Webby rocked her legs back and forth, staring out the window of the limo. Feathry sat next to her and across from them were the boys, Huey upside down and unbuckled. Launchpad was driving them somewhere, Webby wasn't exactly sure. Feathry was on the phone.

Finally he hung up and looked to the triplets. "Well, I've talked with your teachers and cleared you all to skip school today." He scrunched his face. "Also, I think your art teacher has a crush on me. And I may or may not be going on a date with her this weekend."

Huey stuck out his tongue while Dewey clapped his hands together. "Aww!"

"No, I mean, I actually have no clue. It was very confusing," Feathry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's been a while since we missed school." Louie looked to his brothers.

"Yeah, remember last time!" Huey chuckled, nudging Louie with his foot.

"No one needs to remember last time." Louie's face turned red and he tried to shut his brother's beak unsuccessfully.

"Captain Lost," Dewey snickered quietly. Huey burst laughing.

Webby tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

Dewey waved his hand as he spoke. "Well, this one time, it was snowing, but Louie was so determined he knew the way. But we ended up getting-"

"Lost?" Webby still didn't get it.

"Yeah, I guess you sorta had to be there."

Huey grinned. "Captain Lost! Captain Lost!"

"Okay! We get it!" Louie seemed upset, but Webby was sure she saw a smirk cross his face.

"Heh, we got in big trouble after that." Huey smiled sadly.

Dewey rubbed his arms. "Yeah..."

"So where are we going anyway, Mr. Duck?" She turned her attention back to the adult.

"Uh, my cousin Gladstone's. I'm pretty sure I already said that." Feathry readjusted his coat.

"I don't think so."

"Nerp."

"Who's that?" Louie asked.

Huey gasped. "A family member Louie hasn't heard of? I bet it's some dark family secret!"

"It's not."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"It's really not. Are you sure you never heard of Gladstone?" Feathry raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"No, I don't think Uncle Donald ever mentioned him and you haven't said anything about him so..." Louie shrugged.

"Weird, Gladstone is like, the only person in this family that doesn't hate everyone else or vice versa. Anyways, he called asking for help. I don't know what he needed help for, the phone cut out before he could say." Feathry chuckled.

Webby was about to ask a question when the vehicle jerked violently and they stopped. She let out a yelp in surprise. Huey tumbled out of his seat, seeing as he had no seatbelt. "What was that!"

Once Feathry caught his breath, he knocked on the divider. "Launchpad!"

The driver rolled it down. "Sorry, we, uh, crashed...? I don't know, it was weird. The steering wheel jerked away from me." Launchpad frowned, staring at the wheel.

Instead of being confused like any normal person would, Feathry just smiled. "Nice, that means we're here! Come on Little Donalds. And Webby." The kids exchanged a look before following Feathry out the limo. Webby saw they were crashed in front of an apartment complex. The building was green, unlike the dried up grass lawn. Feathry turned to Launchpad. "We'll be back in a few hours or so."

Feathry showed them into the complex. Webby noticed it looked much nicer on the inside than the outside. The older duck glanced down at a text on his phone. "Apartment 1313," he read aloud. They made their way to a small elevator. It was so small it only fit four people.

She frowned once all the others had gotten in. "Uh, I'll just take the stairs." She forced a smile.

"You sure Webbs? You can take my spot." Dewey started to get out.

"It's okay, I'll meet you up there," she said again before making her way to the stairway. She stared up the steps and sighed. Why were there so many? She frowned. She was starting to feel a little left out. She started up the stairs to the 13th floor. This would probably go a lot quicker with someone to talk to. Webby nodded to herself. She would have to get a best friend to add some spice to her life. When she got the chance of course. Bradford was giving her a lot of freedom since the boys moved in, allowing her out of the house more. But lately she was starting to feel a bit like a fifth wheel, what with all their adventures being Duck family focused.

She was surprised to find that she made it to the 13th floor before the others. Her legs were exhausted. She practiced breathing steadily while she waited for them by the elevator door. The door opened with a ding. The family stepped out one by one. "What took you so long?" She wondered.

"Someone thought it would be fun to push EVERY SINGLE BUTTON!" Louie threw his hands in the air, glaring at Huey.

"But it looked like a Christmas tree! What do you want me to do? Not push it?" Huey crossed his arms.

