Gadget

Gadget

  Sometimes the stories that define a hero the most go untold for far too long. Metro City, a dark alley late on a stormy Saturday night. Laughter rings through a normally peaceful neighbourhood. A pair of wayward youths revel in their bounty, having just assaulted and robbed a random couple of their belongings and dignity. Before they can gather their loot and disappear into the night, they are suddenly blinded by a bright light. A voice is heard, "There is no tolerance for crime in my city. Hand it over and come quietly. This is the only time I'm telling you...".

 The cocky young men ignore the voice, inviting whomever it is to give them chase as they flee. Their arrogance, as well as the calm silence of the night, are shattered by gunfire. They topple over in agony, both men now with bullets in their legs.

 In the midst of their shock with the realization of having been shot, the criminals gaze back at the mysterious man, puzzled as to who or what he is. The rain cascading off his brimmed hat, the silhouette of a trench coat, the thieves bombard him with expletives and questions that go unanswered, until the query, "Who are you?! Some off-duty cop or some Dick Tracy wannabe?!". The man, his face still partially cloaked in the shadows, responds "I'm always on duty"...

  Metro City P.D. the next day. Officer Quimby, son of the former Chief Quimby, celebrates his victory on his portable gaming unit. "Yeah, baby! I beat that bitch good!" he yells. "Shouldn't I arrest you for that?" says someone as the door opens. "Gadget!" he exclaims as he sees his mentor. The two men converse for only a few minutes before Officer Bertram interrupts. "Gadget, chief wants to see you in his office yesterday" he says while sticking his head through the threshold. Inspector Gadget immediately makes his way for a meeting with his boss.

 Soon, the entire department is filled with the sounds of Gadget being reprimanded. The chief eventually regains his composure and explains his position. "Look, Gadget...this isn't the same precinct it used to be and you're not the same man you used to be either. Maybe Quimby Sr. would've put up with your unnecessary measures, but he's retired and I run the show now." Chief Pirelli continues, "Maybe it's time for you to hang it up. You've gotten too reckless, too unyielding. You have little respect for due process. You could've killed those kids last night." He finishes his tirade by stating, "....There have just been too many of these incidents from you lately, Gadget. I'm taking you off active duty. You're suspended until further notice. Take some time off and get yourself together." The feeling started to set in. He saw this coming. It was almost as if he meant it to happen. Finally... Inspector Gadget was off duty.

 Gadget returned home after a few brief stops along the way. He sat on his couch, poured himself a shot and began musing to himself, reflecting upon his situation. "I guess it is time to retire. I was made and then constantly upgraded to take down big syndicates. I'm just overkill in the Metro City of today." He continued, "Nothing's the same anymore. Quimby Sr. is retired, Penny is off to college, Brain is gone, M.A.D. is shut down and Claw is behind bars for the rest of his life. There's nothing left for me..." he realized as he drifted off into slumber.

 The next day Gadget was awakened by the phone ringing. It was Chief Pirelli. "Gadget, turn on the news immediately!". Shaking the cobwebs, Gadget turned to the local news channel to find out what was so dire. He watched and listened as a violent crime was being reported. He didn't see what was so special about this one and why it would rile up the chief. He then became aware as he observed a modified version of the insignia used by the Malevolent Agency of Destruction left as a calling card on one of the victims. "Chief...M.A.D. is back? How? Did Claw escape??" Gadget frantically inquired, to which Chief Pirelli replied, "No...he's still in his cell". The chief added, "There's something else...this is the only one the media has gotten a hold of. There were three others. All had the same calling card present at the scene". The chief then ordered Gadget back to work to lead the investigation as only he could. Gadget, without hesitation, agreed, got himself together and on his way.

 Back at the office, Gadget and Officer Quimby started going over any possible leads. Gadget decides to do things his way instead. He instructs his friend to continue searching files while he went to take care of something.

