Sara
A Darkwing Duck Fanfic

By E. Grimes

Author's Note:

I feel that Dr. Sara Bellum is the unsung heroine of the Darkwing Duck series. For all her ditzy
behaviour and crazy inventions, Sara means well---and is, in fact, one of the few characters who
really respects DW and appreciates what he's trying to do. (And after all, how much fun would
"Disguise the Limit" have been if she hadn't invented that weird ray?? Not to mention, that cool
pie gun that Negaduck "borrows" in "Just Us Justice Ducks"!)

Since there seems to be no real background on Sara's life or career, somebody had to remedy
that. Besides, she represents the sadly underappreciated, often rejected intellectual geek that
many of us were...so Sara: here's my salute to you, hon! (Note: her first name and "Doctor"
name are pretty much used interchangeably in this story. ~~E.G.)

Disclaimer: All Darkwing Duck characters proper are © 1991 by Disney. All other characters are
mine. Please don't use them or this story without, repeat, WITHOUT my permission. If you do, I
have a certain duck friend who carries a chainsaw...

Chapter I:
If He Really Knew Me...

"Can't you do anything right, Dr. Bellum??!" Darkwing snapped at the tall, dark-haired SHUSH scientist.

It had only been the umpteenth time he'd been nearly blown up by one of Dr. Sara Bellum's wild inventions;
needless to say, Darkwing Duck's nerves were very much on edge.

It hadn't been a good week---not for Darkwing, and certainly not for his family and friends. For openers,
he and Morgana broke up after an awful fight (which ended with Morg zapping him nearly unconscious).
As if that hadn't been painful enough, the next day Darkwing (reluctantly) let Gizmoduck help him during a
hostage standoff at City Hall. In spite of Darkwing's most hazardous efforts, as usual Giz got all the publicity.
It was more than a "minor setback" for the hero, whose ego was as fragile as it was inflated; so it was no
surprise that the purple-caped duck was in the ugliest of moods. Launchpad steered shy of Darkwing half
the time, and for once Gosalyn was careful to be on her best behaviour.

Even some of Darkwing's enemies didn't want to mess with him. The Fearsome Four had learned to back
off when they saw the angry gleam in Darkwing's eye---once Megavolt made the mistake of crossing his
path, and Darkwing wasted no time but simply turned a fire hose on him. After recovering from a most
painful short-circuit, Megavolt crawled over to Quackerjack's hideout.

"Man, that duck is cheesed!!" Megavolt told his friend, who nodded sorrowfully---he'd had to sew Mr.
Bananabrain back together after Darkwing got through with him. Negaduck, never one to be sympathetic,
soon wished he'd kept his distance as well.

"Awwww...whatsa mattah, Dorkwingy?" he had said mockingly, on seeing his enemy's glare. "Not getting
enough bran for breakfast?"

His usual viscious laughter was quickly choked off by a Quack Fu kick in the gut he hadn't seen coming.
By the time the red-hatted duck found the strength to go for his chainsaw, Darkwing had long gone.

Unfortunately, even the staff at SHUSH wasn't left unscathed. It would not be pleasant to describe
Darkwing's encounter with Agent Gryzlikoff, who gave serious thought to "tvist head off fool duck,
ontil it roll down on floor!" as he angrily told director J. Gander Hooter.

"You'd best leave him alone, Gryzlikoff," sighed Hooter. "Maybe when Dr. Bellum shows him her latest
new weapon, he'll be himself again---you know how Darkwing is with all our gadgets."

"Da...like little boy vit' play-toy," the huge agent replied with a smirk.

As it turned out, Hooter was wrong---not about Darkwing and SHUSH's "play-toys" (Gryzlikoff was
certainly right about that), but about the hero's change of mood. As a matter of fact, his session with
Dr. Bellum only served to make things worse.

The SHUSH scientist had just come up with a Bio-Duplicator, which she explained was supposed to
make a holographic image of anything---or anybody---it was aimed at. The idea was that Darkwing
could distract any criminals he was fighting with an illusory "clone" of himself, making it easier to bring
them to justice. It was a brilliant enough concept, but with just one drawback: it didn't work. What was
worse, instead of duplicating Darkwing, the ray nearly fried him.

Launchpad, who had come along with Darkwing, stared uneasily at the burnt feathers and the look of
outrage on his friend's face.

"Uh...you okay, DW?" he asked nervously.

"No, Launchpad," Darkwing answered through clenched teeth, "I am NOT 'okay'!!!"

"Oh, dear," Sara sighed, "looks like I can kiss my Nobel prize goodbye---again."

Darkwing glared at her. After all his heartache and humiliation that week, being half-cooked was the
final straw for the masked mallard. His temper quickly exploded---and quite before he realized what
he was doing, he began venting his anger full force on the bewildered lady scientist.

"Can't you do anything right??!"

"I certainly can!" shot back Sara , quite taken aback by his remark. She was normally used to Darkwing's
crankiness (as was anyone who knew him); but today his words seemed unusually hurtful. Sad to say, it
was only the beginning...

"You know what? I don't think so!!" snarled the masked mallard, as he tried to smooth out his singed
fedora.

"Listen, Darkwing!" Sara blurted indignantly. "I'm doing the very best I can. Can't you see I'm only
trying to help you? Couldn't you act the least little bit grateful?"

"Grateful??" snorted the purple-caped drake. "For almost getting blown up---again? I can't believe you're
working for our side. Are you sure you're not a secret weapon F.O.W.L. sent over to kill us all?"

Sara's jaw dropped.

"How dare you say a thing like that to me??" she demanded. Launchpad, always the more sensitive
of the pair, could certainly see how hurt she was.

"Hey, take it easy, DW," he begged; but Darkwing was too centered on himself to realize the impact of
his harsh words.