"Yes!" They said in unison.

They all walked to the apartment labeled 1313. Webby looked over the door. Seemed normal enough. Maybe this would be a quick adventure. Feathry knocked on the door.

"Coming!" a voice called from the other side. It was followed by the sound of something glass breaking. Then a few tumbling sounds. And finally the door handle rattled. Only for the knob to fall off. "Hang on a moment..."

Webby looked to Feathry for answers, but he just smirked.

There was a loud creak and the door fell from its hinges, almost hitting Webby. She jumped back, startled.

A duck dressed in green stood in the doorway. His eyes met Feathry. "Feathry!"

"Hey Gladdy."

Gladstone scooped Feathry up in a hug. "You came! For a second there I thought you wouldn't come, I couldn't actually tell since our call was interrupted. My phone caught on fire and then there was this whole thing with a pigeon and an apricot, and you know the usual, aaaand I'm rambling now, so I'm going to stop talking. Come inside and I'll tell you all about what I found." He waved for them to follow as he stepped over the door.

The kids gave Feathry a look. He caught their gazes, then glanced back at Gladstone. "Ooooh, did I not mention he's cursed with bad luck?" He went after his cousin into the apartment.

"Wait, cursed with bad luck?" Louie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, how do you know he's not just really unfortunate?" Dewey and Gladstone pulled the door back up to its normal position.

"Hey, cous, can you get me the screwdriver from the counter?" Gladstone held out his hand. "Preferably handed, not tossed." Feathry nodded and did as told. Gladstone tried to put the door back on its hinges, but the screwdriver broke apart. He shrugged. "Eh, this door is gonna fall again at some point anyways." He turned to the family and rubbed his hands together. Answering Louie's question, he said, "It's a curse. I got a bad case of Murphy's Law on one of our 'thrilling'-" He made air quotes with his hands. "-adventures with Uncle Scrooge. But over the years I've learned how to deal with it."

Gladstone walked to the fridge. The kitchen and the living room were in the same room, only separated by an island.

Webby tilted her head. "Murphy's Law?"

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Feathry and Gladstone said in unison.

Gladstone pulled a canned soda from the fridge. "Can I offer anyone a Pep?" Dewey held out his hand, but Gladstone hesitated. He held the can away from him and popped the top. Nevertheless, the fizz sprayed directly in the older duck's face. When the soda stopped, Gladstone handed it to Dewey.

Huey jumped up and raised his hand. "Is Murphy's Law genetic?"

"No, at least not mine. Why?"

The second the words left his mouth, the red triplet's bangs caught of fire. Gladstone's eyes widened. Louie patted his brother's hair, extinguishing the flame. "That."

"Okay...?" Gladstone nodded slowly. "You might want to get that checked out." He looked over the triplets. He gasped. "Wait a minute! Wait just a Murphy minute! Are these- Oh my gosh!" Without warning, he grabbed Dewey and squeezed him tight. "Goodness you are precious! I haven't seen you three since you were little eggs!"

Dewey gasped for breath. Feathry frowned. "What? She let you see them? I didn't even know they existed until, like, a month ago."

"Eh, I'm sure it's nothing personal." Gladstone put Dewey down and ruffled his hair.

"Anyways, you said you needed help with something?" Louie said.

Gladstone nodded. "Yes, right. Okay, I have stumbled upon-" He spread his arms out dramatically. "-a conspiracy! I tried telling one of my neighbor Al, but I was interrupted by a power outage, and then there was fire, and, ehh, anyways, I-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He smiled awkwardly. "Excuse me for just a sec, fam." He answered the door.

Webby glanced past Gladstone to see who was there. It was an red fox in a green dress and her hair pulled back into a bun. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Gladstone."

"Miss Weihu! How may I help you this fine morning?" He grinned and rocked his fist sideways.

The fox frowned and raised and eyebrow. "Your rent didn't go through this month."

"Ah, yep, I'll fix that later today!" Gladstone gave a two finger salute and waved the woman off. "Bye!" He closed the door and turned back to the group. Webby tilted her head curiously. "Uh, that was my landlord, Jiu Weihu. Also, did I tell you much the rent here is? It's insane! I would've moved but there was this whole with asparagus, and you know how I hate asparagus, but, you know, I've never actually tasted it. I hate it for other reasons because-"

"Gladstone!" They all sent him glares.

