, and June were also waiting for them. "Since you're recognized as Scrooge's biological daughter now, do you want to call him Dad now, or do you want to wait until you're more comfortable and just keep calling him Uncle Scrooge?"
"Uh, I think-" Webby began before Huey cut her off.
"More importantly, how does Uncle Scrooge being your father affect your relationship with the rest of us?" Huey continued asking.
Frustrated at how quickly Huey cut her off, Webby tried to answer again. "Wait, just-"
"And can we still call you Webby Vanderquack, or would you prefer Webby McDuck, or maybe even Vanderquack-McDuck?" Huey kept on rambling with question after question. "And what about whether we should keep calling you Webby or if you want to be called Ap-"
"Huey, calm down and let everyone process for a bit!" Louie exclaimed while jostling Huey by the shoulder. "Seriously, I think you're giving Dewey a headache." He then gestured towards Dewey, who had been sitting in silence and staring off into the distance for the past few minutes.
"I think I might've killed Don Karnage." Dewey said flatly in the midst of dissociating.
"You what?" Louie replied in shock.
"Oh, is this not a safe space suddenly?" Dewey added awkwardly.
"But I need answers, you guys!" Huey yelled frantically. "Does Webby being biologically related to us automatically invalidate the bond we've developed over the course of our adventures together? And how do May and June fit into this as well?!"
"If you ask me, Huey, it does not matter whether Webbigail is related to you or not." Boyd declared with some sage wisdom. "Friends are just as much an important part of any family, like how I consider you family for helping me learn to be a real boy."
"Thank you for your wisdom, Boyd." Huey breathed a sigh of relief towards the definitely real robot boy. "Anyone else care to throw in their two cents?"
"Yeah, anyone know where the shadow girl went?" Gosalyn raised her hand as if she were a student and Huey were the teacher. "Lena, I think her name is?"
"Y'know, now that I think about it," Louie added. "She and Webby haven't spoken with each other much since we got back from the Lost Library." Just then, June Duck stepped forward.
"I think that may be my fault." June sighed awkwardly while rubbing her shoulder. "When May and I thought that it was weird that Webby considered so many people who weren't related to her to be family, I started cutting some of the strings on her board, and Lena got really mad when I cut hers. I started crying when Lena lashed out, and I think Webby looked pretty mad at her too." Webby then started looking guilty at the way she reacted to Lena.
May, standing a bit to the side, finally spoke up. "I didn't really get it at first," she admitted, twirling one of her feathers with her fingers. "Our whole lives have been so confusing, moving from being created by F.O.W.L. to suddenly having this huge family who actually wants us around. At first I was jealous, honestly. Webby just seemed to belong here so easily, and I was afraid we wouldn't fit in, that we were just... extras."
June nodded, glancing at May before continuing. "It's just... new, you know? Being part of a family that's more than just who you're related to - people who want you even after everything that's happened. It scares me sometimes. But at the same time, it's kind of nice. I'm still figuring out how to be someone's sister, and I don't want to mess it up."
"Eh, don't worry, I'm sure Lena just lost her temper at the worst possible time." Gosalyn said nonchalantly. "Besides, she was willing to go and rescue Webby and Huey from F.O.W.L with us."
"Yeah, I agree. Take it from a guy who's lived with Donald his whole life." Dewey agreed with Gosalyn. "He flips out practically all the time; it'll pass."
Just then, Webby suddenly got up with a look of determination on her face, one that reminded the kids of Scrooge yet was distinctly Webby at the same time. "I have to make things right with Lena." she declared. "Where is she?"
"Probably brooding in some dark corner in the mansion." Louie answered.
"I think Violet might be with her too," May added.
"Welp, wish me luck, guys." Webby stated before she raced off to find Lena, leaving the rest of the kids in her room. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Louie decided to speak up.
"So, am I the only one who thinks Webby might have a thing for Lena, or vice versa?" Louie bluntly addressed the big elephant in the room.
"YOU CAN SEE IT TOO?!" Dewey screamed with relief. "Oh, thank Dew, I thought I was just going crazy and seeing everything as baby gays!"
Meanwhile, Lena was busy brooding at a nearby window, gazing out at the party in front of her. It was funny, she pondered to herself. Here she was, once nothing more than Magica DeSpell's shadow given sentience to carry out her "aunt"'s revenge on Scrooge McDuck for imprisoning her in his number one dime. But now, after meeting Webby and the rest of her increasingly large and bizarre family, Lena felt like, finally, for the first time in her life, she was growing into her own person. Before she could continue brooding, however, Lena heard Violet call for her.
"Uh, Lena, are you still in there?" Violet asked her adoptive sister as she knocked on Lena's head. "Are you done brooding yet?"
"I wasn't brooding, I was thinking!" Lena exclaimed as she pushed Violet's hand away.
"Thinking about what, Webby?" Violet answered, making the older duck blush in embarrassment.
"How did you guess?" Lena muttered while sheepishly tucking her knees into her chest.
"I have noticed that you've been a little awkward around Webbigail since we got back from the Library of Alexandria." Violet answered while sitting across from Lena. "Let me guess, do you have a crush on her?"