 In the darkness of the loneliest cellblock, where only the most dangerous and despicable criminals are kept, Inspector Gadget walked up to his point of interest, the cage that holds the depraved animal known as Dr. Claw. The door slid open, he entered the cell and began to question his former arch-enemy about the current crime wave, demanding to know how Claw could've orchestrated it from within incarceration. Claw insists he has no idea what the inspector is talking about, but does state "If I did know anything, I wouldn't tell you anyway, fool". Infuriated, the inspector had to be restrained by the guards. Gadget calmed himself and returned to the office.

 "So, did you find anything useful?" Gadget asked Quimby. He replied with unexpected and shocking information, "Did you know that our wicked Dr. Claw...was married?". After taking a moment to absorb the look on his mentor's face, he continued.."Yep! Claw was a married man. We don't have a name 'cause the trail apparently went cold. She just disappeared several years ago. But here's the funny thing, remember when we captured Dr. Claw, several millions of dollars were unaccounted for? My guess is things were getting too sketchy in the crime game and he sent her off with that money to start a new life. Aww Claw has a heart after all." He added, "And one more thing, one of the criminals we did manage to take down, before he died, said *she* will own this city..." Gadget immediately headed back to Claw's cell.

 The quiet of the murky cellblock was once again broken by Inspector Gadget. He slowly walked up to Dr. Claw with a smirk. "So, how's your wife, Claw?" he asked. Claw looked up in fright at Gadget, who continued "Seems your estranged bride didn't spend all that money you sent her off with...Seems she's using whatever's left to finance some sort of vengeance crime wave in protest of your capture. Seems she wants to take over Metro City in your stead. Seems like she's going to have to go down" he finished. Claw snapped back, "Don't you DARE lay a hand on her, Gadget!" Gadget just responded with a snide, disgusted smile and walked away leaving Dr. Claw fuming trying unsuccessfully to break free of his shackles.

 The hunt was on. Madame Claw was the city's new enemy and Gadget was focused on putting an end to her terrorism. His cybernetic body was ready to be unleashed full force once again. Chief Pirelli gave the Metro City PD the green light to put an end to her and M.A.D. by any means necessary.

 Gadget, along with Metro City's finest, went at each criminal aggressively and with little mercy over the next few weeks. The crime wave dwindled significantly, but there was to be no cease until the head of the snake was severed. New intel from investigations and interrogations lead the force to believe Madame Claw was hiding out in an abandoned warehouse by the docks. A little too predictable, but a lead nonetheless. They hastily converged on the venue.

 The Metro City S.W.A.T. team along with a few officers moved in on the target location. Up a few flights of stairs, they saw a light. A dim, shimmering light. They crept up and there they saw it...a chair with the new M.A.D. insignia facing a monitor. "Turn around, Claw! You're under arrest!" ordered Lt. Stupak. Nothing happened. He walked up cautiously and turned the chair around. That was the last of Stupak and his team. A bomb was rigged to the chair and detonated, killing them all.

 The building started to crumble as Gadget finally arrived late after undergoing last-minute repairs. He watched in horror as the scene unfolded before him. Innocent officers of the law put to death for their efforts to make the world a better place. But there was something he didn't know. Officer Quimby was one of those men. Gadget was informed of the grim news when other officers arrived. He had lost his best friend and biggest fan. He wanted to let out what he was feeling, but was so frozen in disbelief. He didn't know who to hit, what to break, where to go, what to do. He just ended up back in his cruiser driving back to the station.

 As Gadget walked back into the precinct like a zombie, still in a daze, Chief Pirelli informed him of another lead. Gadget demanded he kept the information between only them. He was not about to risk more innocent lives. This time, he was going in first and alone.

 Sure enough, this information proved credible as this location was heavily guarded by M.A.D. foot soldiers. Inspector Gadget for a brief moment tried to figure out a way in, but as he looked at these agents, he saw flashes of the burning building which took the life of Quimby and the other men. These were the cold-hearted bastards that did it and their leader will continue to take more as she bids to take over the city. His fury finally took hold of him.