"I mean it!!" snapped Darkwing, pointing furiously at Sara. "How did someone like you end up working
for SHUSH, anyway? They must have been really desperate to hire you, Bellum---because you've got
to be one of the craziest and stupidest people on the planet!!"

Sara stared at him, her expression stunned and injured. For some seconds she was speechless, for once.

"You don't know me at all, Darkwing," she said at last, a strange and painful softness in her voice.

She threw down the control for the ray and turned for the door, to find Director Hooter and Agent Gryzlikoff
standing in the open doorway. They could hear Darkwing raving clear down the hall and had come to see
what the commotion was.

"Dr. Bellum? Is everything all right?" Hooter asked, seeing the look on Sara's face. The woman scientist's
eyes went to the floor.

"Please excuse me, gentlemen," she said in a low voice, as she quickly walked out of the lab, avoiding
the concerned stares of her fellow agents. All eyes were turned now to Darkwing, who suddenly looked
embarrassed, knowing he had gone too far.

"That was quite out of order, Darkwing," Hooter declared, his voice quiet but his gaze quite stern.

"I told ya to take it easy," Launchpad insisted to his friend, who rolled his eyes.

Gryzlikoff said nothing at first; but if a look could have killed, the glare he gave Darkwing would have
'nuked' him instantly. The large Russian bear then turned indignantly and walked out to look for Dr.
Bellum.

When he found her, she was sitting out in a small garden adjacent to the main building. It was a peaceful
place, set up by Director Hooter as a spot for the agents to unwind from what was often quite stressful
work. The garden had a mainly Japanese theme, with a little wooden bridge and a koi pond with a fountain.
Gryzlikoff, ever the workaholic, never felt the need to visit; but Sara loved to go there to collect her thoughts.
This time, however, it looked as though she were crying, her hands curled around a small, flat object.

"Doktor Ballum?" the hulking agent said hesitantly. The SHUSH scientist gave a start, then turned away
to wipe her face.

"You is okay, Doktor?" Gryzlikoff went on, going up to her and offering his handkerchief. "No vorry, it
clean vun..."

Sara shook her head and smiled a little. "I...I'm all right, Gryzlikoff. Thanks anyway." She looked
up at him, quite embarrassed. "I didn't want anyone to see me like this, Gryz. I have to be more
tough than this. After all, I'm a SHUSH agent, not a baby."

"Nyet...you not baby. But you voman. Is not bad t'ing to crry for voman---sey not need to be tough.
Ve men be tough for zem."

The scientist raised a slight eyebrow. "Forgive me, Gryz, but that sounds rather sexist."

Gryzlikoff looked startled, then shook his head emphatically. "No, no! Not sexes...ve only friends."

"Um...no, that's not what I meant," Dr. Bellum answered patiently. "I'm just saying you've got some
very outdated ideas about women."

The huge agent shrugged. "All zame...you not wrong to act zo. Darkving do wery bad t'ing. He not talk
to you like dat---you do noting wrong!"

Sara sighed in despair. "I goofed, Gryzlikoff. I try so hard, but I keep screwing up. And today," she
went on, her voice nearly breaking with emotion. "It's been really rough for me today anyhow, and
for Darkwing to lash out at me so...I want so to please him; but it just seems a losing battle sometimes.
What does he want from me?" she asked miserably, more to herself than to her fellow agent.

"Duck not know. He is littlehead fool. You do good vork, Doktor Ballum. Ve not mind dat you---how
you zay?---scrrroo op!"

Then the Russian bear's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of the object Dr. Bellum was holding; it was
a teakwood picture frame holding a photograph over a decade old. The photo showed an attractive,
middle-aged fowl in a sharp suit, and wearing a SHUSH badge on his lapel. Recognizing the figure,
Gryzlikoff's expression softened.

"Is fifteen year now, Doktor Ballum?" he inquired gently.

The scientist nodded. "Fifteen years ago today...and we still haven't found the rat who did it," she
said, her tone somewhat bitter now.

Gryzlikoff nodded also, his face solemn. "Ve find him. Vun day, ve find him. Dat vas good man, good
agent he take from us. Vun day ve find murd'rer, and vill make him pay!" he added, his eyes blazing
with his usual zeal once more as he slammed a large fist into his paw.

"I keep hoping and praying for that day. But it's been so long, sometimes I wonder if we'll ever find him,"
the lady scientist replied sorrowfully. "But I can't give up, Gryzlikoff! I have to keep going, even though I
don't know myself why you and James keep me around here. Maybe Darkwing is right..."

The Russian agent shook a large finger at her in a mildly scolding manner. "Nyet. Darkving wery wrong!
You know vy ve keep you, Doktor---you care for vork dat ve do. Ve care for you too, Doktor Ballum.
Ve glad you vit' us...wery glad." With a gentleness unusual for him, he took Sara's small ivory hand into
his huge paw and patted it. "Zo you not be zad...is okay?"

She could not help but smile. "Thank you, Gryzlikoff," she said softly.

He gave her a short but gallant nod and left the garden. Sara watched him leave, grateful that at least her
co-workers understood her---even if she didn't always understand herself. But that had never really been
the problem; she had long known what she meant to SHUSH. It had been Darkwing Duck's lack of
understanding that had hurt her, and she wondered now: what did she mean to him?

"If he really knew me," she whispered sadly.

She gently touched the photograph of the long-dead SHUSH agent---someone who had loved her
more than unconditionally, and had encouraged her through good times and bad. It was thanks to him
and J. Gander both that Dr. Sara Bellum had become the person she was.

Sighing heavily and putting the photo away, the SHUSH scientist walked back into the main building.
Meanwhile, however, Agent Gryzlikoff had gone off to look for Darkwing this time---but definitely
not with sympathy in mind...

End Chapter I

Chapter II