"No, YOU have a crush on her!" Lena yelled, blushing even harder now, while Violet smirked.
"Lena, dear, I have two fathers. I have what some may call a gaydar." Violet smugly declared. "How long have you had these feelings?"
Knowing there was no way out of this, Lena sighed deeply before she finally decided to come out. "Since I first came back from the shadow realm, I guess." she confessed. She hesitated, taking a breath as her emotions tumbled out. "It's weird. Back then, I didn't really know who I was supposed to be—just Magica's shadow, a means to someone else's end. Webby was the first person to look at me and see someone worth saving. At first, I saw her as my first real friend back when we first met at the Amphitheater, to the point where I was willing to die for her to protect her from Aunt Magica. But it's more than that now. After everything we've been through—her always choosing me, even when I mess up, when I feel like I don't belong anywhere—she makes me feel... safe, and like maybe I can be someone better. After seeing how Webby was willing to risk everything to save me in exchange, well, I think I've started seeing her differently. It scares me sometimes how much I care about her, but at the same time, it's the best kind of scary. I think I might be in lesbians with her."
"You mean love?" Violet chuckled at Lena's slip of the tongue.
"They're both L words, you get what I mean, sis." Lena laughed back as she tousled her little sister's hair before sighing. "I need to find Webby. I need to make things right between us, and I shouldn't have reacted so badly when June nearly cut that string! I mean, come on, it was just a string on a corkboard!"
"Well, you won't have to wait any longer, because look who's coming right now." Violet announced as she noticed Webby coming towards them. "I shall leave you two alone for a bit; I'm just going to grab some punch." Violet then departed to give the two some space as Webby awkwardly approached Lena.
"Uh, hey Lena." Webby nervously greeted her best friend as she sat down next to her. "Listen, if you're still sad about what happened with the corkboard earlier, it's okay. June was just getting your goat because F.O.W.L created her to, and-"
"Webby, am I still important to you?" Lena cut Webby off with a question.
"Of course you still matter to me!" Webby cheerfully replied. "Everyone matters to me! Besides, as we always say, friendship is the greatest magic of all!"
"No, blood family is the greatest magic of all." Lena retorted. "While I have to admit, I never bothered asking you or Mrs. Beakley about your parents; hearing that you were Scrooge's weirdo clone daughter this whole time just made me think."
"About what?" Webby asked, placing her hand on Lena's, unaware that Gyro had caught them and was now watching their conversation while eating some popcorn.
"About whether this whole found family really means anything anymore." Lena answered as the crowd around them slowly began getting larger. "I mean, you guys love preaching about how family is the greatest adventure of all; heck, it was even how you defeated that dumbass Bradford once and for all, and you've practically known Scrooge all your life. But like, what does being his daughter the whole time change? Am I no longer relevant to you? Is Violet no longer relevant, or Gizmoduck, or Darkwing, or literally every other guy you've met on your adventures?!"
"You know, I'm still processing this as well." Webby replied as she leaned on Lena. "Literally just now, Huey dragged me into my room so he could make me answer questions about whether being April changes anything or not. Heck, I'm still not even sure whether to call Scrooge my dad or just Uncle Scrooge. And I'm now thinking about whether I should call myself April from now on too. But Boyd told us one thing earlier."
"The robot kid? What did he say?" Lena asked.
"Boyd said that friends are just as much an important part of any family," Webby repeated Boyd's advice. "Like how Boyd considers Huey family for helping him learn to be a real boy. And you're part of my family too, even if you're not a McDuck."
"Well, that's another thing I want to talk to you about." Lena replied nervously. "Lately, I've been feeling like you're more than just a friend or family to me. I actually think I kind of, uh, what's the word again? The L word?"
"Lesbian?" Webby asked as she slowly caught on to what Lena was trying to say.
"No, the other L-word!" Lena exclaimed as she saw Violet not too far from her, smiling while drinking punch. "It's what I've been feeling about you since you and Violet busted me out of the Shadow Realm!"
"Oh, now I get it!" Webby finally realized, blushing. "Well, I love you too, you beautiful idiot."
"No, you're my beautiful idiot." Lena chuckled before she kissed Webby on the beak, making the smaller duckling gasp in surprise before she accepted it and kissed Lena back. Just then, the two girls heard cheering and clapping all around them as they noticed the crowd that had formed during their conversation. "Wait, where did all of you come from?!"
"Took you lovebirds long enough." Louie smirked.
"FINALLY!" Dewey yelled as he started sobbing uncontrollably. "I love these baby gays so much!" He then dropped to the floor while crying tears of joy as he hugged Della's prosthetic leg.
"Baby's first girlfriend, I'm so proud of her." Scrooge declared with a tearful smile as Webby walked up to him. "I've only known ye were my daughter for a couple of hours, and you're already gonna give me grandkids."
"Scrooge!" Webby laughed while blushing. "Hey, that reminds me. Do you still want me to call you Uncle Scrooge, or can I just call you Dad now?"