 Gadget intently made his way towards to entrance, focused on bringing Madame Claw to justice, or just finishing her off for good. He didn't break his stride or even look directly at any M.A.D. soldier. His entire weapons system engaged at once, annihilating every one that came at him. Bullets, lasers and blades were flying everywhere in a massive blood-bathed manifestation of Inspector Gadget's personal torment. The notion of avenging deaths with deaths of his own played very little on his conscience for he realized it was necessary to ensure they didn't return a third time. This would be the definite end of M.A.D.

 Gadget steadily walked past the fallen M.A.D. agents as he made his way to what could only be the main room. There again, was the chair. He pointed all his weapons towards it ready to just blow her away, but he decided he wanted to look at her as he did it. He roared to her, "TURN AROUND NOW MADAME CLAW AND FACE JUSTICE!" She replied, "Madame Claw?? Is that who you thought was behind all this? Heh, you never were good at your job.....Uncle Gadget...".

 The chair turned around and the villainess stood up. Gadget's face turned ghost white, his weapons retracted and he dropped to his knees in horror as he stared at his niece, Penny. "W...wh....." he muttered, but was cut off. "Why? Because of you, Uncle. All those years I loved you and helped you on your missions. Actually, Brain and I did them FOR you. You were a bumbling, inept failure and if not for us, you wouldn't have been the 'world's greatest inspector'. You couldn't even recognize when Dr. Claw was right in front of you! It was us that saved the world AND YOU every single time."

 Penny continued her diatribe, "But we didn't care. We loved you and wanted to see you happy and successful. Then what did you do? YOU HAD ME COMMITTED!! You thought I was losing it because I was always seeing Dr. Claw everywhere. 'Nonsense, Penny! Nonsense, Penny! Nonsense, Penny!' You never listened to me when I was trying to lead you right to him! You just convinced yourself that I was seeing things and becoming obsessed with him! So you sent me off to the nuthouse, messed up my education and my dreams. So that's why, Uncle Gadget, that's why. This city is rightfully mine. I protected it, I sacrificed for it and I got screwed for it. It belongs to me now."

 "But Penny..." Gadget began, "I...I'm sorry I didn't know. I wasn't as advanced then as I am now. Technology has come a long way in ten years and I haven't been that Gadget for quite a while." Penny wasn't accepting the excuse. "It doesn't matter. It's too late. The damage has been done. I can't get my dreams back nor forget what you put me through. And Brain left this world without the praise and credit he deserved". Gadget turned the tables, "Penny, you murdered innocents! You stole people's money, and you cost me the life of my best friend...MY BEST FRIEND!" Gadget exclaimed.

 With tears rolling down her face, Penny uttered "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Uncle. But for some reason I still love you and am giving you a chance to walk away right now. Just leave. Move to another city and retire. I promise I won't cause trouble elsewhere. I'm only concerned about Metro."

 "I can't do that, Penny. I can't let you get away with those murders. I have to take you in. Please, honey....just come quietly and let's end this" replied Gadget.

 Penny, resolved to the direction she would now take, responded "Well, since you put it that way, I WILL end this, Uncle Gadget." as she pointed a gun towards her uncle. Gadget pleaded and begged her to reconsider, but there was no turning back. Her grip tightened and her finger began to pull the trigger. Gadget bawled "NOOOOOOO!" as his auto defense triggered, locked on and fired a shot at his niece...fatally wounding her.

 Inspector Gadget ran over and held his niece in her final moments. As he wept, he looked at her gun and realized it was only a toy. She knew she couldn't go on and she couldn't end it herself. Or maybe she wanted to go out laying the burden of her death on her uncle as a final revenge. Whatever the reason, the fact was she wanted this. She was dead long before the bullet was anywhere near her.

 In the following weeks, Penny was pardoned for her crimes and was laid to rest as a hero while Brain was given proper honors. Both decorated and appreciated, Gadget had finally given them justice and peace.

The End