It took him a moment before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "Right. I've uncovered a conspiracy that-" Another knock at the door. The boys groaned. Gladstone rolled his eyes and smirk. "Well, you know what they say. When one door closes, another door opens." He opened the door again, but he stood in the way so Webby couldn't see who it was.

"Gladstone! Gladdy! How's my favorite neighbor!" Whoever it was sounded like a young girl.

"Lena, what-"

"Hey, can I use your fire escape? Please? Answer quickly."

"Uh, sure...?"

"Great! You are the best! Also, if some beagles come around asking for me, don't tell them where I went. Okay, bye!" The girl shoved past Gladstone and moved like a blur to the fire escape. Webby didn't get a good look at her before she had raced out.

Webby smiled. That girl looked fun. She glanced between the window and the others. That girl might just be the spice to Webby's life that she needed. And surely no one would notice if she slipped out for a second, right? She edged her way to the fire escape. And without anyone noticing, she made her way out.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

...

A bajillion gears were turning in Dewey's head. Gladstone had known his mother. She had trusted him enough to tell him about her eggs. Maybe she had trusted him enough to tell him where she was going too. Dewey grinned, but not too much. He didn't want his brothers to ask questions. He would wait until he was alone with Gladstone to bug him.

"Gladdy, just spit it out before someone else shows up!" Feathry threw his hands up, sending a look at his cousin.

Gladstone nodded and took a deep breath. "I... forgot what I was going to say." He smiled nervously while the others frowned. Gladstone rubbed the back of his neck. "My curse is acting like a bad case of atopic dermatitis right now, so how about we waste a little bit of time and I will tell you when it calms down a bit?"

Dewey quirked his head. "Does it work like that?"

"Eh, sure it does!" Gladstone half smiled while Feathry shrugged, unsure. Gladstone led everyone to the apartment door and held it open for everyone.

When they stepped out into the hallway, Dewey frowned. The elevator was under maintenance, despite the fact they had just used it.

"You know, last time the elevator was under maintenance, I got stuck in there with this one girl, my old gym teacher, and the local crazy person."

"What is there to do around here, anyways?" Huey asked, tugging on Gladstone's shirt.

"Uh, I think there's a water fountain somewhere downstairs, and they do, like shows and stuff. And there's a bunch of other stuff too."

"Thank you for that wonderful description, Gladdy," Feathry deadpanned.

Huey grinned. "Water fountain? Cool!"

"That sounds boring," Louie said, glancing at the youngest triplet. "How much water do you think they waste a day doing that?"

"Pft, simple minded Louie," Huey smirked. "Everyone knows they just reuse the water."

"Not really," Dewey said quietly.

Gladstone put his hands on his hips. "Why don't we split up? Feathry, you can take red cap and headband down to the- Hey, where is headband?"

It was then that Dewey noticed that Webby was missing. He began to internally panic. "Webby?"

"She was probably so excited about the water show that she's already down there, come on, let's go!" Huey spoke fast and tried to drag Feathry off by his arm.

The adult just rolled his eyes. "Huey, chill. We'll look for her, you three go do whatever it is you're gonna do." He walked away, Huey running ahead of him.

Gladstone turned to Louie and Dewey. Dewey glanced at his brother. If he was going to ask Gladstone about Della, he would have to distract Louie somehow. "Well, kids, let's go find something to do that hopefully doesn't spiral out of control into some sort of bad luck adventure! Also, we have to take the stairs."

Louie pumped his fists. "Yes! Cardio!"

...

It wasn't long before Webby found the girl. She was hiding in an alleyway, glancing around the corner every minute or so, looking for someone. Webby came around the other side and moved to stand beside her. "Whatcha doing?"

"Gah!" The girl yelped and spun around, facing Webby. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" The girl blew her bangs out of her face, which Webby noticed were dyed blue. When the girl regained her cool, she cleared her throat. "Wow, you're really... pink. That's just a lot of pink. Who are you, anyways?"

"I'm Webby Vanderquack!" She put out her hand. The girl stared at it suspiciously. "I was in Gladstone's apartment earlier."