"Eh, I don't really mind either one." Scrooge shrugged as he hugged Webby. "Whether you're my daughter or an honorary member of the clan, you'll always be a McDuck to all of us. Not just to me, the boys, Donald, and Della, but everyone else here today." Scrooge then gestured towards everyone else at the party, like Gyro, Fenton, Gandra, Drake, Gosalyn, Launchpad, Violet, Boyd, Manny, Daisy, Duckworth, Gladstone, Fethry, Panchito, José, Goldie, Ludwig von Drake, Penumbra, Goofy, the Rescue Rangers, Kit and Molly, D'jinn, Storkules, and Selene. Not all of them were biologically related to Scrooge or Donald, but they all counted as members of the McDuck clan all the same.
"Thank you, Uncle Dad." Webby replied gratefully, making Scrooge laugh at the option she took.
"Okay, that's sweet and all, but where did you guys come from?" Lena asked about the party guests. "I don't even know half of you guys!"
"To be honest, I don't know much about you either; this was just really sweet and emotional." Fethry agreed as he blew his nose on a tissue Gladstone just happened to have in his pocket.
"Yeah, great work, magic girl." Gladstone smirked with pride. "You got a real keeper there." Just then, he suddenly got distracted by a dollar bill on the ground. "Hey, twenty dollars!"
"Man, I can't wait to see the look on Grandpa Fergus's face when he finds out he's got three more granddaughters." Della laughed while tousling Lena and Webby's hair as she, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Donald, May, June, and Daisy wrapped the two in a hug. "Welcome to the McDuck family, kiddo."
"Shouldn't you two get in on this?" Mrs. Beakley asked Gladstone and Fethry as they watched.
"Naw, I think Don and Dells got it covered." Gladstone answered before he got distracted by someone across the room. "Erica, when did you get here?! We all thought you died in that accident!" Gladstone said happily while walking away with Fethry. "I almost didn't recognize you beneath that facial reconstruction surgery! Meet my cousin, his name's Fethry!"
As the victory party slowly wound down and the guests started to leave, the kids decided to retreat to the TV room for the time being to watch some Ottoman Empire together.
"Look, I'm glad that the Ottoman Empire series finale had such a satisfying ending, but I'm gonna miss watching new episodes." Louie said as the television played an Ottoman Empire rerun showing Johnny and Randy building an ottoman for Jim Starling. "Hey, isn't that the guy who played Darkwing on that old show Launchpad liked? Whatever happened to him?"
"Beats me." Dewey shrugged. "Last time Launchpad and I saw Jim, he nearly killed us all in a murderous rage because he didn't want to get replaced, then he suddenly felt sad and sacrificed himself to save us."
"You met Darkwing Duck?" Violet added. "Get out of town, my dads loved that show! In fact, their first meeting was at a Darkwing Duck convention!"
"I really wish I had a clue what any of you were saying." Lena sarcastically commented. "Man, I should come on your adventures more often." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Anybody wanna get that?"
"Guys, you would not believe what just happened!" Launchpad yelled as he barged through the door to the TV room. "Hey Dewey, you remember when Jim Starling went crazy on the Darkwing Duck movie set and we thought he died after saving Drake?!" he panted. "Well, it turns out he's still alive AND he's calling himself Negaduck now AND he has his own Fearsome Five!"
"Wait, there's a Negaduck now?!" Dewey exclaimed loudly before the room suddenly filled with purple smoke, making everyone watch as Darkwing Duck made his grand entrance.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the plotline that is left hanging for multiple episodes and never gets resolved before the show is canceled!" Darkwing declared as he emerged from a cloud of smoke like a true master of surprise, standing proudly on the table in front of the kids and striking a dramatic pose. "I am DARKWING DUCK!"
"Oh, hey, Mr. Mallard." Louie commented flatly, barely even reacting to the presence of the Terror That Flaps In The Night while looking at his phone.
"You know, you could be a little more amazed at my flair for the dramatic." Drake stated. "Let's go, Gosalyn, I think I finally found my arch-nemesis!"
"Be with you in a bit, Dad." Gosalyn said to her adoptive father. "I'm just hanging out with the gang. Call me when you've busted Negaduck and, like, locked him in a jar in your closet or something."
"Very well then." Drake declared as he swished his cape and made an equally dramatic exit out the window. "Come, Launchpad, let's get dangerous!" He then crashed into a bush outside. "I'm okay!"
"Whoo, supervillain fight!" Launchpad excitedly yelled while following Darkwing Duck through the window. "I'm okay too!"
"So are we just going to act like we completely understood what Drake just said and the whole Negaduck thing is completely normal?" Huey asked the kids.
"Yep." the rest of the kids all replied.
"And I wouldn't trade it for anything." Webby smiled softly as she touched her hand to Lena's.
For a quiet moment, Webby glanced around at her friends, her family—some by blood, some by choice—and realized just how much her world had changed. "You know," she whispered, her voice thoughtful, "I used to think family was just about who you were born to, but now I think it's about the people who show up for you, who love you even when things get weird. I'm really lucky to have found all of you." She squeezed Lena's hand, feeling at home, knowing their adventure together was just beginning.