Ideas

Chapter 2: Mutant Underground

A government agency starts sweeping across the nation, rounding up mutants to use as weapons and experiments. Liquidator is captured, thanks to a device that can cause pain to the canis aqua, and 'trained'. He is forced to do stupid tricks, and his guards pretend they can't hear him unless they spoke to him first.

The rest of the F5 hear about this. Negaduck decides to leave him, sparking the remaining F4 to rebel for the first time in a while. They abandon Negaduck's plans, breaking into the secret facility to rescue their watery pal.

Despite his best efforts, Liquidator broke a bit under the guards' treatment, initially refusing to go with his friends (Minor hypnotism is used in the 'training'). They manage to snap him out of it, but he still refuses to leave without saving a group of mutants that helped him, claiming that "It's bad for business to be in debt".

They end up freeing every mutant in the facility, leading them to safety. As they escape, Quackerjack feels something familiar that he describes as "Not painful, but feels like pain", but he's distracted before he can remember where he's felt it in the past. (It's Paddywhack, the facility is unsuccessfully trying to 'train' him, and he's magically lashing out).

The F4 find themselves the leaders of a St Canard underground of Mutants and Mutant allies. Families, criminals, regular citizens, and even a hero or two flock to them for help.

Meanwhile, a teenaged Gosalyn has started to develop minor powers thanks to that plant-mutant incident of her youth. She can turn into green sludge for short periods of time, detect plants, and disrupt Bushroot's powers. She's as well resistant to many poisons, has to eat a lot, and can photosynthesize.

When the facility comes after Gosalyn, Drake finds himself entrusting her to the F4's care. Unknowing that he's Darkwing and willing to do a favor for an old friend, Elmo promises to take care of her.

When they say goodbye, Honker gives Gosalyn a special bow he built that can shrink to fit in her pocket and shoots bolts of electricity.

This story takes off from there.

Notes: None of the F4 have ever tried to nor actually killed anyone. The Rhonda and Hard Water incidents were caused by just-mutated brain scrambling. Negaduck is forcing them to serve to a greater degree than in canon.