"I'm Lena." Lena shook Webby's hand with both of hers. "Hey, did you know circus clowns keep elephant hairs in their pocket for good luck?"

"No..." Webby tilted her head curiously.

Lena shrugged. "Eh, I don't really know if that's true." She laughed to herself. "Just an ice breaker."

Webby didn't really know where to go from there, so she blurted whatever came to mind. "I like your hair."

"Thanks, but I actually didn't do this on purpose." She held a strand away from her face and she squinted at it. "I think someone pranked me." She slipped her hands into her sweater pockets and shrugged. "My aunt offered to help me fix it, but it looks nice this way, so I'm not too mad about it."

Leaning against the wall, Lena pulled out a phone and started scrolling on it. The teen chuckled at something, then went on scrolling. Webby bit her lip. She had to keep the conversation going if she wanted to make a new friend. "Who are you running from?"

At the mention of her pursuers, Lena glanced up from her phone and back around the corner. "Beagle boys."

Webby raised an eyebrow. "I thought the Beagle boys were nice?"

Lena nodded. "Oh yeah, most of them are, except the 6th Avenue Friendlies. The name is very misleading. They were bullying this kid, so I said 'hey!' and they were all like 'Grrr.' So yeah, that's how that happened, heh." She put her phone back in her pocket and turned to leave. "Well, it's been nice knowing ya Pink, but I've got to go. My aunt's probably worried about me."

Following after her, Webby smiled awkwardly. "Wait... um..." Aw man, she had run out of ideas to keep talking.

Lena stopped and spun around to face the younger girl. "What? Don't you have, like, friends or family to get back to, or something?"

"Well, uh, sorta?" Webby didn't know why her voice came out like a question. She fidgeted nervously. "I've got a complex family dynamic. My grandma is an evil spy, my parent figure is a butler who was also a former spy, and the people I live with are Feathry Duck and, just recently, his cousins removed however many times. But I haven't gotten that close to them yet."

Lena's eyes widened. "Wait, you live with THE Feathry Duck? Wow! I'm like, a really sheltered kid, and even I know who that is! What's he really like?" She grinned, suddenly very interested in what Webby had to say.

"Uh... famous...?"

Lena smirked and shrugged. "Eh, I guessed. Well, if you want you can hang with me." She winked then gestured for Webby to follow. "Oh, and for the record, it's not just because you live with Feathry. Sorry if it came across that way," Lena said, smiling awkwardly. Webby smiled back.

They were just about the leave the alleyway when-

"Hey nerds!"

A chill went up Webby's spine. Lena groaned and spun around. "Goodness, not these guys again." She smirked at the three beagles at the other end of the alley. "Hey! Wassup!"

"Looks like blue hair's got a sidekick now," one of the beagles snickered.

The leader snapped his fingers. "Lena, quit trying to play the hero and just give back what you stole," he grumbled.

Wait, stole?

"Ha! Death first!" Lena put her hands on her hips and closed her eyes dramatically. "Besides, how can I steal what was mine to begin with?"

"Why you- boys, get her!"

One of them rushed at them, but Lena yanked Webby to the side and dodged herself. She stuck out her foot and tripped the dog. "I'm gonna tell your mom!" she said in a singsong tone. Turning to Webby, Lena nodded. "Alright, Pink, let's get out of here."

Webby turned to run but was snatched up by the second beagle. She let out a yelp and tried to fight him off unsuccessfully.

"Let her go, you jerk!" Lena out her fists up. The leader of the beagles grabbed her, and though she put up a better fight than Webby, she was also stuck in his grasp. "You've caused a lot of trouble for us little lady. Now give it back!" He held out his hand, but Lena just glared at it.

"Never! Viva la resistance!" She narrowed her eyes, swung back, and kicked him hard in the face. He stumbled backwards, dropping the teen. She landed on her feet and grabbed Webby from the second beagle. Wow, this girl was amazing. Definitely some spice to Webby's life.

They took off running, trying to create distance between them and the beagles. Webby squealed internally. New best friend, check!

Heyo! More A/N for this chapter than usual, lol. Here's the NegaLena design:

And also, I definitely didn't just give NegaGladstone bad luck so I could reference Milo Murphy's Law.

No, wait! You weren't supposed to see that!

Alright, thanks for reading, see y'all in the